Grace For The Journey

  This is my last blog of 2017.  I want to it to be a source of encouragement and challenge to my readers.  Before we launch out on yet another New Year, it is important to take some time to reflect on the past year.  Have you taken the time to consider all of the many blessings God has given to you, both temporal and spiritual, over the past 365 days?  To be sure, each year has both its ups and downs … highs and lows, but through it all we know that our God is good and all things are ultimately working together for our good.

That is what the Bible teaches in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

The first thing we need to do before we claim the promise of this verse, is to make sure we understand WHO this verse is speaking about.  It is not speaking about the unbeliever who knows not and loves not the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is speaking about those who have personally heard about and discovered God’s love, understand their great need of His redemptive plan, and have responded personally to accept what God has done through Jesus death and resurrection.  The promise of this verse is reserved for those who have removed themselves from the throne of their lives and given Jesus His rightful place.

Now, it is also important to notice WHAT this verse does not say.  It does not say that all things are good.  It says that all things work together for our good, but not everything is good.  There is a lot of bad out there and some of it happens to all of us each year:

• Career collapse
• Health issues
• Relationship breakdown
• Family strife
• Prodigal children
• Loss of finances
• Loss of a loved one

The list is endless and all of it is a result of sin.  Bad stuff happens in this life because of the first sin of the first people on the face of this earth, Adam and Eve.  When Adam and Eve fell, we all fell because they were the representatives of all mankind.  Not only did their sin affect us, it affected all of creation.  Everything in this world is broken and that includes you and me.

Yet, God is working everything together for our good and that is reason enough to pause, reflect, and celebrate the goodness of our Great God regardless of the circumstances of the past year.  The fact that you are reading this right now is proof that God is not finished with you yet, so praise Him for the past year in spite of painful providences.

But now it is time to look ahead and move forward into another year of possibility if God is so pleased to give to us the next 12 months.  A great question to ask and answer before we launch out on another year of life is this:

Regardless of what life throws our way,

How different do we want to be at the end of this year?

You see, we simply cannot control what happens around us.  But we sure can, to an altogether unsuspecting extent, control what is going on inside of us.  What we think is a product of what we believe and if we believe all things are working together for our good, we will find the good in all things.

Like Joseph who found the good in all the bad his brothers had done to him, we too can do the same if we keep our eyes on God and off of our circumstances.

In the circumstances of life we want to be continually asking God,

“WHAT do you want me to learn?”

And

“WHAT do you want me to do with what I learn?”

Regarding the stuff of life that is coming our way.  Knowing that nothing happens to us without first passing through His nail-scarred hands is to know that God is seeking our ultimate good regardless of the storm winds that are blowing.  And that is to be a source of great comfort throughout this New Year as God is making a New You.

God says in Ezekiel 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.”

Because God has given you a new heart and put a new spirit in you, He is making a new you.  He is conforming you into the image of His beloved Son, and He is doing it by any means necessary.  And He will not stop short of completing what He started.

I pray that the start of another New Year would fill you with a new excitement about the “new things” God has promised to do.

• New opportunities.
• New possibilities.
• New challenges.
• New mercies each day.
• And most importantly, He has promised a NEW YOU.

One that will reflect more and more of the character of Christ, which will be for God’s glory and the good of others … all others … including you!

So, I encourage you to not only consider what God has done through you and for you during the last year but also commit yourself to what God will continue to do for you and through you in the coming year.

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 our final installment on the means of grace that God provides to help us in our walk with Him, we will take a look at the grace of commitments and see if we are plugged into the power of God’s Spirit . . . or unplugged.

Look at what the Bible says in the books of Job and Daniel . . .

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.” (Job 31:1)

“Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”  (Daniel 1:8)

Here we see two wonderful examples of making commitments to keep plugged into the power given to us out of our relationship with Christ.  Job made a commitment regarding lustful looks (a huge problem in today’s sex-saturated culture), making a covenant with his eyes.  Daniel was in training to enter the service of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, having been taken into captivity in Babylon along with many others of the Jewish nation.  Part of this training was to eat what was served at the king’s table, but Daniel made a commitment not to eat the king’s food, which would have violated God’s dietary laws.

