Speaking Of Life 3029 | The Cutting Takes Root
Greg Williams

If you’ve ever done any gardening, you know it can be frustrating. You have to strike the right balance between caring for something and leaving it alone so it will grow and not be smothered.

One technique for growing that takes quite a bit of care and attention at first, but can really be successful, is growing from a cutting. With a tree, you cut off a green branch and carefully plant it in rich, fertile soil so that it forms roots and grows into a new tree.

The prophet Ezekiel talks about this as a metaphor for God replanting Israel after exile:

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.
Ezekiel 17:22-24

This parable follows a discussion of Israel’s efforts to ally with its pagan neighbors. Their disobedience brought them into exile and despair. But God gives them this very tender image of himself as the gardener who gently takes a cutting from what’s there and grows in the familiar soil of back home. The image would have been comforting to an exiled Israel.

God’s plan for Israel was not to destroy or start over, but to build from what was already growing. He took Israel in his hands, even after all their efforts to make their own way failed. They were frail and completely dependent, but he saw the mighty strength in their future that would bless all nations – “birds of every kind will nest in it.”

Jesus no doubt drew on this image in Mark 4, when he told the story of the tiny mustard seed that grows larger than all the garden plants.

God, the divine gardener, took a cutting every time the great tree of humanity fell and he replanted it. From Adam and Eve to Abraham, from Abraham to Isaac, then Jacob, then Moses, then the people of Israel. Finally, from all this imagery, all of this promise of growth in the future, God’s plan comes together in one person, born of the lineage of the kings and priests. From Jesus grew the mighty family of faith that keeps growing through the centuries despite its own mistakes and the devastating winds of time.

God’s plan is connected throughout. Nowhere in it did God change his mind or start over again or make up for some mistake. Redemption and restoration, yes, but the same consistent story always moving forward. The story, like the tree, grows and keeps on growing just from the tiny beginning until it crescendos into the all-encompassing Kingdom of God. You and I are part of that replanting, part of that story.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

The post Speaking Of Life 3029 | The Cutting Takes Root appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3028 | Deep Weeping
Heber Ticas

Have you ever felt like you are at the bottom of the ocean crying for help?

In my many years of pastoral ministry, I have encountered many people that find themselves in this circumstance. Expressing their deepest pain through a fountain of tears.

Maybe you are in over your head but no one even knows you’re struggling. Or maybe you have sunk so deep in despair that you think no one could possibly hear or understand you. Sometimes it’s a deep wound in our soul that, even we, can’t wrap our mind around or see any possible healing from. Or maybe we have fallen into some deep-seated sin that seems impossible to overcome. For many of us, we may be looking around, reading the headlines, and feeling that the entire world is too broken, torn, and distorted to be pulled out of the mire. We all have a cry from the deep. The question is, “will we be heard?”

The Psalmist encourages his soul and ours with the reminder that the Lord does not keep a record of sins but rather he forgives and therefore can be trusted with all our deep brokenness. Listen to his cry from the deep:

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning…” 
Psalm 130:1-6 (NRSV)

When God forgives, he doesn’t just overlook our situation with a flippant dismissal. Neither does he observe us in our deep pit and ask us what we did to fall in. No, he climbs down into the pit with us in order to lift us out. How far will he climb? All the way to the very bottom! Further in fact than we think we have fallen. He gets below our brokenness, underneath our wounds, as far down as necessary in order to completely redeem us. He descends below our depths to raise us up into new life without any hidden deep-seated scars to leave behind.

This process sometimes requires waiting on our part, but we can wait in hope knowing that the Lord does hear us and answers us according to his deep, redeeming love. Redemption is the Lord’s work and he has already heard our cries from the deep. Jesus voiced those cries for us on the cross and our Father answered him with resurrected life. The Father’s redeeming touch can’t get any deeper than the death of his own son.

The answer of the resurrection assures us that not only does he hear our cries from the deep, he will also answer.

Mi nombre es Heber Ticas, Hablando de Vida.

The post Speaking Of Life 3028 | Deep Weeping appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3027 | Freed from Shame
Michelle Fleming

When I was growing up, I was extremely shy. I would avoid being the center of attention to the point that I even hid in the bathroom during multiple award ceremonies to avoid the stage. My dad was a pastor, and the first time he used a story about me in a sermon illustration, I burst into tears. My shyness and self-consciousness kept me from sharing my gifts with other people for a number of years.

I think it’s kind of ironic that I now frequently speak in front of crowds. It makes me think about how we all can let shame and self-consciousness keep whispering in our ears, “You’re not enough. Who are you to stand up in this situation?”

