You're beautiful
1 March 2026
I was at a Friday night worship meeting at my church recently and the worship team sang this song (You're beautiful) by Phil Wickam. The first verse goes thus…
I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful
(Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh)
I love this song. We were doing the last verse which tries to depict what the marriage supper of the Lamb would look like.
When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful
Oh, You're beautiful
As we sang this verse, I felt like the Lord whispered to me “You are beautiful”.
I began to reflect on that and then it struck me that typically, it is the bride that is described this way.
Isn’t this the metaphor Paul uses in Eph 5:27?
Eph 5:25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
So now in time, the Lord prepare his church to be His bride.
He gave himself for her. And now He prepares her by sanctification and cleansing with the water by His word.
For the beauty that the Bridegroom seeks is not like that of this world.
It is the beauty of holiness. Of sanctification.
And if you take Him as your Savior and Lord, you are part of His church that He is preparing to be His bride.
He is preparing you for that day.
Will you make yourself ready for Him? Will you respond to Him? Will you submit to the sanctification and cleansing by His word? Will you allow Him to remove every spot and straighten out every wrinkle?
He is the One who is at work in you by His Spirit to will and to do what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13-14).
All He needs is our full surrender.
And by His power, He is able to present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 1:24).
I imagine that day, as His bride approaches Him and looks face to face on the One who gave Himself for her.
And then He whispers to us: You're beautiful.
Will you be there?
“Daddy, what are you doing?! What are you doing?! What are you doing?!” I was visiting my friends some time ago and their young daughter was out of sight but within earshot as our little ones often are. Her father had just left the room with her in tow, and she was obviously very excited about whatever he was going to do. The Lord highlighted this to me. The next morning, I heard her asking the same question: Daddy, what are you doing?!’ It was then that it became clear to me what the Lord was saying to me. First, there was the simple fact that she wanted to know what he was up to and she expected to join in. Given how often children look to their parents for help, I imagine they are aware of their limitations, but for my young friend, this knowledge was no discouragement. If her dad was cleaning, going for a walk or reading, she was going to do it with him, regardless of how ‘important’ her role was. Second, she asked repeatedly. I have not followed Jesus all my life, but even in the brief time that I have known Him, I have learned that I tend to seek longer term plans than He is willing to roll out. I just think knowing as much as I can is the better way. And, I mean, it would be easy for Him, seeing that He is omniscient. “Just tell me what it’s looking like over the next decade, for starters.” But though it would be easy for Him to do this, it would probably not help me be any less prideful. His plan for me deliberately includes me humbly asking lots of questions, staying close, checking in often, and talking through things A LOT otherwise known as prayer. It was my birthday recently and like many of us as we get older, we ask ourselves what we are doing with our lives and may experience anxiety, panic or dissatisfaction about the direction of our lives. Now, I am not dismissing those moments of panic or dissatisfaction, but I am saying that as a child of God, I should be satisfied in simply following the lead of the Father. In other words, my business is to do what I see my Father doing. Jesus saw it that way. He says, in John 5:19, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” Among other things, this verse surely applies to the point I am trying to make here. If Jesus did what the Father did and I have been called to follow Jesus, then I must do the same. I must do what the Father does. And that begins with seeing what the Father is doing. So, today, let’s ask the Lord: “Who are you bringing into your salvation…today?” “Who are you encouraging…today?” “Who are you delivering…today?” “For whom are you providing…today?” “To whom should I speak life…today?” You do not have to be confused about life. You never need to be unsure about what you are doing with your life. Do what He does and say what He says. To do these things, we must follow as closely as possible, and go back to him again and again. But that is the point!
