Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced. (Psalm 105:4-5)

Today and Monday we will close out yet another year of Grace for Your Race. Today I want to encourage you to take a backward glance over the past year — to remember and reflect on the many and multiplied wonders God has done in your life. On Monday we will look forward to the starting line of another year . . . and crossing the finish line of 2025, if God is so pleased to give us that time here.

Someone wisely observed that “It is difficult to climb to the summit of the mountain when you are always looking over your shoulder.” Yet the backward glance is extremely beneficial for the believer, so as to be reminded of all that God has done. Yes, that look back must be brief if we are going to make forward progress throughout 2025. But make no mistake, it is the best way to close out another year of blessings that God has bestowed upon us. 

A backward glance is not the same as walking backward. We cannot go back, nor should we want to. God is moving us forward into His perfect plan and purpose for our lives, even though we live that plan out imperfectly. I have said it here before, but it bears repeating: We must always treat the past as a school. We are to learn the lessons from our past, but not live there. Far too many live in the past, which prohibits any measurable forward progress. But this is not for you!

Take some time this weekend to reflect on the past year. Make sure your backward glance includes both your successes and your storms. There is much to glean from both life experiences, because God has given us both in order to conform us into the image and likeness of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Let your backward glance bring to mind God’s . . .

• Faithfulness and friendship
• Discipline and devotion
• Mercy and ministry
• Love and leading

Your brief backward glance will encourage you and strengthen you to set out on another year with Jesus sitting on the throne of your life, guiding you through every twist and turn and growing you through every up and down . . . every step of the way.

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

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

Today is Christmas day, and one of the most oft-asked questions is, “What did you get?”

How would you answer?

The most important gift you could ever receive is the gift of eternal life. So . . . I’ve got to ask you: Has this Savior been born to you? If He has, then you are born again. If He has not, let’s take care of that right now. You need only to trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. He died to pay the penalty for your sins on a cross and rose from the dead on that first Easter morning. Simply confess that you are a sinner in need of that Savior because you cannot save yourself. Repent of your sins and surrender control of your life to the Lord Jesus right now and salvation is yours!

Here is the question that every one of us who have trusted in Jesus for eternal life should ask ourselves: What did we give to Jesus as we celebrate His birthday today? The most important gift any of us can give to Jesus is simply ourselves — our entire self, heart, soul, and mind. I frequently tell our congregation at Cross Community Church, “Jesus didn’t die to make you good; He died to make you His. And in making you His, He is making you good!”

Jesus wants you. He wants to be in an intimate and personal relationship with Him, in which you trust Him with every aspect of your life. He wants you to come to Him when things are going well and when things are going sideways. He wants you to look to Him to meet your every need, always remembering that it will be done in His timing and in His way.

So, what are you going to give to Jesus — not just today, but every day for the rest of your life?

Merry Christmas!

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

There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9 ESV)

Christian believers know full well the promise of the Sabbath rest that awaits us on the other side of the grave. But is there any rest for us now – especially with all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season? Does the writer of Hebrews have a promise for us in the present day? Read on, and be encouraged this Christmas!

The Sabbath rest discussed in the fourth chapter of Hebrews will find its complete fulfillment when we are living with our God and His people in the new heavens and the new earth. But before we experience that fulfillment, we will experience the first installment. So great a salvation have we been given that we can rest from trying to save ourselves. When Jesus shows up, He puts an end to our self-salvation projects. When He cried out “It is finished” from the cross, He meant what He said! The work of salvation has been completed. We can cease from trying to earn God’s favor through our good works — which, the Bible tells us, aren’t really “good” at all (Isaiah 64:6).

There is no more wearying a work than trying to earn our way into God’s continued favor and blessing. And there are millions who are burdened under this great weight, week after week, month after month, year after year. The joy of the Lord is as far from them as the east is from the west, because they are buried under the weight of working for a blessing, rather than resting in the blessings they have already received in Christ. You see, it is only by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ that we will experience a Sabbath rest in a world marked by restlessness.

Remember this truth: Jesus Christ not only earned this perfect rest for us, He is this perfect rest. And by resting in Him, we begin to experience in part what we will one day experience in full: that Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God.

So if you need a little rest this Christmas season, rest in the shadow of the cross, where your Lord paid the penalty for all your sins, satisfying all the demands of God’s justice. Living in the light of this truth will set you free to enjoy the fruits of your labor, rather than laboring for the fruit that Jesus gives you freely and without cost.

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

To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

This is how the dictionary defines the word expendable: “Of little significance when compared to an overall purpose, and therefore able to be abandoned; designed to be used only once and then abandoned or destroyed.”

You might remember the action film series, The Expendables, directed by Sylvester Stallone, which portrayed a group of elite mercenaries who were tasked with overthrowing a Latin American dictator. The importance of accomplishing their mission made each person “expendable” — their lives were considered secondary in importance to the success of the mission.

When you read through the book of Acts, it is plain to see that the apostles and the disciples of Jesus saw themselves as expendable in the mission and service of their Lord. For them, self-preservation and self-promotion were as far as the east is from the west. They were 100% sold-out in the service of their Lord, regardless of the cost or circumstance. They were willing to die for the cause, and many of them did die, often in the most excruciating ways.

Take a look at Galatians 2:20 in the context of this truth. Paul wrote —

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Do you see yourself as an expendable disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? How far are you willing to go? How much are you willing to do? How long are you willing to stay engaged in the sold-out service of your Savior? It’s not likely that you and I will be called on to die in the service of our Lord, as many martyrs did throughout the history of the Christian church — and as many are dying in other parts of the world even as I type these words. But make no mistake, we are all called to die to self. We are to put the self to death in order to live for the Savior.

Think about it this way: We are born again to die to our own desires. That death is both a one-time event when we are saved (see Romans 6:2-6) and a lifelong pursuit as we are being sanctified and conformed to the image of Christ (Philippians 3:14). Nowhere does the Bible even suggest that dying to the self is optional for the follower of Christ. It is simply the reality of our new birth and our new calling . . . which means we are expendable.

Let’s close today with a wonderful word of encouragement from the British missionary to China, C. T. Studd:

“Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Life is short. Eternity is long. Let us expend ourselves for the glory of God and the good of others with the one life God has given us to live.

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

Faith without works is dead. (James 2:26 NKJV)

If our faith is real, it will be evident for all the world to see. Now, I am not saying we will live perfect lives. Far from it! But what we live will be on display, and our faith must be a practical faith. Notice the “lived-out faith” in the actions of these biblical characters in the book of Hebrews Hall of Faith:

• By faith Abel brought
• By faith Noah built
• By faith Abraham went and offered
• By faith Isaac blessed
• By faith Joseph gave instructions
• By faith Moses chose to be mistreated
• By faith the people passed through the Red Sea
• By faith the prostitute Rahab welcomed

In all these lives and so many more throughout the pages of Scripture, we see how actions spoke louder than words. It has been well said, “What you do speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say.” Christians are commanded to walk by faith and not by sight, but make no mistake, the watching world will judge us by what they see in our works. Our faith is to be lived out if it is a true, living, healthy faith. That faith will always be lived out imperfectly, but it must be lived, nonetheless.

The late Dr. R. C. Sproul was fond of saying that we are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone. Faith in Christ is belief in Christ, but it doesn’t stop there. Belief must always manifest itself in behavior. What we believe will determine how we behave. We are saved to serve our Lord for His glory and the good of others. Jesus said it succinctly:

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8)

What are you doing that demonstrates that you are a disciple of Jesus? Do your actions speak louder than your words? True faith is faith that is acted upon and used by God to expand the cause of His Kingdom in this world – on earth as it is in heaven.

