Grace On Tap by Eric Dykstra

When I was a little girl, I used to play "library". 

I put check-out cards in all my books & scotch-taped pretend bar codes to the backs of them. I read the books to all my stuffed animals, and even remembered to show them all the pictures. (Y'know... like your kindergarten teacher used to do.)

I love books. I love reading. I love spelling & grammar. I'm a word nerd to the extreme. I even remember getting in trouble for reading ahead in school. (Yes, really. In trouble... for reading?)

Then I grew up and had kids of my own to whom I read countless books. From Dr. Seuss to the Berenstain Bears to Shel Silverstein. 

 

My philosophy is: If you can read, you can learn anything.

BUT THIS. This is the best project I ever got to be a part of. 

 

I didn't write the words, but I got to see them sooner than most. And punctuate them. And spell-check them. And put them in cool-looking fonts.

But none of that matters as much as what the words said. What they were about. GRACE... on tap. Flowing freely from God to me, because of Jesus. Grace that I didn't earn or achieve. Grace that gives me access to my Creator and all the benefits of being a royal daughter of the King of Kings. Grace that I want to give away to other people simply because it profoundly changed me.

At one point, sitting at my kitchen table reading through a rough draft, it hit me all over again: What my Savior did for me on the cross. I got a huge lump in my throat and tears rolled down my cheeks. Emotion overload. Gratitude. Humility. Joy.

Wow, Jesus. You actually thought I was worth all that?

 

Thank you, Pastor Eric Dykstra, for writing the words that I know will change lives. Thank you for the way you explained grace so simply and beautifully in this, your first book. Thank you for the way you teach grace through not only your sermons, but exemplifying grace by the way you live. Thanks for following God's lead when He called you to this. And thanks for allowing me to be a small part of what God is going to do next with Grace On Tap!

Check out Grace On Tap on Facebook to learn more about the book!

 

Check out The Crossing Church on September 7 & 8 for the coinciding teaching series! Each first-time family will receive a free copy of Grace On Tap.

Pancakes & Jesus

When Jason and I were dating, I wanted to be the "ultimate girlfriend", so I decided to make him some homemade pancakes.

I was 20 years old. 

I was in love.

I was NOT the best cook.

Pancakes, though. How hard could that be?

I griddled up the most PERFECT looking pancake you ever saw! It was as big as a plate and a nice toasty, warm, golden brown on both sides. It was even a perfect circle. No weird, lumpy appendages of any sort.

I warmed up the syrup. (You HAVE to warm up the syrup. Pouring cold syrup on a hot pancake is like jumping into a cold hot tub. Just... wrong.)

I served it to him, all smiles. I was so stinkin' proud of that thing. As God is my witness, it was a thing of pure beauty, I'll tell you what. I watched as my dreamy, tall drink of water sunk his fork into it.

...and batter poured out.

As Gordon Ramsay would yell right before kicking a garbage can, "It's bloody RAAAAWWWW!"

So. Lame.

Got me thinking today about what Jesus said in Matthew 23:

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs - beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness."

OUCH. Those Pharisees were like my pancake. They were so beautiful on the outside. They said the right things, went to the right places, had the right friends, and were, by all appearances, righteous. But on the inside, they were full of nasty, raw, bitter batter.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of people who say they are Christian are like this today. They put on a happy face. They appear to be doing everything right. They judge the ones who don't "do faith" like they do. They have the perfect kids, house, job, church, friends, radio stations, books, language, and look. But on the inside... they're a nasty mess.

Here's the awesome thing: When you bend a knee and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and lead your life, He makes you BRAND NEW! Because He is full of grace, He transforms your life from the inside out. You don't have to pretend to be righteous. Because of Jesus, God sees you as totally righteous.

So, where are you at today? Have you given your life to Jesus, or are you just going through the motions? Have you let His grace transform you, or are you still holding on to the law like the Pharisees were? Jumping through hoops or following all the "faith rules" does not bring transformation. Only Jesus renews.

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

I want to invite you to take a chance and come to The Crossing Church in Zimmerman this Sunday. You'll have an opportunity to learn more about the awesome life Jesus offers & take a step of faith through baptism, if you choose. Oh! And we'll be griddling up a ton of pancakes after our 10am service. No worries - I'm a MUCH better cook after 15 years of marriage. Hope to see you then! Be sure you say hello.

Jesus is the way.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." -John 14:6

JESUS. He is the WAY. 

He is the way we are united with our Creator. He bridged the gap - the huge chasm of sin that once separated us from God. Jesus made a way for us to be in a relationship with our Heavenly Father again. He gave His life for it. He is the reason we are UNITED with God.

I got a text last night from a friend asking for prayer. She had been fighting with her husband, temporarily separated from him because of an argument. Jason and I have had those kind of arguments. The kind that divide us for awhile. The kind that seem like a really big deal when you're in the middle of them, but that you can't really remember a couple weeks later. The "what were we arguing about again?" kind of arguments. So I got it. I understood. And I started to pray. (Via text message. Isn't technology wonderful?)

I used the authority Jesus gave me when I accepted Him as my Savior to bind all enemies of Christ from their home. I asked that the Holy Spirit would fill them with His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I asked that He would cause all things in their marriage to come together for good so that they could be an effective force in sharing the Good News of the Gospel. I thanked God that He sent His son to stand in the gap for us. And then I asked Him to stand in the gap for my friend and her husband to bridge them back together.

I truly believe that Jesus is the way. Not just the way for us to be in relationship with God, but the way for us to be in relationship with each other. Through Him, we are united. We can forgive. We can heal. We can move forward. Because of Jesus, and for His glory.

Read His prayer in John 17:

Verses 9-11: “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are."

Verses 20-23: “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one - as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me."

Jesus stood in the gap between you & God. He will stand in the gap between you & whoever you feel separated from right now. If you have a relationship that feels broken right now, put Jesus in the center. He unites us. He brings us together so we can point people toward Him and show the world how good, how caring, how loving He is.

JESUS. He is the WAY.