Grace For The Journey

  Friday, June 26 was a very sad day for many of us in the United States of America. The action of the Supreme Court is another definitive step further out of the will of God taken by those appointed to render judgment in the highest human court in our republic. The issue is really a matter of the heart. The Bible says in Isaiah 29;13, “And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me , and with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been taught them,” and in Matthew 15:7-9, “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’” America has heart damage – the spiritual abnormality that the medical profession calls arrhythmia. Arrhythmias are deviations from the normal cadence of the heartbeat, which cause the heart to pump improperly. America’s heart is not working properly. We should have a heart that seeks after, leans on, and depends on God and His will but we are far from that.

I have waited to respond on this issue in this blog, wanting to seek God Word and counsel first. In today’s and tomorrow’s blogs I will share my heart and hope with you.

As much as we wish it we not so, Friday’s SCOTUS ruling is unavoidable for all of us and some have asked about what my thoughts are on the issue. Feeling a little strange that anyone might wonder where my opinion would fall on the matter, I felt it best to go ahead and put it in writing.

The Bible says in Psalm 11:3, “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Let me say that I am not surprised by Friday’s ruling in the least. It has simply been a matter of time before this position was put into law. I am saddened but not surprised in the least. In the midst of my personal displeasure, let me also say that the Church’s mission remains the same: to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ and seek to glorify Him in all that we are and all that we do. In this manner, nothing about who we are and what we are commissioned by Christ to do has changed. And it grieves me to have to add that I believe this ruling will eventually result in some form of significant judgment and chastisement from God.

Please do not hear me to be saying to our culture, “Our God hates you and you deserve what you get.” It is simply that I have studied the Bible for 40+ years and I cannot avoid the precedent that the Bible reveals a God who judicially responds to any nation which openly defies Him – including His own covenant people, Israel (see Numbers through Malachi for more insights).  Even with that reality, I want all who read this to know that you are loved by God and us, His people. Someone summed it up beautifully,

“Amidst the protest signs, yelling crowds, and political referendums, the simple message of  Jesus’ love for you is often drowned out. Never doubt that Jesus loves you more than you could ever know. Jesus doesn’t just love a future version of you; He loves you exactly as you are right now. Jesus’ love for you has no prerequisites or requirements. Even if you hate Him, Jesus loves you and  wants what is best for you. Love is at the core of everything Jesus taught.  Unfortunately His message of love has been conveniently left out by many who would rather make a point than make a difference” (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8-10;   Romans 5:8; Psalm 86:15).

The highest human court in our land has formally ruled that God and His Word are inferior to their own wisdom. Even though Justice Scalia’s written statements in opposition to the ruling gave voice to many, it simply was not enough. This cannot bode well for us as a nation.

So what are we to do?

• Let the Church of Jesus Christ continue to love our neighbor (regardless of their sexual orientation) as Jesus would have us love them.

• Let us also continue to love God’s Word and not be ashamed of what is written in it as we daringly and dogmatically declare it.

• Let the Church admit that the reality of the state of affairs in America is due in part to our continued silence on cultural issues, our compromise in our pulpits by politically correct pastors, and our timid acquiescence on pertinent issues which we seem to only address after the dismissal bell has already rung.

• Let also the Church be brokenhearted with the same godly sorrow displayed in the Psalmists’ laments, Jeremiah’s tearful, pleading prophecy, and the weeping heart of our precious Savior as He mourned over Jerusalem’s spiritual blindness during His lifetime.

Our being angry is a suitable initial response because we are concerned over the arrhythmia of America’s spiritual heart. Any continued angry we express will not be a legitimate response however. The verdict has been rendered, many in our nation celebrate, and we cannot afford to be petulant children who retreat into our ecclesiastical huddles and pray for Jesus to return so we can escape all that is wrong down here.

My personal belief is that, if Jesus was ministering in America today, He would continue to teach God’s Word and in God’s power minister and share that message in love, knowing that neither the gates of hell nor the gavels of humans will ever prevail over His mission through His church. I am going to emulate Him.

Christians, now is the time for our gospel light to penetrate the dark shadows of society. Now is the time for our voice to learn again how to speak the undiminished truth in undeniable love. Now is the time when we must think long and hard upon the counsel of our Lord when He told His followers to “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” He made that statement in the context of His disciples being sent forth into a culture which would not appreciate them nor their Kingdom message.

