You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, –2 Timothy 2:1

For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. -Hebrews 11:6.  

Grace Just Wouldn’t be Grace

I imagine your body as it hangs on the cross
Beaten bloody and raw.
Knowing the sins you died for weren’t yours
I’m overcome with awe.
For I cannot imagine such love,
I don’t think anyone can,
Except for you our sovereign God
Who offers that love to man.
When I realize the true scope of your love
I feel an ache in my heart.
For no matter how much I wish it weren’t true,
I know I don’t do my part.
When I consider your great act of obedience
My whole spirit begins to wilt.
I am humbled by my disobedience
And I feel a distinct pang of guilt.
For you have always been faithful to me,
You’ve never left me alone.
But in my selfishness I sometimes forget
You are my eternal home.
So, my Lord, I can never thank you enough
For your love freely given to me.
I know I don’t deserve even half as much;
On this point, I’m sure you agree.
I am just grateful you don’t count my sins
That’s a number I just couldn’t face.
But Lord, I guess if you chose to keep score,
Your grace would no longer be grace.
Linda Troxell, © 04/07/2020

Grace is certainly one of the best gifts Christianity has to offer. Now that I understand what it means, its beauty is powerful. For most of my life, even though I used the word grace in my everyday language, I didn’t know the most important meaning of it. This, is analogous to my journey to Christianity. For, I also called myself a Christian long before I understood what that really meant.

For most of my life I only knew the secular meanings of grace. As a noun it means elegance, poise or courtesy. As a verb it means dignify, enhance or honor. It is a good and useful word. But because it was nothing special to me, I didn’t explore it further.

Those meanings pale in comparison to the spiritual meaning of grace, an unmerited, undeserved gift from God. Even though I thought I was a Christian, I didn’t know that definition of the grace. I had, of course, heard it used in a religious setting. But it never occurred to me that the meaning was different from the secular meaning.

It intrigues me to see how our perception can change our experience and our experience change our perception. When I perceived grace through the lens of its spiritual definition, it changed my experience greatly. It is not hyperbole when I say it changed my perception and my experience of everything in my world and in myself. It certainly changed my perception of God and Christianity.  You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, –2 Timothy 2:1

It was learning about God’s grace that pushed me over the finish line to become a true Christian. My heart only came alive when I first learned that God’s greatest gift of grace was the death of Christ that redeemed our sins and reconciled us to Him.  …not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, –2 Timothy 1:9

Of course I knew the crucifixion story. One could hardly live in this world without some knowledge of the death of Christ. But my perception of the story led to no great personal attachment to the event. I perceived it more as academic than personal. But when I experienced a new understanding of grace, my perception of the death of Christ changed as well.

No longer was it an academic story with no meaning for my life. Now, it was a personal gift given to me freely by God through grace. He gave me this gift even though I didn’t deserve it, and  even though I didn’t earn it, so that I could be reconciled to Him. He gave it to me not because of how good, or bad I am, but because of how good He is.

I still remember what it felt like the first time I fully understood the gift of grace and its meaning for my life. It was like an explosion went off in my mind and my heart. The effect was so overwhelming I couldn’t absorb it all at one time. I had to put it away, so to speak, and explore it bit by bit. Because every time I considered the whole meaning, it overwhelmed me. 

I still sometimes have a difficult time thinking about Jesus’ death on the cross. Most of the time now the difficultly is that I’m overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. But for a long while there was a good measure of guilt mixed in with the joy. I just couldn’t help feeling that He, Jesus, shouldn’t have done that for me. I was not worthy of such grace.

At that time, in my mind Jesus was forced to agree to the crucifixion. I thought about it, something like a mother forcing an older sibling to take responsibility of a younger sibling. From the mother’s point of view the older sibling agreed to take responsibility. No so, from the sibling’s view.

I still struggle sometimes with feeling that I don’t deserve this gift of grace. I think that I am not good enough, I am not obedient enough, and I am not faithful enough.

None of those things can be true, of course. Because if the gift had a requirement of goodness, obedience, faithfulness, or anything else, there would be no grace in the gift. In fact, it wouldn’t be a gift it would be an earned reward.  For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

It was when I understood that Jesus freely choose the amazing act of obedience that led Him to the cross, that I was convinced I wanted to be a true Christian. Knowing He loved me so much He had died for me was a kind of love I had always wanted but never felt.

Don’t get me wrong, I have always felt loved by my family. And that love has given me a feeling of safety. But Family love cannot compare to the love of Jesus and the eternal safety it offers.    

To fully understand grace, is to fully understand that there is no limit to the love of God. It is to fully understand there are no strings attached. We don’t have to do anything to make God love us. Indeed, there is nothing we can do. He loves us not because of who or what we are, but because of who He is. That’s powerful.

