grace to be grace.

"The God of all grace." I Peter 5:10

That verse gives me comfort this morning. Grace. God is a God of grace. ALLLLL grace given. Undeserved - unmerited favor: that's grace. Our God...our God is a God of grace. Not the Hindu gods. No grace found there. Not the God of Islam. Yeah...no. No grace there. Buddah? How about grace from Buddah? No. Check him out. NO grace found there. Really. Check those gods - any gods for that matter. No god but THE GOD of The Bible offers grace. AND here's the kicker...we did nothing to deserve it. ALL other religions focus on deeds - what we must do to earn favor.

Not THE GOD - the author of grace: "By grace you have been save through faith, and that NOT OF YOURSELVES, it is the gift of GOD." Ephesians 2:8-9. And this grace that comes through Christ (John 1:17) is given to everybody. EVERY single body in the world is being extended this incredible favor from God right now. NO other god is as INCLUSIVE as THE GOD of grace. This God is the God of the Abraham, Isaac, to whom the promise was extended, to Jacob, his 12 sons who became the nation of Israel - through whom came King David, King Solomon, and King Jesus.The Son of God was given so that we might know the grace of God that did not demand we WORK to reach heaven, but that GRACE would come to us - even if we could care less. Through Jesus,- his life, death, and resurrection, we can know that our Creator has always been personally invested in us. He is not distant from us - nor has he ever been. He has always loved us, and will not ever relent in His love. He lets us choose Him, and He lets us reject Him - and in both decisions His love pervades. No other god is like our God.

I am so caught up in grace this morning, caught up with the blazing realization that our God is living and active and that HE ALONE is God. There is none like Him. ALL roads do not lead to Him. Any other road but Jesus - the way, the truth the life" is a dead end. John 14:6-7

And you know what? This truth claim is not exclusive - THIS WAY is for the ENTIRE world. "For God so loved THE WORLD that WHOSOEVER believes in Him - not about Him, cuz He is historical fact - but IN HIM - which means your will and heart believe and live accordingly - SHALL NOT DIE - but have everlasting life. That's not reincarnation. Our everlasting life is not cyclical - but linear...we go on, and on, and on - with our God. Jesus said, "My Father's house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?" We don't have to be relegated to the body of a bug for bad karma. We won't become apart of some essence of a god. We get to be with Jesus - in a personal, loving, intimate eye to eye relationship with Him and others who love Him - RIGHT where HE IS - with GOD. He is there RIGHT NOW!!!! AND one day...we get to be there too! I know...unbelievable, right? Yeah - but not by faith. It's not unbelievable when you put your faith in Christ and His Spirit comes in and opens your eyes to truth that is indeed BELIEVABLE! I Corinthians 1:27-31

I have never seen anything more exclusive than the religions and ideologies of our world. My eyes have been flooded with tears at the realization of what some believe is truth. How exhausting. Heart wrenching. Dark. Hopeless. Powerless. Impersonal. EMPTY. Just the thought that someone would say "All Roads Lead to One" is heartbreaking. How completely ignorant of who God has shown us that He is through His Word - through Jesus of Nazareth - His only Son. One idea planted by that Ancient Liar long ago keeps growing and spreading like a virus. "Did God really say...?" Genesis 3. All truth is realized in one fact. We can trust our God  - THE GOD of grace.

God loves the world. And He has paid for our rejection of Him. We are desperate for Him. We just need to realize who He is.

Confucianism, Shinto, Hindu, Sikhism, Kabbalah, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Zen Buddhism...the list goes on and is quite long; all  gods but our GOD require deeds to achieve an end result. ONLY the God of The Bible requires nothing of us - but to receive the free gift of Jesus, and HIM ALONE, as payment for our sin debt, and hope for our eternity. ANY OTHER god - offers no assurance of salvation apart from deeds - our gift to them...and! And! AND!!! even those deeds do not assure that  could we have done enough...well - unless of course you become a guru - or maybe a suicide bomber.

HOW I ache for the truth of God to pervade this city - and every city. Your city and my city need Jesus. We are not filled with the passion to proclaim him from our own efforts. Remember? We can do nothing apart from Him? John 15. He makes us able, because He knows we can't. No other god makes people able to live for him. THE GOD does. We have the power of God in us to pursue Him, and to be ambassadors for Him. You feel that excitement? That urgency? That is the Spirit of God in you! HUG ME! I love that about you!

