Grace for the Race

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:15)

God the Father sent God the Son to be King of His people. So, what was wrong with the people wanting to assist the Almighty in the process by making Jesus king by force, knowing that it was indeed God’s ultimate goal for His Son based on the Old Testament prophecies? What was wrong was in the way the people wanted to do it and for the reasons they wanted to do it. They wanted to do it by force and for their temporal and earthly good, which stood in direct opposition to the plan and purpose of the Father.

Of course, behind the people stood Satan himself. When Satan failed in his wilderness temptations of Jesus, he was not finished in his fight against the Son of God. He continued stirring the hearts and minds of the people to rebel against God’s purpose and plan for Messiah and this was one of his subtle victories. The seduction of the serpent caused the crowd to clamor for the king they wanted, the king that would reestablish the throne of David in Jerusalem and remove the boot of Rome from their necks.

Perhaps, Jesus would be tempted to be crowned king without having to go through the cruel cross. Here was an opportunity for instant gratification AND the accomplishment of God’s ultimate goal, as the mass of Jewish humanity were ready to rise up against their Roman oppressors and hand the King of Israel the throne of David. God’s goal for His beloved Son was within reach but not according to God’s perfect plan to accomplish it. To be sure, as fully man, Jesus had an EGO that could have fell prey to the applause of man and the appeal of popularity, just like any of us. But Jesus could always recognize the “snake” in the grass who would do anything to derail the destiny of the Chosen One. Jesus knew when the accomplishment of God’s goal would NOT be good.

Notice one final thing and let this truth strengthen you to resist the devil whenever he comes calling to entice you to accomplish any good goal God would have for you in a way that is not in line with God’s plan and purpose for accomplishing it.

Jesus withdrew again to a mountain by himself!

It was His continual communion with His Father that kept Him on track. In perpetual prayer, Jesus was strengthened to stay the course and follow the will of His Father, even when that will was leading to the most horrible death known to man at that time – a Roman cross. The prayer life of our Lord was the key that unlocked the door leading to a resolve that refused to ever accomplish any goal God had for Him in anyway apart from the perfect plan of His Father. May this be the confession of our lives.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

You will be my witness. (Acts 1:8)

One of the many dictionary definitions of a “calling card” comes under the heading of “visiting card” – a card used to signify a visit made to a house or a business as an introduction for oneself. The primary difference between the common calling card and the cosmic calling card is this – where the common calling card introduces oneself – the cosmic calling card introduces one’s Savior. Every Christian is “Christ’s calling card” sent by God to introduce Christ. Everything about us should point to the One whom we serve, both our talk and our walk. Let’s take a look.

• Witness With Our Talk

In writing to the Ephesians, Paul outlines the formula for the witness with our talk, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). In its context, Paul is telling the Ephesians and us that we can grieve the Holy Spirit with the way we communicate with others. If we are going to be a witness for Jesus as Christ’s Calling Card, our language must represent and reflect the One we are speaking for. When we open our mouths to speak, we should be building other us, not tearing them down, and in the process, we will be putting the gospel on display, because what we say will be a benefit to those who we speak to.

• Witness With Our Walk

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). A walk without works shouts to the watching world that our faith is dead. The works in no way save us, but they are evidence that we are actually saved. As Dr. Kennedy would say, “When you are saved, God changes your wanter!” As believers, we begin to desire the things of God and desire less and less the stuff of this world. We live for the purpose of God by the power of God. Our desires have changed because our destiny has changed. As the reformers said, “We are saved by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone.

So, how well are you witnessing for your Lord with both your talk and your walk? What kind of “Calling Card” Christian are you? Are you living a life for the glory of God and the good of others? What changes do you need to make and if you don’t what will it cost you? The next time you encounter someone, remember, you are “Christ’s Calling Card’ and your talk and your walk will let people know the kind of God you serve.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for you are with me. (Psalm 23:4)

Far too many, even in the church today, have a misunderstanding that circumstance makes the person. You become what you are because of the circumstances you encounter throughout life. But James Allen corrected this misunderstanding with these words, “Circumstance does not make the man . . . it reveals him.” Make no mistake, our verse of encouragement today tells us how independent we are of outward circumstances because of one simple truth – Jesus is with us!

• Jesus was with Moses walking through the Red Sea
• Jesus was with Elijah on Mount Carmel when facing the prophets of Baal
• Jesus was with Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego in the fiery furnace
• Jesus was with Daniel in the lion’s den
• Jesus was with Stephen being stoned
• Jesus was with Paul in prison

AND JESUS IS WITH YOU – regardless of where this finds you today.

