What does it mean to live a life that is full of God’s grace—a truly grace-full life? We’re looking at the ABCs of graceful living, and yesterday we saw A is abundant living. The abundance Jesus came to give us is abundant joy and peace, and that should overflow into abundant good works.

B- Bitterless

Grace-full living is living without bitterness. Consider this passage from Hebrews:

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Hebrews 12:15).

Allowing bitter roots to grow in your heart will cause you to miss the grace-full life. There are many bitter roots that can become ingrained in the garden of our hearts. Consider these:

The bitter root of rejection

It’s very easy to allow the pain of rejection to take root in your heart and bloom into bitterness.

The bitter root of unfulfilled dreams

Unfulfilled dreams create a fertile ground for bitter roots.

The bitter root of loss

What have you lost lately? Your job? Your pride? Has death robbed you of a loved one? Or divorce? Loss makes us vulnerable to bitterness.

This verse teaches us several things about bitter roots:

First, they grow. You can't hold onto one little bitter twig. It won't stay that size. It always grows.

Second, they cause trouble. Any little bitterness will cause you trouble. A great many of the emotional and mental breakdowns we see today have their beginnings in bitterness that was never dealt with.

Third, they defile many. Bitterness spills over to everyone around you. As parents we can transfer that bitter spirit to our children; as managers and employees we can transfer it to our co-workers. It is a poison that affects everyone it touches.

If you’re struggling with some bitterness today, I pray you will ask God to help you dig up those bitter roots so you can enjoy the grace-full life Jesus came to give you.

The song, Amazing Grace, is sung all over the world by people who have no understanding of its message of salvation through Jesus. But the idea of grace appeals to everyone.

What does it mean for you and me in our world today to live grace-full lives? What does that look like? I’d like to give you the ABCs of grace-full living. Here is “A”:

A- Abundant

Jesus said: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” Jesus wasn’t talking about being full of money, or earthly success, or freedom from problems. He was talking about a life that is grace-full!

In 2 Corinthians 9:8 we read: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. When the grace of God fills us, then it must flow out to others in the form of good works. What good works? The good works that you were created to do. Ephesians 2:10 says: We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Here are a few examples of how we dispense grace to others:

Someone is sick; you minister to their needs.

Someone is rejoicing over good news; you rejoice with them.

Someone has a broken heart. You cry with them, listen to them, console them.

Someone is wandering away from God. You confront them in love, admonish them, help them to come back into fellowship.

Someone is lost in sin, without Christ. You share the gospel in every way you can, lovingly planting seeds of truth in their life.

Someone needs financial help. You give out of love and concern.

You teach the Word of God in a small group; you organize prayer for your company; you begin a Bible study at work or at home; you invite others to hear the Word of God.

These are just a few ways that we overflow with grace to others, abounding in good works.

I can testify to you from personal experience that grace-full living is knowing God is using you in the lives of others. There is nothing more fulfilling than that.

I have to admit I am not a graceful person. In my first year of college, during Christmas break, my mother lined me up for private lessons with a woman who coached me on how to be graceful. Now, for my mother to spend money on such lessons was an indication of how much help I needed! I was not then—still am not to this day—graceful.

This woman tried hard to make me more graceful, but unfortunately, I am like a bull in a china shop. If it can be bumped into, I bump into it. If it is fragile, I break it. If it can be tripped over, I trip over it. I’ve come to the conclusion if you’re not naturally a graceful person, there’s just not a whole lot you can do about it.

I’m happy to report to you that though I may never be graceful, I can be grace-full—full of grace. That is not contingent on my agility or nimbleness or any physical attributes. It is, instead, contingent on my openness to the grace of God and my willingness to let it fill my life.

In writing of our Savior, John says,

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Jesus was full of grace. As believers in Jesus Christ, you and I are in the process of being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory. We are to be filled with his Spirit, and therefore, we have the incredible opportunity to be filled with grace. Like Jesus, we can be full of grace.

When asked what was the one thing about Christianity that sets it apart from all other religions, C. S. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.” No other religion offers God’s love and redemption coming to us free of charge, as a gift, no strings attached, no performance required, no standards to meet. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional. That’s because Christianity has the only qualified Savior, Jesus Christ.

This week I want to encourage you to become very intentional about becoming a woman—or a man—who is grace-full, full of God’s grace. It must become more than a cliché, more than words we say or songs we sing. God’s grace needs to permeate every corner of our being so that we are living examples of his grace.

Join Mary Lowman and Alisa Childers as they converse about how historic Christianity can stand up to all our doubts and criticism. Among other things, Alisa is the author of the best-selling book Another Gospel? In their conversation, they talk about her book, progressive Christianity, and how to strengthen our own faith in our ever-changing world. I know you’ll be encouraged and challenged, so please join us.

