Costly Grace

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“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

Costly grace is…the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciples leaves his nets and follows him.Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Disciplship” p. 45

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Your Priceless Past

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While your formal education is valuable, your experience continues to be the real teacher! What you really are today, and what you will have to offer tomorrow, is a product of your experiences in the past.

What are your best assets when you review your background? How are you a better person today as a result of where you’ve been and what you’ve done? Often people don’t perceive and value their past experiences until later in life. Old men rock their chairs and reminisce.

Part of your challenge is to realize the credentials and values that your past brings to today’s table. Never let your formal education dictate and restrict your future. The “because I have studied medicine, I have to be a doctor” mindset would have placed me on death row spiritually. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with the medical profession. I have been privileged to pastor a number of excellent physicians. However, His plan was to use me in healing the sick in somewhat of a different way…the sin-sick.

Nobody will ever have the mix of experience that you have. The lessons of life are uniquely yours. You are the only expert in the areas touched by your life. Utilize the “school of hard knocks” to the fullest! You can contribute significant things that no one else can.

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Bourgeois Gospel

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1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (New International Version)

²⁶Brothers [and sisters], think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Gordon Fee, a biblical scholar and member of the Assemblies of God, writes about this passage:

“By bringing the ‘good news to the poor’ through his Son, God has forever aligned himself with the disenfranchised; at the same time he has played out before our eyes his own overthrown of the world’s false standards. Every middle-class or upper-class domestication of the gospel is therefore a betrayal of that gospel.” (NICNT, “The First Epistle to the Corinthians.” Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,1987. p. 82)

God forgive us for our bourgeois gospel! Lord, help restore in us your heart and compassion for the poor and marginalized. Help us not to seek things, but help us to seek your kingdom. Forgive those who present you as a “suger-daddy in the sky,” and seek only your blessings. Forgive those who teach the prosperity is part and parcel with the gospel, who teach that prosperity for our every need is provided for by the work of Jesus. Forgive for my unhealthly wants and desires, and focus my attention on you.

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Taking It Back: Redeeming Halloween (Pt. 2)

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Later, in the 15th century, Luther nailed his 99-thesis on the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg on November 1, signaling a formal beginning to the Protestant Reformation. Mainline Protestant churches celebrate November 1 as Reformation Day, honoring the work of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others.

So for the Protestant church, November 1 marks two significant events: the honoring and remembering of the saints who came before us and the beginning of the Reformation. Yes, Halloween is a very ecclesiastical (church-y) holiday: for the Christian calendar it marks the Eve of All Saints Day, like Christmas Eve signals the evening before Christmas Day. The word, Halloween, itself is quite Christian, perhaps more so that Fall Festival or Harvest Celebration. In its original context, Halloween celebrates the lives of the saint who have gone before us.

 

In the New Testament, Paul wrote to the church at Colosse “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” (Col. 2.16) The application of their scripture speaks for itself.

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Peace In Action

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1. Peace is the ability to remain faithful to mission in spite of the surrounding circumstances and unfulfilled commitments.

We all have goals and dreams and desires that are not yet fulfilled. We tend to start toward our mission like a race horse and forget the things that are at hand and not completed. Peace comes when you leave no baggage behind on your latest pursuit. Even when your dream plan is working well, the undone will always haunt and bring panic. Peace will quickly disappear! Learn to be faithful to your current mission to completion. That faithfulness is the pathway of peace.

2. Peace is the ability to find calmness in the panic attack.

God is bigger than any person, situation, or circumstance! Never look to the bigness of your need…look to the bigness of your God! Learn to focus your eyes through the eyes of faith. No mob is out of His control. You can handle it! Remember, greater is He than…(you fill in the blanks)!

3. Peace is the ability to wait confidently.

It is easy to get fearful of the unknown. God seems to be moving pawns around on His chessboard. We can’t see His chessboard. All we can see is our own little square, if that!

We cannot move. It’s tough being a rook held in place by a bishop. As we sit in our current position, we fear being picked off. There is peace as long as God has His pawns in motion!

 

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