Letters from the Woods

 Imagine being in a courtroom.  Everyone in the room knows you did it.  There is no denying your guilt.  Multiple eyewitnesses.  Your fingerprints are all over the crime scene.  It is the ultimate open and shut case for the prosecutor.  You are going to jail for a very long time.  The prosecutor has spent the past three days proving your guilt time and time again.  Now is the time for closing arguments.  You plead for your own freedom expressing your guilt and regret seeking one last bit of leniency.  The judge now turns to the prosecution who shares their closing arguments.  They recap their case, and just as they are finishing them up.  The prosecutor says, "all this evidence proves guilt.  I am ready receive the punishment.  The defendant is free to go."   Wait a minute.  The prosecutor wants to go to jail for you?  How? Why? What changed?  Well, it was your own closing argument. ...

 When I think back on my spiritual journey, I can't help but laugh at times.  Being someone who grew up in the church, I know that I spent many times going to the altar to give my life to Jesus.  Sometimes, it was because there was gift for those who converted.  Other times, it was the emotional response to the message where I was so scared of going to hell that I would do anything to avoid such a punishment.  But there was one time in which it was more real than any other.  I was nine maybe ten when there was a message that really spoke to me about giving my heart to God.  I wish I could remember the passage, but I remember the message,  You don't have to keep praying for Jesus to come into your heart.  You can have that peace and assurance everyday.  It really helped me move beyond initial conversion towards a deeper spiritual life beyond the fear of hell and into the love of God. After that conversion, I began to listen more to what s...

              Have you ever heard this chorus? Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!             It is an older hymn chorus.   I can remember my home church singing this chorus often.   We would sing it as an after prayer song or even a chorus for Wednesday night bible study.   The words are simple.   The meaning is beyond simple.   What is this grace greater than all our sin?   To answer that, one must first look to how great our sin is.   For the nature of sin is to separate us from God.   Sin is an act of rebellion against God.   God is pure and holy; therefore, He cannot be around any sort of sin.   God’s holiness cannot abide with our sinfulness.   By our very nature, we will always fail God.   We are a...