What is Grace anyways.
In his book "What's So Amazing About Grace" author Phillip Yancey tells a story that is hard to hear.
It's about a woman who has been renting out her two year old daughter. He is shocked, overwhelmed and asks "why didn't you go to the church for help?" The reply is worse then the actions of the mother "why would I go there?" She retorts "They would just make me feel worse"
Hopelessness leads to horrible acts but the grace of God is bigger then both.
Grace is giving love that could not be earned to those who don't even want it.
I have been wrestling with the concept and the application of grace in my life this last while.
As a Christian I think about grace as a gift, a gift from God in the form of Jesus making a way out of death into life by his death I understand that grace is free and I realize that it cost Jesus his life to give it but until recently I didn't realize there is a flip side to grace a side which as a broken per christian I never had reason to acknowledge and as an immature christian I didn't encounter.
My need to give Grace.
Grace given in accordance to Gods measuring cup means without reason, without end and without reserve.
Grace given this way changed my whole life it changed the world and it is still changing the world.
Grace costs the giver everything.
Nothing in life is free, nothing of value is free so of course grace can't be free not really.
Grace is a free gift to receive but not to give. That truth hits me so hard that sometimes I can't breath.
This last while God has been asking me if I am willing to give grace as it has been given to me, lavishly, shamelessly, without thought of reciprocation?
I have recently started the process of restoring relationship with my mom it's been about eight years since the relationship crashed.
My grace is enough is all I would get from God when I asked him how I was supposed to make headway toward restoration do I want this enough to fight in the face of her not wanting me back, it's been harder then I could have imagined.
"My grace is enough"
When the Holy Spirit told this to Paul he was telling him "No" to release from "a thorn in the flesh" a tormentor in Paul's life.
The message to Paul then is true for me now. The trial is here its not going away and my grace will sustain you but it will also be the thing that will be the corner stone for the work that God is doing in my life, as it was for Paul.
The flip side of grace is the cost of giving it, everything.
If I truly am a follower of Christ and called to be as he is and do as he does then I have to give grace as he does and as oftain as he does.
Jesus gave everything to us on the cross and he did it knowing we may not accept it and even scorn his gift.
As a crucifier of my savior I spit into the face of that gift for years and saw the love never ending poured out from his heart through his body here on earth, the church, and it's now my turn to show grace.
It's Easter now and this weekend we take time to acknowledge our saviors death and resurrection and the hope it gave to us and the grace he gave and gives.
Ask yourself what is required of me now that I see how much grace was given and at such a cost.
This Easter what is God asking of you?
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Easter part 1. Faith.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
(Hebrews 11:1-3, 6 TNIV)
What makes us up (atoms) is held together by something we cannot see.
Do I have faith to believe that what God says is true and do I see things as God does or do I just see it from my perspective?
When I trust that what God says is true and start to look at my mountains from his perspective I know that a mustard seed amount of faith is more then enough to do all I am called to do.
So why do I doubt?
Why do I sway from the truth that everything I am called to do I have the streanghth to do?
Why do I live in fear that I don't have what it takes?
I think for me and most likely others too its because we don't see God correctly.
We don't see him as a all loving, all powerful father we have been warped by poor relections of love and provision.
We also don't see ourselves correctly.
We have been built up and torn down by validating and unvaladating. We don't see that God the all powerful and all knowing one has given us a promise.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b NIV)
This promise was given after the great commission was given a mission we would not do alone so I feel the verse fits for other contexts of knowing our God is with us when he calls us to something.
On my journey to the cross this year I felt that God has been asking me to give up some stuff to Him and embrace my calling as a servent and a missionary of his gospel of hope.
That takes great faith, knowing who He is and knowing who he has made me to be.
What is the King asking you to do this Easter?
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
(Hebrews 11:1-3, 6 TNIV)
What makes us up (atoms) is held together by something we cannot see.
Do I have faith to believe that what God says is true and do I see things as God does or do I just see it from my perspective?
When I trust that what God says is true and start to look at my mountains from his perspective I know that a mustard seed amount of faith is more then enough to do all I am called to do.
So why do I doubt?
Why do I sway from the truth that everything I am called to do I have the streanghth to do?
Why do I live in fear that I don't have what it takes?
I think for me and most likely others too its because we don't see God correctly.
We don't see him as a all loving, all powerful father we have been warped by poor relections of love and provision.
We also don't see ourselves correctly.
