Grace For The Journey

  Halloween is rooted in and remains a pagan holiday. The ancient Catholic holiday of “All Saints Day” was November 1^st, a day designated for the dead saints of the Catholic Church to be recognized, praised, and venerated. And if the religious crowd was going to have a day for their dead saints, the pagans were going to have a special day, a holiday for “all things dead.” The night before “All Saints Day,” “All Hallows Eve” (Halloween) would be the time for goblins, ghouls, ghosts, and gore to be recognized, praised, and venerated.

Today, Halloween has become a multi-billion dollar industry. I read one estimate that total spending on Halloween could reach $8 billion! Television networks feature horror movies throughout the month leading up to the “big” day. Entertainment opportunities are endless, from haunted houses to elaborate Halloween parties in homes and businesses.

So how should Christian believers respond to Halloween?

First, we should recognize that the Gospel has set us free from superstition so that we can rest on revelation. We are enlightened by the truths of the Gospel and empowered to live in their light. One of these truths is that the principalities and powers of darkness are no more active on Halloween than any other day of the year. Every day is a day that evil seeks to invade.

The Bible says in Genesis 4:7, “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

The Bible also says in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Scripture makes it clear that we Christians have a target on our backs that the devil is aiming at us every day of the year. We need not be any more concerned on Halloween than we are on any other day of the year; we should be sober-minded and watchful 365 days a year!

Second, we need to remember that God has overcome the attempts and activities of the devil. The Bible clearly teaches that God is the Sovereign One and that He uses the devil to accomplish His purposes in this world and in the lives of His people.

The Bible says in Colossians 2:15, “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, [God] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

The devil is disarmed and defeated, but He is still doing everything He can to disrupt, defeat, and destroy God’s plan and His people. But remember, the Bible teaches that God is actually using Satan’s evil to advance the cause of the Kingdom of God. This keeps us from locking ourselves behind our doors on Halloween for fear of the devil and his minions. Police statistics make it clear that incidents of satanic-associated crime remain about the same throughout the year.

Third, the real danger on Halloween is from the spiritual and social problems that attend sinful behavior . . .

• Parties with inappropriate behavior.
• Pranksters and vandalism.
• Drinking and drugs
• Openness to the occult and Satanic influence.
• Focusing on death rather than life and on horror rather than holiness.

And this is where the Gospel comes in. The Christian community is to respond to Halloween with Gospel-saturated compassion and concern for the unbelieving, Christ-rejecting world. Opportunities for evangelism are endless!

• Some churches hold “Harvest Festivals” as alternatives to the traditional Halloween  activities.
• Members can invite neighborhood families into their homes and share the love of Christ.
• Over the past 14 years our church family has presented the Judgement House drama in October as a way to share the truths of the Gospel.
• Add an evangelistic tract to each goodie bag, or piece of candy, you give out.

Christians should focus on what is wholesome and holy rather what is frightening and horrifying. Here is my bottom line: there is nothing inherently evil about wearing wholesome costumes, giving out candy, or even trick-or-treating.  Handing out candy to neighborhood children is another opportunity to share the truths of the Gospel and further the purposes of God’s Kingdom.

Whatever each Christian family decides about their level of participation in Halloween should be a matter of conviction and conscience before God. One thing is certain – We are called to make a difference in this world by being different from this world, and one great vehicle for showcasing our love for Christ is how we choose to engage with the world during Halloween.

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

  I am not a supporter of “celebrating” Halloween.  This observance is firmly rooted in pagan tradition and continues to rise in popularity as a festival of the occult.  In the past, our church family offered an alternative, called “Harvest Festival.”  We invited the community to come and celebrate Jesus through games, candy, and contests.  We now present Judgement House around the middle of October as a positive alternative and message to the dark-side of Halloween.

Back in my childhood, Halloween was little more than carving out pumpkins and a night out trick-or-treating with the neighborhood kids.  Today it is big business for adults and kids alike, including horror movies, haunted houses, and Halloween parties and celebrations of all shapes and sizes.

