The Rain of Life

I am looking out the window at the rain as it is falling.  Each little raindrop, gently dropping to the surface.  And it makes me think of the things that our Father causes to "fall" into our lives.  We all know that the rain is necessary.  We don't always like it, but we recognize that we need it and are okay with that - usually.  

We may grumble (and I sometimes do) about the gloom and want the sunshine, but we recognize that we must have the rain.  And so it is with life.  We need the trials to make us strong.  Most of the time they come as little droplets, gently falling around us.  The burnt toast first thing in the morning or not being able to find that piece of paper we're looking for.   At other times, they are more of a jolt - like getting up in the middle of the night with a crying baby, or dealing with a sarcastic remark made by someone close to us.  And then there are the storms, the driving rain that pounds down on us breaking off tree limbs and blowing things out of place, disrupting our lives and bringing major upheaval.  The hard things in life. They are different for all of us, but they do come.  For the child of God,  each trial, whether the little raindrop that falls gently or the ravaging storm that threatens destruction, comes directly from the hands of our loving Father to bring about good in our lives, benefits that would not be realized apart from the trial.  He does not send them capriciously or without purpose.  The rain cleanses and the wind carries away the things that are weak and shaky, and then the sunshine.  However long the storms last, the sun shines again, and we are better for having weathered them - if we walk through them trusting the goodness and faithfulness of our loving Father.   Thankful for the storms - and the sunshine that follows.

Thankfulness as a New Psychological Treatment?

I recently read a causal reference to gratitude as a method of therapy used to treat depression. This prompted a bit of research to see if the practice was truly being used as a counseling tool. Here is a sampling of what I found: 

Positive Psychology is a new area of psychology that focuses on the conditions that contribute to flourishing or optimal functioning."Positive Psychology is founded on the belief that people want more than an end to suffering. People want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. We have the opportunity to create a science and a profession that not only heals psychological damage but also builds strengths to enable people to achieve the best things in life." Professor Martin Seligman, founder of Positive Psychology.
Positive Psychology researchers have identified many everyday activities that improve well being. These include; keeping a gratitude diary, performing small acts of kindness, learning to savor enjoyable moments and varying pleasant experiences to avoid routine.

 http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/depression/treatments/psychological.cfm

This area of psychology may be new but the concept behind it is not. God has designed us for purpose.  He has knit us together and realizes our every emotion. This writing is not meant to be a statement about depression or its treatment – but let us consider that a practice that has gained usage as a psychological counseling tool has benefit to each individual for everyday life. We are instructed throughout scripture to be thankful. 

Consider Philippians 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As we look to the Lord and at God’s directives regarding thankfulness, we see our perspective shifted so that within our struggles we can still be praising God, we can still be obedient, we can parallel Christ’s sufferings, even if only somewhat, which then allows us to draw nearer to Him than we otherwise could dream. Additionally and most importantly, cultivating that thankful spirit allows us to give God the glory and honor He is due.

As we shift from the season of Thanksgiving to the Christmas season, let us not let go of giving thanks! Especially, when it is hard. By doing so we acknowledge that He is God, that He is in control and that we believe His promises are true. With that perspective we can then in everything give thanks, that our Lord might be exalted in all heaven and on the earth!

Isaiah 12:4-5

 And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. 

Pastor Appreciation

Well, October has come and gone, and so has our responsibility to show appreciation for our pastors, right?  Well, none of us would ever come out and say that, would we?  But what do we actually do?  Once we’ve sent them cards or made them a special treat or contributed to a gift to show our appreciation - or maybe even done all three, what then?  Have we done enough? 

            Scripture tells us that we are to “appreciate those who diligently labor among [us], and have charge over [us] in the Lord and give [us] instruction, and that [we] esteem them very highly in love because of their work…” 1Thess. 5:12-13   It doesn’t tell us that this responsibility begins on October 1 and ends on October 31 each year.  This is an ongoing responsibility. 

            So, just what does this look like?  Are we to continue to send them cards or give them treats or buy them gifts?  While these things are good, there are other ways we can do this throughout the year. 

