Which came first?
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”-Ephesians 2:8-9
I’ll be honest; I am kind of torn up in my mind. The verse for today has got my mind spinning with the chicken/egg question. Which came first the chicken or the egg? In the same way I am wondering which came first God’s grace or our faith, but we must say that it is not really our faith; God has given us the faith we need in order to receive His grace! Let’s look at a few examples of this.
Noah was a man like us with his imperfections, but the Bible says that Noah was “blameless in his time” (Genesis 6:9), another translation of that says that Noah was a man having integrity. Noah was not perfect by God’s standard, but he was a man who was perfect among people; and while God demands perfection He also provides grace for those who are sincerely seeking Him. We know that Noah was a man who was close to God because the Bible says that Noah “found favor in the sight of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8), and because Noah was so close to God he was showered with God’s grace. Noah was warned of the coming flood, and was instructed to build an ark to save all of the creatures of the earth; which points to another evidence of the grace of God. God tells Noah in Genesis 6:20 that all the creatures “shall come to you, to keep them alive”; even the animals came to Noah because God spoke to their hearts. The animals were certainly not righteous, nor did they have faith to earn God’s grace, but grace that is earned is impossible grace.
Now let’s look at a story that is usually a story which exemplifies faith. In John 6 we read about Peter’s water walk, and usually we see this as an example of Peter’s faith, but I believe it better illustrates God’s grace. The Bible says that “the sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind” (John 6:18); the disciples were in the middle of the lake in a storm, and by the fact that the Bible mentions the wind indicates that it was a fairly bad storm. In the middle of the storm the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, and Peter because he was frightened by the storm asked Jesus if he could come to Him, and leave the boat. Jesus recognizing Peter’s fearfulness told Peter that He could come to Him. Jesus out of His love for Peter granted him through grace the ability to come to Him on the water. Peter knew that it was safer to be with Jesus while this storm was happening than it was to be in the boat.
On May7, 1988 I should have by all medical/scientific wisdom died in a car wreck, but God through His love intervened, and 22 years later I am because of His grace alive and writing these devotions. Yes, I have gone through some scary and frustrating times since then, but God’s grace has gotten me through each one. I wish I could write this, and say that my faith in God has given me the insight to believe in His power to always save me. Truth be told it is not my faith in Him that saves me, but the grace that He gives that saves me. I do not deserve, neither did Noah or Peter, to receive His grace because of some supernatural faith, but He gives His grace because of His love for us. The grace of God is not something that we earn more of as our faith increases, but the grace of God is already extended to us in full measure we just need the faith to reach out and take it. Jesus said, “…if you have faith as a mustard seed…nothing shall be impossible for you.”(Matthew 17:20) The amount of faith in us does not increase the amount of grace offered to us because grace that is earned, even by faith, is impossible grace!
Father, I thank You for the grace that You have given, and I ask that You would grant me the faith to accept Your grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Yes, You Can Ministry 
so well written and as always THANK-YOU! your writing and GOD’s promises always make a difference in my day.