Jason McKnight

Friends,

The following is an email that Sue sent to some folks.  Read it and the link.  Then, will you join our family in providing a mosquito net for a family? What if Grace Fellowship were ever more part of God’s rescue plan around the world!! 

Jason

Hi friends…

You all know I’ve recently read “The Hole In Our Gospel” and have been quite convicted by what I’ve read! I am more and more impressed with World Vision, an organization that reaches out with the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus to the hurting all over the world. The president of World Vision, Richard Stearns, is the author of the book.

Anyway, I’ve just found out that April 25 is World Malaria Day. Did you know that each year 800,000 children die as a result of Malaria? World Vision has launched a major campaign to combat malaria in these countries where it is still deadly. One major thing they are doing is getting out mosquito nets. How easy is that? I wanted to pass along this article (click on link below) and challenge us - what part can you and your family play in this?

Take a few minutes to read this link - it’s really good!

http://www.worldvision.org/news.nsf/news/mozambique-malaria-200904-enews?Open&wvsrc=enews&lpos=rgt_txt_enews_tt_pr_WORLD-MALARIA-DAY

Thanks!

Susan

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What do you really, really want to know? Everyone has questions. Think about it. 

Some are bold to ask, others are shy. Some pretend like they’ve got all the answers, others are all too happy questioning everything (thank-you, pre-schoolers!). Some have questions about God, others have them about our own lives. Some ponder philosophically (how can the bible teach that God is fully in control, and yet not the author of sin?), others want the bottom line (so what are we supposed to think/do about Gay marriage?). Some wonder about our church doctrine, others about personal lifestyle/discipleship stuff. 

What’s your question? Where would you like some direction, answers, encouragement, help? 

This summer, the preaching series is going to be addressing your questions. Write them as a comment on this blog.  We’ll gather them together, and tackle one (or one grouping) each week during the summer months. 

So, ask away, and we’ll get to as many of them as we can.  And, thanks in advance for asking something that others also want to ask! 

Blessings,

Jason

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Our church services do not matter to God. Our multi-church community services don’t matter, nor do our mission projects and women’s circles, our help for the homeless, feeding the hungry, youth groups and community action groups. They simply don’t matter to God. 

In Psalm 51:16, David says to God, “I know you aren’t into dead animals. They do nothing for you”: you do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it. You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 

Didn’t God tell his people to make these sacrifices back in Exodus and Leviticus? He explained in minute detail what is to be sacrificed when and in what way. 

But, David catches on: “You don’t care about those things, do you God?” I wonder if we’ve caught on? Today, we don’t offer animals. We come to church, we help the hungry, we have bible studies. If David were writing today, he’d write, “God, you don’t delight in our church services, or I would bring them. You do not take pleasure when we feed the hungry.” 

This is a crucial word from God for us to hear today. It’s difficult, puts us off balance. And, it should. We need to be very careful as we come to God. 

But, verse 17 shows David’s hope: “The sacrifices of God (aka, that God delights in) are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (or, you will take pleasure in).”   

God doesn’t want our church services. He wants our hearts. Our broken hearts, our contrite hearts. Our penitent hearts. Hearts that are no longer self-sufficient, but are hungry for God. Hearts that are no longer a self-starter, but are waiting for God. Hearts that are no longer self-justifiying, but are confessing before God. 

Confessing our need and our needs. Our needs are our sins, our errors, our wrongs. The things I have done—in word, deed, thought or action—the things I have left undone. Those things that dishonor God, that rebel against his gracious Word, that go against his character. That’s sin.  

We confess, too, our need – our need of his sustaining power for our very breath. Our need of his gracious presence for our very life. Our need of his only Son for our eternal future. 

So what does God want? A broken heart and a contrite spirit. He wants us to live Psalm 51:1-4 as our daily prayer:   

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all m y iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” 

He wants confession – confession from a hungry and waiting soul. This is Lent, the time of the year, above all others, when we ponder what it means to confess. 

In his book Your God is too Safe, Mark Buchanan notes that confession is “presenting our real self to God. It’s bringing before God not the person we hope to be, but the person we actually are.” (p.166) 

I think that’s spot-on. Presenting our real self to God. How are you at doing that? We don’t get a lot of practice in being real with people. We keep our appearances up before strangers and co-workers. We try to keep up with the Joneses in the neighborhood. We don’t let our in-laws get the better of us. 

