Healer

The other day I was listening to Spotify radio, and the song "Healer" by Hillsong United came on. I'm actually a fan of this song, mostly because of the journey it has taken me on since I first heard it. The song was written and performed by a man named Mike Gugleilmucci, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer. He sang this song that hailed the Lord as the ultimate Healer with such passion and abandonment, that it was really inspiring. To see this man potentially dying of cancer, singing his heart out in a song of trust and praise to his God in the midst of these circumstances, was truly something holy. Check out the video below and see for yourself:



But as it turns out, the whole circumstance was a lie. Gugleilmucci had lied to everyone (including his own family) about having terminal cancer in order to cover up his addiction to pornography (don't ask me how that works).

It's easy to feel duped, and feel like this guy betrayed all of us who got so much inspiration from his story. I find myself wondering, If the inspiration was founded upon a lie, can any of it be true? Can God still use this lie to speak into people's lives? 


The answer to those questions is, of course, yes. The Lord quickly reminds me that I am not much different. My sins may not be as public or controversial as this guy's, but they are sins that keep me from the Lord nonetheless. But how many times have I seen the Lord work through me, despite me? How many times have I seen the Lord use me for His Kingdom, even when I was caught in sin?

And this is the miracle of the Kingdom of God--that somehow, the Lord uses broken and sinful people for His Kingdom's sake. That the pure and unadulterated holiness of the Lord can be seen in wicked, unclean people. I'm reminded of Isaiah crying out "Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips...and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty!" And then the angel touches the coal to his lips and cleanses him, in order that he might be sent out.

We are an unclean people made clean for the sake of the Lord's work. Truly the Lord IS the great Healer, the One who takes our brokenness and ugliness and turns it into something beautiful, for His sake. And truly we can praise Him for this, lifting up our voices along with all the other sinners and saints that are called the Bride of Christ.

Love through Community

I am going to tell a story, one that happened to me, not to toot my own horn, but to glorify God because of how He works and to demonstrate a larger point.

The other day i was in the midst of my prayer time and randomly a friend of mine popped into my head, and the feeling that i should pray for them. I did, as well as i knew how, but then afterward emailed that friend to see if there was anything that i could be praying for them about. The friend emailed me back the next day and said, yes, actually there was some crap going on in their life, below the surface, that really needed prayer. The friend remarked how incredible God was, because in the past few days, no fewer than 5 people had come to them, saying that the Lord had put them on their heart or asking if they needed prayer.

Now, this isn't an incredible, rock-your-world kind of story, but to me, this was a Kingdom story. This was a story about how God works through the Body of Christ to show His love and His strength in my friend's life. This was a story about how, through several, God gave grace to one. And this just caused me to praise God for His faithfulness and His goodness and His love.

God is glorified when we submit to be used by Him. This is the cycle of glory--all for God's glory, for the sake of His people. One is encouraged or comforted, and the rest praise God for His work in that person's life. The Community of Christ exists for God's glory--to showcase His power and His love in our lives. We are all ministers of God's grace, not only to the world at large, but to each other. If YOU are a member of this community, then your purpose is to be a vessel of God's grace to EVERYONE, for the sake of God's glory and His Kingdom. How can God be working through YOU? WHO is God trying to reach through you?

You have a purpose. You have a mission. You are here to show your brothers and sisters, and to show the world, that God's love is strong, stronger than any chains that might be binding them, stronger than any walls that they may have built up between them and God, stronger than the power of sin and death in their lives. God's love is strong, and YOU have the strength of that love within you, waiting to be unleashed to the world. YOU are a vessel of the LORD Almighty, and of His love. You are a minister of His grace.

And you are a member of this divine community. Take advantage of it. Use it for the glory of God. When you are going through crap in your life, tell your brothers and sisters and ask them to pray for you. And when you witness a Kingdom moment, share it with brothers and sisters so that you can all praise God together. Build each other up, hold each other accountable, worship together--all of this is for the glory of God.

Don't waste time. Don't waste your life. Start fulfilling your purpose NOW. God wants to use you. Yes, you. He wants to show His love through you. Will you submit to Him, or keep giving in to the myth that your purpose is greater than His purpose?

Ministers of Grace

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

1 Peter 4:10-11

I read this the other day and it really struck me. WE are ministers of God's grace. Grace is a gift that is given primarily through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. But i think i'm continually learning that grace is something that keeps on giving. It is in its very nature and definition for grace to be a continual outpouring of love. Isn't it incredible that God continues to give out His grace, and to give it out through us!! Think about this: if you speak to someone about the love of Jesus Christ, then you are administering God's grace. If you are speaking, the Gospel, then you ARE speaking the very words of God! It is the word that he continues to speak to humanity, and will continue to speak until that day when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD to the glory of God the Father! When we serve others, we are literally being Christ to them, showing His love, and administering His grace! When God works through us, there is power, and there is strength. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be administers of God's grace. This is not something we should take lightly. We have an incredible responsibility, but it's also exciting, isn't it? Even the fact that God uses us is incredible.

I'm heading to Nashville next week for a missions trip, so i'm excited to try and live this out there. Not that i need to go outside my own town in order to do that. For those of you reading, whether you're in ministry right now or not, know this: God is working through YOU! His grace is being poured out, THROUGH YOU! When you speak, speak as one speaking the very words of God. When you serve, know that you are a vessel of God's grace, and depend on the strength He has provided through the Holy Spirit within you. Grace can take a lot of various forms. How is God working through you?

Guilt

I couldn't really celebrate Easter yesterday. My sin and temptation have been kicking me in the balls lately, and it sucks, because i feel like it's so much a part of who i am, but i know that it's not what i'm supposed to be. And so often, i don't feel guilty for the sin committed, but i feel guilty because i don't feel guilty. I don't know what else to do. I know the story of Good Friday and Easter, but i've been questioning myself all weekend, "What does this really mean for me?" I couldn't focus on finding an answer, and my sin raged on. I could not enjoy the life of the Resurrection when i was still caught in the death of sin.

I'm reading John Bunyan's Grace Abounding right now for class, and ironically, in the section i'm reading, he's going through much of the same as myself. At one point, God's Spirit struck him one day with a word. He says, "...as I was walking under a hedge, full of sorrow and guilt God knows, and bemoaning myself for this hard hap...suddenly this sentence bolted in upon me, The blood of Christ remits all guilt; at this I made a stand in my spirit" (paragraph 144). I realize that the blood of Christ has freed me from this sin, but why do i still feel so trapped by it? If the blood of Christ remits all guilt, why do i still feel guilty?

But i also realize that "guilt" here is not referring to a feeling, but rather, a state. It's like in a courtroom, and Jesus is my advocate, defending my case before the Father, and by His grace, i am found not guilty. I am guilty of the crime committed, but somehow, through the blood of Christ, i am found not guilty. My state has been changed. Christ did not die for my feelings. He died for my eternal state. So even if i still feel guilty, I can find at least some rest in the knowledge that I am not guilty. I thank God that i am saved, even when i don't feel like it. Thank God that my salvation is not dependent on my feelings, but rather, on His grace that is somehow big enough to cover all of me.