A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Wednesday, March
13, 2019
"Qualified
By Grace"
Message
summary: We've been
qualified by the grace
of God! That
should lead to a joyful
and thankful heart!
Listen to our
message on your audio
player.
"We
continually ask God to
fill you with the
knowledge of His will
through all the wisdom
and understanding that
the Spirit gives, so
that you may live a
life worthy of the
Lord and please Him in
every way: bearing
fruit in every good
work, growing in the
knowledge of God,
being strengthened
with all power
according to His
glorious might so that
you may have great
endurance and
patience, and giving
joyful thanks to the
Father, who has
qualified you to share
in the inheritance of
His holy people in the
kingdom of light"
(Colossians 1:9-12).
There are
various qualifications
and certifications one
might pursue to reach
the top of their
profession and industry.
People need to have
training for all kinds
of jobs, such as
operating certain types
of machinery like a
forklift. Yesterday I
visited a company and
saw what initially
appeared to be a machine
with an invisible driver
spinning around a
pallet. Of course it was
a pallet-wrapping robot!
I spoke for a few
minutes with the
employee who operated
the machine and learned
how handy it was when
preparing many pallets
for shipment.
Among our
readers we know there
are a wide variety of
professions and skill
sets that you have
worked hard to qualify
for. Even Mr. Robot was
qualified to wrap
pallets! But today let's
consider a qualification
we can all receive that
we do not deserve and
cannot earn. It is
the most important
qualification in life.
We quote a
long text today though
it's only one sentence.
If Brooksyne were
editing Paul's writing
she'd probably have
reworked this text. She
lovingly scolds me for
writing run-on sentences
and proceeds to break
them down into shorter
phrases. Brooksyne also
noted that there could
easily be about 10
sermons developed from
this single verse. In a
sense we'll respectfully
break down our text
today as we choose to
focus only on the final
portion concerning God's
grace in our lives. Paul
speaks of "the
Father, who has
qualified you to
share in the
inheritance of His
holy people in the
kingdom of light."
Years ago I saw this thoughtful phrase on a bumper sticker, "God does not choose the qualified but qualifies the chosen." Aren't you thankful for the truth in that phrase? In fact it's a simple expression of the contrast between man's many religious systems and the Gospel of Christ. Man's systems stress the need for our efforts to make us qualified for God's love and acceptance. This may be through our good works, our family heritage, or through religious rituals. But these never accomplish what God through Christ alone accomplished when He died on the Cross. His substitutionary death qualifies us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light based on His grace. Late Bible
teacher William
MacDonald (1917-2007)
eloquently sums up the
gist of qualified
writing: "When God saves
someone, He instantly
bestows on that person
fitness for heaven. That
fitness is Christ. Nothing
can improve on that. Not
even a long life of
obedience and service here
on earth makes a person
more fit for heaven than
he was the day he was
saved. Our title to glory
is found in His blood."
The Bill Gaither Vocal Band has a great song titled "Child, You're Forgiven" with a powerful expression in it. "I've traded performance for amazing grace. What a relief, I can't earn my way". Today we consider those who grew up in church and in religious homes and yet have an inferior understanding of the singular qualification of grace. You may be extra hard on yourself and unintentionally judgmental toward others. You may have a hard time really accepting God's grace and forgiveness and having an assurance of God's love. Today let us thank our heavenly Father that He has qualified us. That's a great source of encouragement. And consider this truth as you also deal with whatever discouraging circumstances you are facing today. We've been qualified by the grace of God! That should lead to a joyful and thankful heart! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Lancaster
County
Bluebirds
The
last several
weeks we have
shared photos of
the bluebirds
visiting our
place.
Bluebirds
are common in
our area but
only this winter
have they
visited our
feeders, after
living here 18
years. Today we
share some
friend's photos.
Our
next door neighbor
Doug took this one
on his deck
railing.
Doris
High captured
the namesake
blue in this
photo.
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