            One way is given for us in the remainder of verse 13 which is not included above.  Immediately after we are told to esteem them highly in love because of their work, we are told to “live in peace with one another.”  Isn’t this the desire of every true shepherd of the flock - that his people would get along with each other.  So, as Rom. 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” 

            This leads to another example of how we can appreciate our pastors.  If you are a parent and you have taught or are teaching your children the good and right way to live, even if they get along with each other but they completely disregard whatever else you have taught them, does this give you the message that they have appreciated your efforts to bring them up right? In the same way, we show a lack of appreciation for those who labor among us by disregarding their instruction.  Since the work of a pastor is to exhort us to trust God, to honor and obey Him with our lives, when we do so, we are not only honoring and obeying the Lord (which is of the utmost importance), but we are also honoring and appreciating our pastors as well (and also in this way honoring the Lord.)

            Another way of honoring them is actually touched on (and assumed) in the above verses, and that is that we labor among them.  The verse actually says that they labor among us, but this implies that we are also working.  We are not to have the attitude that it is all their responsibility because they are getting paid to do the work.  We are to be involved with them in the work.

            That work takes many forms - from the purely practical things like helping to keep the property maintained in a way that honors the Lord, serving others through the helping hands ministry, watching children in the nursery or keeping the church checkbook balanced, to teaching a class or leading a Bible study or helping out with the summer Day Camp ministry.  But the overarching “work” that we have been given to do, in which we as believers are all partners is that of making disciples.  All of the above examples contribute in some way to that end.  Then there is the very personal one on one experiences of our everyday lives where we rub shoulders with others - ministering to their needs and speaking to them in ways that would point them to the Lord Jesus.  As we do this, we bring joy to the hearts of our shepherds.

            There are other ways of appreciating and esteeming our pastors highly in love, but there is just one more to be mentioned here and it was left for last intentionally - not because it is the least important, but because it is of the utmost importance.  And that is that we are to pray for our pastors - fervently and consistently.  When we do the other things mentioned above, we are doing what we can, and that is wonderful.  But when we pray for them, we are asking God to do what He can do on their behalf.  His ability to know just what their needs are at any given moment and His power to help them, unlike ours, are unlimited.  He can do what is humanly impossible for us to do.  And this is far better.  And as we faithfully and diligently pray for our pastors, there’s even a good chance that our heavenly Father may show us other ways that we might be an encouragement and a help to them as well. 

            So, even though October is over, please don’t neglect your responsibility before the Lord to “appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” 1Thess. 5:12-13

Note: These words were not written by any of your pastors. 

What Will Your Life Say In the Upcoming Holiday Season?

“God began to teach me that there is a huge difference between ‘entertaining’ and offering hospitality.” –Karen Ehman

What happens between the time we think of an opportunity to be hospitable and we talk ourselves out of it? Doubts of whether our guests will be comfortable or not start to crowd out that initial desire. Focus on self distracts us from focusing on others.

“New Testament Christians simply welcomed these people, inviting them to join in for a few days as they went about their daily routine. Maybe we should take a cue from them.” – Karen Ehman 

‘A Life That Says Welcome, Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others’ by Karen Ehman analyzes the why and how of offering hospitality. She addresses the real issues of our hearts as well as the practical issues of our homes. There are creative ideas for ways to open our homes and even to offer hospitality on the road! She writes from years of personal experience as well as the experiences of those who have been her mentors. During the coming season there will be extra opportunities to offer hospitality. Reading this book may help us to be encouraged and prepare our hearts to have a life that says Welcome!  

                                                                                                         K.T.

The Good News of Relationship

The next miracle to explore is the final one in this examination and yet it is the one that makes everything come together. It is also the one that gives me the most pause and the most peace!

It is the Relational Good News. Those words are Bill Tell’s from the same book I have been musing about over the last few months. The book is called “Lay It All Down” and it has challenged me to reexamine my faith in God. It has confirmed my salvation and challenged my heart which had become a bit staid and less teachable than it ought to be. This term, Relational Good News, is a tad formal for me. In the church we recognize this as the doctrine of adoption. In my soul, it is the ability to address the Majestic Lord of the universe as “Abba, Father,” as seen in Romans. 

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17 ESV)

Wow! Amazing! Humbling!

The very stunning reminder that the Creator -of Heaven, of earth and of all things- desires to commune and communicate with me causes me to stop and try to process the magnitude of that Good News! Each one of us has the privilege of being called a son or daughter of the Living God, when we choose to accept Jesus’ gift of redemptive life.

