Sunday, August 21, 2011

Reason #17 - He is a God of Grace


How many times have we sung the beautiful song:

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me..."

And never even once thought about the words we were singing? I am so very thankful today that I serve a God of grace!

A few days ago, I heard a preacher speak on the book of 1 Corinthians. The first verse in this book says:

"Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother."

I had always skimmed right over those type of introductions. Not much there right? Let's get right to the good stuff! :) I wonder how much we miss of God's Word in the "not important extras" that we always skip over?...

We all know who Paul was. Formally named Saul, I know of few other men described in the Bible who were more passionate in their zeal AGAINST Christianity. Paul was responsible for the death of hundreds, maybe thousands of Godly, innocent Christian men and women. Can it get much worse than that?

Yes, we know about Paul. But who was Sosthenes?

This was a man who also passionately persecuted the Christian church. You see, Sosthenes was the ruler of the Jewish synagogue. He hated Christians and wanted them wiped out. One day, he took his case against the Roman courts, only to be thrown out because the Romans didn't want anything to do with religious cases. The angry mob that Sosthenes had stirred up against the Christians, now turned against him and beat him.

Somehow, through all of this chaos, God gripped his heart. Sosthenes became a vibrant, passionate Christian.

Two men...both dead set against the only One Who could save their souls. Two men...filled with hatred and anger. Two men...responsible for the deaths of innocent men and women.

And two men...transformed into two of God's most passionate, faithful servants.

We serve a God Who declares "There is no sin so great, that I cannot forgive. There is no past so dark that I cannot transform. There is no life so broken that I cannot repair. There is no man so sinful that I cannot use."

We serve a God of grace.

I love my Lord, because He is a God of grace.


1 comment:

  1. Wow Kate, this was good; thank you. Truly, were it not for the grace of God I'd be lost, empty, and I'd have no purpose or reason to live. Thank you so much for this reminder, not only in remembering God's grace, but in thinking through the great hymns when I sing them. Love you Kate!
    Love,
    Grace

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