Grace For The Journey

  Have you ever been driven in the direction of duty and service to God by the power of guilt?  I am sure we all have experienced this from both ends of the spectrum: having been driven by guilt and driving others by guilt, as well.  There’s no denying the fact that guilt is a very effective motivator for getting others to do what we believe God would have them do.

• Parents use guilt to drive their children toward duty.
• Teachers use guilt to drive their students toward duty.
• Coaches use guilt to drive their players toward duty.
• Preachers use guilt to drive their flock toward duty.
• Spouses use guilt to drive their partners toward duty.

However, guilt that drives toward duty ultimately leads to dread.

In his book, Holiness by Grace, Bryan Chapell writes, “When it comes to changing people’s behavior, nothing is more efficient than motivating by guilt.  There is nothing more effective than guilt to get people to obey God’s standards, and nothing less efficacious in sanctifying them to God.”

If all we desire is a change in behavior, then guilt will do.

But if we desire a change in the heart, grace is the only lasting cure.

The Bible makes it clear that the liberty Christ purchased for us at Calvary frees us from guilt as a motivator for doing what God requires.  The shed blood of Jesus has washed us clean from the gnawing guilt of sin and the condemning wrath of God.

The Bible says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Guilt has its rightful place in the life of the Christian.  The power of the Holy Spirit convicting our conscience with the presence of sin is a good thing, as long as that sense of shame drives us to the cross for cleansing and re-commissioning into the service of our Savior.

Jesus demonstrated this process with Peter by asking about his love three times after Peter’s three denials and then re-commissioning him for fruitful service.  Jesus didn’t condemn Peter for his sin.  He convicted Peter’s conscience regarding his three shameful denials and then cleansed and re-commissioned him.

Jesus could have used guilt as a motivator in Peter’s life, but He did not.  Jesus knew full well that any behavioral change brought on by guilt never leads to a heart transformation and maturity.

Only the grace of the Gospel can do that.

Make no mistake; the guilt that condemns and crushes us is a very bad thing . . . and it was all nailed to the cross by Jesus.

The Bible says in Colossians 1:19-20, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should well, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

Using guild on others or ourselves to move us into action is not pleasing to God and never moves us toward maturity.

Holiness in the life of the Christian flows out of grace . . . not guilt.

Guilt that drives toward duty always leads to dread,

Because a guilty conscience is never free to rest in the finished work of Christ.

Why?  Because it is too busy trying to finish the race on its own.  But when Jesus said “It is finished,” He meant what He said!  We have been set free to do what God would have us do – not out of a sense of guilt but out of gratitude, and this makes all the difference in the world.

Make no mistake, Living by grace always supersedes living by guilt!

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

  Has your hope ever disappointed you?   Perhaps something did not work out the way you were hoping: a business deal fell through; a relationship headed south; perhaps sickness started testing the outer edges of your fitness plan.  When our hope disappoints us, we can be sure of one thing: we have the wrong hope.

The Bible says in Romans 5:5, “Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

This “holy hope” never disappoints because God never disappoints.

God never disappoints because . . .

He is not only the giver of this hope,

He is the God of hope.

Now, we need to be careful in our understanding of a hope that does not disappoint, because we sometimes do not get what we are hoping for and we find ourselves disappointed.  When we do, we can be assured of this: our hope was not a holy hope, rooted in what God wants for us.  It was rooted in what we wanted, when we wanted it, and God was gracious to halt our hope.

Perhaps what we were hoping for was God’s purpose and plan for our lives . . . but just not within the time frame we were hoping for it to occur.  Sometimes a holy hope requires patience and perseverance – trusting in God’s timing and not ours.  God knows what is best for us and when is the best time for the realization of our hope.

Here are just a few examples of a holy hope that could not disappoint:

• Abraham hoped for decades for a son; God knew best when to deliver him.
• Moses hoped for decades for the Israelites to be freed; God knew best when to free them.
• Simeon hoped for decades for the Savior to arrive; God knew best when to send Him.

God always knows what is best for His people and His plan is always perfect.

That is why His hope never disappoints,

Because His hope cannot be denied or derailed.

When our hope is in Him, our hope is certain to happen.  Jeremiah knew this truth well.  God led him to write in Lamentations 3:25, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him; to the one who seeks Him.”.

And In Jeremiah 29:11 God says, “’’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’”

And God affirms this hope in Hebrews 6:19, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”

When we are following and surrendered to God, our hope is a holy hope and we can be assured it will one day happen exactly as God has planned it to happen.  Think back to something you were hoping for that God finally made happen.  How did you feel?  Did you think that the time of waiting was wasted?  Of course not!  God’s timing is perfect, and He is perfecting our patience and perseverance.  Hope is not merely a good thing; it is absolutely necessary for one to live on this side of the grave.

