Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  (Matthew 8:20)

Today’s passage comes from a conversation Jesus had with a religious scribe who professed a desire to be a follower of Jesus. The scribe boasted, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus gave him this famous reply—which is directed not just to the scribe in that moment, but to every person who desires to follow Christ today.

We all desire comfort, but that desire must never eclipse our relationship to our Savior and our calling as Christians in this world. If we are to be like our Lord, we must recognize that the time will come when the world will forsake us, just as it did Jesus. But this is not to be our concern, for we are to crave Christ . . . not comfort. And the truth is, the more we have of Christ, the less we will experience comfort in this world.

Reading through the gospel accounts of the life of our Lord, we don’t read much about creature comforts for Christ. Our Lord did not have a home or money. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey, ate His final meal in a borrowed upper room, and was buried in a borrowed garden tomb. To be sure, He found comfort in the relationships He had with His disciples. But at the end of His life, most of them were nowhere to be found. One close friend betrayed Him. Another denied Him. All abandoned Him for fear of the Jews.

The comfort our Lord Jesus experienced was the comfort from above, and it is this comfort we too are to experience as Christians in this world. Returning to today’s Scripture, we see that when Jesus said these words to the religious leader, He was in essence asking one who was considered very rich in that culture, “Do you really want to leave all of your creature comforts behind to be My disciple?” If the scribe craved comfort, it would not be long before he would forsake Christ and return to the comfortable life he had come to know and love. The same is true for you and me today. If we crave comfort, it won’t be long before we will abandon our pursuit of Christ and pursue the comfortable life.

Now, let’s be clear on what this passage does not mean; Jesus was not saying that a life of poverty is the pathway for every disciple of Christ. There were some followers of Jesus (Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Joseph of Arimathea) who had many of creature comforts. And there are some disciples of Jesus today who are incredibly wealthy. Remember, it is not what you possess, but what possesses you that matters most to Jesus.

Here is the key: we must be ready, willing, and able to give up everything for Jesus. Whether we are called to do it or not is up to our Lord. If we seek comfort, we will stifle our relationship with Christ. If we seek Christ, we may not have the comforts of the world, but we will have the greatest comfort in the universe—and His name is Jesus Christ.

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

My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:19)

One of the most important life lessons that we must learn as disciples of Christ is this: with God all things truly are possible for those who believe. The problem is that, by nature, the way we think often does not align with the way we should be thinking in our new nature. God wants to raise our understanding above the natural to the supernatural, and the sooner we do that, the better! We are to fix our eyes on Jesus, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2; Hebrews 12:2).

Let me ask you to consider two questions:

• How many loaves of bread does it take to feed a hundred men?
• How many loaves of bread does it take to feed more than five thousand people?

The answer, of course, depends upon who is doing the feeding. The abundance of the feeding will never be found in the number of loaves, but rather, in the nature of our Lord.

The answer to the first question is found in the Old Testament.

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing [Elisha] the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.

“How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord. (2 Kings 4:42-44)

It took only twenty loaves of bread in the hand of our Lord to feed 100. The answer to the second question is found in the New Testament.

[T]he disciples came to [Jesus] and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

“Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:15-21)

Here we read that it took only five loaves of bread in the hand of our Lord to feed more than 5,000. God has promised to meet our every need, and He will do it regardless of what resources are available to Him. The resources you have today may appear meager to you, but in the hands of the Master, they are massive and will be multiplied, not only to meet, but exceed your every need.

The key is to keep our eyes on our Savior, the Master Multiplier, not on our small supply, or we will never launch out into deep water and let down our nets for a catch.

I pray this word will encourage you to do something you have never done for the One who has never let you down. You’ll be glad you did!

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

“And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  (Luke 2:35)

These were the prophetic words that Simeon, a righteous man who had been waiting for the promised Messiah, spoke to Mary, the mother of the child Jesus. Simeon’s prophecy was fulfilled when Mary witnessed the awful process of crucifixion carried out in the life of her son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

At the deepest level, Simeon’s inspired words are spoken to all the saints of God. When we submit our will to the will of God, as Mary did, we should count on the sword of suffering piercing our own souls along the way to the Celestial City.

