Grace

Finally, the answer to the question "why are we all here?"

Louie Giglio sheds light on the thread of grace that has existed throughout Scripture—from the beginning in Genesis to the final words of Revelation. This grace builds us up, gives us an inheritance, and gifts us with the promise of eternity with our Savior.

For week one of our Grace & Glory collection, Louie Giglio illuminates our need for God’s sustaining and all-sufficient grace. His power is made perfect in our weakness.

Imagine we were sitting down at a local coffee shop, getting to know each other for the first time. As I sip my coffee with steamed oat milk, I begin to share about my family, my wife Brittany, and our four kids. I start by talking about how much I love my wife and how we met, but before I can finish, someone overhearing our conversation gets agitated and comes over and starts to accuse me of hating my children. Confused, I reply, “How did you come to that conclusion?” They respond, “Because you kept talking about your wife and never said anything about your kids!”  I know what you’re probably thinking right now. This is absurd. How could someone make that assumption? While this is an exaggerated example, it highlights the cultural context we find ourselves in—an age of polarization. Polarization can be defined as “the act of dividing something, especially something that contains different people or opinions, into two completely opposing groups.” The outcome of polarization is division. We have truly found ourselves in an age of polarization, and this does not exclude the household of God. Polarization is taking place on the public forums of Instagram, TikTok, CNN, and Fox. You may have even found yourself engulfed in a fierce debate on a Facebook post. It’s even happening around the dinner table when families come together to celebrate holidays. What is creating this polarization? Take your pick from politics, issues of justice, questions and concerns about gender, and the list goes on and on. We’re left wondering if there is a way to overcome the disunity of polarization and experience unity amid a diversity of opinions and views.  The good news is that the Bible has an answer for this. It requires us to reclaim an ancient virtue that was foundational to the Christian life and has been severely neglected today: the virtue of humility.  In an age of polarization that divides, Christ-like humility has the power to unite.  The initial response to humility may range from skepticism to flat-out rejection. In fact, this was likely how the first-century church viewed humility within a Greco-Roman cultural context. One of the prominent Greek words we translate as “humble” (tapeinophrosynē) could also be translated as “self-abasement” or “lowliness.” In Greek, there are words that are related to each other that convey the concept of humility, and this type of thing is referred to as “word groups.”  Markus Barth, a renowned Swiss New Testament scholar who lived during the second half of the 1900s, shared this insight about the humility word group, “The entire word group which belongs with tapeinophrosynē, according to its usage in common Greek, is used in a negative sense and means a low slavish orientation.” The culture at the time of the first-century church was highly competitive and focused on self-exaltation (sounds familiar, doesn’t it?). So anyone who had a low social status, who was weak or lowly, was considered “humble,” and it almost always had a negative connotation.  Given this cultural climate, imagine how shocking and disruptive it was when Paul told the church in Rome, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble [tapeinos]. Do not be wise in your own estimation” (Romans 12:16). There had to have been some jaws on the floor. I can picture people sliding out the door of that house church thinking, These people have lost their minds. Ain’t nobody got time for dat. This isn’t the only time Paul said something like this. It was a consistent theme throughout his letters—he taught it to the churches in Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae. When we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast [tapeinos], comforted us by the arrival of Titus.2 Corinthians 7:5–6 I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility [tapeinophrosynē] and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.Ephesians 4:1–3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility [tapeinophrosynē] consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.Philippians 2:3–4 As God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility [tapeinophrosynē], gentleness, and patience.Colossians 3:12 He will transform the body of our humble [tapeinōseōs] condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.Philippians 3:21 Why would the apostle Paul call the church back then and today into a life of humility? Because it was humility that Jesus Himself modeled for us in the incarnation and exemplified on the cross. It was the invitation of the humble Christ that moved an ancient society polarized and disunified into unity within the family of God (Ephesians 2:18-22). The payoff of Christ-like humility is a type of resilience that isn’t dependent on our ability but finds its power in the infinite ability of Jesus. The more we look to Christ, the more we fight against the polarizing way of the world as we become conformed to the likeness of Jesus. This is the power of humility in a polarized world. Humility is simply a three-part movement, and the order matters.  First, Humility is an awareness of God. Second, If we know who God is, we can know who we are. Third, if we are fully aware of God and ourselves, we will be equipped to rightly relate to others. Humility moves us away from the disunity that comes with self-absorption and into the unity that is possible only with self-awareness. When this happens, we can recognize the extremes within our culture that polarize us into divisive positions at odds with one another. With the self-awareness of humility, we can learn to find common ground. In areas where we remain in disagreement, we can still learn to honor, cherish, and respect the image of God within those we are at odds with. For the Christian, this means humility teaches us how to be: Confident in our convictions.Compassionate in our communication.Committed to the Kingdom of Christ above all else. We stand against our society’s polarization by modeling our unity around Christ, even in the midst of disagreement. We find ourselves prompted into a posture of compassion even in the midst of various disagreements.  And above all, we are reminded that we are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of God.  In a culture full of polarization leading to separation and division, reclaiming the ancient virtue of humility can lead us into unification as we remember who we are, whose we are, and how we are to live in the world as a winsome witness of Christ and His coming Kingdom.        To learn more about the ancient virtue of humility check out Dr. Joel’s book, Hidden Peace: Finding True Security, Strength, and Confidence Through Humility

