Grace For The Journey

“I still have many things to say to you,” Jesus said to His disciples, “but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). Our Lord was not speaking solely for the benefit of those who were listening at that moment; He was teaching all of us a biblical truth: God is not finished with us yet!  Now, if you are anything like me (a great sinner in daily need of an even greater Savior), that is not only a source of unimaginable comfort, but of unbelievable freedom.

Because God is not finished with you yet, you are in a continual state of process and progression – not perfection.  You don’t know everything you are going to know.  You don’t think everything you are going to think.  You don’t say everything you are going to say.  You don’t do everything you are going to do.  You are not everything you are going to be.  And because of the promised reality of what you will one day be – “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29) – you can rest in the reality of your freedom today.

• You are free to enjoy.
• You are free to explore.
• You are free to risk.
• You are free to relax.
• You are free to dream.
• You are free to desire.
• You are free to love.
• You are free to laugh.
• You are free to sing.
• You are free to sorrow.
• You are free to forgive.
• You are free to fail.

That’s right!  You are even free to fail.

This must be true if we are not yet perfected. Perfection is the only state where there is no failure, and since we are not yet perfected, we will fail.  Do you remember when Jesus told Peter he was free to fail?  You might be thinking, “I don’t remember any story in the Bible where Jesus told anyone he was free to fail.”  Well, stay with me for just a minute, and you may be surprised!  Just hours before He was betrayed and arrested, Jesus was speaking to His disciples. Suddenly, He turned and spoke directly to Peter:

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know Me.”  (Luke 22:31-34)

When Jesus told Peter he was going to deny Him three times that night, He was telling Peter he was free to fail . . . and fail he did!  After promising to die to keep from failing his Lord, Peter did fail Jesus three times, but the story of his failure doesn’t end there.  Jesus didn’t forget about Peter, and Jesus didn’t forsake him.  After the resurrection, Jesus restored, recommissioned, and resent Peter to advance the cause of His Kingdom.

The freedom we experience in the Gospel is hard to believe.  Because Jesus came to set the captives free, everyone who belongs to Jesus is free.  And in that freedom, there is even freedom to fail.  Regardless of where this finds you, whether you are coming out of a failure or getting ready to stumble into another one, fear not!  And when you fail, remember that Jesus is waiting to do the same to you that he did for Peter – to forgive you, restore you, recommission you, and resend you – time and time again!

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

  It is one thing to believe in the truths of the Gospel . . .

• We are sinners in need of a Savior and His name is Jesus Christ.
• He lived the only perfect life.
• He died a sacrificial death.
• He was raised on the third day.
• He was seen by hundreds.
• He ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God the Father.

All this can be just head knowledge.  But it is another thing altogether to embrace these truths with our hearts daily.

Intellectual assent to the doctrinal truths of the Gospel is where we all begin our journey into the reign of grace.  But from there these truths must move deep into our hearts and take up residency daily so that we continually embrace the Gospel moment by moment.  The Gospel enters into our minds doctrinally but it is to continue moving through the heart experientially as we, by God’s grace, seek to make these truths a daily reality in our lives.  Sadly, for far too many in the church today, there is a disconnect between that 18-inch span that separates the head and the heart.  That disconnect leads to Gospel blindness and barrenness.  There are those who have the words of truth in their heads but no wonder of it in their hearts.

But this is not what God wants for us! You see, the Gospel is not only for the lost, it is also for the found, because the Gospel is for sinners.  And sinners we still are, even after we accept Jesus as our Savior.  We need the truths of the Gospel set before our spiritual eyes and ears daily, that we might begin to see the wonder and experience the power of the grace of the Gospel.  Is it not a wonder to think that Jesus would die on the cross for those who nailed Him to it?  And thank God for the power that made the earth shake, the rocks split, and the temple curtain split in two – a power which signaled the destruction of the barrier that separated us from God.

We live not only under the banner of the finished work of Jesus Christ for our salvation, we also live under the banner of His promise to complete what He started in us (Philippians 1:6).

God is not finished with you yet!

You are not yet what you will one day be!

