Grace For The Journey

  Here is a story I came across some time ago that provides great insight into the secret of success:

A young bank clerk was being promoted to vice president—a position for which he felt ill-equipped. Approaching the wise and aged bank president, he asked, “Sir, what is the secret of success in my new position?”

“Right decisions,” the president promptly replied.

“And what, sir, is the secret of making right decisions?”

Again, the president was quick to respond: “Experience.”

“And what, sir, is the secret of gaining experience?”

The president smiled and said, “Wrong decisions.”

All of us make wrong decisions along the path of life. Wisdom comes from learning from those wrong decisions and gaining the experience that comes from them so that we begin making better decisions. And the most important key to making right decisions is rooted, to an extent you might not have suspected, to the amount of time you spend in the Word of God.

When Jesus was tempted by the devil during His wilderness experience, He responded each time with these words: “It is written…!” Much of God’s will for the Christian is clearly outlined in the Word of God. The better we know the Word of God, the better decisions we will make in every area of life. Now, God will not tell you whether you should be a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker. He won’t tell you whom to marry or what kind of car to drive. But by spending consistent time in God’s Word, you will learn what is pleasing and acceptable in His sight and be strengthened to carry that out more often than not.

The Bible says in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

If the secret of success is right decisions, then the only source that will give us everything we need to make those right decisions is God’s Holy Word, the Bible. We need not fear wrong decisions along the way, unless we are like the fool who despises wisdom and instruction and refuse to listen to God and learn from our mistakes. We simply need to learn from every decision we make, focus on the Lord, and follow Him wherever He is leading.

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

  Churches are full of people who spend the lion’s share of their time trying to broker God’s favor and bind His conscience for a blessing. They believe their “good works” can obligate God. They have lost sight of our Lord’s words in Luke 17:10 – “So you also, when you shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have done that which was our duty to do.’”

Even if we were to live a life of perfect obedience (which, by the way, we cannot do) we would only be doing our duty . . . and at the end of the day, we still would be unworthy servants. Think about it this way: if we were to keep the laws of our state perfectly, would the state be under any obligation to reward us for our obedient behavior? Of course not! We would have only done what our duty as American citizens. The same is true when it comes to our relationship with God. And on top of that, even our best works are no more than filthy rags in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6).

God says in Job 41:11, “Who has given to Me, that I should repay him?  Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.”

You will remember the story of Job, who lost everything except his life – his health, his wealth, and his children. Even his wife turned against him and urged him to curse God. Then Job’s three friends showed up and hurled false accusations Job’s way. In defending himself, he began to demonstrate an attitude of “deserving better from God” . . . and God quickly corrected Job’s misguided thinking.

To be sure, Job suffered through an unimaginable time of tragedy. He started out well, saying “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21). But Job drifted into an “I deserve better” mentality, complaining that “It profits a man nothing when he tries to please God” (Job 34:9). At that point, the Lord stepped in and redirected Job’s focus away from himself and back toward God.

Regardless of the life we live – even a righteous life like Job’s – we simply cannot obligate Omnipotence. We live in a fallen and broken world, and storms winds will blow our way; our comfort is found in the fact that Jesus is in the middle of the storm with us. Knowing that Gospel truth helps us to weather any storm, trusting that God has delivered it for our ultimate good and His glory. Instead of trying to obligate God we must simply open our heart to gratefully look to Him and lean upon Him knowing that He is working everything for our good (Romans 8:28).

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 have heard many sermons and been involved in many Bible studies over the years that focused on spiritual warfare.  I have taught many of them myself. It’s easy to get caught up in over-spiritualizing our spiritual battle. Some teaching seems to produce more fear about spiritual warfare than it does faith. Other teachings create far more phobias than freedom. And still others shift our focus away from the Light and put it squarely on the darkness.

I’m afraid that sometimes we simply make it harder than it has to be.

