Saturday, June 17, 2006

DEFINITIONS YOU CAN LIVE BY
Words are containers of ideas, and the greatest impact of words comes from interpretation derived from it. I will like to share some definitions I have come up with in my meditation and study. I intend to update these regularly.

Grace of God

Grace is the proportion of resources or blessings that is available to you to be successful in what God has called you to do and become.

This definition suggests the following:
There is a purpose to your existence
Your success is measured by the fulfillment of your purpose
You require resources to accomplish your life purpose
All the resources you require is encapsulated in God's grace
Grace is available but not always appropriated
You need to learn to access this grace
Without rightly appropriating this grace, you cannot become what you are born to be
This resources can be misappropriated

"the greatest achiever amongst us is the one who has learnt to leverage on the grace of God the most"--Opeyemi

For further Biblical research see an outline below:

The Nature of God’s grace

· God is the source and sole distributor of grace: John 1:17

· The grace of God releases blessings (empowerment) : John 1:16

· The grace of God has been assigned to you before time began 2Tim 1:9, Ephesians 2:10

· The grace of God is made available without the keeping of the law Acts 15:10-11

· The grace of God cannot be appropriated without faith Romans 4:16, 5:2

· The grace of God cannot be obtained through “works of righteousness” or toiling Romans 11:6

· The grace of God is expressed or displayed through work output Acts 11:23, Ephesians 2:1-10, Philippians 2:12-13, James 2:22

What Grace can do for you

· The grace of God will save you Acts 15:11

· The grace of God will free you from slavery to sin Romans 5:20, 6:14, 1 Tim 2;11-12

· Your needs are met on the platform (throne) of God’s grace Hebrews 4:16

· The grace of God will make you relevant to the need of others Ephesians 3:2, (To have grace is to have a ministry, Eph 3:7)

· Grace will improve the quality of your life Romans 5:17

· The Grace of God will compensate for our inadequacies: 2 Cor. 2:19

What you can do with grace

· Make it available for the blessings of others John 1:16-17, Ephesians 4:29, Phil1;7

What you must not do with God’s grace

· Don’t turn it into license for sin (sin is living below our full capacity as image and likeness of God, to fall short of God’s glory): Jude 1:4

· Do not frustrate God’s grace Gal. 2:9-2

· Do not receive it in vain : 1 Cor. 15:10, 2 Cor. 6:1

· Do not forfeit it Jonah 2:8

How to deserve and earn grace

· Be a good steward of the manifold grace of God 1 Peter 4:10 (if you are faithful in little, you will be faithful in much)

· Continue in it Acts 13:43 (whatever you don’t use, you lose)

· Be strong in the grace (put confidence in the grace, GNB) 2 Tim 2:1

· Pursue the Knowledge of God: 2 Peter 3:18, 1:2 , Exodus 33:13

· Through humility James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5