Years ago I read something that stuck with me: “a man can live a few weeks without food . . . a few days without water . . . a few minutes without air . . . but not for a single second without hope!”

What have you been hoping for lately?  If it is a holy hope – rooted in Jesus regardless of how your current circumstances may look like – the darkness of your seemingly hopeless night will, in God’s perfect timing and in God’s generous way, be followed by the hope-filled light of day.

Live everyday of your life looking to and leaning on the God of hope!

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

  Ever wonder why God the Father would use flawed people to accomplish His perfect purposes in this world?  I did, and the answer God gave me was pretty simple: that’s all that’s available to Him!  “Wait a minute,” some of you might object.  “What about the heroes of the faith in the Bible – giants like Abraham and Sarah, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul?  How do they fit into this ‘flawed’ picture?”  Let’s see . . .

• Abraham lied and offered his wife to two different men in order to secure safe passage.
• Sarah offered her female servant to Abraham to conceive a son.
• Moses was a murderer.
• David was an adulterer and murderer.
• Peter was willing to deny Jesus to save his own skin.
• Paul was contentious and frankly admitted that he kept on doing “the evil I do not want to do” (Romans 7:19).

These are just a few of the examples in sacred Scripture where the word “flawed” seems like an understatement of gargantuan proportions.  Yet God choose to use them all in the advancement of His kingdom in this world.  Why?  Because that’s all that’s available to Him!  A few weeks ago, I wrote that there is only one hero in the Bible: His name is Jesus Christ.  Everyone else we read about in Scripture is just like all those we don’t read about – great sinners in need of an even greater Savior.

This should give you great comfort today for three reasons:

First, you can take anyone you have placed on a pedestal off it and set them right back on the ground where they belong (remember, the ground is always level at the foot of the cross).

Secondly, you are just as qualified as anyone else to be used by God because you are no more flawed than they are.  God has been using flawed individuals since the fall in spite of their failures, and His eternal purposes are being accomplished.

Thirdly, God delights in working through the kind of people the world could never imagine He would pick to be on His team (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

I don’t know about you, but I am reassured when I read the stories of the people who struggled with self-protection, selfish ambition, and other kinds of sin – just like I do – and yet were still used of God.  If Scripture only offered stories of those who walked on water and spoke from Sinai, it would be pretty discouraging!   Far from being inspired to excellence and a drive to serve God, I would be driven into the dust of despair.

Thank God He uses the flawed . . . of whom I am a part

Has God been asking you to do something for Him yet you have been dismissing yourself because of your imperfections?  Have you been wondering “Who am I that God should use me?”  If so, understand that God uses imperfect and insignificant people to achieve His perfect and significant plans if they surrender and yield to Him.

God used Gideon (Judges 6-7) who was fearfully threshing wheat in a winepress to lead an army of 300 to defeat Israel’s enemies who were as “numerous as locusts.”  This was the Gideon who said he was unqualified to save Israel because his clan was the weakest and he was the least important person in his father’s house.  But God already knew this when He chose him as Commander in Chief and He promised to be with him.

It is important to understand that Gideon’s fear did not flee overnight.  He kept asking God for signs and God kept providing them until the point when Gideon truly believed that he could do it and he went and did it in the power and provisions of the LORD.   Therefore don’t let your low self-esteem, low socio-economic status, or the challenges you face stop you from doing what God asks.  Understand that when you are “weak”, then God is strong on your behalf and let Him work on you and on your weaknesses as you work on His job and fulfill your life’s purpose.

God also used Moses who looked at his qualifications and present life situation in the desert and asked God who he was that he should tell Pharaoh to release the Israelites (Exodus 3:11).  Moses also told God that he wasn’t an eloquent speaker as he stammered but God knew this when He chose Him and He promised He’d be with him, help him speak, and teach him what to say (Exodus 4:10).  Therefore, don’t disqualify yourself because you lack qualifications.  God’s presence in your life is all the qualifications you need to fulfill His purposes and your life’s purpose.

Finally, remember that Jesus used Simon Peter to lead His Church after His ascension despite Simon denying Him three times (Luke 22:54-62).  Therefore, even if you have made many mistakes, don’t write yourself off because God has not written you off.  Repent, rely on Him, and He will restore you and use you just as He restored and used Simon Peter (John 21:15-17).

