It was pointed out to me last night that I missed one important lesson from my computer crash. Always look for someone YOUNGER to help!
One thing also became very clear to me in our discussion (and if you haven't sat around the fire with us on Wednesday night, you are really missing something).
The lesson re-learned is Grace.
Grace.
Ask someone who grew up in the church what grace means, and they will probably tell you the "standard" answer: Grace is unmerited favor. Undeserved gifting. That is certainly how grace works, but it doesn't tell us what Grace is, or what it looks like.
Or more accurately, Who it is and Who it looks like. Grace is Jesus pouring Himself into us through the Holy Spirit. He is the ultimate undeserved gift.
A friend who now knows much better than I do about grace, being in the presence of Jesus, taught me that Grace can be defined as the Empowering Presence of Christ.
Go back through your Bible and see if that definition fits the definition of grace. Jesus in our lives, the Christ empowering us through the Holy Spirit is all the grace you need.
He hears us. In fact Jesus and the Holy Spirit both intercede (pray) for us! And He cares about the biggest problems and the smallest irritations in our lives. Sometimes He allows the thorn to stay with us, as He did for Paul. But that thorn taught Paul grace!
Paul said that in his weakness, God's power was shown. God's empowering presence could shine through when compared to the weakness of his mind and body. In other words, God's Grace.
So, one final word on lessons re-learned. Grace is all I need.
One thing also became very clear to me in our discussion (and if you haven't sat around the fire with us on Wednesday night, you are really missing something).
The lesson re-learned is Grace.
Grace.
Ask someone who grew up in the church what grace means, and they will probably tell you the "standard" answer: Grace is unmerited favor. Undeserved gifting. That is certainly how grace works, but it doesn't tell us what Grace is, or what it looks like.
Or more accurately, Who it is and Who it looks like. Grace is Jesus pouring Himself into us through the Holy Spirit. He is the ultimate undeserved gift.
A friend who now knows much better than I do about grace, being in the presence of Jesus, taught me that Grace can be defined as the Empowering Presence of Christ.
Go back through your Bible and see if that definition fits the definition of grace. Jesus in our lives, the Christ empowering us through the Holy Spirit is all the grace you need.
He hears us. In fact Jesus and the Holy Spirit both intercede (pray) for us! And He cares about the biggest problems and the smallest irritations in our lives. Sometimes He allows the thorn to stay with us, as He did for Paul. But that thorn taught Paul grace!
Paul said that in his weakness, God's power was shown. God's empowering presence could shine through when compared to the weakness of his mind and body. In other words, God's Grace.
So, one final word on lessons re-learned. Grace is all I need.
