June 24, 2011 – The (Grace) Gospel

    Today was an eventful 24 hours. We were staying at the house our friend Pieter rents a room at in Johannesburg and it was our first night in an African bed. I didn’t have to wake up until 10 a.m. but out of Mason’s boredom, he decided to wake me up at 8:30 a.m. to join him in watching golf on TV. I got my 3 essential books out – my Bible, my journal, and my Jesus Calling – to do a quiet time. After I read a little bit, Mason left to shower and the mom of the house, Sylvia, came out of her room and started talking with me. We got in to the conversation of our ministries – meaning, how the Lord has us best and specially serving people. She started to tell me how her artist friend taught her to paint tablecloths when she and her husband were in need of money and how her success with that let to prayer for ministry. She felt the Lord was telling her to take the method and materials she learned with to make tablecloths to the women in one of Johannesburg’s poorest communities. To help the women start a business, she will bring enough supplies for 60 women to make 1 tablecloth, 6 wine glass markers, and 6 napkin holders. They are allowed to keep 1/3 of the profit, use the next 1/3 to buy a new package of materials for themselves, and use the last 1/3 to bring a new woman and teach her to make the same materials. How creative and how wonderful!! Please be praying for her ministry.
    She drove Mason and I to the Johannesburg airport and dropped us off 3 hours before our flight was scheduled to leave. In the car, she started giving us advice for life and the very first thing she said was, “Do not trust anyone.” She proceeded to tell us crazy stories of God’s protection and grace in their family’s lives in the face of physical attacks and concluded her advice with this: “If you truly understand the reality and concept of God’s grace, then you will never overstep your boundaries because once you understand that grace, everything you do will be done in joy and thanksgiving.” I thought about this and realized how truthful that wisdom was. I constantly find myself pushing boundaries, crossing boundaries, and intentionally not creating boundaries in all aspects of my life. When I catch myself doing that I always blame the power of my selfish and sinful nature and I usually get stuck in a state of disappointment and shame. And because of her comment, I now see that shame as another way for Satan to hold my heart captive.
What I think she was saying is that once you truly feel and know and understand God’s grace that was given to us through His Son’s death, then we will have such a deep respect, honor, and love for Christ and the value of His sacrifice that we won’t even want to overstep His boundaries. When we have that humility from understanding the magnitude of God’s grace for us, then all we should really want to do is to do EVERYTHING for His Glory and His honor to try and return that gift – and that is where the joyful living comes from. That every moment feeling of thanksgiving and humility overflowing from our hearts in a spirit of joy because of the deep, deep love we hold for Christ in our hearts. So where me blaming my selfish, sinful nature and motivations is not incorrect, I must now remember to always come back to the cross in every moment, decision, conversation, etc. – even when I mess up – because that is where we were covered in grace and that is where we learn to truly glorify the Lord. What a beautiful transaction!!
Paul talked a lot about preserving the mystery of the Gospel (especially in Galatians), and
to me, that mystery is the fact that Christ came to give us FREEDOM. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.” – Galatians 2:20-21. We cannot truly live without being covered in God’s grace and living in praise of that, because rules, regulations, and sinful nature would hold us captive and under shame if Satan had his way. Remember Christ died to set us FREE from all of those things and more. I challenge you to LIVE under the grace of God – I know He is challenging me to do the same.
    “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power and work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:14-21.

    Now back to the trip – Mason and I flew in to Bulawayo via the unreliable Air Zimbabwe and received a visa and passed through customs with NO problems! That is almost unheard of for foreigners. Norma picked us up and we helped her go grocery shopping in town. It was an interesting experience and an interesting environment. We are SO spoiled with our American grocery stores. We picked up Chris’ brother and picked his grapefruit tree to make juice and headed on our way to Morning Starr. Now, to all my Chi Omegas – we almost hit a GIANT owl in the middle of the road on the drive to the farm and no one could understand how excited I was at the sight of it! Hootie hoo! The sun had already set, but before everything went completely dark, the sun left a midnight blue color painted on top of the horizon with stars scattered all above in the dark black. As the blue added and back took over, more and more stars started to appear – what an artistic and romantic God we love and serve! It was a magnificent welcome home. Nkosi, Godfrey, Montana, Lloyd, Sharon, Pierre, Rentia, Quinton, Pumba, Footie, and Chris were all waiting for us and it was a glorious reunion. We ate at the fire, stayed up and talked, then went to sleep. Talk about living for the Gospel to be spread, these YL guys really know how to do it. They LIVE and WAIT for even just one more conversation or question or opportunity to discuss or display the beauty of the Gospel. I really want to learn from them – I am so sad they are going back to Bulawayo tomorrow!