Recap: Are We Missing the Point?

Imagine going to the Doctor because you have been sick for some time. After a thorough examination, the Doctor gives and explanation of what is wrong and offers a treatment. The first treatment is quite simple: Heal yourself. The second treatment isn't much better: He hands you a list of how healthy people live and tells you to live like a healthy person and everything will be okay. If you were to go to such a Doctor, there is a good chance that you would be looking for another Doctor. However, there are so many people who sit through this type of treatment each and every week of their lives. They just do it in a spiritual atmosphere.

I think we have missed the point. The Gospel is the Good News of what our Heavenly Father has done on our behalf, not what we need to do on behalf of our Heavenly Father. It sees us in our weakness, our brokenness, and our utter inability to heal ourselves. It doesn't give us a checklist on how to live, but offers us the very life of Christ. In the same way that we would not trust a Doctor who tells us to heal ourselves or to live like healthy people when we are sick and it will all work out; we should not trust anyone who tries to add the the Gospel of Grace.

I realize that the word GRACE has become a buzzword to some and a byword to others. There are people all over the spectrum with regards to this word. Grace is our way of life in Christ. It is the grace of God that turns us to Christ, saves us, and enables us to live this life of faith. It's God's ability at work in our lives conforming us into the very image of Christ. But somewhere along the way we have missed the point of all of this. There's plenty of people within Christianity who believe that the prayer of salvation is just about getting you to Heaven. Which has nothing to do really with this life. Then there are those who treat the grace of God as a license to get away with whatever we choose to do. Both have missed it. Both groups have failed to realize the beauty of grace in all of its fullness. Peter talked about "growing up into salvation." Paul said that we should "grow up in every way into Him who is the Head, into Christ." Rather than seeing this maturity come into full effect, we have polluted the Gospel with works and failed to allow grace to truly change our lives.

In Titus 2:11-15 (I won't post it all here but I do encourage you to read it for yourself) we see what the grace of God is trying to accomplish in our lives.
1) Training us to say "NO!"
- Renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions
2) Teaching us to say "YES!"
- To live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives
3) Telling us to Trust and Rest
- Wait for our blessed hope...Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us...to purify for Himself a people...

It's a reminder that the Grace of God is meant to change our lives. To make us the best us we can be. Allowing us to enter into the very life of Christ. Grace is not just a door into salvation. Grace is our salvation. It is not a license to sin. Grace is a license to be just like Jesus. I have heard people say that we can take grace too far. I disagree. I believe that we have not taken grace far enough. We have not allowed it to have its perfect work in us.

To hear some people teach and preach it actually seems harder to be a Christian than to become one. However, what I have discovered is that it takes just as much grace to live out the faith as it did to come to the faith. The Gospel is not a self-help tool and Christianity is more than behavior modification. The grace of God accomplishes in us what the law could not do [Read Romans 8:3-4]. In fact, I would encourage to look and see what all of our self-effort accomplishes. In Romans 3:20 we read and see that "By the works of the Law no human being will be justified." Go on over the Galatians and hear Paul's warning in 5:4-5 where he tells the church that to try and be justified by the Law is to fall from grace. Over and over again we are reminded that what is produced in the flesh is not sufficient, and that only what comes through the grace of God will last.

I share this with many Christians because I see their struggles. They are striving for perfection, without the understanding that they are the righteousness of God in Christ. They don't understand that God dwells in the broken us, not the performance us. All the while missing out on the abundant life of Christ that is available each and every day.

Far too many are using grace as an excuse to remain immature. And on the other side of the coin there are just as many (if not more) that haven't given grace the chance it needs to make a difference in their lives.

I blame us. That's right! Those of us who are called to share the truth. Those of us who should have dug deeper, looked more intently upon the Scriptures, and done our due diligence in relationship with Christ. We knew that something was wrong. We just kept telling people to try harder, and they believed us. All the while, trying to grab some security for ourselves. I can tell you from firsthand experience that my life changed when I came to know the grace of God for myself. When grace moved from a theory to an experience. When it stopped being "unmerited favor" and turned into the "divine enablement of God." It was like being born again again.

