Grace and Peace...

Before I write about grace and peace, please direct your thoughts and prayers to the people of Japan and everywhere else affected... an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit that triggered a tsunami just a few hours ago. Check the BBC for an unreal video of the tsunami that shows buildings, cars, trees and the like getting swept away as if they weighed nothing. Put yourself in the shoes of the people who have just lost homes, jobs and family members in the blink of an eye, and then pray for them with that heart. God- may Your Name be exalted in this situation and may all see that You are worthy to be praised...

I began studying Galatians this morning and am SO excited to see how God is going to enlighten me and teach me more about Himself through this wonderful book of the Bible. Here are the first five verses (ESV):

"Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

I love how Paul introduces himself- reassuring the Galatian church that he is an apostle appointed and sent "through Jesus Christ and God the Father", not by men (as the Paul-haters were trying to argue). If you read on in verses 6-10, Paul calls out the people who were turning to a "different gospel", and just so they didn't have to ask 'which is the real gospel?', Paul tells them in the introduction: "Jesus... gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." This is the gospel that he had preached and continued to- and the gospel that we should hold fast to for all our lives for the greatest glory of God.

What really stood out to me this morning, though, was the part of his greeting that you can find in almost every one of his letters: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ..." I once read that "grace" and "peace" were the two greatest things that Paul could wish upon the churches (for reasons that slip my memory at this time). The book What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey is a phenomenal read that changed by perspective on grace. Yancey challenges the body of Christ, essentially saying that we do a much better job at showing "ungrace" than "grace" (ungrace being the opposite of grace- shunning people, being too judgmental, etc), which is the opposite of what we're called to do.

He opens the book by telling the story of a prostitute in a major US city that a man encountered. She told the man through sobs and tears that she was looking for food so that she and her two year-old daughter could eat. She also admitted that she was renting out her daughter for prostitution to support her drug habit. The man asked her if she had gone to a church for help, and she replied "Church? Why would I go there? I already feel terrible and they would only make me feel worse."

Let's be honest here- how many of us, upon hearing how she treats her child, inwardly thought "that woman ought to be tried and sent to jail! Bring in Social Services to rescue the child! What a terrible person..." without even caring for the woman, who had sunk to such a low place that she was using her daughter in that way. No person naturally would do such a thing- they have to be in a rock-bottom place in life to even consider it.

Now think of how terrible our situation would be if God treated us like that when we are in our wretched, sinful states. I'm not trying to absolve the woman of the terrible thing she's doing, but our first instinct should not be to throw the 'dogs' at the woman, but to show grace, like God has done for us. PLEASE read the book, as I'm confident it will change your perspective on grace...

But back to Paul and his greeting. A thought that the Lord put on my heart is that the majority of the Church not only does a poor job of showing grace to those who don't know the Lord... we do a poor job at showing grace to each other. Unity in the Body of Christ, which Paul writes strongly about multiple times in the Bible (see 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4), is one of our greatest weaknesses, and "grace" and "peace" are two of the biggest components lacking!

Think of how split and divided the Body of Christ looks to people all around the world (with all of our sects and denominations), especially in comparison to the unity of other major religions. Now think of how different the Church worldwide would look if we prayed earnestly for God to magnify His grace in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Think of what the Church would look like if we pursued peace in our relationships instead of treating relationships with a 'my way or the highway' mentality.

My challenge to all of us is to do just that: pray for the "glorious grace of God" (Eph. 1:6) to be displayed in the relationships of all believers worldwide, and for a "peace that transcends all understanding" (Phil. 4:7) to make Him famous in our relationships with our brothers and sisters. Paul recognized the importance of these components to the Body of Christ, which is why he began the majority of his letters with this greeting. He also understood that the utmost importance was for God to get the glory- "to whom be the glory forever and ever." Let us not pursue this for our own fame, for we won't get very far at all. Let's do it for the sake of His Name.

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

Luke

Real Church

Remember how I talked about one of the best weekends of my life a few weeks ago? Well- last night was another one of those times...

To make a long (and wonderful) story short, I had the privilege of taking part in the International Christian Fellowship here at VCU, a God-centered Christian Fellowship with believers of all backgrounds who gathered to love Jesus and exalt Him together. There was passionate, fervent prayer, simple yet powerful times of musical worship, Spirit-led teaching, worshipful offering, and welcoming community and fellowship. I believe that last night I got a glimpse of what real church is supposed to be like- not just a once-a-week meeting, but this once-a-week meeting was a celebration of what the Church should look like all the time.

What was different about this group? These people cared for each other. They loved each other deeply but did it in a way that held each other accountable (one of the leaders was training three Freshman guys in physical fitness and, in return, they did a Bible study with him. "Good trade", he said). Were there nominal believers that came 'just because'? Of course. But the majority were people hungry for the Truth and were willing to give up their entire Friday night (and I mean entire: many came at 6:30 and probably didn't leave until after 10:30/11) to exalt Jesus together.

I am truly not the same because of participating in the Fellowship last night. Even though the first worship set lasted 35+ minutes, a part of me felt that it wasn't long enough. And the prayer time before the meeting was for 45 minutes... but many, if not all of us could have gone much, much longer. During that time of prayer, the Lord put Psalm 63 on my heart and it got me thinking...

Psalm 63

"O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You;

my soul thirsts for You;

my flesh faints for You,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary,

beholding Your power and glory.

Because Your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise You.

So I will bless You as long as I live;

in Your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips,

when I remember You upon my bed,

and meditate on You in the watches of the night;

for You have been my help,

and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to You;

Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for the jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by Him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped."

I really want to focus on the first verses, although the entire Psalm is phenomenal, which is why I posted all of it.

Just check out the first line: "O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You...." How many of us can say that with integrity? "O God, YOU are my God". If you look at it from the perspective of "well, I have no other deities that I choose to worship- not Buddha, not Allah, not Scientology... yeah- He's my God", then that would make sense. But I don't think that's what David is saying. David is saying, "God, YOU are my God- not my kingdom, not my family, not my wealth, not my fame... YOU are my God." Can we truly say that about our lives? Is God on the throne of our lives constantly, ruling and reigning, leading and guiding us? Do we plan our schedules and lives around God, or try to fit Him into them?

I'm not trying to suggest that I live this out perfectly (cause I'm very far from it), but let's shoot for this! What's a good test to see if this is our heart?

"...earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

Can you say that about your life? I believe we should all pray for hearts like David, to desire God like you would desire water "in a dry and weary land where there is no water." This isn't the only way to know that God is the King of your heart and life, but it sure is a good sign to show that this is the case.

Let's agree with David that God's "steadfast love is better than life" and "remember" how amazing He is as often as possible. Make Him THE priority of Your life and let Him order the rest.

Thanks, God, for ICF and how it challenged me, encouraged me and inspired me. May we all strive for hearts like David's in Psalm 63 for the exaltation of Your Name...

Grace and peace...

Luke