Let’s start with a little history lesson: “What was going on in the United States when President Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving?” This was the question on one of our recent prayer calls. Someone guessed “the end of the civil war?” Close, but not quite. Lincoln’s proclamation was in 1863, smack in the middle of the civil war. Why then was he asking the nation to give thanks in the midst of what he described as “a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity?” President Lincoln identified several blessings from God, such as: No interference of foreign armies in the civil war Law and order maintained except in the battlefield Agricultural productivity Economic prosperity despite diversion of significant resources to the war Fertility which resulted in increased population despite many lives lost at war Where others may have stood overwhelmed with the loss and violence, he was able to identify the providence of God and give thanks. His attitude is similar to Jesus’ in face of the multitude with only 5 loaves and 2 fish. Andrew saw those loaves and asked “but how far will they go among so many?’ John 6:10 NIV Jesus took those same loaves, “gave thanks, and distributed them to the people.” John 6:11 NIV In reporting this story, the other gospels in different translations either say Jesus “gave thanks” or he “blessed” the loaves, using a Greek word that means he “spoke well” of the loaves. In the giving of thanks, the speaking well about what, from a human perspective, was a dire situation, Jesus released a blessing that led to multiplication. What would it look like for us to give thanks / speak well of / bless all the circumstances of our lives, even those that look contrary? This is particularly important in this year that for many of us has had a lot of loss, uncertainty, and many other challenges. Let us, by the grace of God, like Lincoln, carefully consider all that’s going on, and see the Lord’s ever-present care for us, and give thanks.

In a previous blog , we discussed different ways we could respond to the grace of God. And we showed this interesting dynamic where God releases his grace, and we then cooperate with that grace to bring about the manifestation of what God has called us to do. So, then we can say like Paul: “I am what I am by the grace of God” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Are you in a place now where you feel like you do not have what it takes? Maybe you sense God asking you to do something, but you feel overwhelmed, anxious, maybe even petrified about taking that first step. You have read self-help books and given yourself pep talks, but nothing quite works when it is time to act. You agree mentally that only the grace of God can help you accomplish what God has called you to do in a manner that pleases God. But how do you access that grace, practically? Heb 4:16 provides insight into this. Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Finding grace! What does it mean to find grace? It simply means coming to a place of awareness, realization and understanding where you are sure and confident that the enabling grace of God has been released to you for that situation you are facing. You have come upon grace; it is yours now. It is not just a promise in the distance; you are laying hold on it now in the present. Your heart is at rest. Your heart is strengthened by the grace you have found and you are moving forward in the power of that grace of God. How does one find grace? Glad you asked. Heb 4:16 gives us the answer to this: We find grace at the throne of grace. The Lord Jesus sits on the throne of grace. He is the God of all grace. It is before His throne that we find grace. Three things to note on how to find grace from this verse. 1. You must come: In a time of need, the Scripture admonishes us to COME. Your journey to find grace begins with coming. Come. Rise from the place of apathy and lethargy. Come. Approach. If you are like me, every day is a time of need. So, I go daily to the throne of grace. But particularly, when I feel an acute sense of helplessness, I know what to do: it’s time to initiate the protocol. It’s a sign I need to approach that glorious throne. 2. Boldly: There is a manner in which we are to come. Boldly. Not fearfully. Not anxiously. Not timidly. But boldly. Why? Because our Savior and Lord sits on that throne, He paid the price for our salvation with His blood. He loves us with an everlasting love. The preceding verses highlight this: Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Heb 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. So, we can approach boldly. Does it mean God will not give grace if you do not come boldly? No, in fact, God has already poured out his grace on us (Ephesians 1:7-8). The problem will be that you will not be able to receive if you come in fear and timidity. There are many believers today who are not receiving what the Lord has already given to them! 3. Receive mercy: Many times, as we approach, the enemy begins to tell us of how unworthy we are. Or he reminds us of how we squandered the last measure of grace we received. Or that we would repeat the same mistakes again. But you know what: the first point of call before finding grace is to obtain mercy. The mercy of God protects us from what we deserve. The judgement we deserve is waived because of the blood of Jesus as we repent of our sin and disobedience. So, we promptly settle any issues between us and God. We remove every ground of accusation from the enemy by obtaining the mercy of God on the account of the blood of Jesus. Practically, what does this look like? We approach the throne of grace through heartfelt prayer. As you start to pray about the situation, see yourself coming before that throne. Then ask God for grace. For example, “Lord, I need you, I ask for your grace concerning this situation. I cannot do this on my own, I need your help, strengthen and enable me to… (be specific). And then you stay with the Lord in prayer on the issue until your heart comes into the realization that grace is available. Then you declare with your heart and mouth that you are receiving the grace that has been made available. For example, “Thank you Lord for releasing grace for this situation. I receive it right now. ” This could happen in minutes. Other times it can happen over a longer time period as you come again and again. But don’t quit until your heart finds the grace you need for your journey. So, next time you are in a situation where choosing obedience is hard or where taking the required or desired action is difficult or terrifying, remember God's invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace (Hebrews 4:16). You stay on that topic of conversation with God until you receive grace. And once you find that grace, you put it to work. As you do so, you grow in capacity and things that seem hard or impossible become possible as the ability of God is expressed through you in spite of the limitations of your humanity. Out of His fullness, we have all received grace on top of grace. John 1:16 (TLV) Abundant grace is available in His presence, respond to the divine invitation to find it today.