In the end, I want to say what the Apostle Paul said to the church at Corinth: "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain..." 1 Corinthians 15:10

What about you? Ready for a change? It's time to trust fully in the grace of God for you. Let the journey begin.

Your Marriage Matters

On Friday I shared some thoughts on marriage. At the beginning of this week, I still have marriage on the brain. Rather than just giving you my take on the subject, I decided to do a little research.

Proverbs 5:18 has become one of my favorite verses regarding the marriage relationship. Actually the entire chapter is full of incredible wisdom from a father to a son. Here's the verse: "Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth." (NLT) Of course the Bible has a lot to say about marriage. At least how we should behave in marriage. What we have come to understand over the years is how marriage affects society as a whole. During my research I came across a study by the Institute for American Values. The following is a list of 30 conclusions on Why Marriage Matters. It was adapted from the book of the same name. So here you go. Thirty Conclusions about marriage from the social sciences. Please take this to heart.

Family
1) Marriage increases the likelihood that fathers and mothers have good relationships with their children.
2) Children are most likely to enjoy family stability when they are born into a married family.
3) Children are less likely to thrive in complex households.
4) Cohabitation is not the functional equivalent of marriage.
5) Growing up outside an intact marriage increases the likelihood that children will themselves divorce or become unwed parents.
6) Marriage is a virtually universal human institution.
7) Marriage, and a normative commitment to marriage, foster high-quality relationships between adults, as well as between parents and children.
8) Marriage has important bio-social consequences for adults and children.

Economy
9) Divorce and unmarried childbearing increase poverty for both children and mothers, and cohabitation is less likely to alleviate poverty than is marriage.
10) Married couples seem to build more wealth on average than singles or cohabiting couples.
11) Marriage reduces poverty and material hardship for disadvantaged women and their children.
12) Minorities benefit economically from marriage also.
13) Married men earn more money than do single men with similar education and job histories.
14) Parental divorce (or failure to marry) appears to increase children’s risk of school failure.
15) Parental divorce reduces the likelihood that children will graduate from college and achieve high-status jobs.

Physical Health and Longevity
16) Children who live with their own two married parents enjoy better physical health, on average, than do children in other family forms.
17) Parental marriage is associated with a sharply lower risk of infant mortality.
18) Marriage is associated with reduced rates of alcohol and substance abuse for both adults and teens.
19) Married people, especially married men, have longer life expectancy than do otherwise similar singles.
20) Marriage is associated with better health and lower rates of injury, illness, and disability for both men and women.
21) Marriage seems to be associated with better health among minorities and the poor.

Mental Health and Emotional Well-being
22) Children whose parents divorce have higher rates of psychological distress and mental illness.
23) Cohabitation is associated with higher levels of psychological problems among children.
24) Family breakdown appears to increase significantly the risk of suicide.
25) Married mothers have lower rates of depression than do single or cohabiting mothers.

Crime and Domestic Violence
26) Boys raised in non-intact families are more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behavior.
27) Marriage appears to reduce the risk that adults will be either perpetrators or victims of crime.
28) Married women appear to have a lower risk of experiencing domestic violence than do cohabiting or dating women.
29) A child who is not living with his or her own two married parents is at greater risk of child abuse.
30) There is a growing marriage gap between college-educated Americans and less educated Americans.

Have you ever asked the question: Does My Marriage Really Matter?
It seems like the results from this study are clear. Your marriage is not a mere drop in the bucket.
Sounds like it's high time we rediscover the necessity of strong and stable families within our communities, our churches, and our nation.
The generations are at stake.

Thoughts on Marriage

I'm currently preparing for my 2nd wedding ceremony of the year. Which means I've spent a lot of time over the past few months doing pre-marriage counseling. I have one other couple that I'm working with in preparations for a Sept. wedding. So...needless to say...marriage has been on my mind a lot lately. For good reason. Marriage is one of the most incredible relationships available to us in this life. At times it is incredibly hard work, and at other times it is indescribable joy. The question remains with what you do to thrive during the ebb and flow of marriage. Notice that I didn't say survive? I'll get to that.