So where do we begin? How do we accomplish so GREAT a task? I'm with you! I'm thinkin' it out and praying about it with you. Indeed - how do you? Begin with asking our GOD - THE GOD - who has positioned us here in 2012 to know HIM - and live this life for Him...(and again - that's not a list of to do's...that's the Spirit of God in us that makes us cry out to Him - I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I WANT TO LIVE FOR YOU!!!...you don't get that with other gods...This is a free benefit with THE GOD) Check out ..
Hebrews 10:16 " I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds. Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."  We don't need a list of laws - a ritual, a mantra, a bracelet, an outfit ...we are indwelt by the Spirit of God, and daily He will teach us what we need for our good that brings Him glory. CRAZY! It's just so good and beautiful - it's crazy! How can people not be drawn to Jesus? Oh...yeah - that's right...other people.

Grace. We must learn grace and what it looks like to extend it as our Father has extended it to us. Grace is not extending a rule book, jamming a cross in someone's face, judging, forcing; it's Jesus. Grace is the undeserved, unmerited favor that is our Savior and King. What can you do to extend THAT? Ask God. He's good at it.  He didn't shove Himself down your throat, boldly proclaim your sins to the world, shun you, shame you, reject you... He loved you and waited for you to realize just how very much He does...allllll the while extending to you - GRACE.

Wow. Enjoy that thought today as you look back at your life and where God has brought you - apart from Him - or with Him. He has been loving you. Waiting for you. And hoping for your very best...which will always be His Son, Jesus.

I'm so thankful for grace. Thanks for grace through you, my friend! Thank you for being the touch of God in my life as He THRIVES in you!!! GRATEFUL!!! Spread that goodness to everyone!!! It's so INCDREDIBLE! And we aLLLLL need grace. Don't we? Yeah. We surely do. We surely, surely do.

"Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18

What a GOD!

The unbearable Lightness of a burden

My heart has been aching for a friend - who is hurting...You know that feeling? Jesus called us to bare one another's burdens. That's hard, isn't it?  Quite honestly - if it were not for His Spirit indwelling me - (yeah, that's a hard concept for me to understand, too - but I know He's in there!)...If the Spirit of God did not get inside this head and heart of mine, I know I would not give one hoot about my friend's heartache. Oh sure - I'd casually be concerned, and offer kindness when I could - but this is different. This is a BURDEN that wakes me up in the night. This is a BURDEN that is on my heart from the moment I wake up and it remains with me throughout the day. This burden has me ready - on the alert - and willing. This burden makes me pray and hope and look for what I can do to bring JOY and PEACE and HELP to my friend.

You know what I'm talking about, right? A burden is an urgency that makes you just cry out to God, "Tell me what to do - and I'll do it." AND you're praying this even EVEN though you know what God may call you to do could be really hard, really humiliating, really inconvenient, uncomfortable - or even seemingly COMPLETELY impossible. Regardless - you're praying and willing to be used.  And we didn't even ask for this burden, did we?

Is it not incredible that we who follow Christ are moved from the comfort of self - to the discomfort of someone else's heart - another person's life struggle...a dark place where we are not at home, often not welcome, not at ease, not reassured, not respected, not strong, not wise, not able ... just completely dependent on God. We are stirred in our hearts, with our minds, and with our lives - to act on the behalf of someone else. Why?

Why indeed.

I read something today that brought me to a soft place of quiet understanding. I'm not saying I completely understand why we WILL  and why we MUST - carry the burden of others.  What I am saying is that I have laid down my question of why - and I have begun to thank God for this burden and trust Him with it.

I wanted to invite you to read this story as well. It is a short piece written by a Hindu convert to Jesus - who became a missionary. That alone intrigued me..So you ready for this? It's not that long. I promise it will be worth your while.

Here it is:

Shortly after coming to Christ, Sadhu felt called to become a missionary to India. Late one afternoon Sadhu was traveling on foot through the Himalayas with a Buddhist monk. It was bitter cold and the wind felt like a cold blade slicing into Sadhu's skin. Night was fast approaching when the monk warned Sadhu that they were in danger of freezing to death if they did not reach the monastery before the darkness fell. 

Just as they were traversing a narrow path above a steep precipice, they heard a cry of help. Down the cliff lay a man, fallen and badly hurt. The monk looked at Sadhu and said, "Do not stop. God has brought  this man to his fate. He must work it out for himself." Then he quickly added while walking on, "Let us hurry on before we, too, perish." 

But Sadhu replied, "God has sent me here to help my brother, I cannot abandon him." 

The monk continued trudging off through the whirling snow, while the missionary clambered down the steep embankment. The man's leg was broken and he could not walk. So Sadhu took his blanket, made a sling of it, and tied the man on his back. then, bending under his burden, he began a body-torturing climb. By the time he reached the narrow path again, he was drenched with perspiration.

