Monthly Archives: November 2012

When was the last time you set out in the direction of your “Tarshish,” rather than the direction God was calling you to go? I pray that today’s message will be a word of great comfort to you right where it finds you.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for the port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3)

Jonah was so committed to his own agenda—rather than God’s—that he hopped a ship that was headed in precisely the opposite direction from where God had called him to go. Rather than surrender his will to God’s will and go to Nineveh and preach God’s word, Jonah headed off to Tarshish to satisfy his own selfish desires. To Jonah, the wrong way looked like the right way . . . but instead of looking up at God, he looked in at himself and chose to serve the advancement of his own little kingdom rather than God’s universal kingdom.

Because we are still sinners after we are saved, we all have to struggle with this same tendency to see the wrong way as the right way. We want what we want when we want it, and often we don’t care who gets hurt along the way. So the next time the wrong way looks like the right way . . . look up!

When you are feeling short-tempered with your children, look up. When you are filled with anxiety at the office, look up. When you are growing weary and impatient with the ones you love, look up. The wrong way so often looks like the right way, simply because it is the easy way. Often it’s easy to do what we want to do, rather than what God wants us to do . . . especially when we have no interest in doing what God wants us to do!

This was the case with Jonah; he would have been much happier to see the people of Nineveh cursed and crushed under the hand of God. The last thing he wanted to do was preach to them about the way of deliverance.

There is instruction here for you and me! We must remember that God is in the habit of calling us to things we would rather not do. He knows that in doing “the hard things,” we will be conformed more and more to the likeness of Christ. No one knows more about what it is like to do the hard things in life than our Lord Jesus Christ. He left the glorious throne room of Heaven to enter this fallen and broken world. He lived and He loved and He served a people who did not receive Him . . . who did not deserve Him! And they proved that by falsely accusing Him, betraying Him, beating Him and spitting on Him, mocking Him, denying Him, and nailing Him to a dirty tree.

But the hideous betrayal wasn’t the hardest thing He had to endure; not even the unspeakable agony of crucifixion was the worst thing.

The Bible tells us that from the 6th to the 9th hour, while Jesus hung upon that cross, darkness covered the land. For the very first time in all eternity, God the Father could not look upon God the Son. It was during that time of unimaginable horror that our Savior uttered His anguished, desolate cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). And because of that period of time, you and I will never have to experience the unimaginable–being forsaken by God.

Jesus was forsaken for your sake and mine; if we have placed our trust in His atoning death, we will never have to experience the ultimate “hard thing” of being separated from God. So, no matter what God is calling you to deal with today, deal with it knowing that Jesus has gone before you and now goes with you.

Remember, whatever God is calling you to do, and wherever He is calling you to go, know that it is for two promised reasons: your good and His glory. So when the wrong way looks like the right way . . . look up!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
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When was the last time you set out in the direction of your “Tarshish,” rather than the direction God was calling you to go? I pray that today’s message will be a word of great comfort to you right where it finds you.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for the port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. (Jonah 1:1-3)

Jonah was so committed to his own agenda—rather than God’s—that he hopped a ship that was headed in precisely the opposite direction from where God had called him to go. Rather than surrender his will to God’s will and go to Nineveh and preach God’s word, Jonah headed off to Tarshish to satisfy his own selfish desires. To Jonah, the wrong way looked like the right way . . . but instead of looking up at God, he looked in at himself and chose to serve the advancement of his own little kingdom rather than God’s universal kingdom.

Because we are still sinners after we are saved, we all have to struggle with this same tendency to see the wrong way as the right way. We want what we want when we want it, and often we don’t care who gets hurt along the way. So the next time the wrong way looks like the right way . . . look up!

When you are feeling short-tempered with your children, look up. When you are filled with anxiety at the office, look up. When you are growing weary and impatient with the ones you love, look up. The wrong way so often looks like the right way, simply because it is the easy way. Often it’s easy to do what we want to do, rather than what God wants us to do . . . especially when we have no interest in doing what God wants us to do!

