In Grace God Teaches Us
Weekly Overview:
Grace is a gift most of us don’t know how to receive. We’ve been so inundated with the earthly systems of give-and-get and work-and-earn that grace is a concept few ever fully grasp. Yet it’s grace alone that has the power to transform lives. Grace alone has the power to bring freedom to the captives. By grace alone we are saved. There could be no better use of our time than consistently and passionately pursuing a greater revelation of God’s grace.
Scripture:“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Devotional:
By God’s grace we have been given an entire book of his teaching. The Bible offers you practical wisdom, insight, and revelation that has the power to transform your life. Its very pages are miraculous, the voice of God breaking supernaturally into the physical world—paper and ink in your own language.
Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” The Bible holds the perfect and eternal words of the Creator of heaven and earth. Even more, as believers we’ve been filled with the very Author of the Bible, the Holy Spirit. We have available to us by God’s grace both the word and its Author, capable together of leading us to the abundant life God desires for us. Today as we look at all that God desires to accomplish in us through his word, may your heart be filled with the longing to engage in the process of transformation that comes through the teaching of Scripture. Psalm 19:7-11 says:
The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
David understood the incredible value of the word he’d been given. God’s word revives the soul, brings wisdom, rejoices the heart, and enlightens those who read it. How greatly do you need what God’s word gives you? Where do you need to be revived? Where do you need wisdom, rejoicing, and enlightenment?
Psalm 1:1-3 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Those who make God’s word their foundation and delight are immovable, fruitful, and prosperous. It has the power to lead you away from a life of sin and worldly counsel to a life of abundance and prosperity in the counsel of the Spirit.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” The Bible is capable of taking a broken, weak, and useless man and teaching, correcting, and training him in righteousness that he might be equipped for incredible works. God desires to take any area of your life that isn’t yielding the fruit of righteousness or accomplishing good works and revive them through his word into areas of strength and life.
Because your heavenly Father loves you, he will always lead you through the Spirit and his word into better and more fruitful living. God has incredible plans in store for you as you grow in your relationship with him, and he desires to use his word to both equip you for and guide you to the abundant life he has for you. Meditate on his word day and night. Read it with the guidance of the Spirit. Receive the revelation, wisdom, and insight he longs to share with you. And choose to live your life in response to Scripture, living in obedience to all that you read.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on all that God wants to do in you through his word.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Psalm 1:1-3
“The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.” Psalm 37:30-31
2. Reflect on your own life. Where do you need transformation? Where do you need restoration? Where do you need wisdom?
“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:7-11
3. Commit to engaging with God’s word. Ask the Spirit to guide you to all that he longs to show you. Receive a greater hunger for God’s teaching. Allow your desires to be stirred toward transformation by hearing and doing the word of God.
“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16
“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:20-23
We’ll spend the next week being taught by the parables of Jesus, so make it your goal to receive a hunger for his word in prayer. Meditate on all that God wants to do in you through his word. Allow desire for his teaching to be stirred as you think about the abundant life he wants to lead you to through Scripture. Think of areas in which you need restoration and wisdom. And commit to engaging in the process of incredible transformation God has in store for you.
Extended Reading: Psalm 1
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