From the Holiday Inn Express Sikeston, MO Im in the breakfast area with coffee in hand trying wake up. Yesterdays 265 mile trip apparently was further according to my body! Lol. Lets continue our series of the elephant in the room for a moment. Over the years the message of grace has taken center stage in the Church. Im reminded of how the Beatles took center stage when they came from England to New York. Some have said that grace is the message of the hour and I understand that. It was for me 20 years ago. However, grace has been the message of the hour from the beginning of time. Some of us are just finding this out now. There are two meanings for the word knowledge. One meaning is to experience the knowledge and the other means to be puffed up with your knowledge. As I watch pastors scurry to get in on the latest message trend, I listen to their heart. The heart reveals the type of knowledge they have. Are they trying to create passion or do they have passion? Is grace just another subject or is grace a Person? A trained ear knows. Two scriptures come to mind, James 1:22 and Romans 8:15. In James the word doer means becoming a poetic performer of the Word. A poetic performer doesnt need a script, its who they are. In Romans the word father means that through the new birth God has become the parent of your recreated spirit. The word abba means becoming the parent of your soul. The parenting of your spirit is automatic at the new birth. But for God to become the Father of your soul is a decision on your part. Therein lies the difference. We need to realize that grace isnt just the latest trend in messages, grace is a Person. His name is Jesus. Years ago I knew a church leader that took all of his TVs out in the front yard and set them on fire. There, I took care of my addiction to TV was his boast. In less that a month he had quietly replace all of his TVs. Its like a preacher that teachers a scripted message on grace; there I taught a message on grace. Its more than that. Be blessed, Pastor Vic
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 13:07:32 +0000