Today we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Corinthians? ?9?:?8? ?TPT??
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
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??Galatians? ?5?:?4? ?TPT??
“If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!”
Romans? ?6?:?14? ?ERV??
“Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.”
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1 Corinthians? ?15?:?10? ?NIV??
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
Additional scriptures for today:
John 10:27 NIV
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Romans 10:17 NKJV
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Hebrews 4:12 NIV
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV
“The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
Setting the Stage:
Over the past few days, we’ve been exploring the grace to receive direction from God and the discernment to know when it is actually God who is speaking to us. We’ve established that God speaks to us not based on our performance but because of His amazing grace. We’ve also looked at how to position ourselves to hear Him more clearly and how to distinguish His voice from others.
Today, I want to address something that came up in a conversation after yesterday’s message. One of the readers said: “In some ways, we have so much written and other forms of (logos) word available to us that we may be depending on it too much as a substitution for getting (rhema) direction from God.” His point was connected to the fact that most of the giants we read about in the Bible did not have a Bible to carry around. But today, we have it on our phones, tablets, computers, and all over our homes. This access to the written Word (logos) may lessen our dependence on God’s spoken Word (rhema). Today, I will discuss how God’s grace enables us to properly balance both in hearing God’s voice.
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God’s Grace Helps You Balance Your Dependence on the Written Word (Logos) and the Spoken Word (Rhema).
In Greek, “logos” often refers to the written, established Word of God, while “rhema” refers to the spoken, revealed Word for a specific situation. Both are vital, and God can grace helps us to maintain the proper balance between them.
How this applies to you:
— The written Word (logos) provides the foundation and framework, while the spoken Word (rhema) gives specific direction within that framework. To be clear, the Spirit of God (when we believe He is speaking to us) will never lead you contrary to the Word of God (in written form). So, the Bible helps you to check to see if what you are hearing came from God. Also, the Holy Spirit, and His grace, enable you to appreciate both (logos and rhema) without overemphasizing one at the expense of the other.
— Just as smartphones have changed our behavior, (often causing us to ignore people giving us directions because we think we have all the information at our fingertips) we can sometimes rely so heavily on our Bible knowledge that we miss God’s specific direction for our situation. In other words, we can be so fixated on a scripture that we don’t hear the Holy Spirit when He is attempting to lead us in a specific way. The grace of God on our lives can help us recognize when we’re substituting information for revelation.
I’ll give you two examples:
(1) Let’s say you are a Pastor, your church wants to build a new building, and 20 banks have turned you down for a loan. God wakes you up, leads you to Phil 4:19, and tells you to drive to a bank 75 miles away on Thursday, and the Holy Spirit tells you to be there at 10am. You do. When you do, you meet a loan officer who says, “Pastor, I was not supposed to be here today, but the manager was sick. I am the regional manager and I am on the only person who can approve this loan for you.” You get the loan, and you give God praise. 5 years later, your church needs another building, and the Holy Spirit takes you back to Phil 4:19. This time, the Holy Spirit says, “You won’t need a loan. I will give you teh money to build it debt free.” And you do. In both cases, God leads you to Phil 4:19. But without the Holy Spirit, you would not know what to do.
(2) A woman is battling cancer. No doctor in her hometown can help her. Her church is praying. The Holy Spirit wakes her up and takes her to Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24. The Holy Spirit then tells her to fly to Atlanta and that she needs to be at a certain hospital on Tuesday morning. She does. While there, she tells the people at the hospital that God told her to be there. Guess what? There is a world-renowned surgeon from Amsterdam in town. She gets an audience with her. He gives her a new and radical treatment for free. The cancer is removed from her body. She gives God praise. 8 years later, the cancer comes back. The Holy Spirit takes her to Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 again. This time He says, “NO DOCTORS! I will heal you myself.” And He does. So, was it the scriptures? Or was it the Holy Spirit? Or was it both?
You must fill you heart with God’s written Word, but you must also keep your heart OPEN to hear God’s spoken Word!
— The logos Word is given to everyone, but the rhema Word is often specific to your situation. Grace helps you receive both the universal truth of Scripture and the personal application of that truth to your circumstances.
— The written Word without the illumination of the Holy Spirit can become “religious knowledge.” Jesus told the Pharisees, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40). Grace enables the Scriptures to come alive as God speaks through them.
