“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:1ff

“To the man who has found his rest in God, there comes the strength to reduce all the ill-at-easeness to manageable units of control, making for tranquility in the midst of change and upheaval.” (Howard Thurman. Deep Is the Hunger . Ravenio Books. Kindle Edition.)

Grace upon Grace. Grace upon Grace. The Greek word for Grace is “Charis” – and it means grace, favor, kindness, blessing. “In the great proportion of passages in which the word grace is found in the New Testament, it (Grace) signifies the unmerited operation of God in the heart of man (and woman), effected through the agency of the Holy Spirit.” (Robert Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament)

Do you consider that your life has been “graced”? Howard Thurman suggests that there is a Grace, a gift from G-d that comes when we find our rest and our peace in G-d when our lives seem to be well out-of-control. I cannot think of a time like 2020 where so many people have been so restless. Yes there was September 11, 2001 and the terror attacks on our soil; and even the recession of 2008 – both events that struck a lot of terror in people’s lives. But I must say the pandemic of 2020 has lasted so much longer – and affected so many more people – old and young, rich and poor.

Do you believe that you can find rest in G-d? I know it is possible – and it begins with experiencing and truly knowing grace in our lives. The heart of the teachings of the Lutheran faith is “Justification by Grace, through Faith”. We have been made right with G-d not because we have done the “right” things, but only because Jesus came at the “right time” to do for us what we could not do on our own. As we come to some knowledge of this wonderful gift, then the Holy Spirit fills us with the realization that we have received “Grace upon Grace”. This is faith lived through love and service.

Pastor Dave

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.” Genesis 3:6-7

“Every society has rules. Rules are the structures that protect us from anarchy. They tell us how we are to behave and what we are supposed to do and when we are supposed to do it. Rules and laws protect society from chaos and confusion. We can’t have people breaking the rules in the name of Jesus, can we? Every time the disciples started establishing rules—no children near Jesus; don’t let the crowd touch Jesus; don’t talk to Samaritan women; don’t let people waste expensive perfumes—Jesus told them to knock it off, and His rebuke was usually followed by a lecture that said, “You still don’t get it! We are not substituting religious rules with our rules. We are substituting religious rules with Me!” Jesus kept saying “Follow Me,” not “follow My rules.” (Michael Yaconelli. Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith (p. 58). Kindle Edition.)

Many people in this life surround themselves with things that they think will bring them comfort and peace. The attachments that society wants us to grasp so tightly onto are simply masks for what lies beneath – our life-long search to find meaning in our lives. Why did Eve step out of the “rules” set up by G-d? Because she had the free-will to think, to want, to desire, and to choose. G-d gives you and me the same free-will. The things we surround ourselves with – or hide behind say much about who we trust – G-d, or our own determination. Thomas Merton once said: “If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I am living for, in detail, ask me what I think is keeping me from living fully for the thing I want to live for.”

We are Children of G-d. This is what gives us value. All else is illusion and self-deception.

Pastor Dave