In 1 Peter 3:18, Peter specifically instructs all who have put their faith in Jesus to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of (who they are in) the Lord Jesus Christ“. In recent times, the Lord has helped me understand God’s Grace as “that which God has done in me, to me and for me in Jesus in order to bless me, without any contribution for me“. In other words, growing in God’s literally means growing in who I really am in Jesus; growing into that person who God has made me to be in Jesus. No wonder Paul says in  1 Corinthians 15 that “I am who I am, by his grace”! Alleluia! As a result, I would like to share with you, 3 ways I have now determined to live my life in other to grow in grace – in order to become more and more who I am in Jesus, not because of what I have done, but because of all God has done:

 

1. I have determined to live like someone who no longer has a sin problem: because in Jesus, God has dealt with all of my sins – past, present and future – yes even the sin I will commit tomorrow! I know it can be hard to comprehend that even my future sins have been forgiven. But the question we need to ask is this: when exactly did God forgive us our sins. Was it the day we accepted Jesus and put our faith in Him? Is it whenever we ask Him for forgiveness that He forgives us? The answer is no! Paul says in Ephesians 1:3 – 6 that God ordained and commanded all our sins forgiven in Christ before the foundation of the world. And that 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ showed up as the Lamb of God to physically die on the cross to execute the Divine command. All of this happened before I was even born, with all my sins still yet to be committed, including the sin I will commit tomorrow! All I am really doing now  – the day I put my faith in Jesus and anytime after that whenever I sin  –  is to come to him and confess i.e. agree with God about my sin (1 John 1:9). And what do I agree with God? That my sin, though, many and as red as scarlet, have all been paid for and that I am now as white as snow. I come to receive the forgiveness that has been offered.  Therefore, I no longer have a sin problem! All my sins have been paid for and done away with! I do not have to ever fear or worry if I may or may not be forgiven. God has not only forgiven all my past sins; He has in the past forgiven all my sins! So how do I grow in grace –  change my mind about sin and learn to live like someone who no longer has a sin problem.

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What do you do when you pray and pray and yet it seems like you just can’t have a breakthrough? How can you cope with afflictions or difficult situations that just seem to constantly overwhelm you? This Sunday in church, I shared three truths you must remember in the midst of difficult times to give you victory through the hard times. These are three truths that will give you the right attitude so you can soar above every hardship and come out on the other side victorious. These 3 truths are:

 

1.    Remember that when you do not have what you really WANT, that’s when you discover that God is all you really NEED: The enemy’s ultimate goal is to keep you away from your God. Whatever will keep you from serving God – the enemy will bring your way. So we must never ever allow our hardships keep us from serving God. Because the truth is that in life, God is all we really need. When we remember this truth, then that affliction will make us better and not bitter. If we can remember this, that mess you are in will turn into a message. If we can remember this truth, that test you are going through now, will become a testimony. Then shall be fulfilled in your life the promise in Psalms 34:19 – “many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all“.