This evening will bring with it the final preparations. The run through of the ceremony. The practicing of walking down the aisle, putting groomsmen and bridesmaids in their places, and rehearsing the wedding vows. There's going to be a lot of excitement, anticipation, and maybe even a little anxiety. This is a big deal. Two people are preparing to commit their lives to one another. FOREVER! I can already see the sweat beads forming on the heads of many of you. You remember this night all too well. The butterflies in the stomach. The goofy grins. The fear of passing out. It's worth it though. Isn't it?

I know plenty of people who have went through this same scenario without the storybook ending. Rather than "Happily Ever After" they got "Irreconcilable Differences." Some of them made it several years before their dreams came to a screeching halt. Others barely made it out of the gate. I don't write any of this to fault anyone, marriage is hard work. I write this to ask the questions that need to be asked. To address the issues that need to be addressed. To find that secret formula that makes a marriage last.

Here's the secret: There is no secret!!!

Marriage takes commitment. It takes time. It takes a willingness to lay down one's own desires for the other. It takes communication, grace, genuine care for the other person. Did I mention time? Marriage takes time. One cannot expect the perfect wedding to create the perfect marriage. We also cannot expect they Honeymoon feeling to carry us for the rest of our lives. The reality is that so many people give up on marriage before you have time to create the union that they promised.

A lot changes in us over the years. I was 21 years old when I married my wife who was 18. After 21 years of marriage A LOT HAS CHANGED. What has not changed is our commitment to one another. What we promised to one another all those years ago is still important to us. Some of the groundwork we laid way back then has provided incredible stability. However, we have had to put in some work. We've had to change out of necessity. There were things we had to talk through, problems that had to be solved, and a whole lot of maturing that had to happen. That's why I said that marriage takes time, and why we need to give it some time.

Trust me when I say that you will not be in 21 years what you were in 5. At least I hope not. Kids, changes in career, personal growth; all these things bring with them their own stresses and challenges. All a part of the story of your lives together. Difficult? Yes! Fun? Absolutely! For the faint of heart? Absolutely not!

Remember that verse that your pastor shared during your ceremony? Probably not.
Nine times out of ten, most pastors read from Genesis. They talk about God ordaining that a man would leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and that the two will become one flesh. The word cleave means to bind together. To make one. That is the literal translation of the word. However, their is another way to look at this word in the original language. There is a figurative meaning that paints a beautiful picture. Cleave can also mean "to pursue to overtake." A meaning that always gives me the image of someone hunting. My advice during counseling (especially to the men) is that they should wake up every morning and pursue their wives. And I don't know a wife out there that doesn't want to be pursued by their husband.

Sure, there's plenty that you can do to help your marriage along. Discover your love languages. Take trips together. Plan date nights. Or at least spend some quality alone time together each and every day. Talk to your spouse. Flirt with one another. Never forget what it felt like to be infatuated with the other person. This is what we tend to lose over time. That, and the willingness to change. I often wonder if people fall out of love or if they fall out of repentance? But that's a topic for another day. The point is to take the time to become who you are meant to become together.

Oh, and that part about thriving rather than surviving. It's all about the mindset. Marriage was a choice that I made. It's a choice that my wife made. In other words, we chose this life. We didn't say "yes" to one another just to survive. We said "yes" to make a life together. Has there been troubled times? Of course. But the reality is that our marriage (with all the ups and downs) has been one of the greatest experiences of our lives. We've created a family. We are still 100% in love with the other person. In fact, we are in a season of life where we spend an awful lot of time together without kids. AND WE LOVE IT!!! You can thrive in marriage with the right mindset and heart for one another. You can have a Happily Ever After, even if yours has not been a storybook romance.

Marriage is an incredible journey. Now get out there and enjoy it!

Whatever You Did to the Least of These...

I really do believe He means whatever. Whatever good. Whatever evil. How we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ is exactly how we are treating Jesus.

There's at least two things that we need to take from the words of Jesus.
1) He places a greater value on other people than we do.
2) How we treat people matters.
There has to come a time in our lives where we actually believe what Jesus says. Where our faith sees this life through the same lens. Each and every person matters. Whether they are hungry or full, naked or clothed, in prison or out, part of our circle of friends or not.

