9904 Woodstream Court, Lanham MD 20706

Phone: +1 (240) 350-6426

http://www.joyfullivingministries.org
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DAILY NUGGETS FOR JOYFUL LIVING

Friday, January 23, 2015
Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the
error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ 2 Peter 3:17-18 KJV
YOU CAN GROW IN GRACE
What is grace? How do you know when you are walking in grace? How do you actually know when
grace is absent? Grace is a special enablement that allows you to do what you could not otherwise have
done of your own ability or strength. Grace is a free gift that only Deity can give. Grace is the freely
given, unmerited favor and love of God. You actually do not merit grace. It comes to you as a surprise.
Humans tend to rely on grace when something is prevalent and they do not know what to do and neither
can they explain how remedy will come. And so they resolve to grace dependency with such phrases as:
By Gods Grace or by His Grace. Grace does not consider your past, no matter how terrible it has been.
Grace brings you into a favor standing with the Almighty. Impossible situations are overcome by grace. As
a matter of fact, grace is always unmerited. In grace, there are no inherent rights. In other words, there
is nothing that deserves or justifies a reward or commendation where grace is involved. Actually, grace is
an undeserved gift from God. The output of any work in grace is excellence. Perfection is the language of
grace. In fact, grace is nothing but the doings of God. Grace has a throne and every Christian is given a
complete and total access to the Throne of Grace. Truly speaking, there is nothing that a Christian is
expected to do that he cannot do under grace. This is because grace is made available for him to
accomplish what he cannot accomplish of his own ability. That means that every Christian has enough
grace to live peaceably with all men, especially those in the household of faith. That implies that you have
grace to love even the unlovable. That means that you have the grace to forgive the vilest of offenders.
You are endowed with the grace to give even to the last of your possessions. You have the grace to be
fully committed to the things of God and His Church. When you feel that you are incapable of doing
something, then, that is actually when you are most qualified to do something because you have the grace
of God to do that thing. Friend, you can grow in grace if you hold on to Gods word in that circumstance.
Grace will help you to labor in life. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Saint Paul encouraged: But by the grace
of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Staying passive, without
doing something relevant to you, or to your environment, on the disguise that the grace of God will do it
for you is a misinterpretation and a misrepresentation of the GRACE OF GOD at work in you. Here, Saint
Paul labored more than the rest because of the reason of the grace of God upon his life. You fall from

your own steadfastness when you are misled into believing that the grace of God working within you is not
dynamic. If you are doing nothing but only wait for manna to fall from Heaven, then you have fallen from
grace. Faith without works is dead. When you are under grace, your entire life experiences the
dynamisms of life. You will be on your feet and about anything that has Gods interest in it. You will labor
abundantly than any other person just because you are under grace. Grace is supposed to bring you closer
to God and His ways of doing things. Your priorities will be well defined and no time will be wasted on
issues that are not relevant to you or the things of God. Thus, our Bible text exhorts: But grow in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Without grace, you will lose sight of the Lord.
You will give every credit to your strength and ability. That explains why many people are being led away
with the error of the wicked, and falling from their own steadfastness. You cannot grow in grace without
growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Your life will become transformed and you
will find yourself doing only those things that will please your Lord. Your waking thoughts will be to please
God. You will become conscious of those things that will displease Him and so make conscious effort not
to do them. You will deny yourself of a level of comfort just to allow the grace of God to work a work in
you. You will study to show yourself approved unto God. You will apply the word of God to every situations
of your life. You will become so God conscious that your life will get tuned only to His leadings. That is
walking in the Spirit; walking in the consciousness of the presence of God. When that is your life, you are
growing in Grace and in the knowledge of Christ. Beloved, youve got to grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Savior Jesus Christ because then can you claim to be experiencing life in Joyful Living. Amen?
Pastors Chris & Julie Akpama
Dont forget your COVENANT with God every day. Call the pastor from 6:30 pm till 9:30 pm @ (240) 350-6426 for encouragement and for
covenant prayers. Call expecting! Call believing!! Your miracle is possible with prayers!!! Amen? Acts 12:5-9

2015, A YEAR OF DIVINE EXCHANGE Isaiah 61:2-3