Good morning everyone,

1 Corinthians 13:2– And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Peter 4:8-Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

This past Saturday I had one of the greatest times I’ve had in a long time, mainly because I spent it with childhood friends, but ironically also because I don’t believe any one there was a Christian! Now that doesn’t sound right and it shouldn’t be that way I know. But one of the things that I can appreciate about being around unbelievers like that, especially my “boys”, is that there is not a whiff of “insecure performing” in the midst of us. They are completely themselves without any sense of having to come off as “godly”, they’re just “being”, as we should be godly, not act godly! (Acts 17 v28) The event I was invited to was a “Rib Cookoff/basketball tournament” from “noon to whenever” for the parents of one of my best friends. They know I’m in ministry and I actually spoke at his wedding. So though there was a table that looked like a full on bar with everything imagineable, they are “ironically” always reverent to me and offer “alternatives”.

Now try and imagine a house that isn’t right on top of each other, but off in the country with a lot of land, where about 10 people can have their “tractor-sized smoker”, and a tent to sleep in next to them surrounding a basketball court. Why a basketball court? Well, we had a two on two tournament and all the participants (except me of course) had to blow into a breathalizer that was over the legal limit to play!! So you can imagine how long EACH game took! I arrived a 2pm and didn’t get home until 9:30pm! Now I know I maybe making light off all of this, but I know why God really wanted me to attend. Personally I probably wouldn’t have gone to something like that had it not been my friends. But Jesus did it, and now I see even more now why He calls us to go out and to remember His grace!

For me I got to see really what I would have been like had it not been for grace! Though my friends have good jobs as an engineer and salesman, I mean no words can describe how drunk people were and seemingly have a good time. But what I got to hear from my friend and his family who hosted while I was leaving, was God’s point of hanging out with them. As I went to say goodbye, his mother (who I call “moms”) walked hand in hand with me making sure I said bye to all the family. But then also quietly asked me to be the minister for her other two kids when they get married (both who were like my little brother and sister). While my buddy grabbed me and hugged me telling me he loved me and calling me his brother (though he could barely stand).

You come to realize by staying around only Christians and people like you, I think it is easy to see yourself where you are and not rejoice over God’s grace! I was actually worse than just about all my friends before Christ, so it’s only grace! But when you consider God saves us so His love can be displayed to whomever you are in contact with, Christian or unbeliever, that is the essence of being Christlike. When humble grace takes over for insecure performing pride, love happens, and judmentalism dies. God reminded me through my friends that this world needs genuine love that is not based on how deceived we are about where we are, but giving glory to God’s grace and mercy for people to see in our lives. So we come to acknowledge that where we are should cause joy and gratitude for mercy that magnifies the Christ in us!

In His love, Ld