This was the case with Jonah; he would have been much happier to see the people of Nineveh cursed and crushed under the hand of God. The last thing he wanted to do was preach to them about the way of deliverance.

There is instruction here for you and me! We must remember that God is in the habit of calling us to things we would rather not do. He knows that in doing “the hard things,” we will be conformed more and more to the likeness of Christ. No one knows more about what it is like to do the hard things in life than our Lord Jesus Christ. He left the glorious throne room of Heaven to enter this fallen and broken world. He lived and He loved and He served a people who did not receive Him . . . who did not deserve Him! And they proved that by falsely accusing Him, betraying Him, beating Him and spitting on Him, mocking Him, denying Him, and nailing Him to a dirty tree.

But the hideous betrayal wasn’t the hardest thing He had to endure; not even the unspeakable agony of crucifixion was the worst thing.

The Bible tells us that from the 6th to the 9th hour, while Jesus hung upon that cross, darkness covered the land. For the very first time in all eternity, God the Father could not look upon God the Son. It was during that time of unimaginable horror that our Savior uttered His anguished, desolate cry: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). And because of that period of time, you and I will never have to experience the unimaginable–being forsaken by God.

Jesus was forsaken for your sake and mine; if we have placed our trust in His atoning death, we will never have to experience the ultimate “hard thing” of being separated from God. So, no matter what God is calling you to deal with today, deal with it knowing that Jesus has gone before you and now goes with you.

Remember, whatever God is calling you to do, and wherever He is calling you to go, know that it is for two promised reasons: your good and His glory. So when the wrong way looks like the right way . . . look up!

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

I doubt there’s an American over the age of 5 who isn’t familiar with the marketing slogan about the Energizer Bunny who keeps on going . . . and going . . . and going!  Well today I want to talk about our Eternal Energizer.  Did you know that God is so good that His promised good to His people keeps on going . . . and going . . . and going?

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  (Psalm 23:6)

When was the last time you thought about the goodness of God following you around day in and day out?  If your honest answer sounds like mine (“Uh, I’m not sure”), this truth exposes the narrow-sighted view we have of the glorious Gospel and the unlimited bounty of God’s goodness toward broken sinners like you and me.  This incredible truth about goodness following me all of my days seems to suggest that God’s amazing grace has nothing to do with me and everything to do with God.  And I thank God for that!

Imagine for a moment the psalmist saying, “Surely God’s goodness will follow me all the days of my life . . . as long as I continue following my good God.”  Changes everything doesn’t it?  If my experience of God’s goodness is based on my “goodness,” then my experience of God’s goodness would be only as good as I am—and at times that is not all that good!

But the Gospel-saturated promise we receive from God is a guarantee of goodness apart from anything we think, do, or say.  You might think it was too good to be true . . . if it wasn’t written down.  You can be absolutely certain in your belief that God is good to us even when we are not good to Him.  Marinate on this for a moment:

• When we have divided affections . . . God is good to us
• When we are consumed with selfish ambition . . . God is good to us
• When we are serving anything smaller than God . . . God is good to us
• When we are running in the opposite direction from God . . . God is good to us
• When we forget God in the details of life . . . God is good to us

By nature we find it easy to think about a God who would reward us with His goodness when we are good.  But to think about a God who is still good to us when we are bad and are deserving only of His anger and displeasure is—well, in a word—unimaginable!  Yet this is exactly what the Gospel does for everyone who believes it.

The good news is so breathtakingly good!  God’s goodness flows to those who have not earned it and do not deserve it in any way.  How freeing to know that our relationship with God is based on His faithfulness toward us and not our faithfulness toward Him.