Because we are coming upon Halloween and likely we will have young, costumed visitors coming to our homes looking for candy, I thought I would write about the “costumes” we adults like to wear year-round. And I’m not talking about the store-bought ones!

The Bible says in Genesis 3:1-13, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”

Adam and Eve constructed the first-ever “costumes” in the Garden of Eden after they stepped into the serpent’s trap.  When their consciences were seared by their sin, they sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness and shame.  And when they heard the sound of God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, they ran and hid.  This is the primary reason we wear our costumes.  We like to hide ourselves from the view of others.  We don’t want anyone to see what we are really like . . . as if our blemishes are unique to us.

God confronted Adam and Eve in love and not in anger, but instead of confessing their sin and seeking God’s forgiveness, they attempted to shift blame.  Adam blamed Eve and God Himself (“The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit . . .”); Eve blamed the serpent; and we all have been blame-shifting ever since.  We wear costumes, seeking to cover our mistakes, shortcomings, and sins – which makes it easier for us to blame others and God for the predicaments we find ourselves in.

Wearing costumes allows us to keep from confronting the real person underneath the mask.  This, of course, is a great comfort for all those who seek after satisfying the desires of the flesh rather than the Spirit.

So . . . what costumes have you been wearing lately?  What would happen if you took yours off?

The Gospel frees us to step out of our costumes, because – regardless of what others think of us – God’s love is as unchanging as it is unconditional.  Costumes enslave us; the Gospel frees us.  Costumes blind us to the glories of His kingdom; the Gospel opens our eyes to see with the eyes of faith.  The Gospel liberates us from the need to hide and rids us of the need to blame.  Jesus died to set the captives free, and in Christ we are free indeed to be exactly what we are: great sinners in need of an even greater Savior.

As fallen, sinful people living in a broken, sin-filled world, we can step out of every costume we wear for creaturely comfort, because the only true source of comfort is found in Christ.

What costume are you wearing?  Why not rest in the reality of being clothed in the righteousness of Christ?  With His robe of righteousness wrapped tightly around you, what else could you possibly need?

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

  Many Christians are being held hostage to a failure to forgive.  They simply refuse to get past hurts and wrongs; they trade their liberty in Christ for the prison of the past.  But there is a Gospel solution to this all-too-common problem:

The Bible records in Matthew 18:21-22, “Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?’  Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.’”

So what’s in a number?  When it comes to forgiveness . . . absolutely nothing!  Jesus made it clear to Peter that asking how many times he should forgive someone who has wronged him is the wrong question to ask.  Peter probably thought he was being extra-gracious, that by proposing a seven-times forgiveness plan he was far surpassing the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.  In that day, Jewish tradition limited forgiveness to just three times; after that, you could write the offender off.

The point Jesus was making to Peter and to us was this:

When it comes to forgiveness, there is no number!

In God’s economy, there simply is no limit to the number of times we are to forgive others.  That is because there is no limit to how many times God forgives us.  He is not keeping score and neither should we!

Peter had a hard time getting past the number.  How about you?  Those who are keeping track of forgiveness simply do not understand; they do not fully comprehend the forgiveness they have received in Christ.  When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He said: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”  Really?  Is that what we really want God to do?  To forgive us as we forgive others?  The answer is yes . . . but only if the power of the Gospel has freed us to live a life of unconditional forgiveness.

Now, I don’t want to minimize the pain that the wrongs of another can cause.  Some scars last a lifetime.  And that is why it is so critical to pursue a deeper understanding of the Gospel, so that we can be freed to forgive.  The Gospel accounts describe in excruciating detail what happened to Jesus on our behalf. And yet, while hanging on that old rugged cross, Jesus prayed: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

I once heard a preacher say that “Refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die.”  Jesus knew the damage of an unforgiving heart, and He set the model before us that gives us the power to offer up forgiveness and thus free ourselves from the prison of the past.

To be sure, we can pray for God to deal with every injustice, which He has promised that He will do.  God-centered anger is an appropriate response to injustice, because it is rooted in a concern for God and His Kingdom rather than our own.  And yet it is the power of the Gospel that frees us to leave our righteous indignation at the foot of the cross.