Grace. One of the most important concepts in the New Testament. Yet it's easy to throw the word around and lose sight of what it means. Beyond having a head knowledge, we also need to understand how to maximize God's grace in our lives. There are volumes that have been (and will yet be) written about grace that we definitely can't get into here but for the purpose of this article, we will focus on the dimension of God's grace that denotes His enablement to do His will and please Him. God has lavished His grace upon us (Ephesians 1:7-8, NIV). The question then is how do we respond to that grace? In Paul's letters, we see 3 potential responses to grace. 1. We can set aside (ignore, disregard, frustrate) the grace of God. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” Galatians 2:21 NKJV This is when we do things in our own effort instead of relying on God's grace. We grit our teeth and try to power through by our own strength. 2. We can receive the grace of God in vain. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. II Corinthians 6:1 NKJV This is when we acknowledge God's grace, maybe we have even see it at work in others, but we don't allow it have an effect on us (The Passion Translation), we do nothing with it (NIrV) or waste it (GNT). We say yes to the grace of God with our heads, but when push comes to shove, we revert back to relying on our own strength. When we face opposition, we do not use the grace we have received, but instead fold in defeat, thus opportunities to demonstrate the power of the grace of God through our lives are wasted. 3. We can harness the grace of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I Corinthians 15:10 NKJV Here, Paul describes how he *uses* the grace of God. He draws strength, ability from the grace of God to do the things that God had called him to do. In different letters, Paul talks about "what God has accomplished in him" Romans 15:18 and other expressions of how grace is doing the work within him. He is being carried by grace. He labored…but yet not him, but the grace of God which was with him. Simply put, Paul cooperated with the grace of God that had been made available to him. Good for you, Paul. What does this look like for me? In devotional life, it looks like not just waking up but standing up from your bed and going to another room when God wakes you up to pray in the morning... Put that grace to work! In relationships, it looks like calling that person or writing that email to the person that God has been nudging you to reach out to even though you honestly don't want to. Let grace enable you. You get the idea. Grace does not remove the exertion of effort on our end. Rather it powers it. It becomes grace-fueled effort which is different from flesh-driven effort. So next time you are in a situation where choosing obedience seems hard. Remember God's invitation to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace (Hebrews 4:16). In the next blog titled “Finding Grace”, we would explore what it means to find grace and how to find grace. Watch this space.

