The following is what I wanted to say yesterday…I’m not sure if all of this came across clearly so I’m going to post snippets through the week.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Intro:  There is a “wisdom” that we are confronted with every day that proposes a solution but instead it secretly promotes the problem.  I received a bill from my lawyer (yep, I’ve been sued).  He is a good guy.  I heard his words when he said that he is interested in bringing this case to completion, but then when I’m confronted with his firm earning $500 for two emails and two phone calls, it makes me think that there is a “wisdom of cash flow” that may work against a quick result.  Are drug companies and medical institutions interested in curing all disease?  I have no doubt the people working in the companies want people to be healed.  But then, what would you do with all the buildings, drugs, latex gloves, scalpels, testing machines, needles, Qtips, doctors, nurses …?  You know what I mean. 

A similar wisdom is set against us recognizing our complete cure or our living free of accusation.  The reality of being free from the law and free from the disease of sin has a cost associated with it…it will kill the need for religion. 

Religion (wisdom of this world) does not want to die so it has a vested interest in hiding our healing, our completeness and the reality of our freedom.  What would we do with the preachers, counselors, Sunday school curriculum, denominational offices, books, etc. that teach us all the “how to’s” that are to be applied from our own strength and our own initiative?   What would you do with all the hope that you have that is based on the thought that maybe, with enough dedication, you can get your act together?  Possibly, you will throw it on the crap heap where it belongs in exchange for REAL LOVE.

The true REALITY is that we have been delivered into the gift of being born IN CHRIST.  This reality is what the miracle of fellowship (as seen in 1 John) speaks toward.  It is in fact, what the letter entitled 1 John is all about.

 

We confronted with a set of "contradictions" everyday.  They are everywhere.  On the web or in the headlines of a newspaper we see announcements of information that is stated as fact but we know it contradicts the truth.  Along the way we have had "announcements" from God's written word, pulled out of context and used as proof of man's wisdom but on the inside we know it contradicts...Life.  Tomorrow we are beginning a conversation through 1 John, we may find out this conversation has been going on for thousands of years.  Will it will be a conversation of contradiction or contrast?  All I know is it will be interesting...come and join in.

Hello All,

Ralph Harris, author of "God's Astounding Opinion of You" will be speaking at Grace Life this Sunday.  He is a great friend to all of us, in fact, he is "us".  It's a good day to invite a friend, if they don't like it we can blame Ralph :).  You can find info about Ralph at:

http://lifecourseministries.blogspot.com/ and http://www.lifecourse.org/

If you were not there this past Sunday you might want to give a listen to the message online.  The morning message was in two parts with the first 30 minutes being my message followed by around 30 minutes of a conversation with Lauren and Abby FitzPatrick.  I think it all flowed together to God's glory.  I'd love to hear your feedback.  You may need to turn up your volume or put on ear phones, my recording level was a little low. Go to this link for the message...   http://www.gracelifeonline.org/topics/258/january-22nd-2012

Have a great week!

Herb

We are going to keep walking into the "New" Joy that was set before Christ tomorrow with the Church @ Grace Life.  Join us if you can, there will be an amazing present tense story told...  Breakfast Club @ 9am... Coffee, Donuts and Conversation @ 10:30am... Worship and Message @ 11am.

I just drove back from Michigan... 12 hours of rain, snow and wind.  I had to stop and get an extra bottle of windshield wash.  I wish I had paid for the Rain-X at the car wash.  You know, that stuff that makes things not stick to your windshield.  Do you suppose Someone has paid for Rain-X for you :)  I wrote this a long time ago but it seems appropriate to where we are going with "New Stuff" at Grace Life.

 

Feeling dirty?  Does if feel like everything sticks and you can't wash it off?  Maybe it's a lie? Please let me know your thoughts after you read.

sec·u·lar - not pertaining to or connected with religion (opposed to sacred): secular music.

 

sa·cred -devoted or dedicated to a deity or to some religiouspurpose; consecrated.

 

Religion throughout time has separated the sacred from the secular. We ride past beautiful church buildings and we think of them as holy, sacred places.  Then we drive to our places of work and we see them as secular (worldly, material), of no sacred value.  When we get to work we see our jobs as secular, somehow less than those who are in ministry because if you are in ministry you have a “sacred” vocation. We sing what we refer to as “sacred” songs, holy music on Sunday morning then we get into our cars and turn on our country/rock/jazz/hip hop music station (yep, I have found some hip hop I like) and we call that secular music.  We have Christian colleges and secular universities.  This secular and sacred division in our paradigms…is a lie. 

 

We are taught that if we send our kids to Christian schools, make sure we go to church, let them only listen to Christian music then they will be safe because everything else is “unsafe”.  But maybe the “sacred box” is really the dangerous one. This is the case, if our faith is found in a “safe sacred box” instead of an “unsafe Savior”.  Where did this sacred/secular paradigm come from?

 

Much of the Old Testament could be read to imply that the secular was unsafe.  In the Old Testament if you touched something that was unclean you became unclean.  You were what you did, what you ate, who you associated with.  In the Bible we see the starkest example of this in those afflicted with Leprosy.  Where ever a leper traveled, he or she would have to call out, UNCLEAN…UNCLEAN. 

 

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:1-3

 

Can you imagine the feeling of touch to a man or woman who hasn’t been close to a “clean” human in years?  Jesus touched the leper.  He didn’t have to touch him to heal him.  Jesus intentionally touched him.  Did Jesus become unclean?  Jesus was born under the law, why would He have not become unclean?  Jesus didn’t become unclean because His cleanness came from the inside out.

