Grace For The Journey

  There is only one heart in all the world that is honoring to God.  Do you know what that is?  It is the heart that beats for the Savior rather than for self.  Far too many Christian hearts beat for Jesus and something else.

• Jesus and a career
• Jesus and a hobby
• Jesus and a relationship
• Jesus and a sports team
• Jesus and a level of comfort
• Jesus and the applause of man

So . . .  is there a something else for you?  To be sure, there are times when we all keep one foot in the Word and let the other foot edge out into the world.  We are continually lured by divided affections for things other than God.

But we must fight against this tendency!  The Bible is completely unambiguous on this matter. Jesus declared in Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.”

Jesus said the only heart that honors Him is one that is totally devoted to Him.  So what does such a heart look like?  It beats in sync with the psalmist’s prayer: “I seek You with all my heart, do not let me stray from Your commands” (Psalm 119:10).  The heart that honors the Lord desires to do His will . . . but it does not stop there.  It is not enough to do what God wants us to do; we must be doing it for the right reason.

The heart that honors Him is not seeking to receive a reward or avoid a consequence.  The heart that honors Him overflows with thanksgiving, because the reward has already been received through faith (forgiveness of sin, full and abundant life, and the certainty of heaven) and the consequence avoided (damnation in hell).  Obedience flows from this heart as a response to and result of what Jesus has already done.

Some people tithe because they are afraid not to.  Some people serve because they feel guilty if they do not.  Some people arrive at church on Sunday because they believe God is keeping track of their attendance.  These are all acts of obedience . . . but done for the entirely wrong reasons.  These actions do not flow from a heart that honors God.  God doesn’t want obedience that is rooted in fear or guilt or desire for reward. That was the motivation of the Pharisees, to whom Jesus delivered a burning rebuke . . .

“You hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”  (Matthew 15:7-9)

On the surface, the Pharisees looked like they were sold out for God.  They did all the right things . . . but for all the wrong reasons.  God wants our obedience to flow from a heart that beats with thanksgiving for the finished work of Jesus Christ.  This is the only heart that honors Him!

This Is God’s Word … This Is Grace For Your Journey …

Rest And Rejoice In This Eternal Truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  At first glance, it might seem that I am going to address the subject of debt.  There are many Christians today who are “broke and still buying,” maxing out credit card after credit card, turning a blind eye to the unyielding admonition of Scripture: “The borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

Not so long ago, when your wallet or bank account got to empty you had to stop buying.  Not anymore!  Today you can race past zero and dig a hole you may never climb out of.  If you’re the United States Government, you simply print reams of dollar bills like they were monopoly money and pass the massive payback burden to another generation.  But that is a topic for another day . . .

Today’s teaching is not about miserable money management, but a generous deliverance through the power of the Gospel.  The Gospel is for those who are spiritually penniless, and yet empowered to buy.

The Bible says in Isaiah 55:1, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”

The Bible also says in Revelation 22:17, “Let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

The Gospel invitation is for all those who have no money; those who are broke.  It’s not that they don’t have enough; they are busted!

So how do you buy without money?

GRACE!

The grace of God is not designed to make up the difference of what we lack to stand righteous before God.  The grace of God is designed to pay the entire cost of our salvation through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is only the proud, Pharisaical heart that believes it beats in harmony with the Almighty.  Only the self-righteous believe they have enough money for a seat at the table to come, buy, and eat.  But this is not what God says!

Words fail to capture just how desperate our condition is after Adam’s catastrophic fall in the Garden.  It’s bad enough that we don’t have enough money to come, buy, and eat; worse still, whatever we do have, we spend on everything other than the things of God.  Even if we had enough, we wouldn’t want to buy what God was selling anyway!  We are so corrupted, so self-absorbed, so desperately wicked and sick, we never rightly see ourselves.  It’s like peering at ourselves in a carnival mirror, seeing a reflection that is grossly distorted, and believing we look OK . . . or, at the very least, I look a whole lot better than many of you!

We look at our morality and see others who are far worse than we are . . . and believe we are OK.  We look to our good works and see others who fall short of our efforts . . . and believe we are OK.  We look to our goodness and see others who are bad to the bone . . . so we believe we are OK.  We believe that in God’s economy we are graded on a curve . . . and at least we aren’t as bad as the next guy.  We sound very much like the Pharisee in the temple, purring, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11).

