Mark of Human Being

A few years ago, Odon gave us a message about birth marks.  Today I am summarising that message and including my own examples.

God gives us a mark (like a birth mark) and those marks define us and are signs of our natural abilities.  Some people can do 3 things at once while others must think 9x before doing just one thing.  Some people fear exams and others just joke with exams.  These are physical marks but there are also spiritual marks which are more important than physical marks. 

For example, I watched Will Smith hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars and I was shocked.  This made me feel sick.  Then the award ceremony continued and then he won the award and to make things worse, Will Smith justified his actions.  I know he has since apologized but at the time, it was incredibly shocking and there didn’t seem to be any consequences for hitting someone.  I thought, if Chris Rock had been a woman, how differently it would have been handled.  I wondered, is Will Smith always this angry?  Is Will Smith mentally ok?  Is this who Will Smith really is?  Will Smith has natural abilities (marks) of acting, singing, dancing and comedy.  What are his spiritual marks?  Which then made me ask myself, what are my spiritual marks?  Am I any better than Will Smith?  Just because I don’t physically hit people, does it make it any better when I talk about others behind their back or when I feel angry or impatient in my heart against people?

The soul of Abel complained to God.  God gave a sign for a dead body.  Although our bodies die, life continues.  God asked Cain, “Why did you kill your brother?”.  God put a sign on Cain so no one would kill him.  In Genesis 4:15, it says, “But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him”. 

 

Sometimes God comes to us as sinners and He realizes that if He thinks about those sins, He will kills us or others will kills us so He puts a sign on us.  It’s called grace.  That mark of grace is more important than anything, more important than my life.  We don’t deserve grace but it is given to us.  It is priceless and can’t be exchanged.

 

The first mark of being a human being is seen in Cain where he didn’t use the mark of grace properly.  Cain didn’t say sorry.  Like us today, when we are wrong, we don’t say sorry, we struggle with humility.  This was the same with Will Smith, at first he struggled with humility (we’ve all been there) but later he apologized in a written statement.  It doesn’t justify what Will did and he is still accountable for his actions but that’s how grace works.  God still holds us accountable when we sin (we reap what we sow), but grace means that we are saved from the wages of sin which is death.

Moses was also given a mark.  When Moses came down from the mountain after meeting with God, his face was shining.   Moses covered his face so people could look at him.  When you were born again, the love you have for God shines through you.  After a while Moses’ shining face disappeared and that is the same with Christians.  We first shine brightly but after a few years, we lose our love for Christ.  Does Jesus still shine in my heart?  Does He still shine in your heart?

People knew Jesus was from God because of the miracles.  How do people know if you are from God?  What is the difference between you and fake Christians?  Your fruits, the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and faithfulness.  If Will Smith had just one of these fruits, he would not have reacted the way he did.  I’m not judging Will Smith because I’m definitely not any better (I don’t hit people or yell at them but I can lack self-control when it comes to my thoughts or kindness when it comes to gossip or peace & gentleness when I’m feeling stressed). 

 

Nicodemus asked God how to be born again and God humbled him by reminding him that at his level, he should know.  Humility is a good sign and we must all keep it.  It’s pride that makes us act badly.  Will Smith was offended by the joke and anger rose up and he lashed out.  Stay humble, keep the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  These are the marks of Jesus in us.  The signs that we belong to God.

In Luke 15 we read about the prodigal son.  His sign/mark was money.  This kept him from being with his father.  What keeps us from our Father?  Money, family, job? 

Envy has a distinctive mark.  What is your spiritual birth mark?  Is it your actions, your praying, your gifts?  Whoever has the seal of the Holy Spirit can’t remove that seal.  Why did God save me, why did God give me grace while others deserve more than me?  God is making us to be members of His family.  God wants us to take a role in His family.  We must first know who our Father is and what He likes and doesn’t like.  We have been invited into God’s family and we must spend time with our family.

Questions to ask ourselves

• 1.     Does God have room in my life?
• 2.     How shall I make God happy? Do I give God the first place in my family?
• 3.     How is my conversation with members of God’s family?
• 4.     What’s the sign/mark on me?  Does it prove that I belong to God? 
• 5.     Remember your first love, when you first become a Christian.  What did you tell God?  That is your birth mark.

