Grace is God’s Empowering Presence

EPISODE EXPANSION

Burnout and weariness are often rooted in a disconnect from God’s empowering presence. But grace is a gift from God and a shelter from condemnation. Our life in Christ is always based on abiding, and God’s love for Jesus is our starting point for grace.

God’s empowering presence is the place where we begin.

Trying to manage our own spirituality in our own strength will always end up in a place of exhaustion and frustration. You can’t discover God’s true  Nature of Freedom in your own strength, and you were never meant to.  The empowering presence of Christ in you is always your starting point.

In any place of chaos or striving in your life, see Grace as a shelter. A shelter from condemnation, shame, and turmoil. Because Grace is the empowering presence of God, that enables you to become the person that He sees when He looks at you, in Jesus.

Just take a moment to be with Him in that thought. Let thanksgiving rise up in your heart and bubble up with anticipation. The weight is not on you to initiate this process. It’s by His empowering presence that you become all He created you to be.

Grace empowers us to be enamored with Jesus.

By grace, you were saved. Not by your own effort. It was a gift (Ephesians 2:8). Beloved, nothing has changed. God has, and continues, to give you the gift of His empowering presence to create a shelter from condemnation, shame, and the lie of performance Christianity.  Legalism always adds our behavior to what Jesus has done, so that the truth becomes dependent on what we are doing, rather than on what Jesus has accomplished.

Grace empowers us to explore Jesus in such a way that we become completely enamored with who He is. To the extent that we want our lifestyle to proclaim the excellency of Jesus. We are passionate about becoming excellent. Grace opens up a safe place for you to learn and to grow up into all things in Christ.  The gift of grace allows you to learn from a place of peace and rest because you know that He’s unchanging.

The gift of grace comes from a good Father.

James 1:17 says, “Every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” God isn’t going to pull a fast one on you. He’s not going to change His mind based on your behavior. You are safe in Grace. You can trust Him. And when you respond to His invitation to abide in that safe place of Grace?   

You can feel His smile and appreciation. You can hear His gentle voice saying:

“Thanks for responding. Thank you for believing that My empowering presence is as wonderful as it really is. Thank you for receiving My grace and trusting My unchanging nature towards you. For letting My truth bubble up inside of you. The truth is that nothing you can do will make Me love you more, and nothing you can do will make Me love you less. Love is firstly always about Who I Am.  Love originates in Me because it is My nature to love…”

Want to learn more? Tune in to today’s podcast as we explore how God’s love for Jesus is our starting point for grace.

As always, thanks for listening!

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