Grace. What is grace?

One of Strong’s Concordance’s definitions of grace is
2A the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.

Simply put – it is when we receive the good things that we do not deserve. But grace has expectations built in. This should not be a new thought to the Christian. Salvation is an act of the grace of God. There are expectations of saved people.

Let’s us set a foundation for today’s text by looking at another text. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2:1-10 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Yes, salvation is an act of the grace of God, but this grace that saves us has expectations built right in. We must recognize that that grace is not a human resource. We begin helpless. We have nothing to offer. Grace is an act of God’s love. Grace is a gift. We have not earned any glory. We are not allowed to boast. We were created in Christ Jesus and empowered by the grace of God to walk in good works.

From the beginning of our salvation, grace has been given by God to us and we have been expected to give from that grace. We are not allowed to claim any credit. We are simply giving out of what we were given.

Now with that brief summary of grace and our role with respect to grace – back to our text in II Corinthians 8.

Giving is one of the good works that were prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. It is impossible to give correctly without the grace of God.

The grace of God is the star of the show in today’s text.

The text seems to be broken down into 3 sections.
The first section, verses 1-5, is a testimony given by Paul about the grace of God given to the Macedonians and their response to that grace.
The second section, verses 6-10, points out that the Corinthians had received much grace and were yet to complete the reason the grace was given. We also see in this section that the Corinthians were given another example in Jesus Christ of what it looks like to give correctly.
The third section, verses 11-15, exhorts the Corinthians to finish giving well by giving them some rules for giving.

So let’s get to work. Let’s learn how to give.

The first example given to the Corinthians about giving is the Macedonians. The Macedonians were in a severe test of affliction and they were poor. The reason for their condition is not given in the text. Their poverty could have been a result of persecution or even poor crop production. So why use the Macedonians as an example? Remember that the Macedonians are not the big issue here. The Macedonians were willing and obedient vessels that God used for His glory. But the grace of God was at work here.

1. Because of the grace of God the Macedonians:
a. Overflowed in a wealth of generosity. The word overflowed is important. Something filled them to overflowing. The text tells us that they did not have very much in the way of wealth. Several things that they did have in abundance were affliction and poverty. Verse 2 says that they were in a severe test of affliction and they had extreme poverty. Oddly enough, in the midst of these conditions, there was also an abundance of joy.
b. Did not think that their affliction or their poverty released them from giving. They were looking for an opportunity to give. You would think that if a person was in the middle of massive suffering and if they were extremely poor, that God would let them off the hook. At least, that is what we think. We would say things like, “Don’t bother them right now, they are really having a bad time.” The only reason that we would say such a thing is because we do not understand the grace of God.
c. Were reminded that they were part of the Body of Christ. This kept them alerted to the needs of the saints. It is important that we notice that the saints needed relief. They were not just inventing things to give to. The legitimate needs of the saints were brought to their attention and because of the grace of God, they simply had to respond. For them not to respond was unthinkable.
d. Gave themselves to the Lord first, then by the will of God to others. This cannot be overemphasized. It is God who knows the real need of another person. To give yourself to others without involving God is not loving and has no faith in it. When God gives grace, He has a purpose in mind.

2. The desire to give is a good beginning, but actually giving is the right finish. In the area of giving, love must be proven genuine. At least in this area – talk is cheap. The measuring tool for giving in this text is the Macedonians and Jesus Christ. Both were moved by the grace of God to give. Both gave themselves to the Lord first and then the will of God gave them to others.

The Macedonians were discussed here first, so we will look at them first.

The Macedonians had given:
- in a manner that was supernatural. This point must be made if we are going to showcase the grace of God and not the kindness of men. In verse 3, Paul states that “they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means“. This giving was so impressive that Paul mentioned that they gave in a manner that was surprising. In verse 5 Paul says that their giving was “not as we expected”. Their giving was beyond expectations. When simply looking at the Macedonians and calculating what they could probably give, the amount would have been much smaller. How can one give beyond their means? It is not a difficult question to answer. They must give something that belongs to someone else who has more than they do. It was the grace of God that had equipped them to give and God has a lot.
- of their own free will. This is something that they wanted to do. This was not an act of duty. You know what I mean. When you see a need and you think to yourself in a grudging manner, “I probably ought to help out here.” Not the Macedonians. They earnestly begged for a chance to help. Obviously, something besides duty was motivating them here. This was an act of love.

