Two weekends ago I candidated for the position in Baltimore. Karlyn and I prayed that God would make His will in this opportunity abundantly clear. I have been serving at Grace Bible Church in Moore, SC, as a lay member. God has equipped me for the last 7 years at Grace. It has been the greenhouse that God has used to nurture and grow me. But I have waited to see if God would ever provide for me an opportunity for vocational ministry. I believe that God has clearly led; this is it. Today, Arlington Baptist Church voted and extended an official offer for me to be their Minister of Youth and Music. We accepted. Lord willing, we will be moving sometime in August to Baltimore, MD.

Karlyn and I praise God for his faithfulness through the church body at Grace Bible, as it has been our home and we love them. We praise God for His continued kindness as He has nurtured us for His glory. And we praise God for His faithfulness in leading us to this new ministry at Arlington Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD.

this is “grace at work”

Reminding all to see Grace at Work,
- jblaha

“…and they lived happily ever after.” – at least that is the way that it is supposed to end. But, as we all know, this is not really the way it is; or is it?

In the beginning of time, God created an intimate relationship between a man and a women which possesses privileges which can only be shared exclusively with each other. God established this marriage relationship as a living picture of the love covenant which God would make between Himself and a body of people called the church. The church is not made up of good, upright and lovely people. On the contrary, the church is comprised of evil, immoral and vile people who have despised God. Yet God demonstrated His love for them while they were still sinners by coming to earth as a man named Jesus and suffering the punishment for sin that they deserved. Jesus, the Bridegroom, did this so that the church, His bride, might live with Him forever. They deserved eternal separation from God and His glory, but because He loved them and died in their place, they will live with Him forever.

Today Karlyn and I are committing to God to live out this picture of marriage, which represents Jesus and His church, by faithfully looking at Jesus as our example and substitute. But, more than that, Karlyn and I are also apart of Jesus’ church. We are His beloved whom He died for. We will never be separated from God; Jesus suffered our punishment for us. Rather, we will live with Him forever. So, for Karlyn and me, it is true; we will live happily ever after to the praise of the glory of His grace.

Revelation 19:7
“Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.”

Death is no more the king of dread
Since our Immanuel rose,
He took the tyrant’s sting away,
And spoil’d our hellish foes.

See how the Conqueror mounts aloft,
And to his Father flies,
With scars of honour in his flesh,
And triumph in his eyes.

There our exalted Saviour reigns,
And scatters blessings down,
Our Jesus fills the middle seat
Of the celestial throne.

Raise your devotion, mortal tongues,
To reach his bless’d abode,
Sweet be the accents of your songs
To our incarnate God.

Bright angels, strike your loudest strings,
Your sweetest voices raise,
Let heaven, and all created things,
Sound our Immanuel’s praise.

In the cold prison of a tomb,
The dead Redeemer lay,
Till the revolving skies had brought
The third, th’ appointed day.

Hell and the grave unite their force
To hold our God in vain,
The sleeping Conqueror arose,
And burst their feeble chain.

To thy great Name, Almighty Lord,
These sacred hours we pay,
And loud hosannas shall proclaim
The triumph of the day,

Salvation and immortal praise
To our victorious King,
Let heaven, and earth, and rocks, and seas,
With glad hosannas ring.

Thank you, Isaac Watts.

22 “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household.”  (ESV)

Although it is not necessary to keep the distinct instructions of this law (after Jesus kept and fulfilled the entire law through His life and death), the law still teaches us what pleases God. By the law, we recognize in what God delights, so we can know how shape our worship and lives. This, what our family attempts to observe, focuses our minds on the goodness of God.

I appreciate the effort that my Dad has made to deliberately focus our families eyes on God through our family taditions. Here is a post from my family blog which briefly recounts this years feast in my Dad’s words.

