Grace

For the past month this word has been rolling around in my head . . . GRACE.

“What is it?” you ask. Well, if you have been around Christian circles for any length of time, you probably know the official definition. Grace is “unmerited favor.” That is to say, favor we didn’t deserve. And who is it from? It is from God.

In the first place, we know that we are saved by grace. In my message last Sunday, I stated that if you were to ask anyone if they are going to heaven, that is of the general public, you might get the answer, “I think so.” Then you would ask why they are going to heaven, to which they might answer, “I’m a pretty good person.”

Well, all of that is wrong. A “pretty good” person doesn’t get into heaven on the basis that they are “pretty good.”

That’s works, a system of trying to get into heaven by doing good, and that isn’t going to cut it. Isaiah says “All our righteousness is as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)

That’s because we are born with a sin nature and we sin. There was only one person who went through life and didn’t sin, not once, and that is Jesus Christ. He died for the sins of the whole world. By believing in Him and accepting Him as our Savior, God then when he sees us, sees the righteousness of Christ. He sees us as if we had never sinned.

So, firstly, grace is His unmerited favor. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Salvation is a free gift. You can’t earn it. You just accept it.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV).

So that is the first benefit of grace . . .  salvation, which is a free gift.

But, beyond that, what is grace?

John Bevere, a Christian author who wrote two blockbusters, The Bait of Satan, and Under Cover, did an extensive survey, asking people the question, “What is grace?” From this survey he came to a conclusion:

Grace is power.

Is it true? Is grace power?

Well, let’s explore that a bit.

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.“

Take note that we are coming to the throne of “grace.” So what does that grace do? It gives help in the time of need. When we need grace or help, we are to come boldly, because it is freely available to us. So grace is the power to overcome our difficulties, the obstacles that life gives us. God gives the help, the power to overcome, and it is free to His child.

So, then grace is His power or enablement to help us with the things we can’t do ourselves. Grace comes in times of emergency.

Grace sometimes does the impossible.

When I was a boy of eight, my older brother announced one summer day that we were going to go to the woods to get firewood. We had a wood burning barrel stove in the basement, and it was our job to see there was plenty of firewood. 

When my brother got a notion, there was no turning him back . . . and it had to be done right now.

So we hooked up the Ford Tractor to the drey and off we went. Many of you have probably never heard of a drey. Well, a drey was a sort of sled with wood runners that came together in the front to form a rounded point. Across the runners was a cross member with posts rising from either end. It was generally used in the wintertime to skid pulpwood out of the woods. The drey was heavy. The runners were probably ten inches thick and square.

My brother gave me an axe, and I was to sit on the crossmember, which I did. We took off through the pasture, probably too fast. We were, after all, rambunctious boys. Wherever there is a “cowpie” in the pasture, it grows thick with grass and is raised, so it is a sizable bump. Well, the pasture was full of these bumps. I was doing all I could to stay on the drey and not fall off.

But then we hit a big bump and I did fall . . . forward. It all happened so fast. My reflexes kicked in and I quickly turned on my back, so as not be face down . . . and the crossmember was now passing over me, threatening to crush me, and the axe blade was pushing sharply into my thigh. As the cross member passed over me, I pushed up for all I was worth and lifted the entire drey up in the air.

Just then my brother looked back and, I guess, was horrified. In a reflex action he stopped. The problem was I was stuck with the drey above me, my arms shaking to keep it from coming down and crushing me. He froze, not knowing what to do. He had taken the tractor out of gear. Then he managed to get it in gear again, and ease forward. The drey came down, with the cross member clearing my head.

I got up shakily. We looked at each other and didn’t say anything. We had just been delivered from a sure catastrophe.

My pants were cut and my leg was cut by the axe, but the cut was not deep. We realized the axe could have easily cut half-way through my thigh.

We walked home, went into the kitchen and shakily explained to my mother what had happened, hardly able to speak. After nearly fainting, she dressed the wound and all was well.

Was that grace?

Help in the time of need?

I think so.

And how in the world did a eight-year-old boy lift the drey, that probably weighed at least two to three hundred pounds, completely off the ground?

Well, I’m told the adrenal glands, in an emergency, give great strength to the one in trouble. Who made the adrenal glands? God did. And He fashioned those glands to produce the power that saved me from a really nasty accident.

Grace is power.

And grace comes in many ways . . . to help us, to deliver us, to save us.

God’s grace is ever available to us today.

We ought always to come boldly to the throne of grace, to find help in the time of need.

Going Forward

Our ministry is growing, not just here at the church but literally throughout the world in the last month we have had several first-time visitors to the Sunday service. On the world stage, our radio ministry reaches an estimated two million to three million each week day.

Our website is receiving visitors from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Iran, England, Germany, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, India, and Japan . . . to name a few. I am not keeping up with teaching articles to post to the website and Lorraine is unable to work on the illustrations for her children’s book. We are faced with ample ministry opportunities but we either do not have the resources or time which saddens our hearts.

Each month we make a trip to Minneapolis to record programming for the next month. These trips cost us about $500. Kerry Liebelt, who records and edits our spots at the Praise FM studios, donates his services to us. Each month, we pay Amb-Os $190 to distribute the spots to radio stations across the nation. Last month, we used every possible resource we could to come up with the money to keep the radio broadcast going. Literally, our money supply is day to day. Often the money we need to keep going comes in the day we need it.

A full set of ink cartridges for our laser printer costs just shy of $600. Last week in Bemidji, Minnesota, a woman approached us and said how wonderful our ministry is. She told us she has saved every newsletter for the last six years and goes back to read them as the Lord leads her. She wanted to pray for us and did so, a ten-minute prayer.

Typically in summer, donations decrease. We just can’t sustain that. Please, continue your donations and increase them, if you can. We are praying for new first-time givers. Perhaps that is you! Use the enclosed envelope or donate on the website. You are vital to the effectiveness of this ministry. God bless you all!

In His Service,

George and Lorraine Halama

Photograph designed and taken by Lorraine