Grace is a word most people don’t totally get. Is it the prayer you say before you dig into mom’s spaghetti or the ability to strut in a dress and stiletto heels while perfectly balancing a book on your head? When the Bible talks about grace, it means something totally different. Grace means you didn’t earn your relationship with God, but he loves you anyway. Grace is like generosity, and love is the gift.

According to Ephesians 2:4-10, every believer is saved by God’s grace because with out Jesus Christ, there would be no mercy. Every person ever born—except Jesus—is on the “outs” with God (sin separated us from him). Jesus paid the price required to set things right. This salvation is like a Christmas present. Nobody can earn it, and nobody deserves it; but that’s not the point. Jesus had compassion for everyone because he loved them. He made sure that anyone who wanted to get closer to God has a way to do so. It’s the best present ever!

You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. It was not the result of your own efforts, so you cannot brag about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 NCV

Excerpted from Revolve™ 2009: The Complete New Testament. © 2008 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Holy Bible, New Century Version. © 2005 Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

In seven days, our friends at 30 Hour Famine begin one of their famine weekends. This year at Dream On, thousands of you, whether you’re a teen girl, a mom, or a youth pastor, stepped up and decided to participate in the famine. That was AMAZING! And now is the time to have the experience for yourself.

Here at The Revolve Tour, we want you to know we’re cheering you on every step of the way. If this is your first famine, be encouraged, it’s ours too! If you’re a famine veteran, big time kudos for making a difference in someone’s life year after year. And if you’ve never participated in the famine, it’s not too late to sign up by going here: http://www.30hourfamine.org/about.

We want to know all about your famine experience, so send us your videos, pictures, and experiences after you’re done with the famine. Remember to check back next week for our 30 Hour Famine week at RevolveTour.com.

Thank you for your selfless participating in the famine. We love you!

Hopefully you are finding some time to relax and enjoy a snowball here and there. In the meantime I thought I’d share a little bit about my summer and tackle one of the questions we get often.

THE QUESTION: “Why does God allow bad things to happen?”

You know, something light and easy.

It’s a tough question and let me say right here and right now, I’m not saying I can answer it, but I was hoping that through sharing a few encounters I’ve had this summer, maybe you’d find some encouragement.

STORY #1

I went to Zambia in June with Hoops of Hope to deliver some backpacks that many of you helped us raise money for by shooting hoops. (Thank you so much btw!!!)

One of the moments that impacted me was meeting a volunteer caregiver named Pavis and her baby girl Joy.

Pavis volunteers her time once a week to visit Monica, who is HIV positive, and provide her care. It is such a long walk for Monica to get to the clinic. It’s a very long walk for Pavis, as well.

Pavis is a mom and a farmer. It’s not like she can hop in her car and run a few quick errands. And it’s not like Pavis has a ton of resources herself. But once a week she straps baby Joy onto her back and heads to Monica’s village to love her.

I asked her why she volunteered so much of her time each week to care for Monica.

She told me, “I lost both of my parents to HIV. This is just my way of giving back.”

Oh.

So let me get this straight.

That’s a really bad thing that happened to you. Losing both of your parents.

And you are choosing to love others and serve out of this tragedy that happened to you.

Hmm . . .

(More stories coming soon!)

Grace is a word most people don’t totally get. Is it the prayer you say before you dig into mom’s spaghetti or the ability to strut in a dress and stiletto heels while perfectly balancing a book on your head? When the Bible talks about grace, it means something totally different.

Grace means you didn’t earn your relationship with God, but he loves you anyway. Grace is like generosity, and love is the gift.

According to Ephesians 2:4-10, every believer is saved by God’s grace because without Jesus Christ, there would be no mercy. Every person ever born—except Jesus—is on the “outs” with God (sin separated us from him). Jesus paid the price required to set things right.

This salvation is like a Christmas present. Nobody can earn it, and nobody deserves it; but that’s not the point. Jesus had compassion for everyone because he loved them. He made sure that anyone who wanted to get closer to God has a way to do so. It’s the best present ever!

Excerpted from Revolve™ 2009, The Complete New Testament. Copyright © 2008 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Published in Nashville, TN, by Thomas Nelson. Used with permission. All rights reserved.