horton's who
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learning about God's grace
| unforced rhythms of grace |
To illustrate what I mean, an apt dancer may be in thorough unison with the others
in that particular group, and at the same time reveal a difference in dancing
temperament, rhythm or technique; she may phrase, accentuate or actually
interpret differently.
Florenz Ziegfeld
What style of music do you like? – Jazz? You like the easy going, smooth feeling
of Jazz. What about Country? You like the down-to-earth, no non-sense directness
of a broken heart and faithful truck. Is Rock your thing? You relish the rebellion
and thrive on singing lyrics you can’t understand. What about Pop? The happy,
peppy rhymes of teenage love makes you want to sing along. Or what about Soul?
There is nothing better to you than the deep sensitive emotions of a soulful ballad.
Well, whatever your musical taste buds like, there is one thread of commonality in
all music – rhythm; the pattern of beats in music. Every song has a rhythm. The
rhythms may be different according to the style, but in order to have
distinguishable, un-chaotic music, there must be a rhythm. Rhythm determines
where the music is going, how the music is getting there. And most people,
musically inclined or not, knows how to dance, move, and groove to the rhythm of
their favorite music.
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to
Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real
rest. Walk with Me and work with Me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced
rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company
with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
The Message
As a kid growing up in church and trying to understand God and the love He has
for us, I heard this frequently, “The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will not make
you do anything you don’t want to do.” The way Christ looks at us, works in us, and
blesses us is from the foundation and fuel of His unconditional love. And His love
is transported to us by His grace. The Lord freely gives His love and grace. He
makes it available to all who would receive. It’s not a matter if He will give or when,
but a matter of reception - Or as the Message translates, a matter a tapping into
the unforced rhythms of grace.
It’s not hard to believe that God will not make you do anything you don’t want to do.
God is kind and loving, not an egomaniacal dictator. So, on the other side, we
cannot make God do anything He does not want to do, or anything outside of His
perfect will and plan. We can’t manipulate God into doing things for us. We can’t
demand or command God to move and work according to our whims and wishes.
God is not our possession to be used at our disposal. But when we tap into or
move into the flow of the unforced rhythms of God’s grace, everything changes.
Sometimes when following and living for God, we move out of ear shot of the
rhythmic music of His will and purpose. We think it might be better to make music
and rhythms by ourselves, or we start to listen to the music of the world. While
dancing to the beat of another drum we become tired, worn out, and burned out
on religion. But God wants us to get away with Him and start listening to His
music.
Learning the unforced rhythms of grace is listening how God moves and moving
with Him. It’s listening to the beat of His heart and moving to that rhythm. If for
some reason you lose that beat or you miss a beat, just listen for His rhythm. You’
ll soon be moving to the beat of His way.
in that particular group, and at the same time reveal a difference in dancing
temperament, rhythm or technique; she may phrase, accentuate or actually
interpret differently.
Florenz Ziegfeld
What style of music do you like? – Jazz? You like the easy going, smooth feeling
of Jazz. What about Country? You like the down-to-earth, no non-sense directness
of a broken heart and faithful truck. Is Rock your thing? You relish the rebellion
and thrive on singing lyrics you can’t understand. What about Pop? The happy,
peppy rhymes of teenage love makes you want to sing along. Or what about Soul?
There is nothing better to you than the deep sensitive emotions of a soulful ballad.
Well, whatever your musical taste buds like, there is one thread of commonality in
all music – rhythm; the pattern of beats in music. Every song has a rhythm. The
rhythms may be different according to the style, but in order to have
distinguishable, un-chaotic music, there must be a rhythm. Rhythm determines
where the music is going, how the music is getting there. And most people,
musically inclined or not, knows how to dance, move, and groove to the rhythm of
their favorite music.
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to
Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real
rest. Walk with Me and work with Me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced
rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company
with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
The Message
As a kid growing up in church and trying to understand God and the love He has
for us, I heard this frequently, “The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He will not make
you do anything you don’t want to do.” The way Christ looks at us, works in us, and
blesses us is from the foundation and fuel of His unconditional love. And His love
is transported to us by His grace. The Lord freely gives His love and grace. He
makes it available to all who would receive. It’s not a matter if He will give or when,
but a matter of reception - Or as the Message translates, a matter a tapping into
the unforced rhythms of grace.
It’s not hard to believe that God will not make you do anything you don’t want to do.
God is kind and loving, not an egomaniacal dictator. So, on the other side, we
cannot make God do anything He does not want to do, or anything outside of His
perfect will and plan. We can’t manipulate God into doing things for us. We can’t
demand or command God to move and work according to our whims and wishes.
God is not our possession to be used at our disposal. But when we tap into or
move into the flow of the unforced rhythms of God’s grace, everything changes.
Sometimes when following and living for God, we move out of ear shot of the
rhythmic music of His will and purpose. We think it might be better to make music
and rhythms by ourselves, or we start to listen to the music of the world. While
dancing to the beat of another drum we become tired, worn out, and burned out
on religion. But God wants us to get away with Him and start listening to His
music.
Learning the unforced rhythms of grace is listening how God moves and moving
with Him. It’s listening to the beat of His heart and moving to that rhythm. If for
some reason you lose that beat or you miss a beat, just listen for His rhythm. You’
ll soon be moving to the beat of His way.