GRACE AND SATURDAY MORNING

It is 10:30 Saturday morning and I am at work sitting at my desk anticipating our church service tomorrow. I serve a church in Soldotna Alaska that can not afford to pay our family a full time salary, so I work to supplement the income.

This week my employer has been in Mexico with his wife on a business trip and that leaves me in the office holding the fort down. This brings added responsibilities which require more of my time and attention.

If you have done much public speaking, then you know it requires time and preparation. My prep time has been limited this week. I could pout, whine and fret this morning about the injustice of my predicament however the scriptures will not let me.

The great Apostle Paul speaks of his predicament in Second Corinthians eleven verse 24 and following.

" from the jews five times I received thirty nine stripes.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,
three times I suffered shipwreck,
a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often,
in danger upon water, in danger of robbers,
in danger of my own countrymen,
in danger by the heathen,...In weariness and painfulness,
in watchings often, in hunger and thirst...
besides those things that are without,
that which comes upon me daily, the care of all the churches."

It seems Paul had a full plate. How did one man do it all? Simply put, one man did not do it all. God did it all. God poured out a measure of grace for the high calling of his apostle and the same God will pour out a measure of grace on our service tomorrow morning.

As we said in our last entry about the 23rd Psalm: " It is all about God." It is not about me or my performance. If it were only a performance nothing much would happen. Its about people coming together to celebrate and soak in the presence of God.

When God shows up and pours Himself into the hearts of people there is a reflection of grace.