In summary, the mark of God on us is grace.  Grace can’t be bought, can’t be exchanged and can’t be deserved.  If I have grace then I need to remember that I have grace despite what I have done (not because of what I have done).  I can’t judge others and think they don’t deserve grace but instead give them God’s grace.  I must be grateful everyday for God’s grace and use the gifts and talents God has given me for His glory.  I must also share God’s grace with others and bring them into God’s family also.

Let Your Speech Always be with Grace Seasoned with Salt

 

Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be with grace seasoned with salt”

 “Speech”

Every time we talk we have always to be mindful.  Every word we say is heard by others who will judge us and then judge God.  If our words are kind then others will believe God is kind.  If our words are complaints or negative, people will believe God is negative.  If our words are angry, people will believe God is angry.  If our words are mean, people will think God is mean and not only will they run away from us but also run from His church and God Himself.

 “Always”

Always, always, always speak with grace.

 “Grace”

Can you give examples of speaking with grace?  For example, someone wrongs you and you say, “I forgive you”.  When I’ve been on the phone for 2 hours with Spark and they don’t help me, how do I speak with grace?  When your children, husband or work mates annoy you, how do you speak with grace?

 Mathew 12:34-37 reminds us that what is inside us will come out.  If we have a heart of grace, then gracious words will come out.  If we have peace, then peaceful words will come out.  If we have joy, then joyous words will come out.  If we have anger, then angry words will come out.  If we have bitterness, then bitter words will come out.  Unforgiveness will always show its ugly head.  Patience gives kind words.  Love produces loving words.  Hatred produces hateful words. Impatience produces mean words.  A negative attitude produces negative words while a positive attitude produces positive words.  Being stressed can lead to regretful words being said.

 One time when I was working in the laboratory, it was very busy and a girl in the team destroyed hours of work by not fastening the lid of the centrifuge.  She looked at me and waited to be told off but I said, “It’s ok”.  I had peace so I had the ability to speak with peace which meant my speech was seasoned with grace.  Because God is in my heart and He is peace, I knew that if I spoke badly, she would never discover God in me and could be put off forever.  We must remember that our words have consequences, they can either produce life or produce death.

 “Seasoned with Salt”

Salt is tasty but only as a seasoning (you can’t eat salt by itself).  We must season our words so people will listen to them, eat them, take them inside their heart and through those words be changed. 

 Food is good for us and doesn’t need salt to be good for us but salt makes it palatable.  For example, when giving advice to someone, we have to find ways that are palatable so they will take the advice.  Rather than pointing fingers take time and help the person slowly slowly.  Don’t throw a bucket of salt over them.  If we put too much salt, the food is inedible.

 For example, I knew someone who would greet people (non-Christians alike) with “Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”.  People would run away from him thinking he was crazy.  Start slowly and season your words.  For example, if someone is complaining, instead of saying, “Stop complaining” we could find the right time to talk to the person and can even say something like, “I keep complaining, I am wondering your thoughts on how I could stop”.  This might open them up to realise they also complain and together you could suggest to keep each other accountable.

 James 1:19 “Be quick to listen, slow to speak”.  

Communion - Riches of God's grace

"We have been bought through his blood,

the forgiveness of our trepasses

with the riches of God's grace"

Ephesians 1:6

This word “riches” in our world is measured in terms of monetary value.  Gold is considered riches because it’s worth a lot of money.  Food is like gold at the moment because it’s so expensive.  I went to the supermarket during the week and was shocked at what little amount of money can buy these days.  Everything is about 50% more expensive than a couple of years ago.  I used to buy lamb chops for $10 a packet and now it costs $15 a packet.  It’s only five dollars more but it adds up so that a $200 grocery bill is now $300.  That’s a whole $100 that we have to find while our wages haven’t gone up.

Then there is rent.  There are a lot of people who have had to endure rent increases every six months so that after two years, they now pay $200 more than what they used to, without a pay increase.  So each week we are paying $300 more for groceries and rent than just a couple of years ago.  To go to the doctor is more expensive, to get a Warrant of Fitness.  It’s all very depressing. 

On the positive side, registrations for cars came down.  That is a real bonus and now I can afford to register my car for six months at a time instead of three months (or one month when I was really poor).  This time of year lettuces are cheaper and I really love lettuce so this is great for me. 

