Unfair Grace

A teacher asked his students to line up for recess. All but one quietly walked to the line remembering to push in their chairs and leaving their desks clear of pencils and papers. As the teacher turned around to grab his jacket, he heard a loud crash! He turned back around to find that one student had toppled another student's desk and chair in her rush to get to the line. Without a pause the teacher demanded that each child go back to their seat to put their heads down and quickly explained that they would miss their entire recess.

How unfair!
.
Sounds familiar, though, right? Because of ONE man's sin, the entire world stands condemned.
Romans 5:19 tells us that because Adam disobeyed God, ALL men became sinners. 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us that our destiny is death!
That's a little extreme, don't you think? How unfair!

Another teacher asked her students to line up for recess. All but one noisily rushed to the line forgetting to push in chairs or knocking pencils and papers off of desks. One student stood up quietly, pushed in others' chairs, and picked up fallen pencils and papers as he walked to the line. The teacher told the class that because of this child's right behavior she would allow all of them to play.

How graciously unfair!

Sounds familiar, though, right? Because of ONE man's obedience the entire world is offered forgiveness.  Romans 5:19 tells us that because of Christ's obedience, ALL who believe are made righteous! 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us that our destiny is life!
That's a little extreme, don't you think? How unfair!

God's grace is completely unfair, but I am so glad that it is!

My husband wrote this song to express the victory we have in Christ because of God's Unfair Grace. Listen here, and then download the rest of the album on iTunes! It will NOT disappoint!

Sin from one
Condemned us all
In sin's grip
Born to fall

Unfair
To say the least
'Til hope arrived
For death's defeat

By faith
We're saved
By grace alone
By Jesus' blood
Our souls atoned

Oh pardon full
Now rest and peace
Unfair Grace
Has ransomed me

Now with the morn
I'll sing aloud
Praise forever
Love came down

Took my place
to pardon me
Unfair Grace
Now I receive

By faith
We're saved
By grace alone
By Jesus' blood
Our souls atoned

My only need
My rest and peace
My Jesus won
My victory

I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God to Whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You

By faith
We're saved
By grace alone
By Jesus' blood
Our souls atoned

Our only need
Our rest in peace

Our Jesus won
Our Jesus won
Our Jesus won

The victory

-Blake Monroe

Feelin' Fruity

Without the Holy Spirit in your life, it is impossible to exhibit real, 100% fruit! Just like the ingredients list for a Watermelon Jolly Rancher doesn’t include any actual watermelon, an unbeliever can only mimic what they think is real.

But someone who possesses the Holy Spirit possesses His fruit! That means that you have real, 100% love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is now part of your very core (pun intended). This is why you feel rotten when you behave opposite of this fruit. It’s not who you are anymore.

Our minds (part of our flesh) are often still tricked into thinking that we want to sin. Sin does exist in our flesh, but not in our spirit. The flesh and spirit are now at battle (Romans 7:14-20). This is why Paul urges us to “...be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1).” Our hearts have been made new. Our minds must be renewed to match. In James 1:24, we’re compared to people who look in a mirror, walk away, and immediately forget what they look like. We must constantly look into the mirror of truth that reflects our new identity in Christ so that when we walk away and we’re tempted to act un”fruity” we will remember who we are. So renew your minds with the truth that you are new (2 Cor. 5:17), that you are right with God (Rom. 5:1), and that you are filled with His fruit (Gal. 5:22-23)! 

Now that is something sweet you can chew on!