RENEW

If you were to choose a single word, just one word to describe the feeling that people have when they truly experience the Kingdom of God in Jesus, what would that word be?

Well, a word that Luke uses is the word “Welcome.” Luke tells us Jesus’ ministry was a welcoming ministry.

It was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die because only such a bloody death on the cross melts our pride and destroys our efforts at self-help and self-salvation. It’s only when you and I are brought to our knees, when we take the attitude of that tax collector in Jesus’ story who couldn’t even look up, but just began to pound his chest and say, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner” that we receive God’s grace and forgiveness. We must let all our self-help and self-salvation go in order to find grace for ourselves.

A look at Jesus through the eyes of the gospel writer Matthew. Matthew how Jesus fulfils all of God’s promises in the Old Testament. 

A message of the loving discipline of God.

A message on the loving forgiveness of God.

A message on the person of the Holy Spirit.

Here is the picture of salvation: God – running towards humanity with arms outstretched, not only to embrace us but to take the nails reserved for our punishment.

Sometimes the truth is that under the surface, deep in the heart, there is not nearly as big a difference between the rebel and the rule keeper as the rule keeper would like to believe.

There is no distance you can go from God that there won’t be a joyous restoration in your return. You have a heavenly Father who loves you with a love like no other, whose grace will cover a multitude of sins.

Biblically, you can say a lot of things about God, but one thing you cannot do is to domesticate him, make him safe. In the Bible, God often acts in ways that, from a human standpoint, appear reckless. The idea of “reckless” grace then, takes us directly to the heart of the gospel.