Grace For The Journey

  In 1864, Jules Verne penned the extremely popular science fiction novel, A Journey to the Center of the Earth. The story involves a professor who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth and sets out to find them.  Along the way, he and his companions encounter prehistoric animals, natural hazards, and other dangers.  In 2008, Journey to the Center of the Earth came to life in 3D in the movies – the third time this story was dramatized in the cinema.

QUESTION: If a movie titled A Journey to the Center of Your Life was made about your life, what would the viewers find when they got to your center?

At the center of every life there are only two possible destinations: one is the self and the other is the Savior.  By nature, we all live SELF-CENTERED lives.  Our Number One goal is self-fulfillment.  With self firmly established in the center of our existence, we live for our dreams, our goals, our preferences, our agendas, our success, our pleasure, our happiness . . . and we don’t much care what effect it has on those around us.  We are convinced that it is far more blessed to receive than it is to give.

Because self is at the center of our universe, we find it incredibly difficult to love others and impossible to find contentment.  We are blind to opportunities for serving others but see opportunities for getting ahead with 20/20 vision.  And in the end, even if we get everything we think we wanted, it never delivers on its promises.  By embracing our sinful selfishness we have denied our humanity . . . and are left poor, blind, and naked.

But this is not God’s desire for you!

The Bible says in Acts 17:28, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

A CHRIST-CENTERED life is living for the One who is life.  We live in Him.  We move in Him.  We have our being in Him.  We find our identity, meaning, and purpose in Him. Living a Christ-centered life means we care about the things He cares about, even when those things don’t immediately involve us or touch us personally.  With Christ at the center, we live a life that truly matters: a life lived in service to others, not at their expense.

When we journey to the center of our lives and find Christ in His rightful place, we live cross-shaped lives.  We lay our lives down for others and forgiveness flows freely, even to our enemies, because Jesus is the One who is writing our story.

When Jesus is at the center of our lives, He is the source of everything we need in order to do everything He has called us to do.  Our potential is not measured by what we can do, but by what He can do through us.  What we desire to be doing is what He has called us to do; and what He calls us to do display His character in all that we think, do, say, and desire.

With Christ at our center we live in the light of eternity.  We live to expand His kingdom, rather than our own kingdom, by surrendering to His authority and rule in our lives.  We love what He loves and hate what He hates.  We no longer live and move and have our being in the pursuit of our own glory, but rather in the pursuit of His glory.  We live as ambassadors for the Almighty and make decisions based on what pleases Him, rather than what pleasures us.  Keeping Jesus at the center of our lives keeps our lives centered . . . and when we are living centered lives we are living lives that truly matter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When we think about the things of God, we are strengthening our minds to rise above the challenges of daily living.  Sure, the fight is fierce and the battle rages.  But we already have the strength we need to become more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) . . .  we have that strength in Jesus.  We need only to focus our attention more and more on Him, and we will be less and less affected by whatever is going on around us.

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

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

This is God’s Word 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When we think about the things of God, we are strengthening our minds to rise above the challenges of daily living.  Sure, the fight is fierce and the battle rages.  But we already have the strength we need to become more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) . . .  we have that strength in Jesus.  We need only to focus our attention more and more on Him, and we will be less and less affected by whatever is going on around us.

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

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

This is God’s Word 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

  Unless you subsist solely on fast food, you have heard of organically grown food, which is grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Most grocery stores stock organically grown products, which are usually more expensive.

Did you know that the statement organically grown also applies to the Christian? What I mean by this is the “vital” or “spiritual” union between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Christian believer, which is best illustrated in John 15:1-5 . . .

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Our Lord’s teaching on the vine and branches perfectly illustrates just how the Christian is connected to Christ. It is organic, not mechanical. It is a living, vital union, where the believer (the branch) has been grafted into the vine (the Lord) and finds nutrients for growth through this organic connection.

Think about it this way: Just as the branches of any tree or vine share in the nature and life of that tree or vine, the Christian is united with Christ by faith and shares in His nature and life.

