Faith and Grace

It’s summer—children, youth, and parents are excited to begin a relaxing holiday time! Many of our church families are away, either returning to be with family and friends in their home countries or enjoying the beauty of God’s creation here in Europe.

Our summer worship schedule begins this Sunday, 30 July and will run until Sunday, 3 September. There will be Bible study and prayer for adults. We’ll be considering chapters from the books of John, Acts, and Romans and how they relate to our lives. A special program, Growing in Grace and Gratitude, for youth and children will run concurrently.

One of the topics we’ll be considering during our Bible study time is faith and grace. Have you noticed that the New Testament never says salvation is on account of faith or because of faith, but rather by or through faith? Faith is connected to divine grace and mercy, but it is never, ever a human effort to be applauded. When we say we are “saved by faith alone,” we mean only that faith links us with the saving grace that God alone can supply—it never originates by our own endeavor or determination.

One popular phrase we hear all the time is “saving faith.” It seems to throw the responsibility of salvation on the quality or quantity of faith exhibited by the believer, rather than upon the pure mercy of God. Is this true?

This line of thinking runs contrary to what the Bible teaches us that faith is always and forever a result of God’s initiative toward us. He comes bearing gifts long before we offer our gifts to him—gifts born out of our gratitude and simple thanksgiving for his generosity. Anything else would render it similar to karma. We’ll discuss this more during our Bible study time on Sundays.

On 1 August, as a response to God’s grace in our lives, our family will be beginning another 100 Day Prayer. If you’d like to join us, please let me know. How will it work? Whenever you get time during the day, either for two minutes or as long as you like, prayer for God’s blessings, favor, and protection on our church family and loved ones. And, each Sunday, we’ll join together in prayer. They are many needs expressed and unexpressed that we can bring before God and we can trust that he will answer them.

Praying for you in your travels. May you have a refreshing and God-filled summer!