I had grace on them

Hey guys, I hope you all are doing well!

This semester has been pretty rough for me. I have been having a hard time with some of my classes this semester. There is this one particular class that I have been struggling a lot with. We had our first test of the class about a month ago, and I totally bombed that test. It was devastating. 

Okay, here's how it all went down. I got to my class and got to my seat and was like "yeah, I am ready to do this!" The professor came in to class and said "okay, you can turn on your computers now and the test should be there." Computers?! Nobody said anything about computers! I asked him if he had a paper test, he said he didn't. I had to get out of the class and borrow a computer from a guy in the psychology department. I was pretty stressed out and anxious at that point, but it was all good and I started doing my test. Finished the multiple choice section and the test score for that section came up immediately after I had finished it. I failed. Yes, I did. It took me awhile to process that. I had never failed a test before. I felt horrible and sick, even. "I can't finish the rest of the test," "I can't do it anymore," " I need to leave." My mind was just going crazy. But I held my tears back and finished the rest of the test. Returned the computer to the guy and left. I broke down in tears the second I left the building. It was pretty embarrassing. I called my best friend told her about my devastating story while crying like somebody had died. At first she was like "Wait, calm down. What happened?", and when she had heard the whole story, she was like "Really? You're crying because of your grades?" Although I know that she would cry too if it had happened to her. But yeah, she just laughed at me. We talked for a little bit until I was slightly more calmed and stopped crying.

I was still thinking about that class a lot for the next few weeks. I was thinking of dropping the class and trying to figure out if a W looks worse on my transcript or a D. I also did some math and calculated what the best possible grade that I could get in that class. Statistically, if I get 100% for all of my tests for the rest of the semester (which is impossible, btw), I would get a low B in that class. It was depressing to know that I had NO CHANCE of getting an A in that class. 

We just had fall break this past weekend, and I had an amazing time relaxing and catching up on my studies and stuff. My friend Kezia and I even got to go to the Hillsong night in OKC! It was amazing, but that's another story for another time. Over the break, I received an email from the professor that teaches the class I'm failing. It said "Dear class, the mid-term grades had grace on them; let's rock and roll when you return!" Excuse me, what did you just say? I just checked my mid-term grade for that class today and I have a C! Which means there is a chance of me getting an A in that class! From an F to a C!

Did I deserve grace on the grades? I didn't study a whole lot at the beginning of the semester and cramped all of the studying to that week where I had ALL of my tests. I procrastinated. So, no. I did not deserve it. Did I expect to get that grace? No. Why would I expect it? It was my fault. I have to live with the consequences.

Every time we are faced with problems, we tend to be ashamed of ourselves and blame ourselves for what had happened. But God says "No, don't worry. I've got it covered. Your problems? I had grace on them. Your struggles? I had grace on them. Your finances? I had grace on them. Your relationships? I had grace on them." Even though I had calculated and it was statistically IMPOSSIBLE for me to get an A for that class. God's grace is more than statistics. It doesn't play by the rules of the world. It was made possible with the grace of God. 

Grace

It is a free gift from God. You get it when you put your trust completely in Jesus. It is undeserving. It is unmerited. It is a second chance. 

I am not saying that you can bomb all your tests and say "God's grace is sufficient for me." I still don't have an A in that class, you see. I still need to work really hard on the other tests in order to get an A. But it was not possible before, and now it is. 

God saved you by his grace when you believe. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. - Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)

Song of the day

When You Walk Into The Room - Bryan & Katie Torwalt, Jesus Culture

Friends

Four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "My child, your sins are forgiven." - Mark 2:3-5

     I came across these verses while reading for my Bible class. They stuck with me for a couple of days and I thought about them a lot. The thing that stuck out to me the most is that these four men carried their friend, the paralyzed man, and dug open the roof to get to Jesus so that their friend will be healed. Most of us have good, supporting friends that are there to encourage us in times of need.  But really, anybody can encourage us and tell us to pray about our situations. Now, don't get me wrong! Those things are great. Encouragements are great. But sometimes encouragement alone isn't enough. Sometimes we need somebody to bring us to Jesus so that we will be healed physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. 

     Often times we feel so broken and guilty that we think we can never go back to God. We will never be forgiven. That is when you need friends like these four men in the story. Friends that will say, "Okay, you're hurt and you're broken. I will carry you to Jesus and you will be healed." First of all, it is not easy to physically carry somebody, especially if you work out as much as I do, which is once in two years. It is even harder to carry somebody spiritually. You have to be strong spiritually in order to carry somebody to Jesus. To gain spiritual strength, you have to strengthen your spirit daily. Build and maintain a strong relationship with Jesus.