Annual Feast to Praise God 2010

this is “grace at work”

When I consider what is important to me, I immediately submit essentials such as God, the Gospel and the Body of Christ – the Church. Any follower of Jesus Christ will quickly affirm these as subjects of ultimate importance. After all, they are the core topics about which the Christian Bible is written.

But, what is truly important to me? What do I make much of? When I become the subject of a conversation by others, what is it that people say I am all about? Sure, it is easy for me to quickly pledge allegiance to the central truths of the Christian faith. But, is my allegiance obvious to others when they observe my life? I find that I do not always make a big deal about the same things about which the Bible makes a big deal.

The health of the Body of Christ is dependent upon believers emphasizing the big deals of Scripture. The Bible calls the Church to unite around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the express image of God. The whole Godhead is pleased to live in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Head of the Body. His Name will be exalted above every name. And it pleased the Father to crush Jesus in our place. Jesus represents all that God is; therefore, He represents the big deals of Scripture. Unfortunately, I throughout my life, like many other,  have fallen victim to the influence of spiritual leaders who make a big deal about things of little or no importance. They build their life and teaching around things that are insignificant or even irrelevant to the Name of Christ. They die on hills that are far from the battle and take down their own comrades in the process.  Ultimately, the legacy of their life is that which takes away from the Name of Jesus rather than magnifying it. This will cause damage to the Body of Christ.

So, I ask myself again, “What do I magnify?” I  now find myself  in a sphere of influence over people who are looking to me for guidance. What are they gleaning? The psalmist encourages me by saying, “O Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exult His name together.” The parallelism here leads me to believe that magnification is tied closely to exultation. It must be my goal in all I do and say to lift up specifically and clearly the character and works of the Lord.

This is possible only through a complete submission to the Word of God. I must first acknowledge that I am prone to wander and naturally desire for my name to be exulted rather than the name of Jesus. So, humility must be  my constant state of being. I must saturate my mind and affections with the whole Word of God so that God’s thoughts and affections become mine. And finally, I must plead with the Spirit of God to lead me and teach me daily so that I become a living channel of worship to God.

So, what do I magnify? My prayer and plea is that it is the Lord. “O God, kill me, that is my flesh, and make me a boisterous instrument used to proclaim those things which are your big deals.”

this is “grace at work”

On June 29, 2008, I turned 30.

On  October 4, 2008, I gained my very first sister-in-law. My brother was married.

On October 18, 2008, I entered the covenant of marriage with my wonderful wife Karlyn Tipmore Blaha. The ceremony was beautiful and wonderful. It took place in Fremont, MI, among the gorgeous autumn colors. We spent our honeymoon in a cabin in Colorado. We flew into Albuquerque, NM, drove to Pagosa Springs (where we spent the week), and finally drove to Denver where we flew home. It was amazing!

In November, Karlyn and I spent our first Thanksgiving holiday in Madison, WI, with Karlyn’s best friend. What a wonderful vacation.

In December, Karlyn and I spent our first Christmas together in our own apartment. Karlyn gave me a watch and a few other cool gifts.

In January, Karlyn and I went to  Maryland where we ministered at a teen retreat. The theme was “Shaped by the cross.”

Then, there was our first Valentine’s Day married. We celebrated Karlyn’s  birthday in March – she turned 24. And, of course, there have been so many other small blessings that have shaped the last 9 months of my life. Although I have not been able to blog these memories here, they have been logged into my mind and life and will continue to shape my life.

My desire is to begin to blog regularly once again. This has been a good discipline for me in the past, and I am always encouraged to go back and read what God has done in my life over the years. I have been encouraged by the response that I have received from you as you have commented. Please continue. I hope to encourage you and provoke you to find grace and truth in life. The most complete message of grace and truth comes through Jesus; but, as a follower of Jesus, I want to reflect His message through my life communicated in this blog. Just as the last 9 months have taught me much about God and His will, I pray that the next 9 months and following will teach me so much more.

This is “grace at work.”

this is “grace at work”