Califoregon Living

I have a sweet journal book, titled, “Do Something Beautiful Each Day.”  It gives an example of something you can do,/think/say/pray that is beautiful in some way.

I looked up today’s option….

September 1^st… Make eye contact with a homeless person or someone you don’t know.  Say, “hi, how are you?”

“Great timing,” I thought.  Today was the day our family serves a local homeless group.  There are the regulars, the ones who we can (almost) always count on to show up, enjoy our lunch, and some even ask for prayer.  We look forward to reconnecting and sharing each other’s lives.  There are also quite of few that we see once, or a few times a year at most.

Today, I decided, I was going to focus on looking into everyone’s eyes.  It is very easy for me to into “Martha” mode, and, organize, organize, organize, facilitate, facilitate, facilitate.  Stopping and connecting on a personal level is more of a challenge, especially when there are things that need tending to.

The group was smaller than typical.  Still, we got to see a few of our regulars.  One such regular is Henry.  It saddened me to see him ride up on his bike, with his face all torn up and bruised, and having a brace for his ribs and arm.  A group of teens jumped and attacked him.  Because the group was small, some of the adults who are there to serve were able to spend good one on one time with him.

When I looked into his eyes, I saw a deep sadness and pain, veiled behind stoicism.  I let him know that what happened to him was not okay, and that I was sorry it happened to him.

Toward the end, when we were getting ready to break down our setup, one of my favorite regulars, Jackie, showed up.  I gave her a big hug and focused on looking into her eyes.  As she was updating me on what was going on back at their camp, I saw a peace, and inner contentment, even amidst hard circumstances.  She said that the police have not been hassling them lately, so that has been good.  She shared who had their tents and sleeping bags stolen (this always happens), and was in need of a can opener.  She has beautiful smile, even though she only has a few teeth left.

I then spent the rest of the day focused on looking into my friend’s eyes, my boy’s eyes, my husband’s eyes.  I realized I don’t do this nearly often enough.  A simple connection.   So simple, yet so fruitful.  Catching a glimpse of their soul, and letting them glimpse mine.  Revealing truth, love, intimacy, vulnerability.

What I Learned at Mt. Hermon…
Prior to coming to any Christ-centered event, I always pray for the Lord to provide us with that one “thing”, that one TRUTH that He wants to reveal to us and to apply to our lives.

That one “thing” came for me early in the week, and I have been a blubbering mess ever since. I attended the seminar Roger Williams gave, titled, “Grace Discovered…Grace Unleashed. Our Identity in Grace…Imputed Righteousness.”

Imputation is the reckoning over or laying the responsibility over to someone else. Although I had never heard this word before, I, of course, was familiar with the concept. My sin, and the penalty for my sin were imputed to Jesus Christ.

However, to fully understand imputation, he shared that there are two major processes at work…the first, that my sins were imputed to Jesus, and the second, that God’s righteousness and perfection is positionally imputed to me!

It’s this second part is the part that shook me to the core.

Hebrews 10:14 – …because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

God has positioned us as perfect and holy in His sight! He declared us righteous , even when we don’t act that way!

Roger then used the example of a proud parent or grandparent pulling out his children’s pictures from his wallet and saying, these are MY kids! He’s not thinking about their failures, sins, or shortcomings, He’s choosing to focus on what is good!

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are positionally perfect and righteous. Because we are still under construction, we have the Holy Spirit to help us become as God already sees us!

Grace restated: God is FOR me. He’s not for everything I DO, but He’s FOR me.

I have understood this in my head for many years, but I came to realize I never allowed this to penetrate my heart. As I embraced this truth on a heart level, I physically experienced the depth of God’s love and grace for me to a degree I never felt before.

I have spent years worshiping and loving our Lord. I have cried through worship and prayer, with tears of gratitude over God’s provision and faithfulness. I have prayed for, and counseled others to trust in the Lord with all their hearts, but I have never physically, tangibly, felt God’s love and grace in such a way as I experienced here at Mt. Hermon.

Jack Hamilton shared in one of his seminars that God does not reveal all of your sin nature at once because we probably could not survive it, and that it’s a part of the sanctification process. I have come to think that maybe that’s the same for God revealing His love for me. If I experienced the full depth of His love and grace for me, I don’t know that I’d physically survive it.

Roger said that many grasp the first part of imputation, but the second part is harder for them to believe. I don’t know if I will ever have the opportunity to speak to Roger personally, but I want him to know that I believe, and because of the words he shared Monday morning, I will never be the same.