“Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine”, but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.” Galatians 2:20-21a The Message

Jesus: The Invisible One (The JesusLife Part 4)

There is a great open-secret to living the christian life. It is simply this: Christ has to live in your life. Everything that you are .. that you accomplish .. that you own .. is in Christ. It is no longer your strength that you try to muster up everyday in order to be a Christian. It is Christ who is the source of your strength. And then you begin living this life right where you are. That’s why it is an open-secret. Everyone around you gets a front row seat to your life. You can “try” to act better or “be” religious .. but without Christ as your source you will become exhausted and sometimes bitter on the inside. You’ll even try to blame the world around you for making life difficult. The inside-secret of belonging to Jesus is that you already know that the world you are living in is broken. You know it already because you were broken when He found you and began patiently and tenderly loving you. He had to because apart from God’s redeeming and restoring grace your life was/is fragile. Sin makes life brittle .. narrow .. and fragile. Without Christ you will fall to pieces. Without Christ you’ll just keep exchanging batteries and arranging the deck chairs of your life. But with Christ .. He becomes the source of your energy and He becomes the wardrobe of your life. To paraphrase some old friends: The most miserable life to live is the christian life without Christ. It is impossible. You cannot love unconditionally .. live lovingly .. and love living without Christ. You can try and maybe even sustain it for a long period. But you will eventually crumble with exhaustion. He is the Invisible One because you walk by faith .. and yet His life becomes very visible through your life to others. It is a daily walk of hoping .. believing .. trusting .. and following Christ. He will guide your steps today. He will give you the strength you need today. He wants to be the source of your real life today. It only takes a moment …

“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.” John 15:4 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Open-Secrets following Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)

“We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. … He was supreme in the beginning and — leading the resurrection parade — he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds it proper place in him without crowding.” Colossians 1:15-18/19 The Message

Jesus: The Irresistible One (The JesusLife Part 3)

Who is ever going to make you a better offer for your life …? Jesus offered complete forgiveness and acceptance to a woman caught in adultery. He physically touched a leper. He invited a thoroughly hated tax collector to be part of his discipleship training. He forgave Peter after he saved his own skin by denying he knew Jesus. He restored sanity to countless demon-driven and depressed men and women. He gave an unexpected wedding party a priceless gift. He fed thousands with a few loaves and fishes. He offered His life as the final and forever payment for every sin and godless action you have ever and will ever commit. He rose from the dead so that you could see .. know .. and believe that the Life he offers you is Now. He still gives “fresh starts and clean slates” .. even today .. even at this moment. Most of us resist Jesus when we are trying so hard to get our own way .. or convince God that our intentions are basically good. Sometimes the struggles of living in this fallen .. broken .. and continuously deceiving world just seem easier to give in to than ask Jesus for help. But … Jesus offers you room to grow .. He offers you all the help you need to find your place in the center of God’s love .. He offers you the uncrowded freedom of being accepted .. loved .. and gripped by grace in the Father’s love. He offers you a way home. He offers you the life you long for but could never achieve on your own. He does more than just give you answers or solutions. He offers you His life today .. fully alive .. resurrection living .. spaciously abundant .. a perfect sacrifice for all of your imperfections. And all of this only takes a moment …

“It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people.” Hebrews 10:14 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Irresistible and Sometimes Irritating Saints following Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)

“And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels.” Ephesians 3:8-10 The Message

Jesus: The Inexhaustible One (Part 2 of The JesusLife)

