Monthly Archives: April 2019

Grace and Peas

DSC_1265By Judy Villanueva

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses;  grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

Grace takes its rise far back in the heart of God, in the awful and incomprehensible abyss of His holy being; but the channel through which it flows out to men is Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.(AW Tozer)

Staring down at my plate, I exhaled in defeat.  The pile of peas had won again!  I knew that unless I ate every one of them, I’d be stuck at the dining room table indefinitely.  The sun would go down and I would miss out on all the playtime left in the day.  I hate peas.  I find all other vegetables edible and some, even delicious, but peas make me gag.  Regardless, the rule in our family was to finish everything on our plate or die.  Well, that’s how it felt to a seven year old!  On one occasion, however, my dad sat down next to me and watched as I plugged my nose and attempted to swallow these horrible green little balls.  He gave me the most curious look and finally said, “Judy, if you finish this last pile of peas you will never have to eat another pea in your life.”  I couldn’t believe my ears!  I gave my dad a fierce hug, swallowed the last few bites of peas, and haven’t eaten one since!

This may seem too silly a story to use to talk about grace, something so massively beautiful.  And, I would agree except that I have a sense God’s grace, while grand and glorious, also offers healing through the sweet and small things of life, like when a dad sets his little girl free from the law of sin and peas.  Rules are generally designed to help us live within good boundaries for our physical, emotional, relational and spiritual health.  We count on Biblical statutes, in particular, to guide us toward a lifestyle and choices informed by wisdom and love.  Don’t lie.  Don’t steal.  Be nice.  But, we fail.   We fall short and suddenly find ourselves at the dining room table facing our plate of peas and our inability to keep the rules.  We all need grace, both big and small, from the cross on calvary to the daily graces we give and receive from one another.

Grace is a precious and powerful thing.  Every time we open ourselves to the grace of God we are changed by it. 

And, each time we offer a gift of grace to another, whether through forgiveness, generosity, or a kindness —  a little bit of Heaven spills out of us! 

Its beauty heals.  Grace is always free and undeserved.  The fact that it is “unmerited favor” can be difficult to accept and even more difficult to offer.  We’d rather earn our favor and extend grace only after it has been merited.  This, of course, is not grace at all and points to the fact that grace is conspicuously bigger than we are.  It requires that we turn to its author for the power to give and receive grace—

to the beautiful, generous, gigantic heart of God the Father.  

Here is the dad who sees us in our peaful predicaments and has compassion on us.  Here is our kind and loving Father who sets us free and fills us with grace for others.  He is full of grace.  Grace is who He is!  

“Thank you, Father, for your grace.  I want to be a grace giver and understand that first, I must be a grace receiver.  Open my eyes, Lord. Let grace spill out from heaven and change me.  Amen.”

What about you?

Have you felt the power of grace touch your life?

Have you received the gift of grace offered  to you at the cross?

Is the power and beauty of grace changing you?

Do you like peas?  (Sorry, just had to ask!)

Worship

The Cross

cross (2) 2By Judy Villanueva

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ..  Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Do you remember the first time you heard the story of a man named Jesus who died on a cross?  Were you told of his deep love for you and the price he paid to save your life?  I remember as a kid watching The Greatest Story Ever Told and crying at the part where Jesus was crucified.  So young, I couldn’t have understood the magnitude of this scene, but I remember my little heart breaking for Jesus and sensing something powerful at work.  As Easter approaches, I feel the need to touch the most beautiful story ever told — ever lived.   I want to remember the cross  in living color so that my heart might be awakened from its stupor… so that I might drop to my knees in tears and utter amazement and feel the power of love pour over my life again!

The cross marks a turning point in human history, an unprecedented sacrifice that culminated in Heaven’s Son nailed to a wooden beam.  It wasn’t a divine whisper.  No! 

It was a shout, an earthquake, an avalanche of love that pierced God’s heart and spread itself out over all mankind.  

Can you feel it?  The King of kings took the rap for us, His creation.  He traded a royal crown for a thorny one and surrendered His life for ours.  How in touch are you with this gift?  I confess that I live mostly out of touch with the beauty and power of the cross.  How do I know this?  Because, whenever I do wake up and touch even the hem of this reality, I can feel it speak to my soul!  It immediately imparts a bright and broad perspective.  It fills me with bold hope and deep gratitude!  It’s more real than anything and nothing compares to it — no earthly enticement, no worry or fear.  

