The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Philemon 1:25 NIV
I was cutting a very large and long limb off a live tree with a chain say. I cut underneath the limb first and then I was going to move to the top. The length and weight of the limb shifted quicker than I expected and pinned the chainsaw bar and blade.
After several attempts of breaking it loose and trying to cut the top part with another saw, I was unsuccessful. I walked back to my house several times to get other tools that might make it work. Finally, I prayed. I asked for God’s help and wisdom.
I had gotten the bar free, but the chain was still stuck. I realized I could take the chainsaw apart and use another chain. After a few minutes I was able to complete the task. Why did I wait so long to ask for God’s help?
In Paul’s closing remarks, he includes a blessing for all of those he had written to, it’s “all y’all” in greek. What was Paul actually saying?
Grace is charis in greek. Grace is God’s favor, kindness and goodness leaning toward you. It is a gift that is received and not earned in any way. It is not given because of how good you are nor is it withheld because you have been bad (that’s the part that doesn’t make sense to us). Why would God continue to love us with all of His favor when we still go our own way? But He does.
Paul also uses Jesus’ full name. Not really. He does add two titles wrapped around the name Jesus. Lord is kyriou and is a title for master. It is understood as the one in supreme authority. There is none higher than this. The grace given to your spirit comes from the very top. It comes from the one who has all authority to give as He pleases. He has the earned right to bestow grace with no one to give objection or cause it to be withheld.
Christ is christos also understood as messiah. This Jesus is the same one who is your ultimate hero and savior. He paid the ultimate sacrifice of dying in your place to redeem you from your mess. This Messiah is the one who also gives you grace or favor. Do you want a hero that cares about you specifically? Jesus is your Messiah, the Christ.
Spirit is pneumatos. It includes the meaning of breath and wind. When God breathed into Adam, he became a living being. The spirit is the part of a person that has the ability to connect with the spiritual realm. When you became a follower of Jesus, your spirit became reborn. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Being born again awakens our ability to communicate with God through the Holy Spirit.
Paul was blessing his listeners with Jesus’ grace, God’s favor and kindness leaning toward them, that would envelop their spirit. How would today be different if your ears were more sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit? What would your conversations sound like if you spoke to others what God was speaking to you? How would your decisions that need to be made be affected, if you could see from God’s perspective? How much more meaningful would your prayer life be throughout your day, if your spirit remained in constant dialogue with God because His voice was that intimate with you?
On this Monday Mantra may you experience the unlimited abundance of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ upon your spirit (the part of you that relates to God). May you feel His pleasure. May your spirit be awakened to His abiding presence. May you learn to receive the gift of grace that is given to you with the love of your Messiah. May your spirit awaken from its slumber, to live in the fullness of God’s grace changing from glory to glory.
Blessings Love y’all