The Bible says in James 4:6-7, “But He gives more grace. Wherefore He says, ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

The Bible tells us that when we resist the devil he will retreat and flee from our presence.  When we think of resisting the devil normally we think about all the things Satan does to lead us to disobey God or draw us into sin.  The above verses certainly include that.  However, we dangerously tend to of the subtle things Satan lures us with.  The problem is there are times when it simply seems too good to resist him!

• We choose being right over being loving.
• We choose making a point instead of ministering to another.
• We choose being winners regardless of the costs.
• We choose being served rather than serving others.

These are just a few of the countless additional ways we refuse to resist the devil and instead give him a foothold on our faithfulness.

James gives us the key to resisting the devil and watching him flee:

Submission to God

• We are to submit to God’s purpose in our lives.
• We are to submit to God’s plan for our lives.
• We are to submit to God’s power through our lives.

When we focus on submitting to God, we are strengthened to resist the devil . . . even when we would rather not!

We need the Gospel as much now as we did when we first believed. The Gospel is the power of God and it is only God’s power that renders the devil powerless.  Someone has rightly said, “Because of the cross work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the devil is a lion without teeth . . . a bear without claws . . . a snake without a slithering tongue.”  We have victory because Jesus had victory. We need only tap into the power that is available to us moment by moment in the Gospel and watch the devil flee from our presence!

What a wonderful picture of the power of the Gospel: to see a fleeing devil on the run from the people of God! The devil’s schemes are nothing to be laughed at. They are real and they are relentless. But our God is on the throne of the universe and nothing happens to us that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands. And that, beloved, is the comfort we have in knowing that our God never gives to us more than we can handle. And He always provides us with a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13).

We need only submit to God and resist the devil. God has promised to send Satan into retreat!

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

  If the goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the likeness of Christ – that is, to develop “Christlikeness” – the question we have to ask is, “How does that happen?”

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know I’m going to say that the answer is found in the Bible. The more we preach and study God’s Word the more it will conform us to the image of Christ. But there is another factor: these Gospel truths are to be lived out in a certain way . . . and that way is in community.

Someone has said, “transformation is a community project.” By “community” is meant the redeemed community and not the “it takes a village” of the world.  We were never intended to live in isolation. The first time something was pronounced “bad” in the Bible was God’s pronouncement about Adam being alone (Genesis 2:18).  We have been created for relationship and community.

The Bible knows nothing of intentional isolation for the committed Christian. Think about it this way: the Trinity is relational by nature – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three persons in one in continual community, from eternity past to eternity future. And we have been made in the image of God, which means we have been made for community. As God’s image-bearers, we are intentionally, inescapably relational. Our relationships reflect the community and relationship of our Triune God.

Jesus’ teaching sharpens our focus on this Gospel truth in the following passage:

“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.’” (Mark 12:28-31)

Now, the problem we face is a result of the fall in the Garden of Eden. To be sure, we were made for relationship, but after the fall the image of God in us was marred and our relational abilities are hampered by sin. After they sinned, Adam and Eve began the blame game. The first born (Cain) killed the second born (Abel). And the rest of history is one long, dreadful story about relationships that are fallen, broken, and dysfunctional.

But in the Gospel, God has graciously bestowed the capacity for community on us once again. The concept of “lay-your-life-down-for-others” was put on display by Jesus as the model for all of our relationships. The Gospel recaptures the relational aspect that was meant for all humanity and assigns it to the body of Christ.

Made by God and made for God, the community of believers is the context for growing in Christ-likeness. The outworking of the Gospel is seen in the redemption and restoration of relationships. Sure, we are still broken and we will still hurt each other and mess up our relationships. But the Gospel provides all the grace we need to grow through all of it.

•  Betrayed? So was Jesus, and Jesus is with you in your betrayal.
•  Denied? So was Jesus, and Jesus is with you in your isolation.
•  Falsely accused? So was Jesus, and Jesus is with you in the heartache.
•  Abandoned? So was Jesus, and Jesus is with you in your loneliness.

God is renewing His broken image in you right now. A significant part of His perfect plan for accomplishing that restoration is located in the realm of relationships and in the context of community. Make no mistake, the more you focus on your relationship with God (vertical) the more you will want to focus on your relationships with others (horizontal). If you want to be more like Christ, you will have to get more engaged in community! And that is the Gospel truth.