Even church, which is supposed to be a home (where people feel welcomed) and a hospital (a place of healing), is often more like a hotel – where a bunch of fairly strangers gather trying to look like we belong at such a place. 

Confession is presenting our real self to God. Buchanan continues: “[it’s] when we quit all the deal making, the sidestepping, the mask wearing, the pretense and preening, and we get bone-deep honest before God: I am the man!” (P.167) 

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love. This is our life-blood. Thanks be to God that his love is really unfailing, it’s totally committed, not petty and conditional like ours. Thanks be to God that his compassion is great – so great it looked beyond my fault and saw my need. Thanks be to God that cleansing and forgiveness are total and true and final. 

Confession is so hard, isn’t it?  The last thing I want to do after my wife and I have an argument is go to her and apologize. And, if I do apologize, the last thing I want to do is ask for her forgiveness. I’m giving her all the power over that wrong. 

But, confession is the doorway to a pure heart, a new spirit. Through confession we see the joy of our salvation restored. When we keep silent about our sin, our bones waste away… By owning our stuff, God restores to us the joy of our salvation.  

How do we know? Because our salvation first comes to us when we look heavenward, with arms outstretched, and say, “I can’t, but you Lord Jesus can! Father, I’ve sinned, I’m done for. Have mercy on me in Christ.” And, then what happens? God moves in response to our confession. It’s what he was waiting for. He pours out his love into our hearts, his Spirit, his joy and peace. 

As a child of God, we cannot hope to hang onto our sin and also bask in joy. We’ve got to get rid of the one, so that the other can take its place. A broken spirit becomes a steadfast spirit. And a contrite heart becomes a pure heart. And our brokenness, our confession, when we own our sin in all its ugliness becomes the doorway to the joy of our salvation. 

One last thought: God never means for confession to be solely me to God. True confession, true brokenness always leads us back to the one on earth whom we have wronged. During Lent, as we hear the call to live with a contrite spirit before God our Savior, will we also hear the call to confess and seek the forgiveness of those we’ve wronged? 

Jesus said, “If your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and be reconciled to him.” God doesn’t care about our gifts at the altar. Remember? He cares about our hearts behind the gifts.  

If someone has something against me, it’s because I’ve most likely wronged him. I need to make it right – confess, apologize, seek forgiveness, offer to help the mess I made. 

Who is it on this day that you need to live Psalm 51 toward? In our spirit of penitence and preparation before God in Lent, who is he calling you to make things right with? 

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As we round the corner after Thanksgiving (still full from the feasting and thankful for our blessings), we come into the final lap of 2008. Right before the finish line is the biggest holiday on our calendars: Christmas. What a transformation Christmas brings: we gather with family, we redecorate our homes, we have special church services, we sing special songs, we give gifts, we cook feasts, we party and we are even allowed to greet strangers with a smile and good wishes! Truly this is a special cultural event!

As the people of God, we fully grasp the meaning of Christmas, even if it is misplaced at times in the hustle and bustle. We know it’s about God’s rescue mission to earth, “peace on earth, good will to men”, the “rising sun” coming to us from heaven, as Zechariah sang, to lead us into the path of peace.

To me, one of the most moving Christmas hymns is O Holy Night. The tune is stirring and the words bring tears to my eyes. Allow me to bring to mind just one line: “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” How long was the world pining for help? How long was it mired in sin, prone to error? Longing for a thrill of hope? Too long. Even up to today.

How many of our friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates and family are pining for something more out of life? How many of them are hungry for food that satisfies, for drink that quenches thirst, for the Gift of Gifts that surpasses even a flat screen at Christmas! What would it be like if he appeared in their days this Christmas? Might their soul, at long last, feel its worth?

What a thought – “the soul felt its worth.” There is a God-given dignity and value in each and every human soul. A dignity and value that is corroded by sin’s cancer, imprisoned by the Enemy’s dominion, and frittered away by our own stupidity when left to ourselves.

What would it be like for the soul to feel its worth? It would be life and peace. It would be generosity and hope. It would be forgiveness and goodwill, gentleness and kindness, honesty and contentment, conviction and love, strength and self-control! That’s what happens when He appears in a life, in a community, in a nation.

