Grace like the ocean

We are currently on a family holiday in Cornwall just North of Bude. Yesterday we took a half mile trip to Northcott Mouth which is just down from the farmhouse that we are staying in.


The beach there is very rocky and my nieces and nephews and I started to build a small wall against the sea gathering the rocks from near and far!

It was hilarious to see some of them carrying large rocks to add to the wall, some too heavy for them to lift! The tide was coming in quickly and no matter how large the stones it didn't stop the sea coming and it reminded me of God's grace upon us - it doesn't end, it doesn't reach a certain point and say that it would cease and that it would come to the point where it would just fail. No way! Legalism can try and stop God's grace - it can stifle and try to stop it but in the grand scheme of things - legalism is as effective as the stone wall my nieces and nephews built against the ocean against God's lavish grace!! Struggling with what I mean......? Let me put it another way then:- Whether or not folks receive it or live in the fullness of it - it just keeps coming! We are saved by grace and if folks are under legalism they are still saved by grace alone - Scripture says that any that call on the name of the Lord WILL BE saved. It doesn't say any that call on the name of the Lord may be saved but it is all dependent on whether they do this or this or this! Even in all the legalism that is rife in the Church and in the people of God today the Lord is still a God of grace - a grace that allows us to be imperfect, a grace that covers all our shame, our sin, our mistakes - past, present and future. God's grace is an undeniable part of being saved!

I am currently reading God's lavish grace by Terry Virgo and I read this earlier today:-

You may wonder what you have done to deserve God's love. How is it that God has shown you such kindness? This is the very stuff of grace, that He amazes you, contradicts every expectation, seeks you out, finds you and lavishes His love upon you. You have done nothing and can do nothing to earn His grace. The secret of His grace to you lies deep in the mystery of His foreknowledge. Simply receive it, celebrate it, delight yourself in it and live as one whom God is pleased to favour from His overflowing resources of kindness. (Page 87).

I have been struck afresh today of the magnitude of God's grace - people don't understand grace because we try and equate it - we try to work it out - we try to make it make sense but it doesn't - the awesome One, the Creator of this Universe has a love that stoops down, stoops to the sinner and lavishes, floods the undeserving with acceptance, with love, covers the sinner with robes of righteousness, spotless and no matter the mistakes in the future will remain spotless - not because of the sinner but because the Lamb of God was acceptable, because the blood of Jesus goes on cleansing and the blood of Jesus will never loose its power - Jesus was a complete sacrifice - He satisfied the requirements, we are saved because of that one sacrifice.

This morning we went to Bude Christian Fellowship http://www.bcf-elim.com/ and it was an awesome time of celebrating that Jesus is reason and alive right now! The pastor mentioned Spike Milligan's quote on his grave stone that says:-

"I told you I was ill."

and then later in the message was saying that if there was an inscription on Jesus' grave it should have said

"I told you that I was coming back."

It was a great celebration this morning and I bless God for what He has done and am anticipating and expecting some wonderful things in the future days! J.I. Packer once said that

"The victim of Calvary is now...............loose and a large!"

Yes indeed He is loose, at large and will do some mighty things in the coming days - feel expectation rising!?!?