mike adkins | grace•ology

What a Great Place to Serve

I am sitting at my desk working on my message. At the same time, I'm listening to all the volunteers and staff running around laughing and joking and having a great time. I love this place. There's just no better place to serve. I'm glad that serving Jesus isn't a stoic duty, but can be full of laughter and joy and fun. God is so good. Back to studying now.

Mike

God is taking me on such a great journey lately. I am in the process of learning about joy. I never knew that joy could be so powerful. Here's the deal. Joy is a product of trust. Without trust you can never really have any joy. So along the way, God is also teaching me about trust. Some time ago, I found out, to my surprise, it takes me a little while to trust a person. I like to think of myself as a trusting person--but I'm not, at all.

So here's what God is doing. He is in the process of revealing to me that Joy is one of the most powerful attributes of God. God is joy. In His presence, there is an unending joy. If you could peel back the layers of God's personality you would find more and more joy because at every level of God's being He is joy.

How this joy flows to me is that it comes through trusting that God is enough for me in every circumstance. When I live in fear that God is not enough, my life kicks into overdrive trying to fix my lack of trust by organizing my world to meet my needs. This is when joy flies out the window and is replaced by fear or faithlessness.

Joy is rooted in the trustworthiness of our God. I don't need to panic that my life isn't on track, I need to trust that his track for my life is the best track for my life. When I do trust, that's when joy comes my way.

I hope you have a joy filled day rooted in the trust of our God.

Do you Agree? Or, Disagree...

How far does the Grace of God really extend? Do murderers get it? Rapists? Child molesters? How does it work?

If you're like me at all, then the above categories of people seem a long way from me. I'm not like "those" people. So when I think of grace I think of it applying to more "reasonable" sins like pride or fear or greed--sins like mine. But when it comes to the big stuff, I tend to want to think in terms of justice. I want murderers to get caught and punished and God to focus on them so I can just kinda get by unnoticed. And as long as my sins stay small enough, then I won't deserve God's anger or his justice (Shew!!!).

Is that how it really works? No. God's mercy extends to everyone who chooses to have Jesus come into their lives. Big sins and small ones. Even though I might not like it, child molesters and murderers are invited too. If Jesus is in their lives, then Grace extends even to them. What a concept?!

One last idea

If I changed lenses and began looking from God's perspective I wouldn't see big or small sins. I would only see those who loved me and those who didn't. Either you're in, or you're out. If you're in, I will lavish all of my grace upon you no matter how much you don't deserve it. If you're out, it doesn't matter how hard you try to be good, grace doesn't work for you. You're on your own.

Phillip yancey summarized this idea for his book, "What's So Amazing About Grace," when he said, "There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make God love us less."

Either you have grace or you don't.

What is God doing in you these days?

I want to hear what God is doing in your life these days. So here's what I want you to do. Just list off words that describe what God is doing in your world.

These can be words like:
Joy
love
testing
trial
hope...whatever the words are that come to mind to describe what God is doing in your family, your life, your work, your friends.

From the conversations that I've been having lately, it seems like God is really busy shaping people's lives right now. What's going on with you?

Christians Are So Un-Christian

I'm reading a book called, "Unchristian," by Gabe Lyons. The book is about the negative perceptions that unbelievers have about Christians. The interesting thing is that while they are critical of Christians their critique's stem from us not living out the life of Jesus in the world

Some highlights:

1. Christians don't create anything original. They only mimic the world around them.
Just go in any Christian bookstore. You will see "sanctified" Christian books that are almost identical to books in B&N or Borders. You will see t-shirts that are rip offs of "secular" apparel, yet with Bible verses. There are even Christian workout clubs. Yet why is it that the Christian version of so many "secular" (I hate the word secular) items are so often totally lame?

2. Christians get offended at everything.
It seems like every day Christians are getting riled up about something - be it DisneyWorld, supposed persecution of Christians in America (puh-leeze!), or even cursing in the work place. Sometimes it feels like Christians disagree with the first part of the bumper-sticker that says "Christians Aren't Perfect, Just Forgiven".

