Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (Psalm 116:17-18)

The psalmist has given a word of both instruction and inspiration for those who have ears to hear, minds to understand, and hearts that beat for nothing smaller than Jesus.

In God’s economy, vows are serious things. Better to not vow at all than to make a vow and break it. The psalmist gives us insight as to how he will fulfill his vows to the Lord out of a heart of thanksgiving. The psalmist is thankful—not only for what God has given to him, but for God’s claim on his life.

That is what is meant by calling on the name of the Lord: To call on the name of the Lord is to give yourself completely to Him. To call on the name of the Lord is to hold absolutely nothing back from Him. To call on the name of the Lord is to surrender control of every aspect of your existence to Him. And make no mistake, to call on the name of the Lord is to respond to His claim instantly, not after repeated requests.

• How many times has your Lord requested your time?
• How many times has your Lord requested your talent?
• How many times has your Lord requested your treasure?

Instantly yielding to His claim on any aspect of our lives is the way of the true disciple of Christ. We should neither question Him nor hesitate in our response. Does not the One who laid down His life for us have the right to make a claim on our time . . . our talent . . . our treasure? And how should we pay our vows to our God? With a heart overflowing with thanksgiving. God loves cheerful givers who give freely, unhesitatingly, and gratefully of their time, talent, and treasure.

Where does this message find you today? Are you one who calls on the name of the Lord? Have you surrendered control of your life to Christ . . . or just a portion of it? Or perhaps you have surrendered control of your life to your Lord out of a sense of duty rather than devotion? To be sure, we have a duty to give everything we are and everything we have in service to our Lord. But it is far better to give out of a sense of devotion; when we do, we can be sure we are giving with a heart of thanksgiving.

Remember, it really is no sacrifice to give what we have in return for what we have been given. We give our Lord the stuff of this life while He has given us the stuff of the next. God forbid that we might ever compare or confuse the two!

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

Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.

(Hebrews 12:3 KJV)

There is much that we can learn from the daily experience of our Lord, who endured such contradiction of sinners throughout His entire earthly existence. More often than not, it is those closest to us who present the greatest challenge of contradiction, yet God has ordained the correction of contradiction as part of the process of conforming us into the image and likeness of His beloved Son, Jesus.

There may be no greater example of this in the life of our Lord than impulsive Peter. When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say I am?” Peter spoke on behalf of the twelve: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Peter was spot-on in his confession of Jesus as the promised Messiah, and Jesus confirmed this truth, saying warmly, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.”

Just a few verses later, however, after Jesus predicted His death at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, Peter took Jesus aside, thinking to rebuke the Christ: “Never, Lord! This shall never happen to you!” Peter clearly did not grasp what his Christological confession truly meant; Jesus endured the contradiction of Peter against Himself and then delivered this stinging rebuke of His own: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23).

We have all experienced the challenge of contradiction . . . but how well do we endure it and what do we learn from the experience? There is no doubt that our God is ready, willing, and perfectly able to use contradiction as a way of correction in our lives, if we will but receive it for this purpose. But far too often, when we are opposed by a friend, family member, or colleague, we lash out, either to defend ourselves or to defeat our perceived “opponent.”

We must keep in view that God sends the correction of contradiction in order to sanctify us and grow us into Christlikeness. The Potter is molding His clay, removing all the flaws, such as pride, impatience, and selfish ambition, to name just a few. He will do that by any means necessary.

So . . . how have you been dealing with those closest to you who become a contradiction? Remember, it’s not what happens to you that makes the greatest difference in how your life works out; what matters is what you do with what happens. Let me encourage you to receive the correction of contradiction, knowing that you have the “Cosmic Contradicted One” going before you, beside you, and within you every step of the way.

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

Hedge of Protection

Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. (Psalm 32:10)

The world has its sentinels—soldiers whose job it is to stand guard, keep watch, and provide protection. The Savior has His sentinels too, and it is almost too profound to ponder that unfailing love surrounds the saints of God who trust in Him alone. Let this be a word of eternal encouragement to you who have placed your trust in Jesus Christ.