Jesus final words in the passage above – “Apart from Me you can do nothing” – give us the sum and substance of the life of the saint separated from the Savior. Any perceived growth in a Christless environment is nothing more than behavioral change. Anyone can change behavior, but heart transformation only takes place through union with Christ. It is a transformation which not only changes behavior, but changes the believer as well.

When Paul said, “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), he was making it clear that his union with Christ was the very life he was living.

So . . . how is your connection to Christ these days? Are you plugged in and powering up? Or are you somewhat disconnected and finding yourself unable to live and produce the fruit of the Spirit daily in your life?  Make no mistake: staying organically connected to Omnipotence will keep you growing and producing fruit that will last all the way into glory.

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

  Who gets the last word in your home? Who gets the last word in your professional career? Who gets the last word in your friendships? The Bible makes is crystal clear who is to get the last word in every sphere of our lives.

The Bible says in Hebrews 1:1-2, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe.”

Here we see that Jesus is the Father’s last and final word to us, which tells us that Jesus is to get the last word in every area of our lives. The last word has to be the Word of God and Jesus is the Word of God.

The Bible says in John 1;1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”

The authority in the life of the believer is the Word of God. Jesus is the last Word in both life and death. When anything stands in opposition to the revealed truth in sacred Scripture, we are to follow God’s will and not our own, regardless of the cost or circumstance. The Bible warns us in Proverbs 30:6, “Do not add to His words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

But what about those areas where God is silent regarding the specifics of how we are to conduct ourselves?

• What to wear
• Where to work
• What to eat
• What to drive
• Whom to marry
• Where we should live

God allows us to have the last word regarding those things, but He expects us to stay within the framework of the revealed truth of Scripture. In the question of whom to marry, for example, the Scriptures tell us not to be unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14), which should discourage us from marrying an unbeliever. The Scriptures tell us not to live beyond our means and to steward appropriately the time, talent, and treasure God has given to us (1 Corinthians 8:6).

Christian liberty is the term that we use to cover the countless activities where the Bible is silent in giving us specific guidance and direction. Yet in all of those decisions, Jesus is still the last word because of the guiding principles that are rooted in Scripture. One of the most important Scriptures related to our liberty in our Lord came from the pen of the apostle Paul.

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

Where the Scriptures are silent, we are to align our choices and decisions in the direction of bringing glory to God. We are to put the truths of the Gospel on display for all the world to see. We are not to indulge the self, simply because we cannot see a specific prohibition against some activity. Even in our liberty as Christians, Jesus still has the last word because what we do must always bring glory to God and be beneficial for others. Remember, even in the specific areas of life where the Bible is silent, it still speaks; and it speaks with the authority of having the last word!

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

  You may have heard the old adage, “The best defense is a good offense” which simply implies the idea of being proactive rather than reactive. You hear this phrase used in a variety of fields. Sports teams that constantly press their opponent and score lots of points will usually win the game. Armies that don’t wait for the enemy to mount an attack but instead go on the offensive tend to gain the upper hand.

This maxim proves especially true in the spiritual realm. On this side of eternity, we are surrounded by the powerful triple threat of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We face a constant battle on all three fronts, and at times the onslaught seems overwhelming. So how can possibly gain victory in this ongoing fight?  The Bible tells us . . .

The Bible says of the productive Christian in Psalm 1:2, “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

The Bible says in Psalm 119:11, “Your Word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

For the Christian, the best offense is a godly, spiritual one: staying rooted in the Word of God. Instead of waiting for the attacks of temptation to test the outer edges of our faithfulness to Christ, we go on the offense by learning and living the Word, meditating on it, and memorizing it – God’s living and active Word.

You see, the more we are in the Word of God, the more the Word of God gets into us!

In the apostle Paul’s famous “armor of the believer” passage in Ephesians 6:13-18, he exhorts us to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Bible scholars frequently point out that the Greek machaira, translated “sword” here referred to the short sword that every Roman soldier carried on his belt for hand-to-hand combat. It was a powerful offensive weapon that the Roman legions had used to conquer the world.

You will remember that this “sword” was the weapon that our Lord took up to confront and conquer every temptation Satan threw at Him during His wilderness experience (Matthew 4:1-11). Three times, Jesus slashed at the devil with these words, until the accuser retreated:

“IT IS WRITTEN!”