Has self-consciousness ever whispered in your ear, saying, “You’re not enough?” Has shame kept you from stepping up to share your gifts with the world? We’re not alone in this struggle. Even the prophet Isaiah wrestled with shame and self-doubt. He writes about a vision he had where he saw God on his throne with an altar surrounded by seraphs or angels. Isaiah’s first reaction is to say, I don’t deserve to be here; I’m not good enough. Let’s see what happened next:

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Isaiah 6:6-8 (NRSV)

The vision shows the cleansing of Isaiah by the angel touching his mouth with a live coal from the altar of God. This is a metaphor that shows the shift from Isaiah focusing on himself and all his perceived shortcomings to focusing on God’s love and how he could share that love in his own unique way.

The vision pointed to Jesus Christ cleansing us. Thanks to Jesus, we know that our sins and shortcomings have been taken away from us and we have been made new. In his second letter to the Corinthian church Paul says this:

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NRSV)

Just like the prophet Isaiah, our shame has been removed and we are freed to serve others and share the gifts that God created in us.

My younger self didn’t realize that sharing the love of God with others doesn’t require us to be perfect. Sharing God’s love with others simply asks us to show up and love with the same love we’ve been given by the Holy Spirit. 

Rest in the gift of freedom from shame that is God’s gift to you and freely share God’s love with others.

I’m Michelle Fleming, Speaking of Life.

The post Speaking Of Life 3027 | Freed from Shame appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3026 | The Groans of Our Heart
Greg Williams

Sometimes words are not enough. When a child is born, it is hard to put into words the joy that comes from the miracle of a new life coming into the world. When we lose a loved one, words fail to convey the depth of our grief. Oftentimes, the beauty of creation is so overwhelming, our only response is silent reverence. In these moments, words fail to express the depth of our emotions.

The same is true in our relationship to God. Not only do we have difficulty finding words to express the depth of our need for God, but we also often find ourselves struggling with words when we talk to God. Fortunately, we have help. Notice what Paul tells the believers in Rome:

[Look down]

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.
Romans 8:22-23

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27

Our need for God is so great that we groan inside for him. Words cannot express how much we need the redemption that is found in Jesus Christ. We need the Holy Spirit to intercede for us. And that’s one of the reasons we celebrate Pentecost. It was the day when the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples, launched the church, and began the church’s mission to the world. With spectacular signs and wonders, Pentecost revealed God’s desire to dwell in the hearts of his people. He wants to live inside us because that is where we need to be healed — that is where we groan.

The amazing thing is that the Holy Spirit understands the groans of our heart. He understands the words we cannot express. Not only does he understand, but he takes our wordless prayers and brings them to the Father on our behalf. The Holy Spirit groans with us, expressing the depth of our need for God as only he can. Even when we do not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit knows, and he intercedes on our behalf. Because of the humanity of Jesus Christ, God understands us completely, and the Spirit uses that knowledge to pray for us perfectly. So, when we turn to God, we are turning to a Father who already knows what we need and, to Jesus Christ, our big brother who fully identifies with our human experience.

When our words are not enough; when words fail us, it is good to know that God never will. He is always with us and he always understands.

I am Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

The post Speaking Of Life 3026 | The Groans of Our Heart appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3025 | Eyewitness Testimony
Jeff Broadnax

Many movies and TV shows feature dramatic courtroom scenes where a surprise witness gives testimony that shocks the courtroom. The witness is so compelling that there is no doubt that his or her testimony is true. In real life, however, eyewitness testimony is frequently unreliable. According to the Innocence Project, since the 1990s, around 350 people have been exonerated due to DNA evidence. In 75% of those cases, innocent people were convicted primarily due to mistaken eyewitness testimony.*

The possibility of false testimony can make it hard to take people at their word. It would be wonderful to live in a world where we can believe everything people say, however, even eyewitnesses can get things wrong.

This does not mean that all firsthand sources are untrustworthy. For example, the accounts of Jesus in the Bible are based on eyewitness testimony. But if we are not careful, we can transfer our distrust of people’s words onto God and question the truth of the things he tells us.

In 1 John 5:9-13, the apostle John addresses this problem:

We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5:9-13

God is not a liar and he does not give false testimony. What he says is true, and the truth he wants to share with us is that by grace we have life in Jesus Christ. We have evidence of the veracity of God’s testimony in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.  There is never a need to doubt God’s word.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in us: leads us into all truth, is the guarantee of our eternal future, and it also serves as proof of a new life in Jesus today.  Jesus is alive with us, and he guides us as we join him in bringing his light to our families, churches, neighborhoods, workplaces, and world. He helps us offer a reliable and true personal testimony about Jesus.  We can confidently trust what God says and how he leads us because we know his testimony is, was, and always will be faithful and true.

I am Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.

