Last week…Huntley talked about God’s grace. He talked about Murphy’s Law and about how it was wrong and about his own life and how things that should have gone wrong didn’t and how things that shouldn’t have gone right went right. He talked about King David who had questionable morals and was a bad father but. . . he was called a man after God’s own heart. We heard about prophets that failed in their work and about a man named Paul who was the founder of the church who had persecuted Christians in his former life. We learned that it was not about Murphy’s Law but about a word called grace…God’s grace. This grace is not anything that you or I can buy on “EBay” or any other place…we can’t even earn it. . . it is freely given to us by God.
Grace, Grace, God’s Grace . . . In Genesis 22:1-19, we have more proof that Murphy was wrong. Here we have Abraham. He was told to take his only son to a place that God told him and sacrifice him. Now prior to this…Abraham was told that God would make a nation from his son and that the world would be blessed through him…now he is being told to sacrifice this gift that was given to him from God. When Isaac and Abraham got to where they were going…Isaac asked where the lamb for the sacrifice was? Abraham told his son that God would provide the lamb. Abraham trusted in God and knew the promise he had been given. Anyone looking at this situation and not know the outcome would think that Murphy’s Law was in play here. Abraham and Sarah had been childless and now they were going to lose their child. But we know the end of the story. . . God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son and provided a lamb for the sacrifice. It was by God’s grace that the lamb was provided.
Abraham Fully Relied On God…in my children’s message this morning I talked about frogs and what they mean to me. By fully relying on God. . . grace has abounded in my life. You see. . . I was told that I would never be successful in ministry. . . never mind being a pastor…I was told that unless my house was in right order and was in line with what God would have it be I would never be able to help others find their way to God. I believed this for quite some time in my life but . . . when I began to fully rely on God, not on myself or others, I became to realize what many before me realized. God uses the imperfect, the ordinary, to do His work here on earth . . . imperfect people to do extraordinary things. By fully relying on God I am able to say, with the Psalmist of Psalm 118:6-9, “The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me? The Lord is with me; He is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” The Lord is with me . . . I feel His GRACE.
After Huntley’s sermon last week I began to think. I thought about my life and my own “Moses” experience and thought that yes I do fully rely on God but I think that I fully rely on His GRACE even more. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” It is this grace . . . this gift. . . we are given to share with others. As disciples of the 21st century. . . when we share our talents, our financial resources, our time . . . our gifts are multiplied to help others in our church . . . our communities…the world at large. God can use whatever we “ordinary” people have to do His work in the world. As Romans 8:38-39 states . . . nothing can separate us from the Love . . . the grace . . . of God.
I would like to share a story that was e-mailed to me this week. I am not sure if it is a true story but I like it anyway. It was about a woman who was walking by a shoe store front and saw a little boy there staring into the window. She asked him what he was staring at and he said that he was praying to God for a new pair of shoes. Well . . . this woman took the little boy by the hand and brought him into the store. She told the clerk to bring her a dozen pair of socks for the little boy. She also asked the clerk for a basin of water and a towel (remind you of anyone). . . she washed the little boy’s feet, dried them, and put on a new pair of socks; she purchased new shoes for him and bundled up the remaining socks for him to take home. She patted him on the head and said that he was all set now and should be more comfortable. As she turned to go the little boy grabbed her by the hand and with tears in his eyes (Now this part really got to me) and asked her if she was God’s wife. (Grace…we never know how we will touch lives when we share it.)
God’s grace abounds everywhere. God’s grace can be seen in you and in me as we share that grace with the world around us. This gift of grace needs to be shared so that it can grow to the ends of the earth. It gives me hope that even when I don’t fully rely on God…I can fully rely on Grace. That prevenient, provident, sanctifying grace...You see God loves you and me and showers His grace on us and there’s nothing we can do about it. Praise God!
AMEN
by
Pastor Ruth Foss
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Suncook United Methodist ChurchSuncook, NH
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Thanks for visiting and guiding me to your wonderful blog. How did you know I had found your great poem?
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