Breathe deeply now, and let your heart grow quiet as you turn from sins forgiven. “By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20). It’s not the voice of God that drives you on to fear, or rush, or labor past your strength. We dare not make the Spirit own our anxiousness or lack of peace. God is always on the side of what gives life, builds hope, and moves us even one small step toward balance. His grace is meant to keep us breathing, as well as for our saving. The day that Jesus wants to bring us healing is the day that we are living, not only when our destinies are weighed. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). His grace is for today and always. So stay in grace. -Bill Knott
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How does God’s grace invade our daily conversations? Certainly not by retreating to our separate corners and hurling brickbats at each other. Of all the “stuff” we absorb from our angry culture, the habits of accusing and deriding are undoubtedly the worst. But as grace finds a home in us, we grow more willing to admit that we might be mistaken. Receiving grace requires we confess we are wrong, and always have been. We’ve misunderstood the love of God, imagining Him as only angry, always disappointed. We’ve wandered into deeds that brought us shame and guilt. We’ve argued for ideas that were vanquished at the cross. “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Is 53:6). So grace prepares us for a new way of talking with each other, even when we disagree—especially when we disagree. “You could be right”—"I might be wrong”: these are the tools of reconciliation and renewal. Look carefully at grace before you look your opponent in the eye. There is no greater joy than laughing with a former enemy. So stay in grace. -Bill Knott
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Willie Oliver is the director of the General Conference Family Ministries Department.
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Below our deepest hurt and darkest shame, there is the grace of God—forgiving us, rebuilding us, repairing all that’s broken. Above our highest joy and most euphoric moments, there is the sheer delight of God—applauding us, encouraging, enlarging celebration. Through every stage of every journey—in trust, in fear; in faith, in doubt; in youth, in gray maturity—we’re never left alone or told to make it on our own. Despite appearances, the road is never empty. Around us each are Jesus’ everlasting arms—sustaining us, protecting us, embracing us. His hands are ever on us. “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Rom 11:36). “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:39). We are befriended by the One who rules all time and space. Receive the gift. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott
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For about 25 years now, the Adventist Review has been publishing Clifford Goldstein’s column. Called Cliff’s Edge, it deals with a host of issues regarding faith, theology, philosophy, science and just about anything else he can think of that he thinks is relevant and faith-affirming.
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Come stand with me beneath the waterfall of grace. There is no waiting line, no jostling for position. There are no elbows, scornful faces, or murmured whispers of contempt. No one here will keep you from receiving what your withered spirit needs. This is the fellowship of the redeemed. This is the company of those who gladly—daily—open their parched lives to the “washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). Grace isn’t some scarce resource, guarded by the worthy, requiring conservation or close rationing as though it might run out. This is the river of life—re-life; renewal; resurrection—flowing from the grace of Him whose great forgiving is “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:4). Those who really “get” the grace of God keep pulling all those they love into the healing, rehydrating stream. The waterfall keeps getting wider. More and more will be revived. Step out of dry and into drenched. And stay in grace. -Bill Knott
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Lael Caesar, Adventist Review associate editor, has a seven word motto for all his life's projects: "Do all to the glory of God" (1Cor. 10:31).
Lael Caesar, Adventist Review associate editor, earnestly believes Psalm 56:3; he may feel scared, but his trust is in God.
David Fournier is chief client care officer for Adventist Risk Management, Inc in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Stephen Chavez is an assistant editor of Adventist Review. he chairs the administrative board of the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church in Takoma Park, Maryland, USA.
