Grace For The Journey

Today is my last blog of 2015.  So . . . how did this year go for you?  Did it turn out like you had planned?  Did you accomplish the goals you had set for yourself in the areas that matter most?

As we get ready to turn the page on yet another year, we must remember that history will someday come to an abrupt end.  One day the trumpet will sound, Jesus will return on the clouds of heaven, and He will restore all things.  Jesus will take all that is wrong and make it right, and He will take all that is crooked and make it straight.

When Jesus comes this time, He will not appear to humanity as a baby laid in a manger, as we just celebrated last week at Christmas; this time He will appear as a conquering King.  And when He does, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).  The kingdom of heaven will come in all its fullness, majesty, and glory, as God ushers in a new heaven and a new earth and a new you (Revelation 21:5).

Regardless of how this year worked out for you, the best is yet to come!  Perhaps you had a year filled with one storm after another, barely keeping your head above water.  Or maybe it was your best year ever.  Whatever it was, it was not what it will be one day.

The Bible says in Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things is passed away.”

And when that day comes, you will know in your heart that you have arrived at your intended destination.  You will finally and fully be home at last.  You will be in a place you had longed for, looked for, and lived for.  You will finally be in the place where you know you belong because of the One you belong to!  And this will not be the end of your story, but rather it will be only just the beginning of it.  Everything you will have done up to that great day will end up being only “the cover and the title page of the One Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before,” as C. S. Lewis so rightly observed.

The best is truly yet to come!  Heaven will descend into our fallen, broken, and hurting world.  The lion will lie down with the lamb.  The skies will sing and the trees will dance.  Our humanness will be restored as we are reunited with all people of every tongue, tribe, and nation, and there will be peace on earth that will never again be broken.  WOW!  What an incredible future to look forward to!  The entire world will be restored.

The Bible says in Romans 8:12, “Creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.”

Until that day comes, and for as long as we are here, let us champion His cause by preaching the Gospel to everyone we meet – with both our lips and our lives.  Let us, as fallen and broken people, reach up, reach in, and reach out in the name of Jesus to bring His restoration and reconciliation to a fallen and broken world.

Let that be our greatest goal and first priority in 2016 for the glory of our King.

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

  At this time of year, many set pen to paper and write down all the things they resolve to do to make sure the New Year turns out better than the year just concluded.  Some want to lose weight.  Some want to get out of debt.  Some resolve to give more to ministry; others want to save more.  Still others want a happier home life.

So . . . what is it for you?  What are you resolving to do this year that will make 2016 better than 2015?  Let me suggest one thing above all else:

PREACH THE GOSPEL TO YOURSELF EVERY DAY!

No matter what we resolve to do, resolution will not make this year better than last year.  Never has a life been made better by resolution in the long run.  Sure, we can change behavior for a season and see measurable change in our lives.  We can be less slothful and more disciplined.  We can be less impatient and more forgiving.  But inevitably, if our resolution is not accompanied by transformation through the power of the Gospel, we will find ourselves in pretty much the same place at the end of this year as we were last year.  And that is a place no child of God should be! We have been commanded to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18), not to remain mired in inertia!

Resolutions become reality when we keep the Gospel before us.  When the eyes of our faith stay fixed on the Gospel – virgin birth, sinless life, atoning death, triumphant resurrection, and glorious ascension – cold hearts thaw, hard hearts soften, and distant hearts draw near to Jesus.  It is only by trusting in Christ’s promise to finish what He started in us (Philippians 1:6) that we are empowered to keep getting up every time we fall.

Growing in grace means more than growing in Christian character, as important as that is.  To grow in grace is to grow in the awareness of our spiritual bankruptcy and the knowledge of the yawning chasm that lies between sinful man and a holy God that was bridged by Jesus Christ.

J. C. Ryle said, “When I speak of a man growing in grace, I mean simply this: that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive, his spiritual mindedness more marked.”

Resolution becomes reality as our understanding of God’s astonishing, unmerited favor becomes more real to us.  Deep down, we know we are great sinners, both by nature and habit, and yet we are loved by an even greater Savior who laid down His life for us.  Scripture emphatically assures us that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  You are loved in spite of your past failings and you are loved in spite of your future failings!

The truth of the Gospel is the only power that can remove the merit-oriented mindset we bring into our faith and turn our resolutions into reality.