We have been built up and torn down by validating and unvaladating. We don't see that God the all powerful and all knowing one has given us a promise.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b NIV)
This promise was given after the great commission was given a mission we would not do alone so I feel the verse fits for other contexts of knowing our God is with us when he calls us to something.
On my journey to the cross this year I felt that God has been asking me to give up some stuff to Him and embrace my calling as a servent and a missionary of his gospel of hope.
That takes great faith, knowing who He is and knowing who he has made me to be.
What is the King asking you to do this Easter?
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The One.
Out of every Hundred men,
Ten shouldn’t even be there,
Eighty are just targets,
Nine are the real fighters,
and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle.
Ah, but the One,
The One is a warrior
And He will bring the others back.
-- Heraclitus
I first read this about two years ago. I have always felt there was something to this.
I see three kinds of men layed out in this quote. Men who don't have direction or passion, men who have passion but no direction and men who have both and the ability to teach others how to have both. The One has two roles as the Knight and the Guardian.
The One is a warrior. (The Knight)
Men with passion but no direction(the nine)are common place I see it everywhere they know they have strength to offer but for the life of them they can't seem to figure out what the area is that would best suit them.
Sound familiar?
Strength under control turns a man from a brawler(fighter) to a knight (warrior).
A knight has a cause that is worth giving his life for, unto death. It's more then a battle it's more then an adventure it's a whole way of living.
If you were to live like your life was in service to those around you would your life look different?
A knight lives in service to his king and serving the king means serving the people.
Knights also have training that can be passed on they have Pages and Squires for that reason.
Pages and Squires may be adults or boys in a knights life.
Who is in your life that needs raising up?
The fulfillment of this role is that your passion and desire becomes the kings(Jesus) passion and desire, to serve those around you and to lend your strength to raising up those around you.
When your direction and passion come from the king then you move from being a fighter to a warrior.
And He (The One) will bring the others back. (The Guardian)
To rescue men who have no passion or direction you have to understand what it means to have been rescued.
You have to come to terms with the fact that you were without direction and without passion and you were invited into a story that was bigger then you and told that you had what it took enought times to silence the voices of discouragement.
It may have happened growing up or as a grown up but somewhere masculinity was bestowed to you as you fellowshiped with men.
The idea of the guardian came from a movie of that title.
It was in the company of a man (Kevin Costner) who had walked the road of loss that recovery was possible for young Jake. (Ashton Kutcher).
The fulfillment of this role is that you don't just leave people in their brokenness and dispair you go after them and rescue them bring them back to the shepherd(Jesus) to be cared for and healed.
Just as Jesus left the ninty-nine to save the one.
To summarize the One lives in service to those around him through discipleship and sacrifice, as a knight and as a guardian never leaves behind those who are in need of love and care.
So Jesus lived and so we must if we are to call him brother and king.
Ten shouldn’t even be there,
Eighty are just targets,
Nine are the real fighters,
and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle.
Ah, but the One,
The One is a warrior
And He will bring the others back.
-- Heraclitus
I first read this about two years ago. I have always felt there was something to this.
I see three kinds of men layed out in this quote. Men who don't have direction or passion, men who have passion but no direction and men who have both and the ability to teach others how to have both. The One has two roles as the Knight and the Guardian.
The One is a warrior. (The Knight)
Men with passion but no direction(the nine)are common place I see it everywhere they know they have strength to offer but for the life of them they can't seem to figure out what the area is that would best suit them.
Sound familiar?
Strength under control turns a man from a brawler(fighter) to a knight (warrior).
A knight has a cause that is worth giving his life for, unto death. It's more then a battle it's more then an adventure it's a whole way of living.
If you were to live like your life was in service to those around you would your life look different?
A knight lives in service to his king and serving the king means serving the people.
Knights also have training that can be passed on they have Pages and Squires for that reason.
Pages and Squires may be adults or boys in a knights life.
Who is in your life that needs raising up?
The fulfillment of this role is that your passion and desire becomes the kings(Jesus) passion and desire, to serve those around you and to lend your strength to raising up those around you.
When your direction and passion come from the king then you move from being a fighter to a warrior.
And He (The One) will bring the others back. (The Guardian)
To rescue men who have no passion or direction you have to understand what it means to have been rescued.
You have to come to terms with the fact that you were without direction and without passion and you were invited into a story that was bigger then you and told that you had what it took enought times to silence the voices of discouragement.
It may have happened growing up or as a grown up but somewhere masculinity was bestowed to you as you fellowshiped with men.
The idea of the guardian came from a movie of that title.
