Grace Unceasing

Today  is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.  If you attend a church that officially observes Lent you will have 40 days of special observances, services, suppers and the like.

While I do not participate in Lent in a formal sense, I was convicted three years ago that I should do more to prepare my heart for the time of remembering Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

I decided at that time to spend the 40 days before Resurrection Sunday doing a daily study that led me through the thoughts of the cross.  The first year I read Erwin Lutzer’s Cries From the Cross: A Journey Into The Heart of Jesus

The following year I read The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel.

Last year I read Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper.

Today I started The Path of His Passion by Bill Crowder.

It’s a time to take a break from my regular devotional study and focus on Jesus.  Not that every aspect of Bible study doesn’t focus on Jesus, but for these days I am reminded daily of what those last days held for Jesus and what that means for me.  Not just for the 40 days before Easter, but for every day of my life.

Continued from the article, “My Kind of Place”

by Greg Asimakoupoulos

Because of the almost church-like community that distinguishes my favorite shop, I refer to it as St. Arbucks.  The name has grounds (yes, pun intended) in reality.  Because of the sense of community, the place is almost an extension of the buildings that make our congregation’s church campus.  And the ministry of the church happens at both places.  At St. Arbucks, I’ve seen one of our senior adults with espresso in hand engaging a spiritual seeker in conversation.  Our youth pastor conducts one-on-one discipleship rendezvous at St. Arbucks.  And I regularly hole-up in front of the outdoor fireplace with my Bible and notepad to consider upcoming sermons.

I’m not the only one in my family who feels the way I do about the place.  My oldest daughter loves it.  She’s employed there–a recognized leader, a certified barista.  She says it’s the best job she’s had.  It’s a place of living out her faith through authentic relationships.  While blending flavored coffees for customers she calls by name, she asks about their lives.  Over time, these exchanges reflect the relationship she has with her Creator; words God may use to quench the spiritual thirst others have for the same.  And, it is God, who created coffee beans.  And He said they are good!  I agree.

And with that, I look forward to 7:00 pm. tonight

When I will sit in the local coffee house

With three sisters in Christ.

You can guarantee we will laugh,

We might cry,

And we will tell of what Jesus has been doing in our lives

Since we last met together.

And we will look into each other’s eyes

through the steam pouring from our coffee mugs.

I picked up my Sunday School paper this morning,

And when I flipped it over the following article was on the back page.

I loved it and am sharing it in two parts.

St. Arbucks is My Kind of Place

By Greg Asimakoupoulos

Okay, I’ll admit it.  I’m sort of a coffee-shop snob.  And it’s not just because I live in the hometown of a famous coffee-shop chain.

I like the bold and bitter flavor of today’s coffees.  I love the feeling of my nearby coffee place.  There’s a real, palatable community that is engaging and satifsying.  The baristas are welcoming, caring.  They know me and also my usual coffee.  From behind the counter they convey personal compassion.  Being recognized and greeted warmly goes a long way in our increasingly disconnected and impersonal society.  It’s just as satisfying as my venti drip (no room for cream, please).

The environment lends to a kind of fellowship and connection between people that I long to see elsewhere in my life.  People sit around a fireplace reading and talking.  People listen with their hearts as friends pour out their hearts.  Moms, with their toddlers in tow, sip lattes and share the joys and challenges of parenting.  Tears, laughter, and knowing sighs are common.  There’s a comforting sound of people in caring relationships.

Part Two next time…

Thank you, once again, Nancy Campbell from Above Rubies.

CEMENT YOUR CONVICTIONS
Convictions don’t come suddenly. They take time to reinforce. We often start off thinking this way or that. We change our mind as we go along. We are influenced by what people say and society around us. But we cannot stay “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” We must become cemented in our convictions. The New Living Translation of Ephesians 14 says, “Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.”

Convictions become part of us as we seek after truth and search God’s Word for understanding. Truth becomes “flesh and blood.” When Jesus came, He was “made flesh… full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The truth was part of Him. When truth is not only “a bit of head knowledge” but part of who you are, you will not be intimidated by those who do not understand, or who ridicule you for your stand. When truth is cemented in your heart, you will not change your mind when it seems too hard to walk in your conviction.

Godly convictions, rooted in God’s Word, will stand up against all ridicule, debate, criticism, agnosticism, insurmountable difficulties, persecution and “situational ethics.”

Love from Nancy

I am married to a man who thinks I look like this:

Instead of this:

Golly, I love my man!

(As well as the top outfit.  Modestly adorable from head to toe!)