I say all of this knowing full well that there are accusations being made right this moment by one Christian about another. Knowing that there are Christians who gossip, backbite, slander, and completely avoid certain members of the family. YES! I said family. Because we don't get to choose whose a part of this family. We don't get to decide whose legitimate and who is not. We should hear their testimony. We can see the fruit of their relationship. We are not the judge, but we will be judged according to how we treat them.

In case we missed it, the New Testament has an awful lot to say about the way we treat others. Jesus instructed us on how we treat our enemies (we are to love them), those who persecute us (pray for them), and even those who curse us (bless them). But what He said in Matthew 25 we hear the Father's heart on how we should be towards each other. This line of thinking is found throughout the Gospels and letters to the Early Church. Which tells me that this stuff matters.

We view spirituality much different than Jesus. We tend to focus on our devotion to service times, Bible reading, offerings, and the amount of Christian music we listen to. A checklist to make sure that we REALLY are in the faith. All the while ignoring some of the weightier matters of what we are to believe. Things like justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Exactly the things that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for ignoring. There's a reason why He said that our righteousness should exceed their righteousness. These things matter.

Love for one another IS the very thing that Jesus said would prove to the world that we are really His. REALLY HIS!!! So how we talk to one another, treat one another, care for one another, talk about one another, etc. These things matter. And I honestly believe that the world would be a much better place if we took them seriously.

I realize that this may sound harsh, but that is not my heart. I want us to take the "red letters" of Jesus and put them to the forefront of our thinking. If He said it, it matters. We should put our focus on these things and trust the grace of God to enable us to make it happen. Let's see people exactly the way Jesus does. Let's treat them exactly the way we would treat Him. Let's allow love, honor, respect, and genuine care be named among us. When we do there is a great possibility that we will see Jesus more clearly. In the others.

God, being God, makes sure that we have ample opportunities to experience the Kingdom. Each and every day. The people you worship with each and every week. Your coworkers and/or employees. The people at the rec field and at the ballgame. All opportunities to be a part of the Kingdom of God. Let's get to it.

Remember: Whatever we do - we do it to Him. What an adventure!

For Mature Audiences

Take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21, "Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." Do you see it?

I have spent the majority of my life in churches where the gift of prophecy was nonexistent. At least in practice. Typically, when someone talked about prophecy it had nothing to do with a word from the Lord for today but always revolved around future events. I realize that this is a controversial topic among some believers. They actually think that the prophetic gift ceased when the Bible was canonized. However, there is no valid reason to believe that any of the gifts of the Spirit have ceased. Therefore, it is important that we know how to handle these gifts when they manifest among us.

I really don't want to spend our time together discussing the validity of the gifts as much as I want us to look at the way in which this New Testament letter instructed the church to handle the prophetic.

#1 - Don't Despise the Prophetic
I have witnessed this first hand. I have heard the scorn of church members directed toward those who operate in the prophetic. They either do not appreciate the gift, believe in it, or they hold the gift of the prophetic under the same scrutiny as the "office" (if you will) of a prophet. The prophetic gift is different. Regardless, we are instructed to not despise prophecies.

#2 - Test Everything
Here is where we often fall short. Where the church as a whole needs to demonstrate some maturity. How we handle the prophetic says a lot about our depth. The writer of this epistle envisions overseers of the church (those men and women who were mature in the faith) taking a prophetic word and holding it under the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. Praying about it. Seeking greater understanding. Have you ever asked yourself who are those within your church that would be able to actually test what is taking place?

#3 - Hold On to What is Good
You have to read the instruction in its entirety. Part of our problem in seeing the continuity in thought is the way that many of our Bibles break up this portion of Scripture. "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." It's found in the encouragement to not quench the Spirit that we find the admonition to not despise prophecies. Then most of our Bibles have a verse break that comes in before we read to test everything and to hold fast what is good. An unfortunate break. Hear this as plainly as I can paraphrase it:
Don't quench the Spirit. Don't despise prophecies but test them all; holding on to what is good in them.
***Which, by the way, is EXACTLY how many of the most conservative Bible commentaries explain these verses***

Can you see it now? When you place the prophetic under scrutiny you must hold on to what is good in what has been uttered. In other words, you have to allow for human error. We have to realize that even people operating under the power of the Holy Spirit can get it wrong from time to time. I don't think we get it wrong in what we see as much in how we interpret what we see and/or hear. This requires a maturity that many churches have quite honestly not allowed us to grow into. They ignore, shut down, and/or demonize those who operate prophetically. We've labeled these people as a part of the granola crowd (you know...the fruits, the flakes, and the nuts). And in so doing, we have quenched the work of the Holy Spirit among us.

