Tag: Grace

I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. Isaiah 42:8 The prophet Isaiah denounces Israel’s fascination with idolatry, and asserts the uniqueness of Israel’s God, Yahweh. His own significance, the gravity and immensity of his essence, is not something…

The initial and profound experience of grace we receive is universal. It is a gift to everyone. This is the grace which initiates, is inherent within, and supports our very human existence. The expression of God’s creative love is the original grace that brings us into being, and not into an arbitrary or meaningless existence,…

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:16 Before this verse, John the Baptist is recorded as declaring that Jesus is much greater than himself (1:15). Now, John, the gospel writer, expands on the meaning of Jesus’ greatness, stating that we all receive from the fullness of Christ grace…

For many of us, the prospect of admitting our misdeeds stirs feelings of fear and shame. In this world we expect punishment and rejection for wrongs committed. We do not anticipate forgiveness and reconciliation if we confess sins, but instead retribution and being declared worthless. We are accustomed to conditional love. Our good standing, or…

We should talk incessantly about grace, and attribute everything good, helpful, restorative, and loving to God’s grace. But what exactly do we mean by grace? For many, it is synonymous with forgiveness, as if speaking of grace is restricted to discussing God’s removal of our sin. We do need grace to be forgiven, but we…