Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

Flying home from Florida the other day, I started to read through Romans.  I'm not exactly sure how I decided to read that particular book of the Bible but I did.  It was exactly what I needed.  I had read through Hosea the prior week and it is such a powerful description of God's grace. 

During an outreach on the beach about a week ago, a woman that I spoke with challenged me to share with her how God had worked in my life.  It was a challenge I was eager to take on.  I told her about Jesus' grace and my sinful nature to resist offering grace even to those that I care the most about.  I think she was touched to hear how honest I was with her and willing to share a sincere struggle to a complete stranger.  In Crusade, we speak a lot about conversations that are rich in grace and truth.  That is a hard combination but one that we should all aspire to.  I am grateful that Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17) and to give his life as my ransom (Matthew 20:28). 

Someone shared with me the other day that they did not understand grace.  Me neither.  I understand grace in such a small, simple way.  I cannot understand the depth of His love and grace.  Even when it is hard and not natural for me to extend grace to those around me, that is what I am called to do.  A few of us went to talk to a youth retreat yesterday down the road here in Florida.  We led a break out group about evangelism.  It was interesting to lead a group of middle/high school students in teaching them about how to communicate the gospel to people they meet.  At the end of my talk through what the gospel is, a girl along the side of the room raised her hand.  She was concerned with the fact that she was not living out a strong Christian witness to those around her and thus felt unqualified to share her faith.  I feel the same way sometimes!  I talk about God's grace and yet do not always respond well to it in relation to others.  But I am grateful that God has revealed that to me and has shown me truth in how to combat that.  I guess witnessing really is "one beggar showing another beggar where to find food".