Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Amazing Grace!

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me" --St. Paul, Cor 15:10
 
St. Therese of Lisieux said, "Everything is grace." I bet she and Paul are very close in heaven. They both understood what we can also understand, our lives are about grace. We discover it new every day. When we willfully sin, we stray from grace. When we confess our sins He is faithful and just and forgives our sins, and grace floods over and through us again. I experienced an amazing grace this morning here in Turkey. We visited Laodicia, the last church that St. John wrote to in Revelation. Last night Jeff (Cavins) told me he was speaking from this passage and asked me if I had a song. I didn't, and it bothered me as to what to sing. I tossed in the bed till 11:00 and realized there was a song waiting for me to write down. I sang it today in the very ruins where St. John had directed his message.  It is called "Hot or Cold". It was a very surreal moment, a humbling moment. It was a moment of grace. St. Paul taught us about grace. He walked these hills and brought God's grace to everyone he met. We are all called to do the same. Even when we feel like failures and anything but graceful, we must beg for more grace. This relationship of grace with God is where we truly become who we are meant to be. This is where we learn to be hot or cold. This area is known for it's Hot Springs. I learned today that the hot springs here and the cold springs in Collosae, are both useful. Hot brings healing, and the cold ones bring refreshment. Both symbolized to the readers of St. John's day, and ours, the call upon us all as believers. We can bring healing and refreshment to this world through devotion to our Beloved Jesus. When we are lukewarm, we make God and the world sick. Same as the lukewarm springs here in Laodicia.  Amazing grace! Without it, we are going nowhere. With it, we can be a part of God's work, and know that our strength to do so is a result of grace itself.
 
wkm
Laodicia, Turkey
 
http://www.travelertour.com/turkey/ephesus-kusadasi-turkey.html

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