Let’s consider just a small sampling of the many Scriptures that bear witness to this truth.

• Peter’s first epistle encourages Christians, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).
• James exhorts us to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
• Paul wrote to the church at Philippi that “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29).

God has given us the gift of faith, so that we may believe in the Lord Jesus and be saved . . . and a sword will pierce our souls too. These “swords” take many forms. We will suffer as we fight the good fight of faith against the world, the flesh, and the devil. We will suffer sorrows. We will suffer sickness. We will suffer slander. We will suffer separation and loss. We will suffer shame. We will suffer at the hands of both sinners and saints. Yet this sword of suffering, wielded by the mighty right hand of our loving God and Father, does more to conform us to the image and likeness of Christ than anything else in this world. It is by that sword that we will, as James said, become mature and complete in our faith.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you know from personal experience that the sword of suffering must be a lifelong experience, because our “self” is still with us every step of the way. As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease and He must increase,” and that process of “decreasing,” cutting away everything that is part of the old, sinful self, is a painful one. As the sword of suffering is doing its supernatural work, our old self is fighting tooth and nail against it. “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit,” Scripture warns, “and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17). As the oft-quoted Pogo comic strip once observed, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

So . . . what are Christian believers to do with this truth? Mary treasured it in her heart (Luke 2:19) and watched the Christ child grow and become strong and be filled with wisdom and the grace of God (Luke 2:40). In the end, He would be crucified as the Savior of the world, offering His life as an atoning sacrifice for all who will come to Him, by grace through faith, to receive the gift of eternal life.

We, too, are to treasure the truth of the sword of suffering, as we align our will with the will of God, who has promised to form Christ in us. We, too, are to grow and become strong in our faith and be filled with the Spirit of the wisdom and grace of God. Yes, it is a painful process, but it is the only place where we will learn to put off our old self, to put on the new nature, and begin living a life that really matters, because we will be living a life that points others to Jesus Christ.

Christian, how are you progressing in the process of Christ being formed in you? Are you joyfully allowing the sword of suffering to do its work? As you decrease and He increases in you, others will see more of Jesus, and more of Jesus is exactly what this world needs!

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

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom. (Isaiah 40:28)

So much of the Christian life is unexplainable. We know God is present, and we know God is working for our ultimate good; yet, more often than not, we are unable to explain the “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” He is doing it.

Does this thought resonate with you today, right where this finds you? Well, I have a word of great encouragement for you, so read on!

Often, when we look to God for help, we are looking for the wrong God. We are looking for the God we want, rather than the God who is—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Perhaps our frequent misconception of God might best be described as looking for a genie in a bottle, rather than the sovereign Lord of all the universe. Our God will not fit into any box we have devised for Him. He does things in His way and in His time. He accomplished His purposes and plans for our lives, not ours. He may or may not give us something we want, but He always gives us everything we need.

God is God, and we are not. God will be God the way He wants to be God . . . and we don’t get a vote! Throughout sacred Scripture we see just how “unfathomable” our God truly is. God sent Moses back into Egypt with his brother Aaron and a staff in his hand to free God’s people from bondage. Moses thought God’s plan was absurd and wanted no part in it. He argued against it and finally asked God to send someone else. He simply could not fathom how God could use a mere man like him to free the people of Israel from more than 400 years of slavery in Egypt. But He did, and you know the rest of the story.

God sent the shepherd boy David to battle against the giant Goliath. Most people would expect to see God sending out King Saul, who was “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites — a head taller than any of the others” (1 Samuel 9:2), or perhaps one of Saul’s mighty men of war, but God chose the youngest son of Jesse, who had never been to war, to go out and slay the Philistine giant. Wearing no helmet or armor, armed only with the power of God and five smooth stones and a sling, David did just that.

David’s older siblings thought it was unfathomable that God would use their kid brother to rid Israel of this blaspheming giant, but He did! Over and over again, we find one unfathomable story after another in Scripture, where God does things His way and in His timing.

