Grace.

John 1: 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

Grace.  Some would say it’s a Christian, coined term - almost a cliché.  You know, “amazing grace how sweet the sound”, saying “grace” over the food, “grace be to you”, “His grace is enough” and the list goes on.  It is said at least once at every church gathering, and time after time eyes glaze over and thoughts turn to what will be eaten at the next meal.  The word gets tossed around with other “Christianese” words like mercy, faith, compassion, and forgiveness. It is mentioned so much that it must have significance.  So what exactly is this “grace”?

The textbook definition of grace is the freely given, unmerited favor of God.  Let’s pick this definition apart.  First of all, grace is free.  There is no price.  God gives it to us out of shear love, and real love – real love being a choice, not a feeling.  He chose a long time ago to love us, as a Father loves his children, before we even knew who He was. The second part of the definition is the unmerited favor of God. “Unmerited” means it is not received by our merit, or good deeds (such as “I’m a good person,” etc.  See Galatians 2:21). His favor is on us. Another word for favor is preference. God still prefers us, even when he knows every sin we have committed, and every sin we will commit against Him.  God chooses to love us unconditionally (Ephesians 6:24).

Christ loves us so much that He died for us out of grace - His freely given, unmerited favor.  It is because of grace that He wants to have a relationship with us.  How amazing is it that the creator of the universe wants to be our Father, and we get to be His cherished child.

As God’s children we want to be just like Him in every way.  God lavishes his grace on us (1 John 3:1), when we are repentant from that which is not of him (Jonah 2:8).  Therefore, we are to lavish this grace on others.  If Jesus died on the cross for us even when He knew we would lie, steal, give in to addictions, and sin in every other way that humans do, then we can forgive a sibling for spilling coke in the back of the car or forgive a classmate/co-worker for talking about us behind our backs.  Our relationships should not be based on merit (the good deeds a person does for us) but on grace.

Only God’s immeasurable grace makes us truly alive with a purpose (2Timothy 2:9, Ephesians 2:4-6). Through this grace alone we have the opportunity to join Him in a relationship and receive His blessings (Ephesians 1:3-10, John 1:16).  It is solely this grace that saves us (Ephesians 2:8-9), and because of this infinite grace, we will bask in His presence for eternity (Romans 5:21).

  

...and the shape of an 'L' on their foreheads.

Hard to believe there are only six weeks left in the semester! Where does the time go!? God has done incredible works in this past school year and just in the spring semester. One area that I have been challenged in is evangelism.

 The very first day of class, Dr. Alvin Reid, a professor at Southeastern Seminary said, “Christians today take themselves way to seriously, however, we do not take the gospel seriously enough.”  How painfully true! Time after time Christians get bent out of shape because “the music just wasn’t right for me today,” or “I wish that pastor would stop going over time.” Yeah, how inconsiderate that he would rather preach out of God’s holy, perfect, and life changing word, rather than stop on time so that we can get to Cracker Barrel before the lunch rush. Excuse my blunt words. But in reality this is how we think and act.

How different the world would be if we lived each day burdened for lost and perishing souls! John Wesley is a noteworthy example of this lifestyle. He envisioned every person he encountered with an “L” on their forehead, which stood for lost, until either they proved him wrong or he shared the gospel with them. Let’s give an answer for the hope that is within us (1Peter 3:15). Get bent out of shape due to the fact that people are dying and suffering for eternity! Be as excited about sharing Jesus as you were the UNC championship, or the ‘A’ you earned on that big test, or that awesome summer job you just scored. 

Let's set our minds on things above (Col. 3:2), things with eternal impact. Show others the Jesus in you, and tell them of the great things He has done. His news is life saving; and by far the most life impacting story of all. 