Listen to what your countrymen are saying on this issue of homosexual marriage. Consider why some Americans are celebrating today and love them enough to actually consider why they deem it worthy of celebration.

Next, ponder what might be coming on the heels of this ruling and what it means to how preachers, teachers, and other Christians communicate a biblical position on the issue of marriage.

Then… search your own heart to see what ungodly verdict is pronounced there in your life that gives you a free pass in areas where you are out of line with God and His ways. Nobody listens to hypocrites. If you find that you, a follower of Jesus, are unwilling to repent of your own inequity of heart, then expect nothing different from others in this country of ours which has run so heartbreakingly far from God.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The 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 word “apologetics” is derived from the Greek word apologia, which means “to give an answer or make a defense.” In seminary I took classes in apologetics, which were designed to prepare the student to provide a defense of the Christian faith. The ground we covered was far-reaching, including the person and work of Jesus Christ, the reliability of Scripture, biblical evidence in history and archeology, answering objections, and refuting various cults.

We are called by God to be able to give an apologia for our faith.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you . . .”

Throughout my Christian life, God has been gracious to renew my mind through the truths of the Gospel and equip me to make a defense for my faith. But I have learned over the years that beyond everything that can be learned from seminary training in apologetics, there is one thing God in Christ gives to every one of His children to use in defending their faith . . . LOVE! Love is the final apologetic.

When an unbelieving world sees us loving in radical and unconditional ways, they need no other apologia for proving Christianity. Love is the final apologetic of the reality of the Gospel. It convinces those who are touched by it that the Christian faith is as real as it is remarkable. When fallen, broken, and hurting people are loved in radical and unconditional ways by other fallen, broken, and hurting people who have been saved by grace, they begin to believe that God the Father sent God the Son to die on a cross for their sins, so that they might have eternal life.

By sharing with everyone the love we have been given in Christ, regardless of the cost or circumstance, we display a Gospel that is as attractive as it is attracting. It slays suspicion, destroys doubts, and unravels unbelief. It conquers the heart that beats for the self and the will that is oriented inward. It draws people away from self-protection and opens the doorway leading to self-sacrifice. Love is the final apologetic because love is the greatest of all gifts.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

So . . . how well have you been defending the faith lately? What kind of Gospel have you been putting on display for the watching world? How attractive is your God? How loving? The more deeply we understand the truths of the Gospel, the better apologists we become. Whenever you need another quick “class” or “lesson” on apologetics, focus for a bit in what has come to be known as “The Love Chapter” in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13.

God’s love for us is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). That means you cannot cast a shadow over His love for you, no matter what you do. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). Blood-bought and eternally His . . . let us defend our faith daily with a love that lays out the truth, lifts others up, and leads them to our Savior.

This is God’s Word For Today … 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

Where do you go for help?  Some go to their family; others go to their friends.  Some will dive into the advice columns or self-help books. A few look for escape into alcohol and drugs.  For the Christian, however, there is one place to go that’s better than all other places, a place where we can find the greatest help the world has ever known.

The Bible says in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

• Are you snared by sin? Claim His blood! (Revelation 12:11)
• Are you crushed by guilt? Claim His pardon! (1 John 1:7,9)
• Are you wilting from weakness? Claim His strength! (Philippians 4:13)
• Are you frustrated by past failures? Claim His victory! (Romans 7:23-25)
• Are you lost in loneliness? Claim His presence! (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Jesus is the answer to every question.  Jesus is the solution to every problem.  He is the passage through every obstacle.  And Jesus is available to you.  He is the Fountain of every blessing – past, present, and to come – and the only way to bless a fountain is to drink from it continually.

Jesus not only desires that that His people acknowledge Him before the watching world, He desires to be appropriated.  Jesus has been given to His people to be called upon, in both bad days and good days . . . in sickness and in health . . . in prosperity and in poverty . . . in times of joy and times of mourning.

One of the greatest comforts given to a Christian is to know that Jesus walked where you walk; He worked where you work; He served where you serve; He ate where you eat; He slept where you sleep; He was tempted where you are tempted.