Consider the act of adoption in the Roman Empire. This legal proceeding by the ruling class placed children in patria potestas or the power of the father ( Barclay ). This meant they were under the absolute protection and control of the father and they were thereby expected to bring honor and longevity to the family name. It also conveyed benefits on the child. It gave the ability to have interaction with the father, to draw on the resources of the family including inheritance and to receive the parent's affections.

This adoption practice was often used by the ruling Roman class to gain heirs. A slave’s life would be transformed. The slave would be completely separated and removed from his or her previous life and family. All ties and allegiances would be severed. Then a new life would begin with all the new privileges and responsibilities. The adopted child had a new social status which could give vast benefits…depending on the father.

The parallel is clear. We, in Christ have this new status! We have a relationship with the Father God who lets us be adopted as His children so we have this whole list of benefits. It calls upon us to bring honor and longevity to Him as our adopted Father.

This study of adoption has me marveling yet again at the grace of God. His plan and provision are vast. I know my exploration of adoption is not complete. I challenge you to look into the doctrine of adoption and share your findings with someone else. God will use His Word to give insight that will bless and teach you and others. Enjoy this amazing relationship!

Free to Bear Fruit

This week we will close out our exploration of the Transformational Good News.  Our new hearts, as new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) are now free to shift focus from not sinning to being obedient and loving. This then takes us another step. We are now free to bear fruit. Our healthy hearts are unencumbered and therefore able to bear good fruit.  Matthew’s gospel states:

“So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18 ESV)

If you ever consider becoming a viticulturist you will undoubtedly need to study up on how to produce the best grapes. Exploring this subject, you will learn that obtaining a good harvest takes both care and knowledge.  Some liken it to parenting. The vines require soil rich with the correct ratio of nutrients as well as the right amount of water. Too much water and the plants drown before the fruit is ripe.  Too little means the vines wither leading to small or shriveled grapes. The amount of sun and wind also play significant roles in grape production.  Good, long exposure to the sunlight is ideal, but too much can scorch.  Wind is necessary, but desired in moderation.   The wind keeps the plants and grapes from growing bacteria and molds from too much moisture.  However, heavy winds can rip the fruit from the vines or the vines from their trellises. The balance of these factors is critical.

Can we see the parallels?  Is it any wonder that Jesus likens Himself to the vine and us to branches?

So with our transformed hearts, we have this ability to produce good fruit by living out our new natures through the work of the Holy Spirit. But our natures can need careful tending. That is the job of the Spirit working in us to bear fruit. And that fruit is:

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV)

Bill Tell in his book, Lay It All Down (p. 161) suggests that the phrase “against such things there is no law” is referring to the inner qualities that direct our behavior.  These cannot be legislated, unlike our behaviors. As new creations we are free obey, free to love and free to bear fruit in the form of these inner qualities. May we continue to realize all are our transformed hearts have available and be fruitful.

Free to Love

In recent weeks we have been considering the Transformational Good News of the gospel.  With changed hearts we now better grasp obedience and our freedom within that obedience. Now let's explore another facet of this Good News....love and the freedom to love.  We have heard and understand that this love is not just a feeling.  Consider Galatians 5:6. It says,     

 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Gal. 5:6 ESV)

This verse encapsulates the theme of the book of Galatians: we are right with God by faith, not by human rituals or performance—including circumcision, the food laws, and/or moral living... It is Spirit-motivated love (after salvation) that sets the standard of conduct for believers and gives the ability to obey. It is the new covenant, a new heart and new mind (Utley, Study Guide Commentary Series, New Testament, Vol. 7. )

Herein lies the difference between the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission. Jesus stretching out His arms in love on the cross gives us our standard, our marching orders and our freedom. We're not to love others as we love ourselves, we are to love them as Jesus did and continues to do. This is faith in action motivated by the author and demonstrator of love.

“But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence. It's a love that operates more like a sign language than being spoken outright.” (Goff, Love Does)

This is freedom...that we look into the Word of God and recognize all He has done to set us free and model our love for others on that standard. Let's be extraordinary in the way we love! Let's make it count!