 Why this waste?!? You could almost see the disciples’ eyes popping out first in disbelief, glancing back and forth at each other, then welling into indignation and spilling out in harsh words. "What were you thinking? How could you do that? Do you realize the consequences of your actions?" Her offense? She had broken her bottle of *very* expensive perfume and poured out every last drop... on the Lord Jesus (Matthew 26:7, Mark 14:3, Luke 7:37 NIV). Once she poured it out no one could scoop it back up. It was gone. Thousands of dollars (John 12:5). Thousands of meals for the needy. Supplies for struggling families. Gone in a moment. What a waste! Mat 26:8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. As followers of Jesus, we need to get comfortable with the idea that there will be times when we will look to people like we are wasting our lives to follow Christ. Wait, what? You give 10 percent of your income to your church? Do you know what difference that can make for retirement or your kids’ education? You want to go work at this small nonprofit and earn nothing when you could easily get a job on Wall St or big tech? Your family could really do with your financial support. You spend hours every week praying and studying your Bible when you could spend that time learning a skill or doing community service? You mean God really told you to go live in that small town in your prime years? Tell me how you're going to meet a spouse. You got this ivy League degree and now you want to be a stay-at-home mom because you feel God wants you to? Or perhaps in internal conversations with God, have you been wondering or ever wondered? Lord, why this waste? Isn’t this approach inefficient? Lord, I think you could achieve it faster if we went this way or that way. Do you feel like your life is being wasted on Jesus? Are there things in your life that make sense only to Jesus and make no sense to the world? Choices in response to God’s invitation that seem to be inefficient or odd? Or maybe not. Maybe you are living your life with no risk or inconvenience to yourself and personal comforts. Yet, you constantly hear in your soul a craving to live fully for God. To live with abandon to the Savior. I believe the Lord calls all believers in Him to live a life that is so poured out that others with no understanding will say, "Why this waste?" And that will be an avenue to share your Why? So, what’s the why? It’s the love of God. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2Co 5:14-15 (NIV) All godly wasting is motivated by the reign of the love of God in our hearts. All believers have the love of God poured in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). But are you allowing that love to reign over all other loves in your life? That is the call today— To pour out our lives for Him and on Him. Nothing is more expensive or valuable. How do I know? Because Christ gave himself to redeem our souls. Heaven’s best for our redemption. What does wasting on Jesus look like? It is easy to think this applies exclusively to acts of extreme courage and suffering to serve the Lord. And yes, that could certainly be part of it in your own context. But simply, wasting our lives on Jesus means to obey Him. John 14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command. (NiRV) There is sacrifice in obedience, the relinquishing of self to obey God; but there can be sacrifice outside of obedience. Remember what Samuel the Prophet told King Saul. To obey is better than sacrifice. (1 Samuels 15:22 NIV) If we could live by this ethos, that our lives on earth are for only one purpose—to be wasted, poured out, expended for our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. What a revival we will see to the ends of the earth. It will be the death blow to the christianity of comfort and convenience that we have gotten so accustomed to. And the response of Jesus to that woman: Jesus thought different from the disciples. Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. Mat 26:10 "She has done a beautiful thing to me. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare it for my burial." Mark 14:6,8. Probably no one else in that room realized that in just 2 days, Jesus would be tortured, crucified and die, and there would be no time to embalm his body before his burial. What looked like a waste to the disciples was something Jesus regarded as beautiful! She has done a beautiful thing to me! The Lord delights in our offering of our lives to Him. Because in doing so, we become the best He intends for us to be! Your sacrifice is a beautiful thing! This is the highest praise we can receive from the Lord. So, what do we say in response? Lord Jesus, I am willing, I am available. I will waste my life on You. For in losing my life for you do I truly gain the true life you intend for me. Today and every day, I choose to obey You. Can you hear the whisper of the voice of His Word? You are doing a beautiful thing to me! May we be content in knowing that when we follow Jesus and respond to His needs, He never wastes anything. May we be inspired to pour out our all on Him. Amen.

The purpose of freedom is true worship! Recently, during our daily prayer for revival in DC, a team member led with this verse: Exodus 8:1 (NIV) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.’” Many books and movies have been written about the Exodus: how God sent the 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea etc. This verse is a reminder of God's purpose in all of this--that His people may worship Him freely. As enslaved people in Egypt, their daily lives and schedules were determined by the slave masters. With that lifestyle, they had no freedom to express their love and worship to God. All across the DMV area, we echo the Lord's demand to everything that has people bound: anxiety, depression, greed, fear, comparison, false teaching, addiction, sickness, anything else that controls people's lives and keeps us from lives that are exclusively surrendered to God: let the people of God go, that they may worship Him, that they may display His reflection in all areas of life. In any area of bondage or resistance you may be experiencing, we encourage you to take up God's words in your mouth and insist on your freedom that Christ paid for. And do not be discouraged if, at first, you don't experience victory. The first 6 times Moses declared this word to Pharaoh and it seemed like "it didn't work" (see Exodus 5:1, 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 9:1, 9:13, 10:3). This is where persistence comes in. You hold tightly to the word God gives you, until it comes to pass. Here's an example of what it looks like in practice: You have identified an area of bondage that keeps you from worshipping God freely and fully. You bring it to God in prayer and wait on Him to receive His word concerning that area. Often, this is a verse of Scripture that God highlights to you. You meditate on that word constantly and speak it out loud. It creates a new reality in your heart and mind. You receive direction from God about any avenues of support to pursue e.g. professional help, wisdom, advice. You share with trusted friends and leaders in your Christian community who will stand in faith with you and cover you with prayer and encouragement. In all of this, you keep your heart and mind fastened on the truth of God’s word that your freedom has been secured in Him. We invite you to join our upcoming spaces (see information below) to immerse your heart and mind in God's presence and power. Not only will you receive strength in your journey to freedom (to worship God) but you also help others do the same.