Job made a commitment

(Plugging into the power of God)

Against his sinful heart.

Daniel made a commitment

(Plugging into the power of God)

Against his sinful surroundings.

We all must make commitments on both fronts: guarding against violating God’s commands due to the sinful condition of our hearts and the sinful condition of our surrounding culture.

How are you doing in the area of commitments?

One of the best ways to approach this means of grace is to identify some areas of weakness in your life and decide in advance how you will deal with these situations when they come up: If you know you have a weakness in the area of lust, why not make the same commitment Job made?  Maybe your weakness lies elsewhere; perhaps you need to make a covenant with your tongue and the language you use . . . perhaps you struggle to control your temper . . . or could it be your credit cards and how you spend your money?

When it comes to commitments, we must remember that, by God’s grace, we travel this road in two directions.

In one direction

We abstain – we avoid sinful practices.

In the other direction

We advance – we live in a way that is good, right, noble and pleasing to God.

The Bible provides the right counsel for Christian commitments.  In Romans 12:1, the Bible says, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”

The key that unlocks the door leading to a life of joy, freedom, and power is found in the phrase, “In view of God’s mercy.”  It is God’s mercy – not our merit – that is both the inspiration to commit and power to fulfill our calling.  This is a great source of encouragement because of our tendency to “fall short,” of what God want us to do – When we fall short, the Bible teaches us that we are completely loved and can be fully forgiven and completely loved.

Plug into God’s power that comes from on-going study of God’s Word, on-going turning to God in prayer, and on-going commitments to surrender to God daily as you begin a new year.  That is the greatest need you have for living in, and enjoying, 2018.

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 Bible tells us in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes . . .” and in Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”  God gives us power through the indwelling of His Spirit and through the means of grace the Spirit uses to apply that power to us.

Yesterday, we looked at the power available to us in God’s living and active Word.  Today we will look at another means of grace – prayer – and see if we are plugged into it . . . or unplugged.

Numerous times God speaks about the power and ability of prayer in His Word . . .

Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing (continually) . . .”

James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you . . .”

As you can see from these Bible passages listed above . . .

We are not only invited into prayer;

We are commanded to pray.

I believe one of the main reasons we are commanded to pray is to help us overcome our own sense of unworthiness in coming to the Throne of Grace.  We may often feel unworthy, especially after we have done something we ought not to have done.  When the devil bombards us with his accusations, we can begin to believe that heaven’s gate has been closed to us.

This is simply NOT TRUE; and that is why we must remember that we are commanded to come to Jesus . . . just as we are . . . at all times, on all occasions . . . to seek His face and invite Him to work in our lives!

The Bible provides a great example of the downside of neglecting to pray.

If we neglect our Lord’s instruction to pray,

We will free fall into temptation and disobedience.

John 18:10-11, “Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray and told His disciples, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ So what did they do? They went to sleep. And what happened to the beloved apostle Peter immediately after that? He tumbled face-first into temptation.  Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)  Jesus commanded Peter put his sword away because He had to drink the cup the Father has given me. (John 18:10-11)

Luke 22:33-34, “He (Peter) replied, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know Me.’”

Luke 22:59-62, “About an hour later another asserted, ‘Certainly this fellow was with Him, for he is a Galilean.’  Peter replied, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

What is true of Peter is true of all of us.

Our public fall always begins with our private fall

When we neglect the disciplines of grace God has given to us.

Charles Spurgeon warned that, “A neglected [prayer] closet is the beginning of all spiritual decline.”

Our Lord set the model for a life of prayer.  If we truly are His disciples, our lives should be marked by prayer.  Remember, the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16).

So . . . how is your prayer life these days?

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 we come to the start of a new year, it is important that we who are followers of Christ seek to live our lives with God’s provision and in God’s power.  The Bible reminds us that the Gospel is the only power that is able to change us and lead us to be conformed live to obey and please God.  The Bible says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believe, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

The Bible also tells us in Acts 1:8 that the same power that raised Jesus from death to life is the same power that resides within every Christian, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

There’s a question we must ask ourselves as we move into 2018:

“Have we unplugged from the power source?”