How then, can God use us?  When we do two things:

(1) Rest in God’s power and trust that He knows what He put in us when He created us and don’t disqualify ourselves from fulfilling our life’s purpose because of our real or perceived flaws or because of other people’s opinions (true or false) of our capabilities or lack thereof.  And,

(2) Remind yourself of imperfect Jonah who after realizing he couldn’t run from God, finally went to evil Nineveh, preached and the whole city repented (Jonah 3).

So feeling imperfect?

Turn To the Lord And Trust Him.

He will use you for His glory.

This is God Word … This is Grace for your 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 engaged in the business of expanding God’s kingdom.  There a great many more who are waiting to engage in the business of expanding God’s kingdom.  They tell themselves that they are waiting for just the right time or opportunity.  They believe they need more education, more experience, and more equipping in life.  They are waiting for their circumstances to change before they get to work serving their Lord.

But this is not what God wants for you!

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

God teaches the same thing in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drin, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

God’s Word tells us that whatever our hands find to do, we should do it for the glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom.   Make no mistake, nobody ever served God and expanded His kingdom by waiting for tomorrow.  The Bible tells us that today is the day the Lord has made; because of that, we have cause to rejoice, be glad in it, and busily engage in doing all we can to make Jesus Christ known, in all that our hands find to do.

The years have taught me that one simple and good deed, done for the glory of God and the good of others, is worth more than a thousand thoughts about doing good.  Waiting for tomorrow to do all the good we can simply will not justify doing nothing today. The past is gone, the future is promised to no one, and all we have is now.

That is why it is called “the present,”

Because this day is a gift from God,

A gift to be put into fruitful and faithful use

To expand the cause of Christ in this world.

The kingdom of God will not be expanded by the works we plan to do tomorrow.  It will be expanded only by the works we put our hands to today.  And don’t miss the part in Ecclesiastes that says “with all your might,” which means “all your might in your Master.”

We do not work in our strength,

But in

The strength of the One

Who has called us to work.

With the Almighty God dwelling within us, we are not to put in a half-hearted effort for kingdom work.

We are not to be doing “just enough,”

When God calls us to do all we can.

Who has ever been truly satisfied with receiving a full day’s wage and giving only a half-day’s effort?  No committed Christian ever has, to be sure.

The word “whatever” in Ecclesiastes 9:10 is also very instructive.  Whatever is done for the glory of God is a good work. Whatever you are currently doing right now is a good work when you are working for God.

• If your hand is in the boardroom, do it with all your might for your Master.
• If your hand is in the family room, do it with all your might for your Master.
• If your hand is in the school room, do it with all your might for your Master.
• If your hand is in the work place, do it with all your might for your Master.

And when you have done all you can, with all your might, wait upon the Lord for the harvest of whatever your hands have found to do.

So what are you waiting for?

This is God Word … This is Grace for your 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 have you been clinging too lately?  Where in your life are you currently investing your time, talent, and treasure?  What you do with these three “T’s” reveals a great deal about what’s most important to you.  Jonah spoke powerfully to this issue when he declared in Jonah 2:8, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”

When we cling to anything other than God, we are clutching what is absolutely worthless in light of eternity.  Sure, the physical things of this life might promise to meet you in your place of need, but in the end, they are never able to deliver on their promises.

• Did that new car really give you more confidence in life?
• Did that bigger house really bring you greater happiness?
• Did that better job really provide you a deeper sense of significance?
• Did cosmetic surgery really manufacture greater self-worth?

I could easily compile a long list of the vacuous promises dangled before us by the world . . . but they cannot and do not deliver, because God never designed the physical world to do for us what only He can do.

Augustine declared in his Confessions, “God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.”

A restless heart will never find contentment in anything other than God.

God, who fashions the hearts of all men

(Psalm 33:15),

Made our hearts to be restless and fretful

Until we find our rest in Him.

Nothing in the created world is big enough to satisfy our deepest desires and redeem us from our discontent.  As the wise preacher said in the book of Ecclesiastes, everything under the sun – that is, everything in the created order – is all vanity, a chasing after the wind.   The world offers nothing that truly satisfies; clinging to created things is enslaving.  They capture our attention, rule our hearts, and shape our lives.  What was once a list of wants morphs into a list of insatiable needs that drive us to the conclusion that we simply cannot live without them.

And what we believe we cannot live without we will do anything to get.

• We will compromise our values.
• We will cut corners.
• We will shade the truth.
• We will love things and use people.

We become slaves to the stuff of this world, seeking to find life in things that can only deliver death.

So . . . have you been clinging to any “worthless idols” lately?

