Grace For The Journey

  By nature, we all want to settle the score . . . to get even . . . to give a little payback when someone wrongs us.  How many movie “heroes” have we seen who set out on a quest for revenge?  We watch, riveted by their pursuit of becoming the hands that deliver retribution.

But this is not what God wants from us!  The truths of the Gospel free us from this cancerous condition.

The Bible says in Romans 12:19, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

The apostle Paul makes it crystal clear that God’s judgment will reign in the end; we must not try to take these matters into our own hands.  As the Almighty Accountant, God has promised to settle all accounts, which frees us from the spirit of unforgiveness and bitterness.  It has been well said that “unforgiveness does more damage to the vessel in which it is stored than the object upon which it is poured.”

So . . . how are you doing in the area of forgiveness?

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:32, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Because this is the final verse in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, it’s easy to skim right over these words if we’re not careful.  God commands us to forgive others just as we have been forgiven.  And for how much have we been forgiven?  More than we could ever recall or repay!  God not only forgave us for all the sins we had committed before we were first saved, He forgives us daily for all the sins we commit and confess from that day forward!  I am convinced that those who find it hardest to forgive simply do not recognize just how much God in Christ forgives them every day . . . every hour … for that matter.  We like to think of ourselves as being much better than we actually are!

The truth is that you and I are great sinners in need of an even greater Savior . . . not just daily, but moment by moment.  Not for a single instant has any one of us ever loved God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, as Jesus said we should (Mark 12:30).  Only when we see ourselves as Paul saw himself – as “the chief sinner” – will we be able to lay down our vengeance and trust that the Almighty Accountant will settle all accounts in His time and in His perfect way.

Paul had many opportunities to yield to bitterness and seek revenge against those who wronged him, slandered his good name, and actively sought to kill him.  But nowhere in Scripture will we find him wasting any time on this toxic track.  Much of what Paul wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wrote while he was in chains, sitting on a cold prison floor because he had been falsely accused and wrongly imprisoned.  But instead of pursuing revenge against his critics, he preached the righteousness of Christ, trusting that the Almighty Accountant will one day put all things right.

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

  For all those who have spent any time at “rock bottom,” I promise you today’s blog will be a source of great comfort and encouragement for you.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say ‘Destroy!”

If the eternal God is your dwelling place, then when you find yourself at rock bottom, know this:

You are still standing on the Rock – and His name is Jesus Christ.

No matter how far you fall, His everlasting arms will be there to catch and hold you.  You cannot fall so far that He is not still underneath you.  The Savior is your support, regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself.

• Are you under the weight of financial misfortune?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of trouble at the office?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of sickness and disease?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of difficulties in your marriage?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of rebellious children?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of the snares of sin?  He is underneath you still.

God’s arms never grow tired or weary, but continually provide strength and support. As someone has said, “When you find yourself as low as you can possibly go, you can rest in Him, because you are eternally sustained in His everlasting arms.”

The blessing of rock bottom is to know that you are still standing on the Rock.

When you feel you are at your lowest, He is there, holding you up with His everlasting arms.  He provides comfort and strength for every battle you face.  When the flesh takes you low, He is lower still.  When the devil takes you under, He is underneath.  When the world takes you down, He is down under!

What a promise for the child of God, that there is no sinking past our Savior!  The Bible says in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There is safety even in the grave, if you are a born-again, adopted child of God.  The grave cannot hold you, because His everlasting arms are underneath the grave, doing two things at once: preventing us from going further down and propelling us into the presence of our Lord!

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

  Did you ever believe that the boundaries set forth in sacred Scripture restricted you from really living?  Many unbelievers regard Christianity as little more than a dour collection of “Thou shalt nots” . . . But what about you? Have you ever slipped into that kind of thinking?

We live in a culture which champions the freedom to do . . .

What we want,

When we want,

And

How we want.

If you speak out about the biblical boundaries God has graciously provided us (yes, I said “graciously provided,” not “onerously burdened”), you are viewed as archaic,  legalistic, narrow-minded, puritanical, and intolerant.  It is not uncommon for someone who is speaking in favor of biblical boundaries to be ruled “OUT OF BOUNDS!”

But this is not how God wants you to think!

The Bible says in Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD , and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.”