The Bible reminds us of this truth in Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  He knows exactly what you are going through and so much more.  Indeed, as Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

What does God want you to do? Go to Jesus, for He is your Holy Help who can meet you in your place of need . . . regardless of where that place may be.  For He has promised you: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

This is God’s Word For Today … 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

  “Woe” is a wonderful word when it is rightly used. But, sadly, we have learned how to use this word in ways that only weaken us:

• “Woe is me . . . I failed the test!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t make the team!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t get asked to the prom!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t get accepted to the college I wanted!”
• “Woe is me . . . I don’t like my job!”
• “Woe is me . . . I lost my job!”
• “Woe is me . . . I have too much month left at the end of the money!”
• “Woe is me . . . I’m showing signs of aging!”
• “Woe is me . . . !”

You finish the last one. We have become experts at holding “pity-parties” and living under the shadow of the tree of “woe” when life doesn’t go according to our plan.

But this is not what God wants you to do! The apostle Paul showed us a way to keep from wasting the witness of our woes. He wrote: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.”  (1 Corinthians 9:16)

There is a “woe” that is not wasted! All of the woes mentioned in the bullet points above are focused on self and circumstances, but Paul’s woe was focused on Christ and our calling as Christians. The apostle had devoted his life to preaching the gospel and was ready to cast an oracle of woe upon himself if he did not do what God had called and equipped him to do. Now, that is a “woe” that was not wasted!

I want to caution those of you who may be thinking something like, “Well, that’s fine for Paul, but I am not called to preach the Gospel like he was.” To be sure, most of us will never travel to other countries, risking great peril on land and sea to preach the Word, as the great apostle Paul did. But every one of us is called to be a conduit of the Gospel, regardless of our station in life. From the boardroom to the locker room to the classroom to the family room, every Christian has been called to preach the Gospel, with our lips and our lives. And woe to us when we do not!

So . . . how are you doing at making the message of your Master the story of your life? We are to be so taken by the truths of the Gospel that these truths take over our lives. At this level of living, we won’t waste our “woes” on anything less than Jesus!

This is God’s Word For Today … 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

  How would you define the way you have been handling the Scriptures lately?  Would you say you have been searching them? . . . Skimming through them? . . . Or skipping them altogether?

The Bible says in Acts 17:11, “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.”

The Bereans did not skip the Scriptures, nor did they skim through them.  The Bereans searched the Scriptures and in so doing, set a noble example for every child of the Most High God.  To search the Scriptures is to study them and sift through them slowly, looking for every speck of gold contained within them.  Charles Spurgeon once said, “No man who merely skims the book of God can profit thereby; we must dig and mine until we obtain the hid treasure.  The door of the Word only opens to the key of diligence.”

If we really understood the Bible to be God’s love letter to us, would we dare skim through the Scriptures . . . or even skip them altogether?  Heaven forbid!  We confess what we truly believe about the Word of God with our lives, in the way we come to the Scriptures and search them, and the way we consider the Christ, who is revealed within every page.

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus rebuked two of His disciples, who were thoroughly dejected after the Christ was crucified and buried . . .

“’O foolish ones,’ the risen Savior said, ‘and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’”  Then, as He walked along the road with the two men, He held a Bible study: “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”  Later, the two disciples marveled, saying to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:25-27, 32.)

One of the most amazing things I have learned over the years in searching through the Scriptures is that no matter how often I have read a particular passage, there is always something new to be uncovered!  The reason this happens for every serious student of the Scriptures is because the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12).  All other books, no matter how well written, are dead.  Only the Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and alive, and it makes us more alive every time we come to it with a heart set on searching its pages for a fresh encounter with God.

When we realize the truth that every page of Scripture testifies to the truth of our precious Savior and Lord, is there anything that could keep us from searching them often?  If our vision and view of the Gospel is clear, there is nothing that could stand in our way.

The more we read the Bible, the more we see Jesus;

And the more we see of Jesus, the more we read the Bible.

There is no more compelling motivation than that to cause us to diligently search the Scriptures . . . and keep on searching them.  The truths of the Gospel draw us to its well, that we may drink in all of its living water.

Regardless of where this message finds you today, open the Bible and let it speak into your life.  It will meet you in your place of need.  It will answer your questions.  It will calm your fears.  It will give you the strength to overcome every obstacle that stands in your way.  It will be the death of doubt and discouragement.  There is milk for those who are babes in searching and meat for those who have spent a lifetime doing it.  There is something for everyone who is willing to search and that something is the only thing we really need in both life and death . . . or more accurately, Someone . . .  and His name is Jesus Christ.  As one writer once said, “May [the Bible] be our pillow at night and our guiding light by day.”

