24^th October 2009

Acts 11:23

"When he had come and witnessed
the grace of God, He rejoiced."

This was how Barnabas felt
when he met with the Christians at Antioch.
He actually felt "and witnessed
the grace of God amongst them."
Very likely it was as they met for worship.
Jesus said "God is Spirit and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."

When we are deeply committed to worship
as God wants us to be
then worship is taken out of our hands
and placed in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
The grace of God becomes a living and real experience when Christians worship through, and in, the Living Word of God.
Worship needs to express, as Jesus said,
"That you love one another as I have loved you."
It is in the fertile soil of this love that grace can grow.

Also there must be mystery in worship.
If God can be understood by me
then I am not worshipping Him.
The depth of His loving kindness to me
I can never fully understand nor comprehend.
When true forgiveness, love, and the evidence of the Spirit
are present in worshipping congregations
then one feels the grace of God is there.
This was what Barnabas experienced at Antioch
where the name Christian was first used.

If strangers come in and "witness the grace of God"
in our congregations they will not want to go away
because that will be a life-changing experience
that they have never experienced before.