How can you start living in grace? First and foremost, you have to give up! Yes, give up:

Trying to earn God’s grace. You can’t! It’s a gift!

Trying to make up for your past. It’s behind you! God remembers it against you no more.

Trying to shift the blame—on your parents, on your siblings, on your mate, on your circumstances—whoever or whatever. Forgive whoever needs forgiving and let go of the bitterness and anger that is eating you alive.

Sitting on the sidelines. Whatever fear is immobilizing you, believe God’s grace is sufficient to enable you to do the good works he put you here to do.

Any known addiction in your life—anything that is keeping you in bondage.

Give up and then give in! Give in:

To God’s love for you. You are the one he loves. Nothing can separate you from his love. It’s unconditional—unlike any other love you’ve known.

To God’s plan for you. Believe he has good works for you to do and tell God you want to do them. Tell God you’re tired of everything always being about you, and you want your life to be all about God.

To God’s grace! Start immersing yourself in the grace of God. Search scripture about God’s grace and pray those scriptures into your life.

To the joy of your salvation. If you’re sure you have been born from above, ask God to restore your joy as you learn to bask in his grace.

To the abundant life Jesus died to give you. Stop settling for just getting by. Ask God to overflow your heart and mind with the truth of his grace to you, and then go for it.

I want to leave you with a picture of you covered with grace! Grace follows you everywhere! Grace fills your heart! Grace comes out of your mouth. Grace gets you through the tough times. You have met grace, and you are growing in the knowledge and understanding of grace:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen (2 Peter 3:18).

You’ve met Grace! Get to know her better and better every day. Pray Grace into your life. Rebuke the enemy who will try to dump guilt and anger and shame and bitterness on you. Say hello to Grace all through your day. Fix your mind on Jesus, the one who is full of grace.

If you have indeed become a child of God through God’s saving grace, then the next question is, are you living your life in the reality of God’s grace?

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

How much grace can abound toward you? All! How sufficient can you be? All! How many areas of your life can you have this all-sufficient grace? All! How many good works can you then do? An abundance! An abundance of what? Grace! For what? Every good work.

God pours out all grace on you so you can be sufficient in all the things he puts in your life and therefore you will do many good works—an abundance of good works. God put you here to do good works:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

You have to meet Grace before you do the good works. Otherwise, you will keep trying to do the good works on your own, to win God’s favor or feel good about yourself or check off the boxes so you can say, “Look, I did it.” God gives you grace upon grace—all grace, for everything, an abundance—and then you have the privilege and joy of doing the good works, being the person God created you to be, knowing the fulfillment is yours as a child of the king.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me (1 Corinthians 15:10).

You do the good works God intended you to do because you’ve met grace, and that grace was not in vain! You work hard to do the good works because God’s grace is with you.

Have you been missing some of God’s grace? Why? Can you put a finger on it? If so, what do you do to turn around and start living in grace?

If you are not truly aware of grace in your life minute by minute, day by day, maybe it’s because your experience of grace is warped.

For example, could it be:

Do you see grace through your relationship with your parents or other authority figures?

Maybe they set high expectations for you, and you never received their approval. Or perhaps you received very little attention; or one parent deserted you. As a result of one of more of these factors, your experience of “grace” fell very short of what it should have been.

Do you see grace through your past?

You think you don’t measure up; you’re not smart or gifted. You’ve messed up too much, failed God too often. As a result, you have lots of guilt. Perhaps you’ve become cynical, feeling hopeless about any possibility of things changing.

If you’ve been looking at grace through the wrong lens, one of these or some other one, God’s grace has probably always seemed distant for you or it’s a mystery to you. And this probably reveals itself in one of several ways:

You are always in performance mode, trying to secure God’s and others’ approval by being good, excelling in everything. Always trying to show yourself and others you’re okay, but it’s never enough.

You have given up trying to find the grace you need, so you just sit on the sidelines and admire others, all the time blaming yourself.

In fear of failure, you never step out on faith to do the good works God has called you to do.

You haven’t met grace yet—not totally, not completely.

You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (Galatians 5:4).

Grace is your ticket to heaven, and grace is sufficient for your every need on your journey there. But this is just the beginning.

We read:

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given (John 1:16).

Jesus is full of grace:

The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Is there a limit to his grace? None, never! And from his grace, you, as his child, have received grace upon grace. Unending grace. Immeasurable grace.

The question I want to put to you is: Are you living in the fullness of the grace of Jesus? Is God’s grace—amazing grace—a conscious part of your everyday life? Having been born again through grace, have you missed the abundant grace upon grace for your life? Or maybe, like me, you live in it some days and some days you don’t.

