Saturday 27 June 2009

Grace Walk

I had seen the book 'Grace Walk' mentioned on some grace and glory blogs and realised that a number of folks were all saying what an impact this book had on their journey into grace. I couldn't help myself I HAD to read this book! So I brought a new and used copy from Amazon and was delighted when it arrived. I am not a particularly fast reader and sometimes feel like I am wading through a field of thick mud wondering if I will ever finish a book! Not with this one though - I just could not get enough of it! I am going to have to re-read this now with my husband he has to hear some of the stuff that McVey says!

So here are some snippits that have blessed me so very very much:-

'God never intended for our focus to be on performing and producing. He desires that our focus be on the person of Jesus Christ.'

'When you pray for God to help with your situation and things don't get any better, remember that He knows what He is doing! Just because you can't see His hand doesn't mean He isn't working. He may be using the situation to break that outer shell of self-reliance that keeps the life of Christ from being expressed through your lifestyle.'

'Adverse circumstances may be the hand of God working to bring us to the end of self-sufficiency.'

'God's purpose is not that we should rededicate our self with all it abilities, but that we should give up all help in self. We sometimes try to live for Him when He wants to live His life through us.'

'Law will cause a person to say,"Lord, help me to do the things You want me to do." Grace will cause a person to say, "Lord Jesus, I am abiding in You and You in me. Express You life through me in any way that you desire." '

'Understanding our identity is absolutely essential to our success in living the Christian life.'

'Our identity in Christ is one of the most liberating truths we will ever understand.'

'You are fully accepted by God. You are accepted because you are in Christ (Ephesians 1:6). Because Christ has received you and He is fully accepted by the Father, you are fully accepted as well! You don't need to change a thing about yourself for God to accept you. You acceptance isn't based on what you do, but on who you are.'

It is important to see yourself as God sees you. You know how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly through the process of metamorphosis. The caterpillar weaves a cocoon around itself and a short time later emerges as a butterfly.

If you were to see a butterfly, it would never occur to you to say,
"Hey everybody! Come and look at this good-looking converted worm!"
Why not? After all, it was a worm. And it was "converted." No, now it is a new
creature, and you don't think of it in terms of what it was.
You see it as it is now - a butterfly.
In exactly the same way, God see you as His new creature in Christ.
Although you might not always act like a good butterfly - you might land
on things you shouldn't, or forget you are a butterfly and crawl around
with your old worm buddies - the truth of the matter is,
you are never going to be a worm again!
It was liberating to understand just how God had made me into a butterfly. I was no longer a worm! In no way do I intend to convey the idea that understanding my identity caused me to live sinlessly. However, I have found that when I do sing now, I soon see it as foolish because I know that a sinful attitude or action contradicts my new nature.'

'Grace can never be repaid. It has no price, no because it is worthless, but because it is priceless.'

'God's love and acceptance are totally unconditional.'

'A person's behaviour has absolutely no influence on God's love. He loves you because, in His grace, He has chosen to do so. You can't do anything to gain God's acceptance, because Jesus has already done everything to cause the Father to accept you. You are fully accepted by God because you are in Christ. You can't improve on total acceptance, and God already accepts you totally.'

'The law says, "You must, you ought," while grace causes a person to say, "I want to!"'

'God is not interested in what we can do for Him. He can do anything that He needs done! He doesn't want what we can do - He just wants us!'

'The core of the Christian life doesn't revolve around doing, but it is grounded in being.'

'We are Christ's bride, not His hostage.'

'Legalism turns prayer into a boring monologue, while grace turns it into a delightful conversation.'

'Someone said that they don't bother talking to God about the small things because He's so busy. Remember this - it's all small to God! He doesn't need to conserve His energy for the big stuff. He is omnipotent! You won't drain Him of His power. If He knows how many hairs are on your head, He must care about every single details of your life, regardless of how small it may seem to you.'

'Christians need to give as much credit to God's ability to lead as they give to the ability of Satan to mislead!'

'Grace makes evangelism a real joy instead of a religious job.'

'When people are consumed with desire, they can't be stopped! Grace inflames the desire to witness. It ignites compassion toward the lost and motivates Christians to naturally witness with supernatural power. Grace-based evangelism is nothing less than an excitement about Jesus that is contagious to others. Grace motivates one to share a Person, not a plan.'

'The goal of evangelism is not to obtain decisions for Christ, but to introduce people to Christ.'

Gosh - I could go on and on and on - there are some awesome things in this book to encourage, inspire and help in the journey of grace - I make my decision today to live under grace, to be free to enjoy God, to live free from condemnation, to see myself as accepted, loved, clothed int he very righteousness of Jesus. Today I chose to give up trying and trying and trying and to rest in what Christ has won for me, I may have to make this choice tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day until grace is routed through me as a name through stick of rock.............

3 comments:

Joel Brueseke said...

Grace Walk is the book that really aided me TONS during the beginning of my transformation from legalism to grace. I'm not a 'huge' book reader but I've read this one from cover to cover 4 times. Two times by myself and two times in group settings. So much great, foundational stuff in the book!

Nick Cameron said...

I think I have you to thank for finding it as I was on some site and you mentioned it as I recall!
I want everyone to read it! I am hoping that me and my husband can read it together and do the study guide in the back - would be great for our whole church!
I love Steve McVey's helpful writing style - it is engaging and really grips you - I must confess I am looking at other books he has written and now trying to get hold of some of it!
I wish there were some more pointers on unlearning law - I get frustrated with my mindset of when things are tough going straight back to beating myself over the head with what a failing Christian / person I am..........
Got any pointers on that one Joel!?!?!

Joel Brueseke said...

Hi Nick,

What has really helped me a lot since I began walking in grace is to keep on reading and listening to various books and teachings that have to do with the pure gospel of grace. There is so much teaching in the church world that goes against all of this, and it makes it hard to focus on the truth unless we're constantly being encouraged in the truth! As Paul told the Galatians, who were being tempted to go back to law after having received such great grace, a little leaven leavens the whole lump! (Gal 5:9)

The Grace Walk book, and all of Steve's other resources, are really great helps in unlearning law, and in focusing on the gospel of grace. I can't tell you how instrumental the whole Grace Walk ministry has been in my life!

If you're interested, I also have a podcast with a friend, and for the last few weeks we've been talking about the Law, and what the New Testament has to say about it, and how Christians are no longer under it. The podcast is here, and our 'Law' series begins back at Program 193.

I don't mean to self-promote, but I do think I think the things we discuss in these programs are helpful in unlearning law.

The book of Galatians explains grace and law very well, and Romans 4 thru 8 does too. A great foundation is laid that shows how our identity and acceptance from God is based not upon our good works and is not taken away because of our failings, but is solely based upon His love and grace.

Those are just some things that may help. I know how frustrating it can be to unlearn religion and learn the things of grace. But by His grace He will do it!