Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheap wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing….  45

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. 47

    The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer  (1906-1945)

I have had my heart broken lately with the abundance of cheap grace that is being masqueraded as authentic spirituality and corrupting the mission of the church. Because it has the form of grace without all the messiness of discipleship, it blinds those who love it so to the reality of what Christ call us to do, “take up our cross.” Cheap Grace is the “whitewashed sepulcher” of new Testament Christians pretending to be saints on the outside while being dead and decaying on the inside.

I’ve read recently of several recent spiritual experiences that leave me wondering what the future holds. After a recent week of Christian music, worship, and devotion, I read with dismay the holier-than-thou attitude of Christians who want to reject those who don’t embrace the “new spirituality” while at the same time refusing to get their hands messy. “Let’s build a tent on the mountain” Peter once asked Jesus so they could stay forever in this pure light without the problems in the valley below. But it was not to be; Jerusalem had answers we desperately want and need, and together we must face Calvary, together.

All of the disciples of Jesus, except John, gave their lives for what they believed and experienced. Today we refuse to get up by 9 am to thank God for letting his Son die that we might live. Today many of our new converts we will see again only when there is a new party in town, a new thrill ride, or a new band to follow. Discipleship is found on the narrow path and few choose to take it.

In the mid-1700’s John Wesley encountered this same cheap grace disease, and here’s what he said about it. How eerily similar!

I was more convinced than ever that the preaching like an Apostle, without joining together those that are awakened and training them up in the ways of God, is only begetting children for the murderer. How much preaching has there been for these twenty years all over Pembrokeshire! But no regular societies, no discipline, no order or connection; and the consequence is, that nine in ten of the once-awakened are now faster asleep than ever.
John Wesley

Jesus spoke these words in the midst of a life threatening storm. The disciples believed the end was near as their little boat was about to be swallowed up by forces of nature that were beyond their control. They found themselves in the middle of the lake, far from land, and in the middle of the night. Isn’t that usually when the tempest comes?

Well, it does for me.

There have been so many time in my life I was afraid of being swallowed up by forces that were far bigger than my puny boat could handle and certainly beyond my power to manipulate. I’ve spent way too many sleepless nights trying to devise a clever plan, trying manipulate events or trying just to keep my head above water. At the darkest point in the storm I’ve accused God with the same words I’m sure the disciples used “are you sleeping? Don’t you care? Don’t you see what’s happening? Do Something!”

So why the storm?

I’ve been told that southern California has some of the best weather in the nation. The average temperature is usually in the mid-seventies, with low humidity and more sunshine than any other. People just seem to gravitate to a climate that seems to have forgotten the importance of storms, is predictable, and considered by many to be “perfect”. Southern California has wonderfully predictable weather, but it is also on the edge of becoming a desert. While it may have low humidity, it also has a nasty habit of sparking brushfires that consume thousands of homes and the memories and lives that made them. They sacrifice green for browns and tans. They give up rain and take their chances with the Santa Anna Winds. To those who live there is must be worth it.

Why the Storms?

Because we need them to remind us that there is more in us than in the circumstances that surround us. Life was not meant to be lived in a protected oasis away from every sort of challenge or adventure. Without the storm our spirit would wither and die before we could even put down roots. We would never learn to take that first step into a bigger world. 

I am often reminded of this simply truth with a quote I learned years ago:

“Sometimes God calms the storm and then sometimes He’ll let the storm rage and calm His child.”

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go looking for a storm; I run from them. But when I’m caught up in one I know that I’ll survive and that God will get me to the other side. Its only in the storm that I get to hear God whisper in my ear, “Peace, Be Still”.

Are you waiting for God to whisper in your ear? Then be quiet and listen, He speaking in ways you cannot yet imagine.

Do you know someone who’s little boat is about to be swamped and needs a friend to speak encouragement and hope into their lives?

Then Make a Difference and offer them Grace!

This is my second attempt at a church commercial. The copy is a bit different that my first attempt and I think I like this one a bit better. I was just fun doing it, but I’d love to hear what you think!

 

thanks

I’ve always wanted to try this, but I finally got the motivation to finally finish this project. I really wanted FUMC to have a foot print on YouTube and here it is. Let me know what you think.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19

Perhaps one of the biggest debates surrounding the human experience is whether we really have any choices at all. Where you were born, the color of your skin, your nationality, your genetics, sex, family group were all determined before you were born and are very important influences in your life story that you simply not escape nor change. To some extent they set boundaries in your life, but they do not determine the ultimate course of your life.

Every person that has ever lived has had to deal with boundary issues, some were born male and others female, some are black and some white, some are strong and athletic while others become intellectuals and artisans. So many combinations and so many opportunities. To truly be human, I believe is deal with the hand you’ve been dealt and play the cards given especially into your hands. I also believe that every hand that has ever been dealt is potentially a winning hand if we only would play carefully the hand we’ve been dealt and stop looking at everyone else’s cards!

In Deuteronomy, Moses invites us to be human and to choose how we will live our lives. The decision, he tell us, will impact not just us, but future generations. It’s that important!

