SUFFICIENT GRACE

My grace is sufficient for you...

--2 Corinthians 12:9

Do you need grace today? I'll ask another way: Do you need power? 

We tend to think of grace in terms of covering our inadequacies, a balm applied to our failures. These are true, but grace is and does much more.

It is by grace that we are not given what we deserve. It is by grace that we are given what we do not deserve.

As James puts it:

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.  

--James 1:17

Q: How powerful is grace?
A: It is sufficient.

Wait, shouldn't this covering and empowering grace be overwhelmingly abundant? Shouldn't God cover a "3" on the need-grace scale with a "10" measure of grace? Shouldn't there be puddles of grace everywhere around after the grace shower rains down; so we can scoop a little extra up and store it away for use later?

Grace doesn't work like that. (Think manna from heaven; Exodus 16 - it's worth a read). New grace is given each day; actually moment by moment. Leftover grace, if there were such a thing, would spoil. And future grace, though promised, cannot be utilized. Today's grace... this moment's grace is sufficient for you. It is sufficient to completely cover, completely forgive, completely empower.

And how strong must we be? Well, our part is to rely on God's grace. To lean on and into his power. Our job is to embrace weakness and trust his strength. God says:

...my power is made perfect in weakness. 

--2 Corinthians 12:9

It would be easy to write of God's sufficient grace at certain times. This is not one of those times. It is a time when the preacher (or blogger, as the case may be) must hear and apply what he is writing. (Actually, every time is that time.)

God, I am weak, but you are strong. I need your sufficient grace.

For now...
D

GIVE YOURSELF

For God loves a cheerful giver.

-- 2 Corinthians 9:7

We all know someone with a particularly unique quality. They give. And for the rest of this post, let's not think money. Let's not think stuff. Because after all, more importantly than giving our stuff, is the sacrificial attitude and act of giving ourselves.

We all know someone like that. They give... themselves. They usually do it with a smile. Sometimes with a hug. Often anonymously. Always seeking no credit. Stuff, we can give while seeking notoriety. Ourselves, we cannot.

Love gives...

God loved... 

God gave. 

And we are most like Christ when we love, and give.

Paul was an incredible example of giving of one's self. He wrote: I am poured out like a drink offering... (From Philippians 2:17 and 2 Timothy 4:6).

There is a unique joy in giving. Through the act of giving we prove that nothing holds power over us. And the truest expression of Christian freedom is found in the giving of ourselves. This freedom, this joy is addictive. And God loves it. 

I think God smiles on the person who gives himself/herself away with a giggle.

God, help me to be a sacrifice. Help me to give. I will give myself.

For now...

D

GRACE & PEACE

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

- Philippians 1:2

We live in an instant messaging world. Many communications begin with "Hey..." or "What's up?" And that, if time is even afforded to spell words out rather than offering up obscure abbreviations. (This post's first sentence should have read: ... na IM world.) 

You and I receive emails and texts that seemingly begin halfway through a thought. And like you, I have learned to skim and pick and choose what catches my eye or stands out as important in what I read. 

It is easy to blow through sections of scripture in the same way. When we take time to read, we often jump to something previously highlighted or underlined in our old Bible. 

In my last post (non-recycled, which was far too long ago) I focused on two words: Servants and Saints. I want to do the same here. Paul opens up his letter to the Philippian believers by wishing them - though wishing is a word too weak -

Grace & Peace

It is a common greeting for Paul. But let's not allow familiarity to erase simple beauty; powerful beauty. Grace and Peace.

Grace and Peace share common heritage. Paul states this heritage explicitly: "...from God..." Grace and Peace ultimately find their source in Christ. The two are deeply related in effect and power. But Grace and Peace are not the same. Going back to Sunday School 101, we probably think of Grace and Mercy as being more closely related; kind of two sides of the same coin. (Willpower is keeping me on point and away the tangents calling out right now.)

I'll cut to the chase; and to the inkling of an idea that came to me when I read Paul's greeting. Both Grace and Peace find their origin in God. One - Grace - is a fact, a universal truth (given God is the universal creator). Grace is God's free gift of undeserved love and favor. It is fundamental, universal and pervasive. Grace is God's heart extended to us. Whether received or not, Grace is extended. And Grace governs vast areas of our lives and world that go unnoticed and unseen.

