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Today, I am posting over at 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting on the topic of gospel parenting.  Parenting is hard and many of us feel guilt or shame for how well we are doing as parents.  Check out my thoughts here

Here is the second of a new installment on songs on the radio clearly and emphatically preaching/teaching grace.  Today is a song that I loved the first time I heard it.  It has only recently begun playing on the radio.  It is called "Grace Wins" by Matthew West. In my weakest moment I see you Shaking your head in disgrace I can read the disapointment Written all over your face Here comes those whispers in my ear Saying who do you think you are Looks like you're on your own from here Cause grace could never reach that far But, in the shadow of that shame Beat down by all the blame I hear you call my name sayin it's not over And my heart starts to beat So loud now, drowning out the doubt I'm down but I'm not out There's a war between guilt and grace And they're fighting for a sacred space But I'm living proof Grace wins every time No more lying down in death's defeat Now I'm rising up in victory Singing hallelujah ...

I am continuing to read Jesus Continued by J.D. Greear.  He will be one of the speakers at Liberate 2015.  I thoroughly enjoyed his message last year and look forward to what Holy Spirit puts on his heart this year.  Here are some quotes on the topic of "greater" from Jesus Continued : In other words, it's not that Jesus worked while he was here and now the church works in his absence. Jesus worked then through his incarnation, and he works now through his church. But Luke writes it (Luke 5:17) in this way to show us that even Jesus' power to heal came from the Holy Spirit. Why make that distinction? If Jesus had healed exclusively out of his own power, then he'd have a significant advantage over his disciples. But if the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus, then the disciples could do what he did, continuing the ministry he started. Believers, who now possess that same Holy Spirit, have access to that same power. Nothing in Acts nor in the rest of the New Testam...

Do you struggle with either of these?  I know I do.  I appreciated the thoughts from Matt Chandler in Recovering Redemption on these real life issues all of us face. I encourage you to read the quotes and then pick up the book at your local Christian bookstore. While both of them (guilt, shame) do indicate the falling short of some kind of standard, the one that guilt fails to meet is more often a clear moral code, a legality. The standard that shame fails to meet on the other hand, goes much deeper to the core of who we really are. Our identity. Guilt is more about what we do; shame is more about who we are. It's important to see this distinction. Guilt (robbing us of innocence) and shame (robbing us of honor) are the double helix that creates the DNA of our worst behavior. Shame is deeply rooted in identity. And the "self-ideal" we create for ourselves can often incorporate a lot of expectations that simply aren't included in God's ideal for us. Guilt ...

In Crash the Chatterbox, Steven Furtick discusses in Section 3 the differences between condemnation and conviction.  Here are a few quotes to help you know whether the voice you hear is Satan or the Holy Spirit: Satan's main job isn't temptation. It's accusation...When the two work in tandem, the one-two punch they deliver can paralyze even the strongest saints. In other words, I needed to acknowledge the substance of my sin. But then I needed to allow the Holy Spirit to take my guilt to a redemptive place. The Enemy may have a word. But he doesn't have the last word. Would have. Could have. Should have. This is the language of condemnation underscored by the passivity of regret. A believer who is equally convinced of these two realities--sin is serious, but Christ is enough--is the Enemy's worst nightmare. Condemnation's greatest talent is imitation. Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit. Condemnation is the Enemy's best impersonation of th...

I am about halfway through Hidden in Christ by James Bryan Smith.  I thought I would share a few qutoes from the last few chapters I have read. Making the adjustment from the ways of the world to the ways of the kingdom is hard. But guilt is a poor motivator. Being an apprentice of Jesus is not about rules and laws, it is about identity and place.  The Christian life is not an if-then obligation ("If I do this, then God will do that.") It is a because-therefore opportunity ("Because I am one in whom Christ dwells, therefore I will . . .") The better way to encourage change is to remind people who they are now in contrast to who they once were. God gave us mouths and tongues to comfort and encourage one another.

I was having a conversation recently with someone talking about how in our beliefs, we tend to move to the extremes like a pendulum swinging.  For example, because someone was raised in a legalistic environment, then tend to go to the other extreme of "anything goes."  And vice versa. Or the King James Bible is the only Bible that is right and should be read to the extreme of reading a variety of "spiritual books" from other faiths. It seems that many times the best place to land is the middle ground rather than the extremes.  After this conversation, Pastor Brad and I were talking about this same phenomenon.  Today I was reading The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler and he talks about "dangers in a Gospel on the Ground Too Long and dangers in a Gospel in the Air Too Long."  This in my opinion is similar to these other two conversations.  Here are some quotes from the chapters in Chandler's book: "because it is dangerously easy to take one truth ...