Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

An antidote to being swept away from the faith is growing in grace. “You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.” 2 Peter 3:17-18 NLT. Most of the things of the spirit move pretty well like physical development in man. Just as we grow from stage to stage physically, even so are we to grow spiritually. It is by grace that we are saved, through faith. However, at salvation, grace is at infancy. Believers should grow to maturity, climbing the grace ladder until they reach the fullness of God’s purpose. To mature in grace as Peter enjoins us, we must understand the means of grace.

An antidote to being swept away from the faith is growing in grace…To mature in grace as Peter enjoins us, we must understand the means of grace…Grace is administered through hearing the word of God…The more we open ourselves to the word of God, the more grace we contact.

Grace is administered through hearing the word of God. It is instructive to know that the scripture describes God’s word as the word of His grace. We have this in Acts 14:3 and Acts 20:32. Proverbs 8:34 says, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors”. Revelation 1:3 also confers a blessing on those who read and hear the words of God. I believe one of the blessings that we contact when we give attention to the word of God is grace. The more we open ourselves to the word of God, the more grace we contact.

As the early Church increased in number so did the welfare concerns of members. Of particular importance were the complaints of the Greek-speaking believers against the Hebrew-speaking believers, who felt their widows were being discriminated against in the distribution of food. The twelve apostles thought out a solution as these verses of scriptures indicate: “So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” Acts of the Apostles 6:2-4 NLT

If we neglect the means of grace, we become unfruitful in the Christian life. This is why the writer of Hebrews admonished us to come to the throne for grace and mercy.

Prayer is a spiritual discipline that connects us to the grace of God without which nothing gets done. The apostles detected the plan of the devil who was trying to swerve them from the main to the mundane. If you take away the word and prayer from a minister of the gospel or any believer, you see them running on empty or at best running in the flesh. The apostles refused to abandon the word and prayer, the means of grace without which they would have been sterile in the ministry. If we neglect the means of grace, we become unfruitful in the Christian life. This is why the writer of Hebrews admonished us to come to the throne for grace and mercy.

The Old Testament system of worship was rigorous, yet ineffectual at producing an acceptable life before God. “For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.” Hebrews 9:10 NLT. Jesus came and established a better system, thereby removing the endless rituals before Him. Christianity is not about rituals. About the only thing left for us is the table of the Lord or what some term Holy Communion. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He instituted what we call the Lord’s supper or the Communion. He asked the believers to observe it as often as possible, describing the elements as the symbol of the New Testament.

Christianity is not about rituals. About the only thing left for us is the table of the Lord or what some term Holy Communion…When next you approach the Lord’s table, do it with understanding, purpose, and reverence.

The life of Smith Wigglesworth is a classic example of the efficacy of the Lord’s table. He was an illiterate British plumber whose wife taught to read and write. He was later known as the apostle of faith under whose ministry many miraculous healings took place. The secret to his success is captured here: “The real change in Smith Wigglesworth did not come until he started getting up every day at 4 a.m. to take Communion. Like clockwork, he would begin each day by remembering his covenant with Almighty God by taking the bread and the cup. Every day he lived under the influence of that covenant. And every day he became more and more bold—until finally, he became one of the boldest men of God in  history”. When next you approach the Lord’s table, do it with understanding, purpose, and reverence.

The subject of giving has been quite bastardized. Mostly when giving is discussed, people immediately think in terms of financial or material rewards, but there is more to the subject than that. Paul had a valedictory session with the elders of the church at Ephesus while he stopped over at Miletus. He spent the entire night putting things in place as he was not sure of seeing them again after that. A portion of his encouragement is the text for our meditation today. He employed the words of Jesus to stir their hearts to stewardship, stressing that “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. It is not clear exactly where Paul lifted these words of the Lord, but we do know that giving was part of His teachings. In His teaching on the mount, He warned the disciples not to go about their stewardship the way the Pharisees did, just as He said concerning prayer and fasting.

When we cultivate a lifestyle of giving, we do away with the garb of selfishness and open the way for the grace of God to flow in.

Apart from the hope of receiving financial returns, giving also provides opportunity for us to grow in grace. God Himself demonstrated that giving cannot be separated from grace when He gave His only begotten Son for the redemption of mankind. Moreover, we know that human nature is essentially selfish. Grace and self are irreconcilable. When we cultivate a lifestyle of giving, we do away with the garb of selfishness and open the way for the grace of God to flow in.

One of the primary responsibilities of the church is prayer. Like the umbilical cord ensuring the sustenance of the unborn, so is prayer in relation to God. It is where the church draws her strength from. There are a few lessons we can learn from the early church about this timeless spiritual discipline. Their prayer wore a corporate outlook. When the apostles encountered persecution, they returned to the rest of their company and they all lifted up their voices in supplication to God. The responsibility of praying was not delegated to a segment of the church, all prayed. Prayer is the Old Testament equivalence of burning incense to God. Only the priestly tribe could do that then. But in the New Testament, all believers have been co-opted into what Peter calls the royal priesthood. When prayer becomes the business of everyone, we stand to see more of the power of God at work.

Like the umbilical cord ensuring the sustenance of the unborn, so is prayer in relation to God…When prayer becomes the business of everyone, we stand to see more of the power of God at work…Continuity in prayer breaks down satanic barriers. Importunity brings down the hand of God for deliverance.

Secondly, their prayer was continuous. They prayed without ceasing. We noticed this before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the upper room. As soon as they returned to Jerusalem after Jesus ascended, they continued in prayer. They also prayed without ceasing over Peter. Continuity in prayer breaks down satanic barriers. Importunity brings down the hand of God for deliverance. It is not an expression of faith to mention an issue just once in prayer and turn to other matters. If repetition of prayer is an expression of faithlessness, then Jesus was faithless when He prayed for the same issue three times at Gethsemane. The Bible says nothing against repetition, but frowns at vain repetition.

The disciples asked Jesus if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel anytime soon. He replied that it was not their business to know the time that God has kept in His power. By this, God is introduced to us as the perfect time keeper who does things exactly at the time He pleases. The Bible did not state how long Peter was held before his freedom; we are only told his arrest was in the Days of Unleavened Bread. That was the time of the annual Passover Feast. If he was arrested at the beginning of the feast, then he must have been in jail for a week. The important thing is that the Church prayed long enough to draw heaven’s attention.

We should keep in mind that God alone is the Master Time-Keeper. He will never come one minute late in our affairs. Our own set time may sometimes be fast, but God’s own is never late.

Besides this, God showed up just at the nick of time – a night to the presumed day of execution. No doubt, it would have been no less miraculous had he been set free on the first day of incarceration. However, waiting until the last moment heightened the excitement that the miracle caused among the brethren. It is beyond us to dictate when God should work. Ours is to remain faithful in prayer. God will show up at the perfect time. We should keep in mind that God alone is the Master Time-Keeper. He will never come one minute late in our affairs. Our own set time may sometimes be fast, but God’s own is never late.