Daily Word of Grace has concluded as of June 11, 2021.  Please enjoy the past posts. Older posts can be found on our archive page here.

Daily Word of Grace # 261 (June 11, 2021)

In the late eighteenth century Robert Robinson (1735-1790) wrote one of the most gospel soaked hymns ever written: “Come thou font of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace!  Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.  Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.  Praise the mount!  Oh, fix me on it, mount of God’s unchanging love.”  God is indeed the “font of every blessing” (James 1:17) and therefore the only One who can rightly tune our hearts to sing God’s praise.  And because the mercies of the Lord “never come to an end” and “are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23) the divine “streams of mercy” are indeed “never ceasing.”  The “mount of God’s unchanging love” is Calvary, where Jesus Christ died to prove that indeed even though you live in an ever changing world, God’s love for you is never changing (Romans 5:8).  All of this is the fruit of God’s grace, as reflected in the final verse of this hymn: “Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!  Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee: prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”  Your salvation begins with the grace of God, continues with the grace of God, and because of the grace of God…never ends. 

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 259 (June 9, 2021)

A couple years ago I had the privilege of visiting Paris, the City of Light, certainly one of the most beautiful cities on earth.  In the 5^th arrondissement is the Pantheon, where several French luminaries are entombed, including the acclaimed nineteenth century novelist Victor Hugo (1802-1885).  It was overwhelming for me to stand by his tomb because he is the author of my favorite novel of all time, Les Miserables (1862), the most grace saturated novel I have ever read.  Over and over again grace—unearned, unconditional, one-way love—is received and then given away.  This is particularly the case with the main character, Jean Valjean, a criminal who stole from a bishop who had taken him in when he had nowhere else to go.  When captured and dragged back to the bishop’s residence by gendarmes, Jean Valjean was not only completely forgiven and absolved by the bishop but also told to keep what he had stolen, and even given even more on top of that.  That grace experienced by Jean Valjean set in motion the recurring theme of grace throughout the rest of the novel, as Jean Valjean in turn gave grace to others again and again.  Along these lines Les Miserables includes countless observations that ring true to life, including this one: “The ultimate happiness in life is the conviction that one is loved; loved for oneself—better still, loved in spite of oneself” (2012 translation by Julie Rose, 141).  That is exactly what God’s love for you is like, now and always.  And the best response to God’s love is to follow the example of Jean Valjean and give it away to others…again and again.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 257 (June 7, 2021)

The penultimate song of Bob Dylan’s 1975 masterpiece album Blood on the Tracks is the hauntingly beautiful song about something each of needs from time to time “Shelter from the Storm,” a song about a cynical burned out traveler being invited to rest: “’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood.  When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud.  I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form.  ‘Come in,’ she said, ‘I’ll give you shelter from the storm…Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved.  Everything up to that point had been left unresolved.  Try imagining a place where it’s always safe and warm.  ‘Come in,’ she said, ‘I’ll give you shelter from the storm…I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail.  Poisoned in the bushes and blown out on the trail.  Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.  ‘Come in,’ she said, ‘I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”  The gracious recurring refrain of the unnamed lady in this song always reminds me of the gracious invitation Our Savior continually extends to all of us, especially when “burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail”: “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).  “Come in,” Jesus said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm.”

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 255 (June 3, 2021)

When you meet someone for the first time, after exchanging names and pleasantries the next question is often, “So what do you do?” meaning “What is your career?”  Many 17 and 18 year old high school graduates go to college in order to decide on a “career path” and prepare accordingly.  In his powerful 2007 book Grace in Practice Paul Zahl connects “grace” with the desire for a “career”: “Everyone wants a career.  Everyone thinks it is the thing to do.  Whether this is fashion or not, grace turns it upside down.  Not only is career, from the standpoint of grace, a mighty joke—for a career spits you out as rapidly as it sucks you in—and not only is it dominated overwhelmingly by the principle of law as it fixes your path, but grace declares that real ‘work’ is created only when it springs from belovedness.  Grace declares the end of all ‘career paths’ that envisage a concrete goal…For when work is produced from natural desire and motive, rather than from the idea of actions resulting in proposed consequences, the best work is done” (72-73).  This sounds counterintuitive because it is, for a life of grace is not confined to and defined  by a “career path” but rather the freedom of the grace of God.  Jesus never commanded us to follow a “career path” but rather to follow Him—as the very first words and very last words scripture records Jesus telling the Apostle Peter are exactly the same: “Follow me” (Mark 1:16-17 and John 21:19).