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 evaluate the life you’ve lived throughout the past 12 months?  Were your days marked by shrinking back from all God was calling you into?  Or was it marked by stretching into God’s perfect plan for your life?  Here are a few examples from the Scriptures of a shrinking life:

• Abraham shrunk the size of his life down to the size of his desire to save his own skin when he told the Pharaoh his wife was his sister.
• Jacob shrunk the size of his life down to the size of his desire to receive his father’s blessing, regardless of the cost.
• David shrunk the size of his life down to the size of his desire to satisfy his own sinful and self-absorbed lust for another man’s wife.
• Peter, like Abraham, shrunk the size of his life down to the size of his desire to save his own skin when he told the servant girl and others that he did not know Jesus – 3 times!

Now, here are a few examples of lives lived marked by stretching into God’s calling, even in the face of uncertainty, difficulty, and even death.

• Abraham stretched the size of his life up to the size of God’s plan when he left everything behind to follow God into an unknown future.
• Jacob stretched the size of his life up to the size of God’s plan when he wrestled with God all night and refused to let go until God had blessed him and renamed him Israel.
• David stretched the size of his life up to the size of God’s plan when he fought the giant Goliath and refused to fight against King Saul, even though Saul was unjustly persecuting him.
• Peter stretched the size of his life up to the size of God’s plan when he recovered from his courtyard denials and responded to the call of Jesus to “feed His sheep.”

No doubt you noticed that I used the same people in these examples . . . to show times when they shrunk their lives down to the size of their lives and times when they stretched their lives beyond what they could have ever imagined.

This should be a source of great comfort to you today!  It certainly is for me, because there are those days when I shrink back . . . other days when I stretch forward.  This is true for all of us.

We all live lives marked by advancing into God’s perfect plan and retreating from it.  The key is to keep getting up, by God’s grace, and keep moving in the direction God is calling us to go, regardless of how many times we fall down.

The Bible says in Proverbs 24:16, “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again”

The Christian life is marked by shrinking and stretching, and it will be that way until the day we get to heaven.  We all find ourselves living in moments when we care more about satisfying our own desires and meeting our own needs than we care about living for the glory of God.

The only cure is to keep our eyes fixed on the Author and Finisher of our faith.  The more we focus on Him and believe the truths of the Gospel, the more we will stretch for our Savior and the less we will shrink for ourselves.

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

  Take a moment to reflect on this past year and really think about all that God has been doing in your life.  To be sure, He has given you many victories in 2015.  It is always good to take some time to reflect on these; even better, write them down and file them away so you can keep a record of all the blessings God has brought into your life.  “Count your many blessings, name them one by one,” is the lovely refrain, “and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”  I have been doing this for years, and it has proven to be a source of great encouragement to me to review them periodically and to be reminded of just how faithful our God has been.

Today, however, I am going to ask you to do something that you’ve probably never been challenged to do: take some time to review all of the difficulties you’ve faced throughout the past year.  By nature, we have a tendency to look only at our victories and block out “the bad stuff.”  Yet every good coach and athlete will tell you they learned more from their defeats than they ever did from their victories.  So take a moment to reflect on the difficulties, disappointments, and defeats you faced in 2015.  There is much that God teaches us in our times of struggle and suffering.  Of all the lessons we should learn, at the top of the list is this one:

Difficulties Deepen Dependence!

The difficulties we face in life are divinely ordained to deepen our dependence upon God.  They are designed to drive us back to the cross, where we find the strength to press on.  The Bible reassures us in 1 Peter 1:6-7, “For a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  When we get to the other side of our difficulties, we know that it was the grace of God that carried us through.

This understanding puts us in the place of Paul, who said, “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).  Paul did his part by working through every difficult situation, yet he knew he got through only by the grace of God.  He knew this because he knew just how broken, sinful, and flawed he was . . . and how desperately he needed Jesus.

It is only the power of the grace of God that gets us through the difficulties of life.  It is only the power of the grace of God that encourages us to run to Jesus when we are in deep need.  It is only the power of the grace of God that empowers us to quit depending upon ourselves and place our dependence where it should be – on Christ.  The key to difficulties deepening our dependence upon God is to rest in the truth that we are never alone in our difficulties.  Your colleagues, neighbors, friends, and even family may abandon you, but Jesus will not.

