Post details: GRACE...

07/06/06

Permalink 08:51:05 am, Categories: GraceHead teaching, By Trent, 350 words   English (US)

GRACE...

Len sent this to my inbox. It is a terrific poem. I hope it blesses you.
GRACE...

Multiply the innocence on the face
of your favorite child
times infinity.

Surround it with darkness,
cruel jealousy and sin.

Now look to Golgotha: Behold
the face of the purest heart
ever beheld by angels or men,
bloodied and battered,
spat upon and cursed,
and crying . . .
"Father! forgive them...
Father! forgive them...

I offer my self
in their place,
for their soul.

Forgive them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cf. Isaiah 53. Psalms 22 and 88. Matthew 27:33-54.
Luke 23:32-44.
John 18:4-11; 19:29-37.

I was talking to Pam (Yeah! We are talking again!) and I just had it in my mind to share a recent grace in my life. I wrote this as an encouragement:

... and time is stretched thin, but I have found this to be true, God will stretch time for His children, and give them more then 24 hours in a day, if they ask for it. It is weird, but I have had 3 meetings in the span of an hour and a half, while running behind schedule and facing traffic that makes the road trip longer then 2 hours just for that ... and yet, I swear that it is true, an answer to prayer makes it so that I reach every appointment on-time in that hour and a half, though it is impossible. I shared this with a few of my sub-contractors and they have reported the same thing. When they needed time to be stretched, God must have done it, because it is impossible to do in one hour what sometimes they are called upon to do, and yet with prayer there seems to be time to spare.

So, I encourage you to ask for these things that you need to get through the day ... if it is to survive 1 month on 1 meal, you can find God's grace for that ... if it is to drive 500 miles on one gallon, God has done it before and can do it again. Those things can't be any harder for Him then stretching time so that a few guys can make their appointments ... Isn't He amazing?!?!

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Comments, Trackbacks, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Pam [Visitor]
Hey, sweetie, I'm happy too!

Pam
Permalink 07/06/06 @ 17:22
Comment from: Len Hummel [Visitor] · http://www.interviewwithJesus.com
Thanks Trent. Very nice also to see you and Pam back to having full lines of communication open again. GREAT !
btw: here is my Url for my new "myspace" on the Net:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=91465061
Permalink 07/09/06 @ 07:24
Comment from: Steve [Visitor] · http://blog.tableserver.com/index.php
It's good to see you and Pam talking Trent.
Permalink 07/10/06 @ 13:23
Comment from: Lisa [Visitor]
This is so sweet! I'm almost envious!

On the note of asking God for things. I totally concur. There was a time in my life, as I was first stepping out of the legalism + Grace style of doctrine, that I was told by someone to NOT ask God for ANYTHING. To do so would be a lack of faith, indicating we didn't trust God to do the best for us, anyways. That totally blew my mind. For about 7 months, I had no clue how to pray. Scripture like, "make your requests known to God" ..."Ask and it shall be given..." would come to mind, and it didn't make sense. But the guy's logic (at least to a newborn in Christ) seemed irrefutable. Then, one day, in desperration, I had somehow misplaced a college textbook (education major) and I NEEDED that book! I turned my house upside down looking for that one--I needed it for a project the NEXT day! I was devestated! Of all the textbooks I could have lost, that was NOT the one to loose. I didn't have $110 for another one, and without it, I'd fail the class. Well, in desperation, I cried out to God, and asked Him to help me find that book! In my prayer I also apologized if it was wrong to ask for that--after all, it wasn't like I was praying for world peace or anything. I admitted that I was still so confused about how to pray because of those discussions I'd had with that fella. But that I NEEDED that book! I kid you not....two minutes after I'd uttered "amen"... a thought came to look in a certain place. Yep, sure enough, that's where the book was. And see? It dawned on me then, as well as a few times afterwards on other 'asking occassions" that when we ask God for help (such as helping us get to meetings) It's demonstrating our dependency on Him. We know we're not able to get it done on our own, so prayer requests, like trials, I believe are to remind us that our hope is on Christ. Yes, He DOES care about us and our lost books, our traffic jams, our meetings, but not because OF the books, meetings, etc.. He has compassion on us, and I wholely believe He uses our prayer requests to teach us to depend on Him more so. I know He's done it for me.
Thanks for sharing, Trent..
Lisa
Permalink 07/11/06 @ 10:13
Comment from: Trent [Member] · http://www.GraceHead.com
Lisa,

I used to be burdened by the same thing. It sounds right, doesn't it ... to just trust and not even ask? But I have found that we should ask, and once our request is made ... trust that He always hears it. He doesn't need a reminder, and He will either A) immediately do it, or B) Do it later, or C) not do it.
A seems best
B seems almost as good.
and C seems the worst ..

But I have found that is the opposite.
C is the best (because it means that God has something better then even what we thought was the best our faith is grown in trusting God)
B is almost as good (because it means that we will appreciate it more and our joy will be full in the fullness of time)
A is the worst of the three, because if God immediately does it, we take it for granted and there is no joy.

We all know that a teenager that drives a Ferrari to school, will not appreciate the sports-car, and will not treat it right and it is only a matter of time before it is completely trashed. The reason is that we cannot appreciate things that we get too early. Waiting and wanting and years of not having are the things that make our joy full when and if it comes our way.

God knows the beginning from the end, and He delights to give us fullness of joy. He love us too much to rob us of that joy and give everything to us immediately. Even your story, of looking and not finding the book, and being desperate and needy and hopeless and then God removing the veil over you mind as to where it is ... when your joy might be full ... is a testimony to this principle.

The principle is this ... the exact opposite to fulfilment will precede the fulfillment ... and we delight in the contrast and the anticipation.

I cannot count how many things we have misplaced over the years ... and usually my wife, Heather, is the first person to do it .. but we pray ... and the answer comes ... and it is such a great feeling to have a Shepherd, when you are a weak, needy, fragile sheep like me!

Ripening,
Trent
Permalink 07/16/06 @ 11:04

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