Loving God deeply

from Spurgeon's sermon, "LOVE'S LOGIC" To feel love to God we must tread along the 'road of faith'. Truly, this is not a hard or perilous way, but one prepared by infinite wisdom. It is a road suitable for sinners, and indeed saints must come that way also. If you would love God, do not look within you to see whether this grace or that be as it ought to be, but look to your God, and read his eternal love, his boundless love, his costly love, which gave Christ for you; then shall your love drink in fresh life and vigor. Beloved, there are few of us who know much of the depths of the love of God; our love is shallow; ah, how shallow! Love to God is like a great mountain-- The majority of travelers view it from afar, or traverse the valley at its base: a few climb to a halting place on one of its elevated spurs, whence they see a portion of its sublimities: here and there an adventurous traveler climbs a minor peak, and views glacier and alp at closer range; fewest of all are those who scale the topmost pinnacle and tread the virgin snow. So it is in the Church of God-- Every Christian abides under the shadow of divine love: a few enjoy and return that love to a remarkable degree: but there are few, in this age sadly few, who reach to seraphic love, who ascent into the hill of the Lord, to stand where the eagle's eye has not seen, and walk the path which the lion's whelp has never trodden, the high places of complete consecration and ardent self-consuming love. Now, mark you, it may be difficult to ascend so high, but there is one sure route, and only one, which the man must follow who would gain the sacred elevation. It is not the track of his works, nor the path of his own actions, but this, "We love him because he first loved us." John confessed that in this way he attained his love for God. For the highest love that ever glowed in human bosom there was no source but this- God first loved that man. Do you not see how this is? The knowledge that God loves me casts out my tormenting dread of God: and when this is expelled, there is room for abounding love to God. As fear goes out, love comes in at the other door. So the more faith in God the more room there is for soul-filling love. Our soul is satisfied with marrow and fatness when we know that the whole heart of God beats towards us as forcibly as if we were the only creatures he had ever made, and his whole heart were wrapt up in us. Love to God produces a desire to be with him; a desire to be like him, a longing to be with him eternally in heaven, and this breaks us away from worldliness; this keeps us from idolatry, and thus has a most blessedly sanctifying effect upon us, producing that elevated character which is now so rare, but which wherever it exists is powerful for the good of the church and for the glory of God.

Free to Obey

God wants more than a compliant heart, He desires an obedient heart.  Compliance is defined as, “the act or process of complying to a desire, demand, proposal, or regimen or to coercion OR conformity in fulfilling official requirements,” by Merriam-Webster. There is an element of fear of power or fear of consequence.  Contrast this with obedience which is "the willingness to obey or follow the commands or guidance of." While there is value in compliance, most of us can appreciate the attitude of the heart that willingly obeys. One that freely obeys. 

Ezekiel 36:26 ESV says,

 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. ²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and

be careful to obey my rules. (Emphasis mine.)

In a culture that values independence in making your own path, we look down upon people who seek to obey. Obedience is often a bad word. Obedience yields control to another or places someone above ourselves. That is exactly what we do when we are obedient to our God, and yet who better to willingly yield control to than our Creator.

In that yielding process we often don't recognize all we are free from.  We’re free from  worry because we have transformed hearts that have been changed due to the love of our Heavenly Father. Obedience is not a scary thing in this context, instead obedience is the guardrail. Recognition of that guardrail keeps us within the very boundaries that keep us safe. These boundaries have been created for our good. There is a righteousness that comes from obedience to the only One who is completely righteous.

The Transformational Good News frees us to obey since we are living out our new and obedient hearts. In his recent book, Lay I All Down, Bill Tell states this principle: “I do not obey so that God will do something in me; I obey because He has already done something in me.”(Tell, p.143) When we are changed on the inside, our behaviors will follow.

Lord, we pray you would continue to help us grasp all you did for us on the cross.  We are free in Christ to obey since we have been given new hearts. Let us behave in such a way as to reflect that transformation.

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,    (Romans 6:17 ESV)

The Obedience of Faith

An Except From A Sermon

(No. 2195)
Delivered on Thursday Evening, August 21st, 1890, by
C. H. SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

"By faith Abraham when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."—Hebrews 11:8.

HE part of the text to which I shall call your attention lies in these words, "By faith Abraham obeyed." Obedience—what a blessing it would be if we were all trained to it by the Holy Spirit! How fully should we be restored if we were perfect in it! If all the world would obey the Lord, what a heaven on earth there would be! Perfect obedience to God would mean love among men, justice to all classes, and peace in every land. Our will brings envy, malice, war; but the Lord's will would bring us love, joy, rest, bliss. Obedience—let us pray for it for ourselves and others!

