Grace For The Journey

  Yesterday we looked at the first part of Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden: “The Laugh.”  Today we will look at part two, “The Lie.”  Remember, as soon as Satan showed up in the Garden of Eden, he launched his plan to lure man away from dependence and surrender to God.

THE LIE

The lie is found in Genesis 3:4 – “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’”  We know this is a bold-faced lie, because it is a direct contradiction of the Word of God in Genesis 2:16-17, “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”

Here we have the Word of God versus the distortion of the father of lies.  It is instructive to note that Satan does not attempt to deny the existence of God, nor does he try to deny the law of God.  He does attempt to deny the will of God.  The devil delivers a declaration of defiance – not against the existence of God, or the law of God, but on the goodness of God.  When the laugh and the lie of Satan are rightly understood, we see it for what it truly was: an attack on the goodness of God.

Satan was essentially saying that God wanted to deny Adam and Eve the fullness of life by delivering His one prohibition.  Satan got Adam and Eve to focus on the one thing that was forbidden, rather than everything else that was graciously given and permitted.  Satan intimated to our first parents that there was a happier life than what they had with God.  He sold Eve on a more satisfying existence, one she had not yet experienced, an experience apart from God.

What a sales pitch the devil delivered!  He convinced Adam and Eve that God’s borders were narrow and restricting, and that God’s ultimate goal was to deny them the best that the Garden had to offer by demanding obedience to the proscription of that one forbidden tree.  Satan’s “you can be like God” offer was too much for them to resist.  They believed the lie, exchanged kingdoms, shrunk the size of their lives down to the size of their lives, and sent all of creation on a downward spiral of death, decay, and destruction.  What they got was exactly what God promised: death.  Satan was the one who was robbing Adam and Eve of the best life; and every man, woman, and child to follow is plunged into bondage to sin because of their deliberate disobedience.

The lie that promised more actually delivered less . . . so much less!

You see, God never designed us to live apart from Him.

We were made to be dependent upon our Creator, and we were never to find our identity, purpose, significance, or meaning apart from Him.  Yet God refused to leave us in our rebellion.  He pursued us in the middle of our sin, purchased us with the blood of the Savior, and set us apart by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is no lie!

Over the next three days we will look at God’s redemptive response to man’s dilemma.

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 first book of the Bible, Genesis, examines the three truths that make up the Scriptures: Creation, the Fall, and Redemption.  The more we grown in our understanding through the advances of science, the more evidence is gathered to affirm the biblical truth that God created everything.  To understand Creation is the first building block to understanding man’s purpose and place in the world.

However, one thing that science cannot explain is why the world is in the condition it is today.  Man has been trying to “recreate” a perfect world – a world free of selfishness, hate, disease, and death.  In spite of all that man has to work with in education, commerce, politics, and social resources there is more deception, disease, discord, and death than at any other time in the history of the world.  To understand what happened since God declared all His creation “good,” we will look over the next several days at the biblical teaching of man’s fall, where Satan appears in the Garden of Eden and directs his seductive words at our first parents Adam and Eve, and the redemptive response by God to their rebellious acts.  We will deal with the biblical narrative of Satan’s temptation today and tomorrow; then we will finish up the week in looking at God’s redemptive response.  Today we will look at “the Laugh” and tomorrow we will look at “the Lie.”

THE LAUGH

The “laugh” is located in Genesis 3:1, where we see the first recorded question in Scripture: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”  The way this phrase is constructed in the Hebrew language we are to get the sense that Satan is laughing, mocking God in the question he asks Eve.  He is not asking Eve to confirm that God actually said what He said; rather, the serpent seems to be asking, “Was God really so unloving and unfair as to say such a thing?”     

Satan was not denying what God said; he was sneering at what God said.  And this, my friend, is the spirit of this age.  Today, the Word of God is held up to such ridicule in so many quarters.  Those who believe it are laughed at and mocked.  Listen to some of the laughing of the lost:

• “You don’t really believe a man spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish and was spit out on the shore alive do you?”
• “You’re not serious about the parting of the Red Sea and the Israelites walking across on dry land are you?”
• “Surely you don’t believe Noah spent more than 100 years building a boat in the middle of dry ground and then proceeded to get two of every kind of animal to join him for the first recorded cruise . . . do you?”
• “Do you mean to tell me you actually believe the walls of Jericho – if there even was such a place – came tumbling down because people walked around the city for a week, blew some horns, and yelled at the top of their lungs?”

