GRACE is receiving something unexpected that you did not earn or deserve.  If there is anything in today’s world that we could use more of in our daily lives, it is grace.  People all around us are hurting, struggling, and striving to achieve what they have earned and what they think they deserve.  What would happen if for once they were the recipients of an unexpected dose of generosity that they didn’t see coming? What could happen in their soul if the source of that grace was a church in their own                                          backyard?  I think it could be revolutionary.  It just might be                           the beginning of something huge.

Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless.  That’s                what Jesus wants us to do.  Sometimes we’re too busy doing                  other things or we don’t think we have the resources to do what                                it really takes to make this happen.  The grace stimulus package                            does exactly that.  The money isn’t for the church bills, the staff’s salary, or the pastor’s library.  It is solely for people in your neighborhood that need a helping hand, surprising them with grace. 

Hand out granola bars at a busy intersection in the morning as people sit in traffic on their way to work.  Partner with a gas station to drop the price of gas 25 cents per gallon for a few hours.  Feed the parking meters on a few busy streets downtown so people don’t have to pay to park that day.  Provide a meal for people at your local homeless shelter.  Hand out new sleeping bags where people who don’t have homes are spending the night.

You name it, the sky’s the limit, whatever ways you can think of to extend grace to people in your community who need it most.  Get a group of people together and brainstorm how many ways you could change someone’s life by infusing their day with a tiny ray of sunshine called grace. 

Maybe for this one time in history we can put aside all the things that divide us and distract us and we can truly do something that will make a difference.  God extended grace to each of us in an extraordinary and unimaginable way through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  He wants us to extend the same kind of grace to people around us, and in doing so, maybe they’ll see Him differently.  Regardless of the outcome, for one moment in time, someone’s life will be a little different, a little better.  You can make that happen.  Best of all, it won’t cost you a thing, just slightly less “free” money.