His Word to us today is to simply follow Him wherever He leads, whether it makes sense to us or not. God does not need to explain Himself to us nor explain His ways. We just need to trust in Him enough to follow, especially when where He is leading makes no sense to us at all.

So . . . are you facing something that seems unfathomable today? Remember, you are not facing it alone. Advance confidently in the strength of your Savior, and you will become unstoppable in the face of the unfathomable, to the praise and glory of His mighty name.

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

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)

The definition of the word surrender is “to yield to the power and authority of another,” and we can find no more compelling example of surrender lived out in all of written history than the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus surrendered completely to the will of His Father. Jesus was the co-eternal God, equal to the Father in power and authority, yet He “did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7). I can think of no greater surrender than for the perfect, sinless King of kings and Lord of lords to take on human flesh and be born under the Law.

He who knew no sin took on our sinful flesh and experienced every temptation we experience (Hebrews 4:15). Think about it: by taking on our humanity and becoming fully man, Jesus willingly endured the repulsive reminders of our sinful nature, moment by moment, yet He remained utterly without sin. Also, in His humanity, He experienced the life we live: We get thirsty – He got thirsty. We get hungry – He got hungry. We get tired – He got tired. We grieve – He grieved. He never knew those things sitting on His throne of glory in heaven, but He surrendered all of that to come into this world to save sinners . . . of whom I am chief, as Paul would say.

As you embark on another week, take a moment to reflect on the surrender of your Savior and remember that He surrendered to save you. From all eternity, He desired to be in relationship with you—an intimate, personal, loving relationship with you. And so He surrendered to both serve and to save you.

Surely he took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God,

smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Let that truth encourage you to do as your Savior did, and willfully and cheerfully surrender to God’s plan and purpose for your life. It may not look like you want it to look, and it may not happen in the time frame you want it to happen, but you can be sure that whatever God delivers to you is ultimately for your good and His glory.

Know this: the degree of joy, freedom, and faithfulness you experience on this side of the grave will always be in direct proportion to the degree you surrender your life to your Savior.

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

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”  (Isaiah 40:31)

We all know that God is in us by way of the Holy Spirit. We also know that God goes before us and is beside us every step of the way as we advance toward the Celestial City. But did you know that God often shows up in tangible ways from behind—providing guidance and direction? Make no mistake; we are indeed blessed from behind!

It may seem strange to think of God being behind you, providing guidance, insight, and blessing, but this is one of God’s way of growing us up in Christ. And these are often the times of the greatest growth.

We are all familiar with the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of cloud by night. During the exodus out of Egypt, the Israelites followed the pillar when it moved and they camped when it stopped. Either way, it was always before them. But there are also times when God determines it is best to lead us from behind.

Think about it this way: it was pretty easy for the Israelites to follow God day and night as He went before them in the pillar of cloud and fire. They saw the cloud and followed wherever it led. But when God is leading us from behind, we must become far more sensitive to His leading, because it comes in unexpected ways. We have to be that much more still before our God in order to be able to listen to His leading. Our forward progress is rooted in our ability to listen rather than to look . . . and, with all the voices and messages clamoring for our attention, listening is far more difficult these days.

So . . . when was the last time you heard a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it?” If you have ever studied the ways of one who herds sheep, you will know that there are times when the shepherd moves to the front of the flock and leads, and there are times when he goes to the back of the flock and drives his sheep from there. There are also times when he walks beside them. The shepherd does what is best for the flock, based on the circumstances he and his sheep are currently facing.

This is also true of the Good Shepherd. Our Lord Jesus Christ knows when it is best to lead His sheep from the front, where He is easy to see and follow. And He knows when it is best to drive us from behind. And then there are those times—particularly when we are confronted by the storm winds of life—when our loving Lord walks right beside us. We simply must be sensitive to understand the way in which our Lord is leading us at the time.

Know this: following His guidance from behind stretches our faith. It is far easier to follow a pillar of cloud and fire that is out in front of us and clearly leading the way. God wants us to trust Him in every set of circumstances . . . and that includes those special times when He has chosen to lead us from behind . . . because some blessings will only be received from behind.