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

  We live in a society that is in mad pursuit of the good life.  Never fully satisfied with what we have, we are always on the lookout for something better.  Restlessness is the daily reality for many people – both outside and inside of the church.  James identified this problem in stark language:

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”  (James 4:1-4)

There’s really only one thing that will cure us from the “grasping for more” mentality.  When we have a clear vision of what God has called us to and the courage to walk into it, we will find contentment, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

Years ago, when the Standard Oil Company was looking for a representative in the Far East, they approached a missionary and offered him $10,000 to take the job.  He quickly turned down the offer.  They raised it to $25,000, and he turned it down again. They raised it to $50,000, and he rejected it once more without giving it a second thought.  “What’s wrong?” they asked.  He replied, “Your price is all right, but your job is too small.”  Every job is too small when it is not the job Jesus has called you to do to expand the cause of His kingdom in this world.

Now, don’t run off thinking I’m telling you to be a missionary because everything else is too small.  Not true!  The job at the oil company would have been a wonderful job . . . if it had been God’s calling for this missionary.  But it was not.  This man knew so well what God had called him and equipped him to do, and he was so focused on doing it, that he had the fortitude to refuse a job that would have made his life a whole lot more comfortable and secure.

Only a small percentage of Christians are called by God to be missionaries in the sense of travelling to a foreign land.  To be sure, we are all on mission for God, declaring and demonstrating the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And for most of us, that mission is to be lived out right where we have been planted . . . whether we have been called to be a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker.  Our calling is the place where we are growing and serving our Lord, regardless of the offers that come our way and no matter how much greener the grass may look on the other side of the fence.  This missionary who turned down Standard Oil knew that nothing less than God’s call in his life was worth contemplating, considering, or carrying out.

What about you?  In what vineyard has God planted you to grow and flourish and expand the cause of His kingdom?  If we have never thought much about our calling and where we fit into God’s perfect plan, we may find ourselves careening from wall to wall throughout life, going from one job to another job.  I have spent many hours counseling men who have lived this reality, which has left them reeling.  Only when we are doing what God has designed us to be doing, based on the way He has hard-wired us, will we be able to say in the face of a seemingly better offer: “No thanks, it’s too small!”

Dr. D. James Kennedy said once that someone asked him if he had ever considered running for president of the United States.  He promptly replied, “Why would I want to take a step down from the greatest job in the world?”  Dr. Kennedy knew what God had called and gifted him to do, and once that truth seized him, he could not consider any other place of service in the world, even if that place was located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  It simply would have been a job that was too small!

When you are doing what you have been created and saved to do, there is nothing that can pull you away from it.  At this level of living, you are not only in your calling, but your calling is in you.  Remember, every job is too small when it is a job you have not been called to do or you are not doing for the glory of God.  Someone once asked me if I considered any job to be menial labor.  “Absolutely!” I said emphatically.  “It is the job you are working at for your own glory, to expand the reach of your own little kingdom, and where Jesus simply cannot be found.”

But this is not for you!  If Jesus is not calling you away from your current station in life, grow where He has planted you.  This will be for your good and for God’s glory and to the benefit and blessing of everyone you meet.

This is God’s Word For Today … 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 records in Luke 9:23, “Then He [Jesus] said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.’”

There is a great deal of confusion today about what sort of cross it is that disciples of Christ have been instructed to carry.  Many Christians have turned the cross of Christ into something it was never meant to be.  You’ll hear them say, “That’s my cross to bear.”  They seem to believe that some unpleasant situation or disagreeable person is a burden they must learn to live with . . . to “grin and bear it.”

Our Lord, however, was laying emphasis to His teaching that the cross He was calling His disciples to take up is a cross of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and ultimately self-death.  In taking up the cross of Christ, we die to self and live for the glory of God and the good of others.

Here are two examples of what this cross we should carry is not. It is not . . .