 

In Christ, we discover that cleanness on the inside trumps dirt on the outside.  We don’t become clean because we walk into a sacred building, or eat sacred food, or go to a sacred school nor are we dirty because we associate with what appears to be dirty.

 

No longer do we have to live in fear of what we touch because we carry our Sacredness with us wherever we go.  It is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  We are called and anointed to get dirty in this world in the midst of touching those which the wisdom of this world would consider to be unclean.  This secular dirt can’t stick to you because you are holy/sacred from the inside out.  Just like Jesus and just because of Jesus.  Pretty amazing!

 

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11  (I love this verse)

Pretty confident, I’d say!

If you believe in Christ, then you have been made alive in Him. You are dependent/reliant/engrafted in Him for LIFE. It is the only life you have. This is past our understanding but not our knowing. The good news of Jesus Christ declares this reality to you. The Spirit brings moment by moment confidence to you so that you can live in the awareness of what is already true about you. You live in Faith. Trying to be who you already are will only bring confusion. It's time to rest.
Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3:4-6

I love confidence, so much transformation occurs from it and so much is not experienced because it is hidden by deception. 

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." 

Matthew 5:14-16

Thoughts????

Love,

Herb

Happy New Year (almost),

Please remember this is not a night for amateurs. In fact, we are locking our teens away at Grace Life.  We will let them out in time to prepare a magnificent breakfast for you when you come to Breakfast Club in the morning.  You'll need some good food and these kids need some people to feed so I hope you can make it.

By the way, "get" any new stuff for Christmas?  I mean really cool new stuff.  Bring it tomorrow (or a picture) for show and tell with the Church @ Grace Life.  We might just have a prize for the coolest new stuff. It’s a new year but do we really understand what NEW means?  According to Dictionary.com “new” means, “of a kind now existing or appearing for the first time.”  I like that.  I’m always interested in new stuff.  Let’s start the year out looking at some new stuff tomorrow.  Bring a friend, I bet they like new stuff too!

Breakfast Club @ 9am... Donuts, Coffee and Conversation @ 10:30am... Worship and Message @ 11am (and a look at our stuff)

www.gracelifeonline.org

Hello All,

Happy New Year, almost!!!  What are your goals for 2012?  Many begin setting their goals by asking questions like:  What do we do to make the year better than 2011?  What do we do to make our finances stable?  What do we do to protect our health?  What do we do to make our loved ones happy? 

There is nothing wrong with resolutions or goals unless they lead us to be so focused on the past or the future to then, as a result, miss the present.  Often we spend more time measuring our failures and successes than enjoying the present tense moments of life.  Jesus had an answer for approaching life that many of us are very uncomfortable with.  He said, “I do nothing of myself…” and He went on to say, “I can do nothing of My own initiative…”   Jesus defines present tense living. 

I think I want to control the different outcomes of life.  Who wouldn’t?  I want to control my business, control the church, and control my family, maybe even control God.  For me it is in the name of avoiding pain.  Goals could be just another way of control for me. But I’m not!  In control, that is.  So what are my options for 2012?

Option one:  Focus on what you need to do to be in control and set the appropriate goals.  Then manage (motivate) yourself through self-condemnation or pride.  Then as the year progresses you shift the focus from your unmet goals by measuring others. 

Option two: Experience the miraculous life of Jesus Christ.  Approach life in 2012 as Jesus approached life some 2000+ years ago.  What if you did nothing of yourself?   Listen…

I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  John 15:5

When we are faced with all the unknowns of 2012 it seems foolish to not redouble our efforts to make things work out.  But maybe “things” working out is not what life is all about. 

What if 2012 is all about a year of kindness?  Have you heard the phrase "kill them with kindness"?  That is NOT what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about a kindness that draws people to change their messed up perceptions.  What if 2012 is a year of discovering a life of relationship found in truth and grace?  What if 2012 is a year of being with each other without judgment and condemnation?  On the other side of control, judgment and condemnation is kindness.  Though it may appear that this is "anti-responsibility" nothing could be further from the truth ... for it is all about our RESPONSE to Christ who is our life and giving up the control we never had.  This miracle is a response to His kindness.  Kindness is a supernatural walk in the Spirit.  Christ’s kindness is what changes our lives. 

Remember, without Jesus we can do nothing.  But through the first movement of our Creator we see His movement in our life today, right now.  I didn't regard myself as a kind person but I really am, surprise!  God is love and God is kind.  As a fruit of His love and kindness you and I can expect the very REAL working of God in our life.  We are free to be with each other without measuring successes and failures; without being defined as a failure or spending our life defining others as failures.  We will discover the miracle of kindness and love not because we have resolved to be more kind but because God in and through Christ has made us a kind and loving people. This requires the very life of God, Christ in us, the hope of glory… and the hope of a kinder 2012. 

Love,

Herb

The Church @ Grace Life and Friends

Remember our Christmas Eve, Eve service beginning at 6:30pm tomorrow (Friday) night!

(Bring a friend, there will be lots of Christmas goodies to share!)

and...

Our Christmas Morning Communion Service 11am Sunday

www.gracelifeonline.org

Celebrate Life, God with us.

As we approach this Sunday, the last one before Christmas Sunday (wow), could you answer this question for me?  What have you encountered this past 6 months that best characterizes the first advent of Christ?  In other words, what is the present tense relevance of Jesus?  Did His coming make a difference to your day to day life?