Week 1 Gifts From God {Grace}

Memory Verse: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8

I love to receive gifts!  Do you?  Or was that an absolutely ridiculous question J 
This week we are going to focus on the gift of Grace. Remember, we are intentional students of His word these next five weeks.  Let's read and dig and ask questions during this time.  If this is your first time here, please read the intro to this bible study here.  

Below I have come up with a plan of action to go deeper. 

Monday
READ: Let's start with our memory verse above: Ephesians 2:8. Read this verse in your bible and in three other translations like New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), New Kings James Version (NKJV), The Amplified Bible, The Message.  You may find it easy to use a bible app like You Version or a free resource like www.blueletterbible.com.

To understand better the word grace and gift in this verse, let’s look at what Strong’s Concordance says.   Strong’s Concordance states the word grace is “charis” which means graciousness, divine impact upon the heart, acceptable benefit, favor, joy, pleasure.

Strong’s Concordance states the word gift is “doron” which means a present, a gift, an offering. It is a gift given to us, to anybody, who will receive it for doing absolutely nothing….. no sweat, no long hours of hard work, no time invested in it. 

My thoughts as I read Ephesians 2:8: Recently, I designed a calendar to sell to make some money for Christmas.  I spent five months creating this calendar.  Lots of hours went into designing it. Now that it is finished, I am able to start selling the calendars and receive the payment for them.  Not only am I rewarded by the buyers’ positive responses about the calendar, but I am also being rewarded by receiving the profit for each calendar.  The excitement on their face and the profit from the calendars are my rewards for the five months of time I invested in designing this calendar. But this is not what God is talking about.  Grace is a gift, a present from God, for doing nothing. Grace is the unmerited love and favor of God to people.  It is not a reward for doing something for Him.  A reward by definition is a gift of something to someone in recognition of their services, efforts, or achievements.  There is absolutely nothing I needed to do to receive the gift of grace from God. There is no amount of time I spent investing in or working hard to get this gift; however, with this gift does come rewards like joy, favor, and pleasure but again I didn’t do any service or put forth any effort or achievement to get these rewards.    


Let’s look at more scriptures about the gift of Grace.  Read Ephesians 2: 8-10, Acts 15:11, Romans 3:24, and Ephesians 2:5. 

Questions to ask ourselves:
1. What common theme are you seeing in all these scriptures?  {Optional: When you see the common theme feel free to write it on the forum}.  
2.  Are there any cross-references associated with these scriptures? Go ahead and read the cross-references.
3. Do the cross-references show us more revelation about His grace? 
4. What other scriptures can we read to learn more about God's grace?  Go ahead and let us know the scriptures you are reading about His grace.  You can write it in the comment section of this post or in the forum.


Tuesday
WRITE: Write Ephesians 2:8 on an index card or piece of paper and tape to your bathroom mirror, tape one in your car, attach one on your cabinet in your kitchen or on the refrigerator.  Place it around your home and around your office if you work away from home.  Be intentional to recite the scripture daily to memory. 

Wednesday
RECEIVE: The gift of grace is each of our gift from God. 
Questions to ask ourselves?
1. Do you ever feel like you just don’t deserve this gift: His grace? 
2. Is there something you have done in your past or are doing in your present that you know is wrong and you are having a hard time receiving this gift from God?   or
3.  Are you working hard to convince God to give you His grace but no matter what you do you are having a hard time believing you have received the gift of grace from God? 
4.  If we already received His gift of grace, is there someone in our life that we need to extend grace to like God did for us?  If you think of someone, write their names down and pray about this situation and ask God for an opportunity to extend grace to this person or persons. 


I know we have a God who wants us to open up this present from Him!  He wants us to receive this gift with open arms knowing there is nothing any one of us can do anyway to receive it!  That is a true gift don’t you think?!  A gift with no strings attached; nothing being held over our head. What a gift!

Thursday (and Happy Thanksgiving)
RESPOND: This week as we study about God's grace, let's lift up our chin to heaven, close our eyes and know God is pouring out His grace, His gift on you and me.  Let Him know you accept this gift from Him. Thank God for this precious gift of love from Him.  Thank Him for the unmerited favor He is lavishing on you at this moment. 

Friday
PRAYER: Take out your journal or a piece of paper and write a Thank You note to God for this amazing gift!  At the end of the week, let's join each other on the forum and thank God for the gift of grace.  We'll praise Him and thank Him for a gift we surely don't deserve yet He gives it gladly.