Chapter 1 ~ In The Beginning, Grace

Written by: Bill Sparks Posted on: March 24, 2018 Blog: GrowLead

As we wade into this book together, I want to invite you to join me on a journey, new to some of you, a little more familiar to others. The invitation is to allow the words on the page to challenge you to think outside your box. Again, there may be those of you who have always had a handle on grace, maybe not in perfection, but for sure it's impact has molded you in your walk with Christ.

Regardless of your level of understanding of grace, your acceptance of this invitation will make your heart encouraged, challenged, stretched and by the end of our journey, more like the Christ that we follow.

Here are some thoughts to ponder in these initial pages:

~What to you think of Andy's assertion, "The church is most appealing when the message of grace is most apparent"?

~If you were to have the opportunity to speak to a person whose world view is molded by the words of Dr. Dawkins (below) what would you say?

"The God of the OT arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving, control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidial, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." ~Dr. Richard Dawkins

~When Andy states concerning Christianity, "Instead of defining itself in terms of what it stands for, the church often takes the less imaginative and easier path of defining itself in terms of what it it against.", what thoughts come to your mind?

~"In the beginning God created, and this was a marvelous act of grace. But that was just the beginning." Did you think of creation as "grace" before reading this chapter? Do you think creation IS an act of God's grace?

~"Grace is never just enough. Grace is always far more than enough." Take a moment. Write these words down on a sheet of paper and then spend a few minutes reflecting on the thoughts represented by this statement. Now, list the areas where you see God's grace as "enough". Now, write down those areas you feel "Grace" seems to fall short in your life. Be honest. Now, be honest to God and spend a few minutes praying for "grace sufficient" (II Corinthians 12:9) to become a little more understood in your everyday life.

~Have you ever had an issue with grace? For me, there are times when grace seems to "wink" at sin. Have you ever thought this way? This phrase really got my attention in this opening read, "Grace acknowledges the full implication of sin and yet does not condemn."

~"From the beginning God has responded to the sin of humanity with . . . well . . . amazing grace." Do you agree with this claim?

There ya go, the first few pages behind you and a new look at the nature of God's grace began. My hope is that this will begin a new excursion into the depths of God's grace, that you will find the work on the inside to be refreshing and freeing.

Those of who are visiting these pages again, my prayer for you is that this drive through will allow you to see new sights that will enrich the growth you experienced during your first read.

For all of us, I am asking that God would draw our hearts together, to bring our focus and ministry a greater sense of his love. My hope is that our vision/mission will reflect this amazing gift of grace. I am convinced that if we learn this and reflect it in our lives daily and in our corporate ministry, IT WILL CHANGE LIVES. Ours and others.

Thanks for your time...

Till next week...

Comments:

Jeffrey Fuller said:

on March 25, 2018 at 6:32pm

Dawkins is bringing out the qualities that he feels will enable his assertion of God or, lack there of, to be more readily accepted by people who have never seen or understood the true nature of God and His Grace. His love and grace was never so real when He came and died with all our sins on His shoulders. He loves us so much that no matter what we have done or how many times we have hurt his heart he still pursues us, wants to forgive us, and make us His own... no matter what! It is difficult for me, most of the time, to wrap my brain around the concept that the grace extended to me and everyone I know never holds a record against us but lovingly accepts and forgives us every time I come to Him in repentance... every time! I am humbled to think that I am loved and cared for that much!

Debra Jones-Price said:

on April 6, 2018 at 1:09pm

What to you think of Andy's assertion, "The church is most appealing when the message of grace is most apparent"? Though there is a place for the “hell and damnation” preaching to wake people up to the reality of sin and hell, I think when the church has a grace message from day one, it is definitely a more welcoming place for the lost to know that they can “come as they are.” ~If you were to have the opportunity to speak to a person whose world view is molded by the words of Dr. Dawkins (below) what would you say? "The God of the OT arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving, control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidial, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." ~Dr. Richard Dawkins First off, I would tell them that the word “fiction” does not apply. You don’t look for the Bible in the fiction section of the library. (well at least you didn’t used to, who knows what the future may bring). I would tell this person that though many things happened in the old testament, though bloody, is at every turn an example of the grace of God. I like the way God is portrayed in the OT very much, actually. I know many people that only want to talk about the NT God, like he is different or something. I would go down the list of things that COULD have happened and didn’t. This really was a stumbling block for me in the past when talking to someone about my faith. But If we believe God is a perfect God and we believe there is a hell and a heaven then talking to them really shouldn’t be that hard. But we don’t people to think badly of our God or something. That’s the problem we run into the most. ~When Andy states concerning Christianity, "Instead of defining itself in terms of what it stands for, the church often takes the less imaginative and easier path of defining itself in terms of what it it against.", what thoughts come to your mind? Yes, this is so true. Its easier to say what you are against isn’t it? I know on social media its easy to say, well I don’t agree with this or that, but its much harder for many people to put their thoughts of what they do believe into a message people will listen to. In today’s world we are looking for that tweet or 2 second message that will grab someone. But it takes thought to actually put together what you are for. ~"In the beginning God created, and this was a marvelous act of grace. But that was just the beginning." Did you think of creation as "grace" before reading this chapter? Do you think creation IS an act of God's grace? I never really thought of this in that way before. Creation is another one of those subjects that the American and current church like to stray away from. If you don’t like to talk about sin and only what God can “get you”, than talking about the fact that we are sinful is inconvenient. Now that I have examined this, I think it was an act of grace. ~"Grace is never just enough. Grace is always far more than enough." Take a moment. Write these words down on a sheet of paper and then spend a few minutes reflecting on the thoughts represented by this statement. Now, list the areas where you see God's grace as "enough". Now, write down those areas you feel "Grace" seems to fall short in your life. Be honest. Now, be honest to God and spend a few minutes praying for "grace sufficient" (II Corinthians 12:9) to become a little more understood in your everyday life. 1. My salvation 2. My day to day walk 1. I know this sounds very impertinent since God just saved me from a cancer diagnosis, but I’ve always felt that though God has kept me going and has saved me from many things when it comes to my health, I sometimes feel that his grace is lacking. For instance, I finally got past the cancer thing and now my thyroid medication is making my blood pressure high, so I had to cut back on it and now I am feeling worn out again. Its one thing after another and I just sometimes feel like I’ve had enough. This isn’t anything new to Him, obviously. I’ve yelled and complained to Him enough about it. But then there are days that I just FEEL his grace in my day to day and even though I’m struggling he give me enough for THAT day. ~Have you ever had an issue with grace? For me, there are times when grace seems to "wink" at sin. Have you ever thought this way? This phrase really got my attention in this opening read, "Grace acknowledges the full implication of sin and yet does not condemn." Yes. There have been times when I really have a Jonah and Nineveh moment. I really want someone to get theirs, but then they don’t. I then have to step back and realize how many times that I am allowed grace in every single day. ~"From the beginning God has responded to the sin of humanity with . . . well . . . amazing grace." Do you agree with this claim? Yes I do. We could have been blotted out a long time ago. I struggle sometimes with the Noah and the ark narrative though. I mean he got mad enough once and he promised to never do it again, but what made him change his mind? Just my thoughts on a rainy afternoon!

Chapter 1 ~ In The Beginning, Grace

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