— The spoken Word without the anchor of Scripture can lead to deception. That’s why John instructed us to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). Grace gives us discernment to recognize when a “Word” contradicts the established Word of God.
— Jesus demonstrated perfect balance. He quoted Scripture constantly (logos) but also spoke what He heard the Father saying in the moment (rhema).
— Both logos and rhema come with grace to perform what they require. As yesterday’s feedback noted, “words from God come supplying the grace and the faith to perform it.” This is critical to understand: God’s Word, whether written or spoken, always carries with it the grace-empowerment to accomplish what it demands.
2. Grace Enhances Our Spiritual Discernment to Hear More Clearly.
My friend said to me, in response to yesterday’s message: “The ability to hear, discern, and follow the still small voice always is the higher aspiration.” Let’s talk about it.
How this applies to you:
— Grace activates and enhances your spiritual senses. Hebrews 5:14 tells us that mature believers should be able to discern between good and evil. This training happens by grace, not by human effort alone.
— The more you respond to God’s voice, the more sensitized you become to it. Jesus said, “Whoever has will be given more” (Matthew 13:12). This is not just for money. The same happens with insight and revelation. Grace creates this virtuous cycle where hearing leads to more hearing.
— Grace enables you to discern not just what God is saying, but also His tone, His timing, and His heart behind the message. This deeper discernment comes as a gift, not as a reward for spiritual performance, but it comes through practice.
— The Holy Spirit, given by grace, guides you into all truth (John 16:13). This guidance includes helping you recognize God’s voice with increasing clarity.
— Grace gives you patience in the learning process. Just as a parent doesn’t expect a child to understand complex instructions immediately, God is patient as you grow in your ability to discern His voice. This patience is itself a manifestation of grace.
— Being a member of a church helps. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Grace works through spiritual community to enhance your ability to hear clearly.
— Grace reminds us that growth in discernment is God’s work in us, not our work for God. Philippians 1:6 assures us that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Our growing ability to discern God’s voice is His grace-work in us.
— For some reason, people think it is okay to practice other things, but when it comes to the things of God, they think they are supposed to be experts on day one. It does not work this way. You must practice. You will miss it. You will make mistakes. But like anything else, if you keep practicing, you will get better at it!
3. Grace Enables Us to Move Beyond Information to Revelation.
In our information-saturated age, we can easily mistake Biblical knowledge for divine revelation. Just knowing a verse is not revelation. Grace helps us move beyond mere information to receive genuine revelation.
How this applies to you:
— Information comes through study; revelation comes through relationship. John 15:15 says, “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Grace moves you from being a student of the Bible to being a friend of God who receives His secrets.
— Information fills your head; revelation transforms your heart. Romans 12:2 speaks of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Grace ensures that knowledge doesn’t just inform you but transforms you.
— Information can be accumulated rapidly; revelation often requires waiting. Isaiah 40:31 reminds us that “those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength.” Grace gives you the patience to wait for revelation rather than rushing ahead with mere information.
— Information can make you proud; revelation makes you humble. First Corinthians 8:1 warns that “knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” Grace ensures that what you receive from God produces humility rather than pride.
— Information is something you possess; revelation possesses you. When God truly speaks, it grips your heart in a way that mere information never can. Grace enables this heart-gripping revelation that moves beyond intellectual assent to life-changing encounter.
— Information can be forgotten; revelation becomes part of you. Jeremiah 31:33 speaks of God writing His law on our hearts. Grace transforms external information into internal revelation that becomes inseparable from who you are.
— Information tells you about God; revelation introduces you to God. John 17:3 defines eternal life as knowing God, not just knowing about Him. Grace moves you from knowledge about God to knowledge of God through personal revelation.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your grace that enables me to balance the written Word and the spoken Word in my life, receiving the full benefit of both.
I declare that by Your grace, I am growing in my ability to discern Your voice from all others, recognizing the differences in tone, timing, and effect.
I am moving beyond mere information about You to life-transforming revelation of You.
I trust Your grace to continue developing my spiritual discernment, helping me distinguish between truth and even subtle deception.
Information is for my head. Revelation is for my heart, changing me from the inside out.
I am living THE GRACE LIFE in 2025, experiencing the joy of clear communication with You and the grace to do what You lead me to do.
GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and prosper!
