Category Archives: GRACE

TOMORROW [a Kairos Talk].051915

Leave a reply

[This is an excerpt from a talk on a Kairos Weekend in a prison]

need helpOn this final day we need to look back to where we were on Thursday, and then look at where we are today.  Might say we’ve come a long way. Think back to the first day and the first talk “Choices”.  We said the choices we make effect where we end up in life.  What do we mean when we say life is a journey?  We’re not really talking about going from one place to another on the earth.  We’re talking about in our hearts.

About being in a new place inside. 1] About realizing we’re different, something has happened, something has changed. 2] Feeling different about others. 3] Finding new experiences and new relationships. 4] What are some new things you have experienced these last 3 days? Continue reading →

Kairos-A Christian.051415

Leave a reply

[This is an excerpt from the Kairos talk “A Christian”]

the Good SamaritanLOVE is about mercy and forgiveness; Mercy is being nice to someone (cuttin’ them a little slack) even when they deserve to be punished.  That’s what God does for us.

Forgiveness is what love is in practice.  It’s what happens when we love people enough to forgive them, even when they are wrong and we’re right; even when no one is looking and it won’t help us a bit.  Forgiveness is the evidence of mercy in our individual personal relationships.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4, it says ‘Love is patient.’  In the King James version of the Bible, and in the original Greek the verse says, “Love suffers long.”  That means if you really love someone, you put up with them.  I’m thinking about my kids when they were teenagers.  It means that you put up with them, even though you’ve told them 15 times what you expect, and they’re still doing it wrong, very likely on purpose and not accidentally.  That’s what it means when it says love suffers long. Continue reading →

OBSTACLES TO GOD’S GRACE: 051115:

Leave a reply

FARMER WITH CORN.051115‘Obstacles’ is the next to the last talk on the Kairos Weekend Program in the prisons.  “We’ve been talking all weekend about God’s plan for our lives.  Let me tell you what His plan is for us; to surrender ourselves to Him.  To do whatever He wants us to on a minute by minute basis.  To accept the gift of His grace and share it with others.  Pretty simple; but it’s not easy.

What is Grace?  It is unmerited favor.  That means God being nice to us when we didn’t deserve it.  Grace is a lot like mercy, Mercy is God being nice to us when we deserved to be punished. Continue reading →

WALKING IN GOD’S GRACE.050715

Leave a reply

[The following are excerpts from a Kairos talk called “Walking in God’s Grace”.]                  Religious Words on Grunge BackgroundI wish I could tell you that living the Christian life, after you really commit to God, is going to be easy, that you’re going to feel God’s presence every day, more and more; that you’re going to be obedient, that you’re not going to do anything stupid, that you’re going to trust God all the time, that you’re going to love everybody and they’re going to love you; that there’s going to be a steady shining light in your life all the time and no more darkness.  Sorry, it’s just not going to be all sweetness and light, because we’re all still a bunch of sinners.

Let’s say that because of this Kairos weekend, everybody here has made a commitment to Jesus.  We’ve had good food and good fellowship; we’ve felt God’s unconditional love through the brothers, both those from inside and those from outside the prison; and we’re excited about the prospect of going back out in the world to share Jesus with other people out there in the dark.  How are we going to do that?  We can’t.  Why can’t we?  We’re heard the message; we’ve accepted it; we’ve made a commitment to Jesus; and He’s definitely made a commitment to us (to each one of us).  So what is holding us back? Continue reading →

FORGIVENESS CEREMONY.050615

Leave a reply

forgive yourselfIn the Kairos program we focus a lot of attention on forgiveness.   We do it for two reasons: 1] because in the Bible Jesus devotes  a lot of attention to it; and 2] because in the prisons, there are a lot of people who really need it.

To bring this subject into focus: in Matthew 6:9-15, the Lord’s Prayer, forgiveness is a major point of the whole prayer.  In verse 12, it says, “Forgive us our trespasses (sins, debts) as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  And we usually think the prayer ends with verse 13, “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.  For Yours is the kingdom .  .”

But that’s not really the end, because immediately, without taking a breath, Jesus adds, “If you forgive others their trespasses, then God will forgive you; but if you don’t forgive others, then He won’t forgive you.’  (Isn’t it interesting that He doesn’t make any comments about any other verses in the prayer, only about forgiveness.) Continue reading →

DELIVERANCE TO THE PRISONERS . 050515

Leave a reply

Abandoned Jail in TallinnIn Luke 4:16-20, is the story of when, shortly after Jesus returned from His temptation wilderness, He first appeared in the synagogue at Nazareth to announce His ministry.  It goes like this: ‘And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

In a number of places in the New Testament, Jesus says that those who believe (trust) in Him will receive the Holy Spirit (That’s Jesus’ Spirit), like John 7:39; John 20:22;  and Acts 1:8; I take these verses to mean that because you and I trust Jesus, His Spirit lives in us too, and the passage in Luke quoted above applies to us, just as it applied (applies) to Jesus.  We too are to proclaim deliverance to the prisoners.   Continue reading →

Works of Righteousness. 041215

Leave a reply

Ephesians 2.8In Ephesians 2:8-9: Paul says,“For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

And in his letter to Titus, in chapter 3, verse 5, Paul says again,  “ .  .  not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”   Did you get that?  It is not by any works, not by any deeds we have done, or by any special actions we have taken, that God saves us.  Particularly not by “works of righteousness”, meaning good things we’ve done to make God like us. 

Continue reading →

THE PRESENT.041115

Leave a reply

Young woman happy smile hold gift box in hands,standing over grey backgroundIn 1 Thessalonians 5;16-18, Paul says, “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in all things give  thanks, for this is the Will of God in Christ Jesus for you!”

In Romans 8:28, Paul says, “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are ‘the called’ according to His purpose.”

Someone said (I don’t know who), “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is all we have, it is God’s gift to us, that is the reason we call it THE PRESENT!

Peace and Grace from God to you! Tex

 

Seek God With All Your Heart. 040815

Leave a reply

MeditationDeuteronomy 4:29-31:  If [even after worshipping idols] you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and soul. When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you .  .  . when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.

What does it mean, ‘With All Your Heart”?  Yes, I know, it means that you’re really serious; that you really want to have a relationship with God; that you want the benefits of having a close relationship with Him, because what you’ve been doing definitely isn’t working.

Sounds like, from the next sentence, that if you’re tired of going on without God, and you’ve done a whole lot of really stupid stuff, (like worshipping something besides God), and all these [bad] things come upon you .  .  . when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice.  .  .  God won’t forsake you or destroy you or forget the covenant He made with your fathers, because He is a merciful God. Continue reading →

SALT and LIGHT. 040715

Leave a reply

Salt and LightMatthew 5:13-16 [Jesus says], “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.  Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” The Message

What does salt do in the natural world?  Continue reading →