Grace Alive (A Christian Romance)

Part 19

Chapter 19

Branson knelt beside me and put his hands on me, and I could hear him praying but didn’t really know what he was saying.

“Let’s praise the Lord!” Pastor Dom said, and the music got loud again as Branson kept praying over me. Memories invaded my thoughts of my dad and the way he always looked at me. I was a huge mess as God began to talk to me about everything that had happened since I was a kid.

It was never My heart, Zoe. It was never My heart to condemn you. I love you, Zoe. I died for you. I kept seeing my dad wagging his finger at me, and then suddenly I had this image of Jesus. He grabbed me off the ground and held me against His chest. It was such a strong image that I gasped and started crying again, physically feeling the love of God. I’d never felt this way before, and had always thought that if I worked for it God would love me, but never just a love without condition. Wow!

After the music died down quite a bit, I got to my feet, and Branson and I went back to our seats. They took up the offering, and I just sat in my chair with this warm feeling going through me; I could hardly move. I pointed to my purse, and Branson grabbed it and handed it to me. I pulled out a twenty dollar bill and gave it to him. He went up front and dropped it in the bucket along with his tithe. There were a few announcements, and then Pastor Dom came back up.

“Wow! How much God loves us!” Pastor Dom said and threw up his hands. “Let’s turn to Romans 5:17.” People pulled out their cell phones and Bibles. “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in live through the One, Jesus Christ. The gift of righteousness!” Pastor Dom’s voice boomed. He paced the floor with a grin. “Can you earn a gift? If I bought you a birthday gift and handed it to you would you turn around and pay me for it?” Heads shook back and forth.

“Of course not! It’s a gift! You didn’t earn that gift! I gave it to you because I love you.” He came back toward the middle of the crowd, his words hitting me in the face. The gift of righteousness. How come I never saw that verse before? I yanked out my Bible and found the passage. Wow. It was there.

“We can’t earn God’s grace anymore than you can earn a birthday gift! You either receive it freely or you reject it!”

Branson leaned over and hugged me lightly, and I smiled at him. Pastor Dom kept going, practically jumping off the ground in excitement.

“Hebrews 10:12-14 let’s go there!” He raced back to his Ipad that was sitting on the pulpit, touching the screen and grinning like a kid. “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Pastor Dom walked over to the right side of the room and pointed at a man.

“So you mean Christ made a sacrifice once for our sins? It says that He perfected us forever those who are being sanctified? Ah! Can you imagine? Wow! How awesome is that! So even when I screw up, Derek, God still loves me?” The man nodded back at him with a smile.

“Say what? He isn’t going to throw a lightning bolt at me?” Chuckles were heard throughout the room. “So I’m perfected forever? How long is forever, Brenna?” he asked a girl sitting on the other side of the room.

“A really, really long time, Pastor Dom!” she said and laughed.

“Let’s look at another one! This is good stuff! Ephesians 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Pastor Dom started jumping up and down, and people in the crowd started shouting.