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Confession, Truth and Grace: Sancuary of a Different Kind


As I gathered at a different kind of santuary over a different sort of meal and an altar that is typically used as a table...I came face to face this morning with truth and with grace in full measure.

I was pouring out my heart of frustration and anger until finally, the truth of my condemnation and unforgiveness and pride poured out upon the table.  And I was called on it.  "You have a spirit of condemnation right now," my friend simply stated.  "So you are saying it but are you living it," another said when I explained that I knew what I was feeling was wrong and needed changed.

As we know, out of the heart a mouth speaks and my mouth was spewing truth that I could not and did not want to Christianize.  I was angry, hurt, frustrated and holding a grudge and judgement and my own self-righteous pride.  Usually a positive person-this spewing from a cavity far within my depths was a surprise to me.  

It surprised me because I am so good at cloaking it with "rags of my own self-righteousness."  Oh sure, I pray that God would search me and know my wicked ways.  And then, I scim the off the most visual stuff as I used to do with the specks of straw that was kicked in the milk bucket before putting it in the refrigerator.  

So I run home to pray...

"Oh God, Search me and try me and show me my wicked ways.  Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.  Please take out the heart of stone, rebellion and pride and give me a heart of flesh.  I trust you."

Andy Stanley says,  "Jesus didn't try to balance grace and truth.  He didn't water down the law.  He didn't put a condition on grace.  He gave her a full does of both...In Jesus, there was no conflict between grace and truth.  It's that artificial conflict that sends churches toward unhealthy as well as unhelpful extremes.  Grace doesn't dumb down sin to make it more palatable.  Grace doesn't have to.  The purpose of truth isn't to isolate people from God from from his people.  The grace-and-truth approach is messy.  It's gloriously messy."




"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."  John 1:14,17

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