Our Savior’s encounter with the evil one underscores the fact that, as important as it is for us to learn and know the Word of God, we must hide it in our hearts as well. When we memorize the Word of God, it is readily available for us to decimate the wily serpent’s slings and arrows.

Make no mistake, for every battle you face against the world, the flesh, and the devil, God has a Scripture to address that specific fight.

Remember: to know what is written, we have to read what was written.

So read your Bible regularly and develop your godly offense.

One last thought: when you find yourself on the losing side of a particular skirmish—as we all will, for we are all sinners – God’s Word has a promise for you to tuck securely into your mind and heart and soul, so that you will get right back up after you’ve fallen and keep on fighting:

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

I’ve written this on a number of occasions, but I want to remind you again that nothing – “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your eternal Savior, there is nothing you can do, nor is there anything that the world, the flesh, or the devil can do to you, that will separate you from God’s amazing, gracious, eternal love.

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 statement “there is something better than life” is hard to imagine in the culture we live in today, isn’t it?  The wisdom of the world tells us that there is nothing better than the life we are currently living.  How did the old commercial say it?  “Fellas, it just doesn’t get any better than this.”  With the belief that this life is all there is, we are told to eat, drink, be merry, and “grab for all the gusto” on this side of the grave, because there is nothing on the other side.

Well, the wisdom of the Word declares that the world’s wisdom is folly, because there is something on the other side of the grave.  There is a judgment . . . there is a heaven . . . there is a hell . . . and there is something infinitely better than this life and what it has to offer!

The Bible says in Psalm 63:3, “Your lovingkindness is better than life.”

What would it take for you to be able to say what King David said in this psalm . . . and mean it?  Is there anything you are holding on to more tightly than Jesus?  Is there anything you have right now that if you lost it, your life would be turned upside down?

Only the truths of the Gospel can ravish us to such an extent that we are ready, willing, and able to forsake everything this life has to offer for the One who has given to us everything we have.  Only the truths of the Gospel can convince us that only God can satisfy us – fully, finally, and forever.  The author of The Pilgrims Progress knew this truth and lived it out at great cost.

For more than 12 years English Christian writer and preacher, John Bunyan, was imprisoned while his second wife Elizabeth cared for their six children.  His crime for which he was put in chains: preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ without state sanction.  On a number of occasions the magistrate would have let him go if he had promised to stop preaching.  But he would not.  John said he would remain in prison until the moss grew on his eyelids rather than fail to do what the Almighty had commanded him to do.  He said that parting from his dear wife and children, “has often been to me in this place as the pulling of the flesh from my bones.”  This was especially true with regard to his eldest daughter who was blind and was given to him through his first wife who had died.

For John Bunyan, there was something indeed better than life: the loving-kindness of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He chose the loving-kindness of his God over his freedom.  He chose the loving-kindness of his God over being with his family.  He chose the loving-kindness of his God in spite of intense persecution and prison.  He refused to deny his God, though to do so would have brought him great worldly benefit.  It’s hard for us, living in this day and age, to imagine living with that kind of personal peace and security in the midst of such persecution, but here was a man so sold-out for Christ that the confession of his life proclaimed that it was better to live in the love of God than to live with his wife and children!

Only the love of God can satisfy your deepest longings.  Only the loving-kindness of God can answer your prayers, solve your problems, and overcome your obstacles.  It is only when we want the presence of God more than anything else in life that we will be able to hold loosely everything we have at present . . . because we are looking forward to all that has been promised us in the future.

Because the best is yet to come, what we have now is only a shadow of what is to come.  Our greatest joy, our deepest affection, and our highest love in this life pales in comparison to what awaits us when we get home and stand in the presence of the One whose loving-kindness truly is better than 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 all understand the term “weather forecasting,” which is a prediction meteorologists make about what the weather will be on the basis of correlated atmospheric observations. They study and analyze all available pertinent data and make an educated guess about what is most likely to occur.

Today I would like to share a word of encouragement – not about weather forecasting, but rather “faith forecasting” and two different types of faith.