You are encompassed by the everlasting love of your God. His love not only goes before you and behind you and beside you, but His love goes inside of you too. The Savior’s sentinels of unfailing love supernaturally surround the saints of God wherever they go. And let me remind you of this almost unimaginable truth from the pen of the apostle Paul:

Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39)

What soldiers of supernatural strength God has given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord! What guards of grace that stand watch over us night and day! We are protected from the slings and arrows of the devil himself because our God has put a hedge of protection around us that never slumbers nor sleeps. We are eternally loved in Christ, and that unfailing love will never diminish, nor will the clouds of darkness shroud it in any way. From everlasting to everlasting, what began in unfailing love will continue in unfailing love all the way into the Celestial City.

But it doesn’t end there! It will continue on throughout eternity, because there will be no more pain or sorrow or tears or death for the saints of God. We, in unbroken fellowship and joy, will experience God’s unfailing love in all its glory.

One final point: Those who trust in Jesus Christ are those who know themselves to be sinners in need of a Savior. They know they cannot save themselves and that they are utterly undeserving of the affections of the Almighty. Yet those who trust in Christ are the “apple of His eye” (Psalm 17:8) and find themselves undergirded by His unfailing love.

Is this truth yours today? Have you accepted the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ alone? Do you desire to walk in obedience to your Savior and your Lord? May this be the confession of your life and may the sentinel of the Savior, His unfailing love, be shared with all those you come in contact with.

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

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. (Revelation 4:11)

Many in the church today have fallen prey to a massive misconception when it comes to the message of the Gospel. Modernity has manipulated the Good News, changing the focus from upward to inward—from serving the Savior to serving the self. Far too many people imagine that somehow God’s warning to Pharaoh has been changed from “Let my people go so they can serve me” to “Let my people go so I can serve them.” The church today—and particularly the church in the Western world—is full of the misguided, who have absorbed “gospel-lite” messages designed to meet felt needs and who believe that God exists to serve their ends, satisfy their needs, and slake their thirst for all things material.

But this is not for you! Scripture warns us, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). Here are three questions for you to ponder in order to discern if you have manipulated the Gospel message in any way:

1. Why do you attend church?
2. Why do you pray?
3. Why do you tithe (assuming that you do tithe) your income?

If these Christian disciplines are part of your life simply because you desire to please your God and praise His mighty name, then the message has not been manipulated in your mind. But if you attend church, pray, and tithe in order that you might get something in return, you can be sure that the message has indeed been manipulated.

It comes down to two words: duty and devotion. If you do these and other things for God out of a sense of duty (inasmuch as the Christian disciplines are our duty), the message has been manipulated. But if you do these and other things out of a sense of devotion, because your heart beats for nothing smaller than the Lord Jesus Christ and you are overwhelmed with love and thanksgiving because of what God has already done for you—NOT what you hope He will do in the future—then you can be sure that the message you are responding to is the one the Master delivered 2,000 years ago.

Here is another way to put this: Ask yourself, “Do I do what I do for my own gain? Or for the Savior’s glory?” To be sure, God has promised to meet all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), but there are two things we must remember. First, we must never define “wants” as “needs”—and we all have a natural tendency to do just that. Second, we must always remember that God will meet our needs in His time, in His way, and for His glory. And often the outcome won’t look anything like what we expected it to!

In closing, and I pray for a deep and abiding encouragement for your soul, regardless of where this message found you today. God is God, and is worthy of all our praise, glory, honor, and obedience. When what we do for God is done simply because we could not do otherwise, we can know for sure that we have not manipulated the Gospel message and that our heart is beating for nothing smaller than our Master.

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

When I see the blood, I will pass over you. (Exodus 12:13)

If we were to fully understand this truth set before us today, it would forever change everything about the way we live our lives. Why? Because when our God looks at us with His steady, supernatural gaze, He sees the blood of His Son, the Lamb of God, which has purchased us and secured our place at His table.