Why did the Lord Jesus come to the earth? There are a number of ways His mission is presented in the Scriptures, each revealing a facet of His purpose. One of them is found in John 10:10. John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Who is the thief? The devil, the accuser of the brethren, the father of lies, Satan and by extension the vast army of evil spirits that do his bidding to circumvent the purpose of God for humanity! The thief comes with a singular purpose—not to offer a friendly greeting or take a casual stroll. His intent is clear: to steal, to kill, and to destroy. This is the threefold agenda of the kingdom of darkness. But there is good news! I have come… the Lord says to us. Jesus Christ the Lord came….t hat we may have life… When we encounter the Lord Jesus , it is an encounter with Life. We come alive truly. He reverses the stealing, killing and destruction of the enemy. He brings restoration, renewal and rebirth! Life here refers to Zoe, the absolute fullness of life which belongs to God. Life as God has in Himself. When we say yes to Jesus, we receive this life. Whoever has the Son has life (1 John 5:11-12). But the mission of Jesus goes beyond us simply having life……it is having His life more abundantly. To have this life of God more abundantly means to have it in abundance, extraordinarily, excessively, superabundantly. Is this the reality of your daily life? Many believers move through each day barely holding things together. Even though they carry the life of God within their spirits, yet live in defeat and despair. They survive—but they do not experience what it means to thrive in the abundant life Christ offers. What is the secret to having life more abundantly? Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life ("to make alive, cause to live, quicken) to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Through His Spirit! That life in our spirits is supposed to have an impact on our mortal bodies through the Spirit. Oh, how we need Him…the precious Holy Spirit! It is through Him that we can access and lay hold on all that is made available for us in Christ! So how does this work? Gal 6:8 (NIV) Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. The secret is yielding to the Spirit of God by investing in pleasing Him. Three key areas to highlight are with regards to our words, our thoughts and our actions. We have to learn to yield to the Spirit by speaking words that are consistent with the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures (Proverbs 18:21). We must learn to allow the Spirit to govern our minds (thinking), letting the truth of God be the standard for our thoughts (Romans 8:5-6). And in our actions, we need to learn to promptly obey the nudges and dictates of the Holy Spirit within us (Rom 8:13). The more abundant life…. the life of God in its fullness…. awaits you. Don’t linger on the margins, step in fully through complete surrender to the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus declares: I have come to give life—complete, full, and abundant—beginning here and now (John 10:10, Remedy). Yes, beginning here and now. Don’t wait until time on earth is over—embrace Life today.
After a 6-year break, I am back in the trenches with a newborn. While many aspects of taking care of a newborn are familiar, one that has surprised me all over again is how intensely babies can cry. My little guy, when he's hungry, cries as though you have not fed him in days. The moment he wakes up, he screams at the top of his lungs, with his arms shaking and his lips quivering. And then once, he begins to nurse, he totally calms down until the next couple of hours when the whole thing repeats itself. If his wailing wasn't stressful in the moment, it would be comical. During one of his recent crying moments, this verse from 1 Peter 2:2 hit me afresh. 1 Peter 2:2 (NKJV) Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, Or as TPT puts it: In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, you must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this “milk” will cause you to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong for life. The only thing newborns consume is milk. It is essential to their survival, their growth. As a result, their desire for it is intense, it is earnest, it is desperate, it is frequent, it is insistent, it is all-consuming! In the first few weeks of a baby's life, medical providers and parents pay close attention to the baby's weight: have they regained their birth weight? Are they moving well along their growth curve? How well the baby feeds determines whether they grow as expected. On their part, it is as though babies get the memo that feeding well is their primary responsibility in life as they sure do their part in crying out for it. This scripture from 1 Peter describes the intensity of desire we must cultivate for God’s word if we want to grow up in our salvation, if we want to gain spiritual weight and thrive as believers. Sadly, due to inadequate nourishment, many believers fail to grow as expected. What does craving spiritual nourishment look like, especially in the midst of busyness and the distractions of living? It looks like waking up and immediately thinking, I need to be in the Word and reaching for the Bible. On the commute to school/ work, the thought continues: Let me listen to some Scripture or worship music or the message from church last Sunday. It looks like walking over to lunch and thinking, I’ve got five minutes; I can listen to one chapters on my phone. On the way back, instead of mindlessly scrolling on the phone, it would mean listening to a Christian podcast or engaging with other material that draws me closer to the Word. Friends, let’s ask the Lord to restore our craving for His word if we have lost it. And may we not become so ‘matured’ that we lose our craving. May our craving and dependence on the Word grow stronger and deeper as we grow into maturity. And may the Lord deliver us from fleshly cravings that choke out the true craving of our hearts for God’s word. Amen.