This same culture which champions “Anything goes” and “If-it-feels-good-do-it” as inalienable rights is increasingly marked by a haunting sense of meaninglessness and utter despair.  The American College Health Association reports that suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people aged 15-24 and the second leading cause of death among college students.

The answer to this epidemic of emotional emptiness sweeping our country is not found in freedom to do what we want.

The Gospel not only tells us what we have been freed from –

The dominion of Stan, sin, and death –

But the Gospel tells us we are freed for –

To walk in the ways of the Lord and to delight in His law.

Biblical boundaries are not burdens to bear; they are blessings to be received. Someone has put it this way, “God’s law (biblical boundaries) tells us where the land mines are buried and keeps us from blowing ourselves and others up.”  The psalmist makes it perfectly clear that we will inevitably step on those land mines when we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers.”

Parents, do you put up boundaries for your children because you want to squash their sense of joy and freedom?  No, you set boundaries to protect them from the destructive desires of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Our great desire is to point our kids to the abundant life that God calls them to live.  We know where many of the land mines are . . . all too often because we stepped squarely on them when we were young!

By outlining for our children what God has already outlined in His Word, we equip and empower them to live a life that truly matters, hopefully picking up less shrapnel than we did along the way!

Our heavenly Father never sinned; He never came close to stepping on a land mine!  But He knows where every single one of them is, and He gave us the map to warn us about all of them – that map is called the Bible.  If we will, through His power that works in us, faithfully live within the framework of the biblical boundaries He has laid out for us, we will stay within the bounds of God’s blessings.

Are God’s boundaries there to frustrate us and spoil our fun?  Absolutely not!  They are a gracious gift from God, given to us so that we can live – really live – in freedom and joy.

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

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

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

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

Grace For The Journey

What do you long for?

• A better job?
• A nicer home?
• A happier marriage?
• Godlier children?
• A longer vacation?
• A plusher retirement?

 

If what we are longing for is not Jesus, then we have substituted a lesser love in our lives, and it is a love that will never truly satisfy.

If Jesus is at the center of our lives, we will live with a sense of deep longing to live each day to please and glorify Him, as well as looking forward to the day when we will see Him face to face; when we will be in His presence forever.  Lesser loves will not have the power to possess our minds, capture our hearts, and direct our wills when we love Jesus more than anything else in life.  When driven and directed by a lovely longing for our Lord, we are able to keep things in their proper perspective.  We understand that there is room for only One on the throne of our lives – and His name is Jesus Christ. When He occupies His rightful place in our hearts, our lives point to Him and everything we desire, think, do, and say becomes a hymn sung to His glory.

When we long for Jesus more than anything else, all that we have is viewed in light of His eternity glory.  We see beyond all that we have been given to the One who has given it all for His purpose and glory – not ours.  Now, instead of viewing every good gift as a means to “earthly happiness,” we are captured by His “eternal vision.”  We expand the borders of our lives beyond the borders of our lives.  We hold loosely to . . .

• Our plans
• Our dreams
• Our goals
• Our schedules
• Our agendas
• Our wants
• Our preferences
• We hold loosely even to our lives

As we hold tightly to Jesus.

We see our story in the context of His story, and we acknowledge Jesus as the Author and Finisher of our story.  We dare not take the pen to write any portion of our story, because any segment we write will be stained by our sinful desires (see Jeremiah 17:9-10).  Instead, we are always looking for ways to connect what we are doing with what Jesus is doing – right here and right now, both personally and professionally.

We were not born and reborn to live simply for ourselves.  We were created and given new life that we might live our lives for Jesus, and this is the only way that life will have eternal value . . .

When we live by Him, in Him, and for Him.

We live in the present moment, but we long for that future moment when we will pass from this world into the next, where every moment will be filled with the presence of our Savior and Lord.  As Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.  Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:8-9)

So . . . are you living with a lovely longing for the Lord Jesus Christ?

If yes, praise Him and yield to Him moment by moment.

If no, prayerfully consider what changes you need to make

. . . Because when you make them, it will make all the difference in the world for you.  Robert Murray M’Cheyne provides great counsel for all of us who long to long more for Jesus:

“For one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.”

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

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

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

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

Grace For The Journey

  How often we speak of the heart … I am sure you have said, or heard other people say, “I love you with all my heart,” “He really put his heart into it,” “My heart goes out to you,” or “Her heart must be breaking.”   Shakespeare wrote, “I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart.”  But who really knows the heart?

