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Boldly Accepting God's Grace
Andrea Lende • April 19, 2021
Hebrews 4:16
Boldly Accepting God’s Grace
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Boldly-Accepting-Gods-Grace-ev7j0b
Hebrews 4:16
“Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”
Every word in our passage today teaches us powerful Kingdom truths.
Fearless, confident, and bold.
This is how we are to approach the Lord for His grace and favor.
I take note of the words that are missing from this passage.
Shame, rejection, and weakness.
The writer of Hebrews doesn’t use these words to describe how we should come to the Lord.
And they could have been used because he is writing about requesting mercy from the Lord for our shortcomings and failures.
When we fail, we feel badly.
When we sin, we feel badly.
It stands to reason we would approach God with shame and timidity when we have sinned and fallen short from His best.
Like most people, I don’t act my best when I feel my worst.
I think of my children when they were small and made mistakes.
They didn’t come to me with confidence and boldness to tell me they had done something wrong.
They avoided me or were sheepish in my presence.
This is typical of how most of us act when we make mistakes.
However, it is not how our passage tells us to be.
We are to “fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners).”
I love discovering a new truth in God’s Word.
If that isn’t enough the Amplified Bible further defines the word help as the “appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it.”
Ah, “just when we need it.”
God is gracious.
God is merciful.
Today I choose to go boldly to throne and ask for what I need because the Lord is gracious and merciful and is waiting to grant my requests.
May you find the Lord is gracious and merciful to you and will meet your every need.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for showing me I can come to you when I make mistakes and need Your help. Thank You for showing me I am to approach Your throne with boldness and confidence. Thank You for reminding me You fill every need exactly when I need it. Help me reach for You when I feel less than worthy, Lord. Help me come boldly to Your throne of grace even when shame seems greater than Your ability to forgive. You forgive all my mistakes and blunders. You forgive all my shortcomings and failures. Thank You, Father for Your patience. Thank You for Your undeserved grace and mercy. May I sit in Your presence this day and every day to be made whole by You. Help me be beautifully and wonderfully remade by You. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM waiting for you to come sit with Me so I can make you whole.
Response: Thank You for allowing me to be in Your presence, Almighty God and Father.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.