• In case it is needed, here are three sources for the statistic:

https://www.innocenceproject.org/in-focus-eyewitness-misidentification/

https://www.pnas.org/content/114/30/7758

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-the-eyes-have-it/

The post Speaking Of Life 3025 | Eyewitness Testimony appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3024 | The Divine Irony
Greg Williams

No other writer in the New Testament uses metaphors of combat and conquering more than the gentle Apostle John. Notice this passage:

For whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 
I John 5:4-5 (NRSV)

After reading about the conquests you can almost hear a chorus from the rock band Queen singing – “We are the champions, no time for losers, because we are the champions of the world.” 

These kinds of words—conquer, overcome—hit our modern ears in a strange way when applied to Jesus. Normally, the words love, forgiveness, and gentleness come to mind when we think of him. We think of Jesus as the great comforter and healer, and redeemer, before we think of him as a conquering King.  

Add to that, in the modern dialogue, the trend is toward celebrating all worldviews and faiths as if they are all equally valid and equally coherent. But the Christian calling is different—Jesus isn’t one savior among many, he isn’t just another dish at the smorgasbord of philosophy and religion. He is king! He is conqueror! And he is the supreme revelation of God.  

And while he is the supreme example of love, he is also the source and end of logic, wisdom, and philosophy. The universe without him doesn’t exist, Paul said when he reminded us that Jesus is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17) 

As Christians, we hold that there is one answer for the human condition and one response to the ultimate question: Jesus. The same Jesus who conquered the world by love.  

In a world where strength and ruthlessness seemed to be what got you ahead, Jesus came to change the equation. The great irony of Christ was that he conquered by surrendering; he was declared king through forgiveness.  

And he has conquered all–and that’s why we are committed to the exclusive truth of the gospel and we accept the challenge of how to convey this truth with grace and love to those outside of conscious faith.  

The fact is that all roads don’t lead to Rome and all world views are not different ways up the same mountain. The center of reality is not a round table, it’s a heavenly throne room where Father, Son and Spirit eternally dwell, and one day all crowns will be laid at the feet of Jesus. 

Queen almost had it right – “We are the champions, but only because Jesus is the Real Champion!” 

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life. 

The post Speaking Of Life 3024 | The Divine Irony appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3023 | Plugged In
Michelle Fleming

The worst power outage in US history happened on August 14, 2003. It’s called the Northeast Blackout of 2003, and it affected 45 million people in eight states from Ohio to Connecticut. Though it lasted just a little over a day, much of the affected area was in the middle of a heatwave, which meant no air conditioning or fans. For people stuck in New York subways when the power went out, it took two hours to safely evacuate them. The same was true for people who were stranded mid-ride on roller coasters at amusement parks. Water service was also affected because the water pumps were electric.

It’s when we experience a power outage that we realize how much we rely on electricity to live and work, how much we need a strong connection to have a consistent flow. Otherwise, we experience what people in the Northeast Blackout faced: discomfort, delays, and loss.

When we think about our connection with God, we might see some similarities. We need a strong connection with God to experience the reality of how deeply we are loved, and how that love–like electricity­­–flows through us to others.  The apostle John writes in 1 John 4 that God is love and that the love we have for others comes from God. Here’s what else he says:

Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; [but] if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us… We love because he first loved us.
I John 4: 11-12, 19 (NRSV)

His love–like electricity–flows from him, through us, and to others. It’s his love that we share with others. That’s why the connection to God is so important. John also talks about when that connection feels weak, or when we choose to prioritize other connections over our connection with God. That’s when fear creeps in, and we doubt God’s love for us:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.
I John 4:18 (NRSV)

 God loves us and doesn’t stop loving us. We experience blackouts when we doubt God’s love for us, we start to look for connections elsewhere, weakening our experience of our connection with him. When we don’t feel loved, we don’t have love to pass on to others. Just like the Northeast Blackout, there’s discomfort, delay, and loss.

Power outages can happen due to weather events and human error. But our connection to God is never in jeopardy. Fear in our hearts can weaken our ability to let God’s love flow through us, but the connection will never let go. His lavish love is readily available to us, whenever we turn toward him.

May you know and abide in the understanding that you are held and deeply loved by the Father, Son, and Spirit.

I’m Michelle Fleming, Speaking of Life.

For reference:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biggest-blackout-in-us-history/

The post Speaking Of Life 3023 | Plugged In appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3022 | The Green in Rugged Pastures
Greg Williams

One of the most famously quoted Psalms is Psalm 23, and if you don’t understand the countryside in Israel, you can miss part of the meaning of the Psalm.

You know the Psalm, which begins like this:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.

Psalm 26:1-2 (NRSV)

If you go to the countryside in Israel, you can see what the psalmist looked at as he penned the words “green pastures.” Even today there are teenagers from shepherd families out walking their charges on grazing trails carved into the land since the time of Abraham. But the “green pastures” the Psalmist referred to are nothing like the luscious midwestern landscape this may bring to mind for a westerner.

