Blessed by Association, That's G!

I spent the first part of last week with my wife and girls at the Great Wolf Lodge. Our church's kid's camp was held there and it was our duty to attend.

Our main job was to connect with kids, attend services, and enjoy our time with our girls. Wow, how fun is that!?

As a family we felt loved and we were honored to get to hang with the Kid's Life team.

After a few days there I drove out to speak at a friend's summer camp at Fort Flagler on the Washington State peninsula. Tyler Sollie is the lead youth pastor at Eastridge Church and he and his team were incredibly hospitable.

While I was there I was pampered and well taken care of. About 30 different times I was asked if I needed anything...

"Another water?"

"More food?"

"Let us know if we can help," was the constant refrain.

I felt like a minor C-list celebrity. Did I deserve this kind of treatment? No, I was simply coming up to bring the message they were paying me to deliver.

These recent examples show how me and my family are blessed by association. We received both invitations, not because we deserved them, but because of our connection to who was hosting the camps.

The Kid's Life team from our church wanted us to come and hang with their students. The pressure was off. We went to connect with the students, particularly those that are transitioning up to youth. My girls got to enjoy three fun vacation days at a great waterpark because they're connected to me. They too were blessed by association.

The opportunity to speak at Tyler's camp was because of a friendship that formed in part because of my senior pastor, Brian Dolleman. Tyler and him have been friends for years and as a result I am blessed to call Tyler a friend as well.

Again, I find myself blessed by association or to put it another way, blessed through my connections.

Do you see a trend here?

Me too.

The Bible is full of examples of being blessed by association.

Joseph's family was spared and prospered even after they treated him poorly. That's a great example of God's grace and blessing at work.

The Israelites were blessed and rescued through their connection to Moses.

Esther saved her people from the threat of complete genocide.

I could continue...

Check out this passage from Romans 8:15-17

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

Because of our connection / association with Jesus we are blessed! Walk in that truth today. You can't earn it, you can't force God's hand, and you can't make it happen in your own strength. You're blessed because of your association with Christ.

You're HIS kid! You are blessed because of that. That's G!

Let me wrap up this post by asking you these two questions:

1. Who are the people your're blessed to be in association with? Your parents? Peers? Pastor?

2. Who is blessed because they're in association with you?

Adherence to Appearance

"It is finished!" is what Jesus cried as He hung on the cross. He wasn't referring to his life when he made that statement. He was actually informing all humanity (Jews & Gentiles) that the Law was completed, fulfilled and satisfied; he was letting us know that the Law was no longer a barrier between us and God.

For some strange reason though humanity seems to want to bring the law back and attempt to achieve relationship with God by jumping through religious rituals and performance hoops. The bottom line on man's most recent attempts to earn relationship with God through work and strain is that they still don't work.

Strict adherence to the law at it's absolute best can only produce a nice appearance. Grace works from the inside out. The law only works on the exterior of man. Grace initiates change from the inside.

All attempts to earn Godliness or righteousness through our own hard work will only make us appear Godly.

I used to play baseball with a guy named "Tom" (name changed to protect his feelings). Tom had all the latest gear when he showed up to the playing field. The most expensive batting gloves, the coolest cleats, and a glove that was made from a very important cow apparently.

The problem was Tom couldn't hit, or catch, or throw very well. He was a poser. He looked the part of a baseball player but the person behind all the expensive equipment couldn't really play ball.

As human beings we can only judge things from the outside. God judges by looking beyond all the decorations, vanity, and cool gear. He looks at the heart.

Grace changes us from the inside out. Grace brings real transformation.

Grace changes the person first. Over time the exterior things change, but Grace and God deal with heart issues.

In one encounter with Jesus a woman with an internal problem (she had a bleeding issue) was healed simply by touching Jesus. Grace changes us from the inside out.

Don't be a poser. Allow Jesus to change your heart.

Adherence = the right Appearance

Grace = real-life Transformation

Grace Changes Everything.

"You Must" vs. "I Will"

Throughout the book of Deuteronomy we find lists of things God requires of His people so that they stay in right standing before Him. You can look it up for yourself, but to show you what I mean here's an excerpt:

Deuteronomy 6:13-18 (NLT)

YOU MUST fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath,

YOU MUST use only his name.

YOU MUST not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations, for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God.

His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth.

YOU MUST not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.

YOU MUST diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you.

Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you.

The Law requires perfection. It exists to point out our flaws and where we fall short. If God's people obeyed The Law they were blessed. When they disobeyed God's wrath followed. The Law is good and right, but it lacks the power to save us.

Contrast this with the new covenant of Grace that God establishes with the sending of His Son Jesus. In Hebrews chapter eight God repeatedly uses the phrase, "I will" as opposed to, "You Must."

Hebrews 8:7-13

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said:

“The day is coming, says the Lord, when I WILL make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.

But this is the new covenant I WILL make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:

I WILL put my laws in their minds,

and I WILL write them on their hearts.

I WILL be their God, and they will be my people.

And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord. For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.

And I WILL forgive their wickedness,

and I WILL never again remember their sins.”

When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

It seems to me that God has taken the pressure off of us a bit here. The old agreement was dependent on me doing and living up to my end of the deal. Under the terms of the new agreement I can depend on Jesus' finished work at the cross for me.

God's Grace is clearly seen when you begin to understand the difference between the "You Must" language of The Law and the "I Will" language of Grace!

Grace Changes Everything... That's G!

Grace changes everything. It's a simple yet profoundly important statement. We know from scripture that Jesus is Grace personified which means that literally Jesus changes everything. Grace has already fulfilled the law. Grace gives me right standing with God. Grace / Jesus changes everything in my life.

As a church we have been in a series entitled Grace Changes Everything since mid May and it has been fun to see people's lives being changed by God's free gift of Grace.

We've also launched a website www.gracechangeseverything.org ; we've been inviting our people to visit the site and share what God's Grace is doing in their lives. If you get a chance you should check it out too!

Our youth ministry has also jumped on board with the series that is transforming our church. We are in a series called That's G!: God's Grace in Everyday Life. We too have seen incredible results.

A group of young people who've been particularly inspired have started a group called the G-Team. Their self-described purpose is to spread God's Grace through the community through acts of social justice, kindness, and fun challenges. They have a list of challenges and things they're striving to accomplish before this summer is over. If you haven't checked them out you've got to take a moment and watch this video:

Summer seems to be zooming right along. God is doing great things and lives are being changed. If you're not involved what's stopping you? God's Grace is available, all you need to do is respond to His goodness.