Thursday, January 17, 2013

Oh Grace

My heart is yours, but my mind can sometimes wander

Something is trying to pull me away from Grace, back to fear
and exhausting effort
to judgement
rather than mercy
strain
rather than peace
dread
rather than hope
worry
rather than rest
doubt
rather than love
chains
rather than wings

Something ugly and dreadful
without heart or care
spews out sulfur darts toward a tired soul

while Christ all along fights mightily
for his grace to be established
deeper
in this wondering heart

Oh, he is so much greater
oh lavish Grace
that covers me
even as I stumble or fret
as I break and bleed

Oh the grace that holds me
and will never let me go
Oh, I look to him
but he looks more at me, for me
His love I can not fathom
deeper and wider still

Deeper and wider...

And all I must do is trust, believe
rest in His work and His life in me.

No more striving or straining in vain
If I cry, then because he also cries
If I fly, then because he also flies
if I sing
because he also sings
In me, with me

Oh Grace
I sing
Oh Grace
you pick me up
and I sing

~Manuela

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29-29, (emphasis mine). So I believe we also walk by faith and belief, not our own effort. More on this later ( hopefully!)


For more good stuff on grace, visit http://blog.graceroots.org/

8 comments:

Joel Brueseke said...

Wonderful poem, Manuela. I think you've put into poetry, the words that many people are thinking.

We already have all that we need; we already have the fullness of God in us, but our minds can wander from the truth, and we don't experience what is really true of us. All along, Christ does indeed work in and through us to root us and establish us deeper in Him and His grace!

Manuela said...

Thanks and good to hear from you too!
Amen to what you said. Made me think of the verse that talks about being "rooted and grounded in love..." somewhere in Ephesians I think. Will have to look it up, such good stuff. Always good to be reminded of who we are in Christ and all we have in Him... I can sometimes forget.

Joel Brueseke said...

Yeah, that's one of my favorite Bible passages.

Eph 3:14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height — 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

To me, this passage goes along with Col 2:7, which I like to quote from the Living Bible:

"Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done."

All of this is what Grace Roots is about to me. I had no clue what God was going to do with it when He whispered it in my ear 9 years ago, but He's really shown me that it's about being rooted and grounded in His love and grace.

Manuela said...

Awesome Joel about Grace Roots.
Great verses... I really like Col. 2:7 in the Living Bible version that you shared. We are such blessed people...it really is quite amazing all that Christ has done and how he works. It just does make us so thankful "overflowing with joy and thanksgiving" I think many people "fall away", or at least some do because they were never quite rooted in Grace and Love in the first place. They just did a religious thing and never got to know the real thing, the real Christ- full of grace and truth. It really is about a relationship with a living God who is the embodiment of grace, not only truth, but grace too. This is the verse that came to mind:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.–John 1:14
The point is that Jesus glorious beyond measure and we can know him and do...

Manuela said...

oops- The point is that Jesus IS glorious beyond measure and we can know him and do...

Manuela said...

just another thought, when I think of "glorious" I don't think religious scary glorious, I think" totally wonder-full, hard to put words to it... but wondrous and great

Joel Brueseke said...

Yep, I think you're right, Manuela. Many people have unknowingly gone with the "Christian religion," not realizing that they were missing Christ all along because it was about their works, their efforts, their attempts at trying to live a good life for God. Eventually they get tired or burned out, and they give up, thinking that they cannot maintain their walk with God (which is absolutely true).

God sent Jesus to free us up from all of that! Free from the law, free from religious duty... and free to know Him and have a true relationship with Him!

Manuela said...

Thanks for all the good words and feedback, Joel, appreciate it.