It was in the company of a man (Kevin Costner) who had walked the road of loss that recovery was possible for young Jake. (Ashton Kutcher).
The fulfillment of this role is that you don't just leave people in their brokenness and dispair you go after them and rescue them bring them back to the shepherd(Jesus) to be cared for and healed.
Just as Jesus left the ninty-nine to save the one.
To summarize the One lives in service to those around him through discipleship and sacrifice, as a knight and as a guardian never leaves behind those who are in need of love and care.
So Jesus lived and so we must if we are to call him brother and king.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The Question.
Do I have what it takes?
John Eldridge in his book Wild At Heart talks about this being the question every boy asks. The answer will direct boys into being men with a capable confidence or men who are unsure and fearful.
Which kind of man are you?
Growing up I didn’t feel I had what it took to do anything of significance.
I became a man who lacked confidence and was fearful of trying things that I didn’t know how to do, my fear kept me from asking to learn, so everything scared me.
I lived in a constant state of fear of being found out as someone who didn’t belong.
Sound familiar?
God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7
Yesterday I changed the battery on my car by myself, small thing to the man who was raised with confidence, for me it was a break through moment.
It was an "I have what it takes" moment.
I know there are more and more men out there who are still asking the same question they were as eight-year-old boys and finding the answer the same at every turn.
As Christian men, we have the responsibility to find them and to build them up in such a way that their question is answered in a way that spurs them toward the high call that God has put on their life.
How is the question answered?
Masculinity is bestowed in the company of other men.
It takes a man to show a man he’s a man.
The world is full of fear-filled men who lack confidence.
As Christian men, we have the reasonability to find them and to build them up in such a way that their question is answered in a way that spurs them toward the high call that God has put on their life.
There is a company of men I have surrounding me who are bestowing masculinity upon me from their strength and I am bestowing to them from mine.
If you are a man in this world you need other men around you life is too hard to walk alone you need a band of brothers.
This week's challenge.
Pray for men to come into your life who you can lend your strength to and to whom you also receive strength from both are important if you are going to create a group that is not about one persons needs.
Pray for forty days, it biblical, fast a few meals in there and pray because God will bring men into your life and you into the lives of others that will change the course of your life and the life of those arIound you.
Next Blog "The One". You will never guess what it’s about.
John Eldridge in his book Wild At Heart talks about this being the question every boy asks. The answer will direct boys into being men with a capable confidence or men who are unsure and fearful.
Which kind of man are you?
Growing up I didn’t feel I had what it took to do anything of significance.
I became a man who lacked confidence and was fearful of trying things that I didn’t know how to do, my fear kept me from asking to learn, so everything scared me.
I lived in a constant state of fear of being found out as someone who didn’t belong.
Sound familiar?
God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7
Yesterday I changed the battery on my car by myself, small thing to the man who was raised with confidence, for me it was a break through moment.
It was an "I have what it takes" moment.
I know there are more and more men out there who are still asking the same question they were as eight-year-old boys and finding the answer the same at every turn.
As Christian men, we have the responsibility to find them and to build them up in such a way that their question is answered in a way that spurs them toward the high call that God has put on their life.
How is the question answered?
Masculinity is bestowed in the company of other men.
It takes a man to show a man he’s a man.
The world is full of fear-filled men who lack confidence.
As Christian men, we have the reasonability to find them and to build them up in such a way that their question is answered in a way that spurs them toward the high call that God has put on their life.
There is a company of men I have surrounding me who are bestowing masculinity upon me from their strength and I am bestowing to them from mine.
If you are a man in this world you need other men around you life is too hard to walk alone you need a band of brothers.
This week's challenge.
Pray for men to come into your life who you can lend your strength to and to whom you also receive strength from both are important if you are going to create a group that is not about one persons needs.
Pray for forty days, it biblical, fast a few meals in there and pray because God will bring men into your life and you into the lives of others that will change the course of your life and the life of those arIound you.
Next Blog "The One". You will never guess what it’s about.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Reservoir
For those who read this blog and know my commitment to posting weekly I want to be faithful to communicate so as to stay in integrity.
I am having a difficult time staying current on this blog and so I am stopping the weekly post for one month. This will give me time to create a reservoir for myself and help me to create better content for this blog.
Thanks for reading this far I look forward to encouraging and challenging you all in a months time.
I am having a difficult time staying current on this blog and so I am stopping the weekly post for one month. This will give me time to create a reservoir for myself and help me to create better content for this blog.
Thanks for reading this far I look forward to encouraging and challenging you all in a months time.
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