“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Romans 11:6

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

Our works could never save us.  Our works do not cause God to love us more or less.  Our works do not create a hierarchy of “good” and “bad” people.  Ok, I hope we are on the same page as I continue…

A few decades ago, a philanthropic phenomenon emerged with mass appeal.  Of course nothing is really “new”, but this had a nice ring to it: Random Acts of Kindness.  Apparently, a woman in a California restaurant wrote the phrase on a place mat in the 1980s (feel free to research and verify for accuracy).  RAOK is pretty self-explanatory, but the reason behind it may be puzzling.  Why would people go out of their way to be kind to strangers?  Maybe karma-like thoughts were spiraling through their heads or they lost a bet.  I’m sure each person who engaged in RAOK had a unique motive.

I have always felt a little odd supporting something like this.  Will my brothers and sisters in Christ think I have slipped into a prideful, self-justifying way of living?  Would I be wasting my time and energy looking for another person in need of kindness?  Would I offend Martin Luther?  At the end of the day, it seems wise to move past these concerns and trust the Spirit’s guidance.  Ok.  I am officially going to say that I am a proponent of the Random Acts of Kindness idea (before throwing something at the screen, please read the beginning of the post again).

Hear me out.  As followers of Christ and His representatives on Earth, why not bring some kindness to our spheres of influence?  I heard a story from a friend recently that sparked my interest in this subject.  He was driving down a busy street during a hot and humid Florida afternoon and saw a sign-spinner.  You know who they are.  You have probably laughed at them or maybe even had pity on them.  Well, this day my friend had the crazy idea that the sign-spinner might be thirsty.  He drove to a nearby restaurant, bought a cold drink and delivered a most pleasant surprise.  Confusion and gratitude was the response.  Mostly confusion and being told, “This has never happened before”.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Let’s not be afraid to be kind once in a while.  Let’s remind each other that Jesus is the only one who did it right.  Then, let’s not be afraid to be kind again.  Our random acts might begin some interesting conversations with strangers on the journey…

The first time I truly understood the concept of grace was at the end of the spring semester of my sophomore year as an undergrad student at the University of Pittsburgh.  I remember the feeling of horror like it was yesterday.  The final paper was due and it was worth 50% of the final grade.  For a variety of reasons, I did not have the paper ready.  I deserved a failing grade for the paper and the course, which would cause my full academic scholarship to disappear.  Instead, at this “secular” institution I was extended grace by a seasoned professor who would open my eyes to a much larger truth: God’s grace is truly undeserved.

The elder brother inside is probably upset that I didn’t get the failing grade and learn my lesson.  Maybe that part of you could learn something like I did.  You might be wondering what happened as a result of his grace.  Did I continue my immature ways and repeat this pattern in other classes?  Or did I imitate Jean Valjean and change my ways as a result of his grace?  (You’ll have to ask me to find out.)

How many times have we withheld extensions of grace due to elder brother-like impulses?  “They don’t deserve it!”  “He should have known better!”  “I would never do that!”  Praise God that Christ is the true elder brother!  Romans 5:8 proclaims,  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.”

Let’s look for opportunities to extend grace to each other and trust God to use them for His purposes.

If you missed the sermon yesterday, check it out at this link: Inconvenient Mercy.  May God continue to make us more compassionate people as we cherish the Gospel of grace!

Session 1, City: The World That Is
Jeremiah 29:4-14

1. Serve and love those who need help and protection.
2. Bring God’s love and shalom (peace) to a broken world.
3. Create and cultivate culture according to our faith.
4. Encourage others to seek spiritually while holding out Christ as the ultimate satisfaction of that quest.

Session 2, Heart: Three Ways To Live
Luke 18:9-14

1. Religious way to trust ourselves as our own savior-Older brother.
2. Irreligious way to trust ourselves as our own savior-Younger brother.
3. Trusting Christ as our Savior.

Session 3, Idolatry: The Sin Beneath The Sin
Romans 1:18-25

“Under every behavioral sin is the sin of idolatry, and under every act of idolatry is a disbelief in the gospel.”

“If we really want to change, Jesus Christ must become our over-mastering positive passion.”

