Amazing Grace A cosmetic company named Philosophy markets a perfume called Amazing Grace, with the line: “Amazing Grace is always appropriate, soft, and feminine. A scent that never offends and is praised by women everywhere.” It occurred to me that this is the attitude of many toward God’s amazing grace—soft, never offensive, and praised by all. God’s grace is amazing only when viewed against the backdrop of His holiness, which…Keep Reading

THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL Paul says that the gospel reveals God’s way of making the unrighteous righteous through faith in Christ (Rom 1:16-17). What Paul writes next has given commentators trouble. They cannot understand the connection between verses 16 and 17 and verse 18: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth…Keep Reading

Isaiah 7:25 “As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.” Isaiah 7:25 I was walking in the woods where the path seemed clear enough. That is why I can’t figure out what went wrong. How did I get in the mess that…Keep Reading

Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” It seemed like the GPS had forsaken us. There were some uneasy moments as we found ourselves on a narrow mountain road that sometimes seemed like it was not a road at all. It…Keep Reading

Keeping Oneself in God’s Love Jude urged us to keep ourselves in the love of God. John gives the measuring stick for testing our relationship to God: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10, ESV). John…Keep Reading

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” “I’ve never traveled far around the world. I’ve never seen the many thrills and sites unfurled. But I have taken the journey of journeys for me. Up Calvary’s Mountain there my Savior to see.” My first Air Force temporary duty assignment was to Fairbanks, Alaska. I have found no words to…Keep Reading

God Keeps Those Who Keep Themselves One of the most-quoted phantom verses of the Bible is “God helps those who help themselves.” I don’t want to create another phantom verse: “God keeps those who keep themselves,” but the truth is taught, in of all places, The Epistle of Jude, which most people associate with apostasy. Jude addresses his epistle “To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and…Keep Reading

ERRING ON THE SIDE OF MERCY As Jesus and his disciples walked through the grainfields on the Sabbath, the disciples plucked the heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands to remove the husks, and ate them. Immediately, the Pharisees charged them with violating the law against reaping on the Sabbath. Many commentators immediately begin refuting the interpretation of the Pharisees, trying to “out-lawyer” them. In this, they depart from…Keep Reading

Pastor Will Shewey, Shades of Grace United Methodist Church Link to YouTube Video – John 5::1-9 From Pastor Will Shewey This Saturday morning began with a crisp forty degrees But hearts were strangely warmed as we gathered for worship in God’s Living Room. Our crowd was down with about sixty five people in attendance but I did meet a couple of first time guests. That is to be considered since…Keep Reading

102 THINGS TO DO THIS MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND When I was a boy, it was called Decoration Day, or just “the 30th of May,” a day when families honored their dead and people wore paper poppies in their lapels or their hair. It was not until I was much older that I realized it was about honoring those who gave their last full measure of devotion while serving in the…Keep Reading

Rev. Nate and Julie Ware This message is called, “What Did I Know” The other day while having a conversation with my doctor, I asked, “Why didn’t you . . .?” “Well, I was nineteen; what did I know,” She said. Thought about the many decisions that was being made at the young age of nineteen . . . And, yes . . . “What did I know?” Our young…Keep Reading

THE POWER OF GRACE Grace changed Paul from a passionate persecutor of Christ to a passionate preacher of the cross. Grace doesn’t just give us slight course corrections but causes 180-degree turns in our lives. We might reason that this was true of Paul, but not of us. We were born into a Christian family, obeyed the gospel at a very early age, attended a Christian college or university, married…Keep Reading