THE COMFORTABLE CROSS, which is really no burden to bear at all, because we are actively pursuing the good life rather than the godly life.  Our shoulders are so thickly padded with the stuff of life and the things of this world that we can barely feel this cross.  David Goetz offered this sharp admonition: “Too much of the good life ends up being toxic, deforming us spiritually.”  Those who carry the comfortable cross attend church regularly and even offer their time, talent, and treasure . . . just as long as it doesn’t take them out of their comfort zones.

THE CONVENIENT CROSS is carried only when it is convenient.  As long as carrying our cross does not disturb our comfortable and convenient lives, we are perfectly willing to carry it.  But as soon as the cross interferes with our agenda, or disrupts our plans, we put it down.

The cross Jesus says we are to carry is not focused upon ourselves but upon Christ. It is the . . .

THE CHRIST-CENTERED CROSS. The apostle Paul wanted nothing to do with a comfortable or convenient cross.  He knew what Jesus had redeemed him from, and his only desire in this life was to be like His Savior.

He makes that known in Philippians 3:8-10, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death . . .”

When you know who you are (a great sinner) and where you came from (a life of separation from God), you can begin to understand what Jesus has redeemed you from.  At this level of living, you desire above all else to please and glorify your Savior by carrying a Christ-centered cross.  This cross looks like death to the watching world, but it is actually the only way to real life on both sides of the grave.

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

I would like to share a word of encouragement with you today that can lift you above every wave of challenge that is rolling your way. It comes from Colossians 2:9-11 – “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”

Take some time to consider this remarkable passage. Paul says that all the fullness of God – the sovereign Lord of all the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth and the seas and all that is in them – all of His fullness is in Christ and that those who have placed their trust in Christ’s atoning death on their behalf have been given this fullness!

Now, I don’t claim to know the depth of this fullness, nor would I be foolish enough to believe I (or any human being) would be able to plumb it; but whatever its depth, it is ours to dive into and draw strength from.

HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS!

Now, we must not to think that we have been made like “little gods” who possess the attributes that only God Himself possesses, attributes such as omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. We are still finite, fallible human beings. John Calvin explained it this way . . . “Having been given this fullness in Christ does not mean that the perfection of Christ is transfused into us, but that there are in Him resources from which we may be filled, that nothing be wanting in us.”

In other words, in our union with Christ we have been given everything we need for living the life God has called us to live.

HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS!

As children of Adam, we come into this world empty – spiritually bankrupt. We are born rebels on the run from God; we have no interest in the things of God until we are given fullness in Christ – a gift we receive from God by grace through faith.

Because of what God in Christ has done for us, you and I have been granted to “participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), and we now have available to us everything we need to be what God is calling us to be.

All that Jesus is – and He is EVERYTHING – we have available to us.

• His wisdom . . . our guidance
• His peace . . . our comfort
• His presence . . . our consolation
• His power . . . our protection
• His faithfulness . . . our confidence
• His cross . . . our trust
• His love . . . our security

Let us drink fully and freely from our Fount of Every Blessing, rejoicing in the truth that HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS.

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 following story makes it clear how human beings will do anything and everything possible to avoid the reality of death and pain and suffering . . .

It happened a number of years ago on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles.  We were all enjoying a happy trip, since most of the passengers were returning from cruises.  They had their trinkets in their hands, tans on their faces, and great memories to share when they arrived home.  And then the lady in the aisle next to my seat died.

Everybody got real quiet while the flight attendants asked if there was a doctor on the flight.  Two or three came forward, and while they did their best to save her, she still died.  The pilot landed the plane in Dallas and directed his passengers to disembark while the corpse was taken from the plane to an waiting hearse.  Then we all reboarded the plane for the remainder of our flight to Los Angeles.

The crowd had changed into a somber bunch.  Most people tried to avoid all thoughts of it.  But to be honest, it is hard to do that while encased in an aluminum tube cruising at 34,000 feet.  There just isn’t anyplace to run.

I approached one of the flight attendants.  “I’m a clergyman,” I said, “and deal with death a lot.  If you would like me to help, please feel free to ask.”  “Thanks for your offer, Reverend,” she said, smiling, “but we’re going to give the passengers free drinks.”

Can you believe that?  This person, who deals with people all the time, thought, If you can get them drunk enough, they won’t have to deal with the reality of death! Wow!  Let’s give people alcohol instead of a faith that can make sense of the reality of pain and suffering and death, and even provide hope and encouragement!

