My pastor has said many times that grace is when you take that moment that you swore you’d never tell another living soul and that becomes the first line of your testimony.
Grace doesn’t mean that sin doesn’t matter and that God really doesn’t mind when you transgress.
Grace does mean that you don’t get what your sins and transgressions deserve.
Grace means that Jesus got what all your sins and transgressions deserve, and you get all that belongs to Jesus.
Man, I do love grace.
“A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. . . .There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way. . . God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There us no such thing” (CS Lewis).
Apart from God, nothing can make me happy.
Not a job, not a relationship, not a big house, not a new car, not all the money in the world.
In theory, it sounds so very simple, yet in practice, it can be a bit difficult to realize.
Maybe it’s all the commercials telling me how I can’t be happy and satisfied until I buy this product or that service or eat this food.
Maybe it’s my own human nature that constantly craves and desires and yearns for more stuff.
Whatever it is, I keep forgetting that only God can bring true peace and joy.
God, please keep reminding me that you are my true life. You are the only living water that satisfies, apart from all the broken cisterns in my life that hold only sand and ashes.
I sincerely repent of all the times as a kid when I laughed and made fun of old people for always talking about how fast time goes by. They were right. And now I’m old. Well, older.
Which brings me to the fact that tomorrow is officially May.
That means that we’re officially 1/3 of the way through 2018.
Not only will tomorrow be the first day of May, it will also be the 8th anniversary of the flooding that took place in Nashville on May 1-2, 2010.
Where did that 8 years go? Man, those old people were right again. At least I get to make fun of the funny clothes they wore back in the day, just like someone down the road will look at my fashion sense and roll on the floor laughing at me.
I can still remember seeing all the flood waters, especially in the downtown area. I recall hearing about how Opry Mills had being overrun with flood waters. I couldn’t even get out of my neighborhood to get to work that day. It was insane.
Looking back has given me a little perspective. Like the fact that I’m able to look back. The flood waters left and Nashville is still here. I still remember the words written on a garage door on a street where the flood waters had done the most damage: “Storms pass, love shines, we survive.” Those floods are in the past and you and I are still here.
Philip Yancey wrote, “Faith is believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.”
You don’t get the benefit of all the hindsight and 20/20 vision from looking back on something until you’ve lived through it. Faith is believing God’s promises as though they had already come to pass. In fact, faith is knowing that God’s future is so certain that it can be spoken of in the present tense.
Speaking of time flying, there are only 239 days until Christmas, so you best get to shoppin’.
I just found out today that my car has been deemed a total loss.
I was in a fender bender last Wednesday on my way to work, and apparently the damages exceeded they value they assessed to my car. That doesn’t take much when you drive a vintage vehicle.
But to me that red Jeep is worth more than a numerical value based on age and wear. I’ve been through a lot of life in that 1997 Jeep Cherokee.
I’m not ready to let go just yet.
So I’m praying.
I don’t know if it’s theologically correct to pray about things like cars, but I’m praying. I believe that God says to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need. Not just for what you and I consider the major events and the important stuff.
I think it means to come all the time. To pray without ceasing until praying is as natural and automatic as breathing. To bring my need to the God who cares for the lowliest of sparrows.
I can’t imagine how this scenario with my car will play out favorably, but I will bring my request before the Father in heaven and let Him do the fighting.
I’m more than a little stressed at the moment. It’s my default setting, and try as I might to pray verses and claim God’s promises that perfect love casts out fear, I’m still worried sick.
I’m taking my mustard seed-sized faith and trusting that God will do not what I want but what’s best. In the end, I always find that God’s best is what I would have wanted from the start had I been wise enough to look from a broader perspective. God’s best easily surpasses the wildest and biggest imaginings of my heart.
Now I will wait and see and trust and hope.
“God is at work. He does not slumber.
Christ intercedes. He does not fail.
The Spirit comforts. He does not forsake.
Be at rest. Be at peace.
Your name at the end of the day is Beloved” (Ann Voskamp).
You and I can be at rest and have peace, even on those Mondays when our devices aren’t working, when our circumstances don’t cooperate with our plans, and when fear and anxiety seem to have the upper hand in our thoughts.
We can rest because we know that our identity is not what we do but who we are. Or whose we are.
All the diplomas and titles and honors and rewards in the world count for nothing apart from Christ, and nothing is lost if you lose everything and still have Jesus.
That is peace. That is rest.
“It should be plain . . . that the One we preach is not Christ-in-a-vacuum, nor a mystical Christ unrelated to the real world, nor even only the Jesus of ancient history, but rather the contemporary Christ who once lived and died, and now lives to meet human need in all its variety today. To encounter Christ is to touch reality and experience transcendence. He gives us a sense of self-worth or personal significance, because he assures us of God’s love for us. He sets us free from guilt because he died for us, from the prison of our own self-centredness by the power of his resurrection, and from paralysing fear because he reigns, all the principalities and powers of evil having been put under his feet. He gives meaning to marriage and home, work and leisure, personhood and citizenship. He introduces us into his new community, the new humanity he is creating. He challenges us to go out into some segment of the world which does not acknowledge him, there to give ourselves in witness and service for him. He promises us that history is neither meaningless nor endless, for one day he will return to terminate it, to destroy death and to usher in the new universe of righteousness and peace” (John Stott, Between Two Worlds).