When Jesus looks at your life .. He sees how deep His love can reach and heal your inside life .. He sees how wide His forgiveness can reach through your outside life .. He sees how far His wholeness can reach into your broken places .. and He sees how generous your life will become through the Cross. The only real explanation of a Christ-Follower’s life is Christ. Without Him .. your life is a puzzle of parts that never fit comfortably within your skin. The “inexhaustible” riches of Christ are scattered all over this planet through lives just like yours today. Your task is to simply live it out in the open .. sometimes very visibly and sometimes seen by no one but the Inexhaustible One who generously (without reservation) gave His life .. so that you could be set free from all the addictive patterns and people who would deny you a Life whole and free in Christ. All of the inexhaustible riches and generosities of Christ are yours today .. to give generously to others .. to share freely .. to love fully .. to laugh .. to listen .. to just be “normal” in this abnormal world. When others ask you .. and they will .. maybe you can explain it … maybe you can’t. But you can take a deep breath and exhale the currency of God’s grace .. the real and rich freedom of being alive in Christ. It doesn’t mean you have your life all together. (In fact: you may be a mess inside and out .. you may feel like you can’t take another step .. you may have no idea what the day holds) But you can join an old Christ-Follower who discovered that His everyday life began and ended in the risen life of Jesus. You can know this: You won’t exhaust Christ’s redeeming and restoring love that is yours today. It only takes a moment …

“For my part, I am going to boast of nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate.” Galatians 6:14 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to the “Foolish Fellowship of Cross Boasters” and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)

“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. 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.” Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus: The Inviting One … Part 1 of the JesusLife

Jesus never sends anyone away to find themselves. It is the way of our “old lives” to want to flee .. to hide .. to be alone .. to find my own peace of mind. That is an old life and it always ends up alone .. no matter how much comfort it wraps itself in. The life Jesus invites you to find is His life. He openly and without hesitation invites you to follow him or just come to him as you are. You don’t have to clean yourself up. You don’t have to show him how hard you’ve tried to do the right things. You don’t have to act a certain way for Jesus to invite you into His life. He already knows every pressure point in your life. He knows because He had the same pressures .. even more. He already knows how limited and futile your life becomes when you try to figure it out on your own. Your “old life” whispers that you have to do your part first before God will help. The life Jesus offers you is one that begins first with Him and continues in His life and in His love. Yes .. He knows where you are tired and what is making you tired. He knows where you are worn out and what is wearing you out. He knows how dry a religious life becomes without His indwelling life nourishing you deeply and intimately throughout the day. He knows what a real rest looks like in you. And still … Jesus invites you to walk alongside His life. He knows you may be suspicious or hesitant. He knows because He became you .. all the stuff inside you. You’ve already got enough heavy and ill-fitting issues in front of your life today. Do you hear what He offers you: “Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly”. Where will you find such a guarantee or invitation like this today? He only asks for a moment of your time. It may turn out to be life-changing. And it only takes a moment …

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Tired-Worn Out-Burned Out .. Refueled-Restored-Refilled Followers of Jesus and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org) *** Please excuse the previous 9/1 entry’s errors. My unedited copy went out by mistake … Shalom!***

“After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at work collecting taxes. Jesus said, “Come along with me.” And he did — walked away from everything and went with him. Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner.” Luke 5:27-29 The Message

Who will you invite to dinner…?

There was no other way for Jesus to reach you. He had to take on “every detail” of your life. And “every detail” means every detail of who you are. There was no other way. You wouldn’t want to leave your “everything” and follow Him if you thought He couldn’t cover every detail of your life. And His words have not changed in 2000 years: “Come along with me” . And something !else hasn’t changed: Jesus still sits down around a dinner table with “tax” men and women .. disreputable men and women .. men and women with hidden and visible pains .. men and women with every kind of trials .. and men and women with every kind of sin. There was no other way to reach you. So maybe .. You .. are to be a Levi and invite your friends to meet Jesus around a table. Who will you invite? Jesus still meets men and women just like you .. in your present circumstances .. in your present struggles .. in your present overwhelming pressures. There isn’t one detail in your life today that would make Jesus walk away from you. In fact .. when He asks you to leave everything .. He knows how hard that is for you. For some it is life-changing all on it’s own .. To leave everything to follow Jesus. .. To risk everything .. Your reputation and character .. Just so that friends you’ve known a long tome can meet this same Jesus. He’s not asking you to become religious. He asking you to follow Him and that means He is going to go forward through your everything so that you can become His everything. There will be those who don’t understand nor will they try. And the same good news to a filthy tax collector is the same good news that is your life today. It only takes a moment …

“It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go through

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Christ-Followers and to everyone who holds to this promise: He will

“He remembered to love us, a bonus .. To his dear family, Israel — indefatigable love. ” Psalm 98:3

God remembers …?