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 Peter’s exhortation to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18).  But what does that mean, exactly?  If you were to ask people what they think it means to “grow in grace” what do you think they would say?  For the most part, the answers are as follows:

• Reading the Bible more
• Regular church attendance
• Stronger prayer life
• Consistently tithing
• Volunteering more at church
• Increasing service to community

These are all good answers and there are other practices, as well, which give evidence to the grace of God at work in the life of the believer.  And yet I must say to you that these answers do not go deep enough.

Growing in grace is more about what we know than what we do.  Peter says we are to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  In other words, we are to be growing in our understanding of the Gospel: the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.  We must seek to understand more deeply each day what Jesus has done, continues to do, and will one day complete on behalf of sinners like you and me.

C. Ryle rightly observed:

“He obeyed perfectly . . . He loved unconditionally . . . He forgave completely.  And all of this was done on behalf of rebels who deserved nothing but His wrath, judgment, and condemnation.  The more we understand this unmerited favor, the more we are strengthened by His omnipotent strength to fight the good fight of faith.  The more we understand what Jesus has done for us, the more we grow in grace. The more we grow in grace, the more we are transformed by its truth.”

When I speak of a person 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.  He feels more of the power of godliness in his own heart; he manifests more of it in his life.

Growing in grace means we are growing in our understanding of God’s great mercies given to great sinners.  Growing in grace magnifies the majesty of the One who set His face to go to the cross (Luke 9:51) to pay so great a price to secure our eternal redemption.  At the same time, we see our weakness and utter dependence upon the One who died in our place and has promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

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 dictionary defines “fear” as “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.”  We all know the experience of being afraid.  From the child’s fear of the dark to the adult’s dread of death, from unease due to the unstable economy to apprehension due to an impending layoff at your workplace, we have all experienced the paralyzing effects of fear.  Yet this kind of fear is not from God and can keep us from being all God calls us to be.

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

The Word of God makes it clear that any fear that paralyzes us and prohibits our advancing the cause of the kingdom of Christ comes to us from Satan, not our Savior.  This is an ungodly fear that makes us unstable, unreliable, and uncertain about everything regarding both life and death.  The devil likes to distract Christians with every imaginable fear.  He seeks to water down our witness and slow our service to God.

But the only fear the Christian should have is the fear of God.

Listen to what God says in His Word . . .

“Gather Me the people together, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.”  (Deuteronomy 4:10)

“O, that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever.”  (Deuteronomy 5:29)

To fear God is to bow down before Him in reverential awe.  It is not a slavish fear that immobilizes us and keeps us locked up for fear of punishment and retribution.  That is the kind of ungodly fear that we see in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:8-10, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto hi, ‘Where are you?”  And he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’”

Ungodly fear followed on the heels of the first sin and it has plagued every person ever since.  But godly fear is a fear that acknowledges God as much for His holiness as for His love . . . as much for His majesty as for His mercy . . . as much for His faithfulness as for His forgiveness.

To fear God in the way Scripture commands is to experience Him in the way described in Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by Him we cry, ‘Abba Father’.”

What a comfort to know that we can have this kind of relationship with Him.

But it is just as important to know just how we got in that kind of relationship with Him.  When we discover that God was willing to send His Son to die in our place that we might live it leads us to bow low before Him in loving awe and reverent thanksgiving.

The fear of the Lord is the unshakable foundation upon which we build our lives.  We delight in the Law of God and desire to keep it, even though we know we fail daily.  The fear of the Lord empowers us to live out practically what we are positionally.  We are adopted sons and daughters who are deeply loved and desired; therefore we desire nothing more than to live a life that is pleasing to the One who paid so great a price to have us as His own.  And when we fail, and fail we do, we run – not away from Him but to Him, knowing that He awaits us with open arms and nail-scarred hands.  That is exactly what the Bible instructs us to do in 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”

Godly fear is a great grace given to the believer by faith.  It frees us to praise in our problems, sing in our suffering, and cry out to Jesus in our challenges, because we know that we are the objects of His unwavering and unconditional 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

  We all know from experience what loneliness feels like.  Sometimes it even happens to us when we are not alone.  Do you know why?  It’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and put them on something else.

The loneliest people in the world are those who look to anything other than God to do what only He can do.

• They find their worth in their work.
• They find their identity in their income.
• They find their meaning in their marriage.
• They find their comfort in their children.
• They find their happiness in their hobby.
• They find their rest in their recreation.
• They find their might in their ministry.

Even when they seemingly get what they are looking for, they are still left empty, wanting, and lonely.  So what’s the solution?  It is found in Hebrews 12:1-2 … there the Bible says, “Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Far too many in the church today cast only passing glances at our Lord.  But the author of Hebrews tells us to look to Jesus, not merely glance at Jesus.  The text implies that we are to look to Jesus and away from everything else, making Him the great object of our thought, words, deeds, and desires.  (The New American Standard Bible translates Hebrews 12:2 as a directive to be “fixing our eyes on Jesus.”) In looking to Jesus, we are depending on Jesus for everything that matters in both life and death.  And when we are depending on Jesus, we are depending on the only One who can remove the loneliness that grips so many most of the time, and all of us some of the time.

So . . . are you sensing any loneliness in your life right now?  If you are, make sure the eyes of your soul are focused in the right direction!  Jesus is not only the author of your faith – the One who began a good work, but He is also the finisher of your faith – the One who will bring it to a perfected completion.  We all must remember every day that we are the joy that was set before Him; it was for that joy that He endured the unimaginable suffering of the cross.  With that Gospel truth in view, loneliness is as far from us as the east is from the west!

Let me close out thoughts today with the words from a marvelous old hymn, Looking Unto Jesus:

Looking unto Jesus, Never need we yield!
Over all the armor, Faith the battle-shield!

In our hearts unfurled,
Let its elevation Overcome the world.

Look away to Jesus, Look away from all!
Then we need not stumble, Then we shall not fall.

From each snare that lureth, Foe or phantom grim,
Safety this ensureth, Look away to Him.

Looking into Jesus, Wond’ringly we trace
Heights of power and glory, Depths of love and grace.

Vistas far unfolding Ever stretch before,
As we gaze, beholding, Ever more and more.

Looking up to Jesus On the emerald throne,
Faith shall pierce the heavens, Where our King is gone.

Lord, on Thee depending, Now, continually,
Heart and mind ascending, Let us dwell with Thee.

  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

In your daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, how do you picture yourself? Have you ever pictured yourself as a wall of bronze? Well, after reading today’s word of encouragement, I believe you will!

God declares to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15:20-21, “’And I will make you unto this people a fortified bronze wall; and they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you,’ says the LORD.  ‘And I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you out of the hand of the terrible.’”

God is encouraging Jeremiah in carrying out the task that He gave him by telling Jeremiah that he would make him “a fortified bronze wall.”  This description takes on great significance when we learn the characteristics of bronze.  Someone has described it like this:

“Bronze is a tin alloy of copper which is harder than either of the alloy metal ingredients. It is extremely strong and resistant to atmospheric corrosion. It has     been used since prehistoric times to forge tools, weapons, statues and          ornaments. It has a comparatively low melting point, which metalworkers in ancient times could achieve with charcoal and bellows. This allowed them to cast complex shapes. Natural bronze is a salmon-colored metal but statues and other outdoor artifacts quickly develop a patina, which protects the bronze from further rapid deterioration.”

The key characteristics of bronze are: strength, resistance to corrosion, and pliability for easy work.  The picture God is painting is one who is yielded to His will and way and has the strength to resist the world’s corroding influence

God makes it clear in this chapter that he did not approve of Jeremiah’s attitude and conduct.  If Jeremiah would win a place back in God’s favor and kingdom work, he was commanded to do the following:

(1) He must repent of his distrust and selfishness;

(2) He must rid his message of all that is worldly and unworthy.