Session 4, Community: The Context For Change
Philippians 2:1-11

Practices for a healthy Christian community:
-Corporate spirituality
-Personal accountability
-Common time
-Common practices
-Peacemaking

Session 5, Witness: An Alternate City
Acts 2:42-47

Early Church Characteristics:
-Devoted to teaching and hearing truth
-Devoted themselves to fellowship
-People received practical, financial, and material help for their needs
-General spirit of joy and thanksgiving
-Devoted to prayer
-Dynamic witness to their community

Session 6, Work: Cultivating The Garden
Matthew 6:19-21

1. Gospel changes our motivation for work–>  Pleasing God
2. Gospel changes the ethics of our work–> How we work
3. Gospel changes our conception of our work–> Worship

Session 7, Justice: A People For Others
Luke 10:25-37

“We are to love in word and deed anyone we find in need…they are our neighbor.”

“Shalom means total flourishing in absolutely every dimension: physically, relationally, socially, and spiritually.”

“We should resolve to have shalom felt everywhere…and begin to reweave the broken fabric of creation.”

Session 8, Eternity: The World That Is To Come
Isaiah 60:15-22; Revelation 21

In the future kingdom to come:
-Peace and righteousness
-God’s presence will be our light
-No violence or destruction
-Ultimate hope

Consider John Piper’s “Six Biblical Guidelines for Loving Each Other Amid Differences”:

1. Let’s avoid gossiping.

2. Let’s identify evidences of grace in each other and speak them to each other and about each other.

3. Let’s speak criticism directly to each other if we feel the need to speak to others about it.

4. Let’s look for, and assume, the best motive in the other’s viewpoint, especially when we disagree.

5. Let’s think often of the magnificent things we hold in common.

6. Let’s be more amazed that we are forgiven than that we are right.  And in that way, let’s shape our relationships by the gospel.

With God’s help, may we do the hard work necessary to love those whom we are not naturally drawn to liking.  In doing so, we will proclaim the power of the Gospel.

Know Despair, Know hope

Have you ever felt a deep sense of despair…that empty aching, and excruciatingly numbing sensation that overtakes your entire being and seems like it will never go away?  Maybe it happened when you watched your father or mother take their last breath.  You may have experienced it when the test results came back positive or when there was honestly no money left in the account.  When the person you loved the most hurt you…again; or when you understood that the baby was really gone.

None of us has a monopoly on hurt.  Suffering is a deeply personal feeling that cannot be measured or compared quantitatively; however, there is no controversy surrounding its existence.  We are keenly aware that something is not right.  Ever since the Fall, it has been obvious that something is just not right.  The absence of hope is one of the most debilitating conditions in the human life.  Recent statistics from the American Association of Suicidology are a sobering reminder of this: 89.4 per day/32,637 per year.

What is the source of your hope?  In what/whom do you place your hope?  Is your hope in your position, education, or 401K?  Perhaps your hope is in your ability to create a prosperous future.  Maybe a church leader, sports figure or government official has caused your excitement level and optimism to “reach the sky”.  Unfortunately, these solutions to the despair dilemma are at best inadequate and at worst idolatrous.  May we approach despair as the Psalmist writes, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my Salvation and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

We all share this story in some manner.  Throughout our lives, various people or people groups have invested in our lives which has shaped our character and worldview.  However, God has orchestrated these influences and has given “given the growth”.  In my story there are 2 main planters and a bunch of waterers that follow after.  The planters are my parents whom I will refer to as: Mom and Dad.

Mom taught me how to enjoy the life that God had created.  She got us excited about some of the most mundane things.  Whether it was bath time, or eating grapes, or our trips to the back yard with our little buckets and shovels, life was an adventure and mom was the ringleader…our smiling and laughing ringleader (that’s where I get my smile).  Mom also taught me the importance of God’s word and prayer.  She was by no means a theologian and never had any great Bible (even Sunday school) teachers, but she cherished the Bible and was truly a prayer warrior.