"Is there a heart that will not bend
To thy divine control?
Descend, O sovereign love, descend,
And melt that stubborn soul! "
Surely, though we have had to mourn our disobedience with many tears and sighs, we now find joy in yielding ourselves as servants of the Lord: our deepest desire is to do the Lord's will in all things. Oh, for obedience! It has been supposed by many ill-instructed people that the doctrine of justification by faith is opposed to the teaching of good works, or obedience. There is no truth in the supposition. We preach the obedience of faith. Faith is the fountain, the foundation, and the fosterer of obedience. Men obey not God till they believe him. We preach faith in order that men may be brought to obedience. To disbelieve is to disobey. One of the first signs of practical obedience is found in the obedience of the mind, the understanding, and the heart; and this is expressed in believing the teaching of Christ, trusting to his work, and resting in his salvation. Faith is the morning star of obedience. If we would work the work of God, we must believe on Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. Brethren, we do not give a secondary place to obedience, as some suppose. We look upon the obedience of the heart to the will of God as salvation. The attainment of perfect obedience would mean perfect salvation. We regard sanctification, or obedience, as the great design for which the Saviour died. He shed his blood that he might cleanse us from dead works, and purify unto himself a people zealous for good works. It is for this that we were chosen: we are "elect unto holiness." We know nothing of election to continue in sin. It is for this that we have been called: we are "called to be saints." Obedience is the grand object of the work of grace in the hearts of those who are chosen and called: they are to become obedient children, conformed to the image of the Elder Brother, with whom the Father is well pleased.
The obedience that comes of faith is of a noble sort. 

What are you working on?

How often do you here someone say, "I know I have a problem with ____, but I'm working on it."?

Possibly anger, over spending or time management.  We often take time to reflect on a weaknesses, then determine to pray about that area of struggle and, seeking God's approval, present a plan to improve that characteristic of our lives.

There was a time when I had let my love for recreational reading eclipse my time in the Word of God.  I wasn't  "making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."(Ephesians 5:16 ESV) 
So, my plan?  For every hour I read my Bible, I could read an hour in another book. I thought it seemed a reasonable way to approach shifting my habits.  Looking back, however, I see that by setting up the system of one-to-one exchange, I was stepping back into a works based mentality. I was trying to earn my way to guiltless reading rather than seeking to enjoy God's Word as the love letter it was intended to be.  My desire was to get more Bible reading time, true, but my heart attitude was not to know Christ better or to see the heart of God for me or to recognize the Holy Spirit's work in my life. I sought to manage my time better and while reading the Word of God more. A Check List mindset.

The Transformational Good News sets us free from working on not sinning.  Working on not sinning is setting ourselves up for one sort of failure or another.  It leads to pride in ourselves when the goal is accomplished rather than recognizing God's work of grace in our lives.  Or, when we fail directly,  it leads to self-condemnation and fear.


But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7 ESV)

We are heirs according to the hope of eternal life! According to His own mercy. How? By nothing we have done, but by justification by His grace! So let us step back from working on not sinning. Let us focus instead on allowing the God who has saved us to renew our minds through the Holy Spirit.

Mercy

Much has been made in our discussion of grace as applied to the Unconditional Good News of the gospel. The grace seen and extended to us grants us gifts and freedoms we don’t deserve. As we have been reflecting on all that we are free from and free to do, let us not lose sight of mercy.  Mercy and grace though linked are different.

I think of a soul parched in the desert, knowing that without water his body will cease to live and so crawling towards the spring with his last bit of energy. Consumed with finding a source of life, all longing and focus is on reaching for that sip. That first drink gulp prevents death from overtaking him, and brings a deep satisfaction, a refreshing in the innermost.

Yet tomorrow he will thirst again.  The need for water returns shortly.  Mercy is like this need. As I lean in and recognize my need for a Savior each day I am encouraged to hear the writer of Lamentations ring out in my head saying,

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV))

Several months ago I heard a Turning Point broadcast where David Jeremiah likened mercy to a bookend which closed to door to Hell for us, and drew out that analogy to the other bookend being grace which opens the door to Heaven for us.  Applying this to my life, I start each day recognizing that in Christ I no longer need fear Hell.  That is so huge, and yet I find it easy to gloss over and more on to the next thing. I need to pause and process that I no longer face eternity apart from God! For what I deserved was death, judgement and Hell.

