A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Thursday,
September 13, 2018
"Let us then fearlessly, confidently, and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to sinners)".
Daily
prayer: Father,
it is often a challenge to focus
our attention on the Throne of
Grace when we are surrounded by
earthly thrones and man-made
solutions for those things that
trouble us. But You want us to
look to You in time of need and
fully believe that You will supply
our need right on time and in
proportion to that which is best
for us. We cannot stockpile grace
so we eagerly approach Your throne
with confidence, knowing that we
will receive mercy and find grace
to help us in our time of need. We
thank You for it! Amen.
We
enjoy driving by the Mascot Roller Mill property on
Stumptown Road in rural Lancaster County.
(Click
to enlarge)
"Stockpiling
Grace"
Message
summary: Keeping
our focus on the Throne Of Grace remains
a difficult task for many of us. We want
to stockpile grace. "Lord, help us to
keep approaching your throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help us in our
time of need."
Listen
to
our message on your audio player.
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
Many
years ago Jim Gambini, our pastor
at the time, shared a memorable
point concerning God's grace when
he was preaching on the subject of
worry. When
we find ourselves worrying we get
ahead of God's actual plan and try
to figure out how our troubling
scenario will play out. This gets
us worked up about how we will
respond which leads to even more
worry.
But God's grace is always available in abundant supply during our time of need, but not ahead of the need. Jim pointed out that we cannot "stockpile grace". He shared this thought, "For the Christian our focus is not to be on the need or even the provision for the need but we are to focus on the Provider."
In the Old Testament God provided manna, enough for a daily portion except for a double portion to be gathered the day before the Sabbath. If they tried to double their daily allotment or stockpile manna it would spoil!
The
writer of Hebrews implores us to
approach the throne of grace with
confidence. "Let
us then approach the throne of
grace with confidence." This
is the only reference in the Bible
to the "throne of grace" and is a
quite literal translation found in
all standard translations. What a
comforting description of this
approachable place where we find
mercy and grace!
We approach this throne "so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." The Amplified Bible makes this distinction between mercy and grace in this context,
Listen
to
our message on your audio player."Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
Many
years ago Jim Gambini, our pastor
at the time, shared a memorable
point concerning God's grace when
he was preaching on the subject of
worry. When
we find ourselves worrying we get
ahead of God's actual plan and try
to figure out how our troubling
scenario will play out. This gets
us worked up about how we will
respond which leads to even more
worry.But God's grace is always available in abundant supply during our time of need, but not ahead of the need. Jim pointed out that we cannot "stockpile grace". He shared this thought, "For the Christian our focus is not to be on the need or even the provision for the need but we are to focus on the Provider."
In the Old Testament God provided manna, enough for a daily portion except for a double portion to be gathered the day before the Sabbath. If they tried to double their daily allotment or stockpile manna it would spoil!
The
writer of Hebrews implores us to
approach the throne of grace with
confidence. "Let
us then approach the throne of
grace with confidence." This
is the only reference in the Bible
to the "throne of grace" and is a
quite literal translation found in
all standard translations. What a
comforting description of this
approachable place where we find
mercy and grace!We approach this throne "so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." The Amplified Bible makes this distinction between mercy and grace in this context,
1)
"mercy [for our failures]"
2) "grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]."
2) "grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]."
"Let us then fearlessly, confidently, and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to sinners)".
His
grace is dispensed "in
our time of need".
I am
glad for God's presence in my time
of need. I have received His mercy
and regularly experience His
grace. Admittedly His grace is not
always dispersed in the way that I
have prayed or want, but as God in
His providence has scheduled and
apportioned it.
Keeping our focus on the Throne Of Grace remains a challenging spiritual discipline for many of us. We have more of a tendency to stockpile grace. "Lord, help us to keep approaching Your throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Keeping our focus on the Throne Of Grace remains a challenging spiritual discipline for many of us. We have more of a tendency to stockpile grace. "Lord, help us to keep approaching Your throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
it is often a challenge to focus
our attention on the Throne of
Grace when we are surrounded by
earthly thrones and man-made
solutions for those things that
trouble us. But You want us to
look to You in time of need and
fully believe that You will supply
our need right on time and in
proportion to that which is best
for us. We cannot stockpile grace
so we eagerly approach Your throne
with confidence, knowing that we
will receive mercy and find grace
to help us in our time of need. We
thank You for it! Amen.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2018 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA