See...

Our calendar dates from the birth of Christ.
This year is 2014 AD.
AD is an abbreviation for Anno Domini which is Latin for 'In the year of our Lord...' I think that's correct.
So the central point of history has been set at the birth of Christ.

I want to suggest to you today that we got that a bit wrong because the central, pivotal point of all history is, in fact, the cross of Jesus Christ.
Everything hinges on that.
Please even note the word 'history'. Broken down it becomes 'His-story'

Now there is a whole lot that could be said about that but I just want to consider this today.
I believe that to have a clear view of His-story we need to view everything through the cross.
We need cross glasses.
We need to view everything through the window of the cross.

Now the cross represents to us the Grace of God because it was here that God gave His Son, given out of His love, for a world undeserving.
Grace is Jesus and He is the 'undeserved favour' of God.
Therefore, I will re-phrase what I said just now and say this.
We need to see everything with eyes of Grace, through glasses of Grace, looking through a window of Grace.
Jesus, who is Grace, needs to be our lens.

Now most people who read this are Christians so, I guess, it figures that most of what I say is directed towards those who have believed in Jesus.
However if you are yet to believe and receive Jesus I want to say to you there is great power just in His name. Just speak His name, look through Him and everything will change for you.

Now, I have a problem.
As Christians, and when I say Christians I am speaking about the church because most of the delivery of 'Christianity' is done by the church, we have a great conundrum.
This conundrum is the conundrum of Law and Grace.
This is the problem. We preach Jesus, we encourage people to receive Jesus by grace and then when we have got them 'saved' we then give them a whole bunch of law to keep them in line and to help them to be 'Christ-like.'
Having received grace we then apply law and all we get is an alloy.
What is the practice of this?

We are constantly being bombarded with the 'things' that we should or should not be doing to be confident before God, pleasing to God and not condemned.

We are given a strategy for everything. Pray more, confess more, fast more, read more, do more, bless more, give more, trust more, renew more, transform more, be more Christ-like...on and on it goes!

And it is all so complicated!

Paul had this conundrum as he addressed the church at Galatia via his letter and I want to echo his words to us today.

'You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?..this is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by the hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?' [Galatians 3: 1 - 3]

You know I am no great preacher or teacher and my receipt of God's word is very simple but I believe the greatest challenge facing us today is the problem of Law versus Grace. In the past week I have been 'challenged' on my beliefs via an article sent to me warning us, the Christians, against the falsity of 'hyper grace.'
Let me ask you a simple and logical question. Do you really believe that God who was totally 'hyper' in His radical love for the world, graphically revealed in the giving of His only Son, isn't just as radical in His way for us to live? Do you really believe He saves us by supply [GRACE] then expects us to live by demand [LAW]?
No way. I don't believe it!
There is no way God is so duplicitous!

Now. This post is about seeing.
I want you to see Grace everywhere.
More importantly God wants you to see Grace everywhere.
Now don't get confused.
Grace isn't a theory, a strategy, even a good way to live, despite what you have been taught.
Grace is a person and that person is Jesus and it is through Him, His cross, through Grace that we need to see everything.
Everything changed at the pivotal point of history, the cross.
Everything said and done before must be seen through the lens of the cross and everything after must be seen through the lens of the cross.
EVERYTHING must be seen through GRACE!

Now I could speak much on this but I will share this and leave you.
When you read your Bible God wants you to see it through the cross.
Every single verse in the Bible from the front to the back must be seen through GRACE.
If it doesn't make sense to you, if you don't see it too well, then you must take out a magnifying glass that is called GRACE. In the drawer of almost every church in the land is a well used magnifying glass called Law. Chuck it in the bin and apply GRACE.

Here is an example just to think about. Read this verse from the Bible.

'Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.' [1 John 3: 23]

Great verse!
Preachers take this verse and make sermons out of it!

Beautiful, when seen through Grace, but different when seen in Law.

With eyes of Law many would read and many would preach the verse and 'see' that being not condemned and having 'confidence before God' requires the keeping of 'His commandments' and the doing of the 'things that are pleasing' in the sight of God.

[I should say this; Law isn't wrong, it is completely Holy, like God. But the point is that Law is totally unattainable and God knew it. He gave it to smash your inherited attitude [from Adam] of independence by showing you that you can't do it and you need God's Way, God's Truth and God's Life...who is that? JESUS!]

Now see with eyes of Grace and read on and it is so simple!

'This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.' [1 John 3: 24]

These are not my words, these are God's words!

See through the cross, with eyes of Grace, and be released from the doing into the believing and receiving.

As we believe we receive Jesus.
As we receive Jesus we receive His righteousness.
As we receive His righteousness we are worthy to receive His love.
As we receive His love we love 'because He first loved us.' [1 John 4: 19]
And we receive all that He is (He is our Breakthrough) we are complete in Him. [Colossians 2: 10]
And to seal it all we are given the Holy Spirit to confirm this great covenant.
BREAKTHROUGH!

Today see with eyes of Grace that the commandment of God for you is to just believe.
Anything else is just law dressed up as grace, an alloy, and brings nothing but complication, frustration and condemnation.
God says 'there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' [Romans 8: 1] and 'it was for freedom that Christ set us free.' [Galatians 5: 1]

Wow! I could write for hours but few would read it.

God recently said to me, "Have the people sit down."

Strange thing to say!

He has given me a task to have you sit down from your doing and just receive His gift.

As a start, can I encourage you; my prayer is that you will look through the window of GRACE.