Grace Changes People

He'll never change. She's a lost cause. She's obsessed with success and power. He only wants his way - he doesn't even care for God or others. Perhaps you've heard these or similar sentiments about the people who impact your life. Maybe you even silently agreed.

Many years ago a man "made it big" before the age of 20. Arrogance and ruthlessness characterized his leadership. He mocked the values he learned as a child. People assumed he was a lost cause. Yet one day he woke up in prison - old, alone, humiliated, desperate. He must have prayed, "Lord, I'm powerless to undo the mess I've made ... help me!" - for God heard and the grace of God filled his life.

Grace changes people ... and even entire countries. King Manasseh renounced his anti-God attitudes and broke the cycle of bitterness (2 Chronicles 33:1-2, 7-13). His story reminds us all that God's grace is available to everyone who will genuinely call on Him.

Although you can't make decisions for someone else, accept God's grace in your own life today and extend it to others. Then pray for our country's leaders that they, too, will experience the grace of God - and take this nation in God's direction, and not their own.

May the Grace of God be with you all this day and always
Roger

This article adapted from the Presidential Prayer Teams "Vantage Point Devotional" Mon, September 6, 2010