Bible Talk 101: Grace

Bible Talk: 101

UNDERSTANDING GRACEby Charles R. Swindoll

John 1:14

What exactly is grace? And is it limited to Jesus' life and ministry? You may be surprised to know that Jesus never used the word itself. He just taught it and, equally important, He lived it. Furthermore, the Bible never gives us a one-statement definition, though grace appears throughout its pages . . . not only the word itself but numerous demonstrations of it. Understanding what grace means requires our going back to an old Hebrew term that meant "to bend, to stoop." By and by, it came to include the idea of "condescending favor."

If you have traveled to London, you have perhaps seen royalty. If so, you may have noticed sophistication, aloofness, distance. On occasion, royalty in England will make the news because someone in the ranks of nobility will stop, kneel down, and touch or bless a commoner. That is grace. There is nothing in the commoner that deserves being noticed or touched or blessed by the royal family. But because of grace in the heart of the queen, there is the desire at that moment to pause, to stoop, to touch, even to bless.

The late pastor and Bible scholar Donald Barnhouse perhaps said it best: "Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoops is grace."

To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn't deserve it and can never earn it. Receiving God's acceptance by grace always stands in sharp contrast to earning it on the basis of works. Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver.

Enriching The Color of Your Faith

Go beyond the basic color scheme of faith.

² My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.(Colossians 2:1-3, NIV 2011 Edition)

When I was a kid, I used to draw sketches with my friends and find great pleasure in coloring different shapes and figures. We only had the small 8 count Crayola (or Rose Art - lol!) Colored Pencil kit but we made do with what we had. Of course you'd have your basic black, white, red, purple, brown, blue, green, yellow, and orange, the color scheme that let you color at least distinguish between people of different races but the complexity of the pieces were always limited because brown was brown and not mahogany... red was always red and not crimson... and purple was always purple, never lilac. We were pretty smart kids back then, and so it wasn't so much that we didn't know what we wanted to communicate, we just didn't have the complex tools to sketch and color what was in our minds and communicate it directly onto paper.

As I grew older, I stopped sketching as much but when I went back to the art back in college, I went for the large 50 count box of Crayolas. The greater selection of colors helped to create a picture that was very intentional and showed that I understood the message that I wanted to get across.

Studying God's word works the same way.

8-Count Christianity. When we're fresh in Christ or before we really dig into our word faithfully, we know a few key scriptures here and there to minister to ourselves and to others. We recite the same go-to scriptures that we've heard in church all along because we believe that it's a one sized fits all approach to any situation someone might face. These can get us by to some extent, and no doubt they are good scriptures to hold onto, but the Bible can relate to us - and we to it- in so many more ways.

50-Count Christianity. For the sake of illustration, some of the basic emotions in life are fear (black), anger (purple), peace (blue) and love (red) - among others. When you read the scriptures and read about the different men and women of the Bible, you see that they all experienced different levels of these emotions and communicated it to God and His people in different ways. Love as expressed by Solomon was very different than love as expressed by Jesus Christ. Peace for David looked different compared to the peace that Paul found in troubled times.

The beautiful thing about God's Word is that it is a living word and it was created to relate to YOU! The more you search, you'll find an answer to any problem that you might have. The scriptures go beyond the usual Sunday School verses that you've heard all along and reveal hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Are you living in a 50-count world with an 8-count pencil set?

What's In Your Will?

Even in death there is a lesson. Look for it.

This is a post about death. Well...kinda..

Over the weekend I did a bit of social media fasting because I wanted to create an atmosphere where I could tune out the white noise of the day to day and really focus in on what God is saying in different areas of my life. I needed it more than you know. My prayer on Saturday was that during my fast that He be revealed.

And this is what I got:

God's will.  Almost every time we speak of God's will for our lives we are referring to the future. We talk about what is going to come, what's supposed to happen, and what our purpose is in life. This is definitely true but I want to break down what I think can be considered the dual nature of this phrase.