What we need to remember is the fact that there is nothing “cutting edge” about mocking and laughing at the truth claims of the Bible and the Christian faith.  That tired act goes all the way back to the Garden!

Nobody likes to be ridiculed for what they believe.  Nobody likes to be the object of scoffing and scorn.  In fact, so deep is our fear of being mocked, whenever we hear people laughing when we are in the same area we immediately wonder if it is directed at us!  Let me give you a great nugget of comfort I picked up somewhere: “you wouldn’t care what others thought of you if you realized how little they did!”

What we need to remember about the laughing of the lost is that our God is in control of all things – and that includes the laughing of the lost!

The Bible says in Psalm 2:4, “He (God) who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”

And In Psalms 59:8, “But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.” 

In the process of God making all things new, He is also making all things right, and in the end He will be the one laughing.  When we are on the receiving end of the laughing of the lost, we need to lift them to the throne of grace and pray that God would give them eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to understand, and hearts to beat for the glory of the King.

Satan has no regard for God, His Word, His will, or His people.  His plan of attack has not changed … He is seeking to mock God’s Word, His way and His will and persuade people to think that God is unloving and unfair.

Tomorrow we will look at the second part of the Fall – the Lie.

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 today, which are better for you and 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 the following passage . . .

“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.”  (John 15:1-5)

Our Lord’s teaching on the vine and branches perfectly illustrates just how the Christian is connected to Christ. It is organic, not synthetic or mechanical. It is a living, vital union, where the believer (the branch) has been grafted into the vine (the Lord) and finds vital 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 Christ-less environment is nothing more than artificial 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 feeling a bit lethargic?  Make no mistake: staying spiritually connected to Christ will keep you growing and producing fruit that will last all the way into glory … and that is the kind of organic growth that is best!

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

  Do you know the last command in the Bible? It is found, as you might expect, in the last book of the Bible.  In Revelation 22:17, the Bible says, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

What comfort can be found in this final command in sacred Scripture: “COME!” Are you thirsty? “COME” and quench your thirst with the water of life. What great encouragement is in this command from Christ!

And notice the qualifications set forth for those who are to come: Whoever is thirsty! Here we find our Lord Jesus Christ, the Great and Good Shepherd, offering living water to replace the bitter water of our broken lives . . . the bitter water of selfish ambition . . . the bitter water of self-righteousness . . . the bitter water of self-centeredness . . . the bitter water of sin and self-rule.

This world offers water that spills out from broken cisterns, but it will never – never – deliver what it promises. We are always left thirstier than when we started and totally unsatisfied. We dare not to seek to quench your thirst with anything other than Jesus!  Our Lord explained this to the Samaritan woman who had come to fill her water jug from Jacob’s well:

“Everyone who drinks [from this well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  (John 4:13-14)

Scripture invites everyone who thirst to come get our fill from the Fount of every blessing. Do you thirst . . .

• For truth? Drink in the Scriptures!
• For peace? Drink from the Prince of Peace!
• For a forgiving heart? Drink from the Fount of Forgiveness!
• For unconditional love for others? Drink from the Well of Limitless Love!

Only Jesus can satisfy your every thirst. Remember, the Bible promises that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled (Matthew 5:6).

One last thought: Do you recall the cost of all the bitter water you sipped on over the years? They were costly, right? You paid in …

• Regretted choices,
• Ruined relationships,
• Shattered dreams, and
• Separation from God.

Well, this glorious invitation to drink in the water of life comes without cost!  That means two things:

1) There is nothing you will regret when you come to Jesus.  He will cleanse you … He will free you … He will give you full and abundant life … He alone can satisfy.

2) There is nothing you must do – nothing you can do – to “earn” the opportunity to drink from the living waters. That cost was borne by Him who paid in full the staggering cost of sin for all those who will simply trust in His atoning work on their behalf.

Thirsty sinner – Come!  Come and drink!  Come and drink freely and fully! … Thirsty Christian . . . Come! Come and drink! Come and drink freely and fully!

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

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

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

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

Grace For The Journey

  As you probably know, a compass is the direction-finding instrument typically used in navigation. A hiker, soldier, or sailor will use a compass to be sure he or she is headed in the right direction.

A compassion compass is the direction-finding instrument used by the Christian to find all those who are in need of Christ-like compassion. This is the right direction for us.