I realize that this may seem like foreign soil to most people. We either assume that when someone has a "word from the Lord" for us that we are supposed to swallow it hook, line, and sinker. Or we shut them down all together. Maybe not verbally but mentally. The proper way for us to handle any and all prophetic words is to test them. Test them against Scripture. Test them against the witness of the Spirit in our own life. Test them against the promises of God to us personally. Glean the good things and discard the rest.

Remember that the prophetic in the New Testament is meant to strengthen, encourage, and comfort the hearer. You can find this in 1 Corinthians 14:3. A valid gift that should be in operation within the church to edify the body. Just another the way that the Lord want to move in our lives to conform us into the image of His Son.

Before we shut down anything we should ask ourselves this question: Am I quenching the work of the Spirit in my life?
The mature among us know how to glean what is good and let the rest fall. Learning to discern the Lord in all things. Trusting that the guidance of the Holy Spirit is MUCH stronger than any deception that would try to creep in. Remember that Jesus said that we would know His voice. And there are those among us who hear is voice in many different ways, seeking to give expression to what they have seen, heard, and/or felt. May we allow the Holy Spirit to move freely among us.

Enjoy the journey!

Immeasurably More

Just a word of encouragement as you head into the weekend...

God is able to do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT YOU COULD ASK OR THINK ACCORDING TO THE POWER AT WORK IN US. You've got Scripture to back that up. Isn't good to know that our Heavenly Father is not limited to our finite thinking, nor is He beyond our wildest imaginations. I feel sorry for those who believe that they have God in a box. Restrained. Limited. Falling prey to our whims and emotions. Lost (in a sense) in our unbelief. Let me say it out loud for all to hear: GOD IS WITHOUT LIMITS!!!

Always remember the state of the churches that Paul was seeking to encourage. Remember their difficulties. Understand the situations. Discover the same Heavenly Father in your own life. The picture that accompanies the blog for today uses the phrase "immeasurably more." However, I want to share with you from the text that I have memorized.

He is able to do (you have to see the progression)...

Exceedingly
Exceedingly Abundantly
Exceedingly Abundantly Above
Exceedingly Abundantly Above All
Exceedingly Abundantly Above All that we could ask or think
Exceedingly Abundantly Above All that we could ask or think according to the Power at work in us.

Paul is trying, in every way possible, to help the church understand that God is way better than we have imagined. Can you allow yourself to think this way today? Let your imagination run wild. Stir up the testimony of the Lord in your own life. Discover His fullness in Jesus. Enjoy just how REAL He can be in you and for you. This is a wonderful adventure.

Have a blessed weekend.

Some Things to Think About

If there is one thing that I know about human beings it's that we love to be right. I mean...who wants to be wrong? What we believe about politics, social issues, parenting techniques, and the like are important matters. This is especially true in what we believe about God. While I'm not here to tell you that it's okay to be wrong, I do want to say that it is okay to ask questions.

Does it not bother you that a majority of people do not think of those within the Christian faith as critical thinkers? Many of them see us as the enemy of intelligence, reason, and friendly debate. Can you blame them? I mean it's one thing to have a creationist debating an evolutionist but quite another for one believer to be debating another believer. They see our finger pointing, hear our name calling, and are blown away by our lack of regard for those in the faith. Over the last few months I have been on a journey with leaders from other denominations within the Protestant faith. I have thoroughly enjoyed our discussions. Talking about our differences hasn't created division but rather has forced us to look into the things that bind us together. A practice that I wish more and more in the faith would employ.