Clinging to the Creator is freeing.

He is the only place where we can find what we need

And

Where we actually need what we find.

God is gracious to leave us wanting when we are clinging to created things, because that emptiness will eventually drive us back to the only place where we can find meaning and purpose: in Jesus Christ!  If God allowed the stuff of this world to satisfy us, we would only grow into a fraction of the people He is calling us to be.  But God loves us too much to let anything other than Christ fill the God-sized void that is inside of all of us.

Remember, clinging to the Creator or created things is always a choice, and the choice is always ours.  We can seek after and cling to all the things we think will make us happy and won’t . . . or we can seek after and cling to the only One who will: the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is God Word … This is Grace for your 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

    Now that’s an odd title, isn’t it? What do you think of when you read the word surrender? I’m quite sure “strength” is not what comes to your mind!  Most people think of someone who has been defeated, waving a white flag, and giving up.  They might well picture someone who has lost all of his strength, weakened to the point where he simply cannot go on.

What a word of encouragement I have for you today! The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, once said, “The greatness of a man’s power is in the measure of his surrender.” Notice what he did not say. He did not say that the greatness of a man’s power is in the measure of his . . .

• Status
• Superiority
• Salary
• Success
• Smarts
• Schemes
• Significance

The life of our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of this truth in action.  Never has there been a life more fully surrendered to the will of God.  And never has the greatness of a man’s power been more evident than in the surrendered life of Christ.  Hear once again His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:36: “Abba”, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless,  not what I will, but what You will.”  

The Bible tells us that in His darkest hour, sweating droplets of blood, Jesus was fully surrendered to the will of His Father in heaven.  Yes, He cried out to God the Father to take the cup of wrath from Him, because everything is possible with God; but never did He ask anything apart from the sovereign will of His Father in heaven.

When He came into this world, Jesus said, “Behold, I I have come – in the volume of the Book it is written of Me – to do Your will, O God.” (Hebrews 10:7).

And He never wavered in His glorious surrender.

As Jesus knelt in Gethsemane, His soul “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38), He didn’t pray “If it is possible for you,” but rather, “All things are possible for0 You!”  

Our Lord is the perfect picture of the absolute strength of surrender.

So . . . is this the desire of your life?  Do you want God wants for you, even when what He wants includes problems and pain?  Remember, God only gives us what is necessary to continue conforming us into the image and likeness of His beloved Son (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). And that process often includes difficulty, storms, and suffering.

Trials are the refining fire that burns away our sinful self-absorption.

Surrender is a battle, a fight; it is ongoing warfare against our self-centered nature’s desire to sit on the throne of our lives. We must remind ourselves every day that surrender is not an option!  We all surrender to something.  We will either surrender to Jesus or something other than Jesus.

To acknowledge Jesus as Lord is to surrender to Him.  The word “surrender” implies “a giving up after resistance to the power of another”, and, in this case, “includes accepting the superiority of someone else.”  It is not accepting defeat, per se, as there is no loss of life or property.

To surrender means the end of the fight, and there is no more argument.

It is the solid realization that His way is a better way.

The ‘Old Man’ in Scripture refers to the sinful nature of humans. When Jesus died on the cross, He was man’s substitute.  Therefore, in the redemptive plan of God, all the sins of humanity were paid for in full by the death of Jesus.  Romans chapter 6 teaches that the old man was crucified with Jesus, and just as Jesus died, sin nature died with Him.

In order to comprehend this walk in newness of life, obedience to Romans 10:9 is a requirement – “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  A Christian must believe in the resurrection of Jesus and not only confess Him as Lord but make Him Lord of their life.  To confess Jesus as Lord is to accept a new master other than self, a new boss, so to speak.  To make Jesus Lord means to obey Him by learning His will as it is written in the Bible, and learning to walk by the Spirit as Romans 8 and Galatians 5 teaches.

To die to self so that Christ can live and work within a person is a fundamental principle in Christianity.  The Bible teaches the Christian to put off or put away old ways of thinking, speaking and living, and to replace them with Christ-like ways.  The lifestyle of self-centered living is without purpose and leads to destruction.  In contrast, the Christian surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is secure, sailing on a well-defined course with a rock-solid future.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

In a world that saturates people with information, and promotes reliance on intelligence and education, to trust the Lord and not one’s own understanding is almost unthinkable. But this is the nucleus of what it means to surrender.  A surrendered Christian acknowledges God at every step, living a life of total trust in His miracle power and perfect plan.

Which will it be for you?

This is God Word … This is Grace for your 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.”