Radiant

Well i was playing with my mac and this is what i came up with at the 9 o'clock hour on saturday night. Tonight the wife and I are hanging out in our trendy neighborhood. We are really out of place. But hey we are trying. It is a beautiful night here and we are just enjoying a nice coffee, some converstation, and people watching. Amazing to watch people and to see how they are engaging each other. You can really get a sense of what is important to people by the way they act. How do you act? What do people see when they see you out being yourself? Are you yourself when in public? Are you a relfection of the kingdom of God? I hope that as my crazy picture puts out a radiant light that I truly shine with the light of Christ in me and can be a beacon to those around me.

Unforgiving

I can not tell how much this book "what's so amazing about grace" is digging at my heart and my soul. It truly opens your eyes to look in and to look out. I have found myself looking and seeing a man who has not truly understood the depth of God's grace nor as a follower of Christ been able to give and convey that grace to others. I think about how many times people have looked to me for forgiveness and grace and I have been unable or more likely unwilling to forgive. People don't necessarily deserve grace, but that is the amazing part about grace. You give it anyway. Gordon MacDonald said " the world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church. You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick. There is only one thing the world cannot do. It can not offer grace." So as a church, as a follower of Christ are you offering grace. Is you life a testimony to the grace of God. Do you offer grace as freely as God. When we truly understand God's grace and the magnitude of it, then we will realize how we are obligated and designed to show that grace to a hurting world. The world is hurting and searching for a place to be accepted and healed. The world has done awful things, deservedly unforgivable things. So through what other mechanism than Grace can they find peace. So church its our duty to be the extender of God's grace. People will see God's grace though us just as they will see his love through our love for one another. And we can not show the world his love unless we are able to extend his grace. This is why Jesus talks about making amends with your brother, and Paul talks about not let a root of bitterness grow up. Show the world how amazing grace is don't hold grudges, don't get even, give Grace. For grace is all that separates us from the world. It is the only thing we can offer the world, that the world can not offer its self.

Are you a mirror?

I hope Mr. Phillip Yancey will not mind me borrowing a paragraph from his book.

"All to often the church holds up a mirror reflecting back the society around it, rather than a window revealing a different way. "

"If the world despises a notorious sinner, the chruch will LOVE her. If the world cuts off aid to the poor and suffering , THE CHURCH will offer food and healing. If the world opresses, THE CHURCH will raise up the oppressed. If the world shames a social outcast, THE CHURCH will proclaim God's reconciling LOVE. If the world seeks profit and self-fulfillment, THE CHURCH seeks sacrifice and service. If the world demands retribution,THE CHURCH dispenses GRACE. If the world splinters into factions, THE CHURCH joins together in UNITY. If the world destroys its enemies, THE CHURCH LOVES them."

How many times have we been a mirror and not a window. We have been give an opportunity to show the world something different, something better. So are you a window or a mirror?