I was reading through writings of an author that I wish to remain nameless. I read the writings not because I agreed on every point. I read him because I wanted to hear some of the things he was saying. I wanted to look at his approach to various aspects of the faith. How does he reason? What questions is he willing to ask? What are the things that are concrete for him? These things matter. I don't mention his name because some people simply turn off those they don't agree with. What I can tell you about this individual is that he fully agrees with the Nicene Creed. He holds fast to what the early church agreed to as the commonality of the faith. While at the same time he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty by questioning some of our more difficult beliefs.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever sat back and actually looked at the differences between the denominations? What about the different groups that consider themselves as a part of the Christian faith? Have you investigated the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity? For the majority of people reading this blog this may not have seemed important to you. That's okay. I would much rather people be firm in their own faith before they begin to look into other things. But with that being said, I want to pose some questions that this author asked - some conclusions that he came to when investigating our differences.

The conclusions that we arrive at (regardless of the discussion) depends upon:
1) Our View of God
- Is God primarily a God of love, justice, mercy or righteous anger? Is His primary posture towards humanity enmity or compassion? Does God's holiness allow or prevent fellowship with sinful people? Is God free to forgive or bound by righteousness to punish? Is He absolutely approachable or infinitely unapproachable?

2) Our View of the Atonement
- Was the Cross about God pouring out His wrath upon Christ or us pouring our wrath out upon God? Was God punishing Jesus in our place (ultimate justice) or were we murdering God's perfect love (ultimate injustice)? Was it about final payment for sin-debts or final forgiveness of sin-debts? Does the Cross save us from God, the devil, sin, death, or ourselves?

3) Our Approach to Scripture
- When we read the Bible, do we tend to interpret the images literally or metaphorically? Do we feel we are more faithful to the text when we take it as literally as the language allows or when we are most sensitive to the author's use of symbols? Are we more prone to ignore verses that don't fit our doctrinal presuppositions or are we more apt to bend them into our framework?

4) Our Personal Need in Regards to our View on Hell
- Do we feel the need to ignore, minimize, or do away with hell because we cannot allow that a loving God could conceive, create, or implement such a monstrosity? Or do we desperately need hell, because in this world of atrocities, God could not be considered holy, righteous, and just without it? Do we require such a place with which to threaten unbelievers into salvation and believers into faithfulness? Or, like the annihilationist, do we look for a proportionate combination of compassion and punishment in our desire to prevent God from vanquishing evil with a far greater evil?

The point that this author makes in regard to all of these things is that there is an incredible amount of tension in the Scriptures regarding various aspects of what we believe. How do we handle the tension? Maybe a better question would be, how do we handle those who come to a different conclusion after working through the tension? Can we at least agree on a few things? Could we agree that the tension creates the possiblity that people may disagree with our conclusions but that it does not negate the legitimacy of their faith?
* We cannot presume to know that all will be saved or that any will not be saved.
*The revelation of God in Christ includes real warnings about the possibility of damnation for some and also the real possibility that redemption may extend to all.
*We not only dare hope and pray that God's mercy would finally triumph over judgement; the love of God obligate us to such hope.

Are these questions and conclusions at least a great reminder that God's ways have always been higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. That we, seeking to be led by the Spirit, are doing our best to be fully persuaded in the right beliefs. That each of us seek to know God fully and to make Him known. If anything I pray that this type of discussion would lead us to pray for one another, to extend grace to those who are searching, and to express love to all. I believe that is the way of the Kingdom. Even if you disagree.

Be blessed.

Moving On

Ephesians 4:31-32, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you." (from the Amplified Bible)

I'm learning how to move on. To make the transition between one stage of life to another a lot smoother. Forgiving quicker. The reason why is very simple. It's really hard to move forward when you are always looking backwards. Unforgiveness is a weight that hinders. Bitterness is a prison which is hard to escape. Malice is a waste of time and energy. I realize that there are some major things that happen to us, but we cannot allow the history of those things to be couple with our active participation. Maybe it's time to let some things go. For good.

We talk so much about our freedom in Christ. However, that freedom in never truly experienced when we cannot process though our pain and misundertandings. Constantly drudging up the past is a great way to ensure that you will never enjoy the present (or the future). Take a good look over this passage of Scripture. It's pretty self-explanatory. Clamor - that perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, and fault-finding that you have with another person. Malice - the spitefulness that you feel, any verbal abuse you want to unload, and the intense often vicious ill will that you hold. How can it be healthy? It's not.