This means you still do things you would rather not do.  Are you still dealing with anger?  How about impatience?  Are you wrestling with a bout of unbelief?  Even though sin no longer reigns, it still remains, and that is why we must keep reminding ourselves of the truths of the Gospel every day.  We need to be continually reminded of what Jesus has done for us and what He has promised to continue doing.  We must continue advancing further in and further up into the truths of the Gospel, that we might experience the power, freedom, and joy that comes with knowing that we are both fully forgiven and completely loved – and nothing we do will ever change that.

The dad of the child whom the disciples could not heal in Mark 9 responded to the belief challenge of our Lord, by saying, “I believe; help my unbelief.”  (Mark 9:24)

What we believe about the Gospel is the only cure for our unbelief.

We need to be reminded that it is not about our faithfulness to Him, but rather His faithfulness to us.  We need to hold tightly to the truth that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ.

• He took the betrayals because of His love for you.
• He took the false accusations because of His love for you.
• He took the beatings because of His love for you.
• He took the thorns because of His love for you.
• He took the nails because of His love for you.
• He took the mocking because of His love for you.
• He took the forsaking of His Father because of His love for you.
• He took the death because of His love for you.
• But that is not the end of the story!  He arose from the dead, just as He said He would, and one day He will return to finish what He started!

When our hearts beat in tune with these truths, our spiritual life becomes oxygenated with the glorious grace of the Gospel.  And as it pumps through our spiritual veins, we desire more and more each day to give our lives for His glory and the good of others.

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

  We have all heard about the tithe – giving to God the first 10% of our income to advance the Gospel and further the cause of His Kingdom. In as much as all wealth ultimately belongs to God (Haggai 2:8), and since it is God who gives us the ability to earn money (Deuteronomy 8:17-18), the Bible considers returning 10% back to the Giver of every good and perfect gift a good place to start. The tithe is a form of worship.

But when it comes to the heart, we are never to tithe 10% of our heart to God; we are to give Him all of it – every beat of it! To be sure, giving all of our heart in faithful obedience to our Lord is not always easy; we often fall short of the intended mark. This is what the Bible calls sin. But even though giving all our heart to God is not always easy, it is always right!

Let’s look at an example from Scripture . . .

Joshua 14:9,13-14, “On that day Moses swore to me, “The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly” . . . “Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.”

We see twice in this short passage that Caleb did not tithe his heart to God. Rather, the Scriptures inform us that Caleb followed and served God wholeheartedly. Wouldn’t that be great if that could be said of all of us . . . that we followed and served God with all of our hearts? If you remember the story of Caleb from the Bible’s book of Numbers, he was one of twelve spies whom God commanded Moses to send into the Promised Land to scout it out and prepare Israel to enter into it. Caleb and Joshua returned with a favorable report, but the other ten spies said it could not be done. “There are giants in the land!” they exclaimed (Numbers 13:25-33).

Do you think it was easy for Joshua and Caleb to give the minority report? No, of course it wasn’t easy, but it was right. Do you want to know what else was not easy? It was not easy wandering around the desert until all of the unbelievers of his generation died in the desert (Joshua 5:6). Forty years of apparently aimless wandering, watching all the men and women he grew up with die, and yet through all of it Caleb gave all of his heart to God. No, it wasn’t easy most of the time; I’m sure many times it was flat-out hard. But it was always right.

For you and I today, this is where being reminded of the Gospel of grace comes into play in such a big way. Keeping the truths of the Gospel before us is the key to stoking the fire of the heart. The cross is the testimony to the truth that Jesus refused to tithe His heart to us. He gave it all, shed His precious blood to pay the price for our sins in full, and at the end He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

“Jesus paid it all,” as the wonderful old hymn proclaims, but He also gave His all. He gave all His heart – His very life itself – so that sinners just like you and me could have life in His name! As we keep the cross  in view, we find both the motive and the motivation to keep our hearts beating for Him. As Jesus said in Mark 12:30, we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength.

So give God your tithes and offerings . . . but give him all of your heart . . . every day!

