Grace For The Journey

  The work on the cross of Jesus not only makes us one with Him, it makes us one with each other.  Listen to these words from the lips of our Savior as He hung upon that cross . . . “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’”  (John 19:26-27)

Jesus told John and Mary that they would be part of the same household and family from that moment on . . . but they would also become part of a forever family.  To be sure, we are saved individually, but we are not to remain that way.  When we were saved, we were brought into our forever family – not by human bloodlines, but by the blood of the Lamb.

The Bible says in Romans 12:5, “In Christ we, though many, form one Body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

Everyone who has placed their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior has been made part of a new forever family.  And, as Paul wrote, “Each member belongs to all the others.”  No matter where this message finds you as we move through this day, if you are in Christ, you are a member of His forever family.

Because of this remarkable truth, everyone matters.

Regardless of your gifting and calling, regardless of your success and station in life, you matter.

God did not make us all the same to do the same thing.

Each member is as valuable as the next.

Each one is as needed as the next.

And as members of the Body of Christ, we must always remember we are not the Head.  Jesus is!  When we mess that up, we mess others up.  When we see ourselves as the head, rather than a member, of the Body of Christ . . .

• We criticize
• We condemn
• We seek to control

Only the Gospel can free us from the need to be the head, rather than a member.  Only the Gospel keeps us working toward the expansion of God’s kingdom rather than our own kingdom.  Only the Gospel frees us from slavery to self, preoccupied with our agendas, our goals, our dreams, and our plans.

When the Gospel rules our hearts,

It shapes our lives into the shape of a cross.

We not only have an intimate personal relationship with the Almighty (vertical), we have a family relationship with everyone in His Body as brothers and sisters (horizontal).   United with Christ vertically means we are to be in unity with every other believer horizontally.

What is amazing is we do not have to create this unity.

It has been given to every believer at conversion.

Our job is to maintain unity, and that can only be done when the truth of the Gospel seizes us.

• Only the Gospel can free us from our critical spirit.
• Only the Gospel frees us from our desire to be condemning.
• Only the Gospel frees us from our fundamental need to gain and keep control.

Nothing can ever change that truth.  As the Bible says in Romans 8:38-39, “I persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

This is God Word … This is Grace for your Journey

… Rest And Rejoice In The Wonderful 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.