This seven-day devotional is derived from Louie Giglio’s 365-day devotional, Grace & Glory. As we spend the next few days diving deep into the topic of gratitude, we are expectant that this intentional heart posture toward thankfulness will lead us closer to Jesus and His love for us.

Let’s talk about the doubting disciple.  I don’t mean Peter, who sank into the sea. Or Judas, who sold his Lord for cash. Or Mary, who thought Jesus’ body was stolen.  I mean the one you’re pretty sure I’m dancing around: Thomas—the Doubter. Thomas gets this little title from what he says in John 20:24-25: Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” I can’t help but think some of you feel the same way. Maybe you don’t buy all of this Jesus stuff as much as you might like to. You would if only you could see him. Touch him. You just need a little more than what you’ve gotten so far. I have good news: there’s more to Thomas than meets the eye, and he tells us something about how Jesus works that encourages people like you and me. The tales of a believer John wasn’t interested in telling a complete story about Jesus’s life. He wanted to prove something about who Jesus was. John 20:31 tells us the goal of his book, “That you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” So John carefully selected every account for that purpose.  Thomas appears three times in the book of John. His first appearance is in John 11. Jesus is in Jericho, preparing to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, but his disciples aren’t thrilled about the plan. John 11:8 reads, “Didn’t they just try to kill you there?” They debate the semantics of some of Jesus’ words. They assume some conclusions about sleep and death. There is some back-and-forth, but eventually, silent Thomas speaks up in verse 16: Let’s also go, so that we may die with him. John wants to tell us something about Thomas: he was devoted to Jesus, even to the point of dying. Thomas’s second appearance comes the night before Jesus died. Jesus has just finished washing his disciples’ feet when he says, in John 14:1-4, “I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going.”  This time, there’s no discussion. Jesus’ puzzling final statement, “You know the way,” hangs in the silent air. But then it’s Thomas who speaks for the group: “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5) When everyone else sat dumbfounded, Thomas brought an honest question to Jesus. It wasn’t enough to sit, not knowing; Thomas needed clarity. This tells us something else about Thomas: he was a genuine seeker. An honest asker. He would rather speak up and wrestle with the truth than sit silently in the dark.  The doubt of a believer These two encounters between Jesus and Thomas laid the foundation for the third, climactic moment in their relationship. A lot has happened in the past week or so: Thomas has had his feet washed by his Master. He has seen Peter slice the ear off a temple guard and fumed as Judas sold out their group. Then, he watched Jesus be carried away in shackles, heard about his beating and crucifixion, and learned about His lifeless body left in a tomb. This is speculation, but I imagine all this was too much for a quiet, thoughtful, devoted man to bear. After Jesus died, the rest of the disciples were together, but Thomas wasn’t with them. Some grieve with companions; Thomas needed to be alone. The man he said he would die alongside had died without him. His brothers and sisters were being actively pursued. He was haunted by the details of his Master’s death. So he was by himself when Jesus came to them and when they told him Jesus was back, it wasn’t that he was unwilling to believe them.  