The other - Peace - comes as result of realizing Grace. Peace, also ultimately coming from God, is a state of being. Peace is the reality of experiencing Grace. Peace is the result of personal Grace.

Sometimes we experience Peace by accident. Grace kind of oozes into cracks and corners in our lives unaware, and ...a peaceful easy feeling results. (And it won't let you down...). But often Peace goes unexperienced; because although Grace rules, it is unrealized. Grace goes unrecognized. And therefore, Peace doesn't pervade.

Back to the post I recycled a couple days ago: Grace is good for today. Yesterday's Grace was for yesterday. And tomorrow's?... well, you're ahead of me. Though remembering past Grace can provide some Peace, we must draw on the Grace Christ offers today to fully experience Peace today. To stick with preacher alliteration:

Peace Prevails where Present Grace Permeates. (Dizzy yet?) 

God, because of your grace, I have peace. Increase my peace, as I more deeply experience your grace. 

For now...
D

THIS DAY

Behold, now is the day of salvation. 

- 2 Corinthians 6:2

Today - this day, however much remains of it - is an important day. It is the most important day; because it is the day, the time, we are given.

And in this day, however much remains of it, God wants to do something in our lives, and through our lives.

Spiritual procrastination is an infection. It is an ailment from which we all suffer at times, and to various degrees. Prolonged periods of the affliction dull us to the presence and purpose of God in our lives. (That last sentence may be worth a re-read.) I do not have a guilt-goal here, for you or me; but our misunderstanding of this day's importance (however much remains of it) affects not only us, but others.

Look carefully then how you walk (live), not as unwise but as wise, 

making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

-- Ephesians 5:15-16. 

We have best intentions about what we will do, or begin, tomorrow. But tomorrows become todays, and before we know it, yesterdays.

Now is the day of salvation. 

It is always in the present that God works in our lives. We can reminisce about what he did in the yesterdays; and that is a good thing. But we cannot live there. As one preacher put it: We can no more operate today on the grace God gave for yesterday than we can drive our car today on the gas that we burned to get around yesterday. 

We also trust him with our tomorrows. And that is a good thing. But we cannot live there. To stay with the metaphor, our grace tank is only large enough to hold what is required for today.

God gives GRACE-GAS for this day, for now. 

Today - however much remains of it - matters. It is the NOW in which God is at work in us and around us. Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house," (Luke 19:9). Why? How? Because Jesus had come to the house. And that moment was the moment; the Now is the day of salvation moment. 

Jesus has come to our house. And because he is present, this day - however much remains of it - matters. 

God, help me to make the most of the time.

For now...

D

SERVANTS & SAINTS

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus...

- Philippians 1:1

I began reading through Philippians this morning. Why? Paul's letter to the Philippians is known as The letter of joy. In the midst of the storms of life, a reminder of joy sounds good to me. 

I didn't get far into my reading when something leapt out; and frankly, it wasn't what I was looking for. 

Paul opens the letter with a fairly normal greeting. In his hello, two words jumped out immediately:

SERVANTS & SAINTS

Paul was an uber-apostle. His writings and influence helped shape the early church and the (our) faith throughout the centuries. His life was a picture of the miraculous and gut-it-out faithfulness. His ears heard the audible voice of Jesus and the grating chorus of detractors. Paul lived for his (our) faith. Paul died for his (our) faith. Paul was a saint. (I know this because his first name is Saint, as in Saint Paul.) 

It's interesting to me that Paul didn't begin his letter: "Paul and Timothy, saints of Christ Jesus, to all the servants..." Nope, the opposite. Paul calls himself (and Timothy) servants, and the everyday people, the holding-on-by-a-fingernail believers, he addresses as saints. 

And that's it for this post. You and I are saints. You and I are servants. I propose that the more Saintly we become, the more Servantly we are. Or maybe, the more Servantly we are (in action), the more Saintly we become. Or... maybe it's both. Yea, I think that's it. 

You and I are SAINTS...

Believe and hold on to it. It's something Christ did for us. 

You and I are SERVANTS:

Live it and do it. It's something Christ does through us. 

God, the only way for me to understand I am a saint is to live as a servant. And the power to truly serve comes from understanding you have made me a saint. 

For now...

D

RENEWED NORMAL

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared...

