Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

The Boland family spent some time drifting on a lazy river pool in Orlando a few weeks ago.  Sinking back in the tube and drifting slowly along with the pull of the current is a wonderful, relaxing feeling.  Occasionally one of the children startled me by jumping on me or swimming up from the bottom.

All in all, drifting on the lazy river is a good thing.  However, drifting on the river of life is a bad thing!  It’s one thing to drift aimlessly on a lazy river pool in Orlando.  It is another thing altogether to drift on the river of life.

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.  (Hebrews 2:1 NKJV)

Funny thing about drifting in life, we never seem to drift toward the things of God.  We don’t drift toward holiness.  We don’t drift toward faithfulness.  The writer of Hebrews painted a picture of a boat aimlessly drifting on the water, left to the mercy of the strongest wind blowing or fastest current pulling at the time.

When there is no intended destination, we reach it every time!  Like the slow pull of the current on the lazy river, often you don’t even feel like you are moving at all.  Yet, slowly, methodically, almost imperceptibly, you go round and round, enjoying the drift but getting nowhere fast.

There is great danger in drifting spiritually; it is one of the sharpest darts in Satan’s arsenal that he frequently aims at the saints of God.  It starts as an infection and winds up a raging disease.  It is in our DNA to drift.  Just like sheep, we are all prone to wander and drift a bit, and when we start drifting in our relationship with Jesus, our love begins to grow cold, our fire begins to flicker out, and we move further and further away from our Master’s moorings.  You see, Satan doesn’t need to knock us off course; he only needs to get us drifting, little by little . . . bit by bit . . . until we drift onto the rocks of ruin and regret.

Drifting is not only dangerous to you; it is dangerous to those around you.  Think about a boat drifting aimlessly on the water.  Every other vessel in the area is in danger of being damaged by the boat that is adrift.  This is true for those around us when we are drifting in life.  Those we are responsible for lose their safe harbor when we start drifting aimlessly on the river of life.

But this is not for you!

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.  (2 Timothy 3:14)

And how do we continue in what we have learned and believed?  We need to continually preach the Gospel to ourselves daily.  The truths of the Gospel are a “lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).  Preaching the Gospel keeps before us all that Jesus has done on our behalf: lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, paid the full penalty for our sin, rose on the third day, ascended into heaven, and now seated at the right hand of the Father.

But that’s not all!  Preaching the Gospel keeps before us all that Jesus will do on our behalf; He will complete what He started (Philippians 1:6).  God is not finished with you yet.  You are being conformed into the image and likeness of Christ; and one day, when you are received into glory, you will be perfect . . . just like Him!

The more we keep in view both past grace given and future grace promised, the less we drift.  The pull of the Gospel is more powerful than anything that is trying to pull us in the wrong direction.  The Gospel keeps us anchored to our unshakable hope (Hebrews 6:18-19) and to the unconditional love which loved us even when we were God’s enemies (Colossians 1:21-22).  These truths will help us in two ways: they will minimize our times of drifting and they will strengthen us to paddle against the current when we are in the middle of a drift.

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

Do you remember the old Christmas classic, narrated by Fred Astaire, Santa Clause Is Coming to Town?  Do you remember the line, “So be good for goodness sake”?  I have a news flash for you: we are very rarely “good for goodness sake.”  For the most part, if we are good at all, we are good because of what we expect to get in return.

Think about the last time you were good.  Was it really for goodness sake, or were you hoping for some kind of payback?  Now think about the last time you were good, but didn’t cash in on the payback you were expecting.  What happened then?  Did you decide to do something bad, in order to get back for not getting paid for being good?

I can’t tell you how many people I have counseled who are angry with God because they didn’t get the reward they were expecting from Him for all of their perceived “goodness.”  Here is what these folks are missing: God doesn’t owe us anything—not one solitary red cent—even when we are good!  Even if, by some miracle of grace, we were to do everything we were commanded by God to do, all we would have done was our duty . . . and God owes us nothing for doing only what we are required to do.

