Shake It Up

Shake It Up

Recently an unexpected 6.0 earthquake shook Napa, CA and shocked residents of the idyllic winemaking valley. The damage from the quake resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to historic buildings, several fires, and about 200 injuries. Within hours the governor declared a state of emergency and mobilized the necessary resources to assist the county.

But there was a silver-lining to the chaos caused by the earthquake. Within a few days, news stories began to emerge marveling at the sudden increase in water in the rivers and streams surrounding Napa. Geologists soon confirmed that the four to ten time increase in flows in streams and rivers were the result of the earthquake shaking loose groundwater supplies. For a drought stricken area, this presented an unexpected gift in the middle of an otherwise challenging and difficult time.

No one in Napa would have asked for that earthquake. Earthquakes are destructive and undesired. But sometimes earthquakes bring unexpected goods along with them. They expose weakness and demand that we rebuild more wisely. They force us to work together and to care for our fellow man. And, yes, sometimes they even open the ground and release springs of water.

These things are true, not only of physical earthquakes that affect the ground, but also the earthquakes that affect our relationships, health and finances. You may never have experienced a violent, building destroying earthquake, but almost certainly you have walked through a death or sickness in your family, the loss of a job or even a fissured marriage or friendship.

These quakes are no less destructive than the ones that shake the ground and they can result in severe and long-term damage. But they can also reveal inside of us, wells of strength and untapped resources that we did not know existed. 

I have experienced a number of violent quakes in my life. Some of them were so severe that I wasn’t sure I would make it out. But I have discovered that when I look up to heaven and ask for help instead of looking down and cursing the situation, I discover God’s grace and help in ways I didn’t even know existed. 

Jesus said, “whoever believes in me will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart.” I have found this to be true, especially when circumstances are at their shakiest around me. When we reach out to our Heavenly Father in earthquake moments, we discover that He has hidden resources reserved for the moments in life when we need them most.

The pastors in Kings County would love the opportunity to encourage you to tap into the river of God this weekend. Why don’t you grab your family and get into church this Sunday? You will discover new resources in the midst of the earthquakes of life.

Andrew Cromwell is the executive pastor at Koinonia Church in Hanford. E-mail him at andrew@kcfchurch.org or call 582-1528.

Grace

by Tim Howard

As a child, my parents had us kids bow our heads before every meal and say grace. I didn’t know what that meant until my parents told me it was a blessing or a statement of thanksgiving for the meal we were about to receive. That was difficult for me since I was a very picky eater and didn’t usually like what I was being asked to devour. I would rather have prayed for a miracle and ask God to change the spinach into French fries and the broccoli into ice cream! 

Since that time I’ve discovered the word ‘grace’ to mean so much more than a prayer you offer before a meal. It has helped me to lead people in a more compassionate way. It causes me to release people from my ‘hard line’ ways and encourages them to experience a dimension of freedom from my opinions. Grace helps me love people more completely because it doesn’t make performance the basis of relationship. It is an activity that is cloaked around generosity, kindness and goodwill. When grace is present a person will find favor, acceptance and respect. 

Paul the Apostle used these words to describe our relationship with Christ. Eph. 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Grace makes relationship possible! Without it, none of us could connect with God or others for a long-term kinship.

Some people believe in Karma. The literal meaning of the word means action, work or deed. It basically refers to the principle of causality where intent and actions of an individual – influence and dictate the future of that individual. Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and future suffering. In other words, ‘What goes around comes around.’ 

I do believe your actions carry repercussions and ramifications. Isaiah Is. 3:10-11 indicate that to be true. “Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with them for what their hands have dealt out shall be done to them.” Paul the Apostle said: “whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

There is much to be said for this principle but God’s Word tells us that your good or bad actions do not dictate and decide your ultimate fate. God’s Grace does! According to the Bible… No one’s future is bright if it is determined by his or her own personal thoughts, actions and attitudes. We have all sinned, disobeyed, strayed, resisted, rebelled and lived in autonomy. No amount of good works can earn you a medal – deserving of a pardon. 

Believe me, you don’t want to get what you deserve. You and I need GRACE from God and people need for us to extend grace to them.

Maybe you should set some time aside to visit one of the many church families this weekend. It’s a place where grace is extended to all those who come.

 Pastor Tim Howard is the Lead Pastor at Koinonia Church. Any comments can be sent to: tim@kcfchurch.org

Persona Non Grata

by Andrew Cromwell

There is a term we use when people have done something unforgivable and we no longer find their company acceptable. We have borrowed the phrase from the Latin and it was originally used primarily by governments who were expressing their disenchantment with foreign diplomats.

A diplomat is declared Persona Non Grata when they are considered to have overstepped their welcome by doing or saying something that deeply offends the country where they are stationed. Generally, once someone has been given persona non grata status, their home country recalls them because they are no longer welcome.

The phrase literally translates as “person without grace.” Grace in this context means “approval” or “favor”. When a diplomat is in a state of grace, then they are granted the rights and privileges afforded to visiting state representatives. Generally this means that they are given diplomatic immunity and are allowed an even higher degree of freedom then some citizens.

Similarly, when we, as non-diplomat types, label people with the term, it is generally because of some offense that is so vile that they have become repulsive to us and we no longer consider them welcome. If we do have the misfortune of being visited by such a person, we tend to either freeze them out (by giving them the cold shoulder) or burn them out (by giving them a piece of our mind). These people might once have been our friends, but now they are the enemy.

Because we operate like this, we tend to believe that God must do the same thing. We imagine that God has a massive list with everyone in the world on it and next to those who have somehow failed, He writes “persona non grata”. Some of us are convinced we have those three little words next to our name because we have done bad things and we can’t see a way back into His good graces.

But God isn’t like that at all. Yes, He is a perfect God who is the ultimate dispenser of justice in the universe. He does see all of our failures and finds us to be woefully inadequate. But He is also a loving Father who desires to embrace us when we have failed. In a beautiful description of how these two characteristics come together, Psalms 85:10 says, “Gracious love and truth meet; righteousness and peace kiss.”

The place where the hard truth of our failure meets with the abundant love of God is in the person of Jesus Christ. The Son of God, Jesus, is grace embodied and God’s gift to us who fall woefully short of where we need to be. But for Jesus, we would all have persona non grata written next to our name; instead, because of Him we have been brought back into the good graces of the Father. Because of Him we have diplomatic immunity from the eternal consequences of our ugly actions.

This is why the author of Hebrews wrote, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

So the next time we feel like we are persona non grata with God, remember that Jesus is on a throne of grace today and all we need to do to receive mercy and help is to come close to Him. He surely will not reject us!