the scandal of grace

1 Corinthians 5: 17

(NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

(NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

(The Message) ...anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!

(NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

(Amplified) Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

(CEV) Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

No matter how you translate it, here is the scandal of grace - we get to start all over, all new. We don't deserve it, we don't earn it. It's a gift, given because of our Abba Father's infinite grace & mercy.

Here's the rest of the chapter, in the New Living Translation (it's the translation I read each day)...

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,* so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

grace

These lyrics is for a dear, sweet, delightful friend of mine. It's a song for back in the day (the '80's !) but the truth of the lyrics is something enables me to live each day.

His Grace Is Greater - Larnelle Harris

His grace is greater than our failures
His peace runs deeper than our fears
If we go to Him in mercy
Our hearts can rest assured
His love will keep us through our tears

He’ll give us strength to simply trust Him
Through times we may not understand
We will gain a sweet assurance
No passing doubt can dim
Our lives are safely in His hand

Though countless souls have come to Him
So desperate and lost
With faith no greater than a tiny seed
Each one has found a wondrous truth
Beneath His simple cross
His grace is greater than our need

No height or depth in all creation
Can reach beyond His love for me
And His power has raised my spirit
A work forever done
With grace His power has raised my spirit
The work forever done
His grace is greater
His grace is greater
His grace is greater than my need

our map & our guide

Psalm 48: 14 He is our God forever & ever, & He will be our guide until we die.

To paraphrase what my Life Application Bibles says "people today all want a map & a guide for their lives, but they're all looking in the wrong places for them. The Bible is our map, & the Holy Spirit is our guide. And they'll both lead us in the direction(s) we should go throughout our whole lives."

You all know how I have talked about how I didn't really have a regular quiet time until I was over 52 years old - been supposedly "walking with the Lord" for 30-35 years, been a "professional christian" working in the church for almost 30 years. I was an idiot to have waited so long. Not any more.

Don't be an idiot like me.

2 Corinthians 3: 5 It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power & success come from God. 6 He is the One who has enabled us to represent His new covenant.

I guess as I walk closer & closer to the things He's drawing me toward, He reminds me quite bluntly that everything I am able to be & do, & every bit of influence I have is only because of His favor towards me & His power in me. That both pokes serious holes in my inflated ego, & encourages me because I know I'm not responsible for the success of what I'm walking toward - I'm responsible for my obedience.

vs 17 The Lord is a Spirit, & wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Freedom - how many peopledo each of us know who thnk they have all the freedom in the world, but who live in a tiny little box that keeps getting smaller & smaller? The Holy Spirit gives us total freedom, but it takes total surrender to Him to get it.

vs 18 ...as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more & more like Him & reflect His glory even more.

I wish I could see this about me - most fo the time, all I see is my own sinfulness.

who's adequate?

2 Corinthians 2: 14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.

15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.

16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.

But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.

And who is adequate for such a task as this? (dan note: I'm becoming more & more aware that who I am & the influence I have is completely dependent on the favor of God.)

17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. (dan note: they had televangelists back then?!) We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ's authority, knowing that God is watching us. (dan note: we're quick to forget that God is aware of our every move, all the time)

where do we run

Psalm 46: 1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
3 Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Good to remember during this awful & unnecessary financial crisis.

be strong

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

(NLT) Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done in love.

(The Message) Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping.

(NIV) Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

(NKJV) Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.

(Amplified) Be alert and on your guard; stand firm in your faith (your conviction respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, keeping the trust and holy fervor born of faith and a part of it). Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength!
Let everything you do be done in love (true love to God and man as inspired by God's love for us)

When I sat down this morning to read, I really needed to hear something from our Abba. I know better than try to preconceive what it will be, because lots of the time what I think I need to hear & what I hear end up being 2 different things.

These 2 verses were the only thing that stood out in the 2 chapters I was scheduled to read today - one in Psalm 45, the other in 1 Corinthians 16.

I needed to hear this from Him this morning.

(Why did I EVER wait till I was 52 to start getting up early every morning & spending it with Him?! I was an idiot!)

two timed

Psalm 44:1 O God, we have heard it with our own ears— our ancestors have told us of all You did in their day, in days long ago:

2 You drove out the pagan nations by your power and gave all the land to our ancestors.

You crushed their enemies and set our ancestors free.

3 They did not conquer the land with their own hand; it was not their own swords that gave them victory. It was by Your might power that they succeeded, it was because You favored them & smiled on them.

1 Corinthians 15: 10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace

vs 58 So, my dear brothers & sisters, be strong & steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Since I read the Bible everyday, it isn't an unusual thing for God to speak to me about something day after day after day - it could be some issue, some person, some ministry opportunity, something about myself He wants to (usually) change or (more likely) prune off.

It is very rare that He speaks to me about the same thing in more than one place. That's what happened this morning. As you may know, every day me & Billy Graham read a psalm in sequence. Nothing unusual about that. A little over a couple of weeks ago I felt like God was leading me to start reading sequentially the chapters in 1 Corinthians. Nothing unusual about that - it's been a few months since I've read it.

I was reading Psalm 44 this morning & the part about it was "because You favored them & smiled on them" part that came up from the page. I'm becoming more & more aware that the good stuff I see going on in my life & the impact & influence I have is not because I'm particularly brilliant or holy (sorry if that comes as something of a surprise! LOL). It's simply because our Abba Father chooses to favor me with that influence (which conversely would mean He could choose to not favor me.).

Ok, so I thought about that for a while, & I'll carry that around all day, & probably run into something today that will help me see more clearly the whamo-bamo truth of those verses.

Then I'm reading through 1 Corinthians 15 - lots of good stuff - when I get to "whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favor on me" There's that "favor" word again - gettin' a little more than coincidental.

Then He threw in "it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace" & "for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless" - hmmmmmmmm

So my question for today is, "What's He tryin' to say?" Yes, I understand it's something about His favor in my life. But what's the particular application right now?

I have something I'm taking baby steps with right now. As I walk into it, maybe He's reminding me that this time it's all about His favor, & not about my ability. As a music minister for decades, I got the "planning ahead" thing conquered. I always had a plan, worked it, & God bless anyone who was stupid enough to get in my way! But I've been living in a whole different relationship with Him these last 8 years, with amazing successes & embarassing failures. Maybe this time, it's gonna be all about His favor, His smile on what I'm trying to be & do & not about my ability.

I'm not trying to be coy, oblique, droll, or subtle. I'm serious when looking for what He's trying to say to me.

Anybody got some insight, or a word from the Lord about this? If you do, lemme know - SOON!