In his book, “One Way Love” Tullian Tchividjian describes God’s grace as follows.” What is Grace? The definition comes from Paul Zahl. He explains that Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Its love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Its being loved when you are unlovable. Its unconditional love. Its one-way love It defies logic.”

I admit that I have issues with Grace. I grew up in a performance demanding society. I taught school for 40 years handing out grades for performance. I gave failing grades to kids. How do you think a teenager feels when someone tells him he’s a failure. I coached sports where winning is valued and losing is….unacceptable. So it was hard for me to accept God’s Grace and unconditional love. I was taught like all of us that we had to earn God’s love. Then Grace came along in my life and changed everything. I had a God in Jesus that loved me unconditionally. He loves me through the good, the bad, and the ugly. I still have problems with it. But I have come to learn as Tchividjian says, “It is true. Its the truest truth in the entire universe. God loves us independently of what we may or may not bring to the table. There are no strings attached”.

Have a great week and may you receive God’s gift of Grace everyday….Believe It!

1Corinthians 13:12….For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; Then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

We are imperfect, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We are broken so that’s the playing field. Instead of complaining about it or denying it we need to “play ball”. Mankind and the world is broken and that’s the truth. We need to be honest about this. I’m sure that some people are more broken than others, but we are all in need. What we need is a Savior and we have one in Jesus. The one that fully understands us, loves us unconditionally and extends a grace that is beyond our understanding. This not a new concept, just often forgotten or ignored. This has been the way for 2000 years and beyond. Do you think Jesus died on the cross for nothing? He died for something all right. He died for our brokeness and he has set things right for us. All we have to do is have faith, believe and abide in him……period. He redeemed us on the cross.

You’re right, pretty unbelievable.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God Bless you and have a great week!

Jesus says to “enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few will find it”…..Matt 7:13-14. Jesus is telling us not to go the way of the world. “Do not be conformed to this world…” says Jesus. If we look around its easy to see that most people conform to the ways of the world. The examples of this are endless. People follow the glitz and glamour, the money trail, to their own destruction. I think this is obvious. If one truely believes that Jesus is the way then he will not go the way of the world and rather seek the ways of Jesus which is the narrow way.

We really don’t fully understand Jesus and his ways but the more we accept him and pay attention to him the more we begin to see the world and its ways for what they are. It takes effort on our part, work on our part. A purposeful decision to see Jesus as “the Way, the Truth and the Life”.

Romans 12:2 – Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Have a good week and God Bless you.

The following are the words of writer Robert Capon. Good to think about as we go through this week. Capon writes, “What role have I left for religion? None. And I have none because the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ leaves none. Christianity is not a religion; it is the announcement of the end of religion. Religion consists of all the things (believing, behaving, worshiping, sacrificing) the human race has ever thought it had to do to get right with God….Everything religion tried (and failed) to do has been perfectly done, once and for all, by Jesus in his death and resurrection. For Christians, therefore, the entire religion shop has been closed, boarded up and forgotten. The church is not in the religion business, it never has been and it never will be, in spite of all the ecclesiastical turkeys through two thousand years who have acted as if religion was their stock in trade. The church, instead, is in the Gospel proclaiming business. It is not here to bring the world the bad news that God will think kindly about us only after we have gone through certain creedal, liturgical and ethical wickets; it is here to bring the the Good News that “while we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly” It is here, in short, for no religious purpose at all, only to announce the Gospel of Grace”….AMEN…. Thank you Robert Capon. It cannot be said any better than that.

John 3:16– God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that who ever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

I was listening to a country singer named Eric Church sing a song entitled “Like Jesus Does”. In the song Eric describes how she (I assume his wife) loves him like Jesus does. He describes himself as a “back road sinner at a tent revival. A good old boy drinking whiskey and rye”. She carries him when his sins are heavy and she knows the man he isn’t. And above she forgives him when he can’t forgive himself. Eric always thought she would give up on him one day. But she instead loves him like Jesus does, with undeserved grace and unconditional love. As Eric’s last line says, “I thank God every night and twice on Sunday”.

Jesus, our Lord and Savior died for our sins and will never leave us. He loves us with an unconditional love that is nearly impossible to understand. He asks nothing in return. He wants us to simply believe in him and have faith. To Trust Him.

Remember………Jesus plus nothing equals everything.

Have a good week and see you next Monday.

