11/2 Daily in the Word

Thankful for His Daily Grace
Monday, November 2, 2009
by Dr. Paul Chappell

"For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed."

1 Corinthians 15:9-11

God's grace is always ready to give you a second chance.

A story is told of two pastors who pastored churches in the same small town. These two men did not get along, and as a result each one criticized the work of the other. One man criticized the other pastor's programs and the way he organized things at the church. The other man, hearing the criticism, proceeded to speak at great lengths behind the pulpit the next Sunday about the other pastor's incompetence and attacked him personally.

The local newspapers heard of the quarrel, and ran several stories on the subject. Soon the whole town was a-stir over the controversy. People attended services simply for the chance to hear the latest slander or criticism. Feeling guilt over the matter, the one pastor stood in his pulpit and stated, "Our dear pastor friend from across town is out of town today, yet this is usually the Sunday their church takes an offering for their ministry needs. Today we are going to take an offering for their church." Shocked and delighted, people who had only come to hear criticism found themselves emptying their wallets for the church across town. Later, the pastor who had been gone approached the gracious pastor and commented, "You showed grace on me when I deserved nothing better than more criticism. Thank you."

The pastors were each wrong for criticizing each other, yet rather than continuing in the cycle, the gracious pastor not only stopped the hateful comments, but went above and beyond and gathered an offering for the other pastor. He showed undeserved favor on the man.

This illustration can translate into the Christian life. Like the pastors, we make mistakes, and participate in ungodly activities. We fall into sin, veer away from God's path, and sometimes forget God's commands. Yet God has provided His undeserved favor for us. He offers us grace even when we sin.

Some people enter Christianity thinking it's a "cure-all" for temptation and sin, but the truth is that once someone is saved, the devil targets them even more with temptation! But God has provided His grace to help us when we fall, to give us a clean start.

Imagine grace this way: each morning we start our day with a clean slate. We haven't sinned, strayed from God, or gotten into any trouble yet. But each time we do sin, our slate is dirtied. A little attitude here, some rebellion there, and our slate is soon covered in ugly marks. Yet when we repent of our sin, God's grace comes down like a magic eraser and wipes our slate perfectly clean. He offers us forgiveness and a fresh start despite our failures.

No matter how many times you fall away from God, He will always forgive you. God doesn't want you to live in sin, so He offers His grace to give you a clean start each time you turn to Him. What a great attribute of God for which you should be thankful.

If it were only up to you to keep a "clean slate," how would your slate look? None of us are perfect; we all fail to always live like Christ. Yet God extends His grace to us and offers us another chance to live for Him each time we repent of our sin.

Take time right now to thank God for His grace. If you need your slate cleaned, repent of your sin and seek God's grace. Don't ever take for granted the fact that God gives you a new start whenever you need it.