Doggedly, he made his way on through the deepening snow. It was dark now and it was all he could do to follow the path. But he persevered, though faint with fatigue and overheated from the exertion. Finally, he saw ahead the lights of the monastery.

Then, for the first time, Sadhu stumbled and nearly fell - but not from weakness. He had stumbled over some object lying in the snow-covered road. Slowly he bent down on one knee and brushed the snow off the object. It was the body of the monk, frozen to death.

Years later a disciple of Sadhu's asked him, "What is life's most difficult task?"

Without hesitation, Sadhu replied: "To have no burden to carry."

You and I have been given an immeasurable blessing. It is grace to us and grace to those we have been blessed to love.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" John 15:13
"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." Matthew 16:25

I think of so many people I know who are burdened for others. Some are even burdened for people they haven't even met - locally and around the world. They seek to bring them healing, joy, peace, help in any way possible. They are doing whatever they believe God has called them to do, and their efforts are gargantuan and not without struggle. I also think of you. Which is why I am writing. I hope to encourage you this very day. What God has called you to, dear reader - in bearing someone else's burden - is a gift that He will help you endure...and not only ENDURE..but! THE God of the Universe will help you accomplish what He has put before you to do on His behalf...HOW amazing is that?!?! God will bless you with this burden you carry! It will literally be a blessing. A burden is grace we often do not realize. Isn't that incredible? I'm amazed with you - to the point of humble, grateful tears.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.—Hebrews 12:2

Picking it up, and moving on, and stumbling forward - with JOY.

Hey Jealousy

Hey - you know that woman in your life - we all have one.. THE ONE that you think is SO spectacular....(She is sumpthin', isn't she? I know - she totally is!) - the one that makes you think every now and then that annoying little irritant of a thought "What must it be like to be you?" Don't you just hate that feeling - ugh! and no matter what, you can't keep it from coming to a boil. Double ugh! Well -hold on - I'm getting to the BETTER feeling for you and I... you ready?...The next time you see her - (and I'm with you - I've been doing it and it's WORKING!) WHY don't you tell her why you think she is so incredible? Don't laugh! I'm serious! But, listen - hear me out...You're not going to tell her just because she might need to hear it from your lips (because really, she might - you never know what she thinks about herself or how she feels the moment you are there with her -) ... you aren't telling her so much for her - as you are for your heart need to tell her - YOU are going to tell her because YOU need to hear YOU telling her just why you think the fancy out of  her! And can I tell ya... the funny thing is - you CAN tell her with  sincerity and sweetness from your heart - because you already believe it! Right!?! uh-huh - yeah we do! we believe she is amazing!

Woman!!! let me tell ya....

FREEEEEDOM! Freeedom! FREEEEEE DOMM!

Try it. I know you'll like it. You so will! Curl your toes kinda good feeling happy!!!

"I run the way of your commands for you have set my heart free." Psalm 119:32

Love is kind. It does not envy. Run light.

LOVE!

when you wish upon a star. stupid star.

Have you been to Cinderella's castle? It's quite spectacular at a distance. Maybe you've never actually stood before it - looking up at all it's magnificence - but maybe you've been to it in your mind. It actually - is much better there, really. I'm not trying to be a party pooper, But it's true.Nothing - no reality - can compare to what we have made of that castle in our mind.

I remember the first time I saw Cinderella's majestic, fairy tale home. I was eight. Remember the world at eight?  I could not wait to get to see inside of it with my own eyes and wander through its rooms and hallways and dungeons and towers. I wanted to see her bed, her kitchen, and fireplace. I had pictured it all a thousand times, and so the thought of seeing it for real made my heart race.

We climbed up the bride hill - that overlooks water - you know the one? And then stood in the golden painted archway with so many other people - who snapped pictures and talked loudly. What were they doing there? This was my moment! Not expected...right?

"Can we go in?" I asked.
"No - you don't GO in," my mother replied. She had tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Why? Why can't we go in? And why are you crying?"
"It's a restaurant in there. You have to have reservations to go in there." She wiped her tears from her cheeks. My father was taking her picture. She finished answering me. "It's Cinderella's castle. I have always wanted to be in Cinderella's castle. That's why I'm crying."

Yeah. I wanted to cry, too! THIS was it!?! And what was the deal with the reservations? Why couldn't we have reservations? I didn't ask anymore questions. I was sorely disappointed, and my mom seemed to be somewhere else in tears and a far-away look toward the paintings and bricks that had now really ticked me off.

THAT WAS IT!?!

