Grace

Beautiful Justice, Scandalous Love

by Andy Wood on April 22, 2011

in Life Currency, Love, Photos, Tense Truths

A man was brought into court for trial and found guilty.  The judge happened to be a close boyhood friend of the accused, although they had not seen each other for many years.  Remaining impartial, the judge sentenced the defendant and levied a penalty – a fine – appropriate to his crime.  The fine was so large that the accused could not pay it, so a jail sentence seemed to be the only alternative.

The judge then did a very unusual thing.  Leaving the bench, he approached the convicted man, shook his hand, and announced, “I’m paying the fine for you.”  There in the courtroom the law was satisfied, and so was love.

Beautiful justice.  Scandalous love.

What a picture of the cross.

At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree

On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me

Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white

On that beautiful, scandalous night.

The ultimate intersection:  two beams connected, the vertical and the horizontal.  One pointed to God, one reached out to man.  And there, suspended between heaven and earth, the Prince of Glory was judged in love.

The ultimate paradox:  how could something so ugly be so beautiful?

The ultimate collision:  sin met grace.

The ultimate demonstration:  the love of God and the sin of man.

The ultimate betrayal:  thirty stinking pieces of silver for the life of the Son of God.

The ultimate rejection:  unconditional love, hammered through with nails.

The ultimate ransom:  innocent blood for guilty humanity.

Beautiful justice.  Scandalous love. [click to continue…]

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What to Do With an Irrevocable Calling

by Andy Wood on April 18, 2011

in Ability, Allocating Your Resources, Life Currency, LV Cycle

Occasionally I come across somebody who remembers an era when I sang a lot or wrote a lot of music.  They graciously tell me they miss that, and openly wish I would return to it, or “do something with it.”

Honestly, it feels nice to hear that.  But I won’t be singing “He’s Alive” this Easter, and I haven’t written a song that doesn’t end in “oh, doo-dah-day” in 13 years.

Even more frequently, I see somebody who heard me preach, or was in a church where I served as pastor.  More kind words.  More open wishes.

Truth be told, if feels nice to hear that, too.  But so far I’m not planning on preaching this Easter, and I haven’t served in a church leadership role in 16 months.

Do I miss those things?  Of course.  But that doesn’t mean that the gifts and callings behind them have been shelved or warehoused.  Just redirected.

In an often-quoted Bible verse, Paul says that “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).  He’s referring to the Jews and their place in God’s heart and plan.  But the implications are much broader than that.  It speaks to Gentile me.

It speaks to you, too.

“God never changes his mind when he gives gifts or calls someone.”  That’s how God’s Word translates it.  Eugene Peterson says in The Message that they are “under full warranty – never canceled, never rescinded.”

You can run from your calling or abuse your gifts.  You can make stupid choices that limit your effectiveness.  You can be distracted by the world or rejected by the church, deceived by the devil or pursued by trivia.  But your dead ends or detours haven’t changed your gifts and calling, and you’d be wise to recognize that.

Oh… sorry… you still here?  I was preaching to myself and got distracted.  Anyway… [click to continue…]

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The Carrier

by Andy Wood on April 5, 2011

in Ability, Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase, Tense Truths

Joey’s feeling pretty small today.  That’s what happens when you’re supposed to have the right words to say and there are no right words for a family in needless grief and pain.  So Joey just hangs there, offering the ministry of presence.  Hoping to offer some kind of life or lift that will help.  But who will lift the lifter, and remind Joey what it’s like to stand tall and strong again?

Joey needs a carrier.

Alicia would never admit this, but she’s a living example of a Proverbs 31 woman.  Greatly admired, if not revered, she never seems to sleep, and lives pedal-to-metal most of the time.  She gets more work done by lunchtime than girls half her age and boys of any age do all day.  But behind the success and flair, Alicia hides an ugly secret:  She’s exhausted, and nearing the point of just not caring anymore.  And though she has a hard time admitting she can’t do it all, she, too, needs a carrier.

Joey and Alicia are real-life examples of somebody who’s near you, or who is you, right now…

  • Tired, but no end or help in sight…
  • Overwhelmed, but no clarity about what to hold onto and what to let go of…
  • Weepy at times for no apparent reason, or for any little cause…
  • Feeling abandoned or opposed against the tide of opinions, accusations, or criticism…
  • Disappointed by those once trusted, confused in the very areas that once produced confidence …
  • Surrounded by pain, yet seemingly helpless to do anything about it…

All these and more are the unmistakable signs of someone – maybe you – who is calling for a carrier, whether they know it or not. [click to continue…]

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The Satisfaction of the Soul

by Andy Wood on March 16, 2011

in Esteem, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity, Waiting

Somewhere in the places where sighs give way to hope and promises sing to aching hearts, your soul waits for something different.  More than the pleasure of a passing moment or those 15 minutes of look-at-me, you were created with a craving soul.  “He has planted eternity in the human heart,” Solomon said, “but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

One day – sooner rather than later – that craving will be satisfied.  And not by what the pavement is made of or what the real estate market is like past the pearly gates.  Not by something that resembles Sunday morning at the church house, Monday noon at the White House, or Friday night at the penthouse.  Craving souls are smarter and deeper than that.

