Disciplined by Grace

Yes, I am back to hammering my favorite book, Discipline of Grace. Such an amazing read that I will have to read it every year, for sure, if not more often.

Here are some notes that I have:

God administers discipline in the realm of grace

• in love
• for our spiritual welfare
• never angry, though grieved
• no condemnation
• no counting sins
• on basis of unmerited favor
  

He uses the illustration of scissors as demonstrate the "put on, put off" that Paul talks about in Ephesians. Two blades are necessary because they work in conjunction with each other. A single bladed pair of scissors would simply be useless, just as putting something off without putting something in its' place is ineffective as well.

"We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone"

-As the unbelieving world becomes increasingly hostile to true Christianity, it will be even more eager to find inconsistencies in our lives so it can ridicule God and His Word.

This hits home because its so true. People will notice when we mess up way more often than when we do everything perfectly. Why not humbly accept responsibility for your behavior, knowing we all fall short, and give thanks to God that you don't have to sink into despair? Allen hit on this a little at church the other day about being an example to unbelievers because they already know we aren't perfect. Instead of taking responsibility for the inconsistencies in our lives, we pretend they don't know or we turn the other way and then they are given the opportunity to slander us and the God that we serve. Own up, ask for forgiveness and point them to the lovingkindness of our Savior.

Check out my hubby's latest sermons from our Malachi (Genuine) series:

Genuine