3. Christians are just waiting to be "raptured up" and couldn’t care less about this world.
What with books like the Left Behind series telling Christians that this world is all going to burn and many Christians’ visible revulsion at being good stewards of the Earth, it is hard to think otherwise.

4. Christians should be known for their unfailing love for others.
By others, I don't mean other Christians. I mean all other people. Especially those that are hard to love. The poor. The sick. The widowed. The outcasts. The oppressed.

HERE'S THE MAIN POINT!

Critiques of Christianity can sometimes be a wake-up call from God. Sometimes they remind us that the world is watching and wanting more from us. Following Jesus is way more than just saying you believe something. It is living out what Jesus taught us in a way that shows we understand his priorities and are willing to give more than lip-service to them.

Third Service

As we continue to grow, one of the strategies to deal with our increased growth is to launch a third service. We don't yet have all the details and that's why I'm asking you.

SHOULD WE HAVE A THIRD SERVICE IN THE MORNING OR ONE AT NIGHT (5PMish) ?

I WANT YOU TO VOTE FOR YOUR PREFERENCE

Just type morning or evening to indicate your choice

I Want To Hear From You

What do you think it takes to produce spiritual growth in the life of a person? I want you to be creative.

Here's some ground rules:
1) Don't just say read the Bible--we know that already.
2) Don't just say pray more--we know that too.

What I'm looking for is some unconventional ways to grow people who are new to God or have been around for a while.

Some ideas to get you thinking

1) meditation on scripture not just reading
2) books that have inspired you
3) Movies that have illustrated virtues or attributes of God
4) Songs that illustrate truth both good and bad
5) Activities in creation that remind you of God's presence (not Golf, men!)
6) Sermons you have heard
7) Conferences you have gone to
8) friendships that have led to deeper commitments

Feel free to go beyond the boundaries of these suggestions. Let's hear what you've got.

New York Magazine Article With Author Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer is a poet a novelist and a self-proclaimed artist. He is also eighty four years old. As such, he is looking back over his life and considering the implications of nearing death. Who is God? What does he/she look like? And what about evil? He's come to some interesting conclusions.

It's no surprise that Norman believes that God is an artist. He sees God's power and purpose arising from his creative impulses. He also believes that God is not an all powerful God. Norman's God is not even sure whether in the end good will prevail. He believes that the devil exists and that technology is his tool to enslave mankind. He believes that God is always re-incarnating or re-creating souls who struggle with evil in this life. God's response to evil is not to halt it or to conquer it, but to reincarnate it out of existence.

Like Mailer, I believe that God is an artist. Genesis describes God's creative genius in creating our world. Here's where Mailers view gets a little off track. Does it strike anyone that Mailers god looks a lot like Mailer? Really? Even his view of evil is one of an octagenarian. Norman is eighty four. He didn't grow up or live in a world where technology was part of his everyday experience. He hasn't lived a life with Treos or I-Phones, or I-Pods, or Podcasts. His is the world of words. The world of pen and paper. It's no wonder the devil would come in the form of technology.

Here's my point. There is something within all of us that wants to have God created in our own image. Why? Because it's easier to control God when God thinks and acts like we think and act. But this is precisely why God created us in His image. He wanted us to think and act like Him.

Next time your trying to figure out what God looks like start with God not with you. You'll probably end up with a much better picture of God. Sorry, Norman.

My Prayer For Grace Fellowship

It's Sunday after the service. I'm exhausted. It's been a crazy week. I wanted to give you a prayer that I feel summarizes what I talked (rambled) about this weekend. May you find it useful in building Christ on the inside of you.

Disturb Us, Oh Lord
~Sir Francis Drake's Prayer~

Disturb us, O Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves;
When our dreams have come true,
Because we dreamed too little.
We arrived safely,
Because we sailed too close to shore.
Disturb us, O Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess,
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity.
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, O Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push us into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
We ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus.

Leaving For Atlanta

This is the week of conferences. I'm going to Catalyst with Dave Paul to hear some leading Christian authors and speakers talk about spiritual growth. Really excited. Of course, I'm leaving at 4am to get to the airport early enough. Fun!? I'll let you know what's happening.

I'll be back for church on Sunday.