God's will [for our future]. The common version of the meaning of God's will. Everyone knows that God has a plan for our lives and that ultimately they are what God wants to come to pass. Obedience, grace and growth towards Him is what helps us live out the calling He has on our lives.

God's will [for our past]. Among many other definitions for the word, Merriam-Webster defines the word "will" as:

"A legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property or estate after death; a written instrument legally executed by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death."

Basically, what I got this weekend is that some stuff in our lives is just dead. It was conceived, it was born, it lived... but then it died, and God has no intention of bringing it back in your life. Moreover, he WON'T bring it back because well, that's just not his will. This could be anything, an old relationship (or non-official-but-we're-creeping-and-got-all-tangled-emotionally relationship), an old hobby or skill, a group of friends you were cool with, anything! Once God shuts the door on that thing and buries it, it has no hope for resurrection.

How to tell what's not really dead [yet]. Notice in the last sentence I said that God is the one who shuts the door. Meaning, sometimes there are things that look dead in the natural but not in the spiritual. In the same way that Jesus died only to rise again later, Lazarus was raised from the dead, and God had Ezekiel raise up the dry bones, some things in your life could be on pause or on standby but not exactly dead. Maybe you have a family member that you pray for or a vision that you feel is God-given for your life, these things may look bleak right now but God's not done yet. I think that in order to sift these situations from the dead ones you have to examine how you look at them. These might clue you in on what's not really dead:

• You look back on the thing or person and still see the promise in it's future in your life.
• This thing is a part of your earnest prayer life.
• You notice signs of life/hope, whether brief flashes or blatant moments.
• This thing does not pull you out of alignment with Christian values/your walk if it were to be revived.
• The idea of God raising it from the dead increases your faith and draws you closer to Him.

These are signs that your situation might not be dead. Continue to believe in these things unless God says otherwise!

It's dead, move on. On the other hand there are things that are really, really, really dead. You can't escape these. In fact, sometimes things in our lives have to die so that new things can grow in it's place. The same way we would look foolish trying to revive a dead physical body is the same way we look foolish trying to revive something that's spiritual dead to us. These are signs that I've come across that help determine if something is really dead:

• This thing is not a part of your prayer life, in fact you've pretty much moved on from it.
• On the other hand, you haven't moved on from it but no new life is visible at all.
• Anytime you think back on the situation or person, it's more of a negative reflection than positive.
• You feel uncomfortable giving it over to God because the truth is, you really don't want it to live in you.
• If the thing/person were revived in your life it would draw you outside of your Christian values OR outside of your purpose/will.

That's not a full list and of course God has the power to revive anything, but for our sake it's probably best to turn these things over to God and allow Him to make the decision. Also, I want to note that this can and should refer to the sin in our lives. If we are in Christ, it should be our aim to kill fleshly desires and our sinful nature since there is no life in them.

Understanding God's will [of the dead]. When someone who has a will dies, the people in the will are told just what their inheritance is from the person. God works the same way in dead situations except his inheritance can be physical or spiritual. Perhaps that dead thing made you stronger, perhaps the void left by the dead thing leaves room for something to physically take it's place that God wants to be there. Spiritually, perhaps you've grown to learn a lesson. Whatever it is, do not miss it! Everything happens for a reason and if you don't catch the lesson, you might find yourself chasing down that lesson again the hard way until it sinks. The lessons in God's will for the dead things in our lives are always positive. Remember the lesson.

Bonus Coverage ( A lesson in how to bury the dead things/sin in our lives):

Tye Tribbett ft. Mali - Eulogy

Digging Deep

⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6: 47-49; NIV 2011 Edition)

 Believe it or not, I grew up as one of the biggest Jimi Hendrix fans of my generation. I grew up trying to play all of his songs on bass, downloaded every single MP3 I could find and accumulated several of his live and studio cds. The man still remains as one of the most talented at his craft of all time. Trust me...this tangent/homage is going somewhere...