Jesus declared in Mark 11:25, “When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

It has been said, “Unforgiveness does more damage to the vessel in which it is stored than the object upon which it is poured.”  To forgive as we have been forgiven is to freely forgive, no matter how many times someone has wronged us or hurt us.  And remember:

God never asks us to do anything without giving us the grace to get it done.

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 we walk further up and further into the truths of the Gospel, the Good News almost seems too good to be true.  The more I walk in the truths of the Gospel, the more I am convinced that I need more of the truths of the Gospel!

The cross shouts many things to us.  It shouts that Jesus is committed to saving His people.  It shouts that His people are accepted in the Beloved.  It shouts that the entire work of our salvation has been perfectly completed by our Savior.  But did you know it shouts that He rejoices over you?

The Bible says in Isaiah 62:5, “As the bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.”

Jesus, our bridegroom, has made a choice to rejoice over you His bride.  This is not because you have matured over time, like a fine wine.  And it isn’t because you redoubled your efforts and strengthened your commitment to be more faithful.  His choice to rejoice over you is simply that: His choice.  And because His choice doesn’t have its beginnings in you, it won’t have its continuance or its completion in you either.

That is really good news, isn’t it?

• We are accepted because He chooses to accept us.
• We are adopted because He chooses to adopt us.
• We are cared for because He chooses to care for us.
• We are loved because He chooses to love us.

It would be impossible to accept just how much we mean to our Lord if it hadn’t been written down for us in the sacred Scriptures.  And even when we read it in the Gospel over and over, we still need to ask Jesus to help our unbelief.

I think one of the reasons His choice to rejoice over me is so hard to accept is the fact that I know just how bad I really am!  I know my divided affections . . . my idolatry . . . my sinful pride . . . my self-righteousness.  I know that I remove Jesus from the throne of my life and replace Him with a thousand things smaller than Him.  And yet, in spite of all that – in spite of the wretched man that I am – He has made a choice to rejoice over me!

Regardless of where this message finds you today, I encourage you to pause for a moment and receive a good dose of Gospel medication.  Our heavenly Father’s choice to rejoice over you was sealed with Christ’s blood staining a rough cross on Calvary’s hill.

Still not convinced?  God confirmed the sacrifice of His Son for you by raising Him from the dead on the third day.

Still struggling with doubts?  Today Jesus sits in the position of power, authority, and glory at the right hand of the Father, always making intercession for you, and waiting for that day when He will receive you into glory.

These Gospel truths are the key to rising above the challenges of daily living.  These truths provide the necessary fuel to face every obstacle and overcome every failure, knowing that we wear the spotless wedding garments of His grace.  And that is enough to get us home safely!

One final point: The Bible says in Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  His choice to rejoice over you as His bride never grows cold, never diminishes, and never fades.

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 dictionary tells us that perspective is simply “a way of thinking about something; a sensible way of judging how good, how bad, how important, or unimportant something is in comparison with other things.” With this in mind, let me share something very important with you today:

HOW YOU SEE YOUR LIFE . . . SHAPES IT!

If you see your life as little more than something that you simply need to get through, your life will be shaped by that view. If Wednesday is “Hump Day” and you “Thank God it’s Friday,” your life will never rise above the level of simply “making a living,” longing for the day you can retire. There are those people who see life like a “card game,” where you simply “Play the hand you’re dealt.” And then, there are those who ride a “see-saw,” where life is a rhythm of up and down.

So . . . what is your perspective on life? What would be the “life metaphor” that best describes the life you are currently living right now? If you are a child of the Most High God you will see life from His perspective, and God’s Word tells us that life is both a gift and a trust.

A GIFT: God’s gift to you is the life He has given you. Every breath you take and every beat of your heart is a gift from God. Your gift back to God is how you live life out before His face (“Coram deo”). What do you have that you have not been given? Your personality and passions . . . your intelligence and intuition . . . your dreams and desires . . . your talents and treasures . . . your opportunities and obstacles . . . everything is a gift from God, meant for you to lived out for His glory and the good of others. So the first perspective is that LIFE IS A GIFT! 