So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.” (Luke 17:10 ESV)

What obligation have we placed God under when we have done what is good, right, noble, or worthy?  None!  If God is so pleased to reward us, it will only be a result of unmerited favor and another act of grace in our lives.  What we must keep in mind is that our services are not even the least bit profitable to God, because He does not need anything from us, and that includes our “help” to expand the cause of His kingdom.

Can a man be of benefit to God?  Can even a wise person benefit him? (Job 22:2)

As A.W. Pink said, the Lord is self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied, and in need of nothing.  Job knew this truth.  Everything we have been given is a gift of God’s grace.  Our blessings are rooted in our relationship with Jesus, not in our goodness and work ethic.  If it is to be, it is not up to me!  It is up to God and His infinite willingness to pour out His unmerited favor into our lives, for no other reason than that He is pleased to do so.  What we must remember is the good we do is a result of God’s grace at work in us; all the glory and praise is due to Him.

Oh, one final thought for today: even our very best services and good works are mingled with the desires of our sinful and selfish hearts.  Our imperfections mar everything we do.  Who has ever loved God with all his heart for even an hour?  Yet, the Gospel tells us that God will be merciful—in spite of all our unrighteousness—and will remember our sin no more.

I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. (Hebrews 8:12)

To put it simply, God will bless even our mess.  How incredible to be loved by a God who loves us when we are unlovable and blesses us when we deserve to be cursed!  Do you see the glorious freedom in these Gospel truths?  We are blessed by the Best, even when we are less than our best.

Unlike Santa Clause, our God is not making a list and checking it twice to find out who’s naughty or nice.  God is not checking a list or keeping score because the score was settled forever when Jesus paid the price for all of our sins on the cross.  And since we don’t need to earn our way into God’s heart to receive His favor and blessing, we can, by the grace of His power at work in us, simply do our best to be good . . . not “for goodness sake,” but for sake of His goodness!

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

Seems like a strange title for today’s message doesn’t it?  What could the “sweet sounds of grace” possibly mean?

When you give it some thought, I’m sure you’d agree that all of Scripture can be classified under the category of the sweet sounds of grace, because it is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of the Living God—His God-breathed gift to us.  But today I would like to sharpen our focus on just two of those sweet sounds in particular.

The first is found in Luke 23:34, recording the words of Christ as He hung on Golgotha’s cruel cross:

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The second sound rings forth in 1 John 4:19.

We love because he first loved us.

How sweet is that!  Forgiven and loved . . . forgiven and loved . . . the sweet sounds of grace tell us we are forgiven and loved.  Jesus was big on both forgiveness and love because He knew how badly we need them both!  He knew the only way to keep pain, sin, and death from having the last word was to pay the price that would purchase forgiveness and love for you and me.  It is no small thing to be loved when you’re unlovable.  And that is what we were when we were forgiven as sinners and enemies of Jesus.  How sweet is that!

But it doesn’t end there.  We are continually forgiven; and in spite of our need to be continually forgiven, we are completely loved!  Of all the countless things we do that require the forgiveness of God, there is nothing we can do that will cause Him to love us less.  When we divide the affections of our hearts, we are still loved by God.  When we chase after worthless idols, we are still loved by God.  When we look to things smaller than Jesus to do for us what only Jesus can do, we are still loved by God.  We will be no more loved 10,000 years from now in glory than we are right now, even if right now is marked by sin.  How sweet is that!

To press this truth down into our hearts is to understand what the Gospel is designed to do for us each and every day.  Knowing that we are forgiven and loved frees us to stop pretending we are something we aren’t.  It frees us to take off the mask we have been hiding behind for so long.  It frees us to come out from behind the curtain we have been cringing behind for longer than we can remember.  To know we are both forgiven and loved is to know we are treasured by the One who has forgiven and loved us.  And the more we see ourselves as His treasure, the more we will begin to treasure Him.  And how sweet is that!!

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is Peter’s encounter with Jesus after His resurrection.  You will remember that on the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter denied even knowing Christ three times.  In his desperate fear Peter called own curses on himself and cried, “I do not know the man!”  But forgiveness and love would not allow the story to end there . . .

