Paul tells us God adopted us simply because he loves us: “According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:5-6).

You may say, “I know God’s Word says I’m accepted and I know Jesus gave me direct access to the throne of grace. But I’m too ashamed to draw near. I still struggle with powerful temptation and I still sin on occasion. The only prayer I can utter is, ‘God, help me.’”

“War broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail … So the great dragon was cast out … he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).

We are in a war between two eternal powers: Satan’s principalities and powers, and God’s only Son, Jesus. This war started eons ago in heaven with the archangel Michael and an army of angels fighting against Lucifer and the rebellious angels who had aligned themselves with him.

After Peter and John ministered to a crippled beggar outside the temple gate and the man was healed, they began to boldly preach repentance and minister to the people. “Many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). As a result of their witness, Peter and John were brought before the high priest and elders. “And when they had set them in the midst, they asked them, ‘By what power or by what name have you done this?’” (4:7).

Those who spend time with Jesus can’t get enough of him! Their hearts continually cry out to know the Master better, to draw closer to him, to grow in the knowledge of his ways.

Paul states, “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). The “measure” Paul speaks of means a limited amount; in other words, we’ve all received a certain amount of the saving knowledge of Christ.

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith’” (Luke 17:5). The men who comprised Christ’s close circle were asking something important of their Master. Desiring a greater understanding of the meaning and working of faith, they were saying, in essence, “Lord, what sort of faith do you desire from us? Give us a revelation of what pleases you so that we may grasp faith in its fullest meaning.”

“I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:29-30). Jesus’ followers had to be ecstatic at hearing this. Their future was totally secure and the Lord himself said they were headed for heaven to rule and reign with him throughout eternity.

By the time the godly prophet Daniel reached eighty years of age, he had outlived two Babylonian kings, Nebuchadnezzar and his son Belshazzar, and then served under King Darius. Daniel had always been a praying man and he had no thoughts of slowing down in his old age.

When Jesus was a young boy, a few people saw him in the temple; others met him in the carpentry shop where he toiled. But who could believe Jesus was God in flesh as he repaired their broken chairs? He was merely Joseph’s son, a fine young man who knew a lot about God.

Grace has often been defined as, simply, the unmerited favor and blessing of God. Yet, I believe grace is much more than this. It is everything that Christ is to us in our times of suffering — power, might, kindness, mercy and love — to see us through our afflictions and trials.

“According to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:11-12). God’s children have the right and freedom to break in on our Lord at any time — one of the greatest privileges ever bestowed on humankind.