So let me ask you… How have you chosen the path of your life? What cards have you been dealt that have yet to be played?

BY ROGER FIELDS

1. You think a “podcast” is the new vegetable toss competition at the County Fair.
“Did you hear Ernie won third place in the pea pod cast this year?”

2. You think “YouTube” means someone else’s toothpaste.
“That’s not my tube; that’s you tube.”

3. You think “carbon emissions” is what your copy machine produces.
“Hey, the copier is broke. The carbon emissions are coming out all black.”

4. You think “blogging” is slow jogging.
“I was blogging down the sidewalk when a neighbor’s kid passed me on his tricycle.”

5. You think “Facebook” is your high school yearbook.
“Of course I’m on Facebook. Look at page 62 next to the picture of George tripping over the punch bowl at the prom.”

6. You think “going green” is the fashion expectation on St. Patrick’s Day.
“I’m going green this year with my new lime vest.”

7. You think “Twitter” is what Uncle Gordy does when he eats too much sugar.
“Gordy just sat there twittering after he ate that triple-layered chocolate avalanche cake.”

8. You think a “stimulus package” is a fertilizer supplement from Tractor Supply.
“He put that new stimulus package on his corn field, and the stalks grew so tall they blocked his view of the water tower.”

9. You think “trans fats” are over-weight … (you figure it out).
“Look at those trans fats on the corner.”

10. You think “high definition” is a college English course.
“I’m so proud of Fran. She passed her high definition class at Tech U.”

It is Wednesday Morning, May 20^th and my entire family is sick all that the same time. This means standing room only in the bathroom. Fortunately we know each other pretty well and when you’re sick like this there is no time for formalities or manners. What it is a time for is prayer. So on behalf of my family, and others that I know are going through the same thing, here goes.

Dear God you created us with a precision of a master engineer and with the sculpting and beauty of a magnificent artist. Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Each part of our lives is connected to and affects the whole of who we are. When part is hurting the whole body feels the pain. Yet there are times O God when our humanness and our frailties crash in upon us and we must face the fact that we are not as much in control of our own bodies as we thought. My our sickness serve a deeper purpose to remind us that this world is not our home and we are being called day by day to something more glorious. When we are sick, whether in mind, body, or spirit, come and guide us through these uncertain waters and when our boat seems more than we can handle against the waves of pain and suffering, speak words of reassurance to us “Peace be Still” and remind us you are never far away. May our good day, and our bad day bring You glory and help us become molded into the people we are destined to be. Amen

I wait for the LORD; my soul waits for him. —Psalm 130:4

 

In Spanish, the verb esperar means both “to wait” and “to hope.” I often wonder if waiting for a native Spanish speaker has a different purpose than for me. When I wait I feel like I’m wasting time. What if I were to use these moments to dream, to pray, or to reflect on what God is doing in my life.

We English speakers are often impatient. We like to make things happen – NOW. Our dominant culture here in the United States is very goal/task oriented. We spend a lot of time figuring out mission statements and vision statements for our churches and our organizations and when they’re done we check them off the list. But do we ever appreciate what we’re doing?

All of that future orientation has its own good qualities. We live in time, and our lives are marked by calendar events – birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. We tend to move seamlessly from one season to another, barely having put away Christmas decorations when the Valentine’s hearts appear to lure us to buy more than we should.

Time is not something we create, nor is it something we produce. It is a river in which we move, oblivious to where. Wait is one of those time words that make us cringe. Wait, is the advice of the writers of the psalms. Wait in hope. Wait gently, patiently. Wait with an open heart, with quiet listening. Let God speak within the movement of your day. Stop and sit and wait. Notice what you see, hear, taste, touch, smell. Allow eternity to break through the inexorable rush of tick-tock time.

Wait, and in the waiting discover your soul, the part of you that is not bound by time, by goals, by tasks, but gently hopes to savor this life and your time on earth. When waiting ask yourself, “Who am I?” then listen for the response. May I learn to wait in hope, and to hope when I need to wait.

This morning as a sit here getting ready for church I’m thinking about the amazing step 13 young adults are taking to a fuller richer life. I didn’t say a wealthier, more comfortable life. In fact I suspect that many of them will be challenged far more than they realize now. I do believe that they are signing up for an adventure of a lifetime with a Guide who has gone this way before and knows their strengths and weaknesses. Their Guide knows exactly the kind of training they need and where they will do the most good for the rest of the team. The question that remains unanswered, however, is whether they in the course of time will listen to the Guide or choose to go their own way.

This morning as we confirm and celebrate their affirmation to be a Christ Follower, we also look to the past and marvel at all that God has done in their lives. Through years of VBS, Sunday School, Music pageants, and countless other affirmations, God has been shaping and molding their lives. Now we look to the future and trust that they have developed a faith of humility and wisdom. A faith that sees the Divine spark in the lives of others and the courage to make it burn brightly.

I pray that today of all day, as my son confirms and grows in his faith in Christ, that God will guide and protect them with the same love and compassion that He was done in my life.

Blessings to all.