The Bible says in Matthew 9:35-36, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

I’d like to emphasize three things about the way the compassion compass works:

1. It requires searching.

The Bible tells us that “Jesus went through all the towns and villages.”  He did not wait for people to come to Him. He did not hang up a sign that said, “The Great Physician is in” and wait for customers to bang on His door. He was not stationary in His service to others! He went searching for those who needed what He alone could provide.

2. It requires seeing.

Jesus was other-oriented, which opened His eyes to see the crowds of harassed and helpless sheep who needed a Good Shepherd. He refused to do what so many do today: look away from those in need. Our English Bibles do not capture the full force of the Greek verb translated “had compassion” in Matthew 9:36, which means “to feel deeply or viscerally.”  When Jesus saw the sick, the lost, and the hopeless, He felt an ache in the pit of His stomach! Compassion began to beat His heart and He yearned to help them. So He did!

3. It requires shepherding.

A shepherd cares for his sheep. He knows how defenseless they are, and he knows that if he does not care for them, they simply will not survive. He knows how helpless they are without a Helper.

Like Jesus, we are to search, see, and engage. The Bible tells us of Jesus’ foretelling of His words at the Final Judgment:

“The righteous will [ask Jesus], ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’  “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’” (Matthew 25:37-40)

When we serve the hurting and helpless, we are serving our Lord!

So . . . how well is your compassion compass working these days? Remember what is required to keep it in top notch condition: searching for those who need to experience the healing grace of God in Christ; seeing their distress and resolving to take action; and shepherding them by meeting them at their point of need. And in a lost, broken, and hurting world, their greatest need is to hear of the One who died in their place so that they might have life in His name.

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

  Life is all about choices. It has been wisely said, “You are because of God. But you are where you are because of the choices you have made in life.”

The Bible says in Joshua 24:15, “If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day Whom you will serve, whether the gods our ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

As you look at your life up to this point, where have your choices brought you?

The Bible is chock-full of examples of the consequences of choices . . . some good and some bad. For every person who has ever lived, except one – our Lord Jesus Christ – life consists of a mixture of both wise and foolish choices. Adam and Eve made both wise and foolish choices. Abraham . . . Moses . . . Peter . . . Paul  . . . all these great heroes of the faith made both wise and foolish choices. Today, I want to encourage you with a wonderful example of wise choices and show how God blessed them in the life of Joseph. But first, let’s get an overview the story.

Joseph grew up in a typical Hebrew household. He had several brothers and his parents loved him dearly. Jacob, Joseph’s father, made a poor choice by showing favoritism to Joseph, causing Joseph’s brothers to become jealous and hateful toward him. When Joseph was 17 years old, his brothers’ resentment boiled over; they attacked Joseph and threw him into a well to die. Then they changed their minds and decided to profit from their evil; they pulled Joseph up out of the pit and sold him to traveling merchants on their way down into Egypt.

Joseph prospered in Egypt, however, and rose to the position of administrator in the house of Potiphar, the captain of the palace guard. Scripture tells us that Joseph was a handsome young man; Potiphar’s wife lusted after Joseph, repeatedly propositioning him, but Joseph refused to have anything to do her. Furious, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of trying to rape her, and he was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.

In prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s chief baker and the forgetful cup-bearer, who did not tell Pharaoh about Joseph’s gift until two years later, when Pharaoh had a dream that no one could interpret. Pharaoh summoned Joseph, who, because of God’s gifting, rightly interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams of a coming severe famine. And so Joseph was elevated from the pit, by way of the prison, all the way into the palace and the position of Pharaoh’s prime minister, second in command in all of Egypt.

After the famine hit, Joseph’s brothers were sent by their father Jacob from the land of Canaan down to Egypt to buy food for the family. When they arrived, they had no idea it was their brother Joseph who was in this position of great authority and power under Pharaoh. Eventually Joseph revealed his true identity, and his brothers were terrified, remembering how they had schemed to kill Joseph and then lined their pockets by selling him into slavery. What would Joseph do? How would he avenge himself? But in an act of astonishing forgiveness, Joseph uttered some of the most memorable words in all the Old Testament, words which the Holy Spirit undoubtedly intended to point us toward the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph told his brothers:

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” (Genesis 50:20-21 ESV)

This is truly a remarkable story! Throughout his time in Egypt, Joseph might have cursed his God for seemingly abandoning him, and he certainly could have cursed his brothers for absolutely abandoning him. But he did not none of these things. Instead he chose the route of obedience, worship, and forgiveness. Joseph chose . . .

