Ever Been Drenched Before?

We once harvested grapes, hurrying to finish before a hurricane fully arrived. We didn’t finish in time. It finished us.  Soaked us to the bone.  We still laugh when we remember that day. How crazy can you be?

Our family?  Pretty crazy.

But, if you’ve been adopted into God’s family, life is even crazier. The prophet Joel says, “Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before”. (Joel 2: 23) It is our God-given right to expect this abundant outpouring.

You and I are meant to be inundated, washed, soaked, drenched, immersed, covered and sealed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Gushing with grace, we are overflowing with each step we take in an unavoidable experience of God’s grace and joy in Jesus Christ.

Can people tell when you approach them, you are squishing the Spirit out through your words and witness.  Jesus promised us this kind of crazy life. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8)

Have you been drenched before?

Lent and Walking the Pathway of Grace

Lent is a deep time of reflection and examination. For 40 days we hold up our faith to the intense light of the Son in the desert wilderness. Most of us begin this time with a shared worship experience on Ash Wednesday. We sing songs of faith. We pray and lift up our need for the outpouring of God’s presence into our lives. But, as we prepare for this Lenten season I hope you will be drawn to examine your life in light of the first expression of the pathway of grace we find in the life of the Church.

It is the day of Pentecost and just as Jesus was cast out into the desert by the Spirit, the outpouring of God’s promise upon the first disciples casts them out into the wild streets of Jerusalem. Peter stands up before the people of many nations and declares to them the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and the declaration that this same Jesus that was crucified is both Lord and Christ. The end of all things is at hand and God has moved in history and now seeks a dwelling place within our hearts. As many were moved and convicted by this apostolic message they asked a question, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2: 37) and Peter responds and asks them to enter into a new way of life – a pathway of grace.

He tells them to:
1. Fully align yourself with Jesus Christ – Repent!
2. By faith, immerse yourself in this Way of life
3. Be forgiven of your sins
4. Be filled with the Spirit
5. Fiercely Follow the apostles’ instruction, and
6. Be a faithful participant in the fellowship of love and care

Now, review this list. Examine your own soul. Submit yourself to the wise council of others. How are you doing? How will following this path affect you over the next 40 days? How can you be more fully aligned with Jesus Christ? How can you whet and wet your faith? How can you douse your spirit, soul, and body with the washing and regenerating power of God’s word during this Lenten season? Are there sins you need to confess and for which you find forgiveness and old-habit-shattering cleansing? Are you filled with the Spirit? Do you contend for the faith (within and without) “that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people”. (Jude 1: 3) Are you daily demonstrating and giving the grace you received from the Lord? Do you stand in need of more grace?

Walk the pathway of grace. Do not let the days of Lent be wasted or passed over in your life. Let God bring about significant change and growth in you. I certainly want to rejoice with the angels over what God is doing in you!

If You Liked This Teaching…

And would like to have more help in walking the pathway of grace, I would recommend you do two things: pick up a copy of Moving at the Speed of Grace and be on the lookout for my new book, The Pathway of Grace: Learning to Walk with God.

The Point of Repentance

The point of repentance is to turn your whole life from the pathway of sin into the pathway of grace.  It is a matter of alignment.  We were meant to “move, live, and have our being” (Acts 17: 28) in alignment with the presence of God in Jesus Christ.  It is at the point of repentance that this alignment can begin to occur, regenerating and reshaping the soul that was marred and twisted by sin.  Like a master craftsman shaping a sword out of a single ingot of steel, so God moves us through the fire of repentance to present us ready to begin the awesome journey of living life by grace through faith.

We will be forever now be turned upon the anvil of God’s love.  Nothing will be missed as God begins to forgive us and deliver us from sin and lead us into fullness along paths of righteousness in the power of the Holy Spirit.  This was the conclusion of the first gospel sermon ever preached: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38) and it is what Jesus insisted upon when he said, “You must be born again”. (John 3: 7)  “Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again’.” (John 3: 3)  Yes, we must come to the point of repentance: a baptism of repentance away from our sin and a baptism into fulfilling all righteousness, a baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Best Day in the Life of a Pastor

 The best day in the life of a pastor is when we get to rejoice over what makes heaven rejoice!  This happened for me just 16 days ago when we baptized four: Summer, Nick, Eliana, and Steele in the James River near where I serve as the pastor of Laurel Hill United Methodist Church.

It is a monumental day when four souls find themselves squarely at the intersection of Faith and Grace and they turn from following their Own Way to follow the Way of Jesus.

I couldn’t be more happy! Pray for their growth in grace and for them maturing as faithful disciples of Jesus.