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”  “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”  Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”  The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”  Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.  (John 21:15-17)

How sweet is that!  Can you imagine how Peter was feeling after having denied his Lord?  Yet here Jesus made it clear that Peter was both forgiven and loved.  Here we are confronted with the sweet sounds of grace that restored Peter to his place of service in the kingdom of His Savior.

Regardless of where this finds you today, you are just like Peter!  You have been given the forgiveness you need and the love you desire.  Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

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

It is one thing to believe in the truths of the Gospel.  We are sinners in need of a Savior and His name is Jesus Christ.  He lived a perfect life . . . died a sacrificial death . . . was raised on the third day . . . was seen by hundreds . . . and ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God the Father.  All this is head knowledge.  But it is another thing altogether to embrace these truths with our hearts daily.

Intellectual assent to the doctrinal truths of the Gospel is where we all begin our journey into the reign of grace.  But from there these truths must move down to our hearts and take up residency daily so that we continually embrace the Gospel moment by moment.  The Gospel enters into our minds doctrinally but it is to continue moving through the heart experientially as we strive, by God’s grace, to make these truths a daily reality in our lives.  Sadly, for far too many in the church today, there is a disconnect between that 18-inch span that separates the head and the heart.  That disconnect leads to Gospel blindness.  There are those who have the words of truth in their heads but no wonder of it in their hearts.

But this is not for you! You see, the Gospel is not only for the lost, it is also for the found, because the Gospel is for sinners.  And sinners we still are, even after Jesus shows up.  We need the truths of the Gospel set before our blind eyes and deaf ears daily, that we might begin to see the wonder and hear the thunder of the grace of the Gospel.  Is it not a wonder to think that Jesus would die on the cross for those who nailed Him to that dirty tree?  And thank God for the thunder that made the earth shake and rocks split, a thunder which signaled the destruction of the barrier that separated us from God.

We live not only under the banner of the finished work of Jesus Christ for our salvation, we also live under the banner of His promise to complete what He started in us (Philippians 1:6).  God is not finished with you yet!  You are not yet what you will one day be.  This means you still do things you would rather not do.  Are you still dealing with anger?  How about impatience?  Possibly you’re wrestling with a bout of unbelief?  Inasmuch as sin no longer reigns, it still remains, and that is why we must keep preaching the Gospel to ourselves every day.  We need to be continually reminded of what Jesus has done for us and what He has promised to continue doing.  We must continue advancing further in and further up into the truths of the Gospel, that we might experience the freedom and joy that comes with knowing that we are both fully forgiven and completely loved—and nothing we do will ever change that.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.  (Mark 9:24)

What we believe about the Gospel is the only cure for our unbelief.  We need to be reminded that it is not about our faithfulness to Him, but rather His faithfulness to us.  We need to marinate in the truth that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ.  He took the betrayals because of His love for you.  He took the false accusations because of His love for you.  He took the beatings because of His love for you.  He took the thorns because of His love for you.  He took the nails because of His love for you.  He took the mocking because of His love for you.  He took the forsaking of His Father because of His love for you.  He took the death because of His love for you.  But that is not the end of the story!  A dead man got up and walked, just as He said He would, and one day He will return to finish what He started.

When our hearts beat in tune with these truths, our blood becomes oxygenated with the glorious grace of the Gospel.  And as it pumps through our veins, we desire more and more each day to lay down our lives for His glory and the good of others.

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

Now that’s a good question!

As a pastor I cannot tell you how often I hear people tell me about all they have because of all they did to get it.  One says, “I worked for years to get to this position in life and I deserve all that I have accumulated.”  Another says, “It’s my money, I made it, and I will spend it any way I like.”  And then there are those who insist, “It’s my life, I will live it the way I want.”  What all of these individuals have forgotten is the fact that everything they have they have because God was so pleased to give it to them.