• Acceptance over anger
• Self-sacrifice over self-pity
• Expanding God’s Kingdom over expanding his own kingdom
• Forgiveness over bitterness

Because Joseph never took his eyes off of his God, he made the right choices in the areas that mattered most in life.

• Joseph accepted his situation from the hand of the Almighty.
• Joseph refused self-pity and instead allowed self-sacrifice to mark his life.
• Joseph could have expanded the cause of his own kingdom when Pharaoh raised him up to the position of prime minister of Egypt, but he remained focused on expanding the kingdom of God.
• And finally, with every reason to condemn his brothers for the years of hardship and bitterness they had subjected him to, Joseph forgave them and was ultimately used by God to save His people from the famine.

We too, are faced with choices every day. Some of our choices are wise and others are foolish. Some choices will bring glory to God and other choices will not. So let me close today with a simple question: “Whom do you choose to serve today . . . your Savior or yourself?” 

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 first glance, the title of today’s blog might lead you to believe we are going to focus on the current state of the American economy.  Not true; we’re going to look at a far more important economy – God’s – and how it has turned the world upside-down.

Consider Jesus’ remarkable statements concerning the upside-down, counterintuitive economy of God:

“Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”  (Mark 8:35)

“The last will be first, and the first last.”  (Matthew 20:16)

Lose your life to save it?  The first will be last?  What’s going on here?  The best way to interpret Scripture is to let Scripture interpret itself, and there is no better place to interpret the counterintuitive economy of God than with the story of David being anointed as king of Israel.  When God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint Israel’s new king, Samuel was initially basing his pick on outward appearances.  But as Samuel looked upon the sons of Jesse, God said something that helps us understand His upside-down economy.

“The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.  For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:7)

When Jesus said “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it,” He was telling His disciples that the Christian life was a life of service marked by sacrifice, suffering, and sorrow.  When Jesus said “The last will be first, and the first last,” He was telling His disciples that power, prestige, and position in this life do not necessarily correspond to the same things in the next life.  In fact, the reverse is often true!

In God’s economy, what is unseen is more important than what is seen; what goes on inside of us is more important than what is going on outside of us.  Problems occur when we spend too much time focusing on what is seen rather than what is unseen – what’s going on outside of us rather than inside of us.

Some years back, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song titled, “The Change.” The chorus lyrics are:

What about the change?

What about the difference?

What about grace?

What about forgiveness?

I want to live a life that’s showing

I’m undergoing the change.

That’s it! Instead of praying for bigger barns, we should be praying for bigger hearts. And it is only the power of the Gospel that causes us to pray in such a way.

You see, the Gospel isn’t just the truth that unbelievers must believe in order to receive eternal life.  It is a moment-by-moment reality that believers must embrace so that they can “abundantly” experience their salvation (John 10:10).  Many in the church mistakenly believe that only the unbeliever is in need of the Gospel.  But the reality set forth in the Scriptures is that both the unbeliever and the believer need the Gospel, because the Gospel is for sinners – all sinners – who are in need of a Savior.

The power of the Gospel frees us from our bondage to the economy of the world – frees us from forever running on the performance treadmill – and allows us to embrace the upside-down economy of our God with great joy!  The Gospel is how we set about undergoing the change.

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

  Tomorrow is the birthday of the love of my life.  This is my birthday card to my beloved Kay, who turns the page on yet another year. She is more than I ever could have asked for or deserved as a wife, mother, and unquestionably my best friend in all the world.

Kay, I find it hard to put into words what joy you have brought into my life since we met in the counseling area of the Field House on the campus of Southwest Baptist College as we waited for friends to be counseled following a Spring Revival Service in 1972.

What began as a wonderful friendship has become a wonderful life together. I had heard the phrase, “I cannot remember life before you,” but I had no idea what it meant until I met you. The Bible says it is not good for man to be alone, so God made a “helpmate” for him. You, my beloved, are wonderful helpmate to me.  As the word implies you have “complimented,” “completed,” and helped me every step of the way. Without you, there would have been very little forward movement in my life.

What a “magical” wedding we had on August 11, 1973! And how could it have been any other way? It was a whirlwind of events that led up to that blessed day.  I clearly remember most of them, but I especially remember the day you said, “Yes.”  Never has a “yes” sounded so sweet to me, before that day or since.

Out of hearts for Him, God has given us hearts for one another.  He has given us so much together.  And by His grace, you gave us four beautiful, remarkable children: Cathy in 1976, Stacy in 1981, Lindsay in 1983, and Ashley in 1991.

