Every follower of Jesus is offered the gifts of grace without any strings (or ribbons) attached. All of us have full access to these gifts. Paul writes that we are brought into right relationship with God entirely as a gift of His radical and amazing love. When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. (Titus 3:5-7, NLT) Grace is the best deal ever offered and yet we often resist opening this gift from our Lord. We can’t believe it is true. We fear it can’t be possible that we can be loved,
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When Joni and I purchased a new house we visited the title company to sign the official documents. The person from the title company relentlessly pushed papers in front of us along with a brief description of what we were signing. My memory may not be exact but it was something like this. This one says that the builder is transferring the deed to you. And this one says that you have paid the taxes that you owe to Caesar. This one says that you agree to let the HOA control everything you think and do. This one says that you are paying us random fees that you have no idea what they are or why they are needed but you have no choice. This one says a lawyer gets a lot of money for cut and pasting into a standard document. It was a mind-numbing process and by the end I probably would have signed anything put in front
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When I was a little boy I remember the standard prayer at bedtime. I know it was meant to comfort but one line always freaked me out. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, Wait? What? If I should die before I wake? I think I will just stay awake for awhile thank you very much. Six decades later that prayer makes a lot more sense. If I should die before I wake I believe I will be in the presence of Jesus. I am not anxious to leave this life but I am not afraid. I talked about loss in my book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace. I wrote that “preparing for death is preparing for life,” a principle that has radically changed my perspective. The corollary truth is when you are not afraid to die you are
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Just to clarify I am not planning on stopping my Monday Musings. I don’t want my tens of followers to be concerned. I wanted to explain in this week’s musing why I have adopted “see you later” whenever I leave the presence of a loved one. I might add “love you, see you later” to my departure. That phrase “see you later” became very intentional after a dear friend passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. When my friend died the loved ones in his life had no idea they would not have a chance to see him again in this life. Because of his deep and abundant faith his family and friends cherished the hope of seeing him again in Heaven. When I go to the memorial service for a follower of Jesus there is, of course, sadness. But every time I leave these services I am full of hope and peace that I will see them again. Paul wrote about
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Amy Grant recorded “My Grown-up Christmas List” for her “Home For Christmas” album. The lyrics imagine an adult going back to Santa with a different perspective on what matters most in life. Instead of material things the writer now asks for good things for others. I love the sentiment of the song. No more lives torn apartThat wars would never startAnd time would heal all heartsEveryone would have a friendAnd right would always winAnd love would never endThis is my grown-up Christmas list I thought about my “grown-up” Christmas list this week. I would love for all of the things in the lyric above to come true. But I have lived enough to know they will not. Everyday lives are torn apart. Wars start too frequently. Time does not heal every heart. Some who are reading this are lonely. Right seems to lose way too often and love ends for many. So what could I wish for that would be available for all?
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Twitter makes cowards courageous and the anonymity of cyberspace can make the mean spirited downright evil. I have watched with sadness as Twitter tyrants have destroyed or severely damaged people and institutions. Sometimes the venom is directed at those who simply have a sincere difference of opinion on moral issues. And no event seems to generate more glee than a Christian leader or institution failing. Without fail the hypocrite word is used with smug satisfaction. And it is true. Let me make this personal since I can only speak honestly for me. I am a hypocrite. I do not consistently live up to the teachings of Jesus. I fail. I sin. That is why I need a Savior and not a self-help course. I am confident not in my holiness but in the holiness of Jesus. I remember hearing a pastor say that “we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But that doesn’t keep us from
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This past weekend I celebrated my 50th reunion with my Chillicothe Cavalier classmates in Southern Ohio. It was a remarkable time of laughing and reminiscing with, uhh, experienced friends. Time can be so perplexing. Sometimes my days strolling the long halls of that school feel like forever ago. At other times the memories seem like they happened yesterday. I had the sobering assignment of assembling a video to remember our classmates who passed away before this milestone reunion. As I edited the high school photos of over sixty souls I was deeply moved. There were some close relationships. Some I only knew in passing but were still familiar faces. One of the departed was my best friend in high school. How I wished we could have had our whole gang together but that is not how this journey works. We lost one classmate who planned to attend to Covid just days before our meeting. I loved that gathering of old
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