But this is not the Gospel.  The Gospel tells us we have nothing, are nothing, and can do nothing about our condition.  We are stone cold dead in trespasses and sins, “No one is righteous, not even one . . . All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23).  We can only cry along with the tax collector, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13).

Because of our abysmal poverty, God has to do it all.  And He does do it all through the supernatural power of the Gospel!  It has been well said that the one thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that makes it necessary; God’s remedy for our sin is our Savior.

Thank the Lord for His wonderful invitation, “Come, you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, drink the water of life without cost!  Jesus has paid the price in full!”

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  The Bible says in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

In light of Jesus’ words here, what is the motivating force for obedience?  For some it is fear.  They are afraid of the consequences of disobedience; they try to obey out of a sense of dread.  They try harder and harder, but it never works for long.  We are simply too weak to obey in our own strength out of a sense of fear.  For others, the motivating force is guilt.  They feel guilty over past disobedience – the problems it caused and the people they hurt – and they resolve to be better in the future.  Their resolve caused them to do more initially, but it never works for long.  We are simply too inconsistent to obey in our own strength out of a sense of guilt.

The motivation for those in whom the truths of the Gospel have taken root is rooted in gratitude.  They look back at all God has done for them in Christ, and out of a heart overflowing with thanksgiving, they desire to walk in obedience.  Looking back at the grace we have been given is a wonderful motivation for living a life of obedience . . . but if we stop there, we have stopped short of a full understanding of the Gospel and the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Gratitude that looks back on grace received is a powerful motivator for obedience, but it can easily morph into attempting to pay God back for all that He has done, a feat which we could never accomplish.  If we could pay God back, it would not be grace that was given to us in the first place!  For “if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6).  What we need is not only gratitude that looks back on past grace, but faith that looks forward to the future grace promised in the Gospel. This attitude of looking to the past and to the future is beautifully and succinctly expressed in Romans 8:32 . . .

“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?”

The first part of this verse focuses on the grace God has already given to His people; the second half focuses on the grace God will give to His people.  The ultimate motivation for obedience is the combination of looking back in gratitude for grace given and looking forward in expectation to grace promised.  These are the bookends of living a life of obedience (albeit imperfectly) for every disciple of Christ.  John Piper explains:

“The faith in future grace is the power for obedience that preserves the gracious quality of human obedience.  Obedience does not consist in paying God back and thus turning grace into a trade.  Obedience comes from trusting in God for more grace – future grace – and thus magnifying the infinite resources of God’s love and power.”

Our hearts should be filled with gratitude over the grace we have already been given and brimming with positive anticipation for the grace we have been promised and will experience when we are brought home to glory.  What God began, He will complete (Philippians 1:6) and He will complete it with the grace of the Gospel, poured out in the past, the present, and in the future.  When God promised to never leave or forsake us, He promised us a future grace we can bank on!

The power for obedience is rooted in the promise of obedience, because of the One who made the promise.  He is faithful to fulfill His promises even when we are not faithful to them.  As the Bible assured us, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful – for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

When we look back in gratitude for the grace we have been given and forward to the grace we have been promised, we are propelled by the unimaginable love and mercy of God, who has given us all we need to live the life He has called us to live – by confident faith in indescribable grace.  Look back in gratitude and look forward by faith and there is no telling what God can do through you!

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  Those of you who are into fitness and health, might be thinking that I am speaking about the body. I have good news for you.  I am not!  I am speaking about your life … your blood-bought, born of grace, blessed of God life in Christ.  So, what is the shape of your life?

The shape of your life is determined by the size of your love.  Love God … live large. Love self…live small.  When your heart is focused on anything less than God, the shape of your life begins to shrink.

• When power shapes your life you shrink.
• When materialism shapes your life you shrink.
• When personal preference shapes your life you shrink.
• When status shapes your life you shrink.
• When pleasure shapes your life you shrink.
• When success shapes your life you shrink.