If the storm winds are blowing, we can be calm because the One who calmed the storm is with us. If the seas are stormy and it looks like our boat is about to capsize, we can be at peace because the One who said “Peace be still” is with us. Darkness may be all around you but fear not. For the Light of the world has promised to guide you and protect you and to ultimately get you safely to the other side. If you find yourself lying on a bed of sickness today, fear not. It becomes a throne of grace because Jesus is with you in your sickness. If you are facing financial difficulties and poverty is banging at your door, fear not. Jesus has promised to give you more in your less than the rich will ever have in their abundance. For He is with you. Even death itself cannot disrupt the peace of the disciple because Jesus became the death of death, and to cross the Jordan with Him is to enter the place marked – GLORIOUS GAIN!

So, regardless of the circumstances you are facing today, fear not! The power of the Holy Spirit that dwells within has given you the power to make you independent of all of them. Darkness becomes light. Loss becomes gain. And death becomes life, because Jesus is with us and has promised to never leave us no matter what.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

And to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)

When was the last time you gave any deep thought to just how loved you truly are by your Savior? Well, if you spent every waking moment marinating in and meditating on this truth, you would not even begin to plumb the depths of how loved you truly are. Let it both comfort you and challenge you to rise above the waves of challenge you might be facing today. Listen to how Charles Spurgeon describes this love in his Morning and Evening devotion:

Where shall language be found which shall describe His matchless, His unparalleled love towards the children of men? It is so vast and boundless that, as the swallow but skimmeth the water, and diveth not into its depths, so all descriptive words but tough the surface, while depths immeasurable lie beneath.

The apostle Paul tells us in our verse today that this love simply surpasses knowledge. Finite mind simply cannot understand infinite love and what it does understand of it, would not fill a teaspoon to overflowing. It is a love that God in Christ had for us in eternity past, when we were not. When there was only the Triune God, there still was His love for us that surpasses knowledge. Then there was a love that surpasses knowledge that created us in His own image. The heart that beat with that love never skipped a beat when we rebelled, but rather, it pursued rebels on the run. Who can understand that kind of love?

The love that surpasses knowledge sought us, caught us, and bought us with His precious blood as He hung upon a cross on Calvary’s hill. Oh, what agony Jesus endured to have us as His own. He was denied, betrayed, falsely accused, beaten, scourged, had a crown of thorns pressed into His brow and nine-inch nails driven through His hands and His feet. And if that wasn’t enough pain in pursuit of the objects of His affection (you and me), He endured the infinite agony of the supernatural separation when His Father could not look upon His Son who because sin for us and cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” 

And if there is a time when we just might begin to sense the depths of divine love that has been poured out upon us, notice the last portion of the verse – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. It is utterly impossible to fathom what it means to be filled with the love of God. How much more to fathom what it means to be filled with all the fullness of God. Beloved, know this . . . when knowledge is surpassed, it is simply best to receive and rest in its truth – and let it fill your heart to overflowing.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

The apostle Paul says we are letters of our Lord Jesus Christ, not written with ink but with the Holy Spirit. So, the question we all must answer is this: “What does our letter say to those who are reading us?” As it has been rightly observed, the life of the believer will be the only Bible many people ever read! How does it make you feel to know you are one of the Lord’s living epistles . . . a Living Letter of the Lord?

Here is something we all need to remember as disciples of Jesus. As soon as the watching world hears our profession of faith, they begin to watch more closely to see if our walk matches our talk. The way we live out our faith paints the clearest picture of the kind of God we love and serve. The way we live out our faith will either draw people toward Jesus or repel them. There is no middle ground. So, how attractive have you been making God lately in your words and your deeds?

The key to being the most effective letter of the Lord is to allow the truths of the gospel to be manifest in your life. Jesus is our model because He was the perfection of the Lord’s Letter in the flesh. He lived out the truths of the gospel perfectly, and yet in His perfection as the Lord’s Letter, some were attracted and some were repelled, some received and some rejected, some walked with Him and some walked away. So, our focus is not on the reception we receive when others read us. Rather, our focus is on the message contained within our letter and that it is true to the gospel.

Here is one of the simplest ways to look at the content of the Lord’s Letter. It should be written in the shape of a cross. The first thing people need to read must be written vertically – how we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The next thing people need to read must be written horizontally – how we love others . . . ALL OTHERS. We don’t just love the lovable. We love all others as we are reminded of the love that was poured out upon us “while we were still sinners!” When people read the message of love in us as the Lord’s letter, they are reading the most important message they will ever read.

Do you see the great privilege it is to be the Lord’s living epistle? Jesus has chosen to write His message of perfect love on imperfect parchment paper and set it before the watching world for everyone to read. Remember, because His mercies are new every morning, so is our opportunity to write a new letter of love for the glory of our Lord. What will the Spirit of the living God write upon you today?

