For full disclosure, I want to say up front that this was inspired by a talk that is part of series of talks for the Walk to Emmaus.  The talk is always given by clergy and is titled Obstacles to Grace.  This is not that talk, but it is somewhat inspired by it.  I thought I’d share a bit about the obstacles to grace that we sometimes put between us and God and between us and others. First I want to say that God’s grace is free.   It is endless.  It is for everyone.   It is amazing to me that we are even extended God’s grace, because we certainly don’t deserve it! It is amazing to me that He provides us with anything at all, especially His Grace. What is grace?  Unmerited favor…. It is a gift freely given - the recipient having done nothing to deserve it, and no expectation of paying it back or requirement for paying it forward.  Several years ago, we did a lock in for the youth where Pastor Gil Hubbard was tasked w...

Jonah 2:8 : “Those who cling to worthless idols    forfeit the grace that could be theirs." I want to look at a verse in Jonah's prayer. I already noted what I thought of the circumstances of that prayer in a previous post called God's Way with Jonah . I think this verse deserves some time on its own, apart from Jonah's prayer. Jonah is an Old Testament book. It was written long before Jesus ushered in a known state of grace with his death and resurrection. I can't think off hand of a lot of emphasis of grace in the Old Testament. I know it's there. Abraham didn't sacrifice Isaac. Lot wasn't killed during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Rahab and her family were spared when Jericho was destroyed. There are examples of God's grace but it doesn't seem to be a theme of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is about the Law and preparing us for the coming of Jesus. At least that's my take on it. Don't get me wrong. I love the Old T...

Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. What if all our conversations were full of grace?  Can you imagine how nice they would be?  Even if they were harsh issues, like telling an employee that they need to be on time, every day, to all meetings, or telling a friend that they are headed for trouble if they don't rethink their priorities.  All conversations would be kind, only stating what is necessary using the most gracious words and tone of voice. And those speaking to us would be full of grace. How pleasant! What a goal to strive for! I wonder if it'd be possible to have all our conversations full of grace, even those conversations with people who are growing in Christ, or those who make us mad, or those who are usually difficult to deal with. If we keep ourselves in a state of grace (which is only possible through Christ Jesus), we may be able to steer the tone of any conversatio...

  The Upper Room devotional for May 21, 2010 Thought for the Day is this: "If people judged God by my actions, what would they know of grace?" This question makes me drop my head in shame.  I am afraid I do not reflect God's grace very well. Actually I have a pretty dismal track record on the subject. I know some scripture. I know what grace is. I know that God loves me and everyone around me and away from me, even my enemies. I know. I know. I know. But I don't act like I know. I don't talk like I know. I don't reflect God's grace very well at all.  I was part of a skit once where the premise was to see if there was enough evidence to "convict" me of being Christian.  Of course, I had all the right answers.  It was a skit, you know. I knew ahead of time what I was supposed to say when the "prosecution" presented its case. I knew the responses (lines) to the accusatory questions.  Yep, I was convicted in the skit. I was convicted ...