On top of everything God has done for us … He throws in a bonus .. “He remembered to love us”. As if God needed to remind himself at the core of who He is and the core of what we desperately need and long for? By now “You” Grippers have figured out that I love this word “indefatigable” ! I love it because it reminds me to remember that nothing in my life or your life will ever wear out the deep truth-based .. grace-nailed .. running-down-the-road love The Father has for us. And Jesus has loved each of us at the very places of fatigue and repeated failures to make ourselves good enough .. smart enough .. or just plain needy enough to be noticed by God. In order to really love us .. He went to the most loveless places in our hearts and loved us even further by becoming everything in you and me that not only refused to be loved by God but even resisted and rebelled from being loved so freely and and completely. I love that God remembers His indefatigable love .. and it is my everyday .. for every moment prayer that His life would fill you to to overflowing with indefatigable love. I began writing Grace-Gripped five years ago this month. It was first written under First Love but became GG shortly after. It has always been written from a “living in Christ” today journey of following Jesus and even more letting Jesus walk into any room in my heart. I will be taking a two week break from Grace-Gripped while Carolyn and I spend two weeks around the North Shore of Boston, MA. We will see a few friends but mainly we are going to let the Father .. the Son .. and the Spirit (the perfect relationship) drench us in His Indefatigable Love. We are so thankful for this opportunity to live by the shore for this “moment” of time. So .. I may write a Grip or two .. but mainly I’m just gripping Carolyn’s hand .. but not while we’re enjoying Bob’s Clam Hut. May the peace of Jesus .. His whole-making indefatigable love wash over and over you and saturate you inside and out. grace on .. Ken

“You are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:6 The Message

Who are you really …?

You were born into a broken and rapidly failing world. No matter how much you want this world to be fair .. it is fatally broken. You grew up in different homes .. some with two parents .. some with one .. and all of them desperately needing the healing gospel of a new life and whole-making love of Jesus. You’ve tried: to do your best .. to make a difference .. to find out who you really are inside and out. As one group of JesusFollowers say: “Despite the lingering effects of sin, I am (That means You!) a restored son (and daughter) of the sovereign Lord, whose Spirit is at work in my weakness, displaying His glory and advancing His kingdom.” This same God who wrote to a group of “saints” in Rome of all places (same as you!) still writes with the same grace and truth that He has called you ( a very big word .. being called by God) to become All that He has created you to be in His Son. You cannot become whole apart from Jesus! In fact .. you will only discover that a partially whole life is just as miserable on the inside as a wholly un-whole life. And in Christ .. Your life becomes whole! Yes, it is a mystery and much of the time you will doubt that God can make you whole. You’ll see others who look whole or try and compare your life to others and that too will lead to a dead end. The fact is .. God came after you .. the real you .. the messed-up-on-the-inside you .. And He put your whole life together through His son. Why? Because He is Sheer Generosity when it comes to making anyone who trusts in Him … Real! He is living His life through you so that others can see firsthand how this Sheer Generous One works in once un-real looking lives. You are His walking .. breathing .. trusting .. forgiving .. everyday friend. You’re called .. To live in .. To love with and To lean upon the risen indwelling life of Jesus. This is real for your life today. And fortunately .. His sheer generous call upon you is only a moment away .. and it only takes a moment …

“Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.” Romans 3:24 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Real and Becoming Real Jesus Followers and friends of Priority One (ken@priorityone.org)

“… his unique identity as Son of God was shown by the Spirit when Jesus was raised from the dead, setting him apart as the Messiah, our Master. Through Him we received both the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others wh receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus.” Romans 1:3-5 The Message

Your unique identity…?

There is no one like you: Your DNA .. Your family .. Your life history. There is one life-history that is very simple but you’ll find it in the most complicated and complex situations and relationships. His life reads like this: Son of God .. Messiah .. Master .. raised from the dead. Those last four words will forever change your life. His life gives you a true new identity. No matter how good life gets in this life ..there is something inside of you that you can’t fix. You can disguise it .. relocate it .. and try and control it. But you can’t change the deepest things that make you who you are. Only God can. And the biggest surprise is that God doesn’t change what you think needs changing. He changes those things in you that will give you the same identity as His Son. For that .. Jesus took on every identity ever created and carried yours and everyone else who trusts in Him to the grave. And then .. He rose from the dead and gives you the power and life today to live a life of trust in His life in you. It is His life that gives you a new identity .. His risen life. Anything else that you trust in will not last. And between what is real and false is the identity-healer called grace. Even at this moment God is working in your heart and mind bringing you to wholeness in His Risen Life .. in you! The “one thing” in front of your life today is whether you are going to live trusting in Christ or trying to make your identity on your own. It only takes a moment …

“The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30b-31 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Radically-Raised followers of Jesus and friends of Priority One (Ken@priorityone.org)

“I will lift my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 New American Standard

Have you made room for singing today …?

Have you made room for God’s help today? He’s not going to force His help on you. He’s made mountains. He’s been a shield against overwhelming odds. He’s promised to be a daily source of abiding strength to everyone who loves Him. In fact, He’s been known to be the strength of the faintest and the help to the mightiest. The loudest voice doesn’t win his help … it is the longing voice that the Mountain Maker hears and sees. “My help comes from the Lord” … fills the driest heart .. and it will fill you heart today. You don’t have to be at your lowest to draw from God’s strength. You don’t have to exhaust yourself before you ask His help. Jesus said He would send the One who would be your Help .. your Friend .. and your indwelling Strength. A once-blinded- religious-murderer learned this secret: “I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”(Phil. 4:12-MSG) … and that holy secret is openly yours today .. for the asking .. for the taking .. and for the singing. It seems that is the only payment He asks for: Your voice singing thanks from your heart. He can’t force you to sing. And sometimes .. the moment or situation requires all that you are and have to trust in the Lord .. when competing lesser-stengths offer their aid. The Lord doesn’t promise to fix your problem .. take away your temptation .. or remove every barrier. He promises to be your Strength .. Your Help .. and your Shield. You don’t have to wait until you’ve run out of options … You only have to take a moment to ask .. and maybe later take a moment to sing. Don’t know the words…? Don’t worry … just begin and the words will flow. It only takes a moment…

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in him and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him.” Psalm 28:7 New American Standard

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Strengthened and Helped Followers of Jesus and friends of Priority One(Ken@priorityone.org)

“When my life was slipping away, I remembered God, And my prayer got through to you, made it all the way to your Holy Temple. Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds, walk away from their only true love. But I’m worshipping you, God, calling out in thanksgiving! And I’ll do what I promised I’d do! Salvation belongs to God!” Jonah 2:7-9 The Message

Where do you turn …?

When you’re at the end of your rope … When you’ve tried to go it on your own… When you’ve run out of answers …? God has thrown open the doors for you to turn towards him. He has never waited for you to turn first. He could have because He is God: He made you .. gave you life .. and came after you long before you ever turned your heart towards him! He’s there at the bottom when you think you are all alone. He’s there beside you in the dark and you can’t see clearly. He’s there with salvation .. a saving life .. a saving promise .. and a saving love that is greater than anything you’ve done or will ever do. He doesn’t gloat in your misery but He does give unconditionally. Why would you turn anywhere else for help today? Jesus stands ready to stand by your side .. to stand before you .. and to keep you standing when you’ve run out of strength to stand or hope. He’s there when no one else will stand with you. He’s there for you. So .. where will you turn today? It only takes a moment …

“Don’t let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don’t let heroes brag of their exploits. Don’t let the rich brag of their riches. If you brag, brag of this and this only: “That you understand and know me. I’m God, and I act in loyal love. I do what’s right and things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks.” God’s decree. Jeremiah 9:22-24 The Message

Ken Chester: Grace-Gripped is sent M-F to Heart-Turned Jesus-followers and friends of Priority One (Ken@priorityone.org)