Reading Plan:
Romans 12


Give Grace
Author: Blake Houston


Here we come to the next stop in our journey - one of the greatest blueprints for the Christian life that has ever been written.

It’s like Paul was sitting at his writing desk thinking, “Okay, so what does Blake need to know about living life as a believer in 2022?”

His answer? Romans chapter 12.

Paul spends much of his time talking about grace. Grace is undeserved favor. We are on this journey of Living Hope because of the “grace given to us” (v6). God has given us all grace by sending his Son Jesus to die a death we deserve and pay for the wages of our sin. Grace is free and unmerited. It can’t be earned, just accepted.

Yet, our gratitude for this extraordinary gift is best expressed by our actions afterward. Everyone needs grace. And when we recognize the grace we’ve received, we should be compelled to extend grace to others. This is how Living Hope is spread.

Paul is writing in Romans 12 to explain how this is done. We can’t extend grace without first receiving it. But, when we allow our minds to be transformed by God’s grace, several things happen:

We feel the freedom to hear and obey whatever God prompts us to do. (v2)

We recognize that our skills and talents are gifts from God, and we use them to extend grace and Living Hope to others. (v6-8)

We stop trying to earn God’s approval, which allows us to feel secure in His love and honor others above ourselves. (v9-10)

We start to lavish Living Hope on others, seek to help those in need, pursue peace instead of drama, and overcome evil with good. (v14-21)

Now that’s the kind of life worth living.


Reflection:

• How do you respond to those who mistreat you? What’s one way you can extend grace and forgiveness to someone this week?
• How would you describe the difference between sincere & insincere love for others? What is one thing you can do differently this week to love your family, classmates, or coworkers sincerely?
• Prayer: Jesus, thank You for giving me grace, unmerited favor in Your sight. Help me take the grace that I have been given and pass it on to others, even those who mistreat me or wish to do me harm. I pray that in Your Strength, I will not be overcome by evil, but that I will overcome evil with good. In Jesus’ name, amen.
  
  

Family Application: God Gives Us Grace.
Author: Cooper Herrington

• Here we come to the next stop in our journey - one of the greatest plans for how to live the Christian life that has ever been written. It’s like Paul was sitting at his writing desk thinking, “Okay, so what do they need to know about living life as a Christian in 2022?” His answer? Romans chapter 12.
• Paul is talking about grace. Grace is an undeserved gift. We are on this journey of hope because of the “grace given to us” (v6). God has given us all grace by sending his Son Jesus to die a death we deserved. Grace is free. It can’t be earned, just accepted.
• We can show how thankful we are for God’s grace by passing it on to others. Everyone needs grace. When we know that we have been given grace, we get to give grace to others. This is how hope is spread to the world. When someone is not perfect, which we are all imperfect, give them grace and remind them that God loves them and has forgiven them instead of reminding them how awful they are for being imperfect.
• Prayer: God, You are the best gift-giver ever! Thank You for giving us the gift of Your grace. I am so glad I get to tell the world about the grace You have given me. Help me to show the world grace like You have shown me grace. Amen.