God declares the following in His Word . . .

Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Psalm 94:14, “The LORD will not forsake His people; He will not abandon His heritage.”

Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Difficulties deepen our dependence when we remember that in every difficulty Jesus is right there with us ready, willing, and able to give to us everything we need to get through it.

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

  Theodor Seuss Geisel (whom you and I know as Dr. Seuss) gave young and old alike something to think about in these words from his delightful tale of How The Grinch Stole Christmas: 

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!” And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! “What if Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas . . . perhaps . . . means a little bit more!”

Christmas means a whole lot more than what we get from a store. And every year we are reminded anew of that truth. Hopefully, as we have celebrated Christmas today, we all got a clearer view of the powerful difference the coming of the Christ-child has made to the world. This Babe born in Bethlehem grew in wisdom and stature, lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and was resurrected from the grave. Forty days later He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. But His story does not end there!

He is on the way back.

Hopefully on this Christmas Day we also have gotten a clearer vision of the return of our Lord for His Second Advent. This truth brings such great encouragement and hope to all of us who anxiously await His return! In His first Advent, Jesus came as a suffering servant to pay the penalty for our sin by nailing it all to the cross. But in His Second Advent, He will return as the conquering King who will reign forever and ever . . . and we will reign with Him. Think about some of the great implications of this truth!

• No more sin
• No more suffering
• No more sorrow
• No more shame
• No more sickness
• No more pain
• No more tears
• No more death

The old will be gone, but that’s not all – The new will be ushered in! There will be a new heavens and a new earth; everything will be new, including you and me! We will have new bodies and a new, unbroken fellowship with our Lord. “We shall be like Him,” the Beloved Apostle promised, “for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). All things in heaven and on earth will be brought under one Head, our King, and we will reign with Him as glorified saints in the glorified creation for all eternity.

So . . . what did you celebrate this Christmas? Was it merely parties and packages; boxes and bags? Or did you celebrate something that means . . . a great deal more? … Something that is making a difference now and for eternity!

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

  Today I’m going to take you through the final truths are rooted in the Miracle Of Christmas. Our thoughts today will be focused on four passages of Scripture:

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Genesis 3:6, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

At first glance, the Genesis verse would seem to suggest that it was the sin of our first parents, who were living in paradise yet chose to rebel against the Word of God, that necessitated the coming of Christ.  But that would be demonstrating a lack of understanding of the truth of Scripture!  Sin had already entered the world prior to Adam and Eve’s act of disobedience.

Isaiah 14:12-14, “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Luke 10:17-18, “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” [Jesus] replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Sin had reared its ugly head long before Adam and Eve were in existence.  Adam and Eve were the first human sinners, but not the first sinners.  There was a sinful creature waiting for them in the Garden of Eden . . . one who had descended into a wicked, depraved, and fallen condition before God placed the first two humans there.

Adam and Eve followed the voice of the Serpent (Satan) and responded to God in the very same way he did.  They centered their entire existence on the same “I” that the fallen angel did.  Notice that the same “I” is lodged directly in the middle of both SIN and PRIDE!  Lucifer was filled with sinful pride . . . and so were Adam and Eve after listening to him in the Garden.

Take a look at the five “I WILLS” of Lucifer, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah:

• I WILL ascend to the heavens
• I WILL raise my throne above the stars of God
• I WILL sit enthroned on the mount of assembly
• I WILL ascend above the tops of the clouds
• I WILL make myself like the Most High

For Lucifer, it was not enough to be in the presence of God.  He wanted more than anything else to be in the position of God.  For Adam and Eve, it was not enough to be made in the image of God; they wanted to assume the position of God!  And all mankind has been vainly pursuing the same position ever since.

So if sin was already in this world, and God did not go after the first sinner – the fallen angel – there had to be something behind Adam’s sin that caused God to pursue the sinner.  And that, dear reader, was the special love God had for humanity.

God could have pursued the fallen angels . . . but He did not.  He chose instead to pursue fallen humanity.  God sent His precious Son because of His special love for those who were His special image-bearers.  This is the WHY of the Christmas Miracle, and this Gospel truth in all its glory makes it crystal clear that God’s love for us is unparalleled!

