Strengthened by Grace

Hebrews 13-Part 4
Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. We have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.
Hebrews 13:9-10


LET IT GLOW

Do I get hung up on what I can eat or don't eat? Do I judge others by what they eat or don't eat?
For six months I followed a very strick diet so I would not have to take a shot every week. My efforts paid off. So far, so good. The problem is, since I don't have the pain, I tend to slide back into my old ways. Yesterday I ate strawberries, barbq chicken, and corn, which were some of my forbidden fruit. My body told me about it, too. I said all of that to show that I enjoy the benefits of following my diet. It strengthens my body. Also, I enjoy the benefits of grace. I don't have to offer animal sacrifices for my sins, as in the Old Testament days. Shall we look closer into grace?

Is my heart strengthened by grace?
Legalism weakens the heart; human restrictions deter growth. It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. No person is ever benefited by following a heresy.

Ephesians 2:8 says, For by grace are ye saved though faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Grace has been defined as unmerited favor. It's a gift, not one that we deserve, can work for, nor can get on our own. Since Jesus doesn't change, His grace is always available.
God's grace is uncontainable. Time and space do not restrick it.

Ann Voskamp said in her daily devotional, God in the Moment:

Grace means favor, from the Latin word, gratia. It connotes a free readiness, a free and ready favor. That's grace. It is one thing to choose to take the grace offered at the cross, but to choose to live as one
filling with His grace? Choosing to fill with all that He freely gives...with glory and grace and God?
It is a choice.
This act of naming grace moments, this list of God's gifts, moves beyond the shopping list variety of prayer and into the other side, the other side of prayer, the interior of His throne room, the inner walls of His powerful, love-beating heart. The list is God's list, the pulse of His love-love thrums on the other side of our prayers.

Do I thank the Father for His free grace? How often do I thank Him? Can I list a thousand gifts of grace this year for which I am thankful?


LET IT GROW

In verse 9, we are to not be carried away from grace, by various, different (divers), new, unheard(strange), teachings (doctrines).  (Thayer's Lexicon)

These teachings are of a variety of colors pleasing to the eye and wooing to the senses. Although the doctines of others may be appealing, they may be fake. Don't be led astray. (Swindoll)

Some of the Jewish Christians were being tempted to return to the ritual of the Jewish system. Meat was a vital element of Jewish ritual. The distinction of what was clean or unclean for eating was largely based upon that which was clean or unclean upon the altar. (Falwell)

It was according to the Levitical laws.  There are four specifics listed here that touch the lives of those who embrace grace and the person of Jesus Christ:

• We have an altar, which is the cross, where Christ's sacrificial offering was made.(verse 10)
• We have a reproach to bear. Believers should be willing to pay the price for identifying with Christ. There's a seperation stigma with which we must live. To fully and genuinely align ourselves with Christ is to accept the same abuse, mistreatment, and persecution He took upon Himself at Calvary. It's part of the curriculum of grace. (verse 13)
• We have a city to seek. It is a city which God has designed and built located in heaaven, not on earth. We aren't home yet. (verse 14)
• We have a sacrifice to offer. It is a sacrifice of praise, of doing good, and of giving. It is a sacrifice of ourselves. (verse 15) (Swindoll) 

Jesus told His disciples, in Matthew 16:24: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

 

 LET IT GO

Hold up the cross of Jesus, no matter what the cost.

Die to self and live for Jesus.

Endure what I must in order to remain faithful to my Savior.