It’s that he was unable to.  This man, prone to introspection, rooting out the truth with questions, and quiet, unassuming devotion, simply did not have enough evidence to give him hope. So, he doubted. For people like Thomas, it’s not enough to hear there’s something to believe in. He had to know for himself. He needed to be sure that the planks lining his ship of belief weren’t rotten, or else he could be sure of only one thing: that it would sink. The belief of a believer Thomas’ conditions for belief were crystal clear: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) Jesus knew this. That’s why, a week later, in an upper room crowded with Jesus’ closest friends, He singled Thomas out and told him two things: First: Have some peace. Second: Touch my hands. Jesus knew what Thomas needed, and, in typical Jesus fashion, he cut to the heart of the matter without wasting any time. That’s the thing about Jesus: he knows your conditions for belief. When you look around your upper room surrounded by people who do not struggle with the doubt you shoulder, He knows what you need. Yes, it’s a blessing to believe without having seen, but it’s beautiful to be greeted by Jesus with peace, with an invitation to touch him, experience him, and know him in the exact way you need to believe in him.  Jesus knows you. And Jesus knows what you require. Even a man who watched Jesus walk on water had doubts, and Jesus invited his investigation. And He invites yours.  The reality of doubt is that it exists. No matter who you are, you’re going to encounter it. Some of your doubts will be massive; others will be tiny.  Tim Keller wrote in The Reason for God, “A faith without some doubts is like a human body with no antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.” Jesus is a safe place to bring your doubts because all he requires is as much faith as you have in as much of him as you know. Sometimes, “all of the faith you have” is as plentiful as a widow’s mite. It’s as loud as a whisper. It’s as big as a mustard seed. But with Jesus, that’s enough to move mountains. Bring whatever you have–even if it is empty hands and more questions than you think there are answers to–and watch what he can do with it.

Ben Stuart continues our “Why does God…?” series by leading us through two psalms. The enemy is coming after our sonship, and it’s time for us to be honest, get curious, get serious about the cure, and take hold of God.

This talk concludes our “Anchor” series that has been taking us on a deeper dive into what holds our house together theologically. Jon Harkey teaches us about the extravagant worship of God and how it relates to His glory, radical grace, and our lives.

As we continue in our Anchors series, Ben Stuart explains how God’s radical grace is kindness extended and freely given and how there is no one out of God’s reach. In the Gospel of John, Jesus encounters two extremely different people and meets both where they are by demonstrating the radical grace of God.

Join us as we continue in part two of learning what the implications of the resurrection are for us as believers. Ben Stuart walks us through passages of Scripture that are not only promises for our future but that have the power to change the way we live life right now.

Join us as Ben Stuart uncovers the power of the resurrection. If the resurrection never happened, then nothing that we are doing matters. But if it did, then it changes everything and becomes the basis of our being.

