this world v. Grace

Yesterday I wrote an e-mail with some thoughts that I felt are rather profound. I wanted to capture those thoughts here.

Yeah I know, it's been a while. I'm gonna be a father you know...excited and scared at the same time. I'm with Eldredge...I'd describe this as both Epic and Intimate. Epic in that I know there will be challenges, or battles to fight. Intimate in that to behold such a tiny human being that I dare say God fusses over all the tiniest details to get everything just right.

I just read your latest blog entry. I've come to conclude that the single-most difficult concept to comprehend of God is His beautiful, wonderful, and amazing Grace. Just breath that in for a moment. Grace.

We grow up in a culture and society that says, basically, you have to earn everything. You don't get anything for free. We live in a world that indeed rewards people, especially young people, for their accomplishments or achievements. So those who don't accomplish __________ or achieve ____________ (fill in the blanks) are basically told they are of little or no value. I remember Dr. Bob pointing out that we're called Human Beings, not Human Doings. This would certainly give answer to why so many people rush around so fast. It's so they can accomplish as much as they can so as not to lose any "value".

However...you look at God and His amazing Grace and we see the complete opposite! When the world says "you don't have much value because you don't accomplish much", Grace says "you have an immeasurable value!" Grace says we don't have to do anything to win His favor because His favor is already ours, and this is so because of Jesus Christ! The world puts so many qualifications that must be met in order to receive this or that. With Grace, there are no qualifications or accomplishments or achievements to be met. Grace is ours...freely. The world may say, "you have to qualify to be allowed in our club." Grace says, "come on in, right now, right where you are at!"

It is my daily prayer that God will continue to wrap His grace around us like a blanket. In the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, "it surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds us together."

You don't have to prove anything. You don't have to accomplish or achieve anything. You can just simply be.




wrapped in His amazing Grace,
Tom

Life is a journey

Yesterday I bought a new book, "Way of the Wild Heart", written by John Eldredge. So far is it a real eye opener for me. I'm realizing that as a man, I'm really unfinished. My Father God is still fathering me into the very man He created me to be. So this whole life on this earth right now is an initiation.

My wife is now at the midway point of her pregnancy. September 8th is the due date so far...and we're having a girl! I hope God blesses her with music just as He has with me. I'd love the opportunity to play along side my girl. Only time will tell.

The start of my journey to earn a computer science degree has begun and is going good thus far. I say this is a journy because it won't happen quickly. I can't look at what all I have yet to take, but only look at the very next step. If I focus on the whole thing, it looks a bit overwhelming. So one step at a time.

I have to admit, I was hoping for a boy. After learning that we're having a girl, I'm even more excited. I'm indeed praying that God will help my wife and I be the parents we need to be so this little angel will grow into a truly feminine, beautiful, and captivating woman.

Faith v. Religion

Ever since I began this journey with the Lord I have heard the words ‘faith’ and ‘religion’ used interchangeably. Faith and religion, religion and faith...all the same. However, on this journey with Christ spending much time in meditation and prayer I’ve come to this fundamental conclusion the faith and religion are NOT the same thing. In fact, they are distinct.

According to Webster’s dictionary, faith is defined as:
1. allegiance to duty or a person: LOYALTY; fidelity to one’s promises; sincerity of intentions.
2. belief and trust in and loyalty to God; belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion; firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust.
Need more be said?
Based on these definitions, faith is indeed what or whom you believe for which there is no tangible evidence. It is a decision we all make in our minds and our hearts. Faith is believing without seeing.

Now then, religion is defined as:
1. the state of a religious; the service and worship of God or the supernatural; commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2. a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3. scrupulous conformity: CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
4. a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

As you can see, religion and faith are not the same thing. Religion is simply the stuff we do or don’t do. Taking communion and how we do it is all religion. Baptism is all religion. Whether we sit down, stand up, kneel down, or whatever when we pray is all religion. Expressed mathematically, R=do.

