GRACE----------A GIFT FROM GOD

WITNESS 8-19-13 GRACE---A GIFT FROM GOD Are you living In a state of grace If so Say, “thank you” Because grace is defined As a gift Given freely by God To his believers It is The undeserved love and salvation Given to us freely by God It is nothing That we can ever earn If you are a loving parent Think about it There is nothing that you would not do for your child If it is for their own good It is the same way With God for us There is nothing he would not do for us That is---if it is for our own good Because we are his children And he loves us INFINITELY In the 15th chapter Of Saint Luke’s Gospel Luke tells us 3 such stories about Jesus He tells us the story Of a shepherd with 100 sheep One becomes lost And the shepherd leaves the heard---the other 99 To go and find that one lost sheep Jesus tells us, “There will be more rejoicing In heaven Over one sinner that repents Than over 99 persons Who do not need to repent” Luke 15:7 God loves EACH and EVERY ONE of us Then Jesus tells the story Of a woman with10 coins But she loses one She does not worry About the 9 that she has But overturns the house---looking everywhere Until she finds that one lost coin Then she calls her friends and neighbors And says, “Rejoice with me I have found my lost coin” Luke 15:9 It is the same way with us Who are lost Along life’s highway God will look for us Until she finds us And he will find us---that is Unless we don’t want to be found Then Jesus continued with one more story About a lost son And his loving father He tells the story About his youngest son Who has run away from home And squandered everything On wine and women And to the older son---who has become jealous Because, his father, receives the younger son openly He says, “You are always with me And everything I have is yours Because this brother of yours was dead And is alive again He was lost and is found” Luke 15:31 & 32 It is the same way with us We should be happy When one of our brothers or sisters Comes home to God God’s grace A gift given freely to us by God All we can do is be gracious And say, “thank you” “For it is by grace That you have been saved Through faith---and this not from ourselves So that no one can boast” Romans 2:8 & 9 We say, “thank you Lord” For this gift of your grace THE GREATEST GIFT THAT WE WILL EVER RECEIVE Robert P. Wallman 12-15-11 Ps WITNESS 8-19-13 misc. WITNESS 3-26-14 12-31-14 & 10-13-16