Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4 || Part 5 || Part 6 || Part 7 || Part 8
Part 9 || Part 10 || Part 11 || Part 12 || Part 13 || Part 14 || Part 15 || Part 16
Part 17 || Part 18 || Part 19 || Part 20 || Part 21 || Part 22 || Part 23
Part 24 || Part 25 || Part 26 | Part 27 || Part 28 || Part 29 || Part 30 || Part 31
Part 32 | Part 33
Your weekly installment of 20 grace tweets from Scotty Smith:
A sign you’re growing in grace: The more you love theology (the study of God), the more you love people (those made in the image of God).
A sign you’re growing in grace: You can recognize sooner when your anger at some people has very little to do with them.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You don’t dump or stuff your anger as much. “Be angry & do not sin” makes sense. Eph. 4:26
A sign you’re growing in grace: The gospel of grace has freed you to tremble at God’s Word more than the law ever could.
A sign you’re growing in grace: When your heart affections for Jesus grow cool, you take that condition very seriously.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You’re not as likely to second guess every decision or obsess about outcomes.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You don’t use as much “insider” religious verbiage or cliches when sharing your faith.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You spend less time liking or not liking pictures of yourself. Your vision is expanding.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You’re not quite as vain as you used to be. It doesn’t take you as long to get “ready”.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You’re not embarrassed to use the index to find Nahum, Obadiah & Philemon in your Bible.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You’re more grateful for the gifts God’s gave you than envious of the one’s he gave others.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You don’t get bored as quickly with other people or distracted in their presence.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You’re not as hair-trigger sensitive as you used to be. You take stuff less personally.
A sign you’re growing in grace: It takes you less time to get unstuck from an angry funk, sulking mood or pity party.
A sign you’re growing in grace: Rejection hurts, but it drives you to Jesus more so than to anger, despair or revenge.
A sign you’re growing in grace: It’s been a while since anyone’s commented on your sarcasm and poor stewardship of humor.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You’ve readjusted your expectations of people by the gospel. Some lower/some higher.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You don’t choose who’s call to return first primarily based on who can do the most for you.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You offer fewer generalizations like, “Oh those Calvinists” or Arminians/Charismatics/etc.
A sign you’re growing in grace: You’re a paradox. You are more settled in your theological position and more gracious towards those who differ wtih you.
The first in this list is one of the greatest spiritual truths I have found. Instead of me focused on loving people, I focus on loving God and the result is a natural love toward people that I don’t even realize. This is the story found in Matthew 25:31-46 about the judgement where the sheep and goats are separated. The sheep didn’t realize the kindness they did to people because their focus was on God, but the goats were amazed that their efforts from their focus on people was not enough.
I like these grace points.