How Do You Repay God for His Grace?

Yesterday I had the joy of reading a short daily devotional sent to me by one of my roommates. It's written by none other than John Piper and in classical Piper fashion he starts out with an analogy. Piper asks that the reader envision salvation as a house that you live in where the food and water never end, the house offers protection, it never decays or crumbles, and the windows open onto vistas of glory. This house is now yours for free, built at great cost to God and His son.

This sounds awesome right?!?

As Piper continues he goes on to ask the reader "Would it not be foolish to say yes to this agreement, and then hire a lawyer to draw up an amortization schedule with monthly payments in the hopes of somehow balancing accounts?" Most readers would agree that yes, it would be foolish to make payments on a house that is given to you as a gift.

I have always known and understood that my salvation is a gift from God, but never has it made so much sense. Many times I forget that I do not have to do anything for God to love me or to show me love, or to have grace with me. This is where it gets dangerous. By not trusting in the Lord and believing His truths and promises I find myself working to somehow earn His love and grace when it has already been given to me. I become that person, who has been given a free house yet insist on paying for it.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast."
-Ephesians 2:8-9

The above verses are what came to mind when I was reminded that grace is free and I don't have to make any repayments and as I was writing this and sharing about how I find myself working for God's love I am reminded of Eccesiates 2:11 which states:

"Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun."

So, how do you pray God for His grace?

Simply put, you don't. It's a gift. It's free. You don't have to.


Here is a link to the Piper devotional: HERE!

Starting Anew

Week one of URBN Experience year two is officially under my belt. It has been quite the transition and I believe we may all be transitioning for a while. Many of us are in new homes with new roommates in a new neighborhood, and have started new jobs. It's one thing to be in a new city or a new house, but to start a new job and add new roommates to those already though transitions can make life seem all the more crazy. In the midst of all the crazy, I am reminded of how sweet it can be to experience God at work.

We have been in our new house for just over two weeks and have been very welcomed by our neighbors. This may not sound like that big of a deal, especially if you're from or have grown up in the suburbs, but when you're an outsider moving into an urban area that's huge! We're not going to dance around the fact that people are judgmental, both you and I, have stereotypes, and preconceived ideas about people based on where they live, their education level, their job, income, color, race, or gender. These are all evidences of a broken world, but God is bigger than all of that. The fact that our neighbors have even introduced themselves to us is evidence of God's work in the neighborhood of Shelby Park. Just last year, it took my roommates and I over six months to get to know some of our neighbors and over nine to get any of them to have dinner with us. It wasn't due to a lack of inviting them or trying to have conversation, it was a different culture that we had stepped into and we were outsiders.

I am excited to see what God has in store for us all this year, especially pertaining to neighborhood ministry and the non-profit partner ministries that we are partnered with this year! This first week has helped to remind me of how powerful God is and of what He is doing here in the City of Louisville, KY. As the year goes on there will be more to come, so buckle up because it's going to be a wild ride!



I am still in need of support to make this year possible. If you would like to support me and the ministry I am a part of go HERE!