This weekend I exchanged pulpits with my spiritual brother and fellow pastor, Tim Springer. We didn't tell our congregations what we were doing, so it was a surprise to everyone. Tim was initially reluctant to do it because he didn't feel that he had a story to share. He grew up in the church and has lived in the same town all of his life. He never really did anything wrong - unlike myself who lived the life of "sex, drugs and bluegrass". But I encouraged Tim that EVERYONE has a story because if you've surrendered your life to Christ (and He is living in you), then that right there is a story of grace. None of us deserve God's grace and forgiveness. In fact what we all deserve is wrath and destruction because of sin. We have all fallen short of God's standard, but God offers a second chance - a new life. Realizing that we are no longer under the penalty of death and are freely offered eternal life, should motivate us to live out of that grace. It has the power to transform your life, your thoughts and your actions.
Tim and I have completely different backgrounds, but our story has the same theme running through it - God's grace.
God's story in the Bible is one of grace. We encounter all sorts of people that God used and showed grace to. Some really screwed up their lives with wild living and some grew up in the church never really doing any of that - remember the apostle Paul? It doesn't matter your background so much, but what does matter is that you come to the same point as any other believer - the point of grace. So no matter who you are or where you come from, you have a story. If you've surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, that is a story of grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment