You can listen to this post here on Refresh Her podcast.
The grace of God is appropriated to all who put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So many songs are written about God’s grace. A newer one is “The Lord is my salvation”. It starts out –
The grace of God has reached for me
And pulled me from the raging sea,
And I am safe on this solid ground
The Lord is my salvation
We are so thankful for God’s grace to us in our daily lives, aren’t we? Grace forgives, helps, equips, guides, and restores. It gives to me what I do not deserve.
John 1:14, 16, 17 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Recently my grandsons were at our home for dinner. When it was time for dessert, I brought out three different flavors of ice cream and asked the boys what kind they would like. One of the boys answered with, “I’ll START with the cookies and cream.” That clearly meant that he was not going to stop with one bowl. He would have one scoop and then he would have another. That’s a visual of grace upon grace at Gigi’s house.
Christians receive grace and then more grace—grace served on top of grace—grace and then, in place of that, more grace. The point is that Christ is full of grace, and those who know Him get showered with grace.
What’s abundantly clear is that, when we come to Christ, He dishes out grace in heaping, huge servings.
Our marriages are to be pictures of the Gospel. What would grace in marriage look like?
Grace in marriage would mean giving to my spouse out of my unselfish love what they may not deserve.
Here are ten ways to show grace to your spouse ~
- Prayer – Pray daily for your mate – Find Bible passages to pray for him and watch how God answers!
Here on my blog I wrote a post, Fifteen things to pray for your husband. It includes things like,
- That he would be a man of prayer
- That God would keep him pure
- That he would have a godly, teachable heart.
- That he would lead your family
- That he would grow spiritually
- That He would have godly men around him to encourage him.
· 2. Connection – Regularly learn about him – Things are constantly changing. What do you need to learn? Even if he isn’t making the effort to stay connected, you ask loving questions.
How can I pray for you today?
How can I help you today?
How can I love you more deeply?
· 3. Serving – Find new ways to serve him – Be the one with the biggest servant’s heart. Matt 20:26 But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
· 4. Bless – Look for ways to surprise him – Find something that would be a blessing and do it when he least expects it.
Wash His car.
Iron his shirt
Buy his favorite candy bar and leave it on his dresser
Leave him a card
· 5. Quiet – Withhold criticism about him – Keep it from your thoughts, conversations to others or him. Hatred stirs up strife but love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12)
· 6. Touch – No one else but you can.
7. Respect him – To his face, behind his back, tell others why you respect the man you chose to marry.
· 8. Affirmation – Remind him that you’re on his team, no matter what.
· 9. Diffuse anger – Call a truce in a disagreement – Hold out both your hands to him, look him in the eye and say what you would want to hear…”I’m sorry. Let’s make up.”
· 10. Be cheerful – Be the reason he’s glad he came home!
You may have screamed, “He doesn’t deserve __________.”
That’s why it’s called grace. Do it for him like God does it for you.
Scoop upon scoop. Grace upon grace.
RefreshHer 