Be The Grace That Jesus Gave You

January 9, 2021

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

~Colossians 4:6~

Paul was a man who was extremely humbled after the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Paul continued to represent the Lord and show his thankfulness to Him for the major turn around he received. Paul understood that it was by grace alone that allowed him to move along in this journey Jesus chose him for. We are talking about a man who was on the hunt for christians to kill them, now preaching the gospel and loving his fellow brothers and sisters. Paul was the true image of being "born again." He was truely a new man in the image of Christ.

"Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again." (John 3:7)

Jesus tells us we have to be born again to be made new and follow Him. As Paul was being molded into the image of Jesus each day, he showed that to those around him by his actions and his obedience. As he spoke to crowds of people and wrote epistles to his brothers and sisters he knew the importance of the tone in his voice. If you are trying to reach someone with the gospel that saved your life, why would you want to push it in a hostile way? Did Jesus force us to follow Him? No. Did Jesus preach the kingdom to His disciples in a manner that sounded rude? Absolutely not. We are called to imitate Christ, so we are to be gracious to others as He was gracious to us. As we walk in grace we grow further in Him; "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." (I Peter 2:1‭-‬3)

Paul mirrored the Lord's grace in such a way that he was able to bring so many men and women closer to Jesus in doing so. This should be our goal as well, as Paul tells us; "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."

(I Corinthians 11:1)

When we go out into the world as true believers in Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, (see Hebrews 12:2), we should present ourselves in an acceptable manner to gain people into the kingdom rather than deter them. The one who causes discourse, tension and accusation is satan. He constantly uses the gospel in a manner that makes unbelievers want to run from it rather then towards it. Let us not become a tool in satans game to take as many people with him as he can. He knows he lost and his time is short. His only way to feel useful is to take people away from their faith and keep those who never knew it from ever knowing it. Our job, as ambassadors of Christ, is to shine the light that is in us on the darkness we live around to help people see Jesus; "Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)

When we shine so brightly the darkness has no choice but to flee. This is our main goal, especially in times we are living in. No matter how much we disagree with someone we are to thrive to bring the opposite side to know Jesus, to rid the world of as much evil as we can with good; "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

(Romans 12:21)

This is why Stephen, as he was being stoned to death cried out to God asking for their forgiveness; "Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts 7:60)

If we look at who was present before his stoning, we can see that Paul was right there; "and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul." (Acts 7:58)

Paul, who was Saul, present at the death of Stephen was a part of the prayer asking for forgiveness. As we meditate on this, let's understand this could very well be why Paul was used in such a powerful way. The prayer of this righteous man, Stephen, availed much, Paul received amazing grace. He then spread that same grace wherever he went which he received from God to bring glory to the Lord's Name. This is now what we are called to do. When we do we make the demons cringe, just as Stephen did as he prayed for those who killed him. We make satan see that we are on the winning team, just as Jesus did as He hung on the cross crying out for God to forgive those who hung Him there; "Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots." (Luke 23:34)

The battle we fight is not with flesh. When we walk in the presence of God we can season our speech with salt as we truely listen for the Holy Spirit's guidance in what to say and when. He knows each person's heart and knows what each person needs to hear. The importance of our tone is everything. Let us shine our light onto those who are lost in the dark and allow them feel the same gift of grace that was given to us. If we begin to represent ourselves as judgey, bitter and hateful in anyway then the real truth is we are not truely walking with Jesus, we are merely speaking about Him and leaving it as just that, words. We are giving satan a way to work in our lives in doing so. So many folks need Jesus and they can not fully receive Him without His representatives willing to walk in the full grace of God, just as Paul did to the day of his death. We owe the Lord that patience, as He has it with all of us. Join me in fighting the enemy, rising up in love and knocking evil down with our bright light that is the Lord Jesus Christ!

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for the mercy You gave to Paul. Thank you for that same mercy You gave to me. Help me to always use my speech with grace so I can help rather then cause problems. Fill my Holy Spirit with the words I need to know for each person so I can show them the glory of the Lord. I declare that I will not be in agreement with satan and I will not be used by him but used by You. I shout praises to Your Name as I shine this light You have given me into this dark world. I pray more people are saved through it and that everything I do, I do in love. May the glory and honor be to You in all that I stand in. I pray more people turn to You and represent who You truely are, just as Paul did. I rejoice in Your love Jesus. It's in Your gracious Name that I pray. Amen.