We The Kingdom - Holy Water (Live)

I'm digging this song right now.

"We Can Do Better" - an open letter

God is Working. Are you paying attention?

God has been at work in and through our people the past ten weeks of COVID-mania.

Here's a list of some of the things happening in the life of Grace the last ten weeks:

• 5 PM Deacon Prayer Calls - we launched this to help us check on our people early and often
• 8 AM Morning Prayer Calls - we launched this back in Dec. to practice more dependency on God
• Pray4SC.com was launched recently by one of our members 
• Groups and Sundays transitioned to online zoom chats
• Neighborhood care packages delivered (Amy & Kate) to Frankie Lane residents (Ladson)
• Memory Verse cards delivered to children and families
• 6 friends of Grace attended Starting Point (Whittington, Wright, Mather, LaDuke)
• 2 weddings of our members
• 3 drive-by parades (Caleb & Shyanne, Spencer & Ana, Lyndsey)
• 2 distant drives to get college students home safely (Jenny & Kara)
• 4 times helping people move (Edwards, Leckie, Mather, Black)
• 3 lost jobs but got new jobs (Byron, Peter C, Tricia C)
• 2 families were assisted in yard work
• 2 babies on the way (Lizzie E & Taylor C)
• 1 COVID-19 case
• Lots of meals shared

I share these things from our small church to help you see that God is at work in and around us all of the time. 

God is working in and around your life too.  

Are you paying attention?

One race - the Human race

I love Tony’s sentiment here. This is such a profoundly beautiful picture of what Jesus calls his followers to exemplify. You sense their genuine ability to love and respect each other as family. It’s not that they don’t see their differences. It’s that they don’t think those differences don’t matter. They love each other and that’s what matters.

I’d like to simply say let’s remember the prayer Jesus prayed and what he said about the power of his people walking together in unity:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” -Jesus praying

‭‭John‬ ‭17:20-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬ #LoveYourNeighbor #LoveOneAnother

You Posses the Light of Life

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

‭‭John‬ ‭8:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://www.bible.com/111/jhn.8.12.niv

We’re pretty familiar with the first part of this verse. “I am the light of the world.” It also reminds us of when Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

But the second part we almost never quote. I think that’s because we don’t remember it. At least, I don’t.

“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Ok, we get the following-Jesus part. That’s familiar to us.

“Never walk in darkness” - now that’s powerful and we can see that happen in our physical world, right?

Walk into a dark room, garage, or abandoned building at night. All the lights are off. It can feel a bit ominous. Especially if it’s an unfamiliar room. A large room even more so. 

But strike a match or snap on a flashlight and things immediately change as the darkness instantly shrinks back. It practically evaporates. No darkness remains where the light is shining. 

I call that powerful.

But there’s more to this amazing verse. 

“...but will have the light of life.” 

“Have.” Like, possess. We who follow Jesus will possess the light of life. 

Now we’re talking about a light that is so powerful it carries life. Not just energy—life. And this power...we carry it too. It’s called “Christ in me” or me being “in Christ.”

We possess this light and by nature, we shine it. We radiate it like a fire radiates light and heat. We can’t help it. 

But, we can shut it down by covering it. You can click on a flashlight and then cover the end with your hand. This is when we forget who we are and allow life circumstances to douse our light effectively making us appear as darkness. That’s scary. And it happens a lot.

What would our family look like if everyone in the family believed they were full of God’s light (power, love, self-control)? 

What would our city look like if everyone walked as children of light?

What would my life look like if I got up every morning asking the Lord, “What would you have me do today?”

These aren’t unreasonable questions when you remember you possess the light of life.

You carry life.

You radiate life.

You shine life.

So maybe we start with a simple prayer. 

Lord, thank you for being the light of the world.

Lord, thank you for making me the light of the world in your place.

Lord, help me hear from you as I start my day in your word.

Lord, what would you have me do today?

How to "Soap" Through Scripture

The S.O.A.P method, created and popularized by Wayne Cordeiro, is designed to teach us how to hear from God. 

We hear from God by 

1. Prayerfully reading the Bible, 

2. Noting observations in the verse, 

3. Writing down the applications we believe God wants us to draw from what we’ve learned. 

4. Finally, we pray to ask God to help us apply what he's told us to do in our life. 

As we “hear from God” our next step is to “do what he says” by faith. It is not an overstatement to say that practicing this spiritual discipline will change your life.

Here’s how I do it:

S — Scripture

As I read through my Bible reading plan (usually 1-3 chapters/day), I “listen” to the Holy Spirit for verses that "jump out at me", so to speak, and I mark them. Then I select one of those verses out of all I marked and write it down under “S.” A great Bible app is here.

O — Observation

This is where most of my time and thought occurs. I ask and answer questions of the verse. Questions like who, what, where, why, when, and how. I write all that I observe from that single verse. It can be a paragraph or a lot more.

A — Application

When I do a good job with observations, the applications become clear quicker. I write down what the verse is telling me to do. Sometimes it is obvious and explicit—sometimes it is implied and more subtle.

P — Prayer

With a posture to apply this verse to my life, I write out a simple prayer to God asking him to help me apply the wisdom I just wrote down. I can write more than that but I write at least that.

Then I give that day’s entry a simple and memorable title that will help me remember it throughout the day.

Then I write the date, title, and verse reference in the front of my journal creating a kind of table of contents for the journal.

The entire process takes 20-40 minutes depending on how much you read and how much detail you write. I generally read 3-5 chapters a day, select 1 verse, and then “Soap” on that verse. It takes me 30-45 minutes.

Example

The format you should follow:

Title: 

Date:

Verse:

Name:

(S)scripture -

(O)observations - Ask questions like who, what, where, why, when, and how? Ask things like what do we learn about people in this verse? What do we learn about God in this verse? What do you see happening? Etc. 

(A)applications - What is this passage telling me to do or believe, or implying I should do or believe?

(P)prayer - Ask God to help you apply this wisdom today.

App with free Bibles and Bible reading plans

https://www.youversion.com/

https://www.lifejournal.cc/

Online hub for S.O.A.P. journaling.

*Divine Mentor, Wayne Cordeiro

http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/the-divine-mentor/280353

The book that started it all.

Knowledge is Like Underware...

“Knowledge is like underwear – it is useful to have it, but not necessary to show it off!” 

-Nicky Gumbel