Grace Magnets

       This is an excerpt from Francis Frangipane's email letter today entitled "Grace Magnets."  How good it is to be reminded of God's grace and some of the attributes that attract it!  There is nothing I desire more than to walk in His grace.  Isn't that your desire too?

       "I'll call these "grace magnets."  What I mean is that walking in these four truths actually attract the grace of God to my life.  Remember also that grace is not just unmerited favor, it is the workmanship of God in our lives (see Eph. 2:8-10).  We are saved by grace and also changed by grace.
      So, what things attract grace (that is, the workmanship of God) to our lives? I narrowed my grace magnets to four principle realities:

1). Passion to be like Christ. Rom 8:28-29. God works all things for the good of our conformity to Jesus Christ.  If we expect grace to change us, we must have a vision for the goal God has for us.  That goal is Christlikeness.

2). Humility.  The Bible says repeatedly that God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud.  If we want to change, we must desire humility.

3). Prayer.  It is one thing to humble ourselves and become dependent upon God, but prayer liberates us to obtain the promises and provisions of God to meet our needs.
 
4). Unity.  Oneness with other Christians is the first expression of spiritual maturity.  We must know the power of Christ in us as individuals, but also the corporate manifestation of Christ, which is actually the substructure of revival.  We are to be perfected "into a unit" (John 17).   Without the revelation of Christ-centered unity, we have no hope of seeing citywide revival."