The value of the New Zealand dollar compared to the American dollar can affect us quite a bit.  If the NZ dollar is a lot less than the $US then our exporters are happy because Americans will buy NZ products.  If the $NZ is closer to the $US then our importers are happy because us kiwis won’t have to pay so much for American products.

So in the world, what we consider riches goes up and down in value. But what God’s riches is His grace that never changes.  This is very comforting, to know that God’s riches are constant and always holds its value and is always true.  Jesus is our constant eternal value and while earthly riches may bring us bad news, Christ’s riches (grace) always brings good news.

The good news is that Jesus died for us.  Jesus paid the price for our sin and that price is constant, it doesn’t go up or down.  Jesus paid the price with his blood and with his body.  God the father accepted to pay the price for our sin with his own son.  Would you accept to let your child die to save someone who was a convicted murderer?  I wouldn’t.  Yet, God looked at me and said, “You are a murderer because you have hated people that I love, you are sentenced to death.  My only son will die in your place”.  What kind of judge would say that?  Only our God!

Then we sit at the right hand of the Father.  That means the Father is on our left.  Most women hold their babies on the left side.  Scientists believe that this is because when the child is held on the left of a person, that triggers the right side of the brain to work which is the side of the brain that helps us to listen and understand people.  So when the child is on the left side of the mother, she is able to listen and understand her baby. 

I don’t know God’s reason for putting us on his right (except that is a place of honour) but I want us to remember that now that we are His children, we have to be listening to God and understanding what He expects from us.  One expectation is to meet together and take communion so congratulations to all of us here this morning, we listened to God this morning and we obeyed His voice.  Well done to all of us because it’s not always easy.  Let’s keep listening to God’s voice and obeying Him.

It is also important to remember that God’s grace has an expiry date.  When Christ comes back, there will be no more grace.  If you know you are not living in accordance with God’s grace, then now is the time to ask God for forgiveness.  It’s important not to take the bread and juice if you are in sin.  Please make yourself right before God before taking it.  Making yourself right not only means to say sorry to God but also to make a decision not to go back to that sin anymore.

This morning as the bread and juice is passed around, let’s take time to search our hearts and ask for forgiveness where we have fallen short of God’s grace.  Then let’s remember Jesus and all that He has done for us.  Let’s remember His grace that is constant and true.  His grace which brings us good news of our salvation.  Let’s remember that God sent His only son to pay the price for our sin.  Jesus paid for us to be able to enter the Kingdom of God by dying.  This price is so much more valuable that money or earthly riches.  God Himself paid the price.  What could be more valuable than God Himself?

By Hayley Boud

God's Grace is Sufficient

By Hayley Boud

2 Corinthians 12:9 (New International Version)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (King James Version)
9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.


This is a very encouraging verse. It can encourage us to pray, encourage us to live, encourage us to work, encourage us to persevere....

In the previous verses it says (verse 7-8) that because Paul was given great revelations from God, God allowed him to be attacked by satan in order to keep him from exalting himself. He says he was given a thorn in his flesh (a messenger from satan) and it must have been difficult for Paul because he entreated God three times that it might depart from him. Entreat is a strong word, it means you are begging and you insist and you are very serious which means that you really, really need to find an answer. Have you ever felt that in your life? Have you ever been in a position where you are begging God to answer you and to intervene. If you have.....God answers you with.....

"My grace is sufficient"

Sometimes that is not easy to hear because we will prefer God to change the situation but God wants us to know that His grace is enough and His grace is all that we need. Even if God doesn’t change the situation, His grace is sufficient for us.

So what is grace? Last time I talked about grace, so who can give a quick summary of grace?

“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves but a gift from God. Not as a result of works lest any should boast for we are created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”Eph 2:8-10


Grace as defined by the dictionary is the love and kindness God gives to people. Grace is something we get without deserving it. We don’t deserve God’s love and kindness but because of Grace we receive it. We have to remember this in our lives also. We have to remember that although not every person deserves our love, not every person is kind to us or easy to live with but we must continue to show them love and kindness no matter what and they might come to know God’s grace through our lives.
According to some theologians, God’s grace is “the will of God being fulfilled in our lives”

This means that God has a plan for us. His grace is when that plan or that intention that He has for us is being achieved.

