Woody's Words

MOMENTS OF GRACE – Jesus and grace By David Woodbury Probably the world’s greatest story is the story of total redemption recounted in the parable Jesus told of The Lost Son. No other narrative has so captured the attention and imagination of humanity and it is a re-occurring theme in books and films.   While we are moved and inspired by the lost son returning home, it is in the actions and attitudes of the father that we catch a glimpse of the grace of God. Jesus may not have said a lot directly about grace but He left us a graphic and explicit word picture of grace in this parable. While we may struggle to explain and grasp exactly what the grace of God really is and how it impacts our lives, the father’s reactions and actions to his wayward son very clearly illustrate the heart of our Father God. If, for a moment, we can change places with the lost son and experience the outpouring of love and mercy from the father, we have caught a glimpse of God’s grace in rea...

MOMENTS OF GRACE Strength from weakness By David Woodbury Life seems paradoxically unfair in many ways and it has been my experience that many of God’s choicest saints endure lives of excessive suffering and affliction. How this all fits into God’s plan for this world I am not sure. However, I accept it as a reality and that God knows best and allows such things to occur. How a Christian accepts and responds to such circumstances is the point in question. We can allow ourselves to become bitter and resentful when suffering is visited upon us, and such a response is probably a barrier to moments of grace . I suspect it is almost impossible for God to pour his grace out into the heart that is resentful and bitter. Someone has said that suffering affliction will either make us bitter or better people. Those who would experience moments of grace must seek to become better people. Resentment and bitterness poison the heart and soul. However, we should refrain from becomin...

FINDING FULL POTENTIAL 2 Peter - chapter 1 – part 2 8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. 10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  (NLT) Peter in a sense reviews his previous advice in his escalating picture of the kingdom lifestyle and affirms that those who follow these steps can’t help but grow in their spiritual life. Their lives, as a result of their commitment, must inevitably be more productive and useful. Here is one of the basic necessities of humanity, Christian or otherwise, to be productive ...

BUILDING THE KINGDOM LIFESTYLE 2 Peter Chapter 1 – part 1 Greetings from Peter 1 This letter is from Simon Peter, a slave and apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. 2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. (NLT) Note the simple, sincere and humble opening to Peter’s letter, in a sense even more humble than his first letter in which he just calls himself an apostle. He now adds the appellation, slave, which has a significant and consequential meaning to it. He would have been well aware of the standing of a slave for in the world of that day for they were commonplace. They had absolutely no rights, were the absolute possession of their master and were at his beck and call day and night. By calling himself a slave Peter is indicating hi...

Session 5 - The kingdom lifestyle By David Woodbury Over the years the Church has various terms to describe life in the kingdom of God. Whether we call this lifestyle Christian maturity, the life of holiness, full salvation or entire sanctification is probably not very helpful at this point in our spiritual journey so for the simplicity, we will simply refer to it as the kingdom lifestyle .   Many sectors of Christianity have been focussed on eternity and what will occur after death. While this is important I sense that many of those seeking a path to true spirituality are more focussed on living a full and complete life in the here and now. In a real sense living the kingdom lifestyle, life in all its fullness, in our daily way of life ensures our eternal existence. Many sections of the Bible deal with living a full and complete life . The epistles offer great guidance on Christian maturity but for this study, we will look at the lifestyle patterns that Jesus lef...