What you give your heart over to … what you love, ultimately shapes your life.  When your love for anything in creation replaces your love for the Creator, you grow only into a fraction of the person God is calling you to be.

The Bible says 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Small lives are shaped by the love of the world.  Large lives are shaped by the love of the Word.  Small lives are shaped by the imagination of man.  Large lives are shaped by the revelation of God.

What is shaping your life?

The grand affection of your heart is lived out moment by moment each day by the thousands of small choices you make.  Choose this day who you will serve.  To be sure, the creation can seem more real and more relevant than the Creator.  Satan sends messages through every means imaginable to seduce our hearts, satisfy our flesh, and shrink our lives.  Resist temptation and flee the devil and settle for nothing less than the God who sought you, caught you, and bought you with the blood of His precious Son.

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

  Memorial Day, originally called “Decoration Day,” is a federal holiday observed annually in the United States on the last Monday of May.  There are many stories as to its actual beginnings; there is strong evidence pointing to Southern women’s groups and schoolchildren who decorated Confederate graves in various cities to commemorate the fallen soldiers of the War Between the States.  These observances quickly spread across the country, and in 1868 fallen soldiers of both the Confederate and Union armies were honored at Arlington National Cemetery.

By the 20^th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces in all wars.  Since the late 50’s, the 1,200 soldiers of the 3d U.S. Infantry place small American flags at each of the more than 260,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery on the Thursday before Memorial Day.  They then patrol 24 hours a day during the weekend to ensure that each flag remains standing.

Sadly, the traditional observance of Memorial Day has diminished over the years.  There are still many people who visit cemeteries and memorials to honor those who have died in military service, but far too many of our countrymen have forgotten the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day.  At many cemeteries, the graves of the fallen are ignored and neglected; many towns that once held Memorial Day parades and remembrances now only celebrate a three-day weekend that marks the beginning of summer.

Yesterday at First Baptist, we took time at the beginning of our worship service to pay special tribute to all those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.  We also believe it is both a delight and a duty to thank all those who have returned from defending our great nation. Almost every one of them has been wounded in some way by what they witnessed and went through. Some of those veterans are now dealing with physical challenges; others are burdened with emotional challenges; and still others are struggling with mental challenges.

To be sure, we can never repay them for their sacrifice, and simply saying “Thank you” doesn’t seem like enough, but it is something we should all do – not only this day, but every day. All of them deserve to be part of a moment in which we pause and simply say, “THANK YOU!”

Because of that price these men and women paid with their blood, we have the freedom to gather . . . to praise . . . and to worship in God’s house weekly without fear of persecution.  As Americans, each Memorial Day we should remember those who gave everything that we might live free.

Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”  (John 15:12-14)

Who better to speak of sacrifice than our Sacrificial Lamb? Jesus calls it a “greater love” when we are willing to lay down our lives for others. Every fallen American soldier has demonstrated this greater love for all of us. Let us give God praise and thanks for their willingness to lavish this greater love on us.

And yet, in Christ we see an even higher, more exalted love. We see the Good Shepherd’s humble willingness to lay His life down for His sheep. “He humbled Himself,” the Bible says, “and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8).

The very essence of self-sacrifice and sacrificial love is found in Christ alone.

And there is something truly amazing to notice about the sacrifice of our Savior. Unlike those who sacrificed their lives for their “friends” (fellow man), Christ sacrificed Himself for His enemies!

The Bible says in Romans 5:19, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!”

And in Colossians 1:21 it says, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”

It’s one thing to lay down your life for a friend, but it’s another thing altogether to do if for your enemy . . . and that is exactly what we were when Jesus took our place and died on our cross. We were rebels running from our Savior, not toward Him. We were clinging to the throne of our lives, with no thought whatsoever of relinquishing the throne to Jesus.

Yet in spite of our unwavering enmity toward our Savior, He laid down His life for us . . . WOW! Isn’t that amazing! Truly this is a love that we simply cannot fully comprehend. A love so amazing that it would die for its enemies.

So on this Memorial Day, let us remember all those brave men and women of our armed forces who gave their all for our freedom. Let us honor their memory by doing all we can to support all those who are currently serving in our armed forces around the globe, as well as all of our returning veterans and their families.

