'Twas Grace

'Twas Grace that kept me safe all days,
   And Grace that blocked my paths with thorns;
Grace sought me with a steadied gaze;
   Grace spoke to me my heart to warn.

In pride I tried to climb the heights,
   To reach for honor, fame and pow'r;
But Grace in mercy blocked my flights,
   And undercut my Babel Tow'r.

Then Grace in mercy dealt its blow,
   Its cunning cut that heralded cure:
With plans in ruins and joys now woe,
   I finally saw a hope so sure.

'Tis Grace that leads me down from heights,
   A barren crag and lifeless place;
For blessings come midst radiant lights
   That on the humble shines His Face.

For Grace has taught my heart to love,
   Since nothing good in me I know;
All blessings come from Him Above
   And flow to those who bend most low.

- D. Benning

 

He Giveth More Grace

...for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Phil. 4:11 - 13

Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:5

The key to our being able to do all things is to be remaining and abiding in Christ.  Our strength will fail.  His strength is infinite!

He giveth more grace
When the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength
When the labours increase.
To added affliction
He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

Chorus
His love has no limit,
His grace has no measure,
His pow'r has no boundary
Known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth,
And giveth again!

When we have exhausted
Our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed
Ere' the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our
Hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun.

Chorus

The Increase of His Grace!

" We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.  Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring."
2 Thes. 1:3 - 4

In his first epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul thanks God for their faith, love and endurance.  Those qualities were present and observable by works and labor.  Here, in this epistle, Paul is rejoicing and thanking God for the increase in their faith and love and their continued perseverance and endurance.  That is, they were not just one-time (a while back) Christians, but they are continuing, on-going and growing Christians.

"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day" (Prov. 4:18).  And thus we should always make forward progress in our progressive sanctification.

Note that the increase of this grace is every bit the work of God as is the initial implanting of this grace.  And thus God is to be praised and thanked! 

As Matthew Henry notes in his commentary on 2 Thessalonians:

Note, Where there is the truth of grace there will be increase of it. The path of the just is as the shining light, which shines more and more unto the perfect day. And where there is the increase of grace God must have all the glory of it. We are as much indebted to him for the improvement of grace, and the progress of that good work, as we are for the first work of grace and the very beginning of it. We may be tempted to think that though when we were bad we could not make ourselves good, yet when we are good we can easily make ourselves better; but we have as much dependence on the grace of God for increasing the grace we have as for planting grace when we had it not.

If we are to increase in faith and love and in endurance, we need Grace.  How then are we to find this Grace?  It is found in Peter's admonition to his readers: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"  (2 Pet. 3:18).  We can only grow in Grace if we are growing in Knowledge of the LORD.  And Knowledge of the LORD will only come from increased reading of His WORD, the Bible.  That is, the more we really know about God, the more we will be conformed to His likeness and the more Grace He will give to us.  Grace does not appear without specific revelation of His will.  Grace and Knowledge of God are inseparable.

Thus, to increase in faith and love and endurance, we must get into the Bible, read it and apply it.