3 Tenses of GRACE!

CONTINUED:

GRACE: PRESENT TENSE

Grace SAVES – Verse 12 chimes in, “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. We need to be reminded us that grace gives us the power to overcome the invasive scream of sin, self, and the flesh. I was amazed at the firestorm over my warnings about “slasher/horror films” unleashed after my last E-votion.

Some commented that I was being unrealistic. “Come on,” they said, “movies are just a fantasy.”
Though I acknowledge that movies are not real, they take our emotions and wind them in a tight ball and beat on our heart with a stick.

Fear, whether real or imagined, has the same physical effect on the body and the same numbing impact on the soul. When we expose ourselves to fear for fun, we do not even realize that we are carelessly causing our tender heart to grow more and more callous and our conscience hardened by violence.

Here’s the thing. In North America, the media and entertainment business is on track to hit the one trillion dollar gross receipts by 2018 according to the US Department of Commerce. No one on the planet produces more media content than the USA. It is not created to inspire us to righteouness or to stimulate us to consider our actions, words, or deeds in the light of eternity. They will spend $20 million to get you to cheer for that man and woman who have an affair-because they really need each other. But God's Word instructs us "to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age." It's only by His grace.


GRACE: FUTURE TENSE

3 Tenses of GRACE! (FULL TEXT)

4  To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.
Titus 1:4 (NKJV)

I know the reach of this E-votion goes far beyond spiritual sons.Some of you are fathers (or mothers). Others are friends or co-workers, but all of you are powerful partners in miracles. We are reaching the world together. The apostle Paul, writing to a treasured friend, starts his letter with grace, in the middle shares the three tenses of grace, and finishes his letter with grace.

I have so many theories and opinions on how God should work, and more importantly, how I should act in light of His love. In the end, I find myself falling desperately short of doing my part in that relationship.  

I not only fail to meet scriptural expectations or the expectations of those around me--I can’t even measure up to my own expectations. That is where grace comes in. God’s grace is the working of His life within us.  That is the reason it is so important to understand the three tenses of grace that the apostle Paul shares.

Grace is more than mercy. It is more than justice. Consider this:
Someone steals a car from a neighbor and is caught.

Justice cries out,  “You must be punished, pay for the car and return it immediately. 
Mercy is the neighbor saying, “I forgive you, please give me my car back.”
Grace is the neighbor offering forgiveness and buying him a new car as a free gift!

GRACE: PAST TENSE

Grace SAVED. Verse 11 addresses the declaration -- past tense –“Grace has already appeared, bringing salvation to ALL.” No one is outside of the reach of His promise.  Grace is a promise--unmerited, unexpected, and undeserved. More than that, grace is expensive.” Jesus paid for my sin and failures with His sinless life and sacrificial death.

God came looking for me even when I was not looking for him. God found me even when I could not find him. God reached me, even when I could not reach him. Grace saved. Please, do not run or hide from God today. He has never run nor hidden from you. Like Adam in the garden His voice cries out, “--_______-- where are you?”

GRACE: PRESENT TENSE

Grace SAVES – Verse 12 chimes in, “instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age. We need to be reminded us that grace gives us the power to overcome the invasive scream of sin, self, and the flesh. I was amazed at the firestorm over my warnings about “slasher/horror films” unleashed after my last E-votion.

Some commented that I was being unrealistic. “Come on,” they said, “movies are just a fantasy.”
Though I acknowledge that movies are not real, they take our emotions and wind them in a tight ball and beat on our heart with a stick.

Fear, whether real or imagined, has the same physical effect on the body and the same numbing impact on the soul. When we expose ourselves to fear for fun, we do not even realize that we are carelessly causing our tender heart to grow more and more callous and our conscience hardened by violence.

Here’s the thing. In North America, the media and entertainment business is on track to hit the one trillion dollar gross receipts by 2018 according to the US Department of Commerce. No one on the planet produces more media content than the USA. It is not created to inspire us to righteouness or to stimulate us to consider our actions, words, or deeds in the light of eternity. They will spend $20 million to get you to cheer for that man and woman who have an affair-because they really need each other. But God's Word instructs us "to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age." It's only by His grace.


GRACE: FUTURE TENSE