Too many Easters come and go with colored eggs and cute furry bunnies, but little notice or heart-connection to the astonishing reality of the cross, let alone the resurrection!  I admit it’s hard to live conscious of the cross 24-7, but I wonder what would happen if we tried to set it in the foreground of our days and let it bump into us!  Instead of a once-a-year experience, what if we took deliberate moments to remember when God shouted, “I love you” on Calvary! 

What if everything in our lives had to stand next to Christ on the cross — 

joys and sorrows, wins and losses, births and deaths, fears, failings, hopes and dreams.  I want to live in the shadow of the cross and at the opening of the empty tomb!  Don’t you?

 “Lord, I want to live awakened to the beauty and power of the cross.  Thank you for what you endured to save me.  It is finished and I am forever grateful.  Amen.” 

What about you?

Have you heard the greatest story ever told of a cross and man who loves you?

Where is the cross of Christ in your life?  Is it in the foreground, background or is it missing?

What IF everything in your life stood next to Christ on the cross?  Can you imagine how you would think and feel?

Take time to stand quietly before the cross.  Look.  Listen.  Receive.

61FxF8WxgfL._AC_US218_Click here to buy Listening for Love Kindle Edition

 

Worship

Trading Places

IMG_6759Matthew 27:15-26

Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.   At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas.  So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you:  Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”  For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

…But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.   “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.  “Barabbas,” they answered.

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.  They all answered, “Crucify him!”  “Why?  What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.  But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”…Then he released Barabbas to them.  But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. 

We sat together in the hospital waiting room so grateful to see one another, even under these circumstances.  Mom was in the center of our little circle smiling as we, her grown children, bantered and teased one another.  In between the light-hearted exchanges were knowing glances as we held our dad up in quiet prayer.  He was missing from our circle.  Dad used to promise us that he would live to be a hundred, so I never really worried about losing him as a child, but now at 86 years of age, the notion of it seemed to hover around us.  Our prayers that day reached far beyond a good surgical outcome to a time when this beloved man will say “yes” to the gift of love given on Calvary…the one where God’s Son traded places with us!

Have you ever put yourself in Barabbas’ shoes?   He was on death row for murder among other things.  What was he thinking that day, I wonder, when all of a sudden he was yanked from his cell and placed before Pilate and a rabid crowd?  Had he heard of the “other” Jesus, the one they called the Messiah?  Imagine for a minute that you are Barabbas standing next to Mary’s son awaiting your fate. Go ahead.  Look at Him.  Feel His presence, see His eyes seeing you (the guilty one) and hear the governor ask which of you should walk free.  You know who should walk free but instead you hear your name being lifted up by the people— and you, who deserve death, are set free!

Now let’s take a walk to Golgotha.  Notice as we approach the three crosses silhouetted against the darkening sky and the crown of thorns that seems to distinguish the man in the middle.  The scene is utterly still until the silence is pierced by a Voice that whispers, “Father, forgive them…”  Stop!  Oh, look up at Love as He dies for you.  Lift your eyes to His and see a devotion so deep that it gives all it has…to have you.

 THIS love is mighty and make no mistake, trading places with us was His idea!

Yes, we are Barabbas!  Most of us cannot be accused of murder and we may even feel that our lives have been “good enough” but the holy truth is that each one of us sits on death row except for Christ!  He took our place. He paid our debt and He implores each one of us to go ahead…make the trade!

“Thank You, O God, for trading places with me!  Help me, Jesus,  to hold this gift thoughtfully every day and offer my life back in gratitude and love.  I pray You will open my dad’s eyes to this beautiful invitation…and others who need  Your love.  Amen.” (PS My dad did finally say yes to Jesus!)

What about you?

Can you identify with Barabbas?

Have you ever felt the relief of being set free, declared innocent, or taken “off the hook”?

Do you feel your need for a Savior?

How does it feel to imagine looking at Christ on the cross, knowing he chose to stay there for you?

Have you received His gift of love?

Worship