Do you have friends like that?

     I am extremely fortunate to have great friends and an amazing church group back home that I am really close with. However, I cannot be certain if all of my friends would carry me to Jesus if I am drifting away, hurt, or broken. Friendship is just like any other kind of relationships, it requires time and effort. I am a quality time person. I enjoy talking or hanging out with friends, or even just talking on the phone and catching up on each other's lives. I feel most loved when I am spending quality time with a friend, even if we're just chilling out and not doing anything fun. Given that I live 9000 miles away from most of my friends and a 5 hour drive away from my best friend, that doesn't work out too well. Also, I/my friends often come up with excuses like "oh college's been busy, I can't call you" or "I'm sure we'll do fine without talking for awhile, we're besties." I almost never get to spend time with my friends. That is extremely unhealthy for a friendship or any kind of relationships, really. I think that because I live far away from most of my friends and I only get to see them once a year, I should be putting more effort into maintaining the close connections that I have with my friends. Just a Skype call once a week would help me to catch up with my friends and know what is currently going on in their lives. I want to be that friend that is always there. If ever they are facing problems in their lives, or they are upset about something, I would know about it. If ever I am facing problems in my life (which is pretty often), they would know too. We can talk about it, pray about it, and strengthen each other spiritually. It is very important to pray for/with our friends. Prayers bring people closer together and to God.

Are you that friend?

     Will you carry your friend to Jesus if he or she is broken and hurt? Will you go to great lengths to make sure that your friend gets to Jesus and gets healed? We often escape when our friends try to tell us about their problems. I know I do that a lot. I would say something like, "I have enough problems in my own life, I don't need to know your problems and have more things in my brain to stress me out." To carry a paralyzed friend, open up a roof (how do you even do that?!), and drop him or her right in front of the Jesus? Typically, I am not one that would do that, physically or spiritually. God is telling me to be that friend to the people in my life. Be that friend to MAKE SURE my friends are with Jesus and are healed. 

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "My child, your sins are forgiven." 

It says seeing their faith, Jesus healed the paralyzed man. I am pretty sure by their, Jesus meant the four men, the paralyzed man's friends. Okay, we don't even know if the paralyzed man had faith at all. He was just lying there being paralyzed. His friends decided to carry him and drop him from a roof right in front of Jesus. Even if he didn't want to (pretty sure nobody wants to be lowered from a roof in front of hundreds of people and the Son of God, it's pretty embarrassing), he didn't really have a choice. He couldn't move, he couldn't object. So he was just chilling on the mat, and he was healed, because of his friends' faith? 

Okay, let's pretend that the paralyzed man wasn't a believer. He had gone to all the doctors in the country and none of them can heal him. So he's just lying on his mat at home. His friends came over to visit, with fruit baskets and some roses, and told him, "Hey, I know a guy that can heal you!" He's like, "Nah guys, I've tried everything. Nothing works. The doctors said that I'll be paralyzed for the rest of my life. Plus, I can't move, so it's gonna take a lot of effort to take me to this man you're talking about. Thanks for the effort though, I appreciate it." And his friends go, "No, you don't understand. We KNOW that he can heal you. No worries man, we can carry you. You're only 100 pounds more than all of us combined. No biggy, we lift weights all the time." The argument probably went on a little longer and finally he goes, "fine, whatever. Take me to the Healer." So they carried miles and miles (probably sweating like crazy and regretting their decision to carry their friend) to go and see Jesus. They saw the crowd and knew that they couldn't squeeze through and get to the front, where Jesus was, while carrying a paralyzed man. They looked around and saw the roof and was like, "Yeah, that'll do. We can just drop him from the roof. As long as Jesus sees him." They did that and Jesus was like "Wow you crazy bunch, I like your faith!" And the man was healed. Now, imagine being the paralyzed man. Imagine his immense faith after that experience. Paralyzed on a mat, your friends take you to the Healer, you're healed. What? He must have been so filled with joy and passion for Jesus after that. How can anybody still be in disbelief after an experience like that?

We can be the friends that carry the paralyzed man (believer or not) to Jesus. It can be because of our faith that our friends get healing. It can be because of us that our friends have immense faith and receive overflowing blessings.

How many of your friends would literally carry you to Jesus, so that you'd be healed?

Are you that friend?



Song of the day
Angels (Acoustic Version) - Brian Johnson, Bethel Music