This is the Christ who once said, “If you don’t take up your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciples,” because He knew that it’s better to save your own soul and lose everything else than to gain the whole world and lose your soul in the process.
It’s a good reminder for me on a rainy Sunday in April when hope for many can seem like its a million miles away. Hope has come and has never left. He’s still here.
I have a feeling I’m going to be sore in the morning. But it was worth it.
I took part in Engage Middle Tennessee, a serving Saturday for all the regional campuses of Brentwood Baptist Church.
I chose to help out with Monroe Harding. I found out this morning that we’d be moving dirt that got dumped into their driveway.
I pictured the kind of soil that you put around flower beds and thought, “This won’t be too bad. I might actually break a little sweat.”
Little did I know that the dirt in question was to fill in an old swimming pool. This dirt consisted of more rocks than dirt.
I think I broke more than a little sweat. I can’t remember the last time I did so much manual labor.
Depending on how soon the ibuprofen I took kicks in, I might be feeling achy and old in the morning. But I can say without question that it was worth it.
The family we served has adopted three children and fosters several more. They probably expend more energy on a daily basis than I did today. They probably have more than a few mornings where they wake up sore and achy. But I’m sure they’d do all of it over again for the sake of these kids. I believe God’s heart is for orphans and widows, so I know God is blessing what they’re doing.
I remembered the verse where Jesus said that if we had faith, we could move mountains. Maybe I’m not being exegetically correct or theologically sound, but I wonder if those mountains don’t sometimes get moved one shovel-full at a time, one wheelbarrow-load at a time. Maybe it’s the faith of several people united in purpose and belief that moves mountains and changes the world.
My Timehop app reminded me that today’s a very important day. Not so much in the sense of a grand historical event or the birthday of someone famous.
No, on this day 4 years ago, The Church at Avenue South had its very first non-official worship service on Easter Sunday.
We had rows of the white plastic folding chairs set up in the area that is now home to the preschool and children’s ministry. I can’t remember now how many people turned up, but it was way more than anyone had expected.
We didn’t officially launch until that September, but even way back in April, we knew that all the prayers and dreams of a lot of people were becoming reality.
I suppose you don’t realize how fast the time goes by until you get a memory like that like cold water to the face. But this was a very good memory.
I still remember that after the service, the pastor invited us to take markers and write on the floor and the walls to commemorate the day. Most people wrote meaningful Bible verses or lyrics from hymns.
It’s neat to think that now when we have a worship service, we’re literally standing on the Word of God. It’s a memory that I’d let slip into the recesses of my mind that just came back.
I’m thankful for Aaron Bryant, Matthew Page, and the leadership team for making Ave South a church that I’m proud to call home. I’m aware that there are no perfect people or perfect churches, but I think we as a whole get it right a lot more than we get it wrong.
And God shows up every Sunday, without fail.
I can’t wait to see what the next four years will bring. God willing, I will get to be a small part of it.
Note: I’m not taking credit for any of what follows. I’m only trying to reproduce it as faithfully as I can.
Everyone knows that you’re most vulnerable to temptation when you’re hungry, angry, lonely, and/or tired. Any one of these is tough to overcome, but a combination of two or more makes it even harder.
At Kairos tonight, Chris Brooks suggested some methods to deal with these emotions.
When you’re tired, you need to fill up on God and His word. As strange as it sounds, the best way to do that is to fast, whether that be from food or social media or anything that can distract you from or take the place of God in your heart.
When you’re angry, it’s best to seek awareness of what it is that is causing that emotion. Rather than always blaming something or someone else, you need to look within to find what’s off in your own life. The best way is by spending time in silent reflection.
When you’re lonely, you want to seek to be united in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ. You want to seek to love and be loved. Sometimes, that takes the form of seeking guidance by asking others to speak into your loneliness or sometimes you need solitude to be better able to interact with others out of a place of wholeness and not approval-seeking.
When you’re tired, sometimes you need a time out from doing. God created the Sabbath so that we could rest and worship (and sometimes the best worship can be resting). No one was ever meant to go full-steam 24/7.
Something that grabbed my attention is the idea of secrecy– that is, doing an act of service and kindness for someone else with the intention of no one finding out. That way you take the attention off yourself and put it on another.
Again, I’m parroting what I learned tonight. I’m probably leaving out a good deal of important information, but I myself am tired, so I will make use of Chris’ advice and get me some rest.
Absolutely. There truly is always something to be thankful for.
Today, my list includes a good church service at The Church at Avenue South that saw the dedication of several parents and babies, a commissioning of missionaries for a short-term trip to Honduras, and another great sermon from Aaron Bryant from John 21:15-17.
The weather was anything but spring-like, but you can’t always have everything. Supposedly, all this April rain is bringing some May flowers, but I’m not sure what all the cold weather is supposed to bring.
I did have my old and trusty Jeep to get me everywhere I wanted to go today. I had a comfy jacket to keep out the drizzle and chill.
Plus, there’s all those little details that I routinely take for granted– good health, eyes to see, ears to hear, two legs to take me where I want to go, etc.
I’m learning to be grateful for every new day. It doesn’t always work. Some days I’m grumpy and feel entitled. Some days I choose to see the grey clouds instead of the sun peeking out behind them.
Yet on the days I choose gratitude, it’s always worth it.
Every single time.
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