Jesus Christ was the second measuring tool of giving. We must be careful not to miss the grace of God in His example. God was gracious to give us Jesus. He is truly a gift that meets the real need. We would not have suggested this gift. And now, look at the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was living in splendor. God sent Him to earth as a baby. He emptied Himself, walked humbly as a perfect man, and then offered Himself up to die for our sins. He took on the wrath of God in obedience. It was according to God’s will that all this took place. You see, He had given Himself over to God and then by the will of God to us.

What was Paul trying to accomplish by telling the Corinthians about the Macedonians and Jesus? Was he trying to manipulate them into giving? Was he so low on cash that he was playing one group against the other? Of course not! Paul loved the Corinthians.

Scott Hafemann states
Paul’s reference to the Macedonians “is not to create competition between churches, but to cause the Corinthians to join their brothers and sisters in becoming like Christ…..Genuine obedience is an act of delight-driven duty. The greatest way to honor the one who commands is not to obey because one must, but to do what is required with joy, having willingly given oneself to his authority…..Jesus’ incarnation illustrates that the “grace” expressed in love is the willingness to give up one’s own rights for the sake of meeting the needs of others.”¹

Paul wanted the Corinthians to demonstrate who they were and what they were about. He wanted them to have joy and the pleasure of the Lord. The Corinthians had been filled up by the grace of God and now should be giving out of that abundance. The Corinthians had begun with the desire to give, but had become disobedient. They were now claiming to be repentant, but Paul was telling them that their repentance needs to be demonstrated. He gave them two excellent examples and now he tells them how to follow through.

This brings us to the 3rd point.

3. There are rules for giving and for receiving.

a. Never give without first being supplied by the grace of God.
We find this in several places in the text. Look at

Verse 1 – The Macedonians - We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.

Verse 6&7 – The Corinthians - Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Verse 9 – Jesus Christ - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

In each case, the grace of God was given before the groups or person was expected to give.

b. The grace of God will move you to give yourself first to God and then to others according to His will.
Verse 5 - and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.
This is stated about the Macedonians and we know that this is true of Jesus Christ.

c. Give out of an abundance of joy.
Verse 2 - for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
Verse 4 - begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.

This is how the Macedonians were able to give. They didn’t have anything else. They were in a severe test of affliction and extreme poverty. And let me add. Do not give out of duty. This kind of giving is hypocrisy. The Macedonians did not give this way. The Corinthians were not instructed to give this way. Jesus Christ certainly did not give Himself this way. Can you imagine Jesus Christ saying, “OK, if I have to save this person I will, but I really don’t want to.” There is no faith in that type of giving. There is no gratefulness in that type of giving. Don’t do it. Give out of joy.

d. Give in a way that meets the real need.
Verse 4 - begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.
Verse 9 - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
The grace of God always has purpose. He does not just sprinkle love dust and whoever runs under it gets the benefits. He gave to the Macedonians so that they might be able to give. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ was to redeem us out of our spiritual poverty.

e. Your giving should be and is a genuine demonstration of love.
Verse 8 - I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine
The Corinthians had a desire to give. Titus was sent back by Paul to let them finish. The Corinthians had not proved that their love was genuine. They were being compared to the Macedonians who had not only earnestly desired to give, but had indeed given to the relief of the saints in Jerusalem. The Corinthians were being compared to Jesus Christ. Jesus did not just desire to give Himself, but indeed was obedient even unto death on the cross. He gave everything. The Corinthians had made the claim that their spiritual lives were back on track. They claimed repentance and Paul wanted to see the fruit of that repentance. He wanted to see if they really had love for Christ and His Body. Paul knew that love meets needs and is grateful for the grace of God that has been poured out on the believer. Paul clearly pointed out that the grace of God had made the Corinthians excel in everything.
Verse 7 - But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
Now Paul wants the Corinthians to prove that they had love by giving from what they had been given. He wanted to see if they were still simply takers. Paul was watching to see if they had realized that grace had been given to them in abundance and if they had great joy which should result in the ability to bless others.

