Dedications, Graduations, and Grace

Last week I was able to dedicate two beautiful babies. This is one of the most significant things we do as a church. When parents present their children for dedication they are signifying their commitment to the Lord and making a promise to raise their children in the church. We pray a blessing over these children confident of God’s prevenient grace that is at work in their life. Prevenient grace is grace that goes before our conversion. Prevenient grace becomes saving grace when a child is old enough to make a commitment to follow Christ. We dedicate our children in full confidence of this moment.

This week we will celebrate the high school graduation of our seniors. Last week’s dedication ceremony and this week’s graduation celebration is another example of how every season of life finds expression in the Church. In one week’s time, our church will experience 18 years of God’s grace at work among us. I’m thankful that many of our graduates have testified that God’s prevenient grace has become saving grace. Some of them experienced this saving grace at a camp, or on Wednesday night, or on a mission trip, or possibly at a Nazarene Youth Conference. However they experienced it, we thank God for his saving grace, but now we pray for keeping grace as these students move on to another season of life. God’s grace pursues us, saves us, and keeps us.  

As we think about these students and the life God has planned for them, I’m reminded that God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). God has a great future planned for each one of them – one that is better than anything they could imagine.

Over the last few weeks I've been preaching on how the resurrection changes everything. That includes our future. Because of God’s grace and the power of the resurrection at work within us, our future is bright.

In order to fully embrace God’s future for our lives we must be free of the pain of our past. The mistakes we’ve made in the past have a tendency to haunt us. It’s easy to dwell on what we could have done differently and should have done better. Jesus’ disciples knew what it was like to be plagued by their past, especially Peter. In Jesus’ last appearance with his disciples he restores Peter, ensuring that he does not allow debilitating guilt to ruin the glorious future made possible through the resurrection.

Maybe you don’t feel like you have much of a future. You can’t imagine being as hopeful about your tomorrow as some of these high school graduates are. The empty tomb proclaims there is always a new day in Christ. God has something special planned for your future.

Today is the National Day of Prayer

Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. This day was established by President Truman in 1952 as a call for people of faith to pray for God’s protection, provision, and blessing upon our nation. I was able to participate in multiple events that commemorated this call to prayer.

One of the events was on the Bentonville Square. The Daily Walk, a ministry to business professionals, sponsored “Prayer on the Square.” Several hundred people gathered on the steps of the courthouse, sang a few worship songs, and prayed for our nation. It was attended by several of our elected officials, including the Mayor of Bentonville, and I was greatly encouraged to hear these leaders praying over our city and for our families.

In this age of political correctness and hyper-sensitivity to all things religious, it felt strange to be lifting my hands in praise in the shadow of a county seat of power. As the American and Arkansas flags flew above me, I kept looking over my shoulder wondering if some lawyer from the ACLU was going to come in with a bull-horn and shut the whole thing down. Gatherings like this in the USA are becoming the exception and not the rule. Moreover, I was reminded of all the places on this planet where a gathering of believers like this would not be possible.

While the loss of overt Christian influence in our government is lamentable, the Lord reminded me of this: no government, no power, no amount of legislation, no amount of resistance can stop God’s kingdom purposes from being realized through the work of His people who are empowered by His Holy Spirit. In fact, the Church has historically thrived in contexts that are hostile to its message. While I do not welcome the secular values and growing opposition toward the Church that is present in our government and society, I know that God’s presence is a promised reality in scripture and his ability to work through His people in the midst of such challenges has been proven again and again.

With this in mind, I hope we, as the Church, realize that prayer must be a constant practice, and not just a novelty that we display on the first Thursday in May. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “Pray without ceasing.” As you consider the direction of our government, our ambivalence in regards to basic morality, and the current pulse of our culture, has there ever been a greater need for God’s people to pray?

Let’s stand with the Apostle Paul. It's a stand that will not require new legislation. A boycott will not be necessary, nor a march on Capitol Hill. As God’s unique covenant people in the world let’s declare today as the National Day of Prayer.