ENCOUNTERING GRACE – THE PERSON - JESUS

Grace: God’s ability working in you enabling you to do that which you naturally cannot do

Encounter: To collide with unexpectedly; to come upon suddenly

One of my favorite things to do back in South Africa is visit the Kruger National Park. This is the largest wild animal sanctuary in the country and is about the size of Great Britain.

The adventure starts when you drive through the gate. The magic and sounds of Africa are unlike anything you have experienced before. A peace and tranquility descends on you that bring instant rest to your soul. There is a sense of being ‘lost’ to what we call the ‘real’ world and you forget about everything but what is right there at that moment.

There is no city nightlife, no rush, no crowding of people wanting to be somewhere in the shortest time possible. The only nightlife is the distant roar of a lion, the sound of a hippo in the nearest watering hole or the barking of a hyena. Life becomes slow, thoughtful and so quiet you want to whisper instead of speak out loud.

Nights are spent in the safety of fenced campgrounds but during the day we drive around in the park, looking for animals in their natural surroundings. This in itself takes patience. They usually hide away or are disguised by the bush, but every now and then you unexpectedly collide or come upon an animal around the corner or running across the road. And your whole world changes! You become mesmerized by what they look like, their graceful movement, by the way they blend into their surroundings. And you sit for ages watching, wishing it would last forever. Then you move along looking for the next event.

That’s how I see Grace Encounters. Through our acceptance of the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ, we have been placed on the road of life not death. This is a place of tranquility and quiet. Grace is a person and that person is Jesus Himself. The Bible tells us that grace and truth came through Him. Jesus said that He is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.

Everything in my life is exposed to the grace of God when I trust Jesus’ work. Everything in my life is subject to goodness when I let Jesus love me – regardless of how I feel. He knows how I feel and what I’m going through. Jesus knows I need help! That’s why He died for me. So I could be put on the road where I can have a grace encounter.

I can expect a grace encounter EVERY DAY – whether I feel good or bad. God is not the one who makes bad stuff happen to me. I’m on the grace encounter road where He will help me, protect me and not hurt me.

Isaiah 30:18 reads: And therefore the Lord (earnestly) waits (expecting, looking and longing) to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, to be envied) are all those who expect and look and long for Him (for His favor, His love His peace, His joy and His matchless, unbroken companionship)!

I should walk this road looking for the grace encounters that will mesmerize and amaze me because God is good. Some of the markers I will ‘collide’ with on this road are His FAVOR, LOVE, PEACE, JOY, His MATCHLESS, UNBROKEN COMPANIONSHIP.

I can only get bent out of shape in life when I get my eyes off the grace encounter road and veer off into the bush on the side. Sometimes I bang around in the bush, rocks or thorns and think God is teaching me something. NO! He’s the one showing me the marvel of His goodness and leads me back onto the grace encounter road.

Arthur’s latest teaching is awesome! Everyone He shares this message with leaves so excited about Grace Encounters – changing dead ends into new beginnings.