So if I’m sick...it’s God’s grace because through that sickness His plan for me to become more compassionate, to be able to spend more time with Him, to be able to have more time meditating on the Word of God when I take my rests and more time to pray or think of others. Being sick has made me care more about others when I see them sick or with problems which has made me pray more sincerely. This is God’s will for my life...to become a new and better person and so His will is being fulfilled through the sickness which means it’s God’s grace that I have been sick.

Whatever situation I am in....I can praise God and know it’s because of His grace. Also, we can always remember that God’s grace is there for us because we have eyes that see, ears that hear, hands and legs and we are not living on the street eating out of rubbish cans.

So...if you are facing a difficulty...just remember it’s God’s grace because through that He is teaching you something and moulding you into a better person. If you have more than others...just remember it is God’s grace and not because you are better than others. If you have less than others...remember the things you do have and praise God for that (focus more on what you do have) and remember that God’s grace means He will bless you at the right time and He knows what will be a good blessing for your soul. God cares more about your soul than your body because your soul will last for eternity. So He will do everything He can to protect your soul.

Paul is the perfect example of this because God is allowing satan to attack him because God knows if Paul is not given this “thorn in the flesh”, Paul will exalt himself and God doesn’t want Paul to become proud, he wants Paul to remain humble. God is thinking about Paul’s soul above everything else.

So remember God has a plan for your life and everything that He does is done for the good of your soul.

“My grace is sufficient”

Remember that the only one that can help us in any situation is God. It’s His grace that will be sufficient for us. We can’t turn to anyone else but God. We can see professionals in this world (e.g doctors) and God can definitely work through them but we have to remember that God is the first one we must turn to because without God, the professionals won’t be able to help us.

“My grace is sufficient”

God’s grace is enough. God’s grace is all we need. We don’t need more than that. Whatever temptation I am facing, God’s power is enough to get me out - if I believe it. Whatever problem or difficulty I am facing, God’s grace is enough.

“For My power is made perfect in weakness”

Think about physical power for a few minutes. Think about electricity and its importance. What does electricity do? How hard is it when the power goes off? Just recently the power went off down our street and all our neighbours came out onto the street and for the first time we had a meeting of all the neighbours. Every person was affected by the power.... no T.V, no lights, no cooking, no hot water...it was very hard for every person.

We take power for granted but once it is turned off, we understand how much we need it. We forget that we need power for hot water, for cooking, for the alarm system, for lights to see and once the power is off, we feel scared.

This can teach us about spiritual power from God. We usually take God’s power for granted. We forget that God is holding everything together. Everything would fall apart if God turned His power off . We forget that we need God for our spiritual hot water...He heats up the Word of God and makes it alive for us so we can understand it and be transformed through it. He cooks the Word of God for us. If we were to eat it without the power of the Holy Spirit it would be like trying to eat raw meat (tough, and indigestible) but with God’s power we can eat the Word of God spiritually and be strengthened spiritually by it. He is our alarm system warning us of sin and satan. He is our light, revealing the truth to us and showing us what’s in front of us so we don’t stumble and fall. If God were to remove just a small portion of His power from our lives... we would feel it and it would be scary.

We need God’s power in every aspect of our lives...we need God’s power to help us to understand the Bible, to help us to pray, to help us to share the gospel, to protect us and support us.

“For My power is perfected in weakness”

According to the Greek dictionary, “perfected” means to be “accomplished, completed, finished or fulfilled”.

God’s power is accomplished through us only when we are weak. For example, when I am rostered on to be the worship leader, I always have a physical problem that gets in the way. Usually it is allergies so my nose is blocked and my throat is full of mucus which makes it difficult to sing in tune. Last year in October, I was rostered on to be the worship leader but five days before the service, I cut my lip so badly I had to have stitches both on the inside and the outside of my lip. This was a challenge – how will I sing with a swollen lip that’s stitched together?

Because it was a challenge, I was forced to admit, “I can’t sing without your help God”. This is the same with my allergies. If I didn’t have allergies I might not recognise that I need God’s power. It’s only through realizing how weak I am and I need God’s power that God’s power can be accomplished through me. When we acknowledge we are weak....God’s power can accomplish His will for us (grace = God’s will being fulfilled in our lives).

