Rabbi’s Reflections – Sunday, March 9, 2025
Shavuah Tov,
“Step into His Grace”
By Jerry Miller
“Therefore, having been made righteous by trusting, we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Through Him we also have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:1-2).
In his letter to the believers in Rome, Sha’ul makes a statement that is foundational to us as Yeshua followers. At the core of our spiritual lives is the principle of faith, or trusting, in the perfect righteousness of Yeshua as the basis for our own relationship with God. Rather than leaning on our own righteous acts, we put our trust in the righteousness of another—our sinless Messiah. Trusting in Him and not ourselves, we receive forgiveness from God and access into an amazing relationship with Him. This, and so much more, is part of God’s grace to our lives.
As we come to faith in Yeshua as Messiah and Lord, and we commit to a life of allegiance to Him, the revelation of God’s grace is perhaps the most impacting revelation we need for this relationship with God. As we read through the entire Bible, and especially the New Covenant Scriptures, we see that God, in His great love, really does desire a relationship with us. In response to God’s love for us, we are called to love Him with all our “heart…soul and strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Through this relationship, we enter into the “grace” of becoming “…conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). What an amazing concept it is that we, as believers, can enter into this lifelong process of transformation, through which we grow in resemblance to Yeshua Himself. God, by His Spirit, gives us revelation for seeing and embracing by faith this life calling He sets before us. And then, God’s grace is what brings to us the empowerment we need to actually experience the fulfilling of this calling. Of course, this is a process we will be walking out for the rest of our lives.
Growing in the likeness of Yeshua and representing Him to a lost world is a lofty goal indeed, and yet, in His love and goodness, God sets this goal before as something attainable for every follower of Yeshua. However, we all must come to see that we cannot fulfill this calling through the striving of our human efforts alone. It is a work of His grace. We cannot take any credit for it, and yet we do have a part to play. Our part is to pursue Him daily and walk with Him in the relationship made possible by His great mercy. Relationship is the context in which we learn to believe and trust the Lord for the transformation He has promised. Thus, as we are told in Romans 5:2, we enter God’s grace through faith, trusting in His ongoing work in our lives
So, as we consider these truths, there is a simple question for each of us to consider: Will we embrace the faith challenge to enter the grace so needed for a vibrant and fruitful walk with the living God? God invites each of us into this realm of His grace—a realm in which that which seemed impossible actually becomes attainable. Through the work of His grace, we come to see that our natural limitations do not prevent us or excuse us from fulfilling God’s calling and purpose for our lives. We can truly become like Yeshua, as we look to Him and not to our own natural ability to live a righteous life. May the Lord open our eyes to see and believe that such a life is within our reach, as grace becomes larger in our hearts and more powerful in our lives.
Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sun 9-Mar-2025 9th of Adar, 5785
Ex 30:11-31:17 2 Ki 25 Ps 149-150 Jn 21 (Heb 6)