Grace Awakening-Week One Chapter One
Free in Christ. Free indeed. Free at last.
Happy New Year and welcome to our study of Charles
Swindoll’s Grace Awakening! I am so
glad to have you joining us! The plan is to post a chapter each week for the
next fourteen weeks, God willing, and you are invited to join along with both
the book
and workbook.
Feel free to share your insights and input below in the comments each week-I’d
love to hear from you!
I came upon Grace
Awakening because I have been longing for something more. I have a regular morning time routine well established over
the past eight or nine years now-reading the Bible every morning, prayer
journaling, and also participating in online studies with a group of friends
who have graciously shared their morning time with me as well over the past few
years. But lately, I just felt like I needed something more, something deeper.
And then I came across this book and it completely resonated with my heart. I
am so excited to start this new journey!
And so we begin-Grace: It’s Really Amazing!
Grace received but unexpressed is dead grace. Rather than
spend our time debating on how we receive it or what it means to live by grace,
we need to just claim it and allow it to set us free-then grace will become
what it was meant to be-really amazing!
Grace Embraced
The One we could call “Grace Embodied” never tires of
extending it to us. When we fully embrace His gift of grace, we will:
have a greater appreciation of God’s gifts spend less time and energy concerned about other people’s choices become more tolerant and joyful (yes, please!), less prejudiced and judgmental take a giant step toward maturity.
Oh yes—sign me up!
Grace will bring the freedom to want the highest good for
and expect the highest good from one another. It will make us want to obey and
prompt us to love each other. However, when we don’t embrace grace for
ourselves, we have no grace to offer others.
If we refuse to live by grace, our attitudes sour. We’re
certain that people can’t be trusted. We waver over whether or not God fully
accepts us, so we run from intimacy with Him. On our own, we drive ourselves to
obsessive intensity. Our spirits harden. Our rigidity repels. Our faces shout,
“No!”
When we choose to live by grace, our attitudes shift from
negative to positive. Our relationships with people are characterized by
confident acceptance rather than suspicious intolerance. With His grace, our
focus expands. Our intensity is relieved. Our spirits soften. We become more
winsome, affirming, contagious, and understanding. Our faces say, “Yes.”
As an added bonus, I found that there is also a podcast by
Mr. Swindoll for each chapter you can listen to. For this week’s podcast click here.
You can also download the Insights for Living app free which includes the
archive of the entire series’ podcasts!
Thank you for joining me this week-I hope you’ll share your
thoughts in the comments below and come back again next week for Chapter
Two-The Free Gift.
For
freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore,
and
do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
~Galatians
5:1
Although I am not reading this book right now, I do appreciate Mr. Swindoll's teaching and Grace is a great subject to focus on. I like the point you mention that reminds us that if we don't receive grace we won't give it...this can be seen daily in interactions and it is so important to ask God to reveal to us where we might be stuck, blind, or unwilling to receive (and why). We can't shine for Him if we are unable to recognize this one important (liberating) fact. I think Colossians 2: 6 is a great reminder of the receiving and continuing in the right attitude. I told my SUnday School kids today that they (and I) are always in danger of becoming Pharisees...the minute we aren't receiving grace we are reliant on self...(they are 1st thru 3rd grade...LOL!) HUGS, and best wishes on this journey!
ReplyDeleteI had every intention of posting daily but as you can see that did not happen. It does not mean that I am not enjoying the book. Because I love this book. This is a study that you'll return to time and time again. I've read the introduction and chapter one in the book, workbook, three times there is so much there you just want to devour it. Plus I am letting it sink in. Here are somethings that really helped me have a new appreciation for grace: "for grace keeps us fully engaged with God, who is the inexhaustible source of grace." I lived a life of condemnation and legalism when I first met Jesus. I belong to a church whose emphasis was on works not on grace and for about 5 years I attempted to exist and follow their man made rules. I feel as I couldn't obtain or hold to their standard of perfection in myself. So I walked away. I really thought this was what Jesus and God the Father wanted too. Even though I walked away from church I never walked away from Jesus. I began to read and study the Bible at home and was totally amazed at what I found. I wish I knew about this book then, but now I am reading it and it is setting me free, free indeed just as Jesus came to do. Thank you Dawn for suggesting this study and if I don't post everyday it is not because I am not following along it is because I am so deep into the book I don't want to put it down to post. LOL
ReplyDeleteMelissa Waters