So what does our God see when He sees the blood of Christ? First, He sees His sinless Son who gave His life for us, a life without spot or blemish. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might receive the blessings of heaven. In the death of His Son, God sees His justice fully satisfied; the penalty for sin has been paid in full. He also sees that the cup of His righteous wrath is empty, having been poured out on His precious Son as He hung on that cross. Because of all that God sees in the blood of His Son, He must and He will forevermore pass over us. No judgement will come to us because Jesus Christ was judged in our place.

There is something God does not see. He does not see us as we truly are: sinners in moment-by-moment need of a Savior. He does not see our sin. He does not see our unfaithfulness. He does not see our doubt and fear.

Now, that’s not because God is unaware of what we do! God is omniscient (all-knowing); before a word is on our tongue He knows it completely (Psalm 139:4). But God chooses not to see all that we are not, because He sees all that His Son is. When the Father said He was well pleased with the Son, He was saying that about you and me too because of the blood of the sinless Savior, shed on our behalf. Even when our faith yields so little return that we waver between two opinions, we can rest assured that the Almighty sees only the blood and will pass over us.

Let this truth seize you today, and you will know a supernatural security that brings with it a peace that passes all understanding. God could have paid no greater price for you than the precious blood of His Son, yet it pleased Him to send His Son to a cross for you to die in your place. He who did not spare His only Son spares us because He sees that we are blood-bought. Because Jesus fully and finally paid the penalty for our sin, God will not demand payment again. Jesus made a once-for-all payment in full that continues to return divine dividends for eternity.

So regardless of what you see when you look at yourself—and we all see things we would rather not—remember what your Father in heaven sees: the blood of His beloved Son. And because He sees the atoning blood He will pass over you. Mercy and justice met at the cross, providing a permanent place in the new heavens and the new earth for all those who are, by grace through faith, blood-bought sons and daughters of God.

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

Avoid foolish controversies. (Titus 3:9)

Oh, what wise and wonderful counsel we have before us today! “Avoid foolish controversies.” Why? The passage goes on to explain that “these are unprofitable and useless.” I call this “majoring in the minors,” and sadly, the church is full of those who do exactly that.

To be sure, there are some major things that we should hold on to with all our might—things that matter most concerning our salvation. The Bible alone is the Word of God. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and was raised supernaturally from the grave on the third day. He ascended into heaven, and even now sits at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through trusting in Christ’s atoning work alone for eternal life. This is “keeping the main thing the main thing,” and to these truths we must hold fast.

Yet there are so many minor things that we make major! When we do, we find ourselves sowing in so barren a field. Think about all the controversies that Christians attend to where the Scriptures are silent. Some have spent their lives studying and debating the return of Christ, even making predictions as to the day He will return . . . despite the fact that Jesus said only the Father knows when the Son will return (Matthew 24:36). Rather than focusing on the when, Jesus tells us to focus on how we live our lives: in a posture of being prepared for His return at any moment, so that we may be “unashamed before him at His coming” (1 John 2:28).

Think of all the foolish controversies that have hurt the witness of the church when it comes to human ceremonies and religious traditions. How foolish to sow in so barren a field! But our adversary, the devil, loves to see the saints of God muddling around in the mud-flats of man-made rites and rituals, arguing over matters that matter not, instead of advancing the cause of the kingdom of Christ. In the end, the final result can be summed up as “high heat” and “low light” . . . with no one involved the wiser.

So how do we keep from sowing in so barren a field? We must remember that our time here is brief and that we are to invest what little we have in the work Jesus has set before us. When Jesus said to the man He healed of demon possession, “Go and tell how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39), He was telling the man to keep the main thing the main thing. His call was clear: that man was to spend his life telling others about Jesus, which would keep him from falling into foolish controversies which are unprofitable and useless. You see, when we are advancing the kingdom of Christ, we are sowing in a field that will return 30, 60, and 100-fold.

May that be the confession of our lives!

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

Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

What a word of encouragement we have before us today! Much is impossible with man, but with God all things are possible. In other words, the believer is to look at life through the lens of our Lord and live a life that rises above impossible to Him-possible.

