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To Philemon our dear friend and coworker, 
to Apphia our sister, 
to Archippus our fellow soldier, 
and to the church that meets in your home.  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon 1:1-3
Grace to you.
And peace.
From God our Father
And from Jesus our Lord 
What a greeting!
Grace to you. 
Not my grace, but the supernatural grace that comes from Jesus.
Not my peace, but the peace that comes from someone immeasurably bigger.
Grace and peace to you.
That's what Paul is communicating to this whanau, to this community, to these people.
Grace and peace to you.
How well am I communicating Grace and Peace?
Paul is being a conduit here, a conduit of God's peace, Gods grace. 
The grace I've received from our God who gently and quietly pursues and nudges, who forgives me, who encourages me, I want to pass on.
The glimpses of peace that I have in this troubled world from knowing that all will be made new, that someone bigger has a bigger story that He is writing.
Grace and peace to you.
We may not and may never fully grasp these things, but we can be their conduit from God our Father and from Jesus our Lord to the people around us.
Maybe that's what church is.
Be the church.
Speak grace and peace with our words, actions, with every touch, just a little more today.
#lovepeople
#whanau
#openourborders
#bethechurch

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