Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. - James 1:17-18 (ESV)

The grace of God is a beautiful truth. When we realize what God has done for us it can be overwhelming. But when we encounter difficulty and tragedy, our rest and awe of the grace of God can grow dim. How do we continue to see God’s grace even in the difficulties of life? As we come together this week we will consider God’s good gifts to us by looking at James 1.

And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship. - Acts 20:36-38 (ESV)

Working alongside people in ministry develops friendships and bonds. We are meant to weave our lives together. And when we do this in the body of Christ, embracing our messiness, giving each other grace, and pointing each other toward truth, we then become more than friends. I’ve experienced this. And when that is lost through distance or death or disagreement, it’s jarring. Sometimes we can struggle with a fear of reengaging because of a feeling of loss.

. . . and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:19-20 (ESV)

We see their mug shots on the news. We quickly drive by them when see the ‘chain gang’ picking up trash on the side of the road. We fear what they have done and what they might do. In our minds, criminals are there because of their bad choices and sins. We think they need help. We doubt they could ever help us. And we would look with suspicion at any of them that would seek to lead or teach or preach to us. After all, they're criminals.

But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” - Acts 19:15 (ESV)

With the 500 year anniversary of the start of the reformation approaching in October, I was recently listening to the opening lecture of a series on Martin Luther. He was the medieval monk with a mallet that kicked off the movement that later became the reformation. The discussion turned to how different his thoughts, ideas, and fears were than modern people, including evangelicals. The presenter spoke about his world that like Luther's song (A Mighty Fortress), would have been filled with literal devils. He would have feared journeying through the woods at night for fear of supernatural creatures attacking him.

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He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. - Acts 18:25 (ESV)

When Jesus said he would build His church, I’m not sure we believed him. We have all kinds of ideas and schemes to build the church. But God often does it in unexpected ways and he does it with an interesting collection of characters - like us. That’s true of the church at Ephesus. While Paul at first preaches there, others are instrumental in helping it grow numerically as well as growing their faith along the way.