“For My power is perfected in weakness”

God allows us to have weaknesses because these are what draw us near to Him. These are what make us humble (Paul) and God needs humility. He is opposed to the proud and if He opposes the proud, how can He work with the proud. If you want to work with God, you need to be humble.

Sometimes our weaknesses are physical for example sickness. These weaknesses help us because they remind us of our need for God. These weaknesses are also accompanied with God’s grace which is enough to get us through. Through these weaknesses God’s grace is displayed. For example, there was a boy a few years ago on the news who had a serious accident and lost both hands and both feet. While in hospital, he told the news reporters, “I’m praising God because I’m still alive....I could have died.” This is God’s grace on display....on the news! But if there is no grace, then God can’t be glorified. If there is no weakness then there is no need for God’s grace and then God won’t get the glory He likes and deserves. So weakness is necessary.

For example, when I was able to lead the worship just five days after getting stitches in my lip, God’s grace and glory is seen. And I can’t take the glory for myself, I can’t say it’s because I’m such a good singer or because I was so well prepared because I was too affected by the swollen lip to be a good singer or be well prepared. The only person who could be given the glory is God.

Weakness is the vehicle for power. No one is too weak but many are too strong. When we are weak, we are more useful because that is when God can use us efficiently. When we are strong, God might sometimes have to fight with us to get us to go in the right direction and He might have to fight with us for the glory.

There is also spiritual weakness such as spiritual laziness, spiritual tiredness, lack of self-control or joy or love....when we are weak spiritually we have to cry out to God to strengthen us spiritually and this helps us to be humble. If you are not spiritually weak in any area then you are the loser because God’s power is accomplished through weakness therefore it’s better to look for that weakness, admit it and then God’s power may dwell or live in you. But if you want to pretend you are strong spiritually then you will not access God’s power. If you want to be proud, then you won’t receive God’s power.

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me”.

According to the Greek dictionary the “power” that is mentioned in this verse is “marvellous works, glorious works, great ability, authority”. When you admit you are weak and admit your need for God and you accept that you are nothing without God’s help....then God’s glorious and marvellous works and abilities and authority will dwell in you.”

God's Grace

By Hayley Boud

“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, not of yourselves but a gift from God. Not as a result of works lest any should boast for we are created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”Eph 2:8-10
Grace
Grace as defined by the dictionary is the love and kindness God gives to people.

Grace is something we get without deserving it. We all make mistakes and at times we can mess things up but God is always without mistake and always holy. Because he is so pure and without sin and because we sin often....we don’t deserve to get anything from God at all. We don’t do anything that is more amazing than what God can do and therefore we don’t do anything that deserves His love, we don’t do anything that deserves His forgiveness or His presence or His help. We don’t do anything special and we make the same mistakes time and time again and yet He still loves us and forgives us and perseveres with us.

If my friend makes the same mistake day after day...I get tired. After a while I will decide not to be her friend anymore. But God never gives up on us and this is God’s grace. The fact that He loves us while we don’t deserve it and continues to love us.

According to the Greek dictionary the meaning of grace is a favour done without expectation of return. God loves us and He doesn’t have a motive behind it.

God doesn’t love us so He can gain something but He loves us simply because of His grace. I might be your friend so I can use your swimming pool (for example) but for God, He is our friend because He loves us and this is grace because He doesn’t expect anything in return. Even if I don’t love God back...He will still love me.

We can show other’s this same kind of grace also in our behaviour. We can show others that we love them even when they don’t deserve it. We can forgive them when they aren’t sorry. We can give them our time, our prayers, our money, our support etc to people who may not appreciate it, or don’t understand our effort, or don’t love us back, or don’t say thank you or give us the encouragement that we need. We can give our love through our actions to others even when they may not have the means to repay us. We can our love give to others through our actions even when they don’t have anything of interest for us.

We can continue to love others even when they make the same mistakes time and time again. We can continue to forgive them and forget even when they continue to hurt us or disappoint us. We can continue to show kindness even when they are rude to us. We do this because this is grace and we were saved through this kind of grace. When we show grace to others...there is an opportunity for them to be saved. When they see that we continue to love them, respect them, keep peace with them...when they see this love... they will see God’s grace in us and this will save their souls.

The best and easiest way to love someone continually is to love their soul. We have to look past the outward and look deeper.

According to some theologians, God’s grace is “the will of God being fulfilled in our lives”

This means that God has a plan for us. His grace is when that plan or that intention that He has for us is being achieved.