How will souls around us feel their worth? How will he appear in Eastern North Carolina this Christmas and in 2009? Through you and me—the body of Christ. I read Garth Rosell’s account, The Surprising Work of God, which details the amazing revival and awakening across the US in the 1940s and ‘50s. It relates the friendship of an anointed evangelist, Billy Graham, and a faithful and visionary pastor, Harold John Ockenga. From 1936 to 1969, Ockenga pastored the venerable Park Street Church in Boston, just down the hill from the gold-domed Statehouse. During that time, he and Billy became great partners in the work of the Lord – founding together, among other things, Christianity Today (1956) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1969)

On New Year’s eve, 1949, Ockenga invited Graham to preach in Boston to the youth there. What followed was an amazing outpouring of God’s Spirit throughout New England. Between January and April (when Billy came back for four weeks of meetings) 10,000 people gave their lives to Christ. The revival and awakening spread from there throughout the US and around the world. It’s really an amazing account of God’s sovereign grace redeeming those who long lay in sin and error pining.

Brothers and Sisters, I think it’s time for us to pray with eager expectancy for another work of revival and awakening such as we have never before seen. If the events of the last 3 months have brought anything to the fore, it’s that the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ is our only hope. If these last 5 years have taught us anything, it’s that God uses surprising events and people to accomplish his purposes. What if the next Great Awakening started in Kinston? What if we got to be on the front lines of a explosion of grace?

Rosell records that during the 1950 meetings in Boston, Billy Graham laid out 4 conditions for revival of the church: Repentance, prayer, unity and obedience to the Word (pp.135-6). Repentance involves our true sorrow for our sins, a willingness to renounce them (let’s not pretend we’re repenting if we say “sorry” but don’t make any changes!), confessing our sins both to God and to someone else, and a genuine faith and trust in Christ.

Billy’s second condition for revival is prayer. “If Christians would put everything second to prayer… we will see a revival in [this city] greater than anything the city has known…” (p.136). This surely still holds true today, doesn’t it? Keep on asking, seeking, knocking, because if we’re bold, God is willing (Luke 11). Here is the embarrassing part: do I put everything second to prayer? Frankly, do I put anything second to prayer? What would God do in our midst as more and more people joined in the Thursday morning hospital prayer group (6:30am, Oxford room) or the Monday morning prayer group at Grace (10am, Gathering Hall), or the several other groups throughout this city. What do you put second to prayer?

Thirdly, unity among the body. On this level, we are experiencing some of God’s grace in this city: Erasing the Lines, the Association of Congregations, Kinston Men’s Fraternity, The Gate are all building bridges (through the key people involved, like Lee Parker, for instance, who serves as the AOC secretary and a helper at The Gate and a prayer walker through the city… all because of a desire for a spiritual awakening to change this city!). There’s more to do – but there is a great start. Watch for ways and initiate ways for us to come together! Also, within Grace – don’t let gossip, back-biting, bitterness or hurt feelings gain a foothold. Let’s keep short accounts covered in grace.

Finally, study of and obedience to the Word. We have been going very slowly through Ephesians over the last 6 weeks, because we are plumbing the depths of God’s purposes and will, so that we can “Walk Worthy of our Calling.” What do you do when you get home? Do you ask God to change you in one way from that morning’s text? Do you ask him to remove your heart of stone and give you his new heart and his new Spirit in greater measure?

Repentance, prayer, unity and obedience. Billy Graham’s keys to revival from the midst of the greatest revival of the last century. Of course, over all of this is the Spirit of God. We can’t fabricate revival. But, don’t you think God is just waiting for us to live into the preparatory conditions for him to send his Spirit in a super-special way? Think about it: if you were God, and you’ve already given your Son for our sins, why would you withhold your Spirit when your people are following your pathway?

What about it, Brothers and Sisters? Let’s make this Christmas and 2009 the time when we long for, seek after and prepare ourselves for revival (through repentance, prayer, unity and obedience). It’s how the world’s soul will feel it’s worth. It’s how He will appear, and bring “a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious day.”

Oh, may that new and glorious day of Christ’s kingdom break into life after life after life through us and our joyful and faithful discipleship!

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Several years ago I read Walden, Henry David Thoreau’s classic account of a year living simply. Thoreau moves out of Boston to the country, to Walden Pond, and lives in a one room cabin by the water for a full year. He records his observations and his feelings, his rhythms and his worries. It is an engaging read. His description of the battle between the red ant colony and the black ant colony on the woodpile is worth every line—a great military account!