A TRUST: From the beginning in the Garden, God entrusted the care of creation to Adam and Eve. God created them to care for everything, and in spite of their horrific fall into sin, this role has never been rescinded. We have been made by God for God, and we are to live a life that expands God’s kingdom, not our own. When we are working to expand our own little kingdom, we shrink the size of our lives down to the size of our lives. That is not the life God has created us to live! We are to be living for something that will live on long after we are gone, and that will only happen when we are living for God. So the second perspective is that LIFE IS A TRUST!

When your perspective on life is God’s perspective – that life is both a gift and a trust – you will begin to think and act like a steward regarding everything you have been given. You will seek to grow the kingdom of God through everything you do. Time and time again, Jesus used beautiful stories to illustrate our responsibility to live for the glory of God and the good of others!

When we are living this kind of life, everything matters. Every job has eternal value when we are working for God. Every recreation has eternal value when we engage in it for God’s glory. Everything we do has eternal implications when we are living in the light of eternity. With this kind of perspective, progress is assured as we glorify God and bless others, advancing toward our eternal rest.

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 all familiar with the game “Hide and Seek,” where children run and hide themselves and one or more seekers go and look for them.  There is a biblical version of this game that I would like to share with you today.

The Bible says in Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

The “hide” part of biblical truth is the understanding that we are hidden with Christ.  God the Father no longer sees our sin, because we are hidden with God the Son and clothed in His righteousness.  In the eyes of God, we not only look as if we had never sinned, we also look like we have always and only done what is right!  To be hidden with Christ in God is to be covered by the finished work of Christ – despite of our continued sins, shortcomings, failures, and faults.

The “seek” part of biblical truth is the knowledge that because of who we are in Christ positionally, we can seek out and set our minds on the things of God practically.  Our union with Jesus propels us in the direction of what God wants for us; it is precisely because of our union with Jesus that we desire to seek the things that are above.

Because we are hidden with Christ, in spite of our sin, we no long have to run and hide because of our sin.  We are covered . . . cleansed . . . and commissioned because of what Christ has done for us.  This is a truth that must be recaptured and reclaimed by the church today.  Far too many Christians are hiding from God because of their sin, when they should be running toward Him.  Adam and Eve ran and hid from God because of their sin, yet God pursued them – not to punish them but to cover their sin.  God is in the business of pursuing rebels on the run . . . and that includes you and me.

So . . . have you been rejoicing in God’s version of “hide and seek” lately?  Or have you been wasting time trying to hide from God?  You and I must always remember that we are great sinners, but we have been eternally loved by an even greater Savior!

Knowing that our lives are hidden with Christ in God, may our days be marked by continually seeking after the One who sought and bought us on Calvary’s Hill with His precious blood.  Let us pursue God’s promise: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

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

  A big part of a pastor’s counseling others. I am continually confronted by situations where it becomes painfully clear that the root cause of a person’s distress is what he or she is trusting in – and I’ve found that far too many people are trusting in their own personal wisdom and strength. The result is less than what we’d hoped for at best . . . and a train wreck at worst.

You see, we always have two choices in life: we can trust in our own might . . . or we can trust in the Mighty One!

The Bible says in Psalm 50:1-6, “The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before Him, and around Him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people: ‘Gather to Me My consecrated ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God Himself is judge.”

After reading a passage like that, it seems kind of silly to trust in our own might, doesn’t it? The psalmist began his exaltation with three splendid divine names: Mighty One, God, and Lord. How mighty is this Mighty One? First, we see that from east to west, God rules over the whole earth. Next we see that our Mighty One has fire at His disposal, a fire of righteous judgment that devours before Him, while a tempest rages around Him.

We know from the Book of Psalms that none of these things are random or beyond God’s sovereign hand; lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds, all these do His bidding (Psalm 148:8). He makes flames of fire His servants and rides on the wings of the wind (Psalm 104:3-4). He, and He alone, can command the lightning bolt precisely where it should strike (Job 36:32). Indeed, He is a Mighty One!