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

It is said of these people, “They kiss calf-idols!” (Hosea 13:2)

The people of God had left their first love and in willful rebellion, chased after smaller gods that promised life, but delivered only death. This is always true when we chase after anything smaller than Jesus. Oh, it may look like life and it may even feel like life, but in the end, it cannot deliver on its promise and brings with it only destruction and death. Let this serve as a word of warning this day – kiss not the calf – for it cannot satisfy the longing of your heart. Instead, bow the knee and kiss your Christ – for He will meet you in your deepest place of need.

Now the problem with a message like this today in our contemporary church culture is we have a tendency to picture the “golden calf” the Israelites made and began to worship when Moses was too long up on the mountain of God. But this would be a grave mistake. To be sure, it was a real gold statue of a calf that the people did bow down to and begin to worship, but we know those were primitive people and we are far too educated and cultured to do such a thing. It is true that most people today would not bow down and worship a gold statue of a calf. Rather, they will worship idols that are far less noticeable like a job, a relationship, success, finances, a hobby, social status, physical beauty, greed, which is “idolatry” as Paul writes in Colossians 3:5. The list, of course, is endless.  

It’s important to make note of this list that most of the things on it are not bad things. They are good things like a job or a relationship or a hobby or physical health and beauty. The problem is when these, and countless other good things, become ultimate things in our lives, they then become bad things. They enslave us and become life-altering, and cause us to do things we ought not do and often, hurt ourselves and our loved ones along the way. Make no mistake, we all “kiss calf-idols” from time to time. Sometimes they are clearly bad for us like greed and immorality. But more often than not, they are good for us and the greater the good the greater our expectation of having our deepest needs met by it.

What we must remember is the truth that good things become bad things when they become ultimate things. So, have you kissed the calf lately? Have you sought after anything smaller than God to give to you what only God can give? Remember, we all come from the factory with a God-sized void inside. Only when we fill it with God do we find the happiness and joy and satisfaction we so desperately desire. So, kiss not the calf. Rather, like the prostitute who anointed our Lord with expensive ointment, kiss the feet of Jesus Christ and your internal void will be filled to overflowing.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” (Matthew 6:19)

One of the great blessings of being a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is found in the gift of “Divine Disencumberment,” where God supernaturally shifts our focus away from earthly treasure to heavenly treasure. The same grace God used to raise us from death to life, is the same grace God uses to raise us above seeking after earthly treasure, “where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). So, is “Divine Disencumberment” one of the marks of your life today?

Before we were saved, by grace through faith, we sought after the stuff of this life. In our worldly mindedness, we looked to satisfy the desires of the flesh through the attainment of any of the 5 p’s – power, position, prestige, prosperity, pleasure – and make no mistake, the more we were in hot pursuit of any of these things, the more we became encumbered with the flesh and temporal satisfaction. The more we pursue the stuff of this life, the less we pursue our beloved Savior and the result of this worldly pursuit is to multiply the cares of this life.

Now the true disciple of Christ says NO to worldliness and YES to the Word. Remember, it’s not a matter of eliminating pursuit. It’s a matter of pursuing the right things. You see, the problem is not desire. The problem is desiring the wrong things. Our hearts should beat after “all things above,” pursuing the life God has called us to live. Throughout life, we are being conformed into the image of our Lord Jesus. The more we are conformed into His image, the less we are encumbered with the stuff of this life.

Divine Disencumberment is a grace that grows in the heart that beats for nothing smaller than Jesus. The true disciple is one who seeks first the kingdom of heaven because he knows that everything else will follow. God has promised to meet all our needs in the glorious riches of His precious Son, our beloved Savior. We need only keep the main thing the main thing, allowing Jesus His rightful place in our lives – on the throne of our hearts. Divine Disencumberment frees us from a life filled with empty pursuits and fills us with the eternal promise that “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it” (Proverbs 10:22).

So, what treasures have you been storing up for yourself lately? What does the confession of your life say to those who know you best? Remember, we are all hunting some kind of treasure. The key is to hunt after the treasures that are holy then Divine Disencumberment will follow you wherever you go.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

“I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Matthew 9:6)

We all have a tendency to mistake wants for needs. How often do we say, “I need this” or “I need that” when in actuality, we don’t need it at all. We simply want it and we want it so badly we have put it in the category of need. With that being said, which should give us all a moment of pause to check our want list today, let me encourage you by sharing the importance of understanding our greatest need and how it has been met.