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 online encyclopedia Wikipedia defines the “good life” as a philosophical term, originally associated with Aristotle, for the life that one would like to live.  The world of marketing and advertising has many definitions for the “good life,” all of which revolve around the stuff of this world:

• Expensive new car
• Expansive home in a nice neighborhood
• Fancy clothes
• Fantastic marriage
• Trouble-free children
• Well-paying job with room to climb
• Influential social circle
• Enough money not to work
• Lying on the beach sipping a cool drink

I’m sure you could add to the list of all the “more” that the world tells us we need in order to live “the good life.”  The challenge with looking for this good life, as the world defines it, is that when and if you find it, it never delivers what it promised.  As a pastor, I get to work with a lot of men.  Many of them have achieved what the world would call the “good life,” yet many of them are still not satisfied.

The best Book of the Bible that addresses this topic is “Ecclesiastes.”  The author, whom many scholars believe was King Solomon, had amassed great wealth and possessions . . . everything he could possibly imagine under the sun that would comprise “the good life.”

In Ecclesiastes 2:7-11 he writes, “I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces . . . I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem . . . And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Here is a question to consider:

When you get everything you want and you are still not satisfied, then what?

Someone has summed up the answer in this statement . . .

“Jesus plus nothing equals everything; Everything minus Jesus equals nothing at all!”

How would you define the good life?  What would make for a satisfying life, one marked by meaning, significance, and purpose?  Let me suggest that a change in vocabulary would be profitable for all of us.  Instead of focusing on the proverbial “good life,” we should be focusing on the “grace life” that naturally flows out of our intimate, personal relationship with Jesus.  You see, the grace of the Gospel changes our perspective about the “good life.”  Gospel grace opens us up to understanding the truth that the Giver is more important than the gifts He gives.

Now, I know there are countless gifts the Giver gives to those who are His children and they are indeed great gifts.  He loves to give good gifts to His children; what good father doesn’t?  But God never intended for His children to find more meaning . . . more pleasure . . . more happiness . . . more satisfaction . . . more life in the gifts that were given, rather than in the Giver who so graciously gave them.

We need to remember that the greatest gift God has given is Jesus!  To be sure, there are great rewards to being in Christ, but none of them are better than Christ Himself! Christ brings great change in the life of everyone He saves.  Wounds get healed. Alcoholics get sober.  Drug addicts get clean.  Angry people get calm.  Pharisees get grace.  I could go on.  Yet if we focus more on the change than we do the Changer, we miss the greatest portion of what Jesus gave us: HIMSELF!

Since Jesus is the Bible’s definition of the “good life,” pursue Him will all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

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

  We are, by nature, restless.  We are restless in our relationships; we are restless in our work; we are restless in our station in life; we are restless in our success; we are restless in our failure.  Restlessness is as much a part of our mental makeup as our desire for food and shelter. And make no mistake; even after Jesus comes into our lives and turns our lives upside-down, we are still restless.

The Bible says in Zephaniah 3:17, “He will quiet you by His love.”

Here God confirms two very important things.  First, He acknowledges the fact that we are restless.  And second, He promises to give us rest.  Jesus declared this same promise in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  What a word of comfort that is to me!  I pray that you, too, will draw great comfort today from the promise of God.  Even we who are His adopted children are not immune to restlessness.  And do you know why?  It is because we forget who God is and what He has done for us.

Some of God’s children are restless because they simply cannot get past their past. Gnawing guilt has a death grip on them.  Instead of resting in the righteousness of Christ, glorying with Paul that they do not have “a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:19), they are restless in their own righteousness – the flimsy fig leaves of self-righteousness which have failed them time and time again.  They promised to do more and try harder, but with each passing promise, they realize just how far short they continue to fall of God’s intended mark.

Others find themselves restless because they are fearful about their future.  Uncertainty about unsettling providences, which began as a minor infection, has turned into a raging disease.  Instead of resting in the certainty of Jesus, they are restless in the uncertainty of life.  They count on created things, which can never provide them with the rest that only Jesus can give.

Yet in all of our restlessness, Jesus has promised us rest.