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

They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Living as fallen, broken, hurting people in a fallen, broken, hurting world, we all have to deal with discouragement from time to time. And here is a truth that may be tough to accept: Discouragement is a sin. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34 ESV) Philippians 4:6 commands us, “Do not be anxious about anything.” When we allow ourselves to become discouraged, we are obeying the direct commands of Scripture.

There are many ways to describe the sin of discouragement, but perhaps the best way is with this phrase:

Discouragement rears its ugly head when I refuse

to accept God’s plan and purpose for my life.

Another way of putting discouragement in its proper place is with the term “unmet expectations.” We all have expectations:

• Expectations in school
• Expectations at the office
• Expectations in our friendships
• Expectations in our families
• Expectations for our bodies
• Expectations in our finances

And when our expectations, whatever they may be, go unmet from our perspective, we have a tendency to drift into discouragement. But when we bow our heads and our hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ and surrender control of our lives to Him, we must keep in mind that this surrender includes our unmet expectations. Why? Because the reason our expectations were unmet is that they were not part of God perfect plan and purpose for our imperfect lives. He has something far better in store for us, so we must turn our discouragement into devotion.

For the Christian, the truth of Romans 8:28 is to be our travel guide in this life:

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose.

Think of the example of Joseph; surely Joseph was not expecting to spend most of his adult life in Egypt! As the favored son of his father Jacob, Joseph expected to go from blessing to blessing. Instead, Joseph went from being thrown down a dry well by his jealous brothers . . . to being a slave in Egypt . . . to being a prisoner in a dungeon. Yet through it all, Joseph kept his focus on God and eventually his unmet expectations were turned into something entirely unexpected: he was made prime minister of all of Egypt and was used by God to accomplish the saving of many lives.

So . . . where in your life have you been dealing with discouragement due to unmet expectations? This is the time to remember to walk by faith, and not by sight, because the God who is walking with you is absolutely, unalterably for you, and He will—in His time and in His perfect way—return to you blessings multiplied. Are you willing to wait upon the Lord?

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

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8)

In a constantly changing world—with technology, fashion, political ideologies, even the very language we use changing at a remarkable pace—our God changes not! Theologians use the term immutability (meaning “unable to change”) to describe this attribute of God.

So how is it possible for the unchanging to be unpredictable? I’m glad you asked! Let’s take a look.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews was concerned about the first-century Jewish believers who were suffering under great persecution and struggling with the very real temptation to fall away from their faith in Christ and return to Judaism. So the inspired writer of Hebrews reminded these Christians to keep their eye of faith on the One who never changes. Their faith—and yours and mine also—was rooted in the Faithful One who will not, does not, and simply cannot change.

There never will be a time when God does not accomplish His will and His purposes, regardless of the circumstances. In other words, we can take God at His word because it is “forever settled in heaven” (Psalm 119:89).

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:16-17)

“Tommy, I still don’t get it,” you say. “If God never changes, what can be so unpredictable about our lives?” That’s easy; the answer is: The details of daily living are unpredictable.

If you have placed your trust in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on your behalf, your salvation is never in question. Once saved, always saved; you have God’s Word on that! Our salvation is as certain as our eternal destination. But the path we must walk as pilgrims passing through this life toward the life to come is wrought with uncertainty. Think of it this way: God uses the discipline of uncertainty to draw us closer to Him that we might depend more fully on Him.

None of us knows what tomorrow will bring or even if tomorrow will come for us on this side of heaven. And if we try to put God in our “predictable” box, we lose sight of what He is doing in our lives to grow us and mature us in our faith.

When life becomes too predictable, we have a tendency to turn away from God and toward ourselves. We begin trusting in our strength, our intellect, and our abilities. And that’s when the unchanging One shows up in unpredictable ways! Perhaps Jesus shows up in an unpredicted storm or sickness. Maybe Jesus shows up in an unpredicted career change. Jesus changes not, but our circumstances change constantly, and God has designed it that way so that we will trust in Him and lean not on our own understanding.

So regardless of where this message finds you today, rejoice in knowing that your unchanging God is in the middle of every unpredictable circumstance you are facing. God has ordained the unpredictable path that you must walk; but never forget, He has promised to walk it with you . . . every step of the way into Glory.

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

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 2:5)

There is a huge difference between secular sense and spiritual sense, and it is the duty of the Christian to shift from the first to the second. Before Jesus showed up, we thought as the world thinks, and we reasoned as the world reasons. But after we say, “I believe,” we are to exchange our old way of secular thinking for the new way of spiritual thinking. We are to have the mind of Christ, not the mindset of our culture.

So . . . how different is your thinking today?

Our Lord’s entire life was marked by thinking of others. He came to this earth for others. He lived a sinless life for others. He died on a cross for others. He rose from the dead for others. And He is seated at the right hand of God the Father right now, interceding for others . . . for you and me!

Everything in the secular sense is marked by self-centeredness:

• What goals do I want to accomplish?
• What dreams do I want to pursue?
• What possessions do I want to accumulate?
• How do I believe others should treat me?

To exchange a secular sense for a spiritual sense is to be marked by other-orientation. The world no longer revolves around me, because I am no longer the center of the universe! Then I begin thinking spiritually. Our thoughts rise above the things of this life as we begin thinking of the life to come. We start living in the light of eternity because we realize that what we do right now will echo there.

All the great saints of the Bible went through this transformation—moving from a secular sense to a spiritual sense. Perhaps the greatest example of this is the author of the letter to the Philippians. Paul went from persecuting Christians to pastoring them. He went from slaying Christians to serving them. Paul began living for Someone infinitely greater than Paul; His name is Jesus Christ. God gave Paul a spiritual sense that set the world on fire for Jesus.

The apostle Paul wanted to know nothing other than Christ crucified. Now that is a spiritual sense that is second to none! This can be the confession of our lives also . . . when we shift our focus from the secular to the spiritual and center all of our thoughts on Christ.

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

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:5)

I pray that today’s message, which is inspired by this very familiar text, will be a source of great encouragement to you—perhaps in an unfamiliar way!

Most Christians are quite familiar with the concept of the vine and the branches. We understand that Jesus is the life-giving Vine and we are the branches, and we acknowledge the vital importance of staying connected to Him if we are to have any measure of success in living the life God has called us to live.

But it is also important to notice this foundational truth: to remain in Christ is to partake of Christ. Nowhere are we guaranteed that we will partake of the fruit! To be sure, the ox is not to be muzzled while threshing out the grain, thereby taking nourishment from the grain it has threshed (1 Corinthians 9:9), but often the Christian’s reward will be found in our relationship to Jesus Christ . . . not in our results for Him!

Branches are simply the conduits of Christ, bearing fruit to those whom we have been called by God to serve because of our abiding connection to Him. The branch exists for the benefit of others, not for its own benefit. My years in ministry have taught me that the greatest blessing in service to others is simply the service itself. Knowing that we are serving our Savior is the great reward, because we are constantly reminded that our Savior did not come to be served, but to serve others (Matthew 20:28). So when we are serving others, expecting no reward other than the joy of pleasing our Lord, we are most like Him.

It is all too easy to catch ourselves expecting a reward for ourselves in our ministry to others. Our service to God can become a means to an end rather than the end itself. You and I must always check our hearts to see what they are beating for at the time. Are we ministering in order to gain some benefit for self? Or are we truly pouring ourselves out because Christ emptied Himself for others (Philippians 2:7 NASB) and we genuinely want to follow in His steps?

So . . . what has your heart been beating for lately? Have you been living a life that is focused more on you? Or on Jesus? Make no mistake, God is in the business of giving good gifts to His people (James 1:17). But the key to living as our Lord lived is to keep our focus on God and not on any rewards we might hope to receive. The greatest gift is God, and the more we (as branches) stay connected to Him (the Vine), the more we will experience our richest reward: a joyful, vibrant, growing relationship with our Redeemer!

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