Good morning people who are not influenced by the world but by God Himself

Revelation 1:4 NIV John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne.

Here’s the first thought about God’s grace to us that I want to look at today:

Grace is the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude.

Grace is not from us to God, but from God to us.

We must not confuse this issue because we ‘say grace’ to God when we eat. Actually, as per this definition above (taken from the original Greek word), I think ‘saying grace’ (showing gratitude) is part of the result of a divine encounter with God’s grace. I’m not talking about a ritualistic, meaningless prayer before we eat – I’m talking about a genuine and deep gratitude for Who God is and all that He has done in our lives, that overflows in verbal gratitude and thanks.

But our gratitude is not where grace starts, nor is it the main thing.

Grace starts with God. It is from God. Grace is God reaching out to us. Grace is God supernaturally revealing His goodness, kindness and love to us. Grace is the divine influence upon the heart. Grace is God on display.

And the apostles knew that we all need grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 makes it clear that salvation is by grace – that is God’s goodness coming to us and transforming us – not our goodness impressing God.

My prayer today is that we all have a fresh and deeper encounter with God’s grace.