And as we remember our veterans, let us also remember our Lord Jesus Christ and the unimaginable sacrifice He offered on our behalf. Remember that He took our beating, our mocking, our nails, our crown of thorns, our forsaking by the Father, and ultimately our death . . . all so that we who believe in Him by faith might have eternal life.

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

The Bible says in Luke 14:28, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”

To be sure, counting the cost when you are preparing to undertake a project is both wise and profitable.  The “tower” in this verse could be a watchtower, a farm building, or some other building project, such as a business enterprise.  Sitting down to count the cost implies a serious approach, one marked by diligence and patience.  If you have ever been involved in a building project of any kind, you undoubtedly took the time to count the cost on the front end – or you found yourself wishing you had!

But when it comes to counting the cost of building your life upon the Rock of Jesus Christ, what cost is really worth counting?  Jesus counted the cost of bringing us into His family of faith . . . and the cost was unimaginable.  He paid for us with His precious blood and did not withhold a single drop!  But that’s not all.   There was the cost of His relationship to His Father; Christ hung forsaken on the cross, while His Father poured out His wrath on Him for all our sins.  Yet God was pleased to make His precious Son the foundation-stone upon which we would build our lives.

So . . . before you get busy building God’s kingdom, is there any cost worth counting in light of the cost Jesus paid for us?  Is there any cost worth counting in light of the fact that whatever we are building for His glory we are building for eternity?  Keeping in view past grace given and future grace promised, is there any cost we are not willing to pay to keep this pearl of great price?  Let’s take a look at just a few of the things that we have received and what we’ve been promised:

Past Grace Received:

• Accepted in the Beloved
• Forgiveness of sins
• From death to life
• Adoption into the family of faith
• From slaves to sons and daughters

Future Grace Promised:

• Perfection in the Beloved
• Promised rest
• Completed consolation
• Eternal joy
• Eternal life

Having earned nothing and having been given everything, we are strengthened and sustained to withhold no service, fear no storm, and neglect no season . . .

 “He holds no parley with unmanly fears,

Where duty bids He confidently steers.

Faces a thousand dangers at her call,

And, hoping in His God, surmounts them all.”

Jesus counted the cost to redeem us and unhesitatingly paid it in full.  He was rejected by those who knew Him well.  Will the world’s disapproval keep us from paying the price?  He was betrayed by one of His disciples.  Will losing friends keep us from paying the price?  He was denied by one of His closest friends.  Will rejection keep us from paying the price?  He was scourged and nailed to a cross and died for our sins.  Will the fear of suffering or death keep us from paying the price?

Remember, our salvation is a free gift, but it cost Jesus everything!  There really is no cost worth counting when we keep the Gospel in sight.  As Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he had great opposition from the likes of Tobias and Sanballat, but he kept on building.  And he did it with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other (Nehemiah 4-6).  May we be so committed to the cause of Christ that we too continue to build, no matter what disapproval, or opposition, or threats we face.

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  All believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are called the “saints” of God – not because they are perfect, but simply because they are His. In the original Greek, the word “hagios,” which is translated as our English “saints,” means “set apart ones.” Saints are those whom God has set aside according to His eternal, sovereign purpose. We read about this in the Bible . . .

“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7)

“To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours.” (1 Corinthians 1:2)

God calls these saints to be “searching saints,” and one of the distinguishing marks of a biblical saint is that they are to be diligently searching are the sacred Scriptures. Jesus said in John 5:39 . . .

“You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me.”

So . . . if you are in Christ you are one of those “set apart for God.” Are you a searching saint who is investing time in searching the Scriptures? The Greek “ereunao,” the word rendered as “search” in John 5:39, can be likened to someone who is panning for gold. Gravel and sand are scooped into a pan and gently agitated in water. The gold panner slowly sifts and pours out the water and lighter materials. The heavier materials, including possible nuggets of gold, sink to the bottom of the sediment. What remains within the pan is then scrutinized (searched) to find any gold that might be there.

The primary reason we are called to be searching saints is because skimming the surface will never bring us into the deep truths of the Gospel. For those who are satisfied with “milk,” a mere surface reading will accomplish this goal. But for those who hunger and thirst after the Master’s “meat,” which will cause them to grow and mature in the faith, a diligent and disciplined searching of the Scriptures is required.

