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Greetings!

Every time I talk to someone they ask; "How am I doing?" You most likely get the same question, so how do we answer? There are several answers that we could give but as a follower of Christ how should we answer? There seems to be a lot of confusion today because of the covid-19. Even within the church there is confusion. God is not a God of confusion, and wherever he sees sincere seekers with confused hearts, you can bet that He will do whatever it takes to help  them see His will, His plan hasn't changed. Here in chapter 15 of Acts, Peter rose up to and gave three speeches to the Council and gave the strongest defense of salvation.

Acts 15:7-11
7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our LORD Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

As believers, we readily attribute our salvation to God’s grace, but what does “this grace in which we stand” mean to us now (Rom. 5:2)? How does it work out in everyday life, especially when we’re going through periods of trial or suffering?

  1. The Lord’s grace releases His supernatural power within us so we can endure life’s hardships with a godly attitude. In fact, we’ll even be able to rejoice in what He is doing in us through the adversity.
  2. Grace builds our confidence in the sovereign Lord. Nothing looks hopeless when we focus on Him instead of on our problems.
  3. We discover the assurance of God’s sustaining presence as He walks with us every step of the way.
  4. Because we’ve experienced His care for us, we are able to show empathy and love to others facing hard times.
  5. During fiery trials, grace works to transform our character so that others can see Jesus reflected in us.
Difficulties in life are unavoidable. So we need a daily dose of God’s grace if we are to walk through trials with confidence that there is great reward on the other side. If we rely on our own strength, however, obstacles will appear insurmountable, leaving us discouraged and ready to give up.

Too often believers rely on Christ for their salvation but then try to go solo. If God’s grace was needed to save us, then logic says we would also need it for the rest of our days. Only through a continuous infusion of His sustaining power can we live a victorious Christian life. So how are you doing?

VICTORIOUS IN CHRIST,

Pastor Tim 
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