Grace and Peace to God's children, co-heir's with Christ, or to the non-believer that stumbled accross my post by "accident",

This is another post that I had to copy.  This was really good information to have today as the Holy Spirit is working on me.  Pay particular attention to where the commentator calls attention to the fact that when we serve the Lord it is the Spirit that is working and not our own "natural capabilities".  also that ever task that we complete for the service of the Lord is "accomplished by His grace".  This ties to my last post because we do not do enough.  We have no excuse because the answers are there and now we see that all we really have to do is just move out of the Spirit's way and much can be accomplished through us by His power. 

Subject: Blue Letter Bible: Day By Day By Grace

Day By Day By Grace

Bob Hoekstra

March 12, 2012

Reflecting on the Holy Spirit and Grace

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of

Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication." (Zechariah 12:10)

Let's take a reflective look at our meditations on the Holy Spirit as a

reminder that we are still studying about the grace of God. In

considering how to live by the fullness of the Spirit, we have examined

how to live more fully by the grace of God.

In Zechariah 4:6, we observed the connection between living by the

Spirit and living by the grace of God: "Not by might nor by power, but

by My Spirit." Serving the Lord is accomplished by the work of the

Spirit in and through our lives, not by natural capabilities. The next

verse restates this truth in terms of God's grace. "And he shall bring

forth the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it'!" Every

completed task in the service of God is accomplished by His grace

(God's undeserved resources), not by our ingenuity or merit.

We also saw how the early church experienced this relationship between

the Spirit and grace. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and

they spoke the word of God with boldness...And with great power the

apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great

grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:31, 33). The boldness they experienced

through the Holy Spirit is described as a result of great grace at work

upon them.

Jesus came to establish a new covenant. "This cup is the new covenant

in My blood" (Luke 22:20). This covenant was characterized by grace, in

contrast to the old covenant that Moses set in place. "For the law was

given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"

(John 1:17). This new covenant of grace is also a covenant of the

Spirit. "Our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as

ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for

the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

When the Lord Jesus returns and Israel humbly bows to Him as their

Messiah, this wondrous response will be the result of "the Spirit of

grace" being poured out upon them. This glorious title, identifying

grace with the Holy Spirit, beautifully sums up the grand truth that

living by grace and walking in the Spirit are two perspectives on the

same precious reality.

O God of all Grace, I long to live by Your grace day by day. Lord, I

thank You that grace is not merely some principle that I must apply,

but rather a resource You must impart. Would You therefore pour out

upon me in fullness the Spirit of grace?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brought to you by the following ministries:

     Living In Christ Ministries (livinginchrist.org)

     Blue Letter Bible (blueletterbible.org)

     Sowing Circle (sowingcircle.org)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This emailed devotional is a daily mailing courtesy of the Blue Letter

Bible to which you have subscribed via our subscription page at

http://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/subscribe.cfm or by physical request

through Living in Christ Ministries.