In this world we are living in, it is imperative for us to be aware that we have an adversary that prowls around like a roaring lion seeking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).   He is a deceiver.  He is the accuser of the brethren who whispers lies, lies and more lies to us about our identity in Christ.  He comes to steal, kill and destroy.  If and when we are ignorant of his schemes, we open ourselves to easily be caught into his trap. 

But, thanks be to the Lord our God Who is rich in mercy and abounding in love.  He gave us His only beloved and begotten Son Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior so that we may have and enjoy life and have it more abundantly in spite of being in the midst of this chaotic world.  He gave us the Lion of the Tribe of Judah Whose roar is unparalleled and unequaled when He, once and for all, said, “IT IS FINISHED!”  You and I who believe in Him now belong to Him.  He purchased us with the steepest price, paid in full, and His payment was remitted two thousand years ago by the power of His shed blood at the cross, so that nothing and no one can snatch us away  from His hands any longer.

We have a defeated foe that was securely conquered and completely triumphed over, but for this reality to become experienceable, the revelation knowledge of this truth needs to be known.  Otherwise, his winds and waves will toss us to and fro, taking off our eyes from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His finished work Who gave us new life, just as what happened to Peter when he walked on water toward Jesus.  He began to sink when his awareness of the waves and winds became more real to him than the Presence of Jesus Who called him, “Come!”

You and I are to be rooted, grounded and founded on the unshakeable Rock of His amazing grace and His perfect love that casts out all our fears away, for there is NO FEAR IN LOVE.

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” (John 16:33 AMPC)

Regardless of how successful one may think, you and I need a Savior daily to walk victoriously. And yes, Jesus faithfully saves us daily.  He is our Daily Bread.  Every time we feast on His Word, we are daily nourished. He daily issues us an invitation to intimately encounter Him even in the most seemingly mundane way.  He daily loads us with His benefits.  His Word is timely and timeless that fuels us day in and day out.  He is the Word made flesh Who dwelt among us.  He is our Daily Drink, the fountain of living water welling up, flowing, bubbling continually within us.  He promised to be with us always, never leaving us nor forsaking us.  His eyes are upon us and His ears are never shut to our cries.  His thoughts of us are more than the sand in the sea.  He cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully.  At times, we may not feel His presence, but we go by the truth of what He has spoken in His Word.  We go far beyond the obvious and be in faith.  We press on and draw near to Him and shut out every lying voice and contradiction that exalts itself against our revelation knowledge of how He fathers us with His unfailing love. 

Jesus Christ, our Savior, came to SAVE us. Many may not know this truth yet what the word SALVATION means, therefore, many perish due to lack or even rejection of knowledge. But, the Holy Spirit unveiled our eyes to see Who Jesus is. He is the only One Who has the given ability and capacity to reveal to us this TRUTH.

 “Sozo” is the Greek word for salvation, yet it’s root meaning goes beyond just the forgiveness of sins.  It means saved, made whole, restored, healed, delivered and preserved.  And, He made Himself available to you and me when we believe and draw near to Him.

“For the law was given through Moses, but GRACE and TRUTH came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)  God’s grace is purely unmerited, unearned, the undeserved favor and spiritual blessing that came through Jesus Christ.  Whatever we need, He is grace made manifest. He is Grace Personified.

If we need healing in our souls and bodies, He is Healer. 

If we need restoration, He is Redeemer.

If we need deliverance, He is Deliverer.

If we need preservation and protection, He is the Wall of fire around us and the glory within us.

If we need peace, He is the Prince of Peace.

If we need hope, He is Christ in us, the Hope of glory.

If we need wisdom, He is.

If we need direction, He is our Good Shepherd.

If we need courage and strength, His is the exceeding power at word within us.  He is our very present help in time of need.

When we are broken needing to be made whole, He is our portion and inheritance Who completes us.

With long life He will satisfy us and show us His salvation.

JESUS IS OUR SAVIOR AND HE IS ALIVE FOREVERMORE.

“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God Who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.”  (Deuteronomy 7:9 NLT)

The Apostle Paul whom Jesus utterly saved on the road to Damascus was full of first hand downloaded revelations of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He had countless encounters in His presence that were beyond comprehension. At one point he was caught up in paradise where he heard inexpressible words.  Yet in the midst of all these, a thorn in the flesh was given to him, a messenger of Satan to buffet and torment him, to keep him from becoming proud (2 Corinthians 12:7).   

Hmmm … I found Paul’s story very inspiring and encouraging.  Because of his in-depth revelation knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he saw himself being humbled by the difficulties he had been through.  He mentioned how he pleaded and begged God to take this thorn three different times, but each time, the Lord answered him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:8)

Paul further said, “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Nothing just happens in our lives.  If we see success at hand, we boast in Him and about Him, making known His good deeds to those around us.  If we see the opposite, we seek Him and His thoughts of us in His Word rather than make drastic conclusions that condemn us.  But if we still do, His Word says, “If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”  (1 John 3:20)

I love what Joyce Meyer once said.  “You’re not enjoying your life because of your problems.  You’re not enjoying your life because of your attitude toward your problems.”  ouchhh!!!  It all boils down to how we respond and handle what comes against us.  It’s either we allow it to push us down, or we make it as a footstool for us to ascend.  Apostle Paul did not see his challenges in a derogatory manner.  Instead, he saw them as tools for humility, an airstrip for grace to land.