• Status in life . . . a gift from God
• Success in life . . . a gift from God
• Prosperity in life . . . a gift from God
• Possessions in life . . . a gift from God
• Life itself . . . a gift from God

 What do we have that we have not been given?  NOTHING!  Daniel said succinctly that “God . . . holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways” (Daniel 5:23 NKJV).  Everything we have is a gift, a gracious gift from God, and because it is a gift, we have a responsibility to the Gift Giver in how we steward what we have received.  Notice that I used the word steward—not use.  A steward is someone who manages the property or affairs of another, and that is what we are.  We are stewards of God’s property, not owners, and because of this fact, we need to see all of life as a gift and a trust.  God has entrusted everything He has given to us to our care.

So . . . how are you doing in caring for the things God has placed in your care?  Because God is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17), we are responsible to manage them for the expansion of His kingdom, not our own.  This shatters the misconception that we have done our duty when we give God His small percentage.  It is all God—“From him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36)—and when we see everything in this light, we see more clearly how we are to steward everything we have been given.  Whether we are in plenty or in want, it is all God’s and thus we are responsible to Him to take good care of what He has given us.

Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.  In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.  (1 Corinthians 4:1-2)

If you’re not feeling uncomfortable yet, let me help you! Stewardship transcends money and possessions; it extends to the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given us to put into service for the expansion of the cause of Christ.  This stewardship extends to the opportunities God has given us; we are to make the most of them for the glory of the King.  It even extends to our families and friends and how we reflect Christ to them and make God attractive.  And all of this is preparation for a glorious future, when God will make all of His children stewards of the new heavens and the new earth, for His glory, forever and ever.

What rules our hearts shapes our lives; if stewardship reigns in us we will be doing everything for the glory of God and the good of others.  Jesus will be on the throne of our lives—not us or our possessions.  Self-rule will be as far from us as the east is from the west when we surrender everything we are and everything we have to proclaim the kingdom of Christ to a fallen and broken world, as fallen and broken people who have been saved by His grace.

The great cry of the steward of the Savior is not, “My will be done,” but “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!”  May that be the confession of our lives.

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

When we fail to recognize the difference between being a chosen people, rather than “choice” people, we not only mess ourselves up, we mess up everyone else around us!

There is a huge difference between believing we are “choice” people, rather than a chosen people.  It is the difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector in the Temple (Luke 18:9-14).  The Pharisee saw himself as a “choice” person, and thanked God that he was not like other men.  “I do this,” he boasted; “I do that.” On the other hand, the tax collector knew his condition; he was painfully aware that he was not “choice” by any means!  The tax collector threw himself upon the mercy of God, praying that he would become one of God’s chosen people.

Let me clear up any confusion. God did not choose us because there was something special—something “choice”—about us. God initiates His gracious relationship with us; He is not responding to anything that we think or do or say. Hear His word to Israel:

You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.  (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)

What a huge difference a single word can make!  If we see ourselves as “choice” people—if we believe God chose us because He saw something valuable about us—we will place ourselves above our fellow man.  We see our salvation as God’s response to who we are and what we have done to earn it.  We think the blessings that are poured out on us are a result of having earned the favor of God.  We begin to believe that we are better than everyone else and spend all our time building self-protective barriers around our tidy, controlled, and well-organized lives.  We seek to erect gleaming ivory towers to keep out the great unwashed who are not as “choice” as we are, continually thanking God we are not like them.  We are characterized by tribal mindedness instead of mission mindedness.  We associate only with those who look like us, talk like us, dress like us, act like us, and think like us.  We are puffed up with our special status in our elite club.

But this is not for you!

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last.  (John 15:16 NIV)

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  (1 Peter 2:9)

Think about it for a moment.  Isn’t it better to be a chosen people rather than “choice” people?  If we regard ourselves as “choice” people, we look only to ourselves for our comfort . . . as long we believe we have maintained our superior status.  But what happens when our strength wanes, performance falters, and contribution lessons—when we begin to lose the reasons for being in the “choice” category?  Would we not believe that God would set us aside . . . perhaps toss us on the discard pile to make room for someone else who is more “choice” than we currently are?  We see that happen all the time to athletes who once were great heroes but are no longer “choice” in the eyes of their team.  Some of the greatest players of all time are put up for trade or simply kicked to the curb.  Is that how God will treat us?