Throughout my years in the personal development field, I was a student of all things positive. I was a big fan of the 1952 book, The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale, a book which stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks. The thrust of the book was rooted in maintaining a positive mental attitude. Believe and succeed, readers were told; the power of positive thinking will overcome any obstacle that stands in your way. More than 60 years later, that’s still not bad advice; we should all strive to live out each day with a positive mental attitude.

However, in today’s passage of Scripture, we have something infinitely more powerful than a positive mental attitude; we have the very power of God at our disposal! Scripture tells us that we are “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might” (Colossians 1:11), which enables us to go from impossible to Him-possible. We are all facing some situation or trial that seems impossible to overcome . . .

• Troubles at the office
• Difficulties in your marriage
• Prodigal child
• Broken friendship
• Financial shortfall
• Mounting debt
• Sickness and disease

Perhaps you have something to add to this list? Regardless of what it is that you are currently facing that seems absolutely irreparable, it only seems that way because you are trying to overcome in your strength rather than His. To go from impossible to Him-possible is to go from living in the natural to trusting in the supernatural. It is walking by faith and not by sight. It is trusting God even when we cannot trace Him. It is looking at something that seems utterly hopeless and yet still having hope. Why? Because with God nothing is impossible; all things are Him-possible!

God did not bring you this far just to leave you here. He has promised to take you to the other side, but He did not promise to get you there trouble free. In fact, He promised that you would experience trials and tribulations on your way to the Celestial City. During those times, we must remember this: trials and tribulations are simply tests to reveal in whom we will trust. Will we trust in the self or will we trust in our Savior?

At a time when many disciples turned their backs on Jesus, He asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” To which Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-68). And that is how we go from impossible to Him-possible: by trusting in the Word of life and truth that has been given to us by our Lord.

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

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. (Proverbs 25:28)

Today’s verse likens the Christian life to a city with walls. Scripture warns us that the Christian who lacks self-control is like a city whose protective walls have been broken down. In the ancient world, a city without walls had no way of protecting itself against its enemies. Here the Almighty has painted a stark picture that is designed to get our attention and urge us to take appropriate actions.

How is it with you? We all fail to exercise self-control at times, whether it is in the words we utter, the thoughts we indulge, or the deeds we do. When we don’t practice self-control, we display that there are cracks in our walls. I want to encourage you today to contain those cracks before collapse comes. Know this: If we are to contain those cracks that exist in our walls—and we all have them—we must be fully committed to living a disciplined life, one which has clear boundaries set, especially in those areas where we know that we struggle most.

Our Lord Jesus provided us with the perfect model of self-control. Having been “born under the Law” (Galatians 4:4), Jesus lived in such a way as to fulfill every aspect of the Law of God. Have you ever thought about how distressing it must have been for our sinless Savior to live amidst the constant reminders of mankind’s sinful condition—seeing and hearing and knowing the thoughts of all of us, who sin both by nature and by habit?

Yet He who knew no sin died in the place of sinners, that we might have eternal life. His self-control was rooted in His supernatural, sacrificial love for us. When we understand that, it seems to me that we know enough to desire living a self-controlled life for the glory of our Savior. He lived a life of love on our behalf; surely we can live lives that say “I love you, Lord” back to Him. When we do, we will contain the cracks that appear in the walls of our witness before the inevitable collapse comes.

Perhaps there is no better way to put the Gospel on display than through our exercise of self-control. Made in His image and redeemed by His blood, we have been given His Holy Spirit to indwell us and strengthen us in all matters of self-control. When we exercise this fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), we glorify the One who chose the path of self-control in order to redeem you and me.

In what areas of your life are you currently exercising self-control? Praise His mighty name for the supernatural strength He provides you to live well! But let me also ask you this: in what areas of your life are you failing to exercise self-control? Praise His mighty name, and confess your cracks to Jesus, trusting that His blood cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7), and pray for renewed strength to contain the cracks in the wall of your witness so that collapse will never occur.