One of my favorite songs by Jimi Hendrix is this song called "Castles Made of Sand." In the song, the chorus goes "And so castles made of sand melt...into the sea...eventually." A testament to the fact that building on a flimsy surface or with weak materials will undoubtedly result in your house falling down when trouble comes.

So with that I ask...How's your spiritual foundation?

Have you ever been in a position where you wanted to change something or be more like Christ in a particular area of your life? Sometimes what happens is we make a decision to change but not an effort to dig deep to the core of the issue and rebuild a firm foundation. When God speaks to us like in the scripture above, it's not enough to take it at face value you or keep it on the surface of our minds and hearts.

How to dig deep:


Assess soil conditions. One of the first things that all builders must do before building a house is to examine the consistency and nature of the soil. Is it too wet? Too soft? Just right? I would liken this process to examining the condition of our hearts. When we want to commit to a change, our efforts will only get us as far as the soil will allow. We must condition our hearts to support spiritual change or we'll be right back where we started and wondering why.

Penetrate the soil. If you've ever seen any construction happen, you know that sturdy buildings aren't built just on the surface. Construction workers diligently dig up the soil so that the foundation can rest within the safety of the surrounding soil. Our actions are dictated by what is deeply rooted within us. It will always be this way that what comes to us most natural is what is deepest rooted in our hearts. Committing your ways to the Lord means allowing what God says about it coupled with what we plan to do about it to penetrate the soil in rest in the bedrock. The deeper you allow God's Word to penetrate your heart, the greater chance you have of building a firm foundation.

Brick by brick. Now of course a foundation is important but it's not the only thing needed to build a house. Construction workers work diligently to build with materials that are consistent with the foundation and the blueprint/plans. What does this mean for us? As we continue to build, we must be consistent in our actions. We can't build a house of kindness, forgiveness, sexual purity, financial stewardship, etc. if we allow ourselves to place brick after brick of anger, resentment, sexual sin, greed, and more. The mark of a well-crafted building is the consistency of the work from top to bottom. Notice that Jesus says the person who builds a house on rock is the one who continually puts His word into practice. Not just sometimes or once in a while. Consistency is key.

Deconstruction. In the same way that a house can be built on consistent application of God's word, it can also be destroyed by not following the steps to build a solid house. God loves us so much that sometimes He may cause our man-made lives to crumble because we failed to build a house consistent to His standards. Even worse, the consequences of our own sin-lead actions can result in having to rebuild after being broken/demolished. But don't worry, if you assess the soil, make changes, and allow what you've heard to sink in, you always have the chance to rebuild...

...brick by brick.

People NEED People

Note: The views expressed in this piece are those of the writer. There are a million opinions on this topic (and I'd like to hear yours) but don't be offended if our opinions don't align!

It's a quarter after one 

I'm all alone 

And I need you now 

- Lady Antebellum "Need You Now"

In God's massive and glorious ecosystem of life He created animals of all shapes and sizes. The common denominator between them all is that each animal looks to its own kind for social needs. You never hear about female independent lions or male elephants who choose not to wife up a female elephant because of the responsibility it entails. No, balance is made whole in God's ecosystem.

We humans? Not so much.

I've heard on several occasions by several different people that some people are just meant to be single. That I can agree with. But should that be a person's desire or should that be God's will revealed to them for their life?

Here's Paul the [single] Apostle on singleness:

" I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that." (1 Corinthians 7: 7, NIV 2010 edition)

In life we meet and come into relationship with people who have gifts. While I don't believe in soul mates, I do believe that God can allow you to come in contact with someone with complimentary gifts. Someone who challenges you to be better (better = more like Christ) because what they bring to the relationship is something you may not have been built to either see, do, consider, or think about. These gifts, as Paul mentions, come from God and they are for a designed purpose. Where you are weak, they are strong and vice versa. Relationships should bring God glory and if you come across someone who "fits" with your gifting - and more importantly their gift fits you! - that is giving God glory at it's finest. What better way to use your God given gifts than in the ultimate ministry of marriage and relationships? Our flesh will fail us at times and question our reason for being and imperfections will seep through but...

