“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

           Jesus died for you and me an agonizing death on a cross. He did this as a man. A man who was tempted by everything we are tempted by and more. He experienced every temptation that you and I have ever faced. But in those temptations, He never sinned. So in verse 16 of chapter 4 in the book of Hebrews, Jesus calls us to draw near to His throne of grace with confidence. Amazing, huh? With confidence? Because Jesus experienced human temptation, He stands ready at the “throne of grace” to give immediate and sympathetic aid when we are tempted to enter into sin.

            Grace is defined as “that which a person is not entitled to by law, but which is extended to him as favor.” However, grace is NOT your license to freely and purposely sin, but instead is the very act of Christ that FREES us from the bondage of sin. We deserve death. Jesus died for us. We deserve condemnation. Jesus bore that for us. We deserve to live in bondage. Jesus freed us from that.

            God has given us and continues to give us unending grace and mercy through the death of His only Son, Jesus Christ. We too are called to be like Christ, to take on His characteristics, to strive to be like Him. We cannot do this on our own, so He further gifted us with the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). Therefore, we are also called to give grace, just as it has so freely been given to us. (Let me quickly point out the difference between grace and mercy: grace is receiving a pardon we do not deserve; mercy is not receiving the punishment we deserve.)

                So now I ask you: do you extend grace to those people you are in daily contact with? Your husband? Your children? Your friends? Your enemies? We are called to do just that. Give grace to others and to extend that grace without limits. “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32. We often ‘run out’ of grace for others, particularly those we love the most, like our spouses and children. Does God ever ‘run out’ of grace for us? Never. Christ is continually interceding for us. We are called to be imitators of Christ, and that includes giving unending grace to one another. Practice giving others grace this week and experience the blessings that can be reaped from it.

              Heavenly Father, teach us what Your grace truly means. Help us to know deep in our hearts that You have fully extended Your grace to us through Jesus Christ, Your only Son. Then, Lord, teach us how to love one another in the same way You love us and have called us to love, extending grace to one another and forgiving others just as You have forgiven us. Thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit to guide us in giving that unending grace to those people You have blessed our lives with. Amen.

by: Jill Johnson

        A few days ago, as I was busily chipping away at my “to-do” list, my 5 year old son asked me, “Mom, would you rather sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him or be up cooking for Him?” He had obviously recently learned the story of Mary and Martha found in the New Testament and was churning over it in his mind. My son is prone to doing such things and then calls his mother out on the subject. I was, as usual, caught off-guard by his question and began to examine my heart.

            The story is found in Luke 10: “Now as they were traveling along, He [Jesus] entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’”

            I have heard this story a number of times and each time I have found myself in the position of Martha. Too busy to sit at the feet of Jesus and spend time with Him. Too busy to realize that my need is not in activity and completing a list of tasks, but in listening, learning and being in the presence of the One who most desires my time. Mary chose to sit at the feet of her Lord…the “one thing that is necessary.” More than anything else, Jesus longs for me to spend time with Him, nurturing my relationship with Him. He desires for me to desire Him, to desire time with Him. He doesn’t want me to spend time with Him because I think I need to or have to or because someone tells me I should. He doesn’t want me to be with Him in hopes that He’ll bless me with ‘stuff’. Jesus wants me to spend quality time at His feet because I love Him. He misses me and you when we stand Him up!

            Now lets take a quick look at Martha….was she wrong in wanting to serve Jesus and to please Him? Service is not wrong. Jesus called us to serve just as He served: “just at the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28. He just doesn’t want my service to replace my being with Him, knowing Him, growing in relationship with Him. First I must know Him and know His heart and as my life and heart begins to transform into His image, my life will naturally be filled with service to others. My service is supposed to be the direct result of the time I spend sitting at the feet of Jesus. So I am once again reminded: don’t forget “the good part”… sitting at the feet of Jesus.

            Jesus, we love You and desire You and pray that You will overwhelm our hearts with the desire to simply sit at Your feet. We ask Your forgiveness for standing You up when You long for nothing more than our time. We pray that You will show us who You are as we spend time in Your presence. Thank You for loving us so much that You want an intimate relationship with us. We pray Jesus, that our service to You and to others will be an outpouring of the time we have spent with You. We ask that You will show us the good part, Lord. Amen.

by:  Jill Johnson

          “But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” James 1:22-24.

        Striking words of scripture, aren’t they? James tells us that we are to be doers of the Word. If we hear Christ’s call on our lives and then ignore it and go about our days as we never heard His commands, we may as well have never listened in the first place. How does your relationship with Christ LOOK to your children? Do you talk about Jesus often and continue to live your life like YOU want to? Or do you model His life as closely as you possibly can? Does your child SEE you living out your life in Christ? Does he/she SEE you spending time daily in His presence? Reading His Word? Speaking to Jesus? Does your child SEE you pray? Daily? Or just when it is time to share a meal?

          All children learn to model behavior. Whether it is your behavior or someone else’s, they are watching, learning. If someone were to ask your child about their mommy’s relationship with Jesus, what would he/she say? Would they know what to say? Does your child know that you have your very own one-on-one time with Jesus? If our children do not SEE us living out, modeling, a personal relationship with Christ, how can we expect or even hope for them to one day have their very own personal relationship with Jesus? Your children must SEE you living a life that glorifies Christ so that they can seek the same. They must SEE you develop a personal, meaningful relationship with the One who desires us the most! They want to be just like you……who are you imitating? Who do they SEE you striving to be like?

Do we lecture our children about being kind and gentle and loving and then turn around and snap at our spouses? They are watching, learning. Do we speak kindly to strangers on the street or thank the person checking us out at the grocery store? Your children are watching, modeling.

Am I telling you to pretend like we are happy and carefree and perfect all the time? Absolutely not. That is not what we want our children to SEE either. We want them to SEE our love for Jesus, but also our authenticity. It must be real. If it is a lot of work for us to display this love to others, even our own children, then we must examine our hearts. If we love Jesus with all our hearts, mind, and souls, then doing what He commands of us will come somewhat naturally. If we are trying to be “good” and loving by our own nature, we will inevitably fail. It is Jesus IN YOU that will model what Jesus looks like. Are you a doer of the word? Or have you immediately forgotten what Jesus looks like in you? Your children are watching.

Our most loving and gracious Heavenly Father, we pray that You will teach us to be doers of Your Word. That our children would SEE us living a life worthy of Your calling. We pray that they would SEE us spending time with You, talking with You, loving You. And that Your love would overflow from our hearts into the lives of others, especially our children. May we grow to love You more everyday by spending time with You and growing in our knowledge of You. And may our children experience that same love and knowledge of You that You have so blessed us with. Use us as vessels of Your love that our children may SEE and know You. Amen.

by:  Jill Johnson