September 2014 E-Newsletter - A Note From Tony

Dear Friend,

My children gave me an iPad several years ago for Christmas. Now, I’m a yellow-pad-and-pencil kind of guy. But suddenly, I had a gift that would record and remember things for me, and take pictures for me. This gift also had apps, something I never had on my yellow pad. If I need a flashlight, I have a flashlight app. If I want to keep stuff in file folders, there’s an app for that. There’s even an app that lets me play Ping-Pong without a table! I mean, this gift is always sufficient in all things for every good deed.

The problem is I’m so used to doing things the old way that I wind up tinkering with a gift that puts indescribable resources and power at my fingertips. That’s how many of us believers are with God’s indescribable gift of grace, which is all-sufficient and puts the inexhaustible supply of God’s goodness at our fingertips, so to speak.

Let me tell you how big God’s grace is. In Ephesians 2:7, Paul says God saved us “so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Evans' translation: “You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet!” The phrase “the ages to come” is a reference to the endless ages of eternity, which means that God will still be revealing new aspects of His grace throughout eternity.

But in order to tap into this inexhaustible supply of grace, you have to access it. Now don’t misunderstand. This does not negate at all what I have just said about grace being freely given to you in Christ. Your sin has been fully paid for in Christ, which frees God up to show you His favor. But in order for God’s amazing grace to have meaning to you, you must access the grace that Jesus Christ delivered to a sinful race on the cross. You can’t earn grace, but you need to access it.

Think of the relationship you have with your electric company. You have a supplier of electricity to your house that gives you all the power you need to operate any appliance or turn on the lights. But the electric company is not going to come over to switch on the lights in your home or plug in your appliances. The power is there because the electric company has given you the power to access it. But accessing it is up to you.

The same is true for the unlimited supply of grace God has made available to you. And the good news is that, unlike your access to electricity, the bill for your access to grace has already been paid.

Friend, I encourage you to access the fullness of God’s grace today. Employ it in your life and watch the fruits of His unmerited favor abound. To help you along this pathway, we’re offering you both a brand-new teaching series and a brand-new Bible study which will give you practical tips to receive an abundant return on your spiritual investment. Both are yours for a gift of any amount this month. I hope you’ll take advantage of this limited-time offer and grow in the grace of God!

And THANK YOU for all you do to help us continue taking the truths of God’s Word to a world in need!

For the King and His Kingdom,