The prescription the Apostle gives for this unhealthy addiction that tends to run our lives is quite simple:
FORGIVE EACH OTHER!!!
Readily and freely.
BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER!!!
I'm sure it sounds ridiculous to some people, but kindness is an incredible weapon in the war against bitterness.
BE HELPFUL TO EACH OTHER!!!
You may never fully win over someone's heart. You can only do what you can do. Helping a self-proclaimed enemy in time of need goes a long way to rebuilding bridges.

I've said that this sounds simple enough. However, I know how difficult it can be. You just need to be reminded that there is grace for this. Always. Remember that the Father never asks us to do anything that He is not willing to do (or already doing) Himself. As hard as this may sound, it's much easier than trying to live with bitterness.

Last week I had this thought. I hope that it helps us to rethink how we handle all of this.
Hatred is such hard work.
Bitterness is such a waste of time.
Let love win in your heart. Always.
Enjoy the difference.

As Jesus was nailed to a cross he spoke these words, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing."
This same Spirit lives in you. Make it happen. Forgive. Release. And finally begin the process of enjoying the journey.

The God of All Grace

It was during my morning reading that I came across this verse again. I saw something that I had never seen before...at least not this way. For the last few years I have unapologetically preached the grace of God. It has been a source of life and liberty for me personally. One of those truths that you can't unsee or unexperience.

Once again, I need to remind you that grace is more than the unmerited favor definition that most of us have been handed. The grace of God is the divine enablement of God that saves (heals, delivers, and makes us whole), arouses and inspires Christian virtue, and empowers us to live the life of a son of God. A truth that we must embrace fully. To live outside of the grace of God is to live to ourselves, in our own strength, and through our own ability. The grace of God is truly amazing and life changing. Given to us freely through the life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

As I read 1 Peter 5:10, I saw one of the greatest explanations of grace and how the God of all grace affects our lives. Peter was encouraging the church during an incredible time of suffering. He reminded them that they were not alone. The brotherhood was enduring the same difficulties, persecution, and tragedies. His encouragement? Keep the faith. Resist the enemy. Trust in the God of all grace.

THE GOD OF ALL GRACE WILL...

Perfect You - the original language reads so beautifully here. It literally means to complete YOU thoroughly. In case you don't understand the implication of this I will break it down for you - there will be NOTHING lacking.

Confirm You - That is, He will render you constant. God has a way of making you amazingly consistent. Does that sound good? I don't know about you but I always hated the inconsistency I felt within myself trying to live up to religion. There's grace for this.

Strengthen You - He will make you strong.

Establish You - He will make you stable. No more tossed about like a ship in the sea. No more back and forth. No more struggling to have a foundation.

You may read these things and think that is sounds too good to be true. You have tried this yourself and it didn't work. However, I would simply ask you: Did you rest in Him? The truth be told, most of us have tried to live the "Christian life." At least what we believed it to be. We did the things that religion told us to do. We tried to become what we believed a Christian ought to be. But somewhere in the process we missed out on the grace of God. We banked everything on our performance. We trusted in our ability and found ourselves lacking. The grace of God must be trusted in completely. He has to be our source of life and godliness. This life is not about taking standards outside of us and applying them to our lives. We are learning to live from the wellspring of life that dwells within. Learning what it means to be conformed to the image of Christ. Learning to renew our minds so that we may be transformed. Resting in the goodness of God.

It's a major shift in thinking if you have been steeped in religion. BUT that is the whole point! Living by the rule of Law rather than having a change of heart was one of the major issues that Jesus dealt with in His day. He saw a people who honored the Father with their lips but their hearts were far from Him. It's unfortunate that there are so many like this in the church today. I don't believe they do it intentionally. They just haven't learned how to live from the grace of God rather than for it. The difference is astounding.

I don't know what you have had to endure to get where you are right now, just let me reassure you. The God of all grace will complete you. He will confirm you in your identity. He will strengthen you in your relationship with Him. He will establish you in His grace. Completely. Don't lose heart. Don't believe the lies of the enemy. Rest in Him and enjoy the journey. You will be amazed.