The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews cautioned, “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14). We must dig, sift, and mine our way through God’s holy Word if we wish to find its hidden treasures. Every believer must be a Berean believer . . .

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)

This passage clearly suggests that there is a great return given by God to those who emulate the Bereans in searching the Scriptures. First, the Bereans are said to have been of more noble character than the Thessalonians, and the passage tells us why: it was because of their great passion and priority in searching the Scriptures every day. This was not done when they got around to it, or had nothing else better to do. This was not reserved for their time in corporate worship service. But daily the Bereans searched the sacred Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.
Oh, how we need more Bereans today in the church of Jesus Christ! With so many theologically barren pulpits across our country, we need to be a people of the Word by being a people who are in the Word. The more we search the Scriptures, the more we come face to face with our beloved Savior: “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27).

Think on that Gospel truth for a moment. Regardless of where you open up the Scriptures, you come face to face with Jesus! From Genesis to Revelation we are confronted with our Savior and Lord in every passage. Let us all be “searching saints,” and let this be the commitment of our lives!

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  No doubt you’ve been told, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!”  Not bad advice.  Yet frequently we overlook the rich, God-ordained blessings in the lemons prior to turning them into lemonade.

If you are a disciple of Christ, you will be no stranger to storms, struggles, and suffering.  God has ordained them for your good and His glory.  Far too many in the church today miss the blessing in the storm because they are so busily engaged doing everything in their power to get out of it!  Peter penned words of encouragement to believers who were in the middle of the storm …

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  (1 Peter 1:6-8)

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”  (1 Peter 5:10)

As hard as it is to see when we are in the middle of it, Peter reminds us that our suffering – all of our suffering – is only temporary and for just a little while.  He also reminds us to view our temporary suffering in light of the eternal glory that awaits us on the other side.  In order to get lemonade, you must squeeze the lemons!  In order to receive the promised eternal glory, we have to go through some storms.

Notice that some of the greatest blessings can only be received through the storms of life.  Peter tells us that God Himself will perfect us, which is a great comfort for struggling saints.  We are continually making progress toward that day when we shall be perfected in Jesus.  To be sure, there are many times when our progress feels like one step forward and two, three, or even five steps backwards.  But Scripture assure us that what the God of all grace began in us He will one day complete (Philippians 1:6); and the workshop God often uses is the fiery furnace of affliction.

To be confirmed, strengthened, and established is to be partakers of the infinite grace of the God of all grace.  We shall be preserved.  We shall be protected.  We shall make progress.  And all of this will be worked out to perfection through the storms that we must endure on this side of His finished work and faithful reign.  So let us not be so quick to turn lemons into lemonade!

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”

You see, the storms of life are not simply to be endured, they are to be embraced.  The eternal weight of glory we are being prepared for simply cannot be compared to the momentary and light affliction we must pass through for a season.  The refiner’s fire is, in fact, producing character in us that more and more each day reflects the character of Jesus.  Who of you reading this right now would not gladly embrace the storm winds if it means coming out on the other side more like Jesus?

Our God of all grace will give us all the grace we need to receive and respond to every trial we face and every storm we must pass through.  As Paul assured us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

His grace is not only pardoning, it is empowering;

His grace is not only cleansing, it is character-building;

His grace is not only sustaining, it is strengthening.

Because His grace is as abundant as it is amazing, let us take the lemons of life and learn the lessons they are designed to teach us.  Do that first, before you work to turn those lemons into lemonade!

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  If someone asked you how you would measure maturity as a Christian, how would you answer?  Would you focus on performance, effort, and good works?  Here are some of the most common yardsticks Christians give when asked about measuring maturity . . .

• Daily devotions
• Consistent prayer life
• Weekly witnessing
• Regular church attendance
• Faithful tither
• Scripture memorization
• Outreach oriented
• Mission minded

As good as these answers are, they are not accurate measurements of true maturity in the Christian.  Think about it: if faithful, consistent practice of spiritual disciplines was the measure of maturity, the Pharisees would have been the holiest individuals on earth!  Yet, Jesus said their holiness never moved from their head to their heart.  The Pharisees were more concerned with what their hands and feet were doing than how their heart was developing.