f. Give of what you have, not what you do not have.
Verse 12 - For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
The example of Jesus was placed in this story for a reason. This is not only about money. We do not have a lot of examples (if any) of Jesus giving money. He gave what He had. He gave Himself. He love, wisdom, empowerment, friendship, example, Lordship, intercession, redemption, hope for today and hope for the future, and the list could go on for a long time. Each one of us who have been redeemed could add to the list without hesitation by simply looking at what He has done for us. You see, when one is willing to give oneself, then they are willing to give anything.
Remember, verse 5. but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us
It is clear that the grace of God causes us to give ourselves first to the Lord and then to others. Give out of the grace that has been given you.
But this brings up a question that needs answered by each individual here. Do you know what grace has been given to you? The old hymn reminds us to –
Count your blessing
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done.
When was the last time that you really looked at your life and were careful to see how extraordinarily you have been blessed by God?
When was the last time you became aware of the massive grace of God that has been poured out on you?

g. Your abundance at this present time should supply the need.
Verse 14 - your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness
This verse brings up several good thoughts.
First, this verse tells us what we should give. We should give from our abundance.
Second, this verse tells us when we should give. We should give now.
Third, this verse tells us who we should give to. We should give to those who have a need for what we have in abundance.

But if we are to give, then we must have abundance. We live in a land that causes us to be consumers more than givers. This is a sad fact of our day. But the text gives us insight on what to do.

h. Gather so that you may be able to give.
Verse 15 - As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”
Of course, this is cited from
Exodus 16:18 - But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.
The Israelites were out in the wilderness and God was feeding them. He was feeding them as an act of love towards His people and to demonstrate that He was God. He would send quail in the evening and in the morning, after the dew had dried up, there was manna on the ground. The Bible describes manna as a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. Each person was to gather in the morning. They were to gather only what they could eat and that was a measured amount. The amount was about 2 quarts or 2 liters. Any extra would spoil and brought worms. Each day they would gather and each day the extra that a person had gathered would be given to someone who had not been able to gather enough. All then were able to eat.

So how do we gather?
I think that there are many ways, but I will give you a few.
- Count your blessings. The grace of God has already been poured out on us. Ignorance of what God has done will leave us helpless and thinking that we have no abundance. We will not have joy.
As you do this, then give from the overflow. Do you have wisdom, wealth, time, strength, vehicles, faith in prayer, compassion, hope, a full pantry, etc? Then give.
- Work at what the Lord has given you to do. And make no mistake - He has given you something to do. He may have given you a job, home schooling, membership in a local church, a ministry, someone to disciple, a garden, etc.
- Take stock of your talents. Give of who you are as well as what you have. If you know how to preach, then teach others. If you are good with finances, then pass on the information.
- Save up to share. I did not say hoard what you have for a rainy day. I am not saying that saving is wrong. I am saying that if you are saving and your savings have become what you are reliant on instead of relying on the grace and provision of God, then you are in sin.
- Stop being a consumer all of the time. Ask yourself if your lifestyle allows you to give or if you are simply indulging yourself. You might say that you are poor, but I ask you if you have time.

For instance, how much money does it take to join your brothers and sisters on Sunday night for prayer? In just a short period of time each week, you can give of yourself and be cared for at the same time and yet we continue to wonder why some of you do not come. Do you not care about your brothers and sisters? Is your lifestyle self-indulgent during this time?
- Or do you spend all of your wealth on yourself so that you are so financially strapped that you just cannot provide for another who has need?
- Or have you decided that sharing the Gospel is simply for the mature in Christ? Have you hoarded the Gospel?
- Or do you have the ability to accomplish some task with the strength and ability that God has given you and you know that others need this done? Step out and do it.
- Do you have time to spend with another man or woman during the course of your day so that both of you might grow together in the love of Christ? Then make room in your life and watch what God will do.