Romans 14:17 tells us that “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Far too many Christian believers have reduced their faith to what they do not do: “We don’t drink or smoke or chew, and we don’t date those folks who do.” Turning away from sinful behaviors is a good start, but the deeper questions you and I must ask ourselves and answer are: What am I doing for the glory of Jesus? How am I living out my faith in a way that makes Jesus attractive to those around me?

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

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (Philippians 4:11)

By nature, we all have the root of resentment and discontentment embedded deep within us. We are all negatively affected by our internal GPS, which means we struggle with –

• Greed – We are unsatisfied with the portion God has given us.
• Pride – We are unwilling to stop comparing ourselves with others.
• Selfishness – We are unable to see beyond our own desires.

Our GPS makes us envious of what others have; sometimes we even get angry at God because we don’t have it! The root of resentment has ruined many relationships, both vertically and horizontally. That is why it is so important to recognize the internal operation of our GPS system and take it to Christ for correction. When was the last time you prayerfully considered the internal operation of your GPS? Is your GPS directing the course of your life upward toward Jesus? Or in the opposite direction?

One of the keys that can unlock the door to changing your GPS for the glory of God is to live by the truth of today’s passage from the apostle Paul. Notice that Paul said he had to learn contentment; it didn’t come to him by nature. He had to draw on the power and person of Jesus in order to be content, regardless of the circumstances he faced in life. Whether in plenty or in want, Paul looked to Jesus and found the contentment he needed to press on in life without the root of resentment restricting his forward progress.

To be sure, Paul knew the full range of human experiences, from the mountaintop to the valley. Through it all, God was teaching him contentment. Is this the confession of your life today? Is it mine?

Contentment is a grace that is not simply given to us in the full amount. Contentment is learned over time and through many trials. The more we look to Jesus the more we will learn contentment. We will be satisfied with our portion because our portion is Jesus. We will be willing to stop comparing ourselves with others because we know we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And we will see past our own desires to the desires and needs of others.

Perhaps the best way to remember how to change your GPS is by changing the words from greed, pride, and selfishness to – God, people, and service. When God is on the throne of our lives, we will love God and our neighbors, we will live lives of service; and the self will have learned contentment. Then our lives will be traveling in a divine direction.

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

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. (Ephesians 4:14)

God’s greatest goal for us is to conform us into the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ; therefore we are to live out the importance of growing up, not just growing old. Think about it this way: I can’t imagine any Christian saying they want to be the same person today that they were a year ago. Those who are not committed to growing up in the faith are stuck in perpetual spiritual infancy.

Spiritual growth is not something that happens automatically after Jesus shows up and raises us from death to life. Spiritual growth demands our desire to want to grow, to decide to grow, to do the work to grow, and to persist in the work of growing. This, of course, is a life-long process that will not be completed until we are brought into glory. And inasmuch as it is all of grace, it will not be completed without our commitment.

Now, we all know about commitment. We are all committed to some things. But are we committed to growing and maturing in our faith? Identifying our commitments will make the answer crystal clear. Here are a few things to consider: your prayer life; your Bible reading plan; your weekly church attendance; your generosity; your service to the expansion of the cause of Christ; your thought life.

If we are going to grow up and become more like Jesus, we must desire developing the mind of Jesus. We have to think His thoughts after Him. The apostle Paul said it beautifully:

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. (Philippians 4:8).

If we truly are going to grow in our faith, we must be careful about what we are putting into our minds. We must be on guard to fill our minds with the wisdom of God’s Word, not the “wisdom” of this world.  At this level of living, we can be certain that we will not only be growing older, but we will also be growing up. 

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

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another . . . (Hebrews 10:25)

Once we understand that we have been saved to be part of a family of faith, we must answer the question, “How do we cultivate community?” The answer is, With frequency! In order to grow our relationships within our family of faith, we must frequently make meaningful contact in genuine fellowship. Growing any relationship takes time, which is why today’s verse encourages us to keep coming together.

