Grace Upon Grace

I can't believe I am where I am right now. I never thought that He would show me this the way He did.
I can't believe I always "knew" grace but never knew. (And when I say "grace" I am talking about two things at the same time.) I always heard the word "grace", I knew what it meant, and I used it when talking about God but I never really believed in it subconsciously. This is the first "grace" I am talking about. God has really shown me what Grace means, and the way He did it was remarkable and astonishing. To get me in a position where He could hit me with the understanding of grace, He showed me how sinful I am and how much He HATES sin and sinners. Now before you say "Woah, God doesn't hate sinners, just the sin" let me ask you something. Have you read Psalms 5:5?

"The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers."

You can't blame him. We are, by nature, His enemies and we naturally despise the God that gave us life.

"no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one." (Romans 3:11, 12 ESV)

If Christ Jesus is not your savior then you are an enemy of the Almighty God, Lord Most High, Judge of all the Nations and you will be punished for all those things your conscious told you not to do. I tell you this so you won't remain ignorant but rather perspicacious, knowing the truth of God.
The good thing is that if you trust in Him, you will receive forgiveness through the blood that was spilled by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords through his death on the cross, if you have faith.
THAT is true grace! And I never really understood it until now. God loves everyone with a common grace, as in He makes it rain on the just and the unjust, but He also hates them but He offers salvation from the very wrath they deserve. THAT IS AN AWESOME THING! I never knew THAT grace until now and I pray that He will always remind me of it.

The second "grace" I'm talking about is less serious in importance, nevertheless it is still important to me and a lot of people. This "grace" is Grace Community Church. I used to drive by there all the time but I never knew anything about it. It wasn't until God revealed Reformed Theology to me that I actually had the desire to know more about this church and their pastor, Dr. John MacArthur. I am so blessed to live by such an amazing church and have the capabilities to listen to any sermon of Dr. JMac's anytime I want. I can see God doing many things in me by the means of Grace Community. Praise God!

God bless you,
Erick Lima

p.s. Live Radically