Real Christian maturity is never measured by behavior; it is only to be measured by belief.  Maturity is the growing and developing of our faith.  For the Christian believer even that is a work of God.  The Bible says in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God who works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure.”  Later on Paul said that his one great goal was to “… and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him (deepen His relationship with Jesus) and the power of His resurrection (be able to experience power to live and show others the difference Jesus is making moment by moment) …” (Philippians 3:9-10)

What we believe about Christ’s behavior on our behalf is the true measurement of our maturity.  The Pharisees believed it was all about their work . . . their effort . . . their performance . . . their righteousness.  In their eyes, what they did made them holy.  And the more they did the more holy they believed they were.  This is why Jesus excoriated them.

Christian maturity is grounded in our understanding that it is all about what Jesus has already done on our behalf . . . His work . . . His effort . . . His performance . . . His righteousness.  Our behavior cannot gain for us what He has already accomplished for us.  Christ’s behavior secured for us everything we need, and it is only in our believing it and living by it every day that we find ourselves walking in the way of maturity.

The more we grasp the truth of the Gospel and God’s Word, the deeper we drive the roots of Christian maturity into the soil of the sanctified life.  Our sense of sin deepens; our hope brightens; our zeal quickens.  Daily we must become ever more seized by the truth of God’s unconditional love poured out for us on Calvary – while we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8).  If God didn’t wait for us to be good before He loved us, He’s not waiting for us to get better to keep loving us!  We are completely loved in the Beloved!  The mature Christian is under-girded and uplifted by this truth, seeks to learn more about it, and walks in it moment by moment.

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace For The Journey

  The Lord Jesus Christ is many things to His precious people. He is Creator, Sustainer, Master, Mediator, Messiah, Lord, Light, Life, Protector, Advocate, Rock, Redeemer, Savior, Shield, Bridegroom, Brother, and Friend.

Friend? The King of kings and Lord of lords is our friend? Yes, and not just our friend, but our Best Friend! Jesus even said to this His disciples . . . Listen to what the Bible says about this marvelous truth . . . “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)

In the times of the Old Testament, only a very special few had the privilege of being designated as friends of God. The Bible describes both Abraham (James 2:23) and Moses (Exodus 33:11) as “friends of God.” The Lord referred to David as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22).

But all that changed through the cross work of Christ. When the veil in the holy temple was torn from top to bottom on Good Friday, everything about our access to God changed! Direct and immediate access to God was available once again, just as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We no longer need a priest to approach the throne of God on our behalf. We may now “approach the throne of grace with confidence,” as Hebrews 4:16 assures us, “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

In John 15:15, the Greek word used for “friend” is much deeper than our general understanding of the word friend today. Jesus was not talking about a casual, “Hey, how-ya-doin?” relationship, but rather a deeply intimate covenant friendship that is marked by unconditional love, unwavering devotion, and total trust.

One of the best ways to demonstrate that we are pursuing this kind of intimate relationship with Jesus is by the amount of time we spend with Him. Is He simply an item on your “things-to-do” list, to be checked off each day? Or is He sitting atop the throne of your life as your highest priority?

To be sure, Jesus wants us to have a daily time of devotion with Him, but that is only the beginning. He wants all of us! He wants to be invited into every aspect of our lives, into every corner of our world. He wants us to be focused on Him when we rise up and when we lie down, when we walk along the way and when we sit down to rest.

In his marvelous little book, Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, a 17^th-century monk who worked as a cook in a French monastery, provided great insight into turning the most commonplace and menial tasks into acts of worship, praise, and communion with God. Friendship with God for Brother Lawrence was not about what he was doing for God, but what he was doing with God and the attitude of thanksgiving that he brought to everything he did.

Please don’t think I am telling you to get away from your daily “quiet time” to get with God. It is good to carve out a specific portion of each day to spend concentrated time with our Lord, but remember that this is only the starting line, not the entire race! When we practice the presence of God in all our daily routines, we will develop a friendship with Jesus that will surpass all others!

This is God’s Word … This is Grace for your Journey …

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”