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- Apr 25, 2006
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EXTRA GRACE CASES
''He gives more grace...'' James 4:6
Attitudes can be pretty ugly things. Like, when you say hello to someone and they look you up and down with that 'Hello Declined' expression on their face. Bah. However ugly their reaction may look to you, you just want to get back in their face with the same attitude.
Or better yet, slap that self-righteous pout off their face! Who do they think they are? It's moments like that when you need to ask a different question: who the heck am I? We aren't called to imitate ugliness. We're called to imitate Christ and His beautiful attitude. 'For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps' (1 Pet. 2:21 NLT).
Jesus said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me' (Matthew 16:24 NLT). Sometimes that means sacrificing the need to slap the smile off someone's face and instead putting a smile on God's, by choosing to love like Jesus.
There are people out there that we can see as Extra Grace Cases. We need to turn to God to get that extra grace, rather than turning off the grace tap.
What now?
You can't love like Christ without help. Pray Paul's prayer out loud for yourself, found in Ephesians 3:14-21. Check out The Message version if you're worried about sounding 'olde worlde'!
written by Bob Gass
''He gives more grace...'' James 4:6
Attitudes can be pretty ugly things. Like, when you say hello to someone and they look you up and down with that 'Hello Declined' expression on their face. Bah. However ugly their reaction may look to you, you just want to get back in their face with the same attitude.
Or better yet, slap that self-righteous pout off their face! Who do they think they are? It's moments like that when you need to ask a different question: who the heck am I? We aren't called to imitate ugliness. We're called to imitate Christ and His beautiful attitude. 'For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps' (1 Pet. 2:21 NLT).
Jesus said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me' (Matthew 16:24 NLT). Sometimes that means sacrificing the need to slap the smile off someone's face and instead putting a smile on God's, by choosing to love like Jesus.
There are people out there that we can see as Extra Grace Cases. We need to turn to God to get that extra grace, rather than turning off the grace tap.
What now?
You can't love like Christ without help. Pray Paul's prayer out loud for yourself, found in Ephesians 3:14-21. Check out The Message version if you're worried about sounding 'olde worlde'!
written by Bob Gass
