Monthly Archives: June 2022

When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw [Jesus] eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” (Mark 2:16)

The self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the law could not comprehend why Jesus would associate with the hated tax collectors and people who were regarded as “sinners” for one simple reason: They were blind to their own sin. Yet their indignant question to Jesus’ disciples, which was meant as an insult, provides a source of great comfort for all those who understand their own sinful, fallen, and broken condition.

To know that Jesus is a friend of sinners — to know that He actually wants to be with us– is to understand a profound and promising biblical truth. First, to be a friend of sinners means that Jesus willingly subjected Himself to living in a sinful, fallen, and broken world. As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus came down off His heavenly throne, took on flesh, and dwelt among us. Now, that is profound! Second, to be a friend of sinners means that Jesus intentionally invites us into an intimate, personal relationship with Him, even though we were rebels on the run away from Him, just like Adam and Eve ran from God back in the Garden. Now, that is promising!  

The self-righteous religious leaders who were scandalized by Jesus’ choice of companions believed their right standing before God was rooted in rigorous following of their rituals and rules. For them, it was all about the externals. But Jesus made it clear that our right standing before God is rooted in a right relationship with Him. And let me make something perfectly clear: The reason Jesus ate with sinners is because they were the only ones He had to eat with, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus sought out relationship with the outcasts, the socially unwanted, the marginalized, and the ostracized. He came to seek and save the lost.

Regardless of where this message finds you today, whether you are weathering storms or basking in sunshine, Jesus came for you. He lived for you. He died for you. He rose from the dead for you. And He is coming back for you. Remember, Jesus being a friend of sinners did not mean He condones sinful behavior. He didn’t spend time with sinners to join in their sinful ways. Rather, in His infinite love, Jesus was calling sinners like you and me to turn way from our sin and turn toward our Savior. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,” He promises us; “though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

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

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten. (Joel 2:25)

When I look back over the years, there are some seasons in my life that, if I could, I would like to do over again. Yet I am reminded that God has promised to restore even the years the locusts have eaten. And they have eaten more than their fair share!

I am sure we all feel that way from time to time. When we do, we need to cry out to Jesus and ask Him to rescue us from such “stinking thinking.” We must remember how limited our perspective of life is. We are like a schoolchild peering through a quarter-sized hole in a wooden fence. Not only do we see only a tiny portion of what God is doing in our lives, we understand even less than that! That is why we must always remember that Jesus Christ is all about redemption, not do-overs! Jesus is busily engaged in redeeming all the time that we think was wasted, because there is no such thing as wasted time. God is working all things together for His stated purpose of conforming us to the likeness of His Son.

Now, I recognize that all of us have a past that is littered with losses. There have been painful seasons, fruitless seasons, selfish seasons, and prodigal seasons in our lives. But regardless of where this message finds you today, you must forsake regret and look to your Redeemer, who has promised to make all things new, including you. He is at work in you this very minute, sharpening and shaping you into His image. Live in that confidence, Christian, and that confidence will rise to hope.

Remember, Jesus is Lord, and He has made a seemingly impossible promise: He will restore the one thing we simply cannot save or store up – time. Let us be clear: the lost season will not be restored, but the lost Savior will be. Jesus will deepen our dependence upon Him. Jesus will heighten our hope in Him. Jesus will strengthen our surrender to Him. We do not need Jesus to redo anything in our lives. We simply need Him to do what He has promised: to redeem and restore the years the locusts have eaten.

Oh, what a Savior we have in Jesus!

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

If we live, we live for the Lord. (Romans 14:8)

Each day, we wake up in the crosshairs of two ways to live: We can live large for the Lord, or we can live little for ourselves. The first way leads to a life of meaning, significance, and purpose; the second leads to a life of meaninglessness, insignificance, and purposelessness. The choice is always ours.

To live large is to live for the expansion of the cause of the Kingdom of Christ. It is to actively participate in making all things new, by sharing the good news of the Gospel with all those we come in contact with. Living large is declaring the truths of the Gospel with both our lips and our lives. It is living a life that is marked by loving God and loving our neighbor, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

To live little, on the other hand, is to live a life of personal peace and self-fulfillment. Remember, when you fix your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), your life expands to the boundaries of God’s kingdom. But when you focus on yourself, you shrink the size of your life down to the size of your life.

Who have you been living for lately? Look to Jesus, and let Him enable you, empower you, and equip you to live for nothing smaller than Him. When you are living for Jesus, it may not look like you are living large from the world’s perspective, because unbelievers measure “large” by what you get. But when you are living for Jesus, you are truly living large, because He measures large by what you give.

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