“…the exceeding riches of His grace….“Ephesians 2:7

JEHOVAH glories in His grace. It is His riches, His wealth. All its riches is intended for us, to be expended upon us. They are all treasured up in Jesus to be received by us. They are promised and presented to us. They exceed our thoughts, our expectations, our faith, we do not believe that God has provided and promised so much for our good as He has; and therefore we do not ask for, and expect so much. Let us this day think of ” THE EXCEEDING RICHES OF GRACE.” Jesus was the gift of grace, so was the Holy Spirit, and so are all spiritual blessings. Grace includes, and is the source from which flows all the church has received, is receiving, and will receive throughout eternity. Grace freely gives, but never sells. It has a bountiful eye, a tender heart, and a liberal hand. We are not straitened in God, but in our hearts. Oh, that we did but believe what God has revealed in reference to the riches of grace, and expect to receive according to His most liberal promises! There is an abundance of grace, and it is for us; for us this morning, for us whenever we apply. Let us therefore have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.(James Smith)

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound!
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

Sometimes we know what we ought to do and we express it— reluctantly. We do it because we know we should and we want to leave a good impression, but we are not totally committed to the idea. Far too often when our testimony is put to the test and we fail. Oswald Chambers gave this warning:

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”–2 Timothy 2:2–4

The Christian life is not referred to as warfare in the Scriptures symbolically. We are engaged day after day in a real life-and-death struggle with an enemy who is intent on our destruction. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). The devil will do everything that he can to attack us at any weak point he can find. It is absolutely certain that difficulty, trials, and hardship will be with us until we reach Heaven. That does not mean, however, that we must be defeated by them. God calls us to be overcomers, and that requires that we properly respond when things go wrong.

An unknown poet wrote:

All the water in the world
However hard it tried,
Could never, never sink a ship
Unless it got inside.

All the hardships of this world,
Might wear you pretty thin,
But they won’t hurt you, one least bit
Unless you let them in.

There has never been a case in all of history in which anyone improved a situation by complaining and griping about it. Sitting around moping and asking “Why me?” inevitably leads to discouragement. Instead, God calls us to treat difficulties like a reality that must be dealt with rather than as an indication that we should quit. The good soldier does not quit fighting just because it rains or snows or because there are a lot of enemies. Our love for God and our commitment to serve Him should endure any difficulty that comes our way.( Daily in the Word)

It should go without saying that things turn out according to the turns we take. In other words– decisions determines destiny, choices are followed by consequences. The law of sowing and reaping make it impossible to go wrong and end up right. So we need to give serious thought as to the decisions we make. That point is made well is the following from the Baptist Bible Hour:

We have only one life to live — only one! Think of this for a moment.

Here we are in this world of time, making the journey of life. Each day we are farther from the cradle — and nearer to the grave! Solemn thought! See the mighty concourse of human lives; hear their heavy tread in their onward march. Some are just beginning life’s journey; some are midway up the hill, some have reached the top, and some are midway down the western slope. But where are we all going? Listen, and you will hear but one answer, “Eternity!” Beyond the fading, dying gleams of the sunset of life — lies a boundless, endless ocean called Eternity! There, you and I are daily traveling.

Time is like a great wheel going its round. On and on it goes. Some are stepping on — and some are stepping off. But where are these latter stepping? Into eternity! See that old man with bent form, snow-white locks, and tottering steps. His has been a long round, but he has reached his end at last. See the middle-aged man. His round has not been so long, but he must also step off. See the youth. He has been on only a little while — but he is brought to the stepping-off place. He thought his round would be much longer. He supposed that he was just getting started — when that icy hand was laid upon him and the usher said, “Come, you have made your round, and you must go!” The infant that gave its first faint cry this morning — may utter its last feeble wail tonight. And thus they go. But where? Oh, where? Eternity!

If you were to start today and ask each person you met the question, “Where are you going?” and, if possible, you were to travel the world over and ask each one of earth’s inhabitants — there could be but one answer, “Eternity!”

“Oh, eternity, Long eternity!
Hear the solemn footsteps of eternity!”

Only one life to live! Only one life — and then we must face vast, endless eternity! We shall pass along the pathway of life but once. Every step we take — is a step that can never be taken again.

This world is not a play-ground — or a place to trifle with time. Life is not given us to squander nor fritter away. To trifle away time, is indeed, to be the greatest of spendthrifts. If you squander a dollar — you may regain it; but a moment wasted — can never be regained. God gives us all the time we need to accomplish all that He purposes us to accomplish — but He does not give us one moment to trifle away.

We have only one life to live — only one! –James Orr