Every once in a while I hear someone say that his mother lived 150 yards away and did his laundry. If true, that’s my kind of “living simply.”

At one point he is watching the Spring sun and warmth melt the ice on top of the pond and he notes this observation: “Thaw with his gentle persuasion is more powerful than Thor with his hammer. The one melts, but the other breaks in pieces.”

Comparing Thaw and Thor has rattled around in my brain since I read that. We all know what Thaw is—especially if you have lived up north, and watched a great body of water slowly, imperceptibly transform itself from a rock solid mass to flowing fluid. I grew up in Montreal, a huge island in the mighty St. Lawrence River. 100 years ago, in the winter, this great river would freeze up solid—ice so thick that they actually laid train tracks across it for several months a year (just think how heavy trains are). Yet, each Spring, little by little the ice would melt, the water would move, and that mighty river would be a shipping lane again. Thaw’s power is unmistakable, but it’s also slow and at times imperceptible.

Thor, on the other hand, is the Norse god of War, Thunder & Strength—who is loud, powerful and to be feared. The showy god of the Norse pantheon, Thor gets things done by brute strength and sheer force. Get out of his way, he’s coming through.

“Thaw and Thor” is a great description of the different demeanor we can show in life. We can adopt either posture in almost any situation.  I bet we all know people who, like Thaw, can accomplish much by gentle persuasion, by keeping their cool and helping others warm up to a new reality. Likewise, I’m sure all of us know (or, at times, are) a Thor, who relies on the hammer approach: using the force of personality, the ability to argue, the loud voice, the strength of muscles or position to impose his will on the situation and those involved.

Thaw and Thor is interesting, and seems right to me, but is it biblical (ie., can we know it’s right)? Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Almost exactly the same concept: Someone’s anger is thawed out and melted away by a gentle answer. On the other hand, if I come out swinging (ie., responding with harsh words), it just amps up the anger in another. I leave a trail of broken pieces.

A gentle answer or a harsh word, Thaw or Thor. Think, too, of Proverbs 25:15, beside which I actually wrote “Thor and Thaw” in the margin of my bible some time ago: “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.”Here Solomon elevates Thaw’s patience, gentleness and persuasion. I wonder if Thoreau knew this proverb, because he sure has the same concept. Solomon even talks of Thaw’s patience “breaking a bone”. Isn’t it Thor who hammers stuff to pieces? In Solomon’s mind, patient & gentle persuasion is so powerful that its effect can be like Thor’s hammer: a broken bone. Obviously, Solomon is not saying that talking well can actually cause someone’s arm to break. He is highlighting the figurative power & effect of patient persuasion.

So, when are we Thor, though should be Thaw? And, when is Thor called for? How about the following scenarios:

With our family: I can be a Thor father, the unrivalled king of the house through my sheer strength and position. When my sons do something wrong, I can yell and burst out in anger. When I’ve had a tough day, I can make sure everyone else treads around me lightly. When I’m angry at my wife, I can erupt in pettiness and a mean spirit. I can “Thor” my way through. But, the consequences of this are horrible: fear, closed spirits, hurt, life-long wounds. Thor’s hammer destroys. On the other hand, I can live Proverbs and Thaw: controlling my emotions, inviting Susan into my tough day, counting to 10 (or at least 5!) before disciplining the boys. I can pray for a thawed attitude, and for God to help me keep Thor’s hammer out of my hand.

Thaw and Thor at work: Am I known as a hot-head? Or as having a long-fuse? Am I sought after to mediate tough situations? Do co-workers see me as hammering folks or melting them? Are my colleagues embarrassed of me and my Thor-like outbursts? As a boss, are my employees afraid of me, never sure when the hammer will fall?

How about in witnessing to others? Very few people have ever come to Christ through a Thor-like situation. The overwhelming biblical witness is that Thaw carries the gospel further than Thor: a gentle, ongoing relationship and persuasion, the patience of God are needed. It is said that Americans need to hear and understand the gospel more than seven times before they are ready to respond. We may be time number 1 or time number 6 or 7 (or even 8, 9, or 10) in someone’s life. We can’t write them off, like Thor would do, when they don’t bow down immediately with us. We need to thaw them out a little bit with the warmth of real relationship, the nourishment of the Word, and praying for the warming fire of the Holy Spirit.