If you think you are part of a “choice” people, you will locate your sense of identity, meaning, significance, and purpose in yourself.  But when your “choice” status begins to change, so does your sense of identity, meaning, significance, and purpose.  But to be a chosen person is to be wanted by your God for no other reason than He because He wanted you!  “He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In lovehepredestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Ephesians 1:4-5). You have been chosen, not because of what you did do . . . can do . . . or will do for God, but simply because He chose to set His affections upon you.  And He did it before the foundation of the world, in accordance with his pleasure and will—not yours!

What an enormous difference between being “choice” people or chosen people!  As for me and my house, we are deeply grateful that we have been chosen to be on God’s team, knowing that we will never outlive our usefulness to Him.  And when the day comes when—whether because of sin or illness or age—our service to God wanes, His love for us never, ever wavers.  We can rest on His promise that “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

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

You’re selfish!

Are you offended by that accusation?  Don’t be; I’m selfish too!  We are all selfish by nature.  We seek our own good over the good of others.  When forced to choose, we’ll choose, more often than not, to build bigger barns instead of asking God to give us bigger hearts.

Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”  (Luke 12:13-21)

Our desire for bigger barns is a demonstration of our unbelief.  We do not trust God to deliver on His promise to meet our every need in Christ Jesus, so we keep a white-knuckle grip on everything we can get our hands on.  We turn our backs on service in pursuit of security.  We turn our eyes away from the poor in pursuit of our pleasure.  We turn our hearts from the helpless in pursuit of our happiness.  We believe the old maxim, “If it is to be, it’s up to me” and live life as if it is a self-salvation project.

Make no mistake, only a right understanding of the Gospel can change our desire away from building bigger barns toward building a bigger heart.  Only the truths of the Gospel will transform our hearts to beat more for the Savior than ourselves.  Only the Gospel message will deliver us from our desire for self-protection and open us up to a life of self-sacrifice.

There is something beyond bigger barns, and it is the place where we are living more for the expansion of His kingdom than the expansion of our own.  Living as subjects in His kingdom, we demonstrate to a watching world that it is not only far better to give than to receive, but it is far better to simply keep on giving!  This is what our Lord has done and continues to do for us each and every day; His Spirit transforms us from demanding consumers to delighted contributors.

When has God ever let you down?  When has He been unfaithful to even one of His promises?  To be sure, He may not have given you what you were looking for, but He gave you something so much better; He has given you everything that works together for your good!  God is gracious when He gives to us . . . and also when He withholds from us.  He knows what is best, He has promised to work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28), and we need to simply trust in Him.

Remember that Adam and Even tried the first self-salvation project in the Garden of Eden, and it was a catastrophic failure!  But God did not leave them cowering in the shrubbery; He pursued them and promised to send them their true Savior, who would once-for-all deliver them from their self-salvation projects and their desire for building bigger barns.

Beyond bigger barns is an enlarged heart that beats for the King and the advancement of His kingdom.  In remembering all that our King has done for us and all that He has promised to do for us in the future, we are set free to let go of the stuff of this life and cling to what will come in the next.  At this level of living, His concerns become our concerns . . . our passion . . . our everything!

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

A doxology is an expression of praise and adoration to our Most High God.  It is usually sung as a short hymn as part of the worship service.  The word doxology comes from the Greek doxa, which means glory or splendor, and logos, meaning word or speaking.  Here is the doxology that is sung in many Christian churches, including our services at The Cross.  This familiar hymn of praise was written in 1674 by Thomas Ken, a priest in the Church of England:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Amen!

Although the word doxology is not found in the Bible, doxological themes are found throughout sacred Scripture, from praising God for His many blessings (Ephesians 1:3) to affirming the Trinity (Matthew 28:19) to ascribing all glory to Him (Romans 11:36).