The Bible tells us in Acts 1:24, “… You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all …”

It is one thing to speak about the heart or from the heart; it is another thing altogether to actually know the heart.  The Bible tells us that God formed the heart of man (Job 31:15), and that the human heart is so ensnared by sin; so wicked and deceitful that it is beyond our understanding (Jeremiah 17:9).  Make no mistake; the Heavenly Cardiologist is the only One who really knows the human heart, which is why the prayer of the psalmist must be the confession of our lives: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” (Psalm 139:23)

It is the wise person who cries out to our Heavenly Cardiologist to search the heart; the fool thinks his heart needs no searching.  By nature we all think we are better than we really are; we think more highly of ourselves than we should!  We compare ourselves with others, find those who are a little worse off than we are, and tell ourselves we are doing well.  We believe we reflect much more of the character of Christ than the testimony of our lives affirms.  And how often are we convinced that we know with absolute certainty what is beating inside the heart of another?  We practically put ourselves in the roles of judge, jury, and executioner.

But this is not what God wants from us!

Only God knows the heart – every heart (John 2:25).  He is the One who removed our heart of stone and gave us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Only God knows exactly what is going on inside our hearts moment by moment.  We need to acknowledge this truth and live in the light of this truth.  We need not fear God searching our hearts, because He is the only One who can cause it to beat after the things of God.

You see, God will tolerate no rival.  He is to be on the throne of our lives and He will dismantle and deconstruct every idol of the heart.  He began this work when He raised us from death to life when we acknowledged our sinful condition, repented of that sin, and asked Him to be our Savior and Lord.  He continues this work until it is done (Philippians 1:6); and that will only happen when we reach the other side of the grave.  Until that day what we need to remember God is at work in the lives of you, me, and all of His children.

In light of this truth, we need to keep living by the truths of the Gospel each day of our lives.

We must keep both past grace and future grace before the eyes of our heart

  We live under the banner of the finished work of Jesus Christ (our justification, which is past grace), but we also live under the banner of the future work of Jesus Christ (our continued sanctification and ultimate glorification, which is future grace).  What God started He will finish, and nothing will get in His way – and that includes you!

Regardless of where this finds you today, whether your heart that is beating strongly for the things of God, broken on the anvil of affliction, burdened by regret and guilt, or buried under the weight of weakness and despair, God will finish what He started in you and in this world.  There is a day coming, when your heart will beat only for the things of God and you will be in a place where there are no more tears, sorrow, pain, or death.  Let that truth from our Heavenly Cardiologist be a comfort to your heart today and all the days of your 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

  What constitutes a good work in the eyes of God? I believe the 18^th-Century English pastor Abraham Booth put it best: “To constitute a work that is truly good, it must be done from a RIGHT PRINCIPLE (the love of God), performed by a RIGHT RULE (God’s revealed will in sacred Scripture), and done for a RIGHT END (God’s glory).”

I don’t think those words can be improved on, do you?  The plain truth is that the Bible teaches even our “good works” are like filthy rags in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6), because we stain even the best actions with mixed motives and less than perfect performance. Yet Abraham Booth clearly explained the foundation upon which a good work must be built:

For the love of God, By the Word of God, To the glory of God.

So . . . how are you doing in this area?  What has been your motivation for living a life that is pleasing to God?  Hope of reward for doing good?  Fear of consequences if you don’t succeed?   The apostle Paul makes it clear there is a better way … a far better way.  He is led by the Holy Spirit to write in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

Notice the ultimate Why behind all the What that we do:

That Why is the love of Christ.

We are not motivated by a fear of consequences, nor are we inspired by a hope of reward.  The love of Christ is the ultimate motivation to live the life God has both called and equipped us to live.

The best way to keep the love of Christ before us is to keep the cross before us.  While we were still sinners, Jesus demonstrated His love for us on that cross by dying in our place (Romans 5:8).  Jesus made it clear that there is no greater love we can demonstrate for someone than to lay down our lives for that person (John 15:13).  And that is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us on Mount Calvary.

Beloved, keeping this truth in view will keep your works good in the eyes of God, because they will be done from “a right principle,” performed by “a right rule,” for “a right end.”  And that is what makes a work good!