1. DO YOU HAVE FAIR-WEATHER FAITH?

This faith is strong when the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shinning. Under these balmy conditions, there is barely any need for faith at all. Everything is going according to plan – your plan. It is smooth sailing out on the calm seas of your self-interest. You are in hot pursuit of your dreams, your goals, your desires and your agenda.

The person possessing fair-weather faith is usually a fair-weather friend, as well. They are friends only when things are going well. They are plugged in to the pleasant. They walk by sight, and as long as they are happy about what they see, they keep walking alongside of you. And, of course, walking by sight removes any need for walking by faith.

But this is not the kind of faith what God wants you to have!

2. DO YOU HAVE FOUL-WEATHER FAITH?

This faith is strong when the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shinning . . . AND it is strong in the middle of the raging storm. This faith can deal with whatever hand is dealt because it trusts the Holy Hand that deals it. Foul-weather faith trusts God even when it cannot trace Him. It is a faith that advances through affliction because this faith knows the truth of God’s Word.

The Bible says in Romans 828, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Fair-weather faith cannot see the Holy Hand behind the painful providence, but foul-weather sees it and welcomes it. Walking through the storm is making this person to be more than a conqueror. Foul-weather faith sees adversity as the means for advancing in Divine Grace to higher ground where the vision is clearer and closer to God’s point of view. It is the faith of Abraham when asked to offer his son Isaac on the altar. It is the faith of Zacchaeus when asked by Jesus to come down from the tree. It is the faith of the prostitute who entered the Pharisee’s home in the face of condemnation and anointed Jesus with oil.

So . . . what kind of faith have you been demonstrating lately? How would those closest to you answer this question? When we take our eyes off of our circumstances and fix them on Jesus, He will give us all the faith we need to weather any storm we are facing. Not only that, we can be assured that Jesus is in the middle of the storm with us. Make no mistake, Jesus is no fair-weather friend. He is with us is the storm and in the sunshine. When He said He would never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), He meant what He said!

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

  Yesterday was Father’s Day.  The first Father’s Day in the United States was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane Washington. The day was proposed in 1909 by Mrs. John B. Dodd, who wanted to honor her father, William Smart, a civil war veteran who raised six children alone after his wife died in childbirth. Clearly, Mrs. Dodd took seriously the Lord’s instruction, set forth in the fifth commandment, to “Honor your father.”

I understand that not all of us had a father like William Smart who seemed worthy of honor. But the Commandment does not tell us to honor our father if he is honorable, we are commanded by God to honor . . . period! We all know – those of us who are fathers are painfully aware – that no father is perfect. We all have our weaknesses, blemishes, blind spots, and flaws. There are many examples throughout sacred Scripture of godly men who were flawed fathers. Two who immediately come to mind are Eli and David; both men were badly flawed in their roles as parents, yet, they pursued God with all their hearts.  My father went home to be with our Lord on March 26, 2009. But if he was here today, as far from perfect as he was, I would tell him one more time how much I loved him, was grateful for all he taught me, and thanked God for him.

So . . . to all of you who still have dads on this side of eternity, I trust you took some time yesterday to take a moment to honor him.  If you did not, take a moment today to do that. And to all of you who are dads, here are six pillars of parenting encouragement, which I offer to strengthen your resolve to live intentionally as the spiritual head of your home and the father of God’s covenant children.

• Pillar #1 – Keep Leaning.

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.”

God is infinite and we fathers are finite. As often as we think we have it all right, we frequently have much of it wrong. Just ask mom! And that is why we must be willing to lean not on our own understanding, but rather on the wisdom of the Almighty. James instructs those of us who lack wisdom (which, of course, all of us do) to ask God and He will give that wisdom to us (James 1:5). Our Father God is calling us to be is the dad who keeps leaning on the Lord.

• Pillar #2 – Keep Leading.

The Bible says in Joshua 24:15, “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Fathers are called to be thermostats who set the temperature in the home, not thermometers who simply record it. The biblical definition of leading—serving the Lord and serving others—is the foundation upon which a godly home is built. Remember, it was Jesus who said He did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). Our Father God is calling us to be is the dad who keeps leading his children toward the Lord.