You see, this power has been promised to every Christian.  When we learned of our sinful condition, turned from going our way, accepted what Jesus did on the cross and through the empty tomb, and asked Him to be our Savior and Lord, God gave us this power.

The challenge is whether we are appropriating it or not.

What I mean by “appropriate” is – have we taken possession of the power?  Have we tapped into it?  Have we plugged into it by engaging in the means of grace God has given us to strengthen us in our walk with Christ?

To be sure, the Holy Spirit often acts in a completely sovereign way in our lives, apart from any appropriating work (disciplined effort) on our part.  Praise God for that truth! Yet, the Bible makes it crystal clear that God expects us to plug into the power He has given us in order to live the life He is calling us to live.

Over the next three days, we will look at three means of grace that God wants us plugged into to have the power to live as He wants us to.  Today, let’s look at . . .

Bible Intake

A steady diet of God’s Word will strengthen us to live godly lives in Christ Jesus.  Here are two exhortations to immerse ourselves in Scripture; one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament:

Joshua 1:8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

2 Peter 1:19, “We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place . . .”

God wants us in His Word

Because

He wants His Word in us!

The Bible is alive, active, and powerful; it shines light into our world and into our souls (Hebrews 4:12). Every time we go to the Bible we are changed by it.  You’ve probably had this experience: you have read the same passage of Scripture dozens of times before, but this time you read it and see something you never saw in the past.  Why is that?  Because you are not the same person you were the last time you read it!  The Word is life-giving and life-changing . . . imparting new life into the heart of the believing reader.

So . . . how are you doing in the area of Bible intake?  Would you define your Bible reading as “plugged in”?  Or “unplugged”?

Remember . . .

The book you don’t read won’t help you.

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

  Merry Christmas!  Today, on this day that we celebrate as Christ’s birth, I want to share with you a great truth about Christmas that shows us how faithful and trustworthy God is.  This truth is rooted in Isaiah 9:6…

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”

Some have claimed this verse represents what is called a “tautology,” which means using needless repetition to repeat the same idea.  But as we will clearly see, this word from God is not mere repetition, but rather the emphatic truth of The HOW of Christmas.

In the birth of Christ, we see the glorious fulfillment of divine promise.

First Truth – “Unto us a child is born . . .”

As a child in His human nature, Jesus was truly born, just like any other person who has ever lived.  To be sure, He was begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, but in His humanity Jesus is a child born unto us, a fact which is fully established.

Prophecy – Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.”

Fulfillment – Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law.”

Second Truth – “Unto us a son is given…”

As Jesus Christ is God’s Son, He is not only begotten, but also given to us.  Jesus is begotten of His Father from before all creation – the word “begotten,” it means “not made, or created, but being of the same substance with the Father.”

Charles Spurgeon wrote: “The doctrine of the eternal affiliation of Christ is to be received as an undoubted truth of our holy religion.  But as to any explanation of it, no man should venture thereon, for it remaineth among the deep things of God—one of those solemn mysteries indeed, into which the angels dare not look, nor do they desire to pry into it—a mystery which we must not attempt to fathom, for it is utterly beyond the grasp of any finite being.  As well might a gnat seek to drink in the ocean, as a finite creature to comprehend the Eternal God.  A God whom we could understand would be no God.  If we could grasp him he could not be infinite, if we could understand him, then were he not divine.”

Jesus was not born into this world as God’s Son, but as God, He gave Himself freely as the One who would save His people from their sins.  This distinction clearly sets forth a difference containing within it a great truth.

Prophecy – Psalm 2:7, “’I will declare the decree: the Lord has said to me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten you.’”

Fulfillment – Matthew 3:17, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

That great prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon made it clear that we cannot plumb the depths of this great mysterious truth of The HOW of Advent.  The wisest thing we can do is embrace the truth of Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever.”

We join with the Scriptures in saying “thank God for His indescribable gift!”  2 Corinthians 9:15.  Thank God that He is faithful and trustworthy to His promise – “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”  Have you received this truth as your only hope of salvation and eternal 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

  I conclude this week’s blogs that have been written to prepare us for Christmas and remind us of the reasons we can really celebrate Christmas.  Today, it is my desire to share a word of encouragement that I pray will stay with you, not just throughout the remainder of this Christmas season, but throughout the rest of your days until you are received into your eternal rest.

The Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

In one of the most familiar verses in all of sacred Scripture, we see what Christmas does for us – Christmas has its promises to keep for those who believe in the Son of God as the Savior of the world.

Let’s take a look at three of them.

PROMISE #1 – God gave His one and only Son

The first promise that Christmas keeps is the promise God made all the way back in the Garden of Eden to send a Savior (Genesis 3:15).  Adam and Eve had committed their disobedient act of rebellion and sin and were hiding from God.  Yet God, in His infinite grace and mercy, gently called Adam to Himself.  Instead of simply wiping Adam and Eve off the face of this earth and hitting the reset button with some different dirt, God promised to provide the solution to their sin problem; God promised a Savior, and His name is Jesus Christ.

PROMISE #2 – Whoever believes in Him shall not perish

The second promise that Christmas keeps is the promise that all who believe in the accomplishment of the first promise shall not perish.  Let me be blunt: as children of Adam, we are all under a death sentence.  We are perishing as sinners, both by nature and by habit, and we should expect nothing but the condemnation and wrath of Almighty God.  But to those who believe that the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger is the Savior of the world, that death sentence has been erased.

Jesus grew up and lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and was raised from the dead on the third day.  Because Jesus took the full punishment and made the full payment for sin, those who believe in Him shall not perish.

PROMISE #3 – Whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life

The third promise is found in the already and not yet context.  We already have eternal life in Christ, by grace through faith, but we will not fully possess it until we get to the other side of the grave.  We have been given the Comforter – the Holy Spirit – and we possess all of the promises that are in Christ, but we are still clothed in our sinful flesh and cannot yet fully experience that eternal life.  When we are received into glory, we will know a life of everlasting, unimaginable joy and pleasure, free from the pain, sorrow, tears, sickness, and death because the old will be passed away and the new will have come (Revelation21:4).

With all of the excitement and great joy surrounding the Nativity story at Christmas, we can easily miss the great comfort found in a promise-keeping God.  When God makes a promise, you can count on it!  God promised to send His Son as the Savior of the world, and He kept His promise on that first Christmas morning.  The shepherds saw this promise kept and believed.  The Wise Men saw this promise kept and believed.  How about you?

I pray that this Christmas season you will be reminded of these three Christmas promises kept.  If you believe, you shall not perish, but have eternal life.

You have God’s Word on 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

 

  Today is another blog on preparing for Christmas.  We have read about “What Should Christmas Remind Us Of, and “Why Jesus Was Born.”  Today we will look at the most important question in all of life, one that every man, woman, and child needs to ask and answer – “Who Is This Babe Who Was Born At Christmas?”  We will do it by asking three questions.

1. Who Does God The Father Say He Is?

After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, plunging all of humanity and creation into sin and ruin, God did not abandon them.  He did not leave them there, shivering in their fear; He chose to do something about their sin.  And in their presence, He made this promise in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God promised Adam and Eve that He would send a Savior who would redeem them from both the penalty of sin and the power of sin.  And the Bible shows us in several passages that God Himself would fulfill this promise . . .

Genesis 22:8, “And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.’”

Isaiah 9:6, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Matthew 1:22, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’

Matthew 3:16, “When He had been baptized Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

Jhn 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

2. Who Does Jesus Say He Is?

The Bible again shows us in several passages what Jesus says about Himself . . .

John 4:25-26, “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ), when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’”

1. When this woman used the term “Messiah,” she was speaking about the expected King of the Jewish people who had been promised by God and anticipated by the nation of Israel for hundreds of years.  There are many Old Testament prophecies of a promised descendant of David who would come down from heaven and save His people.  Those promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

John 8:23, “He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above, you are of this world, I am not of this world.”

John 8:58, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”

Notice that Jesus did not say, “Before Abraham was born, I was born.”  Instead He said “I am,” which means He is eternally existent, and would immediately call to mind of the people who heard Him, the words spoken by God to Moses at the burning bush: “I AM WHO I AM!” (Exodus 3:14.)  But just in case any of us failed to make that connection, Jesus clearly claimed equality with God the Father. He told the Jews, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

Jesus told His disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6.) Jesus made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that He is the ONLY WAY to God . . . the ONLY TRUTH of God . . . and the ONLY LIFE through God.

3. Who Do You Say He Is?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17)

Jesus made it clear that only God can open the “eyes of our hearts” to know Jesus.  This knowledge does not come through human reason; it does not come through the witness of miracles; it will not come through a burning bush or Damascus Road experience.  It will only come through the revelation of God, which makes the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead rise to new life.

So at this Christmas time . . . what will you do with this Jesus, who is called Christ?  Who do you say this Jesus is?  This is the most important question you will ever answer.

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

  Today, I have a word of encouragement for you that just might surprise you!  We will take a brief look at why Jesus was born at Christmas.

1. Why He did not come . . .

It was not because of SIN!

As a pastor who labors to point people to Jesus each week, I stress the point that we are sinners in need of a Savior.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:6, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Adam and Eve were the federal heads of the human race, perfectly created by God for this privilege.  When they fell, we fell, making all of humanity sinners in desperate need of a Savior.  But sin could not have been the primary reason for Christ’s coming.  Certainly, sin had to be dealt with, but sin was already in the world before Adam and Eve sinned.

In Isaiah’s and Ezekiel’s references to the kings of Babylon and Tyre, we see the fall symbolically described . . . and we also see references to the spiritual power behind those kings: Satan.

In Isaiah 14:12-14 the Bible says, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

In Ezekiel 28:15-17 the Bible says, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”

Here we are given a glimpse behind the veil of heaven, where we see the fall of Lucifer and the sin that was in this world before the first sin of man.  Jesus confirmed this in Luke 10:18, when He said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

If sin was the reason for Jesus being born, God would have sent Jesus to redeem the fallen angels.  But that was not the purpose for His coming, as the Bible confirms in Hebrews 2:16-18, “Surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”

So, if sin is not the reason Jesus was born, what was it?

2. Why He did come . . .

It was because of LOVE!

The Bible declares in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God came after fallen and sinful man, and the reason is located in the heart of God and His love for man: a special love . . . a redeeming love . . . a love purchased our salvation by Himself on a cross.

And that is why everything works toward your salvation.  God so loved you that, if you have trusted in Christ’s redeeming work on your behalf, God is working every circumstance of life (the good, the bad, and the ugly) for your eternal good (Romans 8:28).

May this truth of God’s amazing love for you bring you glad tidings of great joy this Christmas season and all the days God gives to you!

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

  Because this is the week before Christmas, I would focus my thoughts on preparing us for Christmas – to shift our focus away from the “commercialism” of Christmas and to the “Christ” of Christmas.  My prayer is that we might experience afresh the passion and power of waiting on God during these last few days leading up to Christmas Day.

I don’t talk with many people who do not anticipate Christmas Day.  Certainly there is much to look forward to.  I am not talking about looking forward to the gifts we will receive or the end of all the festivities and activities … I am talking about the importance of the coming of Christ.  There has been many “arrivals” that the world has anticipated and needed:  The invention of the light bulb … the invention of the automobile … the invention of the computer … the invention of the cell phone …  These have all benefited and helped man in his life.  However, the coming of Christ into this world has benefited and helped man more than anything else man might discover or develop.

At Christmas, we celebrate two profound events in the life of one promised person . . .

The two are (1) the birth of the Christ Child in Bethlehem; and (2) His promised return when He will consummate His kingdom.

The promised person, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus truly is the reason for the season!  However, in our increasingly secular society, the Christmas season –  with all the “gifts we are buying, family, church, and company gathering and parties we’re attending hosting, as well as making sure we have enough marshmallows and chestnuts for roasting” –  has a tendency to “X” Christ out of our hearts and minds if we aren’t careful.

Christmas should remind us,

Not only of the coming of our Savior,

But of our continual need of Him day by day.