So . . . is doxology simply a song we sing in worship? Or should it be something more—a way of life rather than a way of singing?  And if doxology should be more, what would doxological living mean and what should it look like in the life of the believer?

I believe God calls us to live doxologically.  We are commanded in Scripture to reorient every aspect of our lives for the praise, glory, and worship of God.  Instead of living for self we begin living for the Savior, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  We no longer push Christ and the cause of His kingdom to the periphery of our lives; instead, we keep Jesus in His rightful place: in the center and on the throne of our lives.  And we do it not out of fear or a sense of duty; we live doxologically because our hearts are filled with joy and gratitude.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.  (2 Corinthians 9:15)

The indescribable gift of Jesus that God has given us is to be the motive and motivation for living doxologically in every circumstance we face.  Now, it’s easy to give glory and praise to God when the sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy.  But what about when we are in the middle of the storm?

When her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.   And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.  They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.  And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.  Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken.  And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.  (Acts 16:19-26)

Clearly, Paul and Silas were in the middle of a storm!  They had been falsely accused of disturbing the peace, attacked by a mob, beaten with rods, and after suffering many blows, they were bound and thrown into prison.  And what do we find them doing?  Around midnight, Paul and Silas were offering prayers and songs of praise to God—and doing so with such enthusiasm that the other prisoners were listening!  And please take note that their doxological disposition was on display prior to the doors of the prison opening up.

James Allen once wrote, “Circumstance doesn’t make the man.  It reveals him.”  The circumstance Paul and Silas found themselves in revealed them for who they really were: disciples of Christ who intentionally chose to live doxologically, regardless of the harsh circumstances they were in.

What a great goal for every child of God—to be able to see the good God is doing, even behind the worst stuff in life, and calmly accept that God is working it all together ultimately for our good and His glory.  If we continually keep in view the truth that nothing happens to us that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands, we can sail over every rough sea and withstand every storm wind that blows into our lives.  And through it all, we can live doxologically, witnessning to a watching world just how awesome our God really is and how amazing is His grace!

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

Take a moment to read the following verse and meditate on it for a moment.  What do you think it means to be an “epistle”—a letter from Christ?

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.  (2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

You will encounter many people throughout your lifetime who will never, ever crack the cover of the Bible or read a single verse.  But they are reading your translation of the Bible in the life you are living, moment by moment, as a child of the Most High God.  Scores of unbelievers are reading your version of the Scriptures as they scrutinize the things you do: on and off the job, in the music you listen to, the movies you watch, the web sites you visit, the places you go, how you react to challenges in life, and how you deal with suffering.  It is important to remember that we not only preach the Gospel to others with our lips, we preach it with our lives.  And what we do speaks so loudly, unbelievers can’t hear what we say!

Let me caution you before we go any further: I am not suggesting that you should or could live a perfect life in the eyes of the watching world.  We can’t!  Nor do I have any desire to lead us in the direction of feeling responsible for the salvation or condemnation of anyone because of the way we live.  We aren’t.  We are fallen, broken, imperfect people who live fallen, broken, and imperfect lives.  Everything we do we do imperfectly.  We serve imperfectly; we give imperfectly.; we love imperfectly.  Yet, in spite of all of our imperfections, when our heart beats in tune with the heart of God, when our heart desires to live a life that is pleasing to Him and blesses others—all others—we become a letter from Christ to an unbelieving world.

Scripture asserts that even our best works are “as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) before a holy God. Our God does not “need” our good works . . . as if He needed anything!  But our good works are needed by our fellow man.  God has raised us from death to life to be the hands and feet of Christ in a fallen and broken world.  Yes, our hands get dirty and our feet often stray far from the path God has directed us to follow.  So let me give you the key that unlocks the door which will lead others into a deeper understanding of the Gospel you preach, the God you serve, and the epistle you are called to be:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:34-35)

Let me ask you: based on this command from our Savior, what kind of epistle have those around you been reading lately?  I must confess that there are times when I dream about the great and grand things I can do for the glory of God . . . when in fact the greatest thing I can do is to be more loving!  In 1 Corinthians 13, known as “the love chapter” to many of the faithful, the apostle Paul makes it perfectly clear that no matter how spectacular our deeds, if we do them without love, we do them without any redeeming value.  Our works return void, because we are poor, blind, and naked, living more for self than for our Savior.

