“Grace Is The Reason For The Season; Embrace It With Love!”

“Grace Is The Reason For the Season; Embrace It In Love!”
A few days ago we ordained into the ministry of word and sacrament twenty-four pastors. A unique characteristic of this rite is the empowerment of the minister through the laying on of hands by senior ministers. Is it a mere ritual?
Paul tells Timothy, “…I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
We do not take for granted the power of touch and the blessings that transmits to us when others touch us with anointed hands.
In this world we face crises of all sorts, but God has given us the power to be able to endure all adversities. The spirit of power we have been given is not to lord it over others, but to use it in strengthening the weak. We may pass through hard times – especially for the sake of the gospel – but that should not take away from us the spirit of Love! Love overcomes all evil. The spirit of self-discipline is given to us to restrain our emotions, passions and curb our excesses.
Being thus equipped, we shouldn’t “be ashamed to testify about our Lord,” or those who are suffering for the gospel.
God “has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.” Our good deeds and holy life is a response to grace and not the reason for grace.
Grace was existent and given to us through Christ from the beginning of time. Whether we have known it or not, whether we believe it or not, grace is the reason for our living!
This is the eve of Christmas in which we are reminded that grace is the reason for the season. It is the time when grace is “revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus,who has destroyed death and has brought immortality to light through the gospel”(II Tim. 1:3-10).
My friend, grace is the reason for the season of Christmas. Christmas may be a feast of joy for the birth of a new born but it is a reminder that your response to grace must be characterised by good deeds, love and a holy life! Anything short of this is an abuse to grace whose sanction is a forfeiture of immortality!
Therefore, keep the faith and remain faithful to the gospel of Grace! We wish you a blessed weekend full of Grace! Peace be with you!