This is the third installment in a blog series exploring a vision in the 47th chapter of the book of Ezekiel. In the vision, water flows from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east. Ezekiel’s guide—likely an angel—measures specific distances along the water and leads Ezekiel through each stage. With every measurement, the water deepens: first to his ankles, then to his knees, and later to his waist. Eventually, it becomes a river so vast that it can only be crossed by swimming. In the two previous blogs, we discussed the importance of the prayer altar and the need to travel farther with God to step into greater depths in God. In this concluding blog, we draw another insight from verses Ezekiel 47:3-5. Eze 47:3-5 (NKJV) As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. We see in these verses that Ezekiel's guide measured a distance. And then came back to lead him through. And then measured another distance and then led him through. And he did the same two more times until the water had become a river that could not be crossed on foot. Friends, God desires to advance His Kingdom in and through you -bringing life to dead places and situations on earth. The agency of accomplishing this is through the rivers of the living waters -the rivers of the Holy Spirit - that are to flow forth from your heart (John 7:38-39). It is the honor of our lives to be part of what the Lord seeks to accomplish on earth. So, He invites us to join Him in this holy adventure-– to journey into greater depths until we bring life-giving waters into every sphere of influence He places us. But it is meant to be a joint mission with Him. He does not call us to do it alone. He does it with us. He comes alongside us. Have you ever gone on a road trip with close friends? How does it compare to going on a road trip alone? Isn’t the trip more special and memorable when we share the experience with friends. We respond to this invitation into the greater depths of God here in time, but the journey stretches into eternity. There are a lot of unknowns. We don’t have all the details. There is no detailed map of starts and stops. But our Gracious Co-traveler is Faithful and True! He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith. He will bring us through every measure, phase and season. He is in it together with us. Are you feeling overwhelmed by the burdens of your journey? Then let this truth inspire and encourage your heart today. God is inviting us to journey with Him to learn His ways and make His ways known on the earth. Have you heard His invitation in your own soul? Have you responded and began your adventure with Him? If not, what are you waiting for? He is waiting for you! And for those of us who may have stopped our quest because of fear of losing control or the fear of the unknown or unbelief or an unpleasant turn of events. I encourage you today -Begin again! Pick yourself up again. Shake off the rust and inertia. Take the hands that the Eternal One extends to you. Let’s begin again! Let’s continue. Thank you, Lord, for inviting us to this journey of deeper intimacy and fulfilling our divine destiny. And for making the journey with us and bringing us through, for You are Emmanuel! On this beautiful Christmas morning—or whenever you read this—may you, precious child of God, be reminded that you are never alone. God is for you and He walks with you through every step of your journey toward His divine purpose and destiny for your life. For He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU." (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV) Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Emmanuel! P.S: If you would like to be equipped to walk in your divine purpose and destiny, consider joining us for our 18-week discipleship training intensive - Fullness Bible Bootcamp starting January 25, 2026. Your life will be transformed. Find more details here including testimonials from alumni.
In a previous blog , we began to explore Ezekiel 47:1-10. It describes Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the temple of God and becoming a life-giving river. We saw that we are the temples of the living God (1Corinthians 3:16) and that the Lord desires that rivers of living water will flow through us to the dead places of the earth – people, places or situations that are devoid of the life of Christ. These rivers represent the outflowing of the Spirit of God and his influence in and through every believer for the glory of God (John 7:38-39)! So amazing! In this blog, the key insight I want to share is from verses 3-5. Ezekiel 47:3-5 (NKJV) As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. Do you see what happened to the depth of the water as the journey continued? The water went from ankle deep to knee-deep and then to waist deep until one has to swim through to travel further. The farther the distance traveled, the deeper the water became! Do you desire a deeper flow of the rivers of the Spirit in and through your life? Do you desire to live out a stronger influence of God on, in and through you? Then you must be willing and ready to journey farther with God! Are you tired of shallowness? Are you fed up with lifeless religion? Have you had it with powerlessness in your life? Then you must be ready take your journey in God. Leave the shallow behind so you can embrace the freshness of new depths of intimacy with God. Forsake the hollowness so you can step into new vistas of the grace of the Hallowed One. The Lord invites you today to travel beyond where you have camped for so long. Like He said to ancient Israel in the wilderness: Deuteronomy 2:3 “You have circled around this mountain long enough; now turn north. (NET) It’s time to shake off the inertia and start moving. What might that look like for you? Perhaps it means returning to church, rekindling your times of prayer and study of God’s Word, joining that prayer group, or finally attending the retreat that’s been on your heart for so long. It could even be registering for that discipleship course you’ve been considering. Whatever it is, now is the time to take that first step toward deeper intimacy with God. And don’t stop until the influence of God in and through your life flows forth without hindrance and you lose control so He can take full control! P.S: If you would like to step into greater depths in your walk with God and divine purpose, consider joining us for our 18-week discipleship training intensive - Fullness Bible Bootcamp starting January 25, 2026. Your life will be transformed. Find more details here including testimonials from alumni.
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.
We prayed from Ezekiel 47 at one of our morning prayer times a couple of weeks ago. In this passage of Scripture, Ezekiel describes a vision of water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east. His guide in the vision, possibly an angel measures out specific distances in the water and brings Ezekiel through each measurement. As Ezekiel follows the man measuring the distance, the water gradually deepens—from his ankles to his knees, then to his waist. Eventually, the water becomes a river so deep that it could not be crossed except by swimming. Many applications can be drawn from this passage in relation to our journey of intimacy with the Lord, spiritual formation, and revival in this season both personally and in the city. But what spoke to my heart from the passage that morning as we prayed was in the first verse. Ezekiel 47:1 NKJV. Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. The water flowed from the temple . The water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple. Not from any other place, but the temple. The water becomes a river. It is a river that carries life. Anything it touches lives (Ezekiel 47:9)! This is a metaphor for the life-giving river of the Spirit as described by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John. John 7:38-39 NKJV. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Every believer is a temple of the living God. Yes, you, if you believe in the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? And the divine design is that the life-giving rivers of the Spirit will flow from and through us. What does this look like in daily life? It means releasing the life of Christ into every space and place through your words and actions. Speaking, loving, serving, and spreading the goodness of Jesus in our spheres of influence. Furthermore, the water was issuing from a particular location in the temple, south of the altar. The water emerged from south of the altar. Yes, the water flowed from the temple, but there was a place in the temple it was coming from...the south of the altar. What does an altar symbolize here? Our hearts. Remember John 7:38? Out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water. An altar is a place where heaven and earth meet. It is where the priest on earth meets and engages with the God of heaven and earth. This engagement is called prayer. Hence the popular use of the term “prayer altars”. You may be asking? Am I a priest? If you believe in Christ, Yes! For the Scripture says we are being built into “a holy priesthood” to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through Christ (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV). Hence our hearts are the altars, and prayer transforms our hearts into active altars. As we enthrone God in our hearts and allow Him to have His way in our lives, the rivers of the Spirit begin to flow. As the rivers flow, every area of deadness in our lives is impacted by the life of God. Every sphere of influence is inundated by tributaries of this river. Every area of your life should be under the influence of the River! Please, do not settle for less in your life. But a life of prayer must be your priority. Friends, we cannot get around it. We cannot do the barest minimum to just get by or tick the box. We must keep our prayer altars active. That is where the river flows from. To have an active prayer altar, you need to set up a time and place to meet with God consistently. Commit to it as the utmost priority of your life. Repent when you fail to show up. But don’t allow discouragement, guilt and condemnation from the enemy to take hold in your mind. And whatever it takes, Continue! Also consider joining a community where prayer is prioritized for mutual encouragement and inspiration. If you are consistent, you will soon begin to notice the life of God flowing from you. Yes, the rivers of living water will flow. You will begin to walk in the “more abundantly” life that the Lord Jesus promised to those who follow him (John 10:10 NKJV). The waters of life flow from south of the altar in the temple! I urge you to prioritize building a life of prayer starting today. Follow the link below to learn more about how you can engage in our prayer initiatives to build altars of prayer to God both personally and communally for revival in the DMV area.
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.
CATEGORIES
SHARE THE POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA
