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.”