If Jeremiah will do these two things, four results will follow:

(1) He will again be God’s true messenger to the people.

(2) He will not conform to the wishes of the people, but will cause the crowd to turn to    him ultimately for the Word of God.

(3) He will become what God promised him in his original call, “a fortified bronze wall.”

(4) And, God will defend and deliver him from evil men.

Notice the work of grace in the life of the Jeremiah. The Lord does not say that he is to make himself like a fortified bronze wall through our own efforts. He assures him that this is all the work of his Great God.  This is also true of us.  When God says He will make you a wall of bronze, you can be assured, that is exactly what He will do in your life!

In a day when the witness of far too many in the church is so thoroughly diluted by worldliness, we need . . .

• Believers who truly are like fortified walls of bronze (yielded, strong, and resistant).
• Christians who can withstand the slings and arrows of the evil one.
• Believers who are not afraid to be “politically incorrect” and stand for the truth claims of Christianity.
• Believers who have been made strong in the Lord through the preaching of the whole counsel of God.
• Christians who are not “… tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive; but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, who is the head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14-15).

I have learned that those who love the doctrines of grace are those who possess the doctrines of grace. They understand that the same grace that saved them is the same grace that is sanctifying them, sustaining them, and fortifying them in the face of increasing unbelief and even outright hostility from the world around them.

Please don’t miss the last part of the Lord’s words to Jeremiah: even when he has been made as a fortified wall of bronze, God is still with him!  The reason we cannot be overcome is because our God is with us . . . our God is in us . . . and our God is for us!

Make no mistake about the truth of Scripture: it teaches that . . .

• God is the One who made us.
• God is the One who provides for us.
• God is the One who rescues
• God is the One who saves.
• And, it is God who sanctifies us and makes us as a wall of bronze.

So regardless of where this finds you today and what storm winds may be swirling around you, remember that God has made you a fortified wall of bronze. You will not be blown over!  “I will strengthen you and help you,” He has promised us; “I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). You can stand faithful and firm because God is with you every step of the way. Even if all around you is crumbling, you can rest in the promised truth that you will stand in your place and not be moved.

Praise God this day for this splendid truth: God has fortified you and He continues to strengthen you, 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

  There are many metaphors we can use for this life. Some describe it as a race and find pleasure only by increasing its speed. Others describe it as a party and believe we “should eat, drink, and be merry – for tomorrow we die.” Regardless of our view, every “life metaphor” influences, to an altogether unsuspecting extent, the way we live our lives at every level – personally, professionally, and spiritually.

God has given us the truth about life in the Bible. Our study of Scripture will, by God’s grace and through the working of His Spirit, cause us to develop a biblical worldview. As we grow in that worldview, we’ll discover Life’s Three T’s, which are designed to teach us some basic truths about how we should view and live our lives. Let’s take a brief look.

#1 – Life is a TRUST!

The Bible says in Genesis 1:28, “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”

Adam and Eve were given what someone has called an “Almighty Trust Account.” They were owners of nothing and stewards of everything. God gave them authority and dominion over all of creation, and they were to care for it in such a way that would bring honor and glory to God. The key to experience and enjoy His goodness and grace was the daily surrender to Him and simply “letting go and getting out of the way.”

Nothing has changed today.  You and I are stewards of all God’s creation, just as our first parents were – except that today, the creation has been distorted and disfigured by sin.  We, like our Adam and Eve, have gotten in the way and gone our way instead of God’s.

#2 – Life is a TEST!

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 8:2-3, “Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”

Adam and Eve failed their test in the Garden of Eden, and the result is that you and I inherited their sinful nature. Even after we place our trust in Christ and are filled with His Spirit, the results of our own testing will always be a mixed bag: we respond successfully on some occasions; at other times we don’t do so well!

Abraham was tested by God, and he responded beautifully, offering his son Isaac . . . but he lied about his wife (calling her his sister) to save his own skin. David was a man after God’s own heart . . . but he committed adultery and murder. Peter was one of the first disciples Jesus called . . . but he denied his Lord three times.

