Pastor Jen and her neverending need to motivate;)

I think it's fairly obvious that my spiritual growth is really only in what some would call the infancy stage. I do not pretend to have all the answers. I don’t pretend that I have read the Bible from cover to cover. Actually, I get nervous when I go to a Bible study because I know that I will be asked to flip to a passage and I will not automatically know where to find it (unlike most of the other people that are in the class). Hopefully as I continue to study the Bible, make every effort to pray more often and things of this nature I will graduate to a toddler, but until then (and with any luck for much longer) I am so very thankful to have such a wonderful teacher.

In a little over a month I will be sharing my thoughts on a Bible verse in church. Hesitantly, I said yes (imagine that) to Pastor Jen’s request to speak in front of the congregation. I sent her my draft this week expecting feedback, but her motivation to dig deeper wasn’t even a thought when I was typing my ideas on the lesson. I really didn’t even think about God’s Grace at all while I scribbled my thoughts down. Before I go back to edit (and most likely change) the ending, I figured I should think about what God’s Grace means to me so that I feel more comfortable adding it to my message.

What does God’s Grace mean to you?

I don’t think any one person would define God’s Grace the same. Each of us has unique life experiences, trials and tribulations, mistakes and lessons learned, times when we coast through life without a care in the world. Together all of our unique experiences in life make us who we are.

Some people might describe God’s Grace as landing a job at the very second they thought they could not financially survive another week without a paycheck. Maybe you feel God’s Grace when you see your child smile or when they run to you with open arms when you open the door. Perhaps you feel God’s Grace when you ask a few friends to pull weeds and everyone shows up with gloves, shovels and love for one another, setting aside their personal agenda to help those in need. Sometimes it’s a picture of a sunrise or an elderly couple walking hand in hand as they stroll down the street. Recently I felt God’s Grace when I heard the results of biopsies and I will feel that same Grace when I receive the news from a friend that is anxiously awaiting a positive pregnancy test. A couple of my friends will soon feel God’s Grace as they hold their newborns for the first time.

I can grasp the above examples of God’s Grace very easily. I can relate to them, I have felt them and I am always looking for new life examples of God’s Grace in each new day. God’s Grace is everywhere and it fills up my spirit. When I think of this type of grace I cannot help but to smile and think of each occasion with love and hope.

Yet, where Pastor Jen wants me to see God’s Grace is different. There are many reasons that I love Pastor Jen, but the reason I decided to switch congregations is because her messages are filled with hope, love and amazing grace. My favorite hymn is Amazing Grace. I should have been able to get here when I was drafting my message, but I was stuck on consequences and wasn’t able to grasp to the grace part.

If we are being honest with ourselves we understand that everyone sins. Everyone fails to follow God’s rules many Many MANY times during their life. Over and over again we fail Him. Only by the Grace of God are saved from our sin. It is not because of our good deeds or because we follow the rules that we are saved, but because of God’s Grace.

Ephesians 2:4-9 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by GRACE you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his GRACE in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by GRACE you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-not the result of works, so that no one may boast.

Thank you, always, Pastor Jen for letting God’s Grace Shine through you.
Amen.