I welcome you onboard for the first voyage of the "Grace Be With You" blog. Hold on folks, this may be a bumpy ride.
A few months ago, I was inspired by Pastor Elton of Life Bible Church to start a blog...so here it goes. I figure if I can get about three of you to read the first post that I will be exceeding expectations. I have come to the realization that this new (to me at least) form of communication is a powerful thing, and is one worth exploring. Writing down one's thoughts can cause reflection and I plan on wondering why I believe what I believe. Maybe you can answer some of my questions and maybe I can help you along with some of yours.
I am a passionate person. I'm passionate about watching a Klamath Falls sunset, sitting in comfortable sweats, having just the right amount of mustard on my bratwurst (JUST mustard—I don't plan on ruining the taste of the sausage with any other garbage), the Seattle Mariners, loving the woman I'm going to marry (I look forward to calling her my wife...I'll give more on that someday), and I am truly passionate about God.
I've been striving to look at God in a new light lately. As I said in my message at Beyond this last Thursday, I don't believe that the face of God always looks how we think it does. For example, how often do you think about Jesus Christ laughing? Crying? How do you think he looked when he was in fervent prayer in Matthew 26:39:
"And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.'"
All of these things remind me of how passionate God is. Jesus laughed hard and cried hard. He felt the joys of love and His heart raged against sin. There is so much more to the passion of Jesus that I simply cannot describe in the amount of time that I would like to complete this blog post, but the point that I am trying to convey is that this passion is inside of me.
The blood of Christ that fell from His hands, that stained the wood of the cross, flows through my veins. When Christ came and purified me He came to stay and work through me. The passion to say, "Yet not as I will, but as You will" exists in my heart because of His grace.
I want to live with the same passion that Jesus had.
Grace be with you.