The greatest need every person has is forgiveness. Unless our sins are forgiven, we will spend eternity separated from the love of God in that awful place where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28). To die without Christ is to die in our sins. But this need not be the case for those who know the truth of our verse today and have received it by grace, through faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ has the authority and the power to forgive sins, our sins, all of our sins. Jesus Christ was born to die in our place to pay the penalty of our sin and at this very moment, He has the power to pardon, no matter what we have done. His wounds bear witness to that power and authority.

He who knew no sin became sin for all those who would trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Penalty paid. Atonement made. Debt satisfied. And God the Father put His supernatural stamp of approval on the cross work of His beloved Son by raising Him from the grave on the third day, according to the Scriptures. To all those He has granted repentance for sin, He has guaranteed remission of sin. The power of His passion is perpetual. Never shall the fountain of forgiveness run dry. Let this truth set us free from the gnawing guilt that keeps us from growing into the person God is calling us to be. To be sure, we ought to be filled with a godly sorrow when we sin and break the heart of God. But after we have taken it to the throne of grace, we are to remember that it has been nailed to the cross and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.

Beloved, because your greatest need has been met, you should be experiencing the peace that passes all understanding daily. Let not the evil one make you a prisoner to your past. We are to learn from the past, not live there. Because His mercies are new every morning, rise up this day and live as one who has been forgiven and can never be forsaken. Oh, the joy in knowing that our greatest need has been met and met each day by our Master.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

There is a comforting challenge contained within our passage of Scripture today. When Jesus was talking about Himself as the “True Vine” and how we are His branches, to say, “Apart from me you can do nothing” was the same as saying “Connected to me you can do anything.”

We live in a world that is self-deceived by self-dependence. The self-dependent or self-reliant person is a myth and lives in a world of make-believe. No one ever has and no one ever will live a self-dependent life. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, when He came into this world, He lived not a self-dependent life. Rather, He lived in complete dependence upon God the Father through the power of God the Holy Spirit. To pursue a life of self-dependence is to pursue a life our Savior refused to live, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Think about it this way. Every breath you take and every beat of your heart is dependent upon the will of God. Only as God purposes for us the gift of life, do we have life and that life is totally dependent upon the will of God sustaining it. Every person is God-dependent whether they want to acknowledge it or not. When the world speaks of “will power” it is speaking in self-deceiving terms because “will” has absolutely no “power” apart from God. Listen, being god is not only hard, it is an impossible thing to do. When we attempt it, our hopes that our self-dependence will mask our weaknesses actually accomplish just the opposite. We end up appearing both anxious and afraid to those around us.

So, here is the question of the day we all need to ask ourselves. Are we trying to live a life of self-dependence, as branches disconnected to the True Vine? If you are sensing in any area of life that this is the case, simply turn your heart back to God and remember these words from the prophet Zechariah 4:6, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. Remember, self-dependence is self-deception. Stay close to Jesus through His Word, your prayers, and consistent connection to His people and you will be living the only kind of life that truly matters: Savior-dependence that brings glory to God, good to others and the deepest gratification to you.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

“Ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14)

Prayer is a powerful tool in the hands of God’s people. Why? Because there is infinite power in the name of Jesus Christ. Not only have we been invited to come boldly to the throne of grace, we have been instructed that anything we ask for in the name of Jesus, will be done. But I must make something clear before going on – to ask in Jesus name is to ask for Jesus sake.

Our prayers are to be directed at the expansion of Christ’s kingdom, not our own. Make no mistake, when God opened the way for us to come into His presence, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, He was not giving us a blank check to cash for the advancement of our personal affluence and a life of ease. To ask in Jesus name is to ask about the things that matter most to Him. In His High Priestly Prayer in John 17, we gain valuable insight as to what matters most to Jesus, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

As a sent people, we are to be living a life of other orientation. Jesus has commissioned us to live lives that bring glory to God and good to others . . . all others. We are to meet people in their place of need with the hands and feet of Christ. To pray in Jesus name is to pray for the advancement of the gospel and when we are praying like this, we can be assured our prayers will be answered with a resounding ‘YES!’

To pray in Jesus name is to pray to fulfill His plans and His purposes in this life. To pray in Jesus name is to lay aside our personal goals, agendas, dreams, and desires. It is to abandon the self as we advance in the direction of our Savior. As Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Yet, not my will, but thy will be done,” He was providing us with the model for a prayer life that is rooted in Jesus name. Finally, when you are praying in Jesus name, you are being reminded to rely on His wisdom, His power, His strength, and His guidance, and will be protected from the word of warning James provides to the people of God, “You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasure” (James 4:3).

Be encouraged today and take some time to pray in Jesus name, knowing that whatever you ask for in His name, He has promised to do for you.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!