A Fall From Grace (Poem)

---See the Grace series here

What exactly is ‘a fall from Grace’?

This expression triggers lots of questions:

What is Grace and its source? What triggers its ascent and descent?

Of Grace, does everybody… get a taste??

Is it about some Bible quotations?

Why only talk about it when it’s lost, and when folks lament?!

What perplexing questions in your heart and mind arise,

About this mysterious topic …or force?

As a noun and verb, the word, Grace, is defined,

‘Falling from grace’ infers a noun, like losing a prize,

Or failed trajectories that trigger remorse.

From Wisdom’s table, let’s ‘…have a seat and dine’. 

Per The Holy Bible, Grace is a key characteristic,

Of The Lord God Almighty. ¹

Of Grace, He is the original source. 

Ergo, whatever we’ve learned about it, must be ‘theistic’.

Grace we show, must surely be,

Our faint reflections of His Grace, of course. 

Grace, with Mercy, its spiritual cousin, He extends,

To whomever and for however long He determines.

We extend Grace for a wide range of other reasons,

Based on selfish, familial or societal trends.

Thus, human Grace is subject to …eccentric disruptions! 

The Lord’s Grace and Mercy are …resilient companions.

Because His ways and Mind are so much higher than ours,

His Grace can’t always be ascertained in human terms.

Yet, when from it, we slowly begin to fall,

He ‘pulls back curtains’ to expose our ‘righteousness scars’!

By that act, itself, it’s His Mercy that He affirms,

And to repentance, for us to hear His call!

Responding to His call, full Grace is replenished,

With time to allow lifestyles to be ‘refurbished’.

…Imagine that!

That’s when attentive onlookers are astonished,

To see how, by The Lord, repentance is cherished!!

…How great is that?!

In this case, the purpose of Grace is accomplished,

And from His judgments, The Lord will have relinquished.

BUT…

When, on folks’ righteousness scars, The Lord pulls His curtains back,

And devils ramp-up their targeted deceptions attacks,

Folks won’t perceive they have been spiritually hijacked.

They double-down with prideful, dismissive counterattacks! ²

Rather than ‘penitent repentance’, The Lord gets …blowback!!

In time, the worst of these folks become mythomaniacs!!!

(Do you know any?)

Thus begins their gradual fall from Grace,

A lengthy process that’s not done in haste.

I perceive it is like a down-staircase,

Which is a manifestation …of Grace,

Until there’s no room for an about-face!

That’s when The Lord’s harsh judgments …are showcased!!!

Friends, my prayer is that, from history, we learn this lesson,

About how to avoid falling from The Lord’s merciful Grace.

He’s ever ready to pardon our ‘righteousness infractions’,

When on them, we perceive, to us, He’s pulling back the curtain.

When you’ve learned and applied it, and are no longer a ‘scapegrace’,

Share it with others so they’ll avoid …Grace degenerations.

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¹ In Exodus 34:6, merciful and gracious are the first characteristics The Lord cites as He heralded Himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Grace and mercy are His un-earned, long-term FAVOR to His creation, of which humanity is the apex, because in His personal image, we are created.

²  The devilish spirit of pride puffs-up people to convince them they are guiltless, and to think more of themselves than is acceptable to The Lord. Therefore, He specifies only ONE thing about which we may be proud. So, rather than being proud, here are my tips:

(a) Purge from your vocabulary the phrase, ‘I am proud of…’, EXCEPT as it applies to The Lord’s ONE exception.

(b) Replace it with, ‘I am blessed and pleased that or for…’ 

See: God Hates Pride.

Devilish Grace (Poem)

See the Grace series here

Hey there, did my title kinda grab your attention??

If so, GREAT! If not, ponder it for a moment…

To saints and sinners alike, it’s an aberration,

Because linking those two words seems …kinda errant.

We love to sing the song, Amazing Grace,

Especially during tough times and tragedies.

But not so much, when good times we embrace.

I guess that’s just one of our human oddities.

Let’s ponder how that must look and sound in Heaven,

From where every Grace we receive originates.

In The Bible, The Spirit of Grace is twice mentioned.

Both times, they refers to folks who …are reprobates! ¹

This Spirit, we either appreciate …or insult!

To Him, satan assigns his devilish counterparts, ²

Heaven-sent Grace for us, they work to defer and thwart!

Thus, it clear, insulting The Spirit of Grace …ain’t smart!!!

Many folks devoid Grace, of The Giver of Grace we receive,

Then we devoid thankfulness, of The Object of our thanks. ³

About such things, don’t think The Lord of Heaven may not be peeved!

So about The Spirit of Grace, let’s take some time to be frank.

Our insults may be in the masks we put on Grace.

One mask we all love is that Grace is free.

There's one that it’s limitless, and can’t be erased.

The worst is, for sin, there’s no penalty!!! ⁴ 

In His Grace, The Spirit of Grace never removes,

The masks in our lives, we force Him to wear.

Thus we conclude, ‘Our various masks, He approves!’

He knows Truths about which we are unaware! 

Our masks turn the kindness of God into things un-intended.

They draw us away from, not toward Godly repentance,

Increasingly to sinful lifestyles, devils recommended,

And of our ‘earned judgments’, diminishing our prescience. 

Removing these masks, these three Truths we will then clearly see:

-God takes no pleasure in our wickedness, or in His judgments!

-Thus, He extends Grace for us to repent, convincingly!

-When we don’t, we’ll be ‘excuse-less’ when we stand in His presence!

Friend, which of the above masks are prominent in your life?

Or have you others, hidden in your life’s secret place?

Whichever the case may be, please accept this advice:

Toss all such masks, and stop insulting God’s Spirit of Grace.

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¹ Millennial Reign (5^th age) Prophecy: The Spirit of Grace will convict and convince 

Jewish remnants of the apocalypse, that Jesus is The Messiah:

“I [Jesus, The Lord God] will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem The Spirit of Grace and supplication; then they will look on Me [The Jewish Messiah] Whom they [their ancestors] pierced. Yes, they will mourn … as one mourns for his only son, and grieve … as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)

Message to Apostates: To Christians who backslide in this (3^rd) age:

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation... Anyone who rejected Moses’ law, died without mercy, on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he [anyone Christian who becomes apostate] be thought worthy, who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he […ditto] was sanctified, a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of Grace? For we know Him Who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says The Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:26-31)

² Demon spirits who work to ensure we will receive the same judgment The Lord pronounced upon them for their failed rebellion in Heaven, namely, eternally alive in the lake of fire, on the promised eternal Earth (possibly in humanoid form). See: The Lake of Fire: A Preview (Series).

³ Have you noticed how often folks express a general, vague thankfulness, but never identify to whom they are thankful?? Some insult The Spirit of Grace by expressing thankfulness to ‘the universe’!

⁴ This is because Grace allows us to escape immediate judgment(s) for our sins. Nevertheless, The Lord promises, without sincere repentance and lifestyle changes, a day of reckoning is appointed.