A Community of Grace »

“In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.”

These words, spoken by David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel and leader in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, should be the mantra of every Christ-follower. We have a wonder-working, miracle-performing God who desires to provide for His children through miraculous means. Sadly, many Christians experience little of God’s power and provision. We lack something vital for our Christian life:

“And He (Jesus) did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith” (Matthew 13:58). 

The people of Jesus’ hometown heard His divine wisdom. They witnessed the miraculous power that flowed from His lips and hands. Scripture says they were amazed. Yet though they had seen, they did not believe. When we are lacking in faith, we don’t experience God’s miraculous provision. Instead, we strive to fulfill our needs by self-directed efforts and strength.

Consider Abraham and Sarah. God promised them a son from whom He would form a great nation. After a time of great rejoicing came a time of waiting. Waiting opened the door to unbelief. When unbelief enters, self-effort begins. Sarah encouraged Abraham to father a child through her handmaiden Hagar. The negative consequences of this one act were profound, continuing to this day.

As Christ-followers, we are prone to act from a similar mindset, seeking to obey and follow God with flesh-driven wisdom and strength. When we fail to wait and receive God’s miraculous provision, like Hagar, we receive only ordinary provisions: “His son born by the slave woman (Hagar) was born in the ordinary way”(Galatians 4:23a). We are told to:

“Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son” (Galatians 4:30). 

Your inheritance in Christ is a life filled with the miraculous outworking of God’s power. The next time you’re tempted to act in your own wisdom and strength, consider stepping back, and in faith, look to see what miracle God will do.

Keys are a vital necessity in our culture, providing access to physical properties. Possession of a key indicates one’s right of access. They open doors to the comforts of home and ignite the engines of vehicles. Duplicate keys grant entry for multiple household members and business employees. The word “key” is often used as a metaphor. We speak of the key to success in a given skill, the key to effective relationships and even the key to someone’s heart. All of these metaphors deal with unlocking secrets for accomplishing or acquiring something desirable.

Jesus spoke of keys to the kingdom of heaven that He alone possesses and desires to share with His children. These keys represent the authority given to us in Christ to access the riches of heaven. The greatest key that unlocks our potential to live presently as holy citizens of God’s Kingdom is faith. This key grants us access into God’s immense storehouse of grace. Once opened, we can avail ourselves of all God possesses. His love, presence, power and infinite resources are everything that we need to live a godly life at all times.

Are you standing at the threshold of God’s great grace, but refusing to use the key of faith received when you trusted Christ as your Savior? This is as ludicrous as a beggar who has been given the keys to enter a castle, but refuses to access the free and perfect supplies available to him. We, as God’s children, often choose to live like that beggar. When we refuse to use our key of faith, we are locked out from experiencing the reality of God’s promises and His sustaining grace.

Come to Jesus. Set your heart on cultivating a deep and intimate knowledge of Him. Allow His words and Spirit to reign in you. Your key of obedient faith unlocks the mighty power of God’s Spirit and His Word, producing godly character in you. This is the secret to holy transformation. Your character will increasingly mirror your holy identity as God’s child.

“The righteous man shall live by his faith.’’

Galatians 3:11

War takes a terrible toll on a country and its people. When fought on home soil, the rebuilding process takes many years. For soldiers and citizens alike, the threats and circumstances imposed by war have lingering emotional and physical effects. As buildings and cities are rebuilt, so too, the people need healing and restoration.

Since sin entered the world, mankind has been at war. Our war against sin is filled with daily battles, and often, the carnage from defeat. Seeing the devastating effects, God provided the perfect means for our victory over sin. He’s also provided everything needed for our reconstruction. He sent Jesus:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

With these words, Jesus publicly proclaimed Himself to be the Messiah, the long-awaited Deliverer of God’s people. He came to release us from strongholds of sin, open our eyes to lies that blind us, heal our broken hearts and comfort us in our mourning, especially as we mourn over our own sin. Through the healing process, He turns the ash heaps in our lives into places of great beauty. As He transforms us, He invites us to join Him in rebuilding and restoring the lives of others:

“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated” (Isaiah 61:3b).

This is the work of the kingdom of God, and there’s only one way to enter into His kingdom:

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’” (Matthew 4:17).

Repentance is God’s way to deliver and restore His people. It’s the only means by which we are delivered from sin. Repentance is also the first step in joining God as He rebuilds and restores our lives, as well as the lives of those around us. What healing work do you long for God to accomplish in you? How do you long for God to use you in the lives of others? Seek Him by beginning with repentance.