We are surrounded by people who are searching for answers to questions they don’t even know how to ask.  They strive and ache with a longing they cannot begin to articulate.  If you have trusted in Christ’s atoning death on your behalf, you possess the truth; unbelievers will look to our truth when it is lived out in the life of someone whose words and actions clearly communicate the love of Christ.  The love of Christ is not only meant to compel us, it is to convince others we have something they desperately need, even though they will not admit they want it.  If you want to be a “living epistle” that attracts rather than repels, let the love of Christ guide, govern, and direct your steps.  And in those times when you misstep, tell the watching world that your sin is why you needed a Savior who would die on a cross to pay for your sins. And He is waiting to welcome them also! His invitation is simple and charming:

  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  (Matthew 11:28-30)

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

We are raised in a culture which teaches us not to show our weaknesses. We should “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps,” we are told, which means we are to act, advance, and accomplish by the application of our own efforts.

If you’ll give it just a little thought, you’ll see just how ludicrous this “bootstrap” idea really is.  No matter how hard you pull on your own bootstraps while standing in your boots, you will never be able to lift yourself up off the ground!

So how are we to get on in this life and do the things God is calling is to do, especially when the odds often seem to be stacked against us?

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.  Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior.  (Psalm 29:9)

We were never designed to be “pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps” independently and apart from God.  Our need for God did not begin in the Garden of Eden after the Fall, as many mistakenly believe.  We were created needy, and our needs are to be met only by God.  We were made by Him, in Him, and for Him; that means we are fully dependent upon Him.

Here’s some really good news: the fruit of your labor is not dependent upon you!  Your success in life does not rest squarely upon your shoulders.  The goal for every child of God is simply to be faithful and leave the fruits of our labor in the hands of the Almighty.

When you read in Scripture about the lives of some of the great saints, you see just how needy they really were.  Abraham and Sarah were old.  Moses was not an eloquent speaker and needed Aaron to be his spokesman.  Elijah was suicidal and needed to be strengthened by God.  Martha was a workaholic and needed a new perspective . . . which was provided by her sister Mary, who sat calmly at the feet of Jesus.  Peter was impulsive and ill-tempered and needed the patience of his Prince.  Timothy was timid and needed the encouragement of Paul.

We all have more needs than we might care to admit.  But instead of expending all of our energy trying to hide our needs and construct a façade to present to others, we do better to simply identify our needs and look to God, who has been and always will be our Helper!  In looking to God, we often find that He sends us helpers in the form of friends, family, and even complete strangers.

As we go about the business of life, we can easily forget just how needy we really are and how much we need God’s help each day . . . until we have gone too long looking in the wrong direction!  When we keep looking to ourselves, attempting to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, we get worn down, beat up, and burned out.  I know this resonates with you, because it resonates with me too!  God is the ultimate and only help we need, regardless of the circumstances we are facing.  He not only saves us from our sin, He saves us from ourselves!  His gracious rescue creates the “great exchange,” where we are decreasing and He is increasing in our lives.

The more we focus on the truths of the Gospel, the more these truths will renew our minds, enlarge our hearts, and bend our wills.  This is the place where we begin to embrace the truth that we simply can do nothing apart from Christ.  God wants you to look to Him and no one else for all the help you need to do all the things He has called you to do.  It is God’s grace that sustains you and God’s wisdom that overrules every challenge and trial for your ultimate good.

God is your help for a difficult relationship . . . a troubled marriage . . . a rebellious child . . . trouble on the job . . . a major health concern . . . and any loss you have encountered or will encounter in this life.  You are His, and He has promised to get you home safely.  Sure, the road is long and hard, but He has walked it before you and is walking it with you right now.  So forget about those silly bootstraps and fix your eyes on Christ!

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