I am not saying these things to you to make you feel guilty, but so that you might have great joy as you participate with your brothers and sisters.

i. No one should give or receive all of the time. I did not say that you will not give or receive the same way all of the time.
Verses 13 & 14 - I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
A word is repeated in these two verses and that is so that we do not miss what is being said. The word is “fairness”. This word in the Greek means “equal or equality”. Here is a strange thought. Is it possible that God actually thinks that His grace is sufficient in all of us to make sure that each person’s real needs are met? Incredible! He not only thinks that His grace is sufficient for us, but that there is enough to help meet the needs of those outside of our immediate group. The very example of the Macedonians is that they were begging earnestly to help those in Jerusalem. The example is not that they were only concentrating on themselves as a local church. Fantastic!

The grace of God is fantastic. The grace of God is the star of the show. Praise the Lord.

The Story of Hope
This has been a hard summer for Susan and me. The Care Center has been very busy. We have been taking in from 12 – 17 different people per month. The people that we have been taking in have been difficult cases. We have worked with drug addicts, prostitutes, and the blind. We have rescued a woman out of a hotel room who aborted twins. We have worked with a pregnant woman who is hooked on drugs. We have had beatings and rapes, had several arrested for various crimes, and simply put some out for bad behavior. We have had relapses, and drug detoxing. And that was just a little of one month. We also have had women regain custody of their children for the first time in years, had women get their own places and continue to succeed, women’s hearts heal towards their families, and mothers regain hope for their children who are living with us. We have had several get saved and begin their walk with the Lord.

But the grace of God is the star of the show. He sustained us, cared for us, and equipped us.

While this was going on - the finances at The Care Center have been pitiful. This is normal for the summer, but it is still a fact. We also had a man come into the house in the middle of the night after wrecking his truck into a fence. He was very drunk. He ate peach cobbler, vomited in the sink, and left. But he was so drunk that he left his keys and his wallet with all his ID’s, money, a car title, etc in the wallet. The police had no trouble figuring this one out.

But the grace of God is the star of the show. He continues to be faithful, and he protected us.

While this was going on, my daughter Danielle and the man that she lives with Orlando (Bart) are fighting.

