God’s Grace

What is grace? A common definition says it is the “unmerited favor of God toward man.” In other words, it is favor from God that we don’t deserve. Everything we have in this life is a blessing from God; something we don’t deserve.

When we look at Scripture, it is made clear what we deserve. Firstly, Romans 3:23 tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Secondly, Romans 6:23 says, “for the wages of sin is death…” We all deserve death for we all sin. That’s pretty bad news. But wait, there’s more! “…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Wow! God has a gift for us, absolutely free, all we have to do is accept it. We can have eternal life in Christ Jesus. When you “confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” (Romans 10:9) Is it as simple as that? It is! Repent (turn away from your sin) and believe Christ died and rose again three days later…to save YOU!

God chose me to be His child from before the foundation of the world, and I couldn’t be more thankful! Everything I have, everything I do, is because of God’s grace.

That being said, let me share just how He has blessed me in this life.

God’s Grace In My Church

The Lord has blessed us with a family of His children who encourage and exhort one another. Within this last year, Shaun and I have been graced to be part of two home churches. One in England (GraceLife London), which we departed from after nearly 2.5 years of attendance (5 years for Shaun) as we made our trek across the pond to be welcomed with open arms in our now home church (Grace Community Church of Long Beach). Both churches have had a tremendous role in our lives. From Shaun’s salvation to our marriage, these brothers and sisters have been by our side challenging us, praying for us, and encouraging us. It brings me to thank our Lord for His grace in even placing us in solid Bible teaching churches, knowing we can grow in excellence through the preaching of God’s word.

God’s Grace in My Husband

I can’t begin to express how thankful I am for God’s grace in giving me a husband…my husband! My dear Shaun has been such a positive instrument in my life. He challenges me and inspires me. Through our marriage, I have been more sanctified than before. Every day brings new adventures, new opportunities to grow and express godliness. When I fail (which is often), my husband isn’t there to laugh at my shortcomings, rather he encourages me to keep going and strive for excellence.

When I am overwhelmed with burdens of this world, he will do anything to take them from me; helping me in every way possible. He has a servant’s heart and is always on the lookout for areas he can help. All I can say to this is, it is only by God’s grace that I have such an amazingly incredible husband by my side while on this earth.

God’s Grace in My Family

One thing I often take for granted is my family. Time and time again I am reminded of the unique relationship we have in our family. Again, I can only put this down to the grace of God. Having parents who love us, who genuinely care for our well-being, who seek to raise us up in the righteousness of Christ. Even grandparents who do the same. I often hear of people who look at our family and express their desire to have the same relationship within their family. We’re not a perfect family, we have times when it’s difficult to be around each other, but in the end, we still love each other and desire for each member to grow closer in their walk with the Lord. Just like our church family, here we are surrounded by God’s children on a daily basis; encouraging, challenging, and praying for each other.

God’s Grace in My Work

Lastly, I wanted to express how I am thankful for my work. I know work is often looked upon as a chore and it commonly has negative feelings associated with it. It doesn’t matter what we do; it is by God’s grace we even have work. Work wherein we can glorify Him and express thankfulness for His provision. The Lord provides through our work the ability to survive on this earth. As Psalm 128:2 says, “You will surely eat what your hands have worked for. You will be happy, and it will go well for you.” The Lord gives grace even through our work. Let us be thankful for that!