As children of God, we have a past that has been pardoned and a future that has been promised.  We no longer have to be afraid of judgment because Jesus took all God’s wrath and nailed it to the cross.  He took the cup of God’s judgment!  That is why the Bible says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We can live at peace with God, because God is at perfect peace with us, thanks to the finished work of Christ on our behalf.  Even when we are confronted with heartbreaking news, we can turn to the One whose heart beats for us and find rest in Him.

The Gospel also tells us we no longer have to attempt the role of personal deliverer, redeemer, or savior.  Jesus has paid it all! He has done it all for us.  God is not angry with us.  God is not disappointed with us.  God is not frustrated with us.  And do you know why?  Because God is well pleased with the sacrifice of His perfect, precious, and beloved Son.

Because we are in Christ, we are in!  We are part of God’s eternal plan and purpose, a plan that was determined before the ages began. We are objects of God’s grace and favor and love.  We are recipients of God’s mercy.  We are adopted into God’s family and receive His care. The Lord said to Moses – and He says to us today – “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14).

Because of the great grace of the gospel, resting is the order of the day . . . not restlessness.

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

  How would you describe your walk with Jesus currently?  Hot?  Cold?  Lukewarm?  Jesus warned that it would be better to be cold in our faith than lukewarm! Revelation 3:15-16 records His words, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to find out what getting spit out of His mouth might be like!  The Bible says in Hebrews 10:30-31, “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” So with the understanding that living above the level of lukewarm is a matter of more than casual interest, let’s take a look at what a lukewarm Christian looks like and ask a question: How do we bring the pot to a boil?

Lukewarm Christians look pretty good on the surface.  They attend church regularly . . . unless they receive an offer for a day on the water or a round of golf or a trip to the ball game.  They give their tithe to their church and even additional money to charities . . . just as long as it doesn’t hurt their lifestyle in any way.  They understand the truths of Scripture and the call to be different from the world . . . but when forced to choose, they would rather blend in with the world than stand out for Christ.

The lukewarm are engaged in service to God, but their motivation is rooted in what they can get out of it or what others think and say about them.  They absolutely love the stories of sold-out Christians who have impacted the world for Christ, but they are not willing to move outside of their pre-determined zones of comfort and security to do the same.

• The lukewarm call “sold-out” what Jesus calls service.
• The lukewarm call “radical” what Jesus calls responsibility.
• The lukewarm call “drastic” what Jesus calls duty.
• The lukewarm call “fanatical” what Jesus calls faith.

With or without Jesus, life looks about the same for the lukewarm Christian because they are not doing anything that requires faith.

But the Bible teaches that this is not what God wants!  To be sure, we all lapse into being “lukewarm” in our walk with Jesus from time to time. I did not write this to evoke feelings of guilt and fear in you; guilt and fear never raise our temperature for any sustained period.  Sure, we may run hot for a time when we are feeling guilty about our past or fearful about our future.  But not for long . . . and not in a way that pleases God.  Remember, God does not look on the outward appearance, but at our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7).  David beautifully captured the heart that pleases our Lord in Psalm 51:16-17 – “You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

So what is the antidote to living above the level of lukewarm?  The Gospel, of course!

The Gospel is the fuel that ignites the flame of faith and keeps it burning hot, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  The Gospel reminds us what Jesus has done on our behalf, and the love of Christ begins to compel us, replacing guilt and fear.  The Gospel turns obligation into opportunity, which is a fragrant offering in the sight of God.  The Gospel is the only force that can lift us above the level of lukewarm and keep us there.

So if you feel yourself running a little less than hot for Jesus, the solution is not to “do more” or “try harder.”  And it certainly is not to make resolutions to “do better next time,” only to find yourself falling woefully short of the intended mark . . . again.

The solution is found in your Savior and in your Savior alone.

See His sacrifice for you; experience His forgiveness for you; hear His victory cry, “It is finished!” uttered for you; and receive His decree of power in your life: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

This is the only way to consistently live above the level of lukewarm. God put it pretty simply in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Now that ought to fire you up!

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

  Does the title for this blog seem nonsensical? How, you might ask, is it possible to be unsatisfied in our success? Isn’t that what we’re all pushing for . . . to be successful?

