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| Grace being poured out on God''s people(Bing.com) |
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“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a
violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The
grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and
love that are in Christ Jesus.”1 Timothy 1:13-14 (NIV)
We see the grace of God at work in Paul’s life as he
reflects on his past.
“Even though . . .” In spite of the fact.
“ . . . I was once a
blasphemer” blasphemy is “insulting, cursing, lacking reverence for God,
claiming deity.”^ A perfect example of lacking reverence for God is the words
John Lennon spoke when he compared the Beatles to Jesus Christ.
“. . . a persecutor .
. . ” Saul went from town to town dragged people from their homes and
imprisoned them or worse. (Acts 8:3)
“. . . a violent man.
. . ” Everywhere Saul went he arranged for believers in Christ to be either
imprisoned or killed. In the beginning of his journeys to tell others about
Jesus Christ, people feared him.
“I was shown mercy .
. . “God did for Paul what He does for each of us—He extended mercy,
forgiveness for Paul’s enmity to His followers.
“The grace of our
Lord was poured out on me abundantly” Our Lord didn't give Paul grace
sparingly. He lavished grace on Paul and he still inundates us with His unending
love today.
“ . . .along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” God
instilled Paul with faith and His love. This passage magnifies the expression, “God
empowers those He calls.” We have written evidence that God does this for those
who invite Him into their hearts and lives.
I love seeing Paul's transparency before God and men...and God's transforming grace in Paul's words and life! Praise our amazing God!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dawn, for stopping in. Yes, Paul doesn't hide from what he was. Neither can we. Transparency is a positive display of our inner selves. I especially like it when Paul sums up all his "highly commendable" accomplishments as rubbish.
DeleteYes, not only written testimony to God's grace, but tangible proof, in our own lives!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeanette, for stopping in. When we look at Paul's life we have to praise God for the Damascus Road experience. You are right,we need to look for grace in our own lives.
DeleteHi Cecelia,
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed your devotional thoughts. Thanks for sharing your blog with me!
Peggi
Peggi: Thank you for visiting my blog. I usually post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Please feel free to stop in when you can.
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ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Paul didn't allow his past to keep him from moving forward in the Lord. Neither should we allow past failures to hinder us.
ReplyDeleteIf God forgives us, who are we not to forgive ourselves?
Susan: Thank you for dropping in. A lot of present day believers do not realize they have to forgive themselves. We shouldn't look back at our sins because they are no longer visible. God takes care of them when we ask Him to. People learn this as they grow closer to Him.
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