Grace that lasts forever. We hear sermons about it. We sing songs about it. But do we truly believe it?
We all know that Jesus died on the cross to give us grace. But what about when we continue to sin? When we slip up–again!–can God’s grace truly be unending?
You know what I’m talking about: that pet sin that just won’t seem to go away, no matter what we do! The moment we think it is vanquished for good, it pops its ugly head back up–again–and we find ourselves–again–falling into the traps of the same sin! For example: you are trying so hard to love your enemy, but during a conversation with a friend, you suddenly realize you’ve been gossiping about that very same enemy you’re sworn to love for the past 10 minutes! Or you truly want freedom from your alcohol addiction, but before you realize what’s happening, you have a glass in your hand. Oh God! I sure hope Your grace is built to last forever because I’ve slipped up my millionth time, and it looks like there are more slips on the horizon!
The good news is this: God’s grace is truly built to last forever!
Don’t believe it?
Meditate on these words from the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB): “Grace is built to last forever; in the heavens themselves you established your faithfulness.” (Ps 89:2)
Friends, if you are feeling weighed down by a burden of guilt, if your pet sin just won’t stop cropping up its ugly head, take heart! God’s grace is built to last forever, for the Heavens themselves declare His faithfulness!
But we all know that we can’t just go on sinning, for we know that our sin separates us from God (“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” Isa 59:2, NKJV), and we know that our sin can cause others to stumble (“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matt 18:6 NKJV). In fact, Jesus feels so strongly about this that He says: “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.” (Matt 18: 8-10 NKJV)
So what do we do?
Friends, the solution lies in Jesus. When we surrender ourselves 100% to His will; when we get into His Word; when we pursue an active relationship with Him, we begin to encourage the life we want to live. And when we find ourselves tempted by the old way of life, we can turn to Him, spend time with Him, work on our relationship with Him, and in such, we begin to separate ourselves from the life we wish to leave.
This thought is heavy on my heart as I type this devotional today, and I know this can only mean that there is someone out there, one of the readership of The Nugget, who truly needs to read this message. If that person is you, I invite you to email me today. Maybe we can help each other! And let’s always remember that when we do slip up, the words of Ps. 89:2 are true: God’s grace is truly built to last forever!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.