Hall of Fame football coach Tom Landry said these words after his Dallas Cowboys had won their first Super Bowl, which is the pinnacle of success in the National Football League:

“The overwhelming emotion in a short period of time among the players was how empty that goal seemed to be. The thought was, there must be something more.”

I have pastored many men and women who have achieved high levels of success in business, sports, and life, only to discover the biblical truth that success does not always bring with it the deep satisfaction of the heart we truly desire.

And God designed it that way! You see, He created us with a God-sized void inside us that can only be filled by Him. Regardless of how much success we achieve in this world, if it is not rooted in our Savior, it will ultimately leave us empty, unfulfilled, and wanting something more.

Success was designed to leave us unsatisfied when it is disconnected from our Savior. We were created by God for God, and when we are living for anything other than God it will always leave us wanting. We can climb ladder after ladder of success, climb each one all the way to the top, but if it is leaning against the wrong wall, we will eventually climb back down feeling more dissatisfied than when we started the climb.

Let me close today’s word of encouragement with this beautiful poem from C.T. Studd (1860-1931), entitled …

Only One Life:

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy Word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done;”
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

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

  We hear a great deal today from preachers talking about living a life that glorifies God, but what does that really mean? When used as a verb, “glory” means “to revel, boast, delight, and rejoice proudly in God.” For the Christian then, the answer is clear: living a life that glorifies God means “to glory in God.” The life that seeks to glorify God does not focus upon self but rather upon God. It is not even about what God does for us, rather it is about what happens when God works in us and through us – it all brings glory to Him and we delight in that!

So . . . what does the testimony of your life say about this verb for living a life that glorifies God?

This is what the LORD says in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah made it clear that, while there is much that is good in life, we are not to glory in it. We are not to revel, boast, delight, and rejoice proudly in the things of this world. Our God says we are not to glory in . . .

• Wisdom
• Strength
• Riches

Wisdom, strength, and wealth are just a few of the good gifts we receive from God, yet we are admonished never to glory in any of them. What we are to glory in is our increasing understanding and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, to glory in God is true wisdom, strength, and riches, and these can never be found in anything other than Jesus.

It is important to lay out what these three dimensions of increasing in understanding and knowledge of God look like in the life of the believer.

1.   It is intellectual. We increase in knowledge of the absolute truth about                             God.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.”

2. It is volitional. We make a conscious choice to move beyond knowing God to                trusting God.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

3. It is moral. Our obedience to the Word of God is rooted in love – both vertical                 (love for the Lord above) and horizontal (love for the people around us).

The Bible says in 1 John 4:7-8, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

My prayer for you today is that this verb, to glory in God, consumes you like a raging fire, and that by living a life that seek to glorify God will positively impact everyone you come in contact with for the glory of God . . . by glorying in 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

  Seems like a strange title for today’s blog doesn’t it?  What could the “sweet sounds of grace” possibly mean?

When you give it some thought, I’m sure you’d agree that all of Scripture can be classified under the category of the sweet sounds of grace, because it is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of the Living God – His God-breathed gift to us that reverberates throughout with the sounds of grace!  But today I would like to sharpen our focus on just two of those sweet sounds in particular.

The first is found in Luke 23:34, recording the words of Christ as He hung on Golgotha’s cruel cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The second sound rings forth in 1 John 4:19: “We love Him because He first loved us.”

How sweet is that!  Forgiven and loved . . . forgiven and loved . . . the sweet sounds of grace tell us we are forgiven and loved.  Jesus was big on both forgiveness and love because He knew how badly we need them both!  He knew the only way to keep pain, sin, and death from having the last word was to pay the price that would purchase forgiveness and love for you and me.  It is no small thing to be loved when you’re unlovable.  And that is what we were when we were forgiven as sinners and enemies of Jesus.  How sweet is that!

But it doesn’t end there.  We are continually forgiven; and in spite of our need to be continually forgiven, we are completely loved!  Of all the countless things we do that require the forgiveness of God, there is nothing we can do that will cause Him to love us less.  When we divide the affections of our hearts, we are still loved by God.  When we chase after worthless idols, we are still loved by God.  When we look to things smaller than Jesus to do for us what only Jesus can do, we are still loved by God.  We will be no more loved 10,000 years from now in glory than we are right now, even if right now is marked by sin.  How sweet is that!