The prophet Jeremiah echoed the psalmist when he gave us these words from God: “I [the Lord] will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them” (Jeremiah 32:40).  To know that God’s goodness is always in hot pursuit of rebels on the run like you and me is as encouraging as it is empowering.  It is the Gospel-fuel that lights the fire of our faith.  If you have placed your trust in Christ for your eternal salvation, you can be utterly confident that God’s goodness and love will follow you all of your days . . . regardless of the circumstances we are currently facing—whether we face them with big faith, little faith, or even no faith at all!  “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:18).

May God give us the grace to embrace the truth that His goodness keeps on going . . . and going . . . and going!

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

God must really like gardens, because they find great importance in His sacred story.  On the night He was betrayed, Jesus agonized over His coming death, to the point of sweating drops of blood, in the Garden of Gethsemane.  You will, of course, remember that it all got started for the human family in the Garden of Eden, where our first two parents were placed to care for and have dominion over their new home.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it . . . Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  (Genesis 2:15, 22)

The paradise of the Garden of Eden was our first home.  But that quickly changed when Adam and Eve turned toward the serpent and away from God.  But God did not leave them to wallow in their dreadful rebellion.  He pursued those “rebels without a cause” and promised to send His Savior to save them from their sins.  And in His grand salvation project, God has promised something very special for all His people:

You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.  (Isaiah 58:11)

Here is a garden better than the Garden of Eden!  Here is a “Gospel-Garden,” where the water never runs dry.  In other words, God will forever be on the throne of our lives; sin and death will be no more.  To be like a well-watered garden is to be full of the life that can only come from the truths of the Gospel.  We are liberated to live lives of freedom, joy, and faithfulness to Jesus, because we live under the banner of His finished work.

John recorded that “Jesus . . . said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him’” (John 7:37-39).  To be a well-watered garden is to be saturated with the super-abundant blessings that flow freely from the Spirit of God.  And they will flow forever.

• The blessing of total forgiveness
• The blessing of unconditional love
• The blessing of unbroken fellowship with God
• The blessing of complete approval
• The blessing of unimaginable joy
• The blessing of unmerited favor

Jesus is the Gospel-Gardner and we are His Gospel-garden.  Nothing can ever come between us (Romans 8:38-39).  Our sins—past, present, or future—cannot separate the Gospel-garden from our Gospel-Gardner.  Neither Satan nor his demons can separate the Gospel-garden from our Gospel-Gardner.  Not even death can separate the Gospel-garden from our Gospel-Gardner.

The Gospel-Gardner has promised to complete the good work He has begun in us (Philippians 1:6), and what He has promised He will do.  “For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27).

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

Have you ever wanted to pray but simply had a hard time lifting your voice toward heaven?  Have you ever been asked to pray but you really didn’t feel like you could?  We’ve all felt like this from time to time.  That’s why today’s message is a source of great comfort for all of us!

The Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.  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.  Romans 8:26-28)

How we need Gospel reminders of the strength we have in our weakness!  To know the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through “wordless groans” (whatever they may be) is a source of great encouragement in those times when we feel we cannot lift our voices to the throne of grace.  We are not abandoned in our weakness!  When we are weak He is strong.  When we are fearful He is faithful.  Knowing that He searches our hearts and knows us completely and still loves us—in spite of what he sees—brings to us the place of peace that passes all understanding.

If not for the truths of the Gospel I would believe that God searches my heart to guilt me, not to grow me . . . to shame me, not to strengthen me . . . to demean me, not to deliver me . . . to condemn me, not to change me. . . to hurt me, not to heal me . . . to break me, not to build me.  But He works all things for my good and that encourages me to keep on praying, especially in those times when my prayers do not seem to rise past the rafters.

So let the truth of this passage empower you to pray . . . even when you don’t feel like praying!  God already knows what you need and want.  The Spirit himself is already interceding on your behalf.  And unlike some of the prayers we lift to heaven, the Spirit always prays in accordance with the will of God.  Scripture promises that our God will meet our every need.  Note that it doesn’t say our God will meet our every want . . . but God will give us what we need, because He has promised to give it.

