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Grace, the noun: Unmerited favor
Grace(d), the adjective: living life with a supernatural enabling from the Holy Spirit
Grace, also noun: the smile on the Lord’s face when we step into His throne room

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Our only chance of survival is to approach the King’s throne!

Hebrews 10:11-12,14
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Hebrews 10:22
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

The scroll is not enough. You must stand in.

Because of Jesus, God’s reaction to you was determined before your actions against Him.

“‘Til sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet” -Thomas Watson

The journey you go on to approach the throne of grace is your redemption story


I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10

“God can’t get enough of us, that’s why He made us.” Curt Thompson

When He sees you, He sees the purity of Jesus

Walking with Jesus is simultaneously the most difficult and beautiful thing we will ever do

‘I will bring him near and he will come close to me—
for who is he who will devote himself
to be close to me?’ declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:21b

Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Psalm 84:10

Romans 5:1-5 (paraphrase) We have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into the grace in which we now STAND

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17 ESV

Run John run the law demands but gives me neither feet nor hand better news the gospel brings, it bids fly and gives me wings. John Bunyan

Divine Grace is distinctively Christian and only found in a relationship with Jesus!

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Grace is the unmerited favor and supernatural ability of God displayed in the life of the person who chooses to follow him.


But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (v.9 often taken out of context) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2: 4-10 ESV

Grace shouldn’t lead to passivity but passion.

Faith connects us to the Grace that empowers God’s will!

Grace isn’t a license for lazy, but the rather power and passion for God’s work and will.

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Romans 6:12-14 NLT

Grace provides freedom from sin not freedom to sin.

Grace covers sins penalty and breaks sins power, it isn’t permission to sin, but it is amazing provision for sin!

Ponder the achievement of God. God doesn’t condone our sin, nor does he compromise his standard. He doesn’t ignore our rebellion, nor does he relax his demands. Rather than dismiss our sin, he assumes our sin, and incredibly sentences himself. God is still holy. Sin is still sin. And we are redeemed. – Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:8-10 ESV

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3 ESV

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12 ESV

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. 2 Timothy 2:13 NLT

Faithfulness is the Jesus Way!

We can and should go all in on a relationship with Jesus!

This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 NLT

We can’t alter His faithfulness but we can miss on His friendship if we don’t choose relationship.

His Faithfulness empowers our Faithfulness.

Living in the truth of God's faithfulness, should empower us to be faithful Godly friends.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12a ESV

Because of His faithfulness we can faithfully follow Him and the plans He has for us.

Fearfulness is the enemy of Faithfulness while Faithlessness is simply its absence.

The True View is always through a faith Lens not a fear Lens.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 ESV

True faith faithfully stays the course despite fear or uncertainty.

Doing the right thing and the hard thing are often the same thing.

Faithfulness isn’t about always doing well, it’s about how you handle it when you’re not!

You get to decide whether past hurts and fears will hinder you from or propel into what God wills for you.

But as for me and my household we will serve the lord. Joshua 24:15

Acts 8:26-40

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the of the Ethiopians”. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

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1. Follow

2. Bless

3.  Serve

Jesus was bold but not brash, He was meek but not weak! - He is the Lion & the Lamb.

As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:3-11 NLT

The Jesus Way is the way of Courage and Compassion.

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. Ephesians 3:12 NLT

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16 NLT

When we really believe in who Jesus is we will courageously come to Him for help and healing!

"You cannot swim for new horizons, until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”
William Faulkner

Choosing to come boldly will empower the choice to live boldly!

Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 2 Corinthians 3:12

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 ESV

We’re called to be courageous Christians who live and communicate truth compassionately.

I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:1ESV

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should. Ephesians 6:19-20 NLT

The more fearful we are, the more desperately arrogant we will act.

When we’re fearful or insecure we can’t handle being wrong, and rarely rightly handle being right.

If someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. I Peter 3:14-15 NLT

The Jesus way of Courage and Compassion is what we called too and equipped for.

Jesus’s determination is seen in His living, His loving, and in His dedication to destiny.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus. Matthew 4:1-11 NLT

It is the radical determination of Jesus that is expressed in the love He shows for each of us.

No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded. John 10:18 NLT

Jesus wasn’t and isn’t concerned about optics or opinions but rather a calling and conviction.

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:14-15 ESV

But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. Daniel 1:8 NLT

At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. Daniel 1:15 NLT

What God’s got for us isn’t just good for us, in fact it’s great for us.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18 NLT

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Daniel 3:26-30 NLT

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here. Zechariah 3:7 ESV

If Christ wasn't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:17-22 MSG

The Resurrection is to Christianity what water is too wet.

Don’t miss on the relationship!

The passion of Jesus has always been personal and is revealed in His pursuit of every human heart!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17 ESV (John 7 and 19, 75#’s)

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. John 4:28:30 ESV

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:8-10 ESV

To live the life Jesus died to give us we must to die to the life that is trying to kill us.

Life after death should be a spiritual reality before it’s a physical reality!

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 ESV

I see the world Your way, And I’m not afraid to follow. I see the world Your way,
And I’m not ashamed to say so, I see the Jesus way, And I’m walking in the light

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 NLT

A first big step, into life the way Jesus lived, it is the step of sacrificial obedience!

Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels, a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to your name.” Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him. John 12:20-29 NLT

If Jesus had only done what was easy we would still be doomed.

Jesus was willing to do the hard work of wanting what God willed. #Consecration

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 NLT

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:12-13 NLT


Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:3-11 NLT