How many times is the idea of something better to you than the reality? For instance - how 'bout motherhood? Are you laughing or gasping that I would even say such a thing? Laura Lewis! Don't you love being a mother? Of course I do! I love life with my God-given babes!!! But - BUT- BUT!!! THIS - is not how I imagined it. At all! Especially when they were newborns. Remember that? Or maybe you're in it...Praying for you, new Mama. Praying for you!!! Cuz..who tells you you're going to be up at 2 a.m. feeding a baby for months on end? NO ONE! Who tells you that they cry and you can't figure it out? ummm... NO ONE!  Who tells you that they will have sickness - and pain - and needs beyond your touch or ability to repair them? Aren't moms supposed to be able to fix everything? Yeah. No. Who prepares you for the heartache of  their blatant "NO"? Right in your face - "NO"...I guess that's more the toddler days - but still! No one tells you that tiny thing you could step on is going to rip your heart out and challenge you like nothing else in this world!  AND THEN!  who tells you that you can become this vile, nasty person that you have never seen or heard or realized in alllll your ever livin' days on this earth! AND you saw Mommy Dearest, right? Who told you that could be YOU?  Did ANYONE ever tell you that you would look in the mirror and ask - WHO AM I? ... Who is this person I am becoming in the midst of motherhood, because you have no idea. Yeah - no one.

I remember one friend - ONE - who said to me in my 9th month of pregnancy - while she held her 9 month old on her hip..."Keep that baby inside of you." But she didn't tell me why. And you know what - I was afraid to ask.

I guess - to everyone's defense - the truth is - HOW can anyone prepare you to come to grips with your own fantasy crashing around at  your feet. It's not going to be what you think it is - and no one else knows just REALLY what you have imagined THAT  picture to be... EXCEPT - our God. He knows our thoughts - He alone searches the heart - and He alone is the one who will speak love, and truth, and grace - into the reality that is our life. Jeremiah 17:10, "I alone search the heart and examine the mind to give everyman according to his ways, And according to the fruit of his doings." I do not see this truth of God in a negative light - anymore that is...As I learn the love that is our God...I see a Father - who knows what lessons He must bring to His child to shape a life - a heart - that is a reflection of His own image. Romans 8:27-28 makes that even more clear as I ponder it this morning... Hoping in God - who is our life - is where we will find an image to embrace and walk into.

"Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mid of the Spirit is, because He makes intersession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Are you standing under the archway of Cinderella's castle? With tears streaming down your face - are you realizing, "THIS IS NOT WHAT I HOPED FOR." Does it feel like you have been sold a lie for what should have been a dream come true?

What are you going to do with those tears streaming down your face? Are you going to wipe them away and shove that pain deep down in your heart, so that you can chalk this up to another disappointment - another reason someone else has a better deal than you do... STOP IT! Stop right now...and I'm saying this in love - YOU ARE IN THE MIDST OF A POWERFUL LESSON. One that you best not ignore. How do I know? I'm with you!!! I'm standing right there with you! See me? Hey - how ya doin'? Here's a Kleenex. WE MUST pay close attention to our tears, and go to God's Word with them. That is the best cure for that heartache. We have incorrectly placed our hope in something that is not reality. Misappropriated HOPE is the reason for those tears - and we affect others with our sorrow... ( you know that little one lookin' at you saying, "Why are you crying, Mommy?")  LOVE for them makes a choice to fully examine our broken thinking - and seek God, our Daddy, to make it right. In the archway of Cinderella's castle - whatever that is for you - our God is standing - waiting for us to go to HIM - His Word - that is timeless - and exact - and healing - and precisely what He knew we would need to embrace our broken dream - and HIM - in the reality that is our day - today.

Remember that verse? I just shared it up a few paragraphs...IT ALLLL works together for our good. We don't have to be afraid that the dream just shattered. The dream cannot compare to what is going to be...because YES! GOD is just that good.

So stop reading this stupid blog - and go get your Bible...Read Psalm 27:14, Isaiah 40:28-29, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 25:4, James 1:3-4, and Hebrews 10:35-36...

Take hold of the TRUTH of God...and move into today knowing full well - your dream that you have cherished and protected and lived for - was not for nothing. It wasn't. Don't get all poo-poo about the fact you had this dream and it just popped!  This dream of yours - that God knew you had - it ...-LISTEN...and don't just listen - examine it - see if I'm right - IT was for a powerful lesson of LIFE - that GOD has been patiently waiting to show you - from the time your dreaming heart began to beat.

LOVE this Jesus life with you! Love it! Wish you'd tell me what you're learning, too. I always look to hear from you. LOVE!