Thank God that the answers to our prayers are not rooted in our prayer life but in the Spirit’s prayer life on our behalf!  When we can’t pray He can, and He does . . . and that truth should keep us praying.  When we can’t find the words, Gospel-saturated groans will be good enough.

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

This week we are looking at a life characterized by overflowing thankfulness.  After the two great commandments of loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:37-40), we find another wonderful and worshipful commandment: to give thanksgiving to God for everything He has done for us.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  (Psalm 100:4)

Today we will briefly unpack two very practical ways we can offer God thanksgiving and praise for His countless blessings that flow freely to us.

1. Acknowledge God

We all know just how easy it is to forget God.  I don’t mean we actually forget that He exists, but we often forget to bring Him into everything we are doing.  I cannot think of a better way to give thanksgiving to God than to acknowledge Him in every area of our lives in thought, word, and deed.

• Acknowledge God in our families
• Acknowledge God in our work
• Acknowledge God in our friendships
• Acknowledge God in our finances
• Acknowledge God in our spending
• Acknowledge God in our recreational pursuits
• Acknowledge God in our goal setting

This is a list that could easily be extended to include ten blogs!  The legendary Confederate general, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, said, “I have so fixed the habit of prayer in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God’s blessing.”  When we acknowledge God in praise and thanksgiving, we are telling Him just how important He really is to us.  And what Father does not want his children to tell him how much he matters to them?

2. Accept His Providence

We give God thanks and praise when we accept His providence, regardless of what it is.  Unlike the Israelites who whined, grumbled, and complained after having been released from over 400 years in bondage in Egypt—because there wasn’t enough variety in the menu—we are to accept whatever God delivers to us, knowing that not a bird falls to the ground apart from His will (Matthew 10:29).  Nothing happens to us that does not first pass through the nail-scarred hands of our sovereign Savior.

It’s easy for you and me to accept those pleasurable providences that beam down on us when the sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy.  But how willing are we to accept painful providences?  One thing is sure: it would be a whole lot harder to endure the storms without having the Bible to read and reflect on.  After reading so many stories of saints who endured unimaginably painful providences and still blessed God in the midst of them, we can draw strength to face anything that comes our way.

We need only to gaze upon Golgotha’s Hill and see our Lord—broken, bleeding, and nailed to that dirty tree—to be reminded of the ultimate painful providence that you and I will never have to endure.  And through it all, Jesus gave praise and thanksgiving to His Father in heaven: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).  He took God’s cup of wrath that was meant for you and me . . . so that we would never have to.

Wherever you go tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, whether with family or friends or by yourself, remember to enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.  You’ll be blessed and God will be glorified.

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

Let’s marinate a bit this Thanksgiving week in what it means to live a life that truly offers thanksgiving to the One who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.

Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  (Colossians 2:6-7)

The apostle Paul is telling us that an attitude of overflowing thankfulness is to distinguish Gospel-soaked saints, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  Please note that this exhortation came from a man who knew hardship and suffering for the sake of the Gospel.  Paul was no “ivory tower” teacher!  Paul wrote most of the New Testament, and he wrote most of it from behind prison walls.  But regardless of the circumstances he faced, he was marked by overflowing thankfulness because He intimately knew the One to whom he was so thankful.

Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.  He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  “Who are you, Lord?”  Saul asked.  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.  “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:1-6)

Here is the man who went from being a persecutor of the Church (Saul) to a pastor in the Church (the apostle Paul).  He went from hating Christians to helping Christians.  He went from murder to ministry . . . and he kept on with that ministry until his very last breath.  And he did it against all odds with a heart that was overflowing with thankfulness.

One of the keys for Paul was found in the fact that he never lost sight of who he was before Jesus showed up.  He never forgot the black condition of his heart prior to his Damascus road experience and how Jesus breathed new life into him.  He knew the radical change that the Lord Jesus Christ made in his heart.