Appreciation of an Interuption

So yesterday I’m sitting in my recently moved into dorm room-after waking up way later than I should be. And I decide to pry myself out of bed and warm up some tea before having some God time to start off my day…err..afternoon. One thing about college is that privacy is something that must be taken advantage off at all costs. It is honestly really hard to get alone and just have some time with the Creator, one on one. One challenge that I constantly face is having that precious alone time with Him before I have contact with anyone else, for preparation for the day and cultivation of our relationship. Therefore I decided that since I was alone and the roomie was at work, that I better snatch up the privacy while I had it. So there I sit, sipping hot tea and I had just finished exalting and thanking Him. Another challenge for me is shutting up. Haha- honestly though I talk his ear off way to often rather than just sitting on His lap and listening to what He has to say. I mean, He is God; I need to have more of a teachable spirit. So I’m sitting…quietly…eyes closed…when out of nowhere I hear this blaring sound. Living in a girl’s dorm one becomes accustomed to hearing ANY humanly possible noise at ANY time (a.m. or p.m.) and after a while one learns to expect the unexpected. However this time I am taken completely by surprise yet It doesn’t take long to realize what the noise is…nothing but, Celine Dion in her 90’s prime singing, or from my point of view screaming the song “The Power of Love.” So it’s like **quietly thinking of God and being still……still… CAUSE I’M YOUR LADAAAAYYYY!!! AND YOUR ARE MY MAAAANN!!!” Honestly my initial reaction was utter annoyance. Seriously?! #1 CELINE DION? really!? #2- I am trying to have my quiet time here! The world revolves around me remember!!...ooooo yeah….. hmmm. So I get to thinking… “’Cause I’m your lady…and you’re my man…” hmmm… ya know, I don’t think enough Christians think about their relationship with God as an incredible love story..and real I’ll-die-for-you love (not an “o my word I Looovvvee pizza!” type of “love”). So I quickly went back to being still and quiet before Him- but after a while I decided to tell God… “Ya know, I am your lady, and God, you are my Man.” Not only is He my man, He is The God- Man. There is no one like Him, He is the most courageous, brave, powerful, and faithful God-man I ever have and ever will meet.
Disclaimer- Don’t get me wrong- I’m not endorsing this song or necessarily saying that God spoke to me through Celine Dion..haha but I do know that despite our self centeredness God can use anything to remind us of who He is, in relation to the world and in relation to us…

what's the big deal?

Christian. What images come to mind? A crucifix? Pews, hymnals, and a steeple? A set of rules to follow? What does being a Christian really mean? A typical answer, “I mean… I usually go to church and I’m a pretty good person so I guess I’m a Christian.” In America, the term Christian has lost its meaning and has become ritual religion, just something we do- rather than something that we are which bleeds into all other parts of our lives.
So why is Christianity such a big deal, it’s just another religion right? The issue is this: Jesus was perfect, God’s one and only Son (John 3:16). He had it made, if you will, yet still decided to come down and walk in our dirt. But wait, it still intensifies, not only did He leave the right hand of God in Paradise to come be with humans; He died for them. [Philippians 2:6-11]. You see, we are all sinners. Everyone has stolen a cookie out of Mom’s cookie jar before dinner, and that doesn’t even begin to touch the tip of the ice berg of our filth. The fact is God is holy and he can’t be with filth, so we’re in a bind, one with eternal consequences. “But I thought a loving God wouldn’t send people to hell?” God is love and God is also just. Hypothetically let’s say there is a county judge who is the cutest, most loving grandpa figure you’ve ever seen, but when a criminal comes into his court having robbed a store, he still has to send him to jail doesn’t he? The glory and mystery of it all is that God did love us so much that Jesus, the only perfect man, came and took on our punishment for us. He died so that one day we won’t have too. And yet, it just keeps getting better. Jesus not only died for us, but he conquered death and the grave by rising three days later.
He did all of this so this so that humans could have a relationship with God; not so that we could dress up on Sunday’s and hope for up-beat songs during worship and not so that we would be required to follow a set of rules. Once a person realizes the significance of His sacrifice they can not help but live their life in eternal gratitude. God did all of this because He wants to be your Father and your friend! Amazing right? But if He’s not already, He wants more than anything to be your Savior right now. Will you accept His invitation?


-please write a message and ask me if you have any questions, comments, etc. I'd LOVE to talk to you about them!