I will divert to give you a little background. They have been living together in sin for about 4 or 5 years. We have two wonderful grandchildren from this sinful relationship. This is not what we dreamed for our daughter. In the beginning of this relationship, Susan and I were convinced by God’s Word that our daughter was not bearing the fruit of repentance. She was claiming to be saved, but living with a married man. By the grace of the Lord, we confronted her with the Word of God and told her that if she was saved, she must stop this relationship, but if she continues, we would not even eat with her. She came back to us with what we expected. She said that she was not saved and neither was Bart. We continued to pray that this would end and they would be saved. There have been many ups and downs in the last few years.
Back to the story. Danielle and Bart were fighting and they were ending the relationship. We were so hopeful. We knew that this was traumatic for both of them and for the children. But maybe this was the end of the sin. We had been praying and so has all who love us and love them. We did not know how the Lord would answer the prayers, but maybe this was it. Susan and I rearranged our home and made room for Danielle and the kids to move in indefinitely. We worked hard during a hard summer to get them comfortable. And then, after about a week, Susan and I were awakened in the middle of the night (about 1 AM) by our son. He was telling us that Danielle was moving out. Much to our surprise, they were already packed and Bart was here. They plans had been made and away they were going. The story this time is that their lives were in danger. An ex-friend had accused Bart of stealing some expensive pit bulls and he and another relative were going to kill Bart and Danielle. We were confused. We protect women and children for a living. They were very safe with us. We told Bart to just go and hide and leave Danielle and the children with us. With God’s help and protection, I am certainly not going to let anyone hurt my family. They were not going to listen. They packed all the belonging they could handle, the children, and two dogs into the SUV and headed for South Texas. They were going about 22 hours away to live. They were taking our grandchildren from us and we did not know when we would ever see them again. We were not happy and my wife was devastated. She has poured her life into those 2 grandchildren. Once again, we had been used by our child and left in the dust of this mess. Our hope was being ripped apart again.
But yet, we are Christians. We have a God who is full of grace. He poured His grace out on us once again. We prayed for help and guidance. We called our family. We called dear brothers and sisters when they walked out the door. We shared with our church family at Sunday night prayer time. We cried together. We decided that they must learn the hard way. As we had been praying, we prayed again. We again asked the Lord to do whatever it takes to break them, humble them, and cause them to bow the knee. We knew that there was no hope for them without salvation. They needed God to redeem them by the blood of Jesus and become the Lord of their lives. Right in mid trip, they decided to go to Northern Indiana where we have family. This is better and an answer from God. This went on for about a week and then they were back in Tennessee. They moved in with a friend of theirs, installed cameras around the house for protection, and carried guns wherever they went. What a crazy story.
4 weeks ago, we got a call from Danielle in the early morning hours. She was panicked and scared. Bart had been shot and we could not tell if she had been or not. Once again, God gave great grace. We did not panic and had unusual peace. I went to the hospital after calling several people to pray. Susan stayed at home with the grandchildren. We thought originally that Bart had been shot 4 times, but it ended up being 6 times. The story fits together like this. Bart and his brother had been drinking. They got into a fight about 3 times that night. When things seemed to have calmed down, Danielle and Bart decided that they would take Bart’s brother home. On the way home, they started fighting again. When they arrived and Bart’s brother’s house, Bart’s brother went into his house and came back out with a .22 caliber rifle and started shooting. She must have shot at least 10 times or some of the bullets that hit Bart also hit inside the car. Danielle saw him point the gun and ducked down. The fragments of some bullets that hit inside the car ripped through her hair and missed her skull. Bart was hit 6 times. Some bullets were grazes, one in his upper leg, some went in his back and into his guts, and one went in his back and out his neck. Incredible he was not dead. Originally, they thought that one bullet went in so hot that it went through his spleen it seared the wound to his spleen shut. He went home within 2 days. There was no repentance from Danielle or Bart. This scared them, but no repentance. We continued to tell them that they cannot continue to live this way. They said that they were ready to change and that things would be different. We had heard this many times before. No admission of wickedness, no cry for help from the Lord, no new heart – just more talk. We continued to pray and continued to ask the saints of God to pray.
In about 1-1/2 days, Bart was vomiting and feverish. They rushed back to the hospital. He was in bad shape. After doing a CT scan, they found that two holes had opened up in Bart’s intestine. They told us that sometimes bruises can open up after a short period of time or a bullet hit the intestine. They took him in and did surgery. The doctors cut a 6 inch piece of intestine out and stitched him back together. They inserted a drain tube in his side to gather the waste that was leaking into his body cavity. But still no repentance. They were scared, but not broken. Family members witnessed to them. Lee visited them. Days passed, but no healing. We continued to pray and so did several churches. All of the saved family seemed to know that God was not letting them off the hook.
