Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

I will strengthen you and help you. (Isaiah 41:10)

The prophet Isaiah has set before us a wonderful guarantee that is designed to both comfort and challenge every child of God. Let’s take a look.

First, notice Who has given us this guarantee of strengthening: It is none other than God Himself! Omnipotence has promised strength, and who is so foolish to doubt such a guarantee? Herein lies an endless stream of strength that is not diminished in any way when He gives us a portion of it. 

Next, notice that we are not told in which season we will be strengthened. So we must take this promise to mean all of them! God has promised to strengthen us in our seasons of successful service, and He has promised to strengthen us in our seasons of sorrowful service. Regardless of the season we find ourselves in — clear and sunny, gray and gloomy, or stormy and threatening — we have this guarantee from the Lord God Omnipotent: I will strengthen you!

To be sure, this guarantee from God should be a source of unimaginable comfort, but it does not stop there! It goes on to challenge us to rise above any obstacle that stands in our way, because our strength does not come from within, but from above. Human weakness is no impediment for divine strength. In fact, Scripture tells us that when we are weak, our God is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). Regardless of what we are currently facing, God has promised to strengthen us.  

• The fearful are given courage.
• The doubting are given conviction.
• The lonely are given company.
• The weak are given confidence.
• The broken are given compassion.

These are just a few of the seasons we face throughout life; through them all, God has promised to give us the strength we need to see them all through. So let me ask you a very important question right now: What strength are you in short supply of today? Fear not! Go to your Savior and say to Him . . .

“Strengthen me supernaturally according to your Word!“

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

Trust . . . Delight . . . Commit . . . Be Still . . . (Psalm 37:3, 4, 5, 7)

The psalmist gives us a word of inspired instruction as we launch out into 2025 that can encourage, empower, and equip us to rise above our natural tendency to fret.

There are many ways to define the verb to fret: to worry; to eat away at; to gnaw at. Fretting is something that plagues every one of us from time to time, and the results can be devastating in the life of a believer — emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Fretting can start as an infection and wind up a disease if we do not heed the inspired instruction the psalmist has set before us today.

The first instruction is to trust. To trust is to place your problem in the hands of your Savior. Simply give it all over to your Lord. A good place to start is with prayer, which leads to casting your cares upon the Lord because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

The second instruction is to delight. To delight is to enjoy the Lord — not for what He has done for you, but simply because He is God. True delight comes from focusing on the Giver of all good gifts, not the gifts themselves.

The third instruction is to commit. To commit to the Lord is to be “all in” with every aspect of your life. Do not withhold anything from Him, but surrender every area of your life to His wisdom, His will, and His way.

Finally, the fourth instruction is to be still. To be still is to center your heart on home and remember Who is in charge of everything. God is on the throne of your life every moment of every day, “for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). He is in complete control of the entire universe, and that includes whatever it is you are going through.

Many have been blessed over the years by following these inspired instructions. What about you? Are you ready to forsake fretting in 2025? Regardless of what you are facing, are you ready to trust, delight, commit, and be still? Know that He is not just God, He is your God, and He has promised to bring you safely through any storm you are currently facing or will face in the future.

Happy New Year! Happy New You!!

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

“Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

On Friday we took a moment for a “backward glance” to ponder the wonders God had done throughout 2025. Today we will pause to consider our “forward march” as we prepare to launch out into 2025.

Over the course of the next few days, a common greeting from people you encounter will be, “Happy New Year!” Yet if that was all we had as Christian believers setting out into a new year, it would be a scant portion indeed. As Christians, we have much more than a “hopeful greeting” given to us by the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. In our verse for today, we have the promise given to Joshua — and to us — by God: I will be with you wherever you go.

You may remember that Joshua was preparing to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land after Moses had completed his ministry of service to the Lord. Joshua knew quite well the challenges he would inevitably face in leading God’s people. He had learned from serving with Moses just how difficult the task would be. But he also knew that, just like Moses, he would not be alone in the work God had called him to.

The very same thing is true for you and me as we begin our march forward into this new year. To be sure, the new year brings with it questions and concerns . . . doubts and fears . . . obstacles and opportunities. Will we get a less than positive report from the doctor? Will we be confronted by professional challenges? Will our marriage of many years march on for many more? Will we suffer the loss of a loved one? Will the world erupt into war? The list of uncertainties is almost endless. Yet we can hold on to something infinitely greater than a hopeful, “Happy New Year.” Why? Because we have the promise from God that wherever we go, He will go with us.

I want you to remember something in that lovely promise: This “going with God” is not a going by chance. It is not a random roll of the dice. God is guiding, governing, and directing your every step. He is in sovereign control of everything; nothing is a matter of “luck” or “chance.” So don’t be discouraged! This promise is given to cause us set aside every fear and confidently march forward into God’s perfect plan and purpose for our lives.

One final point: Approximately 3,400 years after God told Joshua that He would be with him wherever he went, Jesus reaffirmed that promise before He ascended back to heaven: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Forward, march! You have nothing to fear. Your Master marches by your side!

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

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!