To press this truth down into our hearts is to understand what the Gospel is designed to do for us each and every day.  Knowing that we are forgiven and loved frees us to stop pretending we are something we aren’t.  It frees us to take off the mask we have been hiding behind for so long.  It frees us to come out from behind the curtain we have been cringing behind for longer than we can remember.  To know we are both forgiven and loved is to know we are treasured by the One who has forgiven and loved us.  And the more we see ourselves as His treasure, the more we will begin to treasure Him.  And how sweet is that!!

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Peter’s encounter with Jesus after His resurrection.  You will remember that on the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter denied even knowing Christ three times.  In his desperate fear Peter called down curses on himself and cried, “I do not know the man!”  But forgiveness and love would not allow the story to end there . . .

The Bible tells us in John 21:15-17, “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?’  ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘You know that I love You.’  Jesus said, ‘Feed My lambs.’  Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’  He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love You.’  Jesus said, ‘Take care of My sheep.’  The third time He said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ He said, ‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’  Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep.’”

How sweet is that!  Can you imagine how Peter was feeling after having denied his Lord?  Yet here Jesus made it clear that Peter was both forgiven and loved.  Here we are confronted with the sweet sounds of grace that restored Peter to his place of service in the kingdom of His Savior.

Regardless of where this finds you today, you are just like Peter!  You have been given the forgiveness you need and the love you desire. How sweet it that!

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

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

  As a pastor I often deal with death. Funerals are a regular aspect of ministry. And, if the truth be known, we are all dying at the rate of 60 minutes per hour! With that said, I would like to provide the key that unlocks the door leading to faring well in our farewell.

The Bible says in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

The apostle Paul knew, by grace through faith, the gain that will be found on the other side of the grave. He knew and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ . . . and that is the key to faring well in our farewell. Paul lived constantly in the light of eternity.  When he wrote the above verse, he was so captivated by Christ that his earnest desire was to depart and be with Him;, yet he knew he had more ministry to do in this world until that moment when his Lord would call him home to be in the next.

Paul knew that whatever joy and pleasure he experienced on this side of the grave paled in comparison to what he would experience in the presence of his Lord on the other side. It was Paul who reminded the Christians in Corinth of Isaiah’s word of encouragement: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Paul knew he would experience the fullness of his salvation in unveiled and unhindered intimacy with Jesus. Because Jesus was Paul’s greatest treasure in life, he knew his greatest gain would be death.

Do you know that truth?

Sadly, for many, the answer to that question is no. Those who have not trusted in Christ alone for salvation will fare poorly in their farewell. They have lived for treasure infinitely smaller than Jesus; when they are faced with their inevitable departure from this world they are overwhelmed with unsettling emotions. Death to them is not gain; it produces fear and an unimaginable pain of loss. Make no mistake, the way we die – the way we approach our final moments in this life (if we are given that time by our Lord) – makes it clear what our treasure has been.

The only way to fare well in our farewell is to live like the apostle Paul and look forward to death as the ultimate gain, because we know that Jesus is on the other side, waiting to welcome us home. When our treasure truly is Christ, we will not fear death; we will know how to die well. I am reminded of the last words of Confederate general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson hung between death and life for days. Toward the end he slipped into delirium, barking commands to imagined troops. Then, a witness recalled, Jackson’s tone abruptly changed. He smiled, and his last words on this earth were, “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.” Thomas Jackson had no fear, no pain of loss – only eager anticipation of entering the presence of the Lord.

In knowing how to die well we will know how to live well! We will refuse to live for anything smaller than Jesus. We will turn our backs on the fleeting pleasures of this world and focus on the all-satisfying eternal pleasure in the world to come. Only when we can sincerely say that “to live is Christ” can we live out the truth that “to die is gain.” This is faring well in our farewell, and nothing can ever rob us of this joy.

This has been my personal experience is saying good-bye to the saints of God. I hope it will both comfort you and challenge you to keep your eyes firmly fixed on what God has prepared for those who love Him.

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.”