So if I’m sick...it’s God’s grace because through that sickness His plan for me to become more compassionate, to be able to spend more time with Him, to be able to have more time meditating on the Word of God when I take my rests and more time to pray or think of others. Being sick has made me care more about others when I see them sick or with problems which has made me pray more sincerely. This is God’s will for my life...to become a new and better person and so His will is being fulfilled through the sickness which means it’s God’s grace that I have been sick.

Whatever situation I am in....I can praise God and know it’s because of His grace. Also, we can always remember that God’s grace is there for us because we have eyes that see, ears that hear, hands and legs and we are not living on the street eating out of rubbish cans.

So whatever we do have, we have to thank God for that and remember that it is only by God’s grace. If I have something that other’s don’t, I don’t have to think it’s because I’m so clever, or because I work harder or I’m stronger....it’s only because of God’s grace.

Some people are extremely clever but they can’t find a job. Some are extremely beautiful but can’t find a husband. Some are very hard workers but can’t find enough money. Some are untalented and yet they become rich and famous. Sometimes we can see people who are not very intelligent and yet they have very good jobs. So it’s only by God’s grace if you have something and it’s very important to remember that so we don’t judge others, so we don’t lift ourselves up.

It’s also important to remember that so we don’t get discouraged. If I don’t have what I need, or if I see other people with things that I don’t have....it’s God’s grace because He knows better our needs than we do. If I believe being rich will make me happy – God knows better than me, if that is true or not. He also knows the right time to bless us. He cares more about our souls than our physical bodies because the soul is eternal and He cares more about what will make us grow and become better people.

So...if you are facing a difficulty...just remember it’s God’s grace because through that He is teaching you something and moulding you into a better person. If you have more than others...just remember it is God’s grace and not because you are better than others. If you have less than others...remember the things you do have and praise God for that (focus more on what you do have) and remember that God’s grace means He will bless you at the right time and He knows what will be a good blessing for your soul.

Remember God has a plan for your life and everything that He does is done for the good of your soul.

Saved
According to the dictionary it means to help somebody to avoid harm. To make it possible for someone to avoid danger, injury etc. So when God is telling us that it is by God’s grace we are saved...we have to understand that He is helping us to avoid a danger or avoid some kind of injury or harm. So what is this danger?

According to the Greek dictionary, the Greek Word for “save” is Sõzõ, which means salvation in regard to:

1. Physical Salvation.

Being saved from a temporary danger or physical suffering

E.g. when the disciples were on the boat and they thought they were going to drown and they yelled out, “save us Lord”. Mat 8:25. It can relate to sickness, financial struggles, relationship problems; any problem that needs a solution. When we cry out to God and ask Him to save us from that situation.

2. Spiritual Salvation

Being saved from an eternal danger and spiritual suffering.

Praise God because we have been saved from hell. That is eternal suffering and it is only by God’s grace that we have been saved from such a danger.

This should make us feel extremely happy for our own soul but it should also make us feel extremely afraid for our friends and family who are still in danger. We have the chance to help others to avoid danger. We must make the effort. When I walk, sometimes I see glass on the footpath and because I’m afraid a child will stand on it, I pick up the glass and I put it in the bin because I care about the child’s physical well being. How much more should I care about people’s spiritual well being?

3. Sin

By God’s grace we can overcome our sin. We can be delivered from temptation. God’s grace is more powerful than satan.

When we are tempted to become angry, or to gossip, or talk rudely or whatever our temptation is...we can remember that God’s grace is enough:

According to 1 Cor 10:13 no temptation has overtaken you that is different to what other’s are tempted by and God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with that temptation He will provide a way of escape so that you may be able to endure it.

Whatever temptation we are facing, we have to remember that God has promised to make a way out so all we have to do is look for the way out and take that direction. If my temptation is smoking then I have to look for the way that God has given me to escape the temptation. It might be praying, it might be going for a walk, it might be talking to someone.

If my temptation is to get angry, I have to look for the escape God has provided. It might be holding my tongue, it might be walking away, it might be praying, it might be going for a walk, it might be breathing techniques.

Whatever my temptation is, I have to look for the escape God has provided and take it. This is how God is saving us on a daily basis by helping us to avoid danger (avoid sin).