I know that there are other Christians who don’t know what grace really means, who don’t have that one piece that might allow them to really feel the love of God. I don’t think there is anything we can do to help those who have yet to understand it fully, except to show them our grace as we continue to talk about God’s grace. 

Of course, we must have patience as well. To fully understand grace requires a strong faith, and faith develops over time. Even those raised in the church who can’t remember a time before they were Christians have to develop and strengthen their faith over time.

The label Christian can be handed down, not so the faith Christianity requires. Everyone must come to faith on their own. Perhaps it is a shorter or easier process for some who were raised to be Christians. But on the other hand, that might make it harder for others. Either way, we must each develop our own faith.

Some of you might be wondering now just how to develop and strengthen faith. Well, I’m not an expert, but I can share my experience and what I was taught. I believe that the very first step to strengthen any bit of faith we might have is to make a decision to have faith.

That may sound strange to some of you. Many people think that faith, like love, is a feeling that we either have or don’t have. Something that happens to us rather than a decision we’ve made. Well, they are wrong on both counts. Everyone who has faith in God, or anything for that matter, made a decision to have that faith, whether they were aware of the decision or not.

As Christians, we shaped that decision when we ask that first question about Jesus or went to that next prayer meeting or read our first Bible story. And with each step we take further into Christianity, we strengthen that decision until at some point the decision is to be all in.

But I recommend that you make a conscious decision to be all in right here, and right now. Why? Because no matter who you are, no matter how long you have been a Christian, and no matter where you are in your walk with Christ, you will have doubts. When that happens, it’s important to have your decision to have faith to lean on.

I even suggest that you write the decision down. In it you will commit to do certain things to keep your faith when in times of doubt. The commitments will be different for everyone.

For example, some might commit to continue attending church. Others might promise to continue reading the Bible, still others join a Bible study. However, no matter what commitments we make, among them MUST be that we will tell one other person we are having doubts and ask for their help.

And when those doubts come we will look back to that decision we made to keep our faith. And no matter how we feel right then and no matter how dim our faith is right then, we will honor the decision we made in the beginning.

We will do what we committed to do and we will keep whatever dim amount of faith we have and build on it. I believe we can’t go very far in our faith without making that first decision. 

Once we have made the decision to have faith, we can begin the journey to strengthen it, remembering that the Bible warns us that if we want to please God we must nurture our faith. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6.  

The first tip to strengthening our faith comes straight from the Bible” “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God”. Romans 10:17. It is so important to read God’s word and to hear God’s word every day.

We read and hear God’s word by having a Bible reading plan so we will know what to read before we even sit down. I don’t know how many times I’ve wasted my entire hour with God just trying to decide what to read in the Bible. We do it too by listening to Christian radio programs and Christian music, and reading Christian books.

It is essential that we spend time alone with God every day. We must designate a time to be with Him each day and we need to write it down or recorded where we record other appointments. If we make it an appointment, we are more likely to keep it as we keep other appointments.

Strictly speaking, it doesn’t have to be the same time every day. But practically speaking, it’s best if it is. If it’s at the same time each day those in our lives will more easily learn this is a time we cannot be disturbed. And if it is the same time every day it will more quickly become our habit.

Ideally, our time with God should be an hour. If we really cannot get an hour free, and I think if it is important to us, we can, it must be not less than 30 minutes.

During this time we read the Bible, we write in our prayer journal, we read other Christian books, and we write out our prayers. As we grow in our walk with Christ, we will develop the most effective ways for us, personally, to use this time. But it MUST include reading God’s word EVERY DAY!

Spending time with God and reading His word are essential to having faith. But it is just as important to bring God into all areas of our lives. If we reserve God for Sundays we will never know Him personally. If we don’t know Him personally we will not have a faith that is dependable and available when we need it.

That doesn’t mean we have to proselytize at work, or walk up to strangers and talk to them about Jesus. Although, God would love for us to do that. What it means is that God needs to be with us wherever we go, part of whatever we do. I know this is confusing to many Christians, so let me tell you about my experience with this. Maybe it will help you to understand.

When I first became a Christian I set up the appointment to be with God and I had a reading plan and I even did some online Bible studies. But if I was not engaged with God, not doing something that had to do with Him, I didn’t think about Him. It just wasn’t a habit I had.

The thing is, God wants all parts of our lives to be something to do with Him. He wants to be involved in all parts of our lives like that brand new boyfriend or girlfriend is.

Even if we aren’t in that season of our life right now we can still remember what if felt like to have a new person of interest in our life. Someone we really liked.

We thought about them all day long. We wondered what they were doing. We wondered if they were thinking about us. Would they call, did they like you as much as we like them? Were they the one? (This is a female perspective. I know men have a version of the same thing. Although I don’t know what that looks like, however, the principle is the same).