I am not qualified to have God put His creation under my feet but that exactly what God does according to Psalms 8. Words like awesome and epic and greatness do not even come close to describing who God is.. These words and others do not come remotely close to describing His creation. Yet, God is mindful of us and loves us and wants to care for us. God crowned us with glory and honor. God made us ruler over His works. Yet, we manage to mess things up everyday. In our sin we have become irresponsible stewards of His creation. Yet again, God steps in and forgives us of our sins and continues to love us unconditionally and extending His amazing grace to us. That’s unbelievable when you think about it. He gives us way, way, way more then we deserve…..He is incredible. I believe in you Jesus and want to continue to pursue you into the mystery of your creation.

Psalms 8:1 – How majestic is Your name in all the earth. You have set your Glory in the Heavens.

I believe there are lots of ways to arrive at the decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. In the Bible Jesus says that He is the Way and the Truth and nobody comes to the Father except thru Him. This is non negotiable. Jesus is the Way. However, there are many, many stories about how one arrives at this decision—to believe that Jesus is God. Some people believe when they are quite young some when they are quite old and even others in their last days. For me, the light went on when I was 38 years old. I was in the middle of an 8 year Bible Study program when I really accepted Jesus on purpose. Before that I was just kind of hanging around Jesus not really committed to a decision. I think what really moved me forward was my job as a high school biology and human physiology teacher. As I taught high school kids how the human body works it became more and more clear that each one of us is a miracle. We are a miracle of God’s creation period. Charles Darwin is quoted as saying, “to suppose that the human eye could have been formed by natural selection is absurd in the highest degree.” This is coming from the “father of evolution”. I believe he’s 100% correct. We are miracles created by a greater miracle—GOD! Jesus is my God and the mystery behind all of the above I accept based on faith. I don’t need a scientific proof. For last 30 plus years I have been pursuing God through His teaching, reading countless books, and following His word in the Bible and I have been Blessed. I still have years to go and Jesus is not done with me yet. I believe it!

John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

When my daughter was around 10 years old and was acting up I exclaimed, “Allison, act normal”. Her answer was, “what’s normal Dad”. That answer stopped me cold and actually made me smile as I thought…..”what does normal look like”. The dictionary defines normal as, “conforming to a standard; usual, typical or expected”. Well, based on that definition who wants to be normal. I don’t think I want to be remembered as usual or typical. I think I would rather be unique, different or one of a kind. I think of Jesus and usual does not come to mind. Words like unique, awesome, different, one of a kind, and revolutionary come to mind plus many, many other words. Jesus was an unbelievable individual. He was completely unique. No human has ever come close to being like him through all of time. Was it normal when he healed people, was it normal when he was resurrected. Every day is Easter Sunday for me because of Jesus. Thank God for Jesus and by the way, my daughter is 36 years old and has not been normal a day in her like and I am thankful for that.

Psalm 139:14 – I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

In the Bible, it is said in Philippians 4:7 that the peace of God transcends all understanding. One our major hang-ups is that we try to answer everything. Speaking for mankind I think it is obvious that our scholars, experts and even ordinary people like me want answers. However I am reminded time and time again that when you are dealing with God, there are not always answers. Some things are beyond our understanding. Its hard for a lot of people to accept, but we just can’t really believe that we can figure out the of mind God. Somethings we just need to believe and have faith that some day in the future there might be an answer. But again there might not. That’s life! I believe this also ties into another scripture from the Bible. In John 15:4-10, we learn about abiding in Jesus Abiding is defined as remaining faithful. We don’t have to have all the answers all the time. And just because we don’t understand something, that doesn’t make if not true. I believe every word of the Bible is truth and I have a peace that I don’t need every answer. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t have to know how everything in the grand scheme of the universe works. I just stand in awe of it. I want to abide in Jesus always and go from there The beauty of God’s creation is “beyond all understanding”.

Philippians 4:7 – And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

John 15:4-10 – Remain is me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain on the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish , and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

God Bless You and have a great week…….

What exactly is “The Gospel Of Jesus”. Specifically speaking, The Gospel is the Good News about Jesus. The story of who He is and what He did. Saint Francis of Assisi, as far back as 1181 A.D. said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary, use words”. Implicit in this saying is the understanding that often the most powerful sermons are unspoken. When we have integrity and live consistently by our standards, people notice. When we radiate joy and happiness, they notice even more. Amen.

1Peter 1:8 – Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious Joy,.