Means of Grace

If you are new to coming to my blog, I have been doing my notes from my Walk to Emmaus from 1998. I am now on Talk #7 about Means of Grace. My Talk #7 was given by Jerry Mantooth.

Jerry says think of Grace like the Wizard of Oz story. We have the Scarecrow who wanted a Brain. (Will Roger’s would say “We all are ignorant, just in different subjects.”) We also have the Lion who wanted courage. We have the tin man who wanted a heart and then of course Dorothy, who wanted to go home. Going home is a place to be loved and accepted.  They all set out on a journey to find what each of them long for. The same comes with those of us who are on this same Walk to Emmaus. Not knowing what we want or going to get. We all have a need and some of us don’t know what that need is.

You cannot do things by yourself. We must have God with us to accomplish that. With God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

As the crew set out on their journey the Wizard of Oz knew exactly what they had hidden in them. He knew they had to experience it on their own. Much like how God is with us. He knows what He wants for us, what paths we need to take and experience.

Courage doesn’t mean fear, but that you don’t let fear paralyse you.

God's Love one side of rainbow and God's Grace the other side. (Walk to Emmaus Rainbow)
God’s Love one side of rainbow and God’s Grace the other side. (Walk to Emmaus Rainbow)

I made the above graphic of the Emmaus Rainbow. One side we have God’s Love and the other we have God’s Grace. Des Colores is the saying in the Emmaus Community. Des Colores means all the colors. The rainbow is a covenant promise from God to His people.

God is in Christ and Christ was in God. We need to be God’s instruments of His grace and love.

A sacrament is a sacred moment.

Confirmation of Church

Live with other believers, worship with other believers.

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, (1 Peter 1:3)

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

Christian Marriage

We are to represent Christ to our spouse. We are not to keep records of wrongs either. This note was done in 1998 and still applies today. We have two resources that help you live to that. If you have problems look into the Love Dare book and men you can take the Resolution from the movie Courageous. That can help you be the spiritual leader you need to be for your family.

  • Love isn’t an emotion, it leads to an emotion.
  • Love is a commandment from God.
  • Most people know more about sex than they do love. (sad to say!)
  • Most people’s ideas of love are wrong.
  • God loved us so much He sent His Son to die on the Cross for our sins. (John 3:16)
  • Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)
  • Love commits.
  • Love shows affection.
  • Love Never Ends. (1 Corinthians 13:8)

Ordination

God has a purpose for us. But most of us don’t know what it is. We must seek God and ask Him His purpose for us and to be shown the way. We seek Him in prayer, worship and study. The purpose God has for us is to represent Christ to the World. Using our special gifts that God gave us.

Prayer

Tak to God and Grow! Jesus taught His disciples to pray. We need to spend time with God. The Lord’s Prayer is a model prayer for us. There are several prayers within the Bible.

Baptism

Baptism is a public profession of your dedication to Christ. It is where we are united with Christ. We completely surrender our life to Jesus. We are then born again of the water and spirit.

More verses to read

  • Ephesians 3:1-33 (talks about marriage, how a Christian household should live and more)
  • Galatians 3:1-29 (talks about Faith or works of the law; the law and the promise; and Children of God)
  • Romans 6:3-4 (shows Baptism’s symbol of the death of Christ and Resurrection of Christ)

Repentance

Repentance is truly saying your sorry and turning away from that sin. To try to sin less. If you follow Jesus it will lead to the Cross. The change of heart changes us into a new life. It separates us from our old ways into our new ways. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17). Count our selves dead to sin and a new life with Jesus Christ. Don’t allow sin to reign (or run) your life. Don’t offer your body to sin! Offer your body to God! Watch what you see and hear too. Those affect your walk with Christ too. We are to die daily to sin. We strive to be more Christ like daily. To be pure and holy. We are not perfect as human and we do sin, but we try to sin less so be more Christlike.

Communion

We partake of Communion as a symbol of Christ dying for us. He died for our sins so we can have everlasting life in Heaven with Him and our Father (our Creator/our God). The Bread is a symbol of life and death of Jesus. It is the symbol of His body. Drinking of the cup is also about the life and death of Jesus. This is a symbol of His blood that was shed for us. We do this often in Remembrance of Him. If you are not ready to partake of the Lord’s Supper you shouldn’t do it because everyone else is. If you do, it is considered a mockery.

Stay tuned to my blog. I plan to have my next entry that will tie with this entry. It is going to be Scriptural Perspectives on Channels of God’s Grace. It was also shared during this talk. I am going to put it as a separate blog entry. I will post the link in this entry once I have that posted. 

About the Author

Author: Steve Patterson

A Christian Blogger that enjoys blogging about the Bible, Theology, God, Jesus Christ, Christian Music, Family, Cats, Odd Holidays, sewing and much more. I have been blogging since 2004, however, I have been blogging on Courageous Christian Father since 2012. I enjoy listening to Christian Music. I am married with 1 daughter, 2 step-sons and a step daughter.

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