So, as we approach Thanksgiving Day this week, let us pause for a moment to count our many blessings.  Don’t bother to try to name them “one-by-one,” as the Bible song says, because there are far too many to number.  We simply need to live a life of overflowing thankfulness by sharing the love of Christ with everyone we encounter.

Take a moment this week to tell someone special just how much they mean to you.  Make that long overdue phone call.  Write that note of appreciation you have been meaning to write for as long as you can remember.  God will be glorified and it will be good for your soul!

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

When you think about God, what do you think about?  How do you picture Him as it relates to your relationship with Him?  Do you envision Him with a concerned look on His face?  Do you imagine a bit of sweat forming on His upper lip as He frets over your forgetfulness and faithlessness?  Perhaps He is glaring at you because of your sin?

If that’s the mental picture you have of God—I wish I could say this to you more sweetly—it’s totally wrong!  The cure for these distorted pictures and any other gross misunderstandings of God is to gain a clearer view of the Gospel.

As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5)

I remember as if it was yesterday: standing at the altar of the church and seeing my Kim in her wedding gown for the very first time as she prepared to proceed down the aisle toward me.  It was 6:00 pm on Saturday, March 6^th, 1993; we were at the little Church by the Sea in Fort Lauderdale.  The emotions that flooded my mind and heart overwhelmed me to tears—you can see it on our wedding video, which we watch as a family each anniversary.  As our bridegroom, Jesus rejoices over His bride, just as I was rejoicing over my beloved Kim.

How often we need the power of the Gospel simply to believe the Gospel!  Jesus rejoices over His bride . . . and that includes you.  Notice that Isaiah didn’t say the Bridegroom rejoices over His bride when His bride deserves to be rejoiced over.  Scripture doesn’t say Jesus rejoices over us when we prove ourselves worthy of His rejoicing.  It simply says we are the object of God’s rejoicing affection.

Think about it this way: Jesus is totally satisfied in His bride.  He never doubts His choice.  He never questions His sanity in choosing us.  He never gets tired or bored with His bride.  He rejoices over us day and night, night and day.  This good news almost seems too good to be true . . . but it is.  You have His Word on it!

So how should this incredible news impact you today, right where you are, in whatever stations this finds you in?  It should provide you with the greatest source of motivation and inspiration to live the life God has called you to live, knowing you will never live it perfectly until you are received into glory.  You are freed in the Gospel to be who you are: His bride, with all of your imperfections and blemishes and sins, knowing that He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Wow!  This should get you up early and keep you up late, pouring yourself out for the glory of the One who chose you to be His bride forever.  Today is a day for you to rejoice, because the One who paid the price to have you as His bride—a price paid with His own precious blood—rejoices over you.

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

Did you ever believe that the boundaries set forth in sacred Scripture bound you up and left you without a blessing? Many unbelievers regard Christianity as little more than a dour collection of “Thou shalt nots” . . . but what about you? Have you ever slipped into that kind of thinking?

We live in a culture which champions the freedom to do what we want, when we want, and how we want.  If you speak out about the biblical boundaries God has graciously provided us (yes, I said “graciously provided,” not “onerously burdened”), you are viewed as legalistic, narrow-minded, puritanical, and intolerant.  It is not uncommon for someone who is speaking in favor of biblical boundaries to be ruled “OUT OF BOUNDS!”

But this is not for you!

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.  (Psalm 1:1-3)

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

The answer to this epidemic of emotional emptiness sweeping our country is not found in freedom to do what we want.  The Gospel not only tells us what we have been freed from—the dominion of sin and Satan—but the Gospel tells us we are freed for—to walk in the ways of the Lord and to delight in His law.

Biblical boundaries are not burdens to bear; they are blessings to be received.  My friend Steve Brown explained it beautifully: “God’s law (biblical boundaries) tells us where the land mines are buried and keeps us from blowing ourselves and others up.”  The psalmist makes it perfectly clear that we willinevitably step on those land mines when we “walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.”