Now I’m not saying God wants us to have those same thoughts about Him. I’m saying, He wants to be on our minds that often. He wants to be right there at the edge of our awareness at all times. He wants us to come into to our thoughts for no special reason. He wants us to talk to Him all day long; under our breath in public, of course.

Now, God is always in my awareness. I talk to him all day long. When I do something I shouldn’t, I say, “Sorry God.” If something good happens, I say, “Thank you, God.” And if I get in a tight spot, no matter how trivial, I ask for His help. After many years I do these things automatically without effort. Would you like to know how I got there?

I got there by forcing myself to think about God all day long. To do this I posted scripture all over my house. I put ups signs saying “Hi God” reminding me to acknowledge His presence. I posted those pithy sayings some people refer to as bumper sticker sayings, in every conspicuous place I could think of.

And I used a technique from my days as a therapist called thought stopping and replacing. It’s used to overcome negative and self-defeating thinking. But it works to learn to notice God too.

It’s very simple. We need to pay attention and identify the constant stream of conversation that goes on in our minds at all times. Then, whenever we hear a thought that is counter to our goal, we yell, ”STOP!”, in our mind. And then we replace that thought with a more adaptive thought.

We do just the same thing for bringing God into all areas of our lives. We become aware of the same stream of conversation in our heads, but this time we are listening to the thoughts that are unchristian. You know, WWJD: What Wouldn’t Jesus Do?

The unchristian thought most common for me in the beginning was snarky, sarcastic thoughts about others.(I called them funny). When I caught a thought like that, I simply stopped it, then said, I’m sorry for being mean to your child God.” And then I’d say a prayer for that person. 

Your experience will be different than mine. You will have different thoughts to stop and different replacement thoughts, but you get the point. We are forcing ourselves to think about God all day long. It won’t take long for it to become a habit. From there, it will become part of that automatic conversation streaming in your head.

Finally, the best, but generally most unpopular way to strengthen our faith is through adversity. It is in adversity that we most need our faith. And it is in adversity that our faith is tried. However, in this way our faith is like a muscle; the more we use it the stronger it becomes.

James tell us to count our trials as joy, for testing our faith produces patience. I’m not going to suggest you go that far. Mostly because I would never ask you to do something I can’t do myself. And I am not there yet.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.James 1:2-3

But I do urge you not to hide from your trials or try to postpone or deflect them. Because adversity strengthens our faith not only by trusting God as we walk through the trial, but by believing that God has good reason for allowing this adversity into our lives. It takes faith to believe that all things work for good for us who love God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love Go, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

That wraps it up, it describes my journey, my thoughts and my tips about how to strengthen your faith. If you are at the beginning of your journey, whether that beginning is in your walk with Jesus or just in building your faith, it might seem like a daunting task. But I mean it when I say it isn’t as hard as it might seem.

Day after day it gets easier. And the days go by fast. Soon it becomes a habit and you hardly think of it anymore. And then one day someone will say to you, something like, “I wish I had as much faith as you do.” And you will look around to see who they are talking too and suddenly realize they are talking to you.

And it is then you will realize that you’ve done it. You have become the Christian that you always wanted to be. A Christian whose belief is solid and whose faith is strong. I will be praying that it comes quickly for you.  

Let’s pray:

Holy Father, we come before you today asking for your blessing and your help to strengthen our faith. We want to be the kind of Christians you want us to be. We want to have strong faith in every situation and we want you to be part of every part of our lives. But you know, Lord, how difficult it is for us to be consistent. Not because you aren’t important to us, but because we are generally lazy and the enemy takes every opportunity to exploit that. We commit today Lord to strengthen our faith. In order to do that we commit to spending time with you every day. We commit to reading and hearing your Word every day. And we commit to do our best to bring you into all parts of our lives by bringing you into our thoughts. We Love you Lord, we worship you and we need you. Lord today we pray for your help and we pray this in the holy name of Jesus, Amen.

Points for Prondering or for Prayer
Or
Perhaps for Putting Pen to Paper

Have you ever thought you would like to strengthen your faith?    
If you have, have you ever made a plan to do that?  
If yes, what was that plan?   Were you successful?       
If you would like to strengthen your faith but have made no plan, will you make one now?

Do you think you can commit an hour a day to being with God?    
If you think you can commit, will you commit today? 
Record the appointment right now, don’t wait.

If you don’t think you can commit to an hour a day to be with God, what stands in your way?   Can you eliminate the obstacle?
If you can will you today? 

If you think you can’t commit to an hour, can you commit to 30 minutes a day to be with God? If you can, will you today?
If you think you can’t commit to 30 minutes with God, be truthful, is it can’t or won’t?  
How long can/will you commit to spend with God each day?