God is in control of all things, and uses all things for His glory and to accomplish His purposes. But there is more! We see that this Mighty One has made a covenant with His people. A covenant is a solemn agreement between persons; when one of those persons is the Mighty One, you can take that agreement to the bank. And so we should never trust in our own might but always trust in our Mighty One!

• In your weakness He is your strength.
• In your brokenness He is your healing.
• In your restlessness He is your peace.
• In your pain He is your comfort.
• In your doubt He is your truth.
• In your fear He is your faith.
• In your darkness He is your light.
• And in your death He is your life.

Your Mighty One is your everything; He is the answer to every question . . . the solution to every problem. As a father of four children (two that we had for a while and are now in heaven), I can tell you that there is nothing that blesses me more than when they come to me for advice, help, or simply just to talk. It blesses me, and I hope I am able to provide a blessing for them. But how much MORE is our mighty, heavenly Father able to bless us when we come to Him! And yet . . . all too often we trust in our own might and neglect coming to our Mighty One. Or we think of coming to Him as the last resort, when all else has failed, rather than coming to Him right at the outset and then waiting confidently for His promised deliverance.

I pray that today’s message will remind you – and me! – to reach out to the only true Source of might: our Mighty One. Because God is a covenant-keeping God, you can trust in every promise He has made, including the one to never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

Now, that is a “might” worth trusting in!

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 Bible records in Luke 15:2, “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”

Who is “this Man” who welcomes sinners and eats with them? He is, of course, none other than God incarnate, fully divine and fully man – the Word who was “with God and who was God and who became flesh” (John 1:1, 14). He is Jesus, who left the throne room of heaven, took on the flesh of man in the form of a servant, and willingly went to a rough wooden cross to pay the penalty of sin. This Man is Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who suffered the tortures of the damned so that you and I might know the eternal bliss of heaven.

In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “It needs an angel’s tongue to describe such a mighty stoop of love.” Yet this “stoop of love” was done for people like you and me, sinners who are desperately in need of a Savior. How tragic that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law grumbled about this ineffable stoop of love, which they themselves needed so badly! But, blinded by their own self-righteousness, they could not see themselves as they truly were: sinners, separated from God – “dead men walking,” if you will – in need of This Man, the heaven-sent Savior.

Even the very best of men are only men at best, but not this Man. This Man is a man like no other. This Man is the supreme man, the God-man, before whom one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all. This Man is the greatest man in every way, and He is the supreme revelation of God.

This Man is greater than the first man. Adam was promised life if he obeyed . . . but disobeyed. This Man was promised death if He obeyed . . . and He obeyed completely and died on a cross for those He welcomed and ate with – sinners like you and me!

This Man is greater than the man Moses. Moses delivered the people of God out of bondage and into their earthly and temporal Promised Land. But this Man delivers the people of God out of bondage into their heavenly and eternal Promised Land. To be sure, all of the Old Testament prophets were great men, but this Man was greater in rank, power, and authority. The prophets were used by God to speak the Word of God; this Man was, is, and forever shall be the very Word of God who has always existed.

This Man is greater than even the high priest of Israel, who offered sacrifices for the sins of God’s people. These sacrifices were mere shadows of the Savior Who was to come. And in the fullness of time, this Man came and offered Himself and as the supreme sacrifice, offered once for all, for the sins of God’s people.

As incredible as this all is, there is even more. When this Man welcomes sinners, He welcomes them with a promise that one day they will be sinners no more. Dear friend, if you have trusted in His atoning work on your behalf, that promise includes you!
That’s right; this Man, who began a good and perfect work in you, will one day complete what He has started. This Man, who has brought you out of the grave, will one day soon bring you into glory. This Man loved you just as you were – a vile, depraved, corrupted sinner, an enemy of God. But Jesus Christ loved you so much that He would not leave you in that condition. When you breathe your last and are received into glory, you will be the exact image and likeness of This Man.

So . . . have you received this Man as your Savior and Lord? If not, He is still welcoming sinners today. Make these glorious promises yours this 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

  I trust today’s message will prove to be a word of great encouragement to you, regardless of where this finds you.