When we go through some rough roads, why not ask and inquire of Him?  He promised to answer us and when He does, it changes our perspective toward our situation. He inspires us to walk peacefully and joyfully, for all things work together for our good and for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose

I was scheduled to do a vocal recording for one of my composed songs.  It was my very first time to be in a recording studio.  Was I anxious?  Very!!!  hahaha!  It was all because I didn’t have the confidence if my song was worthy enough to be recorded.   Moreso, would my voice be apt for it?

But, the Lord’s prompting in my heart always says … “My grace is sufficient …” 

God’s grace is what He possesses and  Who He is.  His grace is a part of Himself.  When He says He dwells in you and me in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, therefore, all of His attributes have been made available to us and for us.  His grace is His divine ability infused in us to do what He calls us to do, for it is He Who is effectually at work in us, energizing us, creating in us the power and desire both to will and to do for His own pleasure, satisfaction and delight.

Sufficient means more than enough and unfailing strength.

“All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP)

His grace gives us the strength to repel the enemy and silence his lying voice that is contrary to who God says we are.

His grace is Him giving us the ability to say “Yes” to God and do what He calls us to do.

His grace assists us, strengthens us and helps us bear what we are facing.

His grace goes to the pit of where we may be and picks us out of the miry clay.

His grace is His bigness in us and greater is He Who is in us than he who is in this world.

His grace says, “Don’t think less about yourself!”  The enemy always wants us to feel weak, insufficient, discouraged and unqualified.  The Lord wants us to feel loved, to be strong, secured, qualified and satisfied.  Sufficient is He Who dwells in us.

When we submit to God and His Word, we resist the devil and he will flee.  And I believe, even our submission and reverential fear to His Word is by His grace.  It is never by our might nor by our power, but by the Spirit of God Who reveals to us the depth, vitality and power of His revealed and spoken Word.  It is He Who quickens us to yield to His leading and calling.

The more our minds are renewed by the Word of God, the more we are transformed according to His image and likeness, and walk according to His will for us. In this faith journey that we are in, we are being transfigured from the inside out.  We are changed from glory to glory, not by the dictates and opinions of men, but by what He speaks into our hearts.

When the day came for me to record my song, I have been armed with this sword, His Word in my spirit, “My Grace is Sufficient”.  Every time I get intimidated, I put in remembrance what He has spoken to me, then my soul sits still.

“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” (Philippians 4:13 AMPC)

How awesome it is to know that the owner of the recording studio comes from our founding church and he, too, is with the worship team and so is my musical arranger.   One of my good friends was also there to record his own song.  All three of them were great motivators who made me more confident as minutes went by.  Recording then was finished on the dot.  Hallelujah!

His grace indeed orchestrates divine connections for His will to be done in our lives.

I was watching this National Geographic documentary about Octopuses and was so amazed at the Blue-Ringed Octopus, how it can drive away its foe. 

“A single bite from this Blue-Ringed Octopus releases enough neurotoxin to kill an adult human in minutes.  Her bright blue rings send a strong message, a warning.  But as the environment gets darker, it brings out the reef’s big boys, and this time a smooth sting ray hunting on the sea bed was at hand.

In the gloom, the octopus’ blue rings  lose their vibrancy.  So, it does something that only blue-ringed octopus can do.  Triggering muscles to reveal thousands of light-reflecting cells in her rings, she dials up her color.  While also, upping the contrast by darkening the skin around them.

The ray gets the message loud and clear.  This is one of the brightest warning displays of any animal on earth.”

If this Blue-Ringed Octopus can trigger something within its body to repel its prey, how much more for us, when the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of us?  Oh how He quickens us to ward off anything that doesn’t bring Him pleasure in our lives.  His Word says, “When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”  (Isaiah 59:19)

Truly, when He says HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT, we shall SEE the SUFFICIENCY OF HIS GRACE in every step we take and in every move we make for “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do ? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?  (Numbers 23:19)

We may have different challenges in our lives, but His grace is sufficient that perfectly fits our individual distinct need.  He says, “Come to Me!  Don’t do it on your own because you are not alone.”  Humility is the key to walk in the grace of God.  He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.  “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6)

His Grace empowers us to be who He sees us to be.  He knows the end from the beginning of our lives and He not only orders our steps but He busies Himself each time we take a step of faith.  All we need to do is believe and receive Him Who knows us, our gifts and callings, more than we know ourselves.  He is the author and the finisher of our faith.

“What does the Lord require of us but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble ourselves and walk humbly with our God?” (Micah 6:8 AMPC)

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You for sending us Your beloved Son Jesus that we may walk victoriously, overcoming every adversity, all by Your grace that is sufficient for us and by Your strength that is made perfect for our weakness. 

Thank You, Jesus, for saving me.  Only in You I will have and experience perfect peace for You overcame the world of its power to harm me and have conquered it for me.  I ask You to come and be enthroned in my heart as I dedicate each day to live, move and have my being in You. 

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for unveiling my eyes to see the beauty of what it means to belong to the family of God, graced by truth and empowered to live a life with overflowing satisfaction. Amen!

Photo Credits: Babette Arriola, NZ