Much of my life had been covered in abuse and addiction, which led me to prefer anonymity over applause. Even as an unbeliever, I felt unclean and uncomfortable. In God’s pursuit of my heart, I wrestled with making myself “better” before surrendering to Him. Until I couldn’t. I remember telling my wise, Jesus-loving mentor, “I am exhausted trying to be good enough for God.”  Her response was, “You will never be good enough. Come, just as you are.” And I did. I conceded to the beckoning voice of a Savior trying to get my attention. My arrival at the foot of the cross was hesitant because I knew I was a mess. Not only was my life a wreck, but I was dirty—covered in sin-filled scum, which carried sin-filled shame. The Heavenly Father met me with more grace than I knew what to do with. He extended kindness, gentleness, patience, and love. Concepts foreign to me became gifts as my life was being transformed daily. Salvation by faith through grace happens instantly. Growth does not.  The moment I yielded my heart to Christ, I became a loved daughter of the King. Nevertheless, my eyes were opened to my past mistakes and present guilt. Every wrong done to me and the wrongdoing I was complicit in was marked with shame. Shame. This was new to me, but actually, even from the very beginning of humanity, shame was a tool the serpent used to push us away from God. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden and were not ashamed. Two bites and ten verses later, they were hiding from their Creator. They not only sought satisfaction from the forbidden fruit, but they were now clothed literally and figuratively with disgrace. Humankind would now bear the weight of sin and the byproduct of shame. We—like Adam and Eve—make choices and suffer consequences that cause us to hide. Our mess makes us feel exposed; thus, we bury secrets, mask pain, and deny culpability. However, God bids us to come to Him. He knows our nature (Psalm 103:14), and He is aware that only His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). This journey of grace is not a quick trip to the convenience store; it is a progressive pilgrimage. One which requires sorrow, surrender, and assurance. In this pilgrimage, there are three steps we can take toward embracing the grace God has freely given us. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  Ephesians 1:4-6 Acknowledge and confess your mess. Our Father chose us before the world was set in motion, and He knows how our stories will unfold. He is not surprised by brokenness nor startled by our rebellion. In fact, He ordained our days (Psalm 139:16), so the chapters of injustice and iniquity are already well known. There is no need to hide.  In coming to the place of acknowledging and confessing our sin to God, peace enters in. We can experience holy sorrow about our sin, repent, and move forward. Accept God’s unconditional love. Having knowledge of something is not the same as embracing it. We may know God loves us, but remain skeptical of the magnitude of His acceptance. In truth, it is more than acceptance; it is an unconditional, permanent belonging. God happily chose the messy us in extravagant love to be forever adopted. Woah.  He initiates, but we respond by trusting His love, forgiveness, and adoption. The mercy and grace of God are garments meant to clothe us in His righteousness for us to know we are His sons and daughters. Align your heart and mind to trust His truth. Awareness, acknowledgment, and adoption must move us to align our posture to marry His. The process is kindred to a metamorphosis, which is not instant nor linear.  Our thoughts, as well as our feelings, must traverse an ascent. The Israelites knew this all too well. Most scholars believe that pilgrims would climb to Jerusalem, the holy pinnacle in Israel, several times a year. They would worship on the journey by singing the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134). It signified a spiritual high point at the completion of a step-by-step journey. By reciting scripture in chorus, the Hebrew people informed their hearts and minds of truth amidst hard times.  How applicable in view of our own transformation? It is an upward movement, a climb, an ascent. We admit and lament our sin-wrecked life. We fully accept the love and mercy of Jesus to clothe our weaknesses. We allow His truth-filled promises to root deeply in our hearts and minds. Three practical ways I learned to crush shame at its core were to read scripture audibly, journal truth consistently, and worship abundantly. Psalm 23, Psalm 103, Psalm 139, Romans 5, and Ephesians 2 are a few powerful passages to speak aloud (yes, out loud!) so your soul can hear your voice declare truth. Set aside time to write. Committing pen to paper invites us to record and meditate on things that are true and right. In addition, create a worship playlist with songs that convey the radical grace of God. Like the garden narrative, our shame frequently prompts us to run and hide. The exposure feels vulnerable, and the urge to hide is natural. However, in the same way, God clothed Adam and Eve, He will provide you the perfect hiding place in the love of Jesus.  Rejecting shame was not a denial of my past, it was accepting the grace of Jesus to cover my messiness. On this side of heaven, the journey is traveled on a dirt road. I am reminded often that I’m still a dust-covered daughter in need of repentance and renewal. However deep our mess goes, His grace goes deeper.  And grace is enough.