• Pillar #3 – Keep Listening.

The Bible says in Proverbs 1:5, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning.”

With four beloved daughters, I learned, often the hard way, why we have two ears and only one mouth. The Bible makes it clear that we are to be much quicker to listen than we are to speak (James 1:19). Our Father God is calling us to be is the dad who keeps listening and learning along the way.

• Pillar #4 – Keep Lighting.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:6-9, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

In this dark and depraved world, it is the function of the father to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6), which means we are to light the way for our children through the Word of God. Our Father God is calling us to be is the dad who keeps lighting the path for his children through the Word of God in every aspect of life.

• Pillar #5 – Keep Looking.

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:81, “Be alert and always keep on praying . . .”

Every father is to be the “lookout” for his children, watching for signs of the enemy approaching. Remember, the enemy will look for any and every way into the hearts of our children:  smart phones, music, movies, video games, the Internet, friends . . . everything! The devil “prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8), looking to “devour” our children; it is our responsibility to keep him out by any means necessary. Our Father God is calling us to be is the dad who keeps watching over his children and praying for them continually.

• Pillar #6 – Keep Loving.

The Bible says in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

All of the above categories, when lived out by faith, demonstrate a father’s love for his children: leaning, leading, listening, lighting, and looking. It is important to note here that the best gift of love we can give our children is the love we demonstrate for their mother.  Our Father God is calling us to be is the dad who keeps loving our wife (our children’s mom) as Christ loves His church.

There you have it: six pillars of parenting encouragement. Some of you fathers may be thinking, “I have been messing it up big time!” Well, as Bruce Willis said in Die Hard, “Welcome to the party, pal!” We all mess this up every day, and that is why we so desperately need the truths of the Gospel to rain down upon us each day. We are great sinners in need of an even greater Savior on a moment-by-moment basis.

The Bible instructs us, “In view of God’s mercy . . . offer your bodies as living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1). We make this offering in view of the mercy God has shown us in Christ, not in view of our merit – and that certainly includes any merit in the area of being a dad.  Without the Gospel, we can remain imprisoned to our painful past parenting mistakes.

But this is not what God wants for us! The Bible encouraged us to take this view: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Learn from the past, look forward to your promised future, and live in the present, knowing that you are unconditionally loved and eternally forgiven. This provides the power to press on into these pillars of parenting, knowing that you go not in your own strength, but in the strength of your Savior.

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 world places people into two distinct categories: “Winners” and “Losers.”  This discrimination is hardwired into the DNA of all of us – that people are either winners or losers.  But the Gospel provides another completely different category, which I like to call “Witnesses” and “Learners!”

Instead falling into the worldly categories of winning and losing established by a culture dominated by competition and one-upmanship, the Bible says that God’s children are either “witnesses” or “learners.”  A witness is someone who faithfully testifies to the character and capability of Christ.  A learner has fallen short of that mark, but from a posture of Gospel-saturated humility, is engaged in learning the lesson God has given to them.

Jesus told the disciples in Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The Greek word for “witness” in the New Testament is Martos, from which we get our English word martyr.  In essence, a witness for Christ goes beyond their words in life to a way of life.  They bear witness with both their lips and their lives . . . their profession and their practice . . . their words and their works.  You see, the Gospel not only provides for spiritual needs, it provides for physical needs as well.  How else would we explain Jesus feeding crowds of thousands and making the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead live again?

When Christians bear false witness – that is, when their practice contradicts their profession – they are moved into the category of “learner” . . . NOT loser.  Every time we mess up is an opportunity for the Master to teach us something about ourselves and our God.  Every time we bear false witness, whether in thought, word, deed, or desire, we are given an opportunity to learn more about the truths of the Gospel and the trustworthiness of our God.

So the next time you stumble and sin, look for the lesson God wants you to learn.  Don’t let Satan and the world convince you that you are a “loser!” With Jesus on your side, losing is not an option, because He has secured every victory for you on Golgotha’s Hill.

And the most important lesson we need to learn

Is the truth that God, in His grace, loves us through

Every storm . . . every struggle . . . and every sin.

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.”