Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

Ophthalmology is the branch of medical science that deals with the anatomy, functions, and diseases of the eye.  Because we are all affected with one particular disease of the eye, we all need a daily visit from our Omnipotent Ophthalmologist.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  (Matthew 7:1-5)

Three times in five verses we are diagnosed with “plank-in-our-eye” disease.  So the question we need to ask is not, “Do I have a plank?” but rather, “Just how big is the plank in my eye and how much harm is it doing to others?”

You and I find it much easier to spot the speck in our brother’s eye and make a big deal about it . . . while never acknowledging the rough-hewn planks jutting out of our own eyes.  To be sure, the sins and shortcomings in the lives of others that offend us most are no more or less conspicuous in the sight of God as those sins and shortcomings that are most pronounced in our own lives.

And that is why we need our Omnipotent Ophthalmologist to give to us a daily eye exam and extract that protruding plank of self-righteousness that serves to lift us and lower others . . . in our own estimation.

Only the power of the Gospel will cause us to identify our own plank problems.  The Gospel frees us to acknowledge our sins—both the flagrant and the more subtle ones—and take them to the foot of the cross to plead the blood of the Lamb.  Our Omnipotent Ophthalmologist is pleased to go to work on every plank and every speck, and He will not stop working until every last splinter of every last plank has been removed.  He has promised to carry the good work He began in us on to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Granted, this process can be painful at times.  The eyes are very sensitive and easily irritated.  But over time, as our Omnipotent Ophthalmologist washes us with His Word and His Spirit, applying the truths of the Gospel to our hearts, we find that when we rub our tired, aching eyes our protruding plank has shrunk down to speck-size!

When we our ugly plank is removed, we begin to see others as God sees them: as image-bearers of God.  Every man, woman, and child has dignity and value.  Because there is a God—and we most certainly are not Him—we can begin to accept others for where they are in their story and give them what God gives to us each day: unconditional love and unlimited forgiveness.

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

What is your top priority in life?  Is it your marriage?  Your family and raising your children?  Perhaps it’s your job and climbing the ladder of success?  Maybe a special relationship with someone?  Could it be your favorite recreation or hobby?

Today we’ll see what the first priority is to be for those who are in Christ.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.  (John 1:40-42)

What a remarkable passage of Scripture—one that is both instructive and inspiring!  The first thing Andrew did after hearing John the Baptist say, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35) was to find his brother, Simon.  He told him about the Christ and brought Simon to Jesus.

Wouldn’t that be well said of all of us—that the first thing we were known for doing was bringing others to Jesus?  Andrew, who lived much of his life in his brother Peter’s shadow, is known for doing just that.

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”  (John 6:8-9)

Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus; later he brought this little boy with the loaves and fish to Jesus.  In reading through the New Testament, it is striking to find that—outside of John’s Gospel—Andrew is only identified in the lists of the apostles.  We read of his brother Peter in a variety of circumstances, from walking on water . . . professing to die with his Savior . . . to actually denying Him to a servant girl . . . and to preaching at Pentecost, where 3,000 were saved.

It seems that Andrew lived an anonymous life for the Almighty compared to his brother, and yet we see him doing what every believer is called by God to do: bringing others to Christ . . . sharing the Gospel with those who do not know Jesus.

Now, before you start thinking you need to quit your post and get into full-time vocational ministry, know this: God is calling all of us to simply “grow where we are planted,” and our growth is to be marked by the growing number of people whom we tell about Jesus.

Take a moment to invite someone to come to church with you this week or to a Bible study.  God will be glorified and you will be blessed!

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

Let’s take a good look at a truth that is an encouragement, a comfort, and a source of great inspiration to every child of God.

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.  (Luke 22:13)

In describing an event from the final hours of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the good doctor Luke provides us the truth behind every truth we find in the Bible:

JUST AS JESUS HAD TOLD THEM!

It is always just as Jesus has told us.  Here Peter and John were sent into Jerusalem ahead of the disciples to prepare the Passover meal.  Jesus told them they would encounter a man carrying a pitcher of water who would take them to a house.  Upon entering they were to tell the owner, “The teacher asks, where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?”  Jesus told them they would be taken upstairs to a large room that was already set up for the Passover Supper.  And, of course, everything was “just as Jesus had told them” it would be.

Is this not a word of encouragement and comfort and inspiration to you today, regardless of where this finds you?

• Facing trouble in life . . . it is just as Jesus told you
• Fighting spiritual battles . . . it is just as Jesus told you
• Dealing with a little unbelief . . . it is just as Jesus told you
• Satan looking to sift you as wheat . . . it is just as Jesus told you
• Persecuted for your faith . . . it is just as Jesus told you

Nothing is happening in your life right now that has not first passed through His nail-scarred hands.  God has ordained all things, whatsoever shall come to pass, and that includes everything that is going on in your life right now.

To be sure, we play a role in some of these things.  If you play with fire you will probably get burned.  If you stare at the sun you will probably damage your eyes.  If you walk in traffic you will probably get hit by a car.  If you jump off the roof of your house you will probably be greeted by the ground.  Some of the stuff we have to deal with in life simply happens as a result of living in a broken, sin-filled world as broken, sin-filled people.

So, let’s close out today with a few reminders of what Jesus has told every child born of grace.  These promises will encourage you, comfort you, and inspire you to live the life God has called us to live.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  (Jeremiah 29:11)

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  (Matthew 11:28-29)

He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.  (Isaiah 40:29-31)

This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:19)

Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  (Romans 8:37-39)

You can take it to the bank with confident assurance that it always has been and it always will be . . . just as Jesus has said.

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

I am constantly thirsty!  When Kim and I go out to either of our two favorite restaurants for lunch, those who serve us know me well and always bring me two diet sodas to get started.  They know how much and how fast I drink, and it saves them running back and forth for refills.

The Bible talks about a far more important thirst and the real Thirst Quencher.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.  (Revelation 22:17)

Did you know this is the final command given in Scripture?  “Let the one who is thirsty come and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”  Wow!  God gives us a thirst for the soul-quenching, life-giving water of life and then bids us to come and drink.  How thankfully, gratefully, and expectantly we should come to the water of life when the Author of life invites us to come.  Yet how often we find ourselves drawn to the troughs of untruth, where we pay dearly to drink what leaves us still dying of thirst.

God tells us to bring our thirst to Jesus because He is the only One who can truly quench it.  His water quenches our thirst for approval.  His water quenches our thirst for acceptance.  His water quenches our thirst for affection.  All too often I return to the bitter, dirty waters of my broken cisterns, thinking somehow that they will do for me what only God in Christ can do for me.  And yet Jesus never turns His back on me . . . even when I turn away from Him and drink from wells that were never meant to satisfy any of my thirsts.

The Real Thirst Quencher not only gives us the thirst we have, He slakes them by giving us the soul-satisfying waters of the Gospel.  Speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus pointed to a worldly well and said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

Everything we need we already have in Jesus, and the more we run to drink from His well the more we find our deepest thirst satisfied.  Let us thirst to forgive more freely.  Let us thirst to love unconditionally.  Let us thirst to accept openly.  And the Real Thirst Quencher will satisfy our every thirst.

So today, regardless of where you have been seeking to quench your thirst, Jesus says to you, “Come!” Come and partake of the water of life; immerse yourself in the sweet, living water and you will thirst no more.   Let us drink early and often each day, so that we might experience a quenched thirst that will never leave us thirsty again.

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!