187 – Foundations of Grace

Our experiences in life form the beliefs we hold. We believe what the world tells us about ourselves despite who God says we are. We can recognize our faulty beliefs about ourselves which contradict who God has made us to be in Christ.

Is God the Man upstairs? The heavenly cop? Somewhere watching from a distance? The judge? Does He even care? Does He hear me? Is He even up there? Today, let’s explore the truth about God—and why knowing it matters.

Today we’re going to tell you the truth about lies. Sounds like a contradiction, but what we believe determines how we live, the choices we make, and our perspective on everything. Even if it’s not true.Source material from Be Transformed by Scope Ministries

A foundation is crucial, whether you’re building a structure, an organization, or the basis of a belief system. What your foundation is will determine how you see the world. If we build our belief system on something that isn’t true or real, that belief is flawed.

Feelings of guilt, shame, oughts, and shoulds are the bricks that build the wall of worry. But experiencing His love begins to loosen those bricks. When we know we are loved—not because we performed well, got everything right, or lived up to every should — we don't have to spend our lives trying to prove that we are enough. His love gives us permission to stop striving and entering His rest.

Ann Voskamp once said: Worry is practicing the absence of God's presence. We know that once Holy Spirit moves in, we are never without the presence of God. And yet, we worry. Worry can become a wall so high that we can’t see beyond it. How can we demolish this wall of worry?

Facts and truth are related, but they aren’t the same thing. As we talked about last week, they can even appear to disagree. Today, we want to slow down and clarify that distinction a little more.

I first heard this seemingly absurd statement in church one Sunday from Pastor Steve Eden. It made absolutely no sense! But as he began to unravel what he meant I realized he was right. Just like most everything else about God, what He says is opposite what the world thinks. Due to camera issues, this episode is audio only - although I did add some cool photos for you to look at!

God doesn’t do normal – He does unpredictable. And we are learning to love that about Him! More not normal stories today on Double Take.

We’ve been exploring God’s infinite grace, though words can hardly begin to capture it. Going back to our first episode, we described grace as wild, uncontrollable. In the second episode, we saw God’s grace rewriting our history. Today let’s go a step further – His grace is unimaginable and unpredictable.