God is able and willing to give you grace upon grace. Grace to do every good work he has planned for you to do. Grace to endure whatever circumstances come your way. Grace to love like Jesus loves; to care like Jesus cares; to serve like Jesus served; to forgive like Jesus forgave. All grace is God’s gift to you. He is able to do that, provided you don’t miss it. Provided you don’t “fall short of his grace.”

See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many (Hebrews 12:15).

“See to it” says the writer to the Hebrews. Get to know grace better. See to it you don’t miss out on God’s abundant, amazing grace he gives to you—grace upon grace for every day and every situation in your life.

I want to introduce you to Grace. You may have met her before; I’m sure you have. But maybe you just haven’t gotten to know her too well yet. She is amazing grace. What makes her so amazing?

First and most importantly, grace is your ticket to heaven.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Your good works won’t get you there. The fact you’re better than lots of other people doesn’t count. If and when you place your trust in Jesus Christ, confess your sins, and believe in your heart he is the way—and the only way—to know God, then God gives you a ticket. It’s a one-way ticket that guarantees you will spend eternity with him in heaven, and that ticket is grace. You can’t buy this ticket; it’s free, and it’s the only way you can get there.

Secondly, grace is sufficient for every need you will have while on your way to Heaven.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The Apostle Paul is referring here to a “thorn in his flesh,” he called it. Three times he prayed for God to take it away—make his life easier, make him more effective in serving Jesus. Take away this thorn, Lord! It seemed like the obvious solution to his problem.

Instead, God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you.” My grace is all you need. My power comes through perfectly in your weakness.

What have you prayed for God to fix—to make right, to solve—and he hasn’t done it yet? Maybe he will—in his own timing—or maybe not. But this much I can guarantee you, if you are born from above through faith in Jesus Christ, God’s amazing grace will be enough for you. God’s power will come through in ways you can’t even imagine.

When you admit you are weak and helpless, grace comes through.

Presented by Lisa Bishop

As we get started in talking about grace, I want to take you back to a hot summer day in the mid-80’s as I was entering my mid-teen years. I still get flashbacks from my spiral permed hair that blew away all height restrictions with the backcombing and amount of Aqua Net hairspray I used, but I digress. On this particular summer day, I was in the driveway of my childhood home, excited to wash my dad’s 1979 Oldsmobile. Now I know that may sound weird, actually enjoying washing a car, but for a little bit of backstory, my dad loved cars. Growing up, I would see him take meticulous care of them by washing and waxing them on a pretty regular basis. A clean car made my dad really happy. So, I was eager to get out my bucket of soapy water and pull out the long green garden hose to make the boxy, brown, five-seater, top-of-the-line car shine.

I didn’t have my driver’s license yet and had never driven, let alone been behind the wheel of a car. So, my dad pulled the car out of the garage and parked it in the driveway for me to wash while he did some gardening in the backyard.

There I was, lathering up my dad’s Oldsmobile, rinsing it off, and using old bath towels to dry it until it glimmered. I was so proud and even happier to know this was something that would mean a lot to my dad. To impress my dad a bit more, I thought it would be cool if I not only washed the car, but I parked it all by myself in the garage. Now mind you, on the other side of the garage was my dad’s prized possession, a 1969 Firebird convertible. Gold, with a white top, in mint condition, and perfectly polished. You can see where this story is heading.

I got behind the wheel of this brown boat of a car, aiming to park it in the garage when instead, I nervously drove it into the left side of the garage door. In a panic, my foot hit the gas, and I swerved to the right. I had managed not only to dent the right side of the car, but also to side swipe my dad’s precious convertible.

I know you are probably wondering, “What were you thinking?” Well evidently, I was not thinking clearly. At that point, I was completely freaked out and scared to death to tell my dad what had happened. I was worried he would be really mad at me.

In my hysteria, I found my mom. When—in the midst of hyperventilating—I told her what had happened, she said, “Don’t worry! Everything will be just fine.” And we proceeded to walk to the backyard together to tell my dad. When I told him what happened I will never forget what he said. “I love you, Lisa. It’s just a car. We can get it fixed. You are more important to me than a car.” In that moment I expected to get what I deserved—a tongue lashing for my carelessness and a life sentence to my bedroom. But that’s not what I received at all. Instead, I was the recipient of something powerful. The powerful and impactful gift of grace.

The grace my dad extended to me that day did something to my mind and heart that forever left an impression. It taught me, amongst many things, to value people over possessions. My dad’s selfless act was based on his character. He saw how fearful and upset I was, and he chose to respond with mercy and kindness rather than erupt and be rash with his words. When he could have punished me, instead he lavished me with love.

The concept of grace can be hard to grasp but it was made tangible on that hot summer day in 1984.

Ephesians 1:3-8 tells us about the grace that has been given to us in Christ.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood,