Where in the world would any of us be without grace?

The older I get (having just turned 41 yesterday) the more I realize how valuable grace really is. I can’t begin to imagine how much grace has been shown to me as a child, student, friend, pastor, husband, father, friend and Christian. Today, I sit here with a thankful heart for having been shown so much grace. For without it I would have been deemed a failure in every area of my life, but instead was given new opportunities which allowed for me to grow and succeed.

Think about that. What if grace had not been extended, and all we got is what we deserved? I’m not sure any of us would be where we are today. As we read the bible it is filled with one story after another of people who experienced the grace of God in “Huge” doses.

I want to encourage you to sit down and read the words of David as he gives us a very clear picture of the God we serve. David understands the grace that has been given to him and wants to shout it out from the mountain tops.

Wow!

• Forgives ALL our sins
• Compassionate healer
• Redeems us from the pit
• Gracious
• Slow to anger
• Abounding in love

...just to mention a few.

Along with David, all I can say is “Praise the Lord..Praise the Lord...Praise the Lord."

How about you?

I am honestly speechless as I sit here and type, realizing this is the God I serve. His grace is so refreshing and so amazing.

As I close I would like to share with you a story of how refreshing grace can feel and be:

Some 15 years ago I spent 2 weeks over in the Ukraine on a missions trip. It was a wonderful and eye opening experience. There were many ways in which I was challenged, but not being able to bathe for much of the time was the hardest. I remember on the way home we had a one night layover in Vienna, Austria. After checking into our hotel, the first thing I did was run up stairs, turn on the shower, and for the next 30 minutes I sat underneath the shower head that brought, fresh, warm water and watch as all the dirt left my body, making its way down the drain. I can't tell you how good that shower felt and how refreshed I was afterward.

The grace of God is better than this.

We enter into his presence with all of our dirt and filth and HE provides a shower of grace that removes all the bad choices we have made right down the drain. We then go out, renewed and restored, to take on the new day before us.

Maybe it's time for you to go and take a shower?

I thank you God...

Life can be really hard sometimes, can't it?

Just before service on Sunday I was greeting different people, and my last two conversations were really intense--Two different men, both facing overwhelming realities in there lives. I found my self speechless in both circumstances, only able to share the words “You will know why you are here tonight after the services.”

My passage for the night was Psalms 91 and I would be focusing on the truth of God being our refuge. As I stood singing before I was to preach, I was overcome by emotion. I could not shake the overwhelming idea that people come every week with so much on their hearts, and wanting to hear something from God that would bring hope, strength or answers.

I thank God that through his word, I have something to share of great value. Where I come up short with words to share, God brings all that we need.

Psalms 91 promises us that God is our refuge, shelter and safe haven. I need to hear that as I face my own challenges in life.

How about you?

Remember, a shelter is only good if you seek it out and enter it. God wants to be our refuge, but we must allow him to be by seeking him out. I thank God for being that safe place in my life and for me to be able to share that with my 2 friends.

Join us this Sunday night at 5 as we take a look at our God who is so gracious.