At Christmas we are reminded of God’s plan of salvation that provided salvation for us then, and, if we have repented of our sin and accepted Jesus as Savior, is saving us now.  God not only saves us from the penalty of our sin; He saves us from the power of sin.  The biblical description of salvation teaches that God is saving us daily from our old way of living and empowering us to live a new way – with a new heart, new goals, new desires, and a new direction in life.

Remembering Christmas helps us to

Keep these Gospel truths in clear vision.

It is my prayer that the rest of this week’s blogs will help us all to be ready, willing, and able to celebrate – not so much the presents under the tree, but the Present who made the tree and was nailed to it in our place, taking on Himself all our sin and giving us His righteousness, that we might be right with God and have eternal life.

May this week’s blogs be a source of encouragement that will strengthen your hope and sharpen your focus on the Lord Jesus Christ, who has come and is coming again.

As the Bible promises in Revelation 22:20, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus!”

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

  With the Christmas and New Year season upon us, the emphasis on “office / club parties” and “family and friend celebrations” produces an extra concern for local law enforcement.   People over-indulge in alcohol which affects one’s driving and relational abilities.  When people drink alcohol, they become “influenced” in a negative way that can end up hurting themselves and others.  To combat this, law enforcement officials put up “check points” on streets to emphasize the desire and need for sobriety and not intoxication.

In today’s blog, we will look at need and importance of “spiritual sobriety.”  This principle is rooted in Romans 12:3, which says, “For I say, through the grace given to me to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”  These words were penned by the apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit of God.

In order to understand the need and importance of this condition, we must see who Paul was before his conversion and who he became after his conversion.  Before he accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord, Paul was staggering blindly in a life known as spiritual Intoxication (being influenced in his thoughts and actions by his sinful nature).  After Paul accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, the power of the Gospel supernaturally created a life of spiritual sobriety (a changed nature that influences his thoughts and actions).  The latter is how God wants all of His people to live.

Who Paul was before accepting Jesus – “Spiritual Intoxication”

His name was Saul, and he fervently sought to put an end to the early Christian church.  Saul was there in the early days of the church, giving approval to [Stephen’s] death.  On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.  But Saul began to destroy the church.  Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. (Acts 8:1-3)

So focused was Saul in his fanatical pursuit of Christians, he would stop at nothing short of the total destruction of the church.  Saul demonstrated spiritual intoxication rather than spiritual sobriety.  You see, spiritual intoxication is rooted in the self.  Notice “intoxication” is spelled with two “I’s.”  One at the beginning and one in the middle.  Interesting that it is spelled that way – sin starts and is centered with “I.”  Even more interesting, the second “I” in intoxication is the same “I” in the center of both PRIDE and SIN.  Saul was consumed with Saul!  It was Saul who looked after the coats of those who were stoning Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:58).

Before his conversion, Saul was a one-man wrecking crew, drunk with his distorted determination to eliminate those who proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Saul thought too highly of himself!  He was trapped in sin which created spiritual intoxication.

But the Good News of the Gospel for Paul was that that was all about to change . . .

  In Romans 12:3, Paul notes the supernatural change that took place:

Spiritual intoxication was replaced

With

Spiritual sobriety

By the grace of the Gospel.

Who Paul was after accepting Jesus . . . “Spiritual Sobriety”

Paul was a changed man.  God removed the scales from his eyes and took away his pride.  This is clearly laid out for us in what I call Paul’s divine descent:

Level #1          1 Corinthians 15:9

“I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

Level #2          Ephesians 3:8

“Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ . . .”

Level #3          1 Timothy 1:15

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am chief.”

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought,” Paul wrote in Romans 12:3, “but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Paul walked this talk throughout his life.  Before Saul came to Christ, he was afflicted with spiritual intoxication and thought much more highly of himself than he ought.  Yet, when he saw his sin and accepted Christ as Savior, Paul saw himself through the lenses of spiritual sobriety.  Sober judgment was now the mark of the apostle, as he progressed from seeing himself as the “least of the apostles” to the “least of all God’s people” to being the “chief sinner” in all-the world.

Now that is spiritual sobriety in accordance with the measure of faith God had given to him.  And the good news is that such faith is available to all the children of God who remember, like Paul did, what they were before Jesus showed up, and what they are now by God’s grace alone.

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.”