Here is something we must keep in view if we are serious about building community: It is not built on convenience, but on commitment and conviction. We can’t just get together when we feel like it, because, truth be told, there are a lot of times when don’t feel like it! We must be intentional and purposeful about setting aside time out of our busy schedules because we know just how important it is to be growing in community. Solitary saints are the number one target of the evil one. He is always on the prowl, like a lion patiently circling a herd of zebras, looking to pounce on and devour those who have strayed away from the community. This is much harder for the enemy to do when you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

One of the keys that unlocks the door to building community is forsaking the self and focusing in on our Savior, who died to give us a relationship with Him and with all those who are His.

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross . . . (Hebrews 12:1-2)

We must be willing to throw off . . .

• Self-absorption
• Self-centeredness
• Self-rule

Remember this, because we are going to be together forever with our family of faith in the new heavens and the new earth: The more time we spend with them in the here and now, the better we will be prepared for the there and then. The church as a whole is far more important than any individual. As my friend Steve Brown likes to say, “All those who belong to Jesus belong to all those who belong to Jesus.” Let that truth set us free to cultivate community with frequency.

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

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

We all have a tendency to delay doing any difficult task; those tasks in which we delight, we do without delay. Because of this truth, let today’s word encourage you to do both the difficult and the delightful without delay. We can glean much from the lives of both Abraham and David. Let’s take a look.

When God called Abraham to offer up His only son Isaac, as unimaginably difficult as that must have been, Abraham did not delay in responding obediently to this command from His God. In the end, God spared Isaac by providing a sacrifice in his place.

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. (Genesis 22:1-3 ESV emphasis added)

God had plans to call David into His service. When David’s father told David to bring provisions to his brothers out on the battlefield, David did not delay in responding obediently to this command. At the end of the day, God delivered the entire Israelite army from the hands of the Philistines when David defeated the giant Goliath.

David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. (1 Samuel 17:20 emphasis added)

I opened our thought for today with Mark 1:35, where we read that Jesus got up early in the morning because He delighted to be in communion with His Father in heaven. Here we have the model for all that we delight in doing. But don’t forget that we also have the model for all that we find difficult to do in the stories of Abraham and David. To be sure, both tasks were difficult, but both were done without delay. They both rose early to get on with the business of their Lord, and this is the model God has set before us for all that He has called us to do — both the difficult and the delightful.

Think about the last time you delayed in doing the difficult. Did it not negatively affect everything else you were doing? We should dread the day when we delay the difficult. So let today’s word encourage you to rise early and do without delay both that in which you delight and that which you find difficult. The Bible shows us that there are blessings at the end of both activities.

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

What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?  (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Everyone is owned. The question that must be answered is, “What or who owns us?” The answer to the question is easy to determine, because there are only two options: Either we are owned by our Savior or by our stuff. How would you answer this question today?

When we are owned by our stuff, we have removed our Savior from the throne of our lives, and, in essence, we have made Him the “previous owner” of all we possess, including ourselves. We have elevated the gifts of life above and beyond the Giver of those gifts. We have replaced our Savior with our stuff, and our lives are marked by enjoying, serving, and loving the gifts from God rather than God Himself. We are owned by what we possess, rather than being owned by the One who possesses everything.

We must remember that everything we have has been loaned to us by God. He is never the “previous owner.” He owns everything, and He simply allows us to manage and steward it for His glory and the good of others. The apostle Paul made that abundantly clear in our verse for today. Everything we have has been given to us by God. Our next breath and our next heartbeat is a gift from God, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). How foolish of us to imagine that we are the owners, rather than acknowledging that we are owned by the One who is both the Creator and Sustainer of life itself.

Let me ask you the question: What or who owns you right now? What is the confession of your life today? No matter how much you have accumulated, whose is it really? Perhaps this would be a good time to prayerfully consider a “transfer of ownership.” Remember, we were bought at the highest price possible: the precious blood of our Savior. We are not our own. We are His, and it is only when we are in vibrant relationship with Him that we will ever find whatever it is we are looking for, because our Savior is the end of our searching. He is the owner of it all, including you and me, and He is he one who will give our lives meaning, significance, and joy.

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