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 253 (June 1, 2021)

When it comes to our salvation in Jesus Christ there is a very powerful recurring phrase in scripture: “once for all.”  The Apostle Peter wrote, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).  This is as clear a statement of Christ’s substitutionary atonement on our behalf that you will find in scripture.  We also see this idea in the Letter to the Hebrews: “And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).  As our “great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14) Jesus fulfilled the entire sacrificial law of the Old Testament not just for Israel but also for the whole world, including you.  In other words, when it comes to your forgiveness, your salvation, Jesus’ blood shed “once for all” on the cross on Good Friday is enough.  That is why Article XXXI of the Thirty-nine Articles, “Of the one Oblation of Christ finished upon the Cross” states, “The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is no other satisfaction for sin, but that alone” (The Book of Common Prayer 874).  There is nothing you can do or say to add to what Jesus has already done for you “once for all”—which means the gospel is always a word of comfort and relief.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 251 (May 28, 2021)

The classic 1967 film The Graduate has an equally classic soundtrack by the incomparable Simon and Garfunkel.  This soundtrack includes an often overlooked gem called “April, Come She Will” in which they sing about the fickleness of human love over the course of an affair that only lasts a few months: “April, come she will when streams are ripe and swell with rain.  May, she will stay, resting in my arms again.  June, she’ll change her tune, in restless walks she’ll prowl the night.  July, she will fly, and give no warning to her flight.  August, die she must, the autumn winds blow chilly and cold.  September, I’ll remember, a love once new has now grown old.”  The bad news is that human love can often be this fickle, this short lived—and leaves us echoing the cry of British singer Howard Jones, “I need an everlasting love.”  The good news is that divine love, God’s love, is never fickle but always faithful, never short lived but always everlasting.  In Psalm 136 the psalmist, referring to God’s love, repeats the phrase “for his steadfast love endures forever” twenty-six times.  The historical and definitive expression of this faithful and everlasting love of God is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as Jesus said in perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 249 (May 26, 2021)

In his powerful book Abba’s Child the late Brennan Manning recounts the following story about  the famous British writer G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), who was also a brilliant philosopher, theologian, and literary critic: “Standing on a London street corner, G. K. Chesterton was approached by a newspaper reporter.  ‘Sir, I understand that you recently became a Christian.  May I ask you one question?’  ‘Certainly,’ replied Chesterton.  ‘If the risen Christ suddenly appeared at this very moment and stood behind you, what would you do?’  Chesterton looked the reporter squarely in the eye and said, ‘He is’” (97).  G. K. Chesterton was exactly right, because that is exactly what the Risen Christ promised his disciples at the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).  This is true not only individually but also corporately because Jesus also promised, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” (Matthew 18:20).  Today may the Risen Christ reveal anew to you both his love for you and his presence with you.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 247 (May 24, 2021)

When Jacob, the younger of Isaac and Rebecca’s twins, was journeying alone through the wilderness he learned he was actually not alone at all.  As he slept with a rock for a pillow he had a dream: “He dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.  And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring…Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’  Then Jacob woke from his sleep  and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it.’  And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven’” (Genesis 28:10-13 and 15-17).  That image of angels ascending and descending a ladder reaching all the way to heaven always moves me.  The Lord kept his promise to Jacob and indeed gave that land, the Promised Land, to his descendants.  As the Lord was with Jacob, the Lord is with you.  Moreover, that ladder prefigures a different ladder, the cross, where Jesus gave his life for you in order to open for you the gate to heaven.  In other words, Jacob’s ladder is your ladder.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 245 (May 20, 2021)

One of the most beautiful songs by Fleetwood Mac is their 1975 wistful gem “Landslide”, written and sung by the incomparable Stevie Nicks while she was in Aspen, Colorado: “Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?  Can the child within my heart rise above?  Can I sail through the changing oceans tides?  Can I handle the seasons of my life?  Well, I’ve been afraid of changing ‘cause I’ve built my life around you.  But time makes you bolder, children get older, and I’m getting older too…If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills, the landslide will bring you down.”  Even though you may be growing older, even though the longing in your heart for the new remains, even if you feel like you are experiencing a landslide of changes in your life—the love of God for you never changes or grows old.  James put it this way: “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is not variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).  The love of God for you is ever new.  This unchanging love of God is good news in a world, and in our lives, both of which are constantly changing and contain many metaphorical landslides—because God’s love always has the last word.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 243 (May 18, 2021)

In 1927 legendary blues guitarist Blind Willie Johnson recorded the song, “In My Time of Dying”, which was later covered by Bob Dylan on his 1962 debut album (Dylan used the lipstick case of girlfriend Suze Rotolo as a guitar slide on this recording—how cool is that?).  This song was later by Led Zeppelin on their 1975 album Physical Graffiti, as Robert plant sings: “In my time of dying, want nobody to mourn.  All I want for you to do is take my body home…Jesus gonna make up my dying bed…I know it’s got to be real.  Oh Lord, deliver me all from all the wrong I’ve done.  You can deliver me, Lord.”  Jesus’ death and resurrection has indeed delivered us from all the wrong we’ve done, and ensures both our forgiveness and eternal life—as Jesus told a Pharisee named Nicodemus: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17).  This unconditional love of God gives us hope not only in our time of dying, but also in our time of living—now and evermore.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 241 (May 14, 2021)

My parents are from Denver, Colorado and so three times when I was growing up in Virginia we took road trips to Colorado to see our relatives.  The first of these trips was in the summer of 1976, when I was seven.  While in Colorado we drove into the Rocky Mountains, which completely blew me away.  One of my favorite albums at the time was John Denver’s Greatest Hits (1973)—featuring my all-time favorite song of his: “Rocky Mountain High”, which I played over and over again.  In this song John Denver describes his transcendent experience of the presence of God in the magnificent beauty of the Rocky Mountains: “He was born in the summer of his 27th year, coming home to a place he’d never been before.  He left yesterday behind him.  You might say he was born again.  You might say he found a key for every door.  Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the streams, seeking grace in every step he takes.  His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.  And the Colorado rocky mountain high, I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky.  Talk to God and listen to the casual reply, rocky mountain high.”  As we visited the Rocky Mountains, so close to where my parents were raised, I too felt like I was coming home to a place I’d never been before.  The Creator of these mountains is also our Redeemer, who understands that we too are seeking grace with every step we take.  And as “the giver of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), God always responds with grace.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 239 (May 12, 2021)

One of the psalms frequently read during the “Morning Prayer” service in The Book of Common Prayer is the “Jubilate” (Psalm 100): “O be joyful in the Lord all ye lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.  Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he who hath made us and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.  O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him and speak good of his Name.  For the Lord is gracious; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth from generation to generation” (45).  This is a joyful and theologically loaded psalm that reminds us that we did not make ourselves, but have been made by God—every heartbeat, every breath a gift.  And as the sheep of God’s pasture we are also cared for by the Lord our shepherd (Psalm 23; John 10), who is indeed “gracious.”  God’s mercy is not temporary but eternal, and indeed “his mercy is everlasting.”  In a world of lies, God’s truth—the truth of the gospel that you are fully known, fully forgiven, fully loved by God—indeed never ends but “endureth from generation to generation.”  Who God is and what God has done (and continues to do) for us enables us to be joyful, and to respond with singing, thanksgiving, and praise.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 237 (May 10, 2021)