The Bible says in Jeremiah 31:3, “’I have loved you with an everlasting love,’ the Lord says to His people; “’I have drawn you with loving-kindness.’”

The love of God for you, expressed through Jesus Christ, is as measureless as it is fathomless.  It cannot be explained.  Paul declares that it “surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19).  The best we can do is simply receive God’s love and life by faith and respond with a heart of adoring gratitude to the One who showers it upon us – not only daily, but moment by moment.

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

  This third installment in our series of thoughts on the Miracle of Christmas Devotional Series. We will take brief look at the Way the Christ-Child came.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

At first glance, this verse might seem to contain needless repetition of the same idea. “A child is born . . . a son is given.” But make no mistake, there is an incredible distinction to be made between “a child born” and “a son given.” Let’s take a look.

1. A Child Is Born!

God promised back in the Garden of Eden that a child would be born as a descendent of the woman Eve.

Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.”

In spite of Adam and Eve’s act of disobedience in the Garden, God was gracious to chase after those rebels on the run. He promised to send the solution to their sin problem: a Savior, “which is Christ the Lord.”

Galatians 4:4, “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law.”

Just as any child was born of a woman, Jesus was born of a woman too.

However, there is one critical difference.

The “seed” of every child born of woman belongs to a man, but the “seed” of Mary belonged to God the Holy Spirit and did not originate from a human man. It was a virgin birth, but a birth nonetheless; and in His humanity Jesus was a child born.

2. A Son Is Given!

The Bible says in Luke 2:8-12, “There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’”

In His humanity, Jesus Christ was a child born. But as God’s only Son, He is not born, but given as the Savior of the world, begotten of His Father from eternity past.

The Bible says in Psalm 2:7, “I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son; today I have become your Father.’”

And Matthew 3:37 says, “A voice from heaven said, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’”

Who can fully comprehend this incredible truth? The prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon profoundly put it this way:

“As well might a gnat seek to drink in the ocean, as a finite creature to comprehend the Eternal God. A God whom we could understand would be no God. If we could grasp him he could not be infinite, if we could understand him, then were he not divine. Jesus Christ then, I say, as a Son, is not born to us, but given. He was not born in this world as God’s Son, but he was sent, or given, so that you clearly perceive that the distinction is a suggestive one, and conveys much good truth to us. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.”

Knowing that the “secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:29), we can receive this truth of the Way The Christ-Child was . . . and a Son was given for you and me. And if we have received this truth by grace through faith, then we can be certain that it has been done “unto us” and that, dear reader, is the good news of great joy!

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

  Today I’m going to review the second truth of Christmas – The HOW of the Christmas Miracle – The Coming Of The Christ-Child, rooted in Isaiah 9:6…

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”

Some have claimed this verse represents what is called a “tautology,” which means using needless repetition to repeat the same idea.  But as we will clearly see, this Word from God is no tautology, but rather the emphatic truth of The HOW of the Christmas Miracle.  In the birth of Christ, we see the glorious fulfillment of Divine promise.

1^st Truth – Unto us a child is born . . .

As a child in His human nature, Jesus was truly born, just like any other person who has ever lived.  To be sure, He was begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, but in His humanity Jesus is a child born unto us, a fact which is fully established.

Prophecy – Genesis 3:15 – “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.”

Fulfillment – Galatians 4:4 – “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.”

2^nd Truth – Unto us a son is given…

As Jesus Christ is God’s Son, He is not only born, but also given to us.  Jesus is begotten of His Father from before all creation – begotten, not made, being of the same substance with the Father.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“The doctrine of the eternal affiliation of Christ is to be received as an undoubted truth of our holy religion.  But as to any explanation of it, no man should venture thereon, for it remaineth among the deep things of God—one of those solemn mysteries indeed, into which the angels dare not look, nor do they desire to pry into it—a mystery which we must not attempt to fathom, for it is utterly beyond the grasp of any finite being.  As well might a gnat seek to drink in the ocean, as a finite creature to comprehend the Eternal God.  A God whom we could understand would be no God.  If we could grasp him he could not be infinite, if we could understand him, then were he not divine.

Jesus was not born into this world as God’s son, but He was freely given as the One who would save His people from their sins.  This distinction clearly sets forth a difference containing within it a great truth.