You have stayed right by my side through all the storms and successes. You have never wavered in your commitment and love.  What an incredible life we’ve had together so far! As a boy, I had dreams of what it would be like to be married; Kay, you are more than I could have ever dreamed of as a friend, wife, ministry partner, and the mother of our children. You are certainly far more than I deserve. I love you so very much, Kay, and I thank God for you every day.

Happy Birthday to the woman who is my best friend in all the world . . . the one who has never wavered!

Thank you for living the Gospel; thank you for giving me grace!

Love,

Terry

Grace For The Journey

  I love the line from Forrest Gump: “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” It’s a delightful way of echoing the cliché, “Life is full of surprises.” Some of those surprises are good ones; some are not so pleasant. Yet through it all, we are loved and cared for by a God who is never surprised.

God is sovereign! Nothing ever “happens” to you that catches God by surprise. To be sure, we are often surprised, but God never is. There are simply no events in our lives that do not first pass through His outstretched arms and nail-scarred hands.  That ought to be a real comfort to you today? This knowledge sustained Joseph during a most difficult and “surprising” time in his life. He forgave his brothers, who had thrown him down an empty well and then sold him into slavery, saying, “It was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.” (Genesis 45:8)

From the time he was 17 years old through age 30, Joseph received one “bad” surprise after another: hated by his brothers for telling the truth . . . falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife . . . forgotten by an ungrateful cupbearer. Then came a different kind of surprise: in one day, Joseph was raised from the prison to the palace.

Joseph undoubtedly was surprised by these dramatic changes, but deep down in his heart he knew that God was not. He understood that it was by God’s hand that he experienced both desolation and deliverance. Joseph fully understood the sovereignty of God and recognized that the stuff of life is not a random roll of the dice, but all part of God’s perfect plan.

Can the same be said about you today? Looking back over your life, can you think of a time that stands out as a season of struggle? A time when it seemed like God was either sleeping or on vacation? I certainly remember such times, and that is why, as has been so profoundly said, life needs to be lived backwards. It’s hard to see God in the storms that blow our way sometimes, but when we look back, we can see His handprints all over those trials. God not only allows the storms, He is in the middle of them with us!

The sovereignty of God means there is a gracious purpose for our lives; and that purpose is being rightly accomplished, even in every painful providence. We may not see it at the time, but we can be assured that nothing ever catches our God by surprise. He is working all things together for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28).

Sovereignty means that everything in our lives happens for a reason and we don’t have to be able to figure it out . . . and that reason has been in the mind of God from all eternity – a God who loved you so deeply that He sent His beloved Son to die on a cross for you.

There are no surprises, because we are secure in God’s sovereignty.

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

 

  That’s a strange question, isn’t it? How do you buy without money? You may be thinking, “I can’t think of anything we can buy without money.” And you’re right; I can’t either . . . but God certainly can!

He says in Isaiah 55:1, “Come all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”

So how do you buy when you have no money? You can buy when God is providing all of the “cost,” which is the truth of the Gospel as it relates to our salvation. There are many who have perverted the Gospel by saying that God simply “makes up the difference” for those who don’t have enough holiness. They say that God bridges the gap between their good works and His perfect holiness by making up the difference in their merit. But don’t you believe it!

The “good news” of the Gospel wouldn’t be good news if all it did was make up the difference for those who did not have quite enough to get in to heaven.  Why?  Because we are broke.  We are spiritually bankrupt.  We have nothing!  We are dead in our trespasses and sins, and our only hope is for God to provide His amazing grace to those who have no money but are invited to come, buy, and eat!

What a powerful truth when rightly understood! But it can only be understood by those who know their condition before Jesus shows up. If you are like most people, who feel they are not really that bad, and certainly not as bad as the really bad, then you believe you have what is necessary (the currency) to secure your mansion in heaven. But if you see yourself as the Bible sees you – as a great sinner in need of an even greater Savior – then you are invited to come and buy without any currency because your currency is to be found only in Christ.

Here is the bottom line: We are not, as many people believe, basically good. We are bad, because we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), which means we have absolutely no hope apart from a Savior who will pay our way, not merely make up any shortfall we are lacking. And that is exactly what Jesus did on a cross on the hill Golgotha: He paid the debt of our sin in full with His precious blood and secured for us our place in heaven.

So . . . how do you buy without money? You simply transfer your trust from your own personal merit to the Master and receive His life and grace, rather than relying on your good works.

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.”