The landscape is rugged semi-desert, not the waist-high grasses that we may think of. The first time one biblical scholar saw the sheep out grazing here, he thought they were eating rocks! But yet this is the place that David calls “green pastures.” Look closer, and there is just enough moisture in the air and scarce rainfall to grow the smallest shoots of vegetation around the rocks.

There’s just enough for a few mouthfuls every few steps, and the sheep have to keep moving, they must keep following the shepherd to find sustenance. There’s no lush green pastures to sit and get fat in, but there’s enough to make it through and keep going, and when the grass runs out, the sheep trust the shepherd will bring them to more.

This changes our understanding of Christ. While the pictures of a very Caucasian Jesus walking his sheep through waving pastures are nice and comforting for many, they are wholly inaccurate. What David saw was the much more true-to-life picture of a rugged landscape in which the sheep’s only chance of survival is the shepherd’s guidance and love.

One of the greatest questions of our Christian life is: Do we trust the shepherd to give us enough?

Most of the time in life, we’re not flooded with spiritual, physical, or relational bounty, but if we keep moving, we find that Jesus guides us. A mouthful here, a mouthful there. A kind word from a stranger, an unexpected gift from a friend, a favorite meal made by your spouse.

This is how our Lord Jesus leads us to green pastures. Our shepherd gives us all we need, and the point is to trust him and keep following.

I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.

The post Speaking Of Life 3022 | The Green in Rugged Pastures appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3021 | Jesus Goes Viral
Jeff Broadnax

Have you ever seen a video that moved you so much or made you laugh so hard that you just had to share it with someone else? If so, you may have participated in making that video “go viral.”

When a video “goes viral” it spreads exponentially with little effort or expense. This is a dream come true for advertisers or artists. In fact, many try to produce this phenomenon by implementing various strategies or tactics but there is no sure way of guaranteeing a video will “go viral.” It only happens when the video connects with people in a significant way and it is shared.  A particularly moving video can get shared around the globe and viewed by millions in a very short time.

We could say this is similar to how the Gospel gets spread around the world. It’s not that someone came up with some brilliant marketing strategy–or perhaps some ONE did–but rather it happens when a person has seen and been moved by Jesus. That personal encounter, I call those divine appointments, leads to a natural sharing of the Good News of who Jesus is and what he has done. Like seeing that amazing video, seeing Jesus compels us to share with others in hope that they too will see Jesus. He’s just too good not to share.

Unlike a video that goes viral, seeing Jesus is not a short-lived experience. It’s a lifelong relationship of seeing and coming to know him and his Father by the Spirit, day in and day out. The more we turn to him and come to see and know him the more our witness of him will naturally flow out of us. We won’t need any fancy marketing campaigns. We will just tell that epic story as we experienced it.

Listen to the interplay between experiencing God personally and witnessing to him publicly in this Psalm:

Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the Lord.

Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.
Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:1-8

When we see Jesus, we will also see that Jesus is the true Witness in the World. He has known the Father for all eternity and knows just how good he is. Since Jesus sees the Father, he is compelled to share him with us.

We could say that Jesus is the Someone who shared the “visual” of his relationship with the Father. Let’s celebrate the One who shines the light and love of the Father and join in on Jesus going viral.

I’m Jeff Broadnax, Speaking of Life.

The post Speaking Of Life 3021 | Jesus Goes Viral appeared first on Grace Communion International.

Speaking Of Life 3020 | Life in a Handful of Dust
Greg Williams

John starts his gospel work “In the beginning.” Later Jesus creates sight for a blind man with a handful of dust. After his resurrection, he meets Mary in a garden on Easter morning. In the Upper Room, he breathes on his apostles. Notice John’s words:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

John 20:21-22 (ESV)

Throughout the gospels, most vividly in John, we see the familiar images of dust, gardens, and breath. History started this way, in the garden, where God first breathed life into Adam. Here at the start of the New Testament church, Jesus begins the whole process again, by breathing the Spirit into us.

There’s that Hebrew word for breath—ruach—the word for Spirit.

Instead of destroying us for our rebellion and for turning from him, instead of starting over with a scorched earth policy from the ground up, God came here himself to re-create. These echoes of creation remind us that God always kept a remnant, Noah, the Exodus, the people brought back from exile. And then he brought forth his Son from one family, one woman, one womb.

He kept the remnant because that was his plan all along. He is the God who re-creates. He takes the dust and waste that sin has turned the world into and starts his kingdom here and says, “It is good.”

Has he breathed life into the dust of your life? Has he taken what is lifeless and dry and made it live? Think of the addict who is healed and goes onto support other addicts. Think of a mother who was hurt and abused as a child, but was then given her own children to cherish and break that cycle of pain.

We live in a world of death and resurrection with a God who, over and over, breathes life into a handful of dust. How is he breathing life into you?

I’m Greg Williams Speaking of Life.

The post Speaking Of Life 3020 | Life in a Handful of Dust appeared first on Grace Communion International.