- Luke 24:1

Jesus is dead. They saw him die. They saw him buried. There is nothing they can do about it.

They have accepted this New Normal; one with a sky a little less bright, smiles a little less broad, hope a little less real. Jesus is dead.

All they can do now is memorialize the past. Go to it's grave and place flowers. Go to Jesus' body and honor who and what he was with burial spices and oils.

This is their New Normal.

Something to think about with New Normals however...

Though moments can feel like eons, often New Normals are only transitions. 

I don't know what happened inside that cave tomb. (I hope to watch the video someday.) What I do know is it was not Normal. Death does not give up his prey. Grave doesn't loosen his grip. 

Normal is: dead saviors stay dead. 

Normal is: isolation in windowless rooms. 

Normal is: fear so real it tastes of metal.  

Normal is: the silence of Saturday carries on, drowning out the melodies of hope and joy. 

Resurrection is not normal. But Jesus was not into normal. (Jesus is not into normal.) 

Saturday's silence was shattered in the way a black night fails in the presence of continual lightning; finally giving way to a cloudless sunrise. A stone was ejected to reveal a grave unoccupied. On a slab, neatly folded burial clothes: "I won't be needing these." 

Jesus begins showing up in strange places. Near his former tomb he meets two women who planned to honor his dead body. And joy is resurrected. He suddenly pops up in a stagnant room filled with fearful former followers. And hope is resurrected. He prepares breakfast on the shore for fishless fishermen, who at his direction came to the sudden realization that they might need bigger boats and stronger nets. Wonder and awe are resurrected.  

In each case, their normal is no longer. It has been renewed. Resurrection Renews Normal. And normal can never be normal again. This resurrected Renewed Normal pervades everything. Every New Normal we face finds its context within the power and perspective of resurrection. 

The storm will pass. 

The pain will end.

The isolation will be broken. 

Now matter how normal each may seem.

Because Jesus changes everything. 

And even normal can never be normal again. 

Jesus has Renewed Normal. 

He is Risen...

(And all the angels shouted...) He is Risen Indeed!

For now...

D

NEW NORMAL... SILENT SATURDAY

A New Normal...

We have heard the words repeatedly the past couple weeks (it seems like months!). We hear them spoken in press briefings. We see them illustrated in television commercials. We read them in numerous memes on social media.

A New Normal...

At times the words inspire me. At others, for some reason, they ring with melancholy. I have some thoughts about Normal vs New Normal that I'll get to in upcoming posts. Today and tomorrow however, I want to take it back a couple thousand years and change. So for today, let's think about the New Normal of a Silent Saturday.

We call it Holy Week. For the band that followed Jesus into the city gates, in what is now known as The Triumphal Entry, the week didn't seem so holy; especially come Saturday.

It was Silent Saturday.  

The adoring crowds? Long gone. The bewildered Temple marketeers? Business as usual. The blood-thirsty self-serving religious elite? High-fiving their victory. Heaven? silent. The would-be savior Jesus? Ingloriously nailed to a cross and now buried. And his piece-meal group of followers? Locked in windowless isolation. Fearful. Hopeless. Questioning. Abandoned.

This was their New Normal.

Their normal had been completely enveloped and invested in a living prophet; a water-walking, storm-calming, sight-restoring, words-of-life-speaking, counter-cultural, emerging king. Really, that normal was actually fairly new in itself. For most, their prior normal had been a mosaic of condemnation, hopelessness, directionless wondering, and falling short. But at Jesus' touch, normal had changed.

But that was then - as recently as a day ago. New Normal is fear. New Normal is hopelessness and heartbreak. New Normal is isolation - as much internal as external. New Normal is abandonment.

Something to think about with New Normals however...

Though moments can feel like eons, 

often New Normals are only transitions. 

Saturday's silence is only Saturday's New Normal... My mind wants to run on a thousand tangents of application; especially in our current social-distancing, self-isolating, mask-wearing situation. But I'll allow your applications to be your own (and mine, mine). 

This is what I know...

A resurrected New Normal is coming. 

Silent Saturdays give way to the sunrise of Sunday. And in that sunrise, there is new life. 

God, I'm not satisfied with my normal of silence and isolation. But I trust you are creating a resurrected New Normal... that in reality, is anything but normal!

For now...

D