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 have all heard the expression, “Fake it ‘til you make it!”  This is a common English catchphrase, which suggests that “by imitating confidence, competence, and an optimistic mindset, a person can realize those qualities in their real life.”  It echoes the underlying principles of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as “a means to enable a change in one’s behavior.”  The phrase, which was popularized by various 12-step recovery groups in the late twentieth century, is a simplification of Aristotle’s notion that acting virtuously will make one virtuous.  In the 1920s, Alfred Adler, a disciple of Sigmund Freud, developed a therapeutic technique that he called “acting as if.”  This strategy gave his clients an opportunity to practice alternatives to dysfunctional behaviors.  Adler’s method is still used today and is often described as “role play.”  The “name it and claim it” and “positive thinking” crowd would use the phrase, “you are what you think,” or, “think it until you believe it.”

Is this the answer to overcoming our short-comings?

Well, I have both good news and bad news for you today.

The bad news is …

Acting as if you are virtuous will never make you virtuous.

Only God, in His grace, makes a vile sinner virtuous.

The good news is …

After God has made a vile sinner virtuous by His grace,

we no longer have to “Fake it ‘til we make it.”

The reason for this wonderful new is because we already have made it . . .

Thanks to what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Those who “fake it ‘til they make it” are working entirely in their own strength.  They are walking by sight and not by faith, and rarely do they “make it” as they had intended.  We can understand the reason why an unbeliever would use this approach, but this should be as far as the east is from the west for the Christian believer!

Sadly, there are a great many men and women in the church today who put on a good show and fake their faith on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday you can’t tell them apart from the unbelieving world.  Their language is not seasoned with salt, but rather peppered with profanity. Their behavior is not a light for a dark world, but rather mirrors the ethical and moral morass of the world’s system.

But this is not what God wants for you!  Look at what God promises to do through us if we are yielded to Him . . .

The Bible says in Zechariah 4:6, “… This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

The Bible says again in Zechariah 10:12, “So I will strengthen them in the LORD, and they shall walk up and down in His name,’ says the LORD.”

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:8-9, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, you may have an abundance for every good work.”

And, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

With promises like these, the notion that we should fake it ‘til we make it seems silly, doesn’t it?  The Lord God omnipotent promises to strengthen us in our faith so that we will walk in His name rather than follow the ways of the world.  He will make all His grace abound toward us, so that we may abound in every good work – in all good works that are done through Christ who gives us strength.

These glorious principles of putting the Gospel on display in a way that makes God attractive …

Are grounded in God’s sufficiency, not our own.

Walking by faith and not by sight lifts us far above any need to “fake it” for anyone, at any time, and for any conceivable reason.

Once we trust God’s promises and power for progress in this life (note that I said progress, not perfection), we are liberated to yield to the plan and purpose God has for our lives without any fear of falling or failure.  Remember, falling isn’t failing unless you fail to get up.  The Bible assures us in Proverbs 24:16, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.”  

We must hold firm to God’s promise to complete what He started (Philippians 1:6)!  Yes, you are a work in progress (Ephesians 2:10), and it’s true that progress won’t be complete until you are received into glory, but it will be completed!  You can take that to the bank.

Until that day, let us do all we can with all God has given us to do it with, knowing that the power of heaven stands behind us, so there is never any need to fake it.

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

Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!

Pastor Terry

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

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

 

Grace For The Journey

  Most of us are blessed to have people in our lives who accept us with loving and open arms.  Yet not one of them really knows us like God knows us.  Even if our acceptance is found in the holy covenant of marriage, our spouse does not know us like God knows us.  David, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said in Psalm 139:4, “For there is ot a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.”

Yet the Bible tells us that in spite of being fully known, we have the assurance of being fully accepted by God.

The Bible says in Romans 15:7, “Therefore, receive (accept) one another, just as Christ also received (accepted) us, to the glory of God.”

Take some time to think and meditate on this truth:

God knows everything about us

And through Christ

Still delights in accepting us fully and completely.

He knows all our . . .

• Defeats and distractions
• Failures and faithlessness
• Blemishes and brokenness
• Covetings and additions
• Self-righteousness and self-centeredness
• Idols and insecurities

He knows every one of our sins, each one an affront to His holy, righteous, just, and perfect character.  Yet, in spite of being fully known for the broken sinners we really are, God has accepted us in work of Christ on the cross and the empty tomb, without placing any conditions upon His acceptance.

WOW!

Can you think of anyone in your life right now who, if they knew everything about you, would accept you as freely and fully as God does?