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

Often the best way to figure out what Scripture is saying is to clearly identify what it is NOT saying. In this verse it is not saying that “grace grows.” Peter is telling us to grow in grace, but in no way is he suggesting that God’s grace grows in the life of the believer. Many have led the unsuspecting believer astray into this wicked error, teaching that the more we do for God, the more favor, mercy, and love we will receive. In other words, our good works cause God’s grace to grow in our lives.

Understand that grace is the free, unmerited, favor, mercy, and love of God in Christ toward His people, bestowed on them since before the foundation of the world (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-6). The Christian believer has been given all His grace from everlasting to everlasting! We cannot be more justified. We cannot be more adopted. We cannot be more pardoned. We cannot be more forgiven. We cannot be more saved. We cannot be more loved! We have been made perfect in the Christ Jesus, and it is impossible to rise above perfection.

To be sure, we will grow up into that grace as we grow up into Christ, but we have had – and will forever have – the full measure of God’s grace and affection poured out into our lives.

Pause for a moment and reflect on both sides of this truth.

God’s grace does not grow in the life of the believer, because it is perfect and infinite and cannot be added to. Therefore, it is just as true that God’s grace does not diminish in the life of the believer. There is nothing you can do – nothing – that will cause God to love you any more or any less than He has loved you from before the beginning of time! Let that truth set you free to live the life God is calling you to live, and live in the joy of the Lord, which is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

With that as a settled truth in the heart of the believer, growing in grace becomes the well-worn path the believer walks in progressive sanctification. The Bible constantly reminds and encourages the believer to grow . . . to work out . . . to strive for . . . and at least eight times in the New Testament we are told to make every effort!

The Bible says in Philippians 2:12-13, “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you . . .”

This passage provides the key that unlocks the door leading to a lifetime of growing in God’s grace. We are to work out – not work for – our salvation. Why? Because it is God who works in us!

Wow! We work out because God works in us!

What a powerful truth to encourage and inspire us to live for the One who lived, died, and rose again . . . for us!

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

  Many Christians who come to me for pastoral counseling are locked solidly in the grip of guilt. They simply cannot get past a past littered with sin . . .

• The sin of self-rule
• The sin of self-focus
• The sin of self-righteousness
• The sin of self-centeredness
• The sin of self-love

And the list goes on and on and on. This is the place the devil wants us to live. He wants us to wallow in the past, which keeps us from living in the present. To be sure, the devil cannot take you out of the nail-scarred hands of your Savior (John10:28), but he can get you to focus so tightly on your sinful past that you never live in the forgiven present of your God-given potential.

Living in the grip of guilt stunts our growth, slows our progress, and shuts off the flow of God’s blessings to our lives. We view the work of Christ on our behalf as incomplete in its ability to save us “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25) and remove all of our guilt.

But this is what God want for you!

The Bible says in Romans 8:1-4, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

If Paul did not believe what he wrote, he never would have been able to rise above a past littered with sin – and not just your common, garden-variety sin, but his approving role in the execution of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Read Paul’s words carefully, remembering he was the one who held the coats of those who stoned Stephen to death.

“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:13-15)

How could Paul see himself as the “chief sinner” and still do the work God called him to do? The answer is that Paul had a clear view of the Gospel and refused to be held in the devil’s grip of guilt.

John Newton wrote one of the most beloved Christian hymns, Amazing Grace. Newton wrote those wonderful lyrics with the full knowledge and remembrance of his past life as a notorious slave trader. So how could he rise above this horrible history and faithfully serve his Savior until he passed into glory? Like Paul, Newton had a clear view of the Gospel and refused to be held in the devil’s grip of guilt.

So . . . what about you? How clear is your view of the Gospel? Check your guilt and remember these words John Newton uttered shortly before his death at the age of 82: “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”

Now that is what we should remember as we respond to God’s call in our lives;
God’s grace is greater than all our sins!

And so we are to shake free from the grip of guilt, no matter what our past was like.

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.”