Devotionals for the Heart: Grace

The Peace of Grace
A devotional by Allison M. Wilson

Key Scripture: 
John 16:13, Philippians 4:4-8, 1 John 4:18, Mark 9:24 (NASB)

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” or a variation of that greeting, is used by the apostle Paul 16 times in the New Testament when addressing the church in various cities in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) version of The Holy Bible. In three of those cases, Paul adds the word mercy to the blessing. In the current times of this worldwide Coronavirus pandemic, this particular phrase from the Apostle Paul speaks to me.

Why are grace and peace, with the addition of mercy now and then, the preferred greeting from Paul? Grace, in the original Greek charis, means kindness. Peace, eirene in Greek, implies welfare. What is Paul doing with this blessing?

Paul was reminding the believers of the unmerited gift they had received … grace. He was also reminding them that the grace they were given had an amazing side effect … peace. But, as believers in Christ, are we allowing that peace to be freely felt?

For the last few years, God has really brought home a message to me. Every problem has one question attached to it: “Do you trust Me?”

No matter the issue, that's the ultimate question. If I trust Him, then there is no fear in any issue, because I know God will see it through to my ultimate good and to the transforming of me into the image of Jesus Christ. Even if I cannot see the good yet, God’s promises tell me that is the end goal.

Every blip on my radar that seems to stir up negative emotions ... Do you trust Me?

Every person who can't seem to remember the rules of the road ... Do you trust Me?

Every time I see one of the kids making poor decisions or going through a hard time, and want to jump in to "fix" it ... Do you trust Me?

Health issues in family members ... Do you trust Me?

And, that "Do you trust Me?" is also asking if I know just how much God loves me. Do I trust that what He says is true? If so, why do I doubt? If so, why do I fear? If so, why do I look at the circumstances rather than look to the Solution?

When we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us the truth of grace (John 16:13), we find that peace follows. Our perception of what we are going through, whatever the situation, has to change in the light of the incomparable love of our Father. Accepting and internalizing the love of God for us will change our thinking, too. We can go from fear of everything to fear of nothing. 1 John 4:18 tells us why that is true.

But, it boils down to a lack of belief. His grace is there, too! Mark 9:24 is one of my favorite verses. It shows us that we can believe, yet need help in our belief. God doesn’t leave us on our own. He has given us many ways to cry out to Him for more grace, more peace, more faith. He longs for us to reach for Him rather than for something in the world – be it food, relationships, or even security in things we think we can control.

Grace and peace really do go together. When we get what grace really means, the peace that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, as Philippians 4 tells us. That section of Scriptures gives a step-by-step way to have your mind and heart guarded by Christ. That is grace and peace at its finest.

Let’s Pray: Dearest Jesus, You have already given us so much, yet You want to give us even more. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit that You have put into our hearts, but we think our way out of it so often. Remind us of Your grace. Remind us of what is truly means in order for our peace to be complete. Bring those verses and Scriptures to mind when the world is swirling around in chaos in front of us, and do as You promised You would do…guard our hearts and minds in You. In Your precious Name we pray, Amen.

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Author Bio:

A very early reader and lover of the written word, Allison M. Wilson has been writing since the age of 8 with the heart to impart stories and God's truth.

She has judged countless contests for the last 25 years, reviewed for several online publications, professionally edited, and written articles and devotionals.

Wife, mother, writer, editor, teacher, mentor, and mompreneur, God keeps her busy while living in east central Florida with her family.

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Connect with Allison:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allisonmwilson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amwilson

Devotionals for the Heart: No Fear

No Fear!
A devotional by Susan Lindstrom

I have a thing for words.

I’ve loved them my whole life and how they take me on glorious adventures. Words spoken, written or sung, I enjoy them all.

When I gave my life to Jesus Christ, and started reading The Holy Bible, a whole new world of words opened up! The verses in the Bible made it clear that these words I thought old and dusty were as relevant today as when they were written so long ago. Words such as these:

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." ~Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

It was evident that these weren’t ordinary words, these Words were alive with power and purpose! So, I took it to heart when reading 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) which says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

I knew He was telling me something so important that it had the power to change me. I read it over and over and claimed it as my own. Could it be true, I didn’t have to live with fear anymore?

F-E-A-R = False Evidence Appearing Real

It was clear that the ‘spirit of fear’ was spiritual warfare and NOT from God because it’s not in the character of the Holy Spirit.

Satan knows that when we’re fearful, we are useless.

An ineffective Christian that Satan doesn’t have to worry about because fear has overpowered and kept from kingdom work. And please know that if you weren’t of any value, that thief wouldn’t bother to steal your worth.

But Satan has no control unless we give it to him.

Did you know there are over 500 diagnosed phobias that speak to every kind of fear?

There’s Ablutophobia (the fear of washing) and Automysophobia (the fear of being dirty). Ecclesiophobia is the fear of churches, and the fear of phobias which you can probably guess is phobophobia.

Whether it’s small spaces, being alone or public speaking…we all have something, or maybe a few things we’re fearful of, but I’d like to suggest that when we’re focusing on fear, we are not focusing on the Lord.

We’ve forgotten that He did NOT give us a spirit of fear but we can be fearless because we have His Power and His Never-ending Love, and we can choose to be in control of our feelings.

That’s the pep-talk Paul was giving Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT), “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

He was stirring up Timothy’s courage and faith because he’d been in ministry for years at this point and was being severely tested by false teachers (Satan) who were challenging his role as a leader in their church. Paul was saying, “Don’t forget who you are, Timothy, and don’t forget whose you are.”

Do our fears manifest because we’ve forgotten this as well?

Are we telling God he’s not enough?

Over the years I’ve overcome many ‘spirits of fear’ with the delivering power of God’s Holy Spirit. I want you to know you can too.

Read what God says in Isaiah 41:13 (NIV), “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. “

We’re not alone in this battle, the Almighty, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a tight hold on us! I hope that these words give encouragement to fight your fears. Satan lives to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus came so we might have life in abundance (John 10:10), life in the Living Word. 

Let's pray this passage of Scripture Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV) as we close:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” 

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Author Bio:

Susan Lindstrom is NOT an award-winning writer yet unless you count that ‘best story’ award in third grade but stay tuned to see what God has planned!

Writing has always been a passion but raising a family, running her sewing and design business, involvement in Women’s Ministry and teaching Sunday School kept her plenty busy.

Now a retired empty-nester, she trusts in God’s amazing timing and has jumped in to embrace this new adventure of writing.

Her first book, Emmie Jane and the Yellow Fuzz, is for children and is now available for purchase on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. It's the first in a series of real-life adventures focusing on the Fruit of the Spirit.

Susan grew up on both the East and West coasts and now calls the beautiful state of Wisconsin home. She is a wife, mom, and grandma to 10 children.

She enjoys a wide variety of music, loves live performance and believes that laughter is the best medicine. When she is not indoors writing, reading or pretending to clean the house, she’s outdoors enjoying the beauty of God’s Creation.

Susan is a proud member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

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Connect with Susan:
Website - www.susanlindstrombooks.com
Facebook - www.facebook.com/susanlindstrombooks/