How about our Economy? Perhaps all this Thor-like intervention is not going to help. Perhaps all this intervention is really going to Thaw the thing out. I’m not sure. But, I’m quite sure that there have been enough excesses over the last 10 years (families borrowing crazy amounts—on credit cards or lines of credit; sub-prime mortgages and the housing bubble; market speculation; out-of-whack executive compensation, etc.) that we do need to overhaul this thing. That such deep changes are needed mean to me that we are in for a slow Thaw-like work. Can I offer a couple of suggestions as to how to move forward, if you are facing tough times? From this moment forward, do not borrow one cent that you don’t absolutely have to. From now on, live simply; pretend like the “roaring twenties” are over, and we are in the “dust-bowl thirties” (I don’t know that we are, but pretending will not hurt you)… now live that simple life corresponding to that “new reality”. From now on, save a little bit or a lot each month (so that you have an emergency balance), and then pay every cent on your outstanding loans. Get yourself out of all credit card debt and car debt. From now on, prove you are trusting the Lord by giving as he calls us to. I’m not saying that because “it’s my job” to. I urge us to live generously because that’s who our God is, and that’s how we can imitate him most simply.

What about the election? Well, if your candidate won, take the long-term view. If your candidate lost, take the long-term view. And, read Daniel – for 70 years he thrived in a thoroughly pagan kingdom, and time after time after time, God used him to bring those rulers to their knees. He endured the Thor of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion, and he was Thaw to 4 successive kings.

We could go on and on. What about you? Will you live Thaw and not Thor? How might you change your children’s destiny by showing them the gentleness of the Lord? How might you commend the gospel to your coworkers by being patient with all (especially the person who gets on everyone’s nerves)? How might your gentle tongue break bones, as Proverbs 25 says? Thanks for letting this thawing-out Thor ask these questions!

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“I had more fun at the funeral…”  That’s not your typical memorial service comment.  But, in the case of my father-in-law’s service it was wholly appropriate.  If you knew Irv Chambers, you’d know that laughing and being serious are not mutually exclusive. And, so, as we remembered his life and death on September 8th, there were tears and there was also real joy.  Joy becasue of a life well lived, joy becasue of the hope of the resurrection, joy because he is with the Lord right now–finally able to tell my own father all about my wife and my sons!

We have posted the service on Grace’s website for a little while.  We’d love you to listen to it.  On the welcome page, scroll down to “member spotlight”.  Susan gave a moving tribute which begins at minute 18.00.  His dear friend and ministry partner (for 52 years!) Leighton Ford brought the message. It begins at 39.11.  Well worth it.

If you have the time, Sue and I would love to share this with you.  We are so thankful for Irv’s life and his death.  We are overwhelmingly thankful for the Lord’s gracious gift of eternal life, which makes grieving the loss of a believer so hope-filled, even while terribly painful.

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I just got the next two and a half months off.  Off from the 24-hour news-cycle, the chattering classes, the cynicism and even narcissism of this amazing race called the Election. Between now and election day, I don’t have to read one flier, watch to one debate, sit through talk radio, nor endure positive ads, negative ads or ”swift boat” ads.

Why? Because I watched Saddleback Church’s Civil Forum on the Presidency. You may have seen it. (If not, just google it, or find it on youtube.) On Saturday Aug 16th, Rick Warren interviewed Barack Obama for about an hour, and then interviewed John McCain for another hour. Back to back, not together. The genius is that Warren used the same questions.

Finally, now I can compare apples to apples - I can listen to both candidates respond unhurriedly to the same question. Finally, I can listen to uninterrupted answers. Finally, we can do away with these “sound-bite fests” that masquerade as debates! (In fact, I think we will see this “civil forum” model used in elections from now on - you’re getting in on the ground floor of an election cycle novelty).

As you think through your God-given responsibility to vote wisely, may I urge you to do two things: invest the time to watch this, giving prayerful consideration to what the two senators say; then take the next 2 months off from the media circus that will only gain momentum, silliness and invective as it goes.

Just some thoughts.

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On Tuesday night of last week, Susan and I sat in our favorite restaurant in Charlotte with her best friend and her husband, Susan and Jerel. It is quite confusing having two Susans, but small price to pay for a dear friendship. Susan and Jerel have planted a church in Huntersville, north of Charlotte. It’s been a fairly low-key, even difficult first 3 years. At about Christmas, however, God really confirmed their calling to this church. Almost immediately (as is always the way with the Lord), he brought along several folks to jump in and lighten the leadership load for Jerel and Susan. Right before Easter, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not even forty, with three kids at home, and a church plant. We ate and enjoyed each other’s company, we shared the joys of ministry and its hard parts too.