Although not unique to him, a family friend when asked how he is, nearly always replies by saying, “Better than I deserve!” It always brings me up short! It is so true! Because of mercy, I no longer fear separation from God because that separation has been spanned by Jesus’ death on the cross.

Let us pause and reflect again on that fact.  His mercies are new every morning. We get to reset our hearts upon the Author and Perfector of our faith. So doing, we are charged with offering that mercy to others. In the Sermon on the Mount we are told,

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall inherit mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 ESV)

Later we are challenged by James. In James 3: 13-17 we read:

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.  But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

We need to be full of mercy and good fruits – sincerely! Not putting on masks and behaving in a way that is inconsistent with our hearts, but rather letting our hearts be changed by His mercy and then reflecting that mercy to others. So as we reset to receive God’s mercy as new every morning, may we also reset to offering new mercies to others each day.  Thus keeping our hearts aligned with our Savior and our Father as well as being free to serve unencumbered by hypocrisy. Let us be transformed together to that end – to go show mercy!

Words on Grace by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 “Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?...

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

The Freedom to Stand

Let us look to another aspect we are free to experience within the context of the Unconditional Good News of Jesus Christ, the freedom to stand in grace.  Let us consider Paul’s words in Romans 5:1-2 (ESV).

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

What an amazingly beautiful picture! We have been justified. Justification takes place when we put our faith in Christ.  This leads to peace with God, as we discussed last week.  But look! We also obtained access or entry into this grace in which we currently stand.

Think of God’s grace, getting what we don’t deserve, as something we have available in such abundant measure that it must overflow and spill onto those around us because we can’t contain it. Grace is something we get from God, we give to others and also something that flavors our spirits, allowing us to be gracious souls.

 It is this grace in which we stand, as a soldiertakes up position to wage battle. Not kneeling or hunched over but upright and planted, head held high. Planted on our faith in Christ which can’t be shaken. Our firm foundation allows us to be steadfast and unwavering in the storms of life.

 Standing in grace is such a beautiful picture.  Such an amazing gift!

So this Unconditional Good News, that God views us differently though our justification in Christ, allows us freedom from performance, condemnation, punishment and fear. This then leaves us free to experience peace with God and to stand in grace.  Such Good News!

 

Free to Experience Peace

Over the last few weeks we have looked at some of what the Unconditional Good News frees us from….performance, condemnation and fear- to name them.  Now, let us bask in an aspect we are free to experience. The Unconditional Good News sets us free to experience peace!  Peace is defined as: Freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions, as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety or the like; quietness of mind; tranquility; calmness; quiet of conscience (http://webstersdictionary1828.com).

 As we recognize we are completely loved by Christ we are free from earning approval, from being judged and punished and, when we fail, from being rejected.  Having this corrected outlook of who we are, then we are able to set our minds on peace. “Setting our minds on” implies it takes effort and will not happen without conscientious energy. It is so easy to pick up any of our chains again,  but Romans 8:5-6 says,

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (ESV)

We want to live our lives according to the Spirit! Once our outlook is corrected though, we need to let that peace of Christ have rule, sway and dominion.

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

to which indeed you were called in one body.

And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15 ESV)

No only does the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, it guards our hearts and minds! While we are setting our minds on things of the Spirit we receive peace, which then can rule and guard our hearts minds yielding peace! What an awesome circle of peace!

  

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

And so…

To those who are called,

beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jude 1:1b-2 ESV)

Freedom From Fear

Continuing on with our examination of some aspects of unconditional love we will consider freedom from failure next. Failure is something most of us struggle to overcome.  Rare is the individual who wants to fail.  The pressure to persevere is often born out of the desire not to fail.  The root of fear of failure has at its center that inability to be perfect and then, as the consequence of imperfection, rejection.

1 John 4:17-18 (ESV)

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Fear has to do with punishment, but remember last week, we are free from condemnation – judgment and punishment! In His unconditional love for us, we need to have that awestruck and powerful regard for God and what he has done for us, but we need not fear rejection.  

Recently in a Biblical Counseling Seminar, Pastor David King had us hold up our fist and one at a time unfurl the fingers on our hand saying, “He.”, “Will.”, “Never.”, “ Leave.”, “Me!”  Our God will not reject us if our hearts have been turned to Him. He will never leave us!  Therefore, there should be no fear of rejection by God, 

no fear of failing Him.