Prophecy – Psalm 2:7 – “I will tell of the decree: the Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’”

Fulfillment – Matthew 3:17 – “A voice from heaven said, “’This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”

That great prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon made it clear that we cannot plumb the depths of this great mysterious truth of The HOW of the Christmas Miracle.  The wisest thing we can do is embrace the truth of Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever.”

Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.  Is it true for you today?  Have you received this truth as your only hope of salvation and eternal life?

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 lot of talk these days about “self-confidence” and how important it is to have it in order to succeed in life. Many have taught this worldly “wisdom” for years. But when Jesus shows up in one’s life things change. Instead of self-confidence, comes Savior-confidence. It is Christ alone who is worthy of our confidence. When we place our trust in ourselves, we can never be sure of anything! We might have a good day or a bad day. But when we put our confidence in our precious Savior, regardless of the kind of day we experience, our confidence is in the right place and it need never waver.

The Bible says in Isaiah 50:7, “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced.”

The psalmist had his confidence in the right place. He looked up instead of in. He looked to his Savior and not himself. This is the key to living a life that truly matters. You see, when we are totally convinced that our God is there to give us strength, there is nothing we will not risk for Him. Why? Because we know we will never be disgraced in His eyes. Oh, we may risk and lose in the eyes of this world; they may even laugh and jeer at us. But in the eyes of the only One who matters, when we place our confidence in Him, we are never disgraced, regardless of the results.

Think about this for a moment; dwell upon this great truth. If your God is helping you in whatever area of life you need His help, who can actually hinder you? You might even expand on the assurance given us in Romans 8:31; in addition to saying, “If God is for me, who can be against me?” say, “If God is for me, why should I care who is against me?” Make no mistake: no obstacle you face is more powerful than the Omnipotent God who has promised to help you!

Where is your confidence today? Are you confident in your strength … your smarts … your success … your significance … your skill … you sincerity … your service … your sacrifice? There is someone better – so much better – to put your confidence in, and His name is Jesus. Trust in the One who took your beating, your nails, your crown of thorns, and your cross. If He did that for you, what do you think He will withhold from you today?

All the way back in the Garden of Eden, the lying serpent convinced Eve to question God’s goodness. Don’t let that happen to you today . . . or any day! God is good and He wants the best for you. Granted, His best for us may not always look like the “best” we were hoping for, but know this: whatever His best is at that time is the very best! Divine support will deliver you from the hollow promise of “self-confidence” and give you a confidence that will never let you down. Trust in Christ alone and know that trust will bring you to the Fount from which all blessings flow.

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

  What is your top priority in life?

• Is it your marriage?
• Your family and raising your children?
• Perhaps it’s your job and climbing the ladder of success?
• Maybe a special relationship with someone?
• Could it be your favorite recreation or hobby?

Today we’ll see what the first priority is to be for those who are in Christ.

The Bible says in John 1:40-42, “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.”

What a remarkable passage of Scripture – one that is both instructive and inspiring!  The first thing Andrew did after hearing John the Baptist say, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35) was to find his brother, Simon.  He told him about the Christ and brought Simon to Jesus.

Wouldn’t that be well said of all of us – that the first thing we were known for doing was bringing others to Jesus?  Andrew, who lived much of his life in his brother Peter’s shadow, is known for doing just that.

The Bible says in John 6:8-9, “Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?’”

Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus; later he brought this little boy with the loaves and fish to Jesus.  In reading through the New Testament, it is striking to find that – outside of John’s Gospel – Andrew is only identified in the lists of the apostles.  We read of his brother Peter in a variety of circumstances, from walking on water . . . professing to die with his Savior . . . to actually denying Him to a servant girl . . . and to preaching at Pentecost, where 3,000 were saved.

It seems that Andrew lived an anonymous life for the Almighty compared to his brother, and yet we see him doing what every believer is called by God to do: bringing others to Christ . . . sharing the Gospel with those who do not know Jesus.

Now, before you start thinking you need to quit your post and get into full-time Christian ministry, know this: God is calling all of us to simply “share the gospel and shine His light where we are planted,” and our growth is to be marked not only by our deepening relationship with our blessed Savior but by the growing number of people whom we tell about Jesus.

Take a moment to invite someone to come to Bible Study and church with you this week.  God will be glorified and you will be blessed!

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.”