Just as they thought that Bart was starting to get better, he got worse. He had to have another drain tube placed in the sack that surrounds the lung because of infection. Infectious disease doctors were brought in. He was on medication that costs $800.00 per day. But still no repentance. We continued to pray and so did the saints. There was talk back and forth with Danielle especially, but she was not willing to give some things of her life over to the Lord. She was raised in a Christian home and knew what would be expected of her. At least she was honest.
Just as they thought that Bart was starting to get better, he got worse. Another drain tube was inserted to deal with the abscess from the first pocket of infection. But still no repentance. Throughout this entire time, people were sharing the Gospel with them and praying. My mom, my dad, and my brother had shared the Gospel with them. We all stuck with them in love, but were convinced that God was at work here.
The doctors decided that Bart was not going to heal without drastic measures. He was feverish, vomiting, infections were growing, the waste was building up more in his body cavities, etc. They decided that they would put a Colostomy Bag on him. He would have to wear this at least 3 months. So back into surgery he went again. But still no repentance. Those who love us continued to lift us in prayer and we continued to pray.
Throughout this entire time, there were multiple CT scans, X-rays daily, and on and on.
The push was now on. The grace of God was intensifying in this story. I talked to Danielle again and asked her what had to happen for her to repent. She said that she was thinking about it and just wasn’t ready yet. I asked her who had to die before she will repent and give her life to Jesus. I could tell it scared her. About one half an hour later, Susan was talking to her and Susan had not talked to me. Susan reminded Danielle about when her daddy got saved. On the day when I got saved, I thought that God told me that this was my last chance. Susan’s brother and I got saved on the same day and about 3 months later – Bill was shot to death in the line of duty. This started to wake Danielle up. The grace of God was at work here. Danielle talked to Bart about all of this and he started to really think. But God had been working on Bart and Danielle for some time now. But still no repentance.
The next morning we received a call from Danielle. She told us that she had been saved last night. She had accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. She was sitting on the couch in the hospital room and was really crying hard. Bart woke up and they talked about what had happened to Danielle. Bart said that he had been praying to. Danielle told us that both of them had been saved. We were very excited, but somewhat in shock and somewhat skeptical. We were both somewhat amazed at our reaction to the news. We stopped and thanked the Lord for saving their souls. I wanted to hear it from Bart myself.
Hector and I had planned to spend the morning together and so we went up to see Bart. Danielle was still beaming and still insisting that she was saved. I started talking to Bart about what had happened to him and he said that he did not know how to get saved. But the grace of God was at work because I did know how and God had not let me be satisfied with what Danielle had thought Bart said when he told her that he had been praying. She assumed that it meant that he had done what she had done, but it was not so. We waited until the nurse was done suctioning out his tubes. The drainage was increasing and the color was not good. They were afraid that something else was wrong. They took another culture and left. I started telling Bart the Gospel and explained what he had to do to be saved. He had other questions and those were answered as well. He said that he wanted to repent, but he did not. I told him that I was praying that if he repented and accepted Christ that he would be healed and that if he did not, the Lord would continue to break him up. I told him that I loved him and that I would rather see him busted up than in hell. We left him to the grace of the Lord and his thoughts.
About 6:00 PM that night I had a message on my phone. It was Bart. He told me in a broken voice that he had done it and would I please bring the Elders of the Church to pray over him. I called my daughter’s cell phone and found out that they were taking him into surgery again to insert another tube. His fever had spiked to over 103 degrees and he was vomiting again. His white blood count was very high. Danielle told me that Bart wanted to talk to me on the phone before he went into surgery. He told me that he had prayed and asked God to forgive him. I asked him if he meant that he had made Jesus the Lord of his life. He told me that he had and then in a strange leap of faith for a new Christian – he asked me to bring the Elders to pray over him with oil. I told him that I would. He then went into surgery. That night Lee, Ray, my dad, and me went to his hospital room. We first prayed in the lobby of the hospital and then went to his room. We asked him to explain what he had done earlier that day. He explained the best that he could. We read James 5:13-18 so that he would know on what authority we would be praying over him. He was asked if he had any sin that he had not dealt with. Since he had just become a Christian, we knew the answer to that question before he even answered. He told us that he did not know of any. We then asked him if there was any sin that if he knew of it he was not willing to deal with. He told us that he was willing to deal with any. We then anointed him with oil and prayed for him. We enjoyed Danielle and Bart’s company for a little while and left for the evening.
The next day, we talked to Bart and Danielle and found out that the night went very well. His fever had broken, his white blood count had dropped from 20,000 to 12,000, etc. The next night went even better. To end the story here is to tell you that he has been getting better ever since. Danielle and Bart are praying together and reading the Word of God together. They are grateful to God for saving them and for all those who have loved them through this.

It was the grace of God that caused people to give
The Gospel
Encouragement
Prayers
Meals
Visits
Faith
Warnings
E-mails
Time
Nursery fill-ins
Phone calls
Friendship
And much more.
And not just this month - it has been going on for years.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

To God Be the Glory!!! Hallelujah!

¹Scott Hafemann, The NIV Application Commentary: 2 Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 337-8.

GIVING - GRACE FROM BEGINNING TO END