Dad was always there and wore more hats than anyone I knew.  He was an elder in the church, a guidance counselor, a principal, a track/soccer/baseball coach, a scout leader, a handyman, a black belt in tae kwon do, and most importantly a husband and father.  Dad taught me about priorities.  He put God and family first and sacrificed his own pleasures and leisure for his family.  My dad taught me how to treat people fairly and how to love those who were in need.  If a boy at church, or in our scout group, or on our soccer team didn’t have a positive male figure in their lives, my dad “adopted” them as his own.

My parents did quite a job planting lasting seeds in my life however; most of the seeds took many years to grow.  The thorns, rocks, and birds of my sinful state delayed the growth of these cherished seeds.  I had become a people-pleasing, comfort and pleasure-seeking hypocrite who knew how to play the “church game” but had a hard time sleeping at night with his sin.  However, God used the near fatal car accident of my older brother during the fall of my 10^th grade year to drag me to the feet of the cross where I could no longer trust in my good works to be acceptable to the holy God.

Soon after, my first group of waterers enters the scene in the form of a small village in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico on a mission’s trip with my youth group.  The people of this village forced me out of my comfort zone and into the zone of complete reliance on God.  They reminded me what it was like to hear the Gospel with the ears of a child and helped me realize that I had an intense desire to proclaim this Gospel for the rest of my life.  I will never forget the children of that village who reminded me what it was like to enjoy the little things (like mom taught) as we tossed a hacky sack back and forth.  I left that village with an ache for Gospel ministry that has not gone away.

The next stop is at the University of Pittsburgh where I met waterer number two; Pastor Mike Milano (not pronounced like the cookie); the leader of the campus ministry group that I became involved with during my freshman year.  He instilled in me a passion for the sovereignty of God and a love for doctrine (specifically, encouraging me to read dead guys first).  He introduced me to the five solas of the Reformation and the riches of the Reformed tradition.  Pastor Mike loved me like Paul loved Timothy and used discernment to decide whether I needed an exhortation, rebuke, or encouragement.   I will never forget the two questions that Pastor Mike asked me every time we met for lunch, “Have you been reading your Bible?  Have you been praying?”

If you drive down the street from the UPitt, you will eventually find the neighborhood called the Northside: the third installment of waterers in my life.  I worked with the youth and families in this inner-city area for 3 years with a faith-based non-profit called Urban Impact.  This neighborhood continued to stretch my comfort-driven skin and forced me to face reality.  The young men in my classes demanded honesty, discipline, and hard work.  I had to earn the title “Mr. Evan” that they affectionately called me as the years progressed.  The Northside forced me to grow up and be the man of God that I said that I was; they would not let me dwell in hypocrisy.   The ache for Gospel ministry continued to fester throughout these years.

The next waterer that I will mention is unique in that the influence in my life continues each day.  She was a fellow worker in the field called the Northside and was a shock to my system the moment I met her.  The first conversation we had went something like this, “Hi, Evan, what are you doing?…I’m working on the staff devotions but I don’t really like this devotional because it seems fake… Well, why don’t you write your own?”  Those simple words cut to my core and challenged me to do just that; to work hard and create my own devotions for the summer staff.   My wife Katie has challenged me and encouraged me more than anyone in my life.  She knows my gifts and my weaknesses and will not let me settle in the land of sloth.   Katie has also taught me how to love well.  The moment I met Katie, it was evident that she knew how to see a person in front of her and extend her heart to that person in the deep and lasting way that the Master models in Scripture.

I arrived here in Florida in August of 2008 to finish my Masters of Divinity at RTS and live with my ailing grandparents.  This is where the final waterer (that I will mention) enters the scene.  My grandfather was struggling with Alzheimer’s disease for a few years before I made the move in 2008.  However, my family did not realize the extent that the disease had progressed until my parents and I were moving my stuff into their house.  From the first event (violent scene when we walked into the house) to the last (Grandpa’s funeral in November of 2009), Grandpa taught me heart-wrenching lessons about pain, intimacy with God, and death.

The waterers continue with Orlando Grace Church and people whom I meet every day.  However, I began this testimony with a verse that proclaimed, “God gave the growth” and we know that God has been sovereign over all of the actors in my life.  I am overwhelmed in thankfulness to our gracious and loving God.  I cry with fellow travelers, “ I once was lost, but now I’m found, I was blind, but now I see”.  Soli Deo Gloria!