Lovin’ the Journey

Okay, so I did my testimony on Sunday.  I have to admit that I’m glad that it’s over, although it wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined it to be. 

First, I shared the story about what got me to do it (see prior post; “Holy Spirit”) and then I went on to say the following:

“I didn’t say anything to Paul about the dream at first, I just told him that I’d think about doing it and would get back to him.  I still planned to turn him down.  However, by this time, I wouldn’t have been turning down Paul, I would have clearly been turning down God.  So I thought about it a bit and I figured….so what if I stood up and turned all red-faced, tripped on stage, passed out, etc.  So, what!  It just wouldn’t be worth turning down God for.

So I shared this story with a few people, and jokingly said that I’d agreed to do it because I was actually afraid that I’d be struck down by lightening if I didn’t.  But, you see….I wouldn’t have been struck by lightening.  Because of God’s Grace, He’d continue to look just as favorably on me even if I had of turned Him.

Do I believe that New Orleans was washed-out because it was plagued with sin?  Absolutely not!  You see, if I believed that, I wouldn’t truely believe in Grace.  Do I believe that AIDS is God’s curse for homosexuals?  Absolutely not!  Again, if I believed that, I wouldn’t truely believe in Grace.

I was saved a little over 20 years ago when I was 10 years old.  I knew then that I was saved by Grace.  ….And I’ve always understood what Grace means…at least in my mind anyway.  But, you see, it hasn’t been until the last couple of years that I’ve truely began to grasp in my heart what Grace means.  I think a lot of that has to do with being a new father.  I’ve got a 3 year old, Andrew, and a seven week old, Matthew.  My 3 year old, Andrew, can really test me sometimes….he can really make me mad, and he can really dissappoint me.  But I know that I will always love him.  And, deep down, I really have a ‘he can’t do wrong mentality’.  You see, I think that’s the mentality that God has towards us….through his Grace he looks at us like we can’t do wrong.

I’ll leave you today with one final thought.  It says a lot about how I view God’s Grace towards others.  Several months ago I heard an interview of a state legislator…a Democrat.  The person doing the inteview said, ‘You’re a Christian, how can you justify calling yourself a Democrat in today’s political environment with the Democratic Party’s stance on social issues?’  The legislator said, “That’s easy, my philosophy is this:  I strive to be as conservative as the Bible in my own life, yet as liberal as the Grace of God in my views toward others.’  Wow, I’m not a Democrat, but that was very powerful to me.

 Thank you.”

Paul Wiegert, our Outreach Director at GMV UMC, recently asked me to give my testimony during the month of August.   At our 9:45 a.m. service, this means speaking in front of approximately 300 people!  Wow…no way…not me I said.  People remind me all the time that I’m a lawyer and shouldn’t have a problem with public speaking.  Well, it’s not exactly easy for me.  So, my initial response to Paul was, “no, you can find someone else.”  Then he went on to try and convince me saying that “it’s only 3 minutes” and “you can talk about anything”.  He also went on to say that I could simply talk about GRACE since Rudy’s sermon series during August is on GRACE. 

GRACE….he had to drop that word.  When he did, I got goosebumps.  You see, about 6 months ago, I had a dream that I was in front of the Church talking about GRACE in my life.  Wow!

Coincidence?  I don’t think so.  My friends, that is the nudging of the Holy Spirit.  I’m still not entirely happy about it, but I want to be obedient.  I’m signed-up to do my testimony on Sunday the 26th.