Now, here’s what burns my biscuit. People will actually follow the religion more than really following Christ. Jesus did not come into this world to start some new religion or sub-culture. Jesus calls us to follow Him, not follow His followers. Religion is not the end point. Religion has a purpose, and that is only to help all of us going in the right direction. Religion serves as a sign post that says, go this way, or STOP, or Yield. Now what’s worse, people may actually believe that if you don’t do this or that then you won’t get to go to Heaven. WROOOOOOOOOOONG! Jesus is the One who gets us into Heaven, not us! To say that we must perform all these things with scrupulous conformity or we won’t get to Heaven is to suggest that we can make it on our own. We cannot make it on our own.

Religion without any faith is garbage! Faith without religion is incomplete. We need faith to lead the religion, and we need religion to aid our faith. So faith and religion do go together in a perfect marriage, but they are two different things.

So if you are reading this and may be engaging in religion without really thinking about what you are doing or why, stop! If the religion has become just another task on the list to check off, stop! Get your faith solid first, then put it into practice.

Tis the season...

Well here we are yet again for another year. I know it's not officially the Christmas season, but it's so close it might as well be. This year I'm doing things a little different. I'm starting the whole shopping and preparing thing a little earlier than in the past. I've been one of those who wait to get all my shopping done. Then I wind up being wound up with stress trying to get everything accomplished. Not this year. Nope, this year I'm starting sooner so when the holiday time does come I can relax.

Veterans Day

Today, I took a time out to remember our soldiers...past and present. The cost of our freedom is a high one, so please take time to remember the sacrifices our brave soldiers have made and are making today.

To all those who serve and have served...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

VOTE!

Well, tomorrow is the big day. We all get to vote for our next President, U.S. Representatives and Senators, State level offices as well as local. Voting for such offices is unique for this nation. My hope this time around is that more people will vote for principle rather than the status quo. There is a lot at stake this election, however as a child of God what do I really have to worry about?

No matter what, Jesus is still the King of kings...you could also say the President of presidents.112(my dog Bella has just helped me with this lol). AS I was saying, no matter who is elected the next public office, Jesus is still the Head over all of it. He holds it all in the palm of His hand.

Indeed, no matter what Jesus will take care of us. Even when the lines look crooked, God can draw straight from it. The economy appears to be broken in a gazillion pieces, but God still comes through and provides. As it is written, "we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him." Yes, we can take great comfort in knowing that God will take care of us. All we need to do is trust Him.

Heaven and Hell: A State of Being

Jesus did speak of such a place, Hell, and the Greek word used was Gehenna (which translated to English is Hell). It's a place that the folks of that time and culture understood perfectly. Jesus used this place to aid in illustrating His point, that those who make bad choices and don't put God first wind up in a place such as this. People who worship false gods or set stuff like money as a higher priority that God ultimately end up in a Gehenna.

From the sermon/message of my pastor Rob, when you get down to the nuts and bolts of it, anywhere you have a condition where people are suffering (starving, sick, death, disease, greed, lust, etc...) there is a Hell or Gehenna on earth.

Now, the flip side of this is of course Heaven. At the very core to His kingdom of Heaven is love. I've concluded and confirmed that love is the decision to put others first. When I say "I love you" to my wife, I'm telling her that she matters more to me than I matter to myself. The best and loudest example of His perfect love is Jesus on the cross. Jesus is saying that we matter more to Him than He matters to Himself. Yeah, He just loves us sooooooooooooooo much! In here is a condition of Heaven on earth. Jesus taught us to pray saying to our Abba that His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. So yeah, bring Heaven on earth. So who aids Him in this...we do! Yes, the church! We help bring up there down here. The church is a force in this world, so where there are hungry...we bring them food. Where there are sick, we bring them healing/medicine. In a nutshell, we extend the love of God around this world with such acts. God enables us to do so. So we, the church, have it within us by His grace and power to charge at the gates of Hell and tear them down!!! While many may run from these gates, the church runs at them.

It's really a state of being contingent upon our choices. IF we so choose, we can be in Heaven (by Christ's love and power, of course). Or, if we choose we can be in Hell. C.S. Lewis wrote it that basically God doesn't send anyone to Hell. Nope, we get there on our own. So choose wisely...choose Jesus.

I'm praying for us all and may the grace of God abound in us all.