26 lines
4.4 KiB
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26 lines
4.4 KiB
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace — Bob Hoekstra</title>
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<div class="head">Day By Day By Grace</div>
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<div class="subhead">Bob Hoekstra</div>
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<div class="desc-center"><div class="pad2020">February 14</div></div>
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<h2>Grace and Good Works</h2>
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<div class="block"><i>But by the <b>grace</b> of God I am what I am, and His <b>grace</b> toward me was not in vain; but I <b>labored more abundantly</b> than they all, yet not I, but the <b>grace</b> of God which was with me.</i> (<a onClick="return mV('1Cr',15,10);">1 Corinthians 15:10</a>)</div>
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<p>The <b>grace</b> of God is not only His dynamic for producing spiritual fruit in our lives, but it is also His means of developing <b>good works</b> in us as well. The Apostle Paul had a powerful testimony to this truth. Paul became an early church leader who was engaged in more good works than any other believer. <i>"I <b>labored more abundantly</b> than they all."</i></p>
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<p><b>No</b> one <b>worked harder</b> in ministry than Paul did. He <b>traveled</b> the known world <b>preaching</b> the gospel. He <b>discipled</b> those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus. He gathered those believers into <b>churches</b>, often functioning as their initial <b>pastor</b>. Then, he would <b>appoint leaders</b> and even <b>visit</b> them on occasion for further encouragement and training. Additionally, he <b>wrote</b> major portions of the New Testament, typically while locked up in prison.</p>
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<p>Yes, Paul <i>"<b>labored</b>…<b>abundantly</b>."</i> In another letter he wrote: <i>"To this end I also <b>labor</b>, <b>striving</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('Col',1,29);">Colossians 1:29</a>). Elsewhere he stated: <i>"For you remember, brethren, our <b>labor</b> and <b>toil</b>; for l<b>aboring night and day</b>…we preached to you the gospel of God"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('1Th',2,9);">1 Thessalonians 2:9</a>). As he wrote the believers in Corinth he recalled: <i>"Are they ministers of Christ…I am <b>more</b>: <b>in labors more abundant</b>…in journeys <b>often</b>…<b>in weariness and toil</b>"</i> (<a onClick="return mV('2Cr',11,23,26,27);">2 Corinthians 11:23, 26-27</a>).</p>
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<p>How startling to learn that <b>Paul</b> was <b>not</b> the <b>cause</b> behind this wondrous effect. This is seen in his confession: <i>"yet <b>not I</b>."</i> Paul exerted himself for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How can a man labor strenuously and yet not be the cause of it all? The answer is in the remainder of his testimony: <i>"yet not I, <b>but</b> the <b>grace</b> of God which was <b>with me</b>."</i> God's grace at work in Paul's life was the effective dynamic that brought forth such godly labor here on earth. <i>"But by the <b>grace</b> of God I am what I am."</i> If we put our hope in the Lord, His grace will prove effective in our lives as well, giving us a testimony similar to Paul's: <i>"and His <b>grace</b> toward me was <b>not in vain</b>."</i></p>
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<p>Access to this transforming grace is once more linked to the two relational realities of <b>humility</b> and <b>faith</b>. Paul <b>humbly</b> admitted this fact: <i>"yet <b>not I</b>."</i> He also exercised <b>faith</b> in this corollary truth: <i>"but the <b>grace of God</b> which was <b>with me</b>."</i></p>
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<div class="dbdbg_prayer">O God of all grace, I cry out to You to work Your grace in my life, producing abundant good works in me, as You did in Paul. Lord, I desire to labor in Your service. I am encouraged to see that I do not need to measure up to Paul myself. I need only to trust in Your grace, the same grace that was not vain in Paul's life. So, humbly confessing my inadequacy, I exercise faith in Your effective grace, in Jesus' holy name, Amen.</div>
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