I took a big plunge last week. I pulled the trigger on something I've been praying/dreaming/wrestling over for what seems like a long time. I've begun the process of establishing a new ministry presence in Ellijay that will give an identity to what we do. I'm calling it Grace to Glory, Inc. Let me take the opportunity to explain the significance of our logo, as It combines in a picture several of the scripture passages that have come to mean the most to us and will help to clarify the dream of Grace to Glory.
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8
Our dream is to see people...
1) Grow in their trust in the Lord, trusting first of all that His heart is always good towards us. Did you ever stop to think about the fact that when everything was as God intended, we as a human race had no concept of evil or the absence of God and good. And what was the one thing that God commanded us not to do? Don't eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Our Father is so good, so loving, so protective that He didn't even want us to know there could be an absence of good/evil. Whoa.
2) Develop roots that tap into Him as the only source of life. Worship is not singing songs. Worship is what we bow down to when we are looking to be filled, to feel alive. There is only one source that satisfies, and that is the everflowing, unfailing love of our Father, and the limitlelss grace extended through Jesus Christ.
3) Become disciples who know Christ, not only as Savior, but as Life. As each of us begin to embrace our own brokenness and inability to bear fruit that lasts when we rely on our own strength, and surrender to Christ's limitless ability to establish the Kingdom of God through us, our lives will always bear fruit even in our most difficult days.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. The will be called oaks of righeousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." Isaiah 61:1-3
I love knowing that this passage was the first scripture Jesus read when he began his public ministry, declaring that it was being fulfilled in the people's hearing. I love knowing that Jesus was declaring his mission to be one of healing and restoring: healing our hearts, the core of who we are, our identity, and restoring us to live a life that brings glory to His Father. I am most alive when I am engaged in joining Him in his mission.
May Grace to Glory see many people experience and embrace His radical grace!
"To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorisou riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27