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

The Lord sets prisoners free. (Psalm 146:7)

Set before us today is a promise that brings with it a peace that passes all understanding . . . but it is available only for prisoners. If you see yourself as high and mighty and in no need of the Lord’s mercy and grace, there is nothing for you in today’s verse; but if you see yourself as low and locked up and in desperate need of the Lord’s mercy and grace—not just for your eternal salvation, but moment by moment for daily living—then let today’s meditation set you free!

First, notice that the deliverance is the Lord’s work. We are not set free by our own might, skill, wisdom, or goodness. We are bound in chains that cannot be broken by our natural strength. It is only through our Eternal Emancipator, who snaps the chains of bondage with only a thought, that we are set free. Regardless of what it is that holds you captive –

• Doubt or disappointment
• Fear or faithlessness
• Sorrow or sickness
• Addiction or anxiety
• Worry or weakness

Jesus came to set the prisoners free . . . and that includes you and me. And we must not think of freedom only in terms of our eternal salvation. To be sure, this is the initial freedom we experience when God raises us from death to life. We were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and could do nothing to save ourselves. Salvation is all of God. But that salvation does not end with the gift of eternal life. We have been also given the grace of God to set us free from all that would hold us captive in everyday life. The grace that saves us is the grace that sanctifies us; the grace that gave us faith also gives us freedom.

Christian: when Jesus sets you free, you are free indeed, and nothing has the power to lock you back up if you will resist it by the grace and Spirit of God. Satan cannot lock you up. Sin cannot lock you up. Howling storm winds cannot lock you up. No weapon forged against you will prevail (Isaiah 54:17) if you will simply resist in the strength of your Eternal Emancipator.

Keep the freeness of His mercy and the fullness of His power in view as you go about your day today. His mercy is poured out on you when waves of misery or distress wash over you, and His power is available to deliver you from whatever chains of bondage threaten your freedom.

The Lord sets prisoners free!

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

Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)

Oh, beloved, as a pastor who deals with suffering on a regular basis, I will never, even for a moment, minimize its presence and its pain. But we who are sinful, both by nature and by habit, must be ready to receive what our sinless Savior received on our behalf—suffering—which is used by God to sanctify us and make us more like our Savior.

Far too many Christians are surprised by the waves of challenge that wash over them, leaving behind the sands of suffering upon which they now must walk. I can’t fully explain why they feel this way, for the Bible promises that we must pass through many trials on our way to glory. What crown of comfort and ease should we expect to receive on this side of the grave, when our sinless Savior received a crown of thorns pressed cruelly into His precious brow?

If Jesus had to pass through the seas of suffering during His time on earth, then should we, His loyal subjects, expect that we will ride the crest of the waves throughout our lives, unaffected by the storm winds that blow? No, no, and a thousand times No! The Captain of our salvation learned obedience from what He suffered, and we too must learn obedience through suffering. Even if we could escape suffering, God forbid that we would ever spend our energy doing it! Suffering is the servant of our Savior, and it is sent our way to shape us into His likeness. Our Prince endured suffering and pain in order to accomplish God’s perfect purpose; you and I can be assured that there is purpose in every painful providence we experience.

Remember that we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with us, who never left the glory and comfort of heaven. No, our Lord stepped down from His throne and willingly placed Himself into the hands of sinful men to be nailed to a cross in order to pay the penalty of our sins. He who knew no sin because sin for us and suffered unimaginable agony during those dark hours on the cross, crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The answer to Christ’s anguished cry, of course, is because of infinite, eternal love that would not be denied the object of its affection—sinners like you and me who are all in desperate need of a Savior.

I don’t know what storms winds you are dealing with today, but let me encourage you that the apostles rejoiced to be counted worthy to suffer for the sake of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Should this not be our testimony also? It can and it must be so, for we have a High Priest who not only sympathizes with us, but is right there with us in the middle of our suffering.

Never forget that three men were thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, but four were seen in the flames; that fourth man was none other than the Son of God. He walked with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego millennia ago, and He is walking by your side today.

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