Imagine a video of your last 30 days being played before your closest friends and family members – every action . . . every word . . . every thought . . . every desire . . . being played on the big screen for all to see.  Now that’s a thought to make your stomach turn over, isn’t it?  What would everyone think about you after watching that video?  What would they do with you?  Yet, the God of the universe knows all the details of your life – the good, the bad, and the downright ugly – and still accepts you fully and completely.

What a friend we have in Jesus!

Think about the times you’ve debated with God like Job, denied God like Peter, and doubted God like Thomas.  And yet even in your debate, denial, and doubt, God never stopped accepting you with a love that is as total as it is transforming.  The Bible says in Psalm 36:5, “Your mercy, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.”

But it doesn’t end there!

Because we are fully accepted, we are to accept others – even those we consider unacceptable.

• Those we dislike we are to accept.
• Those we judge we are to accept.
• Those we avoid we are to accept.
• Those we condemn we are to accept.
• Those we disagree with we are to accept.

Jesus told us in Matthew 5:44-46, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and send rain on the just and on the unjust..”

To be sure, we cannot do any of this in our own strength.

That is why we need the power of the Gospel embedded in our hearts.  As we deepen our understanding of the acceptance God grants us in Christ – in spite of how unacceptable we really are – we are empowered to accept others . . . all others.  We might not agree with their lifestyle or behavior but we are to accept them and love them as precious souls created by God for His purpose and glory.

We must remember God is at work in every one of His children, no matter what we might think about them!  And what God began in each one of us He will one day complete (Philippians 1:6).  God is not finished with any of us yet, and He won’t be until we pass into glory; so let us accept others even as we have been accepted . . . if for no other reason than to bring praise and glory to God.

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

  Jesus Christ made an amazing statement in John 17:20-21.  He was praying to the heavenly Father in the most intimate of ways, revealing a communion and oneness with Him that is difficult for us to soak in. Amazingly, Jesus begins to speak in this prayer of those who would carry on the advancement of the Kingdom of God after His death.  He prays for His disciples and then He prays a captivating statement concerning us who would believe on Him down through the ages when He says, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word …”

Jesus prayed for us in that statement.  It is important to know from the construction of this phrase in the Greek, that His infinite mind was not thinking about some great mass of humanity, but rather each specific person who would be His own.  If you are one who has admitted to yourself and God that you are a sinner, that you cannot save yourself, trust in Christ’s redeeming work on the cross and through His resurrection, and you asked Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin and be your Savior and Lord then you can know He prayed for you that day and that it is recorded in Scripture.

When I study the life of Jesus Christ I am continually awestruck at His character, deeds, and words.  If I’m am honest, there are days when I am convinced that I barely know Him at all.  It is my opinion that we will be, as one person has said, “so mind-blowingly astounded,”  at who He is when we arrive in glory, that the first thing that may enter into our fully renewed minds will be something like, “If I had only known…”  If it turns out that we did not know much about Him at all, then we will not be alone in our lack of intimate understanding.  You see, even one of His original followers, one of the twelve, once heard Jesus say, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip?” John 14:9

My friends, please be honest and admit with me that you and I are not merely lacking a few blanks which will need to be filled in when we enter paradise.  By the way some of us might be led to believe that we think that we have God nearly figured out.  Surely He has been gracious to show us so much through His Word and His Spirit, but He certainly has revealed more to us than we are able or willing to perceive.

No, when we get to glory … we will not receive God’s answers to a dozen or so curiosities that dwell in our minds … we will receive an eye-awakening, mind-blowing revelation of Him which has never entered into our minds or hearts.  When there is no need for faith, and the eternal God then presents Himself to us with nothing limiting our comprehension of Him … there exist no adequate words to describe what that will be like.

Let me leave you with some things that I am rather certain that I still do not yet really know of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord:

• I really don’t know how much He loves me.  Theologically I am convinced, but I struggle to completely internalize that His love for me is titanic and full, never increasing, never diminishing.  I’m grateful that this love of His is not dependent upon my confidence in it.

• I really don’t fathom how forgiving He is.  Again, my theology tells me that you and I are fully forgiven but…fully accepted and welcome?  All the time? Could it really be?

