{"id":55991,"date":"2020-07-24T18:32:11","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T23:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/?p=55991"},"modified":"2025-08-06T12:49:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T17:49:52","slug":"snapshot-of-amazing-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/snapshot-of-amazing-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapshot of Amazing Grace"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div><h2 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Have you personally experienced God\u2019s grace &#8230; the joy and relief of being forgiven, grateful that you are yet loved and accepted?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">The following personal story, recently shared by one of my favorite Christian speakers, does a great job of helping us to understand the amazing grace God gives us. Read on!<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_55997\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55997\" style=\"width: 413px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/07\/grace.jpg\"><img alt=\"amazing grace\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-55997\" src=\"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/07\/grace.jpg\" alt=\"amazing grace\" width=\"413\" height=\"275\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/07\/grace.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/07\/grace.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/07\/grace.jpg?resize=768,511 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 413px) 100vw, 413px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-55997\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bridging the Gap blog #hurthealedwhole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"s1\">For 50+ years, <a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/about-us\/joshs-bio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"s2\">Josh McDowell<\/span><\/a> Ministry has been leading seekers into a deeper knowledge of God\u2019s truth and power. We offer you our accumulated knowledge and <a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/resources\/apologetics\/research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"s2\">research<\/span><\/a> to help you find truth and encouragement to live a healthy and whole life in Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Abundant, Amazing Grace<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This speaker shared that early in her marriage she did something that filled her with shame. So much so, that she felt she had to hide it from her husband.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">So daily, <i>for seven months<\/i>, she silently carried the heavy weight of her action. She wanted to confess her sin to him, but found herself continuing to stall because she feared his reaction. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><em><span class=\"s1\">What if confessing changed how he viewed her? What if he chose to stop loving her &#8230; to walk away?\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When she finally did tell him, as tears plunged down her face, his response was to simply wrap his arms around her and hold her close for a long moment. <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Then she heard him utter the words she had been dreading: \u201cI need to leave the house for a while.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">In the hours he was gone she anxiously paced, a part of her certain that he wouldn&#8217;t return. But her heart leapt when he strode back into their home, his arms overflowing with delicate yellow tulips &#8212; her favorite flower. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This godly man hadn&#8217;t left to punish her, but to shop at as many flower stores as necessary for him to gather the gorgeous display. The symbolism of his grand and generous gesture: <em>he wanted her to grasp, beyond a shadow of her doubt, that he was offering her God-sized <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/bible-study\/topical-studies\/six-beautiful-ways-to-understand-gods-grace.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grace<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Here in Texas we love to say, \u201cGo big or go home.\u201d In effect, her husband&#8217;s big gesture said, &#8220;I forgive you, love you, and accept you &#8212; just as God offers me His amazing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianity.com\/wiki\/god\/what-is-gods-grace.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>grace<\/strong><\/a> when I blow it.&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">[bctt tweet=&#8221;Once we&#8217;ve tasted the sweetness of God&#8217;s grace, we carry it within us to likewise offer it.&#8221; username=&#8221;@josh_mcdowell&#8221;]<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When you and I humbly confess our sin to God, He doesn&#8217;t make us wallow and grovel and do a bunch of good deeds to tip the scale of worth back in our favor. Rather, He offers us instant <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/lovable-valuable-competent-god-sees-you\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grace<\/a><\/strong>, from His bottomless well of love. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong><em><span class=\"s1\">God doesn&#8217;t offer us a single bloom, friends, but a lush bouquet, to make sure we &#8220;get&#8221; that He&#8217;s completely removed the stain of our offense and sees it no more. We are clean. Forgiven. Understood. Accepted. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The Bible declares that God sees us as <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/jesus-died-so-why-do-i-still-feel-guilt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sanctified<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/god-loving-cant-tolerant-sin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">justified<\/a><\/strong>, and redeemed. Says <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/biblehub.com\/psalms\/103-12.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Psalm 103:12<\/a><\/strong>: &#8220;As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.&#8221; No ifs, ands, or buts. No loopholes. Jesus sealed this deal for us on the cross.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">We may have to walk out consequences because of our sin, but every step is covered by His amazing grace, freeing us from soul-crippling <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/self-image-overcome-shame\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shame<\/a><\/strong> and blame. Let us rejoice in that!<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<blockquote>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Are you burdened by sin you\u2019re trying to hide from God? (Spoiler alert: He already knows.) God isn&#8217;t focused on your perfection, but your progress. Run to Him! He wants to restore you into relationship with Him via His unceasing grace!<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>NEXT STEPS:<\/h2>\n<p>&gt; Can we pray for you? It would be our honor. Click <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/request-prayer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<br \/>\n&gt; Do you want to have a relationship with Jesus? Start <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/josh.org\/resources\/spiritual-growth\/know-god\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<br \/>\n&gt; Do you have shame you can&#8217;t shake, despite God&#8217;s grace? Head over to our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/resolutionmovement.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Resolution Movement<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h5>Sheri writes and edits for Josh McDowell Ministry.<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you personally experienced God\u2019s grace &#8230; the joy and relief of being forgiven, grateful that you are yet loved and accepted?\u00a0 The following personal story, recently shared by one of my favorite Christian speakers, does a great job of helping us to understand the amazing grace God gives us. Read on! For 50+ years, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23327,"featured_media":55997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Have you experienced God's amazing grace? In this post, read how one husband displays it for his wife after she confesses her sin.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[351,550,186,62,990,991],"translator":[],"blog-author":[79],"class_list":["post-55991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bridging-the-gap","tag-forgiveness","tag-gods-grace","tag-grace","tag-love","tag-second-chances","tag-understanding","blog-author-sheri-bell"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/607\/2020\/07\/grace.jpg","meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23327"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55991"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92825,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55991\/revisions\/92825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55991"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/translator?post=55991"},{"taxonomy":"blog-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites-stage.josh.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog-author?post=55991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}