I fear that Christians sometimes do that too.  Only we don’t use alcohol; we use religious clichés, false theology, and Christian denial.

There was a time in this world when there was no pain and suffering and death – but Adam and Eve changed all that.  Created by God for God, the first man and woman opted to remove God from the center of their lives and disobeyed the one and only “Thou shalt not . . .” He had given them.  By engaging in that horrific act of disobedience and sin, our first parents plunged all of creation into a sickening downward spiral that leads to the pit of hell.  And that is why there is pain and suffering and death in this world.

To be sure, the world is broken and so are all the people in it . . . including you and me!  But God did not leave us to wallow in damaged despair; He sent His beloved Son on a rescue mission to make everything that is broken whole again; all that is evil will be made righteous; every crooked thing will be made straight!

But before Jesus returns and finishes what He started in making all things new, we will all face the dark reality of pain and suffering and death.  We can pretend it doesn’t exist; we may try to inoculate ourselves from it or anesthetize ourselves to it, but this will not shelter us from ugly reality.  I am sure that the hearse waiting to take the dead woman off the plane didn’t have luggage racks on it.  Do you know why?  Because she wasn’t coming back!

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:22-23, “Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

We don’t know the spiritual condition of the woman who died on that plane, but if she was not in Christ, she is suffering unimaginable torment in hell today.  When we are in Christ, we can face pain and sorrow and death with the confident assurance that God is working all of it for our good and His glory.  When death comes for us, in that instant we are absent from our body, we shall be present with our Lord – forevermore!

Make no mistake, we will all come face-to-face with pain and sorrow and death.  These are fires through which we all must pass.  But for the Christian believer, these trials will be vastly different from what is experienced by the unbeliever.  Only the Gospel will free us, when facing pain and sorrow and death, to say: “You keep the free drinks; I’ll take my faith in Jesus!”

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

  When your mind is not focused on anything in particular, where does it go?  What do you find yourself thinking?  Because God is renewing our minds, which in turn enlarges our hearts and ultimately bends our will to align with His, we should be able to say that our minds turn (more often than not) to God.  To be sure, from time to time our minds drift on to the mudflats of life and we think what we ought not to be thinking.  But as the Gospel becomes more real in our lives, our minds should begin to migrate more and more frequently into Gospel gardens.

The Bible says in Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

The great classical musician Franz Joseph Haydn understood this exhortation and lived it out because of his faith in Christ.  When asked why his church music was so cheerful, Haydn replied, “When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen, and since God has given me a cheerful heart I will serve Him with a cheerful spirit.”  Haydn’s joy was rooted in God; the more he thought about God, the more joyful was his experience in life.  Haydn knew what to think about . . . and His name is Jesus Christ.

How often we should be able to say to others, “When I think upon God, my heart overflows with thanksgiving for all He has done for me.”  The challenge for all of us is we let ourselves get caught up in what some have called “stinking thinking” – and when we do that we do just the opposite of what Paul instructs us to do.  We think about whatever is wrong, what is defiled, and unlovely.  We reflect on what we don’t have rather than what we do have.  We focus on what we have done wrong rather than what He has done right.  This is precisely where the devil wants to direct our thoughts – toward that which is false and fleshly, rather than toward Him who is true and faithful.

But this is not what God wants!  And Paul confirms it with another inspired instruction:

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”  (Colossians 3:2)

When we set our minds on things above, we won’t be pulled down by things below. Regardless of how strong the storm winds blow, we remain upright and on course. Regardless of how hot the fiery furnace of affliction flares, we are unharmed. Regardless of how swift and deep the current of corruption surges, we are unmoved. When we think about the things of God, we are strengthening our minds to rise above the challenges of daily living.

Sure, the fight is fierce and the battle rages.  But we already have the strength we need to become more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) . . .  we have that strength in Jesus.  We need only to focus our attention more and more on Him, and we will be less and less affected by whatever is going on around us.

The next time you catch yourself letting your mind drift pause and reflect on the finished work of Christ.  He has already won the victory over whatever trial or temptation you are facing.  Paul said, “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).  The more time we spend thinking about the victory Jesus has already won for us on the cross, the more we will live like victors rather than victims.  Think about these things . . . won’t you?

Oh, Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever
He sought me and he bought me with His redeeming blood
He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him
He plunged me to Victory, beneath the cleansing flood.

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.”