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

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

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

Are God’s boundaries there to frustrate us and spoil our fun? By no means! They are a gracious gift from God, given to us so that we can live—really live—in freedom and joy.

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

We all go through stormy seasons.  Trouble has been promised.  Suffering is simply a part of the Christian life.  But have you considered the reason why?  Today we will briefly look at one reason for a stormy season:

(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, (4) who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (5) For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (6) If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. (7) Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.  (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

You see here that we experience stormy seasons so that we will receive the comfort of our God.  And we receive God’s comfort “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.”  What a privilege we have been given, to be vessels that communicate God’s comfort into the lives of others who are currently in the fire of affliction!  This knowledge should empower us to praise God during life’s storms, rather than complain or pity ourselves.

Think about this for a moment: when we are buffeted by stormy winds, our God does not bring cosmic comfort to make us comfortable; He brings it to make us better comforters!  History teaches us that lighthouses have been built by ship-wrecked sailors . . . roads widened after multi-car pileups . . . and traffic lights installed because of the death of a motorist.  It’s an uncomfortable truth that when nobody suffers, nobody really grows.  Suffering makes us sensitive to our own humanity, forces us to reach out to our God for His resources of strength, and equips us to bring comfort to others who are dealing with the same human condition.

In verse 5 we see that we find our comfort through our relationship with Jesus.  He endured the stormiest season that ever blew across the face of this earth, and He endured it without any comfort at all from His Father in heaven.  He endured the full cup of God’s wrath while He hung on the cross on Golgotha’s Hill . . . and He endured it alone.  You remember His despairing cry: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46.)  Why did He experience that?  So that you and I would never have to.

Jesus went without comfort as He secured our salvation for us.  So today, as we live out that so-great salvation, we will never be without the comfort of our God, no matter what stormy season we are facing.  Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  This Gospel truth should encourage us to encourage others . . . inspire us to inspire others . . . comfort us to comfort others.  Now that’s a grace-filled reason for a stormy season!

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

For over a decade our good friend and Master Karate Instructor, K.C., has been using this phrase as a source of encouragement and strength for all those on their journey to black belt.  Having been in the martial arts for 36 years, I can tell you that journey is both long and hard, regardless of your age and ability.  The obstacles and challenges on the road to black belt can be a source of disappointment and discouragement, which causes some to give up.

The “Team up . . . Never give up” philosophy asserts that if you team up with others who are on the same journey, you are more likely to reach your intended destination.  It worked for me and our two oldest children, Brock and Jenna, and it is currently working for 9-year-old Katie and 8-year-old Zack, who are on their way to earning their black belts.

What is true in the world of martial arts is also true in every area of life, including your faith.  It was certainly true for three young Jewish men who were in captivity in Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.

God had given the pagan king victory over His chosen people Israel as judgment for their continued idolatry and disobedience.  God never abandoned His people though; during their captivity in a foreign land, God protected and provided for His people. One of the ways He did this was to strengthen their unity through community.  In other words, they were to “Team up and never give up,” regardless of the cost or circumstance.

Nebuchadnezzar, no doubt thinking himself a very spiritual man, issued a decree that everyone was to bow down and worship a 90-foot tall gold statue.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused.  They decided to team up and never give up as it related to the most important area in both life and death: their relationship with the one true and living God.  Let’s peer behind the curtain of their commitment.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. ”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.”  (Daniel 3:16-28)

So . . . where in your life right now do you need to team up and never give up?  Maybe you need to team up with your spouse to overcome difficulties in your marriage or challenges raising your children.  Perhaps you need to team up at the office with some coworkers to meet the deadline of a current project.  Maybe you need to team up with some friends at school who can be study partners on your way to academic excellence.  Possibly you need to team up with others in your church to accomplish a ministry project.

I could go on, but I think you get the point.  When God saved you from our sin as an individual, He saved you to community, which presupposes the need to always and in every way, “Team up and never give up,” regardless of the cost or circumstance.  Along the way you will reach many more of your goals and God will get all the glory!

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