Posts Tagged ‘grace’
Happy 9’s and other momentous moments!
Posted by thomas | Filed under hillspowerhouse
Last week at Powerhouse Central we had a moment at 9:09PM, where we broke up in groups of 9 people and when it was 9 seconds past 9 minutes past 9 o’clock, we celebrated for 9 seconds by cheering + giving each other “High 9’s”. 
It was an amazing moments. Strangers hugged, enemies reconciled and there was peace in the land… Well, not exactly but it was a fun moment…. Why did we celebrate that moment?
Well the main reason was for fun but also because it was a special moment. It was the 9th September, 2009 (09/09/09). It was a Wednesday night; how many letters does Wednesday have in it? You guessed it! 9! It was September; how many letters does…. you guessed it again!! 9!!! It was also the 252nd day of the year 2 + 5 + 2 = 9!!!! So this was one of those moments that wouldn’t happen again for a loooong time. (My Maven tendencies just forced me to look it up; the next time 09/09/09 will happen on a Wednesday is in 2409)
Last month at 12:34PM and 56 seconds, we also took time during the day to celebrate, as it was on the 7th August, 2009. (Some of you can see the pattern… 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9) Again a GREAT moment! I love stuff like this….
While these dates and number configurations WILL NOT happen again, it can remind us that EVERY DAY is as special as these. Just because the time, date + year don’t line up, doesn’t mean that the day is any more mundane or meaningless. That person you work with today has gone through certain things this morning, thought certain thoughts + has certain expectations about today and the sum total mixture of everything that makes that person him or her TODAY will NEVER happen again. The conversation you choose to have or not to have with that person today, is a choice you will never get back again…. You will never ride the train with those people in the state of mind you all are in today again…The person at the petrol station or at the shops… These are all moments here today, gone tomorrow…
EVERY moment we choose to engage in or choose to ignore are all moments that will never be given to us again… God is gracious and gives us NEW moments to continue building into our lives and the lives of people around us but what if we took every moment today? What would our lives look like tomorrow? What would our relationships be like with our kids, spouse, boss, colleagues, friends + strangers?
Seize the day, grab the moment and watch Grace unfold.
Thomas
How do you be in it but not of it?
Posted by thomas | Filed under devotion, hillspowerhouse
I was just thinking about the topic that we are tackling at Powerhouse Central these days, “Our City - In it, not of it”.
Have you ever thought about the privilege it is to be found in salvation? Not only do we have this MASSIVE honour of being saved but God has also called us. No matter where you might find yourself in life; you are not only there as a saved person, which immediately sets you apart in terms of VALUE but you are also there as a called person, which sets you apart in terms of PURPOSE.
But I don’t know about you but it’s not always easy being different. How do we live it out? Sometimes the bar seems so high… Sometimes it just seems too hard… How do we do it? And how do we do it without breaking under the stress of striving? And what role does Grace play in the middle of all of this?
John Calvin said, “…it is a faculty of the reason and the will to choose good with the assistance of grace; evil, when grace is absent.”
How do you find being in the world but not of it??
I would love to hear from you,
Thomas