Ungrace

I am reading at little book by Philip Yancey entitled “ What ‘s so amazing about grace?” The version of the book I am reading is the visual book. It is mostly pictures and some excerpts from the written book with the same title. In this book it talks a lot about grace and it really opens your eyes. I have been thinking about it a good bit since i started thumbing through the book last night. It may have just started a new blogging series on Grace. I was talking with Tara last night and this morning and my mind was racing as i was telling her about one of the stories in the book. It was a story about generational ungrace, but that is for another blog. I would like to address in this blog our excuses. The excuses we cling to in order to stop God from changing our lives. I have used many if not all of these excuses myself, so i feel somewhat qualified to blog on the subject. We always have excuses for why we do things. We have a reason and a rhyme for every ill thought and ill advised adventure we find ourselves in. Let me give you a few. Well I know i cant be perfect, I am only human, you don’t know you have never had anything like this happen to you. Well God knows I am going to mess up. At what point did we as followers of Christ and people in general give up in our strive to be better than we are. When did we give up in our search for excellence in what we do. Have we sunk so deep into our excuses culture that we no longer strive for the best we can be, because we have already accepted we will fall a little short. I know that it is possible however improbable to live a sinless life(post experiencing Christ's saving grace), why do i know this, because Christ lived a sinless life, AND Christ now dwells with in the hearts of all believers. No we can not eliminate our original sin, but when we find Christ or should i say when he finds us what stops us from living a sinless life? Could it truly be our inability to try? I know the likelihood of achieving this goal is small if not truly impossible, but if i never even attempt than that is by far a more tragic tale than the one of the man who tried to live a sinless life and failed. Jesus never had excuses for why he could not do something. He was not in the desert for 40 days and said well Satan God knows I am really hungry, so yeah i will make that stone into bread. Jesus experienced all we experience and more (he bore the weight of sin) and he never had excuses only righteous actions. Jesus had an amazing way of breaking through our excuses and making us see the futility of that defense. We are accountable for our actions and our lack of actions. God will not accept excuse when we are before Him. Neither should we accept them now in our lives. What excuses are you using to defend you unrighteous actions before God. Take the time and figure it out. Then ask the more important question. What would happen if i stopped making these excuses, strived to make the change, and when i failed apologized and worked even harder to better myself. Do not make an excuse and move on, accept ownership of the mistake and make the change. God does not demand perfection that is what Grace if for, so why not aim for perfect and fail. Instead of aiming or average and failing just the same.

Charity

Today Tara and I donated a book to the local library. We were just checking out the local Borders and found a couple of books we thought we should read and at the check out the woman asked if we wanted to donate a new book to the local library. So we said sure. We chose Charles Dickens "Great Expectations" Then had a lot of other books to choose from but we decided to go with a classic. And I was goign to say a Divine Comedy by Dante, but Tara told me that would be cruel. Her reasons were probably based on the fact she had to read if for class, but i digress. It was nice to be able to help out a good cause like this. But the best part of it was the fact that the woman was so thankful. She was very courtious and just very appreciative of our donation. It was the first of the day (kind of sad we did this at 4pm that day). I think when one is charitable and you recieve a good response you are more likely to be more charitable in the future. So remember that in your life. Give and recieve with gratitude and humilty and joy. I have had the fortune (misfortune if you as some) to be asked by street people to give money. I rarely turn them down. True i dont know what they are going to do with this money. And yes other avenues may be better. But if by giving "drug money to a few" I actually feed one then hey it is worth it. I have been so abundantly blessed that i refuse at this point (and thank God for him getting me to this point) to not be charitable with my blessings. I urge all of you to be charitable witha ll your talents and gifts " to whom a lot is given a lot is expected"

The Psalms

I have been reading the Psalms as of late. And I find them very interesting. Some are such a wonderful praise to God, other a lament and others that seem almost as if they are trying to bribe God. I love reading the psalms because of the continual change of emotion you see in them It is so much like our lives. At one moment we are awe struck by God and his goodness then things go wrong and we are mad at the lord and wondering where he went in our lives. Then we realize he was always there and praise Him once more. But my favorite ones or at least the ones that struck me as very similar to myself are the ones were the psalmist is trying to get God the help him by what seems like a bribe. He says if only you would do this Lord we would praise your name forever and sayings such as this. As if our conditions ever meant anything to God. But it is amazing how we try to sell him our way of seeing things. When in all reality we should be trying to see his way more clearly. I can only hope that by time in the word and more importantly time in prayer I will become more like the person seeking Gods way than the one trying to sell God mine. All praises to the God who gives and takes away.

My new MacBook

Yes, billy williams you have won. I am now a Mac user and owner. I hate you lol. The new mac book is so cool though. Much better than my 7 year old gateway. The built in camera is also a great new toy. Things are going well here i am an offically licensed pharmacist for about a month now. I have been working a lot and since i lost my lap top not blogging as mch either. but hopefull that will change with my new toy. well that is about it off to bed for another day at work