After leaving the progressive British rock band Genesis, Peter Gabriel embarked on a stellar solo career.  His first hit was “Solsbury Hill” (1977) in which he sings about a spiritual experience he had atop Little Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England.  It is a uplifting song primarily in the unusual time signature of 7/4, a song about letting go and starting a new chapter: “Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, I could see the city light.  Wind was blowing, time stood still.  Eagle flew out of the night.  He was something to observe, came in close, I heard a voice.  Standing, stretching every nerve, had to listen had no choice.  I did not believe the information, just had to trust imagination.  My heart going boom, boom, boom.  ‘Son,’ he said, ‘Grab your things.  I’ve come to take you home.’”  He then describes his response: “To keep in silence I resigned.  My friends would think I was a nut.  Turning water into wine.  Open doors would soon be shut.  So I went from day to day though my life was in a rut.  Till I thought of what I’d say, which connection I should cut.  I was feeling part of the scenery.  I walked right out of the machinery.  My heart going boom, boom, boom.  ‘Hey,’ he said, ‘Grab your things.  I’ve come to take you home.’”  Such mountaintop experiences are not uncommon, though many people initially, Like Peter Gabriel, keep quiet about it lest others dismiss them as “a nut.”  These experiences will indeed make your heart go “boom, boom, boom” because the One who turned water into wine (John 2:1-11) is very real and has very real plans for your life.  And ultimately you too will hear God say, “Grab your things.  I’ve come to take you home.”

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 235 (May 6, 2021)

Undoubtedly one of the greatest novelists of all time is the incomparable Charles Dickens (1812-1870).  While he was prolific and popular he was often criticized by wealthy people for his honest and empathetic descriptions of the indigent and marginalized, the down and out.  Part of his gift for this was based on his painful childhood experience of seeing his father sent to debtors prison and his therefore having to work in a boot blacking factory as a boy, where he experienced firsthand what he would write about in so many of his novels: the struggles of the poor.  In his preface to Oliver Twist Dickens bluntly wrote, “But as the stern truth, even in the dress of this (in novels) much exalted race, was a part of the purpose of this book, I did not, for these readers, abate one hole in the Dodger’s coat, or one scrap of curl-paper in Nancy’s disheveled hair.  I had no faith in the delicacy which could not bear to look upon them.  I had no desire to make proselytes among such people.  I had no respect for their opinion, good or bad; did not covet their approval; and did not write for their amusement.”  In his incarnation Jesus was born in a barn, raised by a carpenter, lived and ministered among the poor, and was crucified among criminals.  Jesus never has turned a blind eye to “the stern truth” of the struggles of humanity, including your personal struggles.  Jesus is fully aware of every hole in your coat and every scrap of curl paper in your disheveled hair—and has always been and will always be “moved with compassion” (Matthew 9:36) for you.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 233 (May 4, 2021)

As a kid growing up in the 70’s one of my favorite TV shows was The Six Million Dollar Man starring Lee Majors as Steve Austin an Air Force pilot who suffered a horrendous plane crash.  The narrator recounts in the famous voiceover during the opening theme: “Steve Austin: an astronaut, a man barely alive.  Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.  We have the technology.  We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man.  Steve Austin will be that man—better than he was before: better, stronger, faster.”  Following major surgery Steve Austin not only survived, but was indeed “better, stronger, faster”—with superhuman bionic sight, hearing, strength and speed—all of which proved handy in his fight against crime and corruption—and always accompanied by really cheesy but really cool special effects.  Like Steve Austin, most people in their lives experience a crash of some kind—perhaps not a plane crash, but some other traumatic event that leaves you “barely alive.”  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that the grace of God in Jesus Christ meets you exactly in that place.  This grace of God can not only save you but also make you “better than before”—more compassionate, more approachable, more trusting in the One who can and does rebuild you.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Father Dave was on Sabbatical so there are no posting from January 7 – April 4, 2021.

The rest of the Daily Word of Grace posts can be found on the Archive page.