Cynthia Heald - Becoming a Woman of Grace: A Bible Study

BECOMING
A WOMEN OF
GRACE

CYNTHIA HEALD

BECOMING
A WOMEN OF
GRACE

Copyright 1998 by Cynthia Heald

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

Scripture quotations noted The Message are from The Message: The New Testament in Contemporary English. Copyright 1993 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Scripture quotations noted NASB are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations noted NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations noted PHILLIPS are from J. B. Phillips: THE NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN ENGLISH. Revised Edition. Copyright J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.

The material credited to Jerry Bridges in Chapters 4, 7, and 8 is reprinted from Transforming Grace, copyright 1991by Jerry Bridges. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies call (800) 366-7788. The material credited to Jerry Bridges in Chapter 11 is reprinted from The Practice of Godliness, copyright 1983 by Jerry Bridges. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. For copies call 800-366-7788.

ISBN 0-7852-7240-2

Printed in the United States of America
01 02 03 04 05 19 18 17 16 15

CONTENTS

This Bible study has been created to help you search the Scriptures and draw closer to God as you seek to understand, experience, and reflect His grace. All you need is a Bible, a writing tool, and an expectant heart. You may find it helpful, however, to have access to a supplemental resource such as a general commentary, Bible handbook, or a study Bible with reference notations.

Becoming a Woman of Grace is appropriate for individual as well as group use, and for women of any age and season of life. Before you begin each chapter, pray for attentiveness to how God is speaking to you through His Word and for sensitivity to His prompting. At the conclusion of each chapter, you will have opportunity to write out a prayer as a way of verbalizing your response to the Lord and drawing closer to Him. Choosing to memorize the suggested Scripture passages will help you abide in Christ day by day as His truth dwells deep within your mind and heart.

The Bible has much to say about the importance of learning from and encouraging one another in the community of believers. If you are using this study with a small group, the questions and prayers will give you excellent opportunities for talking and praying together about appropriating Gods grace.

The quotations from Christian writers have been selected to help you understand the biblical content of each chapter and to enhance your personal response to Gods Word. Consider using the Notes section in the back of this book as a resource list for further devotional reading and study.

As you come to the Father and Child dialogues that open and close this study of grace, read them prayerfully as a means of drawing closer to the heart of God.

Amazing gracehow sweet the sound! Grace is a lovely word and a prized attribute, manifesting itself in steadfast kindness and benevolence. To be known as a gracious person is a high compliment.

It was last year that I felt led to write a Bible study on grace. I actually had another topic in mind, but the Lord seemed to say quite clearly, Cynthia, it is time that you learned about grace. So began my immersion into the vast ocean of Gods unmerited favor. It often seemed that I was treading these gracious waters looking for the shorefor grace itself is infinitely deep.

This study has probably been the hardest to write of any I have embarked upon. I have read more commentators, deleted more sentences, and rearranged more chapters than in the development of any other guide. I have to smile while recalling how the Lord whispered in my heart along the way that I would have a personal testimony to His grace when I finished! Because of unexpected circumstances in my life coinciding with the time set aside for this writing, I have experienced the freshness and abundance of Gods grace in completing this undertaking. The conversations between the Father and the Child arose as He led me to a deeper understanding of His loving faithfulness.

I pray that you will discover new facets of grace and experience new areas of freedom in your life. To glimpse the fullness of His grace is a life-changing revelation. May His grace so infuse your heart and direct your life that others will be blessed as you become a woman of grace.

Grace to you!

Love in Christ,

The Father spoke:

Dear child, it is time for you to understand My grace.

Yes, Father; I know little of Your grace.

If you do not begin to comprehend the depth and breadth of My grace, you will not live in the freedom and holiness that I have purposed for you.

I want to live fully as You have intended.

My grace to you came at a great cost, and I desire that you become a woman of grace.

How will I learn of Your grace?

By listening carefully to My Word, drawing close to Me in prayer, and allowing My Spirit to teach you. Come, child, let us begin. I long to show you My graciousness.

CHAPTER 1
GOD IS GRACIOUS

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.

Isaiah 30:18 NASB

Before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve experienced Gods goodness not as a response to their demerit (since they didnt have any) but still without deserving Gods goodness. You cant deserve to be created. You cant deserve, as a non-being, to be put into a lavish garden where all your needs are met by a loving Father. So even before they sinned, Adam and Eve lived on grace. And Gods will for them was that they live by faith in future graceGods daily, fatherly care and provision.

John Piper

F rom its opening pages Scripture shows us that God has always longed to be gracious. His creation of a marvelous world out of nothing is amazing evidence of His grace, and He placed His children in it to be recipients of His grace. In the garden, Adam and Eve were immersed in Gods goodness. They did nothing to earn their place there, and they did nothing to receive His love. God simply chose to be kind, merciful, and compassionate to them. Charles Ryrie observes, Gods love for man is the first motive for His acting in grace on behalf of man.From creation onward we find that God has showered upon us His undeserved favor. Truly He is the God of all grace.