Revelation 1:4-5 Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
  
Sometimes people devalue themselves, thinking that it is honoring to God by creating as much contrast between His goodness and our sinfulness. As though, reminding myself of my debauchery helps me esteem God.
 
Certainly, my sin is before me. Certainly, I am overflowing with gratefulness for what Jesus has done.
 
I am actively working on the weaknesses I have and am fully vested in God’s transformation in my life, just like you are.
 
…
 
Power in life, the kind of power that the Holy Spirit brings, is best received and housed by focusing on who I am in Christ, not who I am not.
 
Yes, grace is a sea glass that allows you to see far away into the future. Grace allows you to look forward and ask the question, who will I become in Christ? Be careful of a sin focused life. A life that says the less I sin, the more I will be like Jesus.
 
So, focus is put on stopping things in your life that you believe create separation between you and the Lord. In effect, we scour our life and work hard on the things that are a burden to us, things that we feel guilty about, things that are sinful.
 
Don’t hear the wrong thing from me today. I am not saying that we should be complacent with our sin, not at all. Anywhere sin is seen in our being we must stop the sin.
 
Our focus and motivation is not the sin, though. Grace, given by God, allows us to see what we are becoming. We will lose sight of the sin as we focus upon God’s heart and nature. I have never met a satisfied person who spent their life getting rid of sin without the draw to be with God in fellowship.
 
“Grace and peace to you” is a rich blessing that comes from God, these two are a gift.
 
I have peace with God through Jesus.
 
Think of our future sight this way, grace is the sight, and the peace is the right to see. As a believer, Jesus gives you permission to see the future through the lens of grace. You have peace with God through Jesus. Without Jesus, we cannot see, and we do not have permission to see a blessed future because the curse is still enacted upon our life.
 
God lifts the burden of sin and the requirement to live in relationship to the sin. I don’t focus on it anymore; I receive the grace of God and I know I have grace, because the peace allows me to to turn away from focusing on the sin.
 
Without Jesus the law weighs heavy, and I will focus on the sin. With Jesus I have a release of the burden of the law and now I can see a future in blessing.
 
John celebrates with his reader by spreading the good news of what Jesus has done. Grace and peace come from God the Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Each of them has a separate and congruent role in the extending of Grace and peace to you.
 
Think about it.
 
What is the Father’s role in extending grace and peace? Here is a hint, the whole plan came from His heart – and His nature.
 
What about the role that Jesus has in extending grace and peace to you? How about the cost involved in buying your grace and peace? He bought it.
 
What about the role of the Holy Spirit in extending to you grace and peace? Here is another hint. He applies the grace and peace to you with His presence. He activates and makes aware to you that these are a real thing.
 
Oh, look through the grace glass!
 
See that the Lord is good. Look at God, see Him there? Be drawn.
 
Father, thank You for Your heart. Thank You that Your ways are always in keeping with the nature of who You are. Praise Your name Holy Lord. Thank You Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the grace and peace that You extend to us.
 
Blessings,
Pastor D