Last week, I realized I am reading 2 books about grace–Grace for Every Trial & Grace Based Parenting.

I wonder why I’m drawn to the subject of grace right now and feel led to do a study on it.

When I think of grace, I think of it as God’s strength to get through a trial. In salvation or my everyday life, his grace is a gift extended to me that I don’t deserve and cannot earn.

But I know God’s grace has to be so much more than this. So, I’m going to study it and record my findings!

Here’s what I found today. I’ve just BARELY begun.

Romans mentions grace 24 times. The Bible mentions grace 159 times.

Grace in the Bible can mean gracefulness or beauty. It also means favor and carries with it the idea of bestowing blessings. It’s a working principle, not abstract, but something God does in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

It means beneficent acts with no merit on the part of the recipient.

It comes from Hebrew “chen” “chanun” “chanan” and Greek “charis”

(OOO wouldn’t Charis be a lovely girl’s name?)

One thing I read that I found interesting is that grace was a word used in ordinary language so we can’t define a single doctrine or meaning to cover all the uses of the word.

That’s it for today. What are your thoughts on grace as I start this study? Do you have any questions or ideas or resources?

Oh and feel free to snag the graphic at the top. I sell them as 8×10′s in my Etsy shop but I’d like you to have this little one if you want to put it somewhere on your blog or facebook page!

Filed under: Encouragement, Enduring Trials, From God's Word, From my Journal | 2 Thoughts Shared »