We moved on to Ben & Jerry’s for some ice cream. Susan gave my Sue a cd of the worship music they do at their church, encouraging us to listen to track 5 first: “it is the song God used to get me through this dark valley.” As we jumped in our car to go, we turned on track 5: “You’re the God of this city, you’re the king of this people, you’re the Lord of this nation. You are. … Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city!” We were taken with it. This song that had dear Susan praising God for the greater things to come now ignited our imagination. I couldn’t wait to get back to Kinston to see if Kent could teach it to our gang …only to find out that God had already been there! The students at Erasing the Lines had adopted it as their theme song, and had been singing it all week: “you’re the God of this city.” (I love following God into things. This was yet another reminder that he is up to something, and he leads us along all the time.)

We heard and witnessed this past Sunday some of the greater things God is doing in Kinston. Things like Erasing the Lines (Thanks Amy for the chant—who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty); things like the report from Steve and Krista Milburn—Kinstonians whom God called to Thailand to serve him there; things like Anne Albritton’s testimony of how God showed her grace after years and years of living the law—thinking God sent Christ to die on the cross to open the way to heaven, as long as she could work her way into it!—to grasping that God sent Christ to die on the cross to bring us to himself. He does all the work. Greater things, indeed! We heard from Ephesians 2:1-10 all about how awesome God’s grace is. Do you remember the challenge from the end of the message, what I asked each of us to do over the next month? For the sake of you readers who weren’t there on Sunday, the challenge was that we would memorize together these 10 grace-oriented verses. We would put them in our heads and give them to the Spirit to use in our lives when he needs to use them! Are you up for it? Greater things have yet to come in our lives as we savor and digest more and more Scripture. It will nourish us. Greater things have yet to come as we live grace, as we erase the lines, as we sing songs of worship to God.

All the way home from Charlotte, as we listened to that song, I kept asking the Lord, “what are the greater things” you are going to do in our city? We’ve seen so many of them in the past several weeks – 3 major business announcements, for over $1 billion in investment, and 2,900 jobs. It’s really amazing. What if this is just the prelude? What if God’s plans for Kinston involve going from “strength to strength”? Building on a business renaissance, what if God also leads us into a renewing of our schools, a wholesale change in the poverty situation, the eradication of gangs, a growing unity among the body of Christ, the rebuilding of the social fabric of families and best of all, an awesome spiritual renewal, such that hundreds and thousands of people come to Christ. What if God’s plans for Kinston involved all of this? Greater things have yet to come… Wow!

I don’t mean to be radical, but I think God’s plans do include all of this. Only because he’s the God of Redemption, of Compassion, of Order, of Reconciliation, of New Beginnings. I can pretty well guarantee that the greater things he has in store for Kinston far outstrip our measly dreams and visions of the future. But here’s the rub: he waits for us. He partners with us. He uses the body of Christ to accomplish his work on earth. We pray, “on earth as it is in heaven” and rightly so. But do we realize that anything that is done on earth for the kingdom is done by you and me (in the power of the Holy Spirit, under the Lordship of Christ). He’s not about to send a skywriter to convert people, he’s not going to send angels to renew the schools. He’s going to use us in plain ways, in normal ways. One of my former pastors once said, “it’s the monotony of day to day living that fuliflls the vision.” Our day in and day out activity is how God will fulfill his greater things vision for Kinston.

So what do we do? As part of following Christ and living surrendered lives, we need to think together so that we Prepare the Way for what is coming. As John the Baptist introduced the public ministry of Jesus, Mark tells us that he was the “voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Mark 1:3). We are John the Baptist – we are preparing the way for the Lord here and now, in this city and in the lives of folks we know. As a church, let us embrace our calling to prepare the way for the Lord. We’re going to talk a lot more about this concept over the coming months – as it relates to our outreach efforts, our capital stewardship campaign, our discipling of adults, youth and children. Will you begin praying, thinking and dreaming, “how can Grace prepare the way?” If God is really doing something amazing in this community right now, let us make sure that we are in the middle of it.

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