Grace Hit Me

I would like to share some quotes from an adulterer, murderer, and denier of Christ.

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." - The Adulterer

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." - The Murderer

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." - The Denier

It amazes me how legalistic we can be at times. I remember a conversation with another Christian in which they would not want someone who ever looked at porn to be in a pulpit. They would leave the church. If applied to its logical conclusion, this sort of legalism would prevent David, Paul, or Peter from preaching in our churches. This is kind of ironic since most churches read something written by one of those guys every week. A legalistic test of morality to a current leader's past is pretty silly since the same legalistic test would eliminate much of Scripture.

The grace of God amazes me, and we need to be open to that grace in those around us. That person that seems most likely to do anything for the kingdom because of their tarnished past might just be the person who God will use to change your church. God has a history of working in that way. God is full of grace, and for that I am most thankful.