One day – nearer rather than farther – tired hearts, stale relationships and flyblown religion will give way to a new dawn.   And at long last your soul will taste satisfaction.  Ashes will give way to beauty.  You’ll trade your mourning in for the oil of joy.  You’ll wear a garment of praise – complete with dancing shoes – instead of a spirit of heaviness.  In the satisfaction of the soul… [click to continue…]

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Angel Food: Seven More Half-Baked Ideas I’m Working On

by Andy Wood on March 7, 2011

in Half-baked Ideas

Did you that Visine WILL clean out your nose if you squirt it in?  But neither Johnson & Johnson nor I recommend that you use it for that purpose.  (Don’t ask me how I know.)

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There are two ways to learn by experience – be amazing without realizing it, or be imperfect and realize it.  Either way, it helps to have someone else to help you do the realizing.  The word for that is, “teacher” or “mentor.”

If you’re amazing and know it, fine.  But that’s not learning.  If you’re imperfect and remain clueless about it, that’s not learning either, because you’re still, well, clueless.

The role of the teacher or mentor is to be a “realization specialist.”  Sometimes that means being a passionate encourager.  Sometimes it means being an honest critic.  Always, it means pointing toward excellence and inviting someone to join you on that journey.

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Be amazing in your grace.   [click to continue…]

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PowerDough: Seven More Half-Baked Ideas I’m Working On

by Andy Wood on January 24, 2011

in Half-baked Ideas

So many random and not-so-random thoughts… so little time…  Here are the latest places and spaces where my mental wheels are turning.  You can find others here, here, and here.  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

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“It takes just as long to be great as to be mediocre.”  -Brian Tracey

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 “Every day you live there are more things you are never going to do.” -Al Mohler

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Good teachers answer your questions.  Great teachers question your answers.

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Have you ever noticed that the people who holler the loudest about grace are the ones who seem to need it the most?  Uh huh. [click to continue…]

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31 Things It’s Good to Know (But May Wish You Didn’t Have to Discover)

by Andy Wood on December 29, 2010

in Half-baked Ideas, Insight, Life Currency

(Something of a “life lessons year in review,” in no certain order.  I’d love to hear yours.  Feel free to add your own in the comments section.)

1.  How awesome your cancer surgeon is. 

2.  How nice people can be, even when you wish they would just hate you. 

3.  How God provides, even sometimes for fools. 

4.  The sun really does come out tomorrow. 

5.  How to spell “aneurysm.” 

6.  Life goes on, with you or without you. 

7.  Contrary to the words to the MASH theme, suicide is NOT painless. 

8.  Failure doesn’t stop people from loving you. 

9.  Rejection does not come with a cocoon to wrap you away for a while. 

10.  Nobody is more committed to your success than you are. [click to continue…]

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My Declaration

by Andy Wood on November 5, 2010

in 100 Words

(You can make it yours, too.)

Because of God’s unsparing love for me,

I am a new creation of infinite worth.

I am chosen to live because He wanted me.

I am destined for a purpose because He called me.

I belong to his family because He connected me.

I am righteous in his sight because He covered me.

I am beautiful to behold because He crafted me.

Whenever my lifestyle, loneliness or looks

Try to condemn or accuse me,

I will raise the banner He purchased in blood,

And find my peace in His victorious love.

I AM my Beloved’s, and He is mine!

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Batter Splatter: Seven More Half-Baked Ideas I’m Working On

by Andy Wood on October 15, 2010

in Half-baked Ideas

Here are seven more ideas, thoughts, or “wish I’d said thats” baking in my mental oven lately. How about you?  Do you have any half-baked ideas you’d like to share?  Drop it in the comment box below. 

Want to see more?  Try here, here, or here.

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“God is a violent pursuer of a wayward soul.” – Brandon Gilbert

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“Even when we fail to validate the gospel, the way we respond to failure can validate the gospel.”  -Nathan Ables [click to continue…]

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The Ten Truths of Grace

by Andy Wood on September 24, 2010

in Five LV Laws, LV Alter-egos, Pleasers, Principle of Freedom

Time for full disclosure. 

In the previous post I shared ten false beliefs that lead to shame.  You may have your own variation, and probably do. 

Those are mine.  Every one of those came right out of my journal.

Not that I actually believe them, but they are the lies the enemy hurls or has hurled at me over the years.  And given the right set of circumstances, they can be very persuasive.

Maybe that’s why Jesus revealed Himself as the Truth (John 14:6).  God knew it would take a personal relationship with Truth-as-a-Person to ever set us free from the lies of shame. 

Stop. [click to continue…]

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