• I really don’t understand that God loves to bless.  He’s a Giver of the first order.  He never fears running out of blessings and He doesn’t lose anything when He gives.  His desire is to bless you and me with His best.  I cannot earn His blessing and I never deserve it.  He may bless me in spite of my unworthiness, He may bless me through my faithfulness … but He never blesses me because of anything other than that He is good and loves to demonstrate that goodness.  I am quite certain that I really don’t understand how true this is.

• There is absolutely no reason for me to fear His growing weary of me.  Do you ever wonder when He is going to reach His “That’s enough!” moment with you?  Are you ever worried that this compassionate, merciful, gracious, and loving God will look at you in your 8 millionth failure and say, “This one has exhausted My resources.  I’m though with him/her.”  If we knew Him like He deserves to be known we would never even consider this heresy.  His mercies really are new every morning.  That includes today.

• I really don’t understand how sufficient His grace really is.  I’m really not convinced that it’s a good thing for His power to be perfected in my weakness.  I’m really not confident that He will be there to catch me in the eleventh hour, two inches from me hitting a life-imploding rock-bottom.  If I really knew Him as He is, I wouldn’t try so hard to remain strong all the time.  If I really knew Him as He is, I wouldn’t be so afraid of my own weaknesses.

• I really don’t grasp how certain my eternity is in His love and grace.  I really don’t believe how soon His return is.  I really don’t fathom how blissfully close I am to seeing my King.  He really is real, the ultimate reality.  He is the final word – Christ is my starting gun and my finish line.  I really am safe.  If I knew Him as He wants to be known I wouldn’t fret so much about things down here.  I must not really know Him enough to be absorbed with His coming Kingdom.  If I really knew Him as I should, I would sense a deeper joy than I’ve ever allowed myself.  So would you, don’t you think?

So how about you?  To know Him initially is to move from death to life.  To know Him continually is to move from fear to hope.  To know Him fully is to move from earth to heaven.  Knowing Jesus as He is worthy to be known … That’s what I’m thinking about today.

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 am sure you have heard the story of the little boy who was standing up on a pew during the church service?  His parents spent much of the service trying to convince the little boy to sit in his seat, so as not to distract those around them.  Finally the parents threatened the boy with a significant consequence for his disobedience and inappropriate behavior that would be delivered to his bottom-side immediately following the service.  Now, sitting and squirming in his seat, the little boy whispered to his parents, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!” 

Did you know there is an obedience that is odious to Omnipotence?

It is obedience that is done simply for the sake of obedience.

• It is done out of fear of the consequences of not doing it.
• It’s done out of guilt and obligation and duty.
• It’s done out of a desire to receive some reward in return.

This is not the kind of obedience Jesus rendered to His Father, and it is not the kind of obedience we are to render either.   The psalmist declares what our greatest desire and delight should be, “I desire (delight) to do Your will, O my God; and Your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8)

Because Jesus was perfect, we see perfect obedience as an obedience that is desired and delighted in.

Jesus did what He did because He both desired and delighted in pleasing His Father.

It was never enough for Jesus simply to do the right thing.  His obedience was never rooted in fear, guilt or a desire to gain some reward.  He did the right thing for the right reasons.  His outward obedience was firmly rooted in an inward desire and delight to do His Father’s will.  It sprang from a heart that was beating with a desire and delight to please His Father in heaven.

Jesus declared in John 8:29, “For I always do those things that please Him (the Father).”

All too often, you and I are like the little boy, sitting down in outward obedience but standing up in internal rebellion.  Our obedience is stained with mixed motives and selfish desires.

And that is why we must continually learn and live out the truths of the  Gospel.

Jesus delighted in His obedience, even His obedience on the cross, and that should make all the difference in the world to us.

• Jesus delighted in taking our sin.
• He delighted in taking our guilt.
• He delighted in taking our punishment.  (Can you truly wrap your mind around that?
• He delighted in taking God’s wrath!)  He delighted in taking our death.

Viewed in that indescribable light, is there anything too hard for us to do for Jesus? When we keep the truths of the Gospel front and center in our lives, our hearts will beat with desire and delight to do His will!  Remembering not only what Jesus has done for us, but why He did it empowers us to live for Him and let Him live through us.  It leads us to be:

Obedient to the will of the Father out of a heart filled with delightful desire.

And when we fall short of the mark, we rest in the truth that we are clothed in His righteousness . . . not only forgiven by the Father, but delighted in too!

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.”