The goal of our testing is progress, not perfection. God seeks to develop us, not destroy us.  We will only be perfect when we are taken home to be with our Lord; until that time, we should be making measurable progress in reasonable time . . . even if that progress often feels like one step forward and two steps back!

#3 – Life is a TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT!

The Bible says in Psalm 39:4, “LORD, make me to know my end, and the measure of m days, what it is, that I may know how frail I am.”

Because our identity is in Christ, our home is in heaven. We are simply pilgrims passing through this life, and we have been called, equipped, and empowered by God to expand the cause of His kingdom while we are here, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

So . . . how are you doing with Life’s Three T’s? If you are holding on tight to the truth of the trust God has granted you, if you are prayerfully striving to meet every test, and resting in the fact that eternity awaits after this temporary assignment, I congratulate you and exhort you to keep pressing on into these truths.

But perhaps you’ve read these words and feel convicted; you’ve been focused only on your own “stuff” . . . you’ve failed a test as dramatically as Abraham, David, and Peter did . . . or you’ve been focused on the things of this world for so long that eternity feels like little more than a fairy tale to you.

Well, if that is so, I have Good News for you!

Let me close with this gracious invitation from our loving, forgiving Lord: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)

The Bible instructs us in James, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” God has promised you His full forgiveness, His eternal power, and everything you need for life and godliness.

Don’t let Life’s Three T’s drive you to despair;

Let them drive you to your knees,

Where you and I should be every day!

It is there that you will find the grace and the power you need for this day and every day.

This is God’s Word For Today … This Is Grace For The Journey

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 

Grace For The Journey

  People sometimes ask me during a conversation, “What do I need to do to experience more of God’s love in my life?”  To which I respond,

“Nothing! 

It’s not what you must do;

It’s a matter of what you must believe.”

What you believe in your heart about God’s love for you and the unchanging status He has granted you as a member of His royal family will determine, to an altogether unimaginable extent, the amount of love and grace you experience in your daily life!

Bryan Chapell puts it this way:

“Many people feel that the means of grace (prayer, Bible study, church attendance, etc.) are the instruments by which we secure God’s love on a daily basis. In our humanity it is natural to  think in terms of such a barter system of love, but such thinking creates the impression that these Christian disciplines are not means of grace but means to grace. We reason, as a consequence, that practicing more of the means of grace will cause God to love us more and, thus, the more we do them the more of His love we will get. Conversely we reason that we will have less love by not adequately pursuing these practices. We damage ourselves and our spiritual walk with God by reasoning that practices even as noble as the means of grace will gain us more of God’s affection. We will inevitably be forced to ask, ‘How much more must I do to earn his love?’ And of course, the answer will not be pleasant.”

You and I must constantly remind ourselves that God has given us His means of grace, not as a way of gaining His love and approval, but simply as a way of experiencing the love and approval we already have in Christ. There is no need to strive for God’s affection because we already have all of God’s affection, thanks to our relationship with His beloved Son – a relationship that is established wholly by God’s grace and apprehended solely through faith.

The way we experience more of God’s love is by keeping in view the love we have already received, which was purchased for us on the cross . . . paid for in full by the blood of the Lamb of God. From the moment we put our trust in Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf, God loved us completely. To be completely accurate, God bestowed His love on us before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He cannot love us any more than He has from all eternity, and He will not love us any less. We are completely and unconditionally loved. The more we live in this truth . . . the more we meditate on this truth . . . the more we will experience the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

God’s love for you is as unconditional as it is undeserved.

• In your disobedience you are loved.
• In your weakness you are loved.
• In your self-centeredness you are loved.
• In your unbelief you are loved.
• In every moment that you are unlovable you are still unconditionally loved.

God’s love for us is not based on our performance, but rather on our position in His beloved Son. And that position, dear reader, never changes, for the Bible says in 1 Samuel 15:29, “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.” Let that truth increase your experience of God’s love today and every day – until that day when you are received into your eternal 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.”