Scandalous grace

       How do you even approach a topic like grace? To be honest I am far from qualified to do so, but I cannot deny that it has been a huge part of my journey as of late so with that I must share. Where do I even begin? I can find nothing better then to share some insight from C.S Lewis. "St. Augustine says 'God gives where he finds empty hands,' A man whose hands are full of parcels cannot receive a gift,"Grace, in other words must be recieved, Lews explains that what I have termed "grace abuse" stems from a confusion of condoning and forgiving : To condone an evil is simply to ignore it, to treat it as if it were good. But forgiveness needs to be accepted as well as offered if it is to be complete: and a man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness."  My biggest fear is that to often myself included in this is that we know God can forgive us, we know God uses murderers and crooks. So we move forward in sin acts that not only affect ourselves but devastate the relationships around us. Sin always causes collateral damage never does it only affect me. Sin separates and causes division in our relationship with our heavenly father. Phillip Yancy says in his book Whats so amazing about grace " Forgiveness is our problem, not God's. What we have to go through to commit sin distances us from God-- we change in the very act of revellion--and there is no guarantee we will ever come back. You ask me about forgiveness now , but will you even want it later, especially if it involves repentance?'

      What is my concern why do I fear where we are with our idea of Grace. I fear because and I have done so myself, that we have cheapened grace. That we use it as a safety net or a harness that keeps us from continually plummeting. Can it do those things? Absolutely, but if we are honest it can do exactly the opposite. That we ignore the pain that it causes our father, that we ignore the true damage that it does not only in our relationship with our father, but also within our community. There is a ripple effect when we extend grace and give it to to others as well as receive it, Great things happen transformation occurs and sweeps through our lives. A ripple effect also occurs when we refuse to see the damage it does to others or when we ignore that our decisions always affects others. We grab onto what we believe is grace but in reality it is not, all it is is a cheapened version that we have accumulated in our minds and our hearts. We continue to live a life that we think is leading us to freedom, but instead we are trapping ourselves in habbits that lead to bondage. Because grace becomes a cure for us instead of a loving action that burried our sins and carried its weight for us. Somehow we pervert grace into a fix it ticket that wipes away our continued selfish desires. Desires to fulfill a longing deep inside us, but instead of turning to the life jesus desires and created for us we turn to other things. Grace does all that but you cannot experience grace without a desire to truly experience the heart of Jesus. Without a cry of your heart to be reunited with his passion and love.  When our hands our firmly grasped and hold onto what we want we cannot receive what God wants to give us. Because we have decided our way is best and minimized what God has done.

     What is grace? How do I know it is grace? I do not know how to define it but I do know what it produces and what it creates. By Gods grace through faith we receive salvation. Grace brings about transformation and lets his power rest upon us. Grace helps us receive his love which flows out of our heat freely which transforms not only my heart but ultimately the heart of those around us. Grace builds us up and brings about the obedience of faith for the sake of our Lord to be proclaimed to all nations. Grace from above restores, confirms, strengthens and establishes us. Grace moves us to rejoice in the hope of the Glory of our God. ( references from the bible)

     I long to every day get another glimpse of understanding grace. With intentionality I have received joy I have never experienced before, because I feel my heart has been unlocked in new ways. I am able to love better  than I ever have before. I am able to latch on to the love that God has for me. I am able to deepen my longing my desire to walk with Christ. I am able to be removed from the muck of daily struggles and find hope in what God has done for me. Dive into the journey with me. What if we allowed our hearts to be changed and transformed everyday not just for ourselves, but for those around us. In a complete and selfless desperation for others to experience the joy we are now experiencing. So ultimately our God can be glorified. For that is when we become truly alive.


  Thank you for taking the time to read. I would love if you comment or share via facebook or twitter. I love you and what God is going to do in you.

sometimes words arent needed

       This past week I have had the privilege to be a part of a team that will bring clean water to a village in Haiti. On the way to doing a side maintenance fix on a well ,that had not working for 1 and a half years, we stopped at a church. As I was eating my lunch I could not stop looking at the front of the church. Which usually might not be that abnormal, but this church was nothing special and if I am honest not that appeasing to the eye. I just started and let my mind be still. I knew something was brewing in my heart. I scarfed my sandwich and headed to the front of the church and just sat. I knew this is where I was created to be the church. I knew right then right there I was where I was supposed to be. I felt awkward, fearful, doubt started to creep into my mind. I had no choice but to fight it, I knew this was a special moment. I started to pray, cry out and give thanks to what had brought me to where I am now.

       Here I am in complete silence and  at times prayer, Goodebumps began to take over my body , my legs were shaking.  Someone plops right down next to me. This someone wasn't a stranger but a friend. We have had many differences and in many ways the friendship has subsided(this is not the Point, or in any way to draw I away from how great they are).There I was sitting and there they were sitting not saying a word. Complete silence had filled up my section. All I knew was this world needs "the Church" and they knew it also.

  They knew my desires, my passions, my longings my shortcomings they knew my heart. So they sat. They sat despite the differences, the unsaid, the sands, the pain the hurt and the shortcomings. They decided they would just be. As if to say I know and I'm here. As if to say No one else gets it right now but I do. They took a step and in that step they showed a love I had never experienced before. The thing is they didn't needed to say anything. Their presence was enough. Their willingness to hear my passions and know my desires was enough. Their willingness to set anything else aside and just be present was enough. To be present means she had already took the time in the past to stand with me.

      We do not always have to have the right words. In fact sometimes we do not need to say anything at all. What we need is to invest to truly know the heart. When we do this we will seize the opportunities to impact lives, and give life . They decided to take a step and it is one that will forever be in heart. Will you choose to love like this?

Jeremy