No one is perfect.

No relationship is going to be without heartache or pain or disagreement (or even a few personality mismatches). Any Christian can tell you that even our personal relationship with Christ can be filled with those feelings and challenges. However God's love is bigger than all of those things. Relationships produce fruit, and that comes through a process. No one said the process would be painless (I bet any mother can tell you how painful a "process" can be).

What fruit is coming out of your relationship?

Undoubtedly, God had a calling on Paul's life. One that extended beyond a home life and one that would impact generations of Christians to come. Paul's life was special and God knew what He was doing. Imagine the pain and lack of fulfillment that his wife and children would feel. So should singleness be an option or a calling?

Why would God create a humanity that doesn't need/depend on/appreciate it's own humanity?

What are your thoughts?

Anger and Forgiveness Pt. 2

Continued coverage of the Charles Stanley sermon on Anger and Forgiveness (Part 2 of 3)



Obstacles to Forgiveness (Cont.)
8. Partial forgiveness (just like partial obedience is disobedience, partial forgiveness is unforgiveness. If you wait until you feel like forgiving someone then you probably never will.)
9. Justifying someone else's wrong doing for the sake of not wanting to forgive.

"12 And forgive us our debts,  as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation,  but deliver us from the evil one. 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

(Matthew 6:12 - 15; NIV 2010 Edition)

Why we must forgive:
-God forgives our sins only if we forgive the sins of others
- God does not condone willfully refusing to forgive others. Therefore it is an example of living in sin.
- Unforgiveness will destroy your life and separate your fellowship (not your relationship) with Christ.
- If you don't forgive others, your Father will not forgive you.

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

(Matthew 18:21-22; NIV 2010 Edition)

- God does not give us a measuring rod to count the number of times we should forgive sin. There is no end to our need to forgive.

The Parable of The Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18 22-35)
- Have mercy on those who owe you in the same way that The Master has mercy on us.

-There is no justifiable reason to not forgive someone.

Part 3 to be posted tomorrow!

Anger And Forgiveness Pt. 1

Today and tomorrow I want to spend time on the subject of anger and forgiveness through a message taught by Charles Stanley (Andy Stanley's father). We've all either been angry at someone or experienced anger towards us and know that neither feels any good. Anger is such a attitude of bondage and only forgiveness can unlock the key. Pray for those who have done you wrong and examine your heart to see if there are any areas where you may hold anger. Amen.

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32; NIV 2010 Edition)

The pain and the promise of anger and forgiveness:

Sermon Notes:
Who are you angry with?
- Who are you angry with? What did they do or say? How did they heap on something that you can hardly live with?
- If you're angry you don't' want to see them and want to avoid them at all cost
- You can't just get rid of anger by replacing your destination, something on the inside has to happen to you.
- Anger, bitterness and resentment are enslaving attitudes.
-Physically you cannot avoid the affects of anger even if you don't show it on the outside.

Definitions:
Anger:  A strong feeling of intense displeasure, hostility or indignation as a result of a real or imagined threat, insult, frustration or injustice towards yourself or others important to you.

Forgiveness: The giving up resentment against someone and our right to get even no matter what has been done to us. It is the surrendering of my right to hurt you back. It's giving up our right to get even with someone.

Unforgiveness: The deliberate, willful refusal to give up one's resentment and the right to get even based on the wrongful thought that somebody needs to pay.

Obstacles to Forgiveness:
1. Wanting to forgive somebody
2. Rehearsing whatever they did to you
3. Pride
4. Fear (of being taken advantage of)
5. Rejection (feeling like it is a weakness to forgive)
6. Being Misunderstood
7. Negative advice (Sometimes friendly advice is not Godly advice. Discern between the two).

Part Two will be posted tomorrow! What are your thoughts thus far?

Fire Power!

"⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 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, " (1 Peter 1:6-8; NIV 2010 Edition).

This past Saturday I was meeting up with some friends for a dinner party. I had all day to get ready...and I took advantage of every minute. Clothes ironed by 9am, car cleaned/washed by 2pm, and I even had time to relax and take care of some errands. Everything was going on schedule until this:

Brush fires in the state of Maryland.

Now I don't know the science behind brush fires because I missed that episode of The Magic School Bus, but it got me thinking...

How does God use fire?

In the natural sense, I found this out about wildfires:

Wildfires consume vegetation that would otherwise become overgrown, creating ideal conditions for a catastrophic wildfire. Wildfires allow more open spaces for new and different kinds of vegetation to grow and receive sunlight. This, in turn, provides fresh nutrients and shelter for forest plants and animals. Wildfires also keep our forests healthy by consuming harmful insects and diseases.(From Here)

If you've ever experienced a fire in your life, you know that that is exactly what happens.

God uses fire, or trials, in our lives to not only add but to subtract. Trials show us what has become overgrown and what needs to be scaled back or even killed. Trials also add by deepening our faith and allowing us more creative ways to give God glory. Like Paul says in the scripture above, the value of our faith is even greater than gold. Our faith is the catalyst that takes a bad situation and turns it around for God's glory. There is a change that happens - a transformation - that happens only because of God's testing us by fire. When it's all over and the dust has settled, you've become a new person. And sometimes this is a new person you would not have been if you let things overgrow in your life that needed pruning or removing.

Thank God for the fire in our lives!

Correction Vs. Protection

This is the stuff that gets under my skin 

But I've got to trust You know exactly what You're doing 

It might not be what I might choose 

But this is the stuff you use

- Francesca Battistelli - This Is The Stuff

Today's Window Seat Thought is about correction and protection. God uses both to sharpen us and put us on the path that we are supposed to be on.

Correction/Discipline: In correction, God does not remove the sin (what I mean is that He does not look past them but He DOES forgive them*) but removes some benefit experienced while in our reckless sinful state and inflicts a consequence directly relating to the actions that occurred. This is sort of like the parent who doesn't fight to remove your bad grades on your report card but will put you on punishment as a result of them. Correction is used to allow us to see the errors of our ways and then work at them so that they are no longer a barrier to our right relationship with someone or something. Biblical examples of correction include : 

• Adam and Eve: God didn't remove the serpent, he removed the joy of carefree living. He also made life that much harder for Adam and Eve and well, you know how the rest of the story goes (Genesis 3:16-19). 
• David and Bathsheba, god did not restore David's mistakes but he removed the oneness that David felt with God. Not only that, God set a curse upon his house which had an immediate and public impact (2 Samuel 12: 11). 

Just like in the natural sense where we must work to improve our grades in order to restore our privileges, In spiritual correction it is always our responsibility to learn the lesson and restore our right relationship with Christ.

Protection/Grace: God removes the potential for sin or danger regardless of whether we are at fault for something or not. Ever run late for work and see that you just missed and accident? Ever be somewhere where you shouldn't have been and something bad happened but you were kept safe? That's God's protection. Evidence of His grace and mercy that He willingly pours out to us to protect us from harm. Biblical examples include:

• God protects Lot from destruction (Genesis 19) 
• Saul becomes Paul (Acts 9) 
• Jesus calms the sea (Mark 4: 35-41)

Both correction and protection are forces that god uses to show his unfailing love for us. Sometimes they can happen at the same time (correction protects you from further sin as long as you obey). Also, protection is not always given as a result of a potential or desire to sin. The bottom line is that its a crazy world out there and just as many forces work against you that work for you. Isn't it great to know that someone is working on your behalf to save you from the decay and destruction that the world throws at us?

Might not be what we choose but these are the things he uses.

Francesca Battistelli - This Is The Stuff:

Has you experienced God's correction or protection in your life? Have you witnessed it in the Bible or the lives of others? I want to hear about it!