Qualified

This week two friends read a scripture and thought they were disqualified from blessings because they weren’t perfect in their execution of the scripture. But let me tell you a secret: The law disqualified. Jesus qualifies! Allow what Jesus did while He walked on earth to speak louder than your interpretation of scripture. Allow the grace He exhibited when interacting with tax collectors, prostitutes, adulteresses, and Gentiles form your theology....

Not Separated

Does God walk away from us when we sin? Does He stop talking to us when we sin? When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, they hid. They covered. God continued to speak to them. God looked for them. David said, “Where can I hide from His presence. If I make my bed in hell, He is there.” An aversion to sin did not prevent Jesus from allowing...

Misappropriated Grace?

You are too busy if you don’t have time to visit a friend in the hospital. You are too busy if you don’t have time to focus on what God has called you to do. You are too busy if you don’t have time for your family, even if they are grown and gone. You are too busy if you don’t have time to care for yourself by exercising and...

Respond with Grace

It has happened again. Another Christian leader involved in a scandal. (A collective sigh fills the Body of Christ.) I’m sure many Christians want to bury their head in the sand in embarrassment and pray for Jesus’ speedy return. Others are quick to point an accusing finger and blame a lack of holiness teaching in the church. Believers who refuse traditional church, shake their heads and say, “See, that’s why...

Not my Brother’s Judge

My brother and I grew up in the same home. A Christian home. We were baptized together. He was six. I was four. We both faltered in our teens, made bad choices. But even in my rebellion, I continued attending church. He did not. But we have remained close. Last night I asked my brother if he believed Jesus was the son of God. His reply, “Yes, but my faith...

Blinded by the Light

For most of my life, I read the Bible through the lens that God was angry and ready to smite me. But as I now read the Bible through the lens of His grace, I see things totally different. For instance, I have always thought God struck Paul with blindness during his Damascus Road experience. But in rereading that story this morning in the light of Grace, I come to...

At Odds with God

“Lord, you have to change my situation or change my heart. But please, change my situation,” was my prayer as I struggled with feelings of anger and abandonment. I want growth without growing pains. I want fruit without the darkness of being planted. I want revelation without intimacy. I want wine without crushing. I want my situation to change. God wants my heart to change. I want a quick fix....

Know Your Audience

My book, Redefined, is being published October 1. Yesterday, I was tasked with finding an intriguing catch phrase to put on the back cover. As I was skimming the book to find the right phrase, God began to show me why the book was written. To invite women who struggle with guilt and shame into freedom. To heal women of the pain of rejection. To encourage women there is life...

Are You Willing to Stand?

One year, Wake County Schools decided to have a weather makeup day on Good Friday. One of my students was indignant about the situation and said, “I’m not coming because I have to go to church!” “Are you Catholic?” I asked. “Because most Protestant churches have Friday night services.” “No, I just don’t think it’s right for them to have school on Good Friday,” he replied. “Then don’t lie about...

Unbalanced Grace

Can I tell you a secret? Grace is NOT balanced. It is radical. Unbelievable. Incredible. It offends our sense of justice. This is grace: I did something wrong. I sinned. But then a Holy God said, “Wait a minute, Melissa. I will take your punishment. And you can walk away free as if you never sinned.” That’s absolutely crazy. And I don’t get just one free pass, I have an...