Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

Physical blindness is a condition that is known to all those who are afflicted by it.  My younger brother Bobby is blind in his right eye from an accident years ago . . . and he knows it.  He has learned to compensate for his blindness.

Spiritual blindness, however, is a condition that is known only to those who are given the grace of supernatural sight to see their own sin.  David was given this great grace: “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3).

Isaiah was given this great grace: “Woe is me!  For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).

Peter was given this great grace, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8).

Do you know this great grace of seeing your own sin?  Or are you blind to your blindness?  How would those closest to you answer this question?

We are blind to our blindness when we cannot or will not see our own sin.  Even worse, we are blind to our blindness and think we see well when we find it much easier to notice the speck in the eye of someone else without ever noticing the plank in our own eye.

King David was blind to his blindness until God graciously sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke David with a word from God.  The story of David really bothered me, especially when I read he was a “man after God’s own heart.”  I mean, come on!  David stayed home when he should have been off to war, slept with another man’s wife, and then sentenced that man to death while he was on the battlefield, honorably defending his nation.

Not until God gave me the grace to see the overarching theme of David’s story as my story did I begin to see just how blind I was to my blindness.  It is only by the grace of God that today I am a gratefully recovering Pharisee, having been given the vision to clearly see my own sin . . . as painful as that is at times! 

So how well do you see your own sin?  Before you answer that question, read and meditate on the following verse.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

   (Jeremiah 17:9)

It never ceases to amaze me just how blind we are to our own sin—and that includes me!  It’s in our DNA to think we are better than we actually are.  This is the deceitfulness and sickness of the heart, even after Jesus raises us from death to life.  To be sure, sin no longer reigns in the life of the believer, but it still remains.  “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17-18).  And our sinful nature is quick to deflect, defend, and diminish our sin.

 We have become experts at shaping our sin into acceptable shapes. 

• The sin of impatience is shaped into “getting others up to our speed.”
• The sin of immorality is shaped into “personal self expression.”
• The sin of materialism is shaped into “getting my fair share.”
• The sin of legalism is shaped into “a sold-out love of the Law.”
• The sin of a critical spirit is shaped into “discernment.”
• The sin of workaholism is shaped into “providing for my family.”
• The sin of fits of rage is shaped into “righteousness anger.”

Does any of this resonate with you?  Can you think of some others “acceptable” shapes of sin that might be befouling your life right now?  God in Christ has given sight to blind eyes and flesh to hard hearts.  As He reveals more and more of our sin, we are able to receive what we see and cry out to Jesus for healing.

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

I spent nearly ten years of my early adult life responding to medical emergencies as a firefighter in the Hollywood, FL Fire Rescue Department.  Over that time I encountered many heart attack victims.  Also known as a myocardial infarction or (MI), an attack on the heart muscle is due to the loss of blood supply generally caused by a blockage of a coronary artery.  The death of heart muscle causes shortness of breath, chest pain and electrical instability of the heart muscle tissue.  On scene treatment includes CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), administration of medication, and at times electrical shock.  Over 90% of heart attack victims who reach the hospital survive so a quick response, proper treatment, and transportation are critical.

Did you know that there is another kind of heart attack that we all face every day?  It is an attack on the affections of our heart, also known as heart idolatry.  When Jesus entered into your life and redeemed you through faith, He claimed your heart as His own.  He has claimed the throne of your life and will tolerate no rival.  The problem is we tolerate rivals to our Redeemer and fill our hearts with idols. To name just a few:

• The idols of affection, approval, achievement
• The idols of power, position, prestige
• The idols of security, success, sensuality
• The idols of recognition, respect, reputation
• The idols of comfort, control, calling

How does this list resonate with you?  Is there something we have not mentioned that is attacking your heart right now?  If you are not sure, ask yourself, “What do I love, hope, trust, or fear?”  If you love a structured life without any uncomfortable interruptions, control will be your idol.  If you hope for a pain free providence, living inside zones of comfort will be your idol.  If you trust in financial security, earning as much as you can will be your idol.  If you fear being alone and single, being in a relationship (any relationship) will be your idol.  When you get right down to it, idols of the heart are false saviors, promoting false gospels, promising false hope.  We go to them expecting them to do for us what only Jesus can.

Just as a lack of blood supply causes physical death to your heart, a lack of Jesus causes spiritual death to your life.  It is only by keeping the gospel before us and preaching it to ourselves every day that we are able to forsake all of our idols and turn to Jesus because we realize these idols cannot deliver on their promises.  Jesus not only delivered on His every promise, He continues to deliver daily.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him”

Lamentations 3:22-24

Let me encourage you in closing.  You are not alone in the battle of dismantling your heart idols.  Every Christian is fighting the same battles on different fronts.  Consider it not a strange thing to be in this battle and to be wearied by it.  But remember, Jesus has won your victory on the cross.  The King came for you and purchased you with His precious blood.  And once you are His, nothing can separate you from Him (Rom. 8:39).  Call on Him.  Seek Him.  There is help from the Great Physician for every heart attack.

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

When was the last time you wondered, “Do I matter?”  Notice I did not ask, “Have you ever wondered, ‘Do I matter?’”  We have all wondered if we matter, and for many of us it was on more than one occasion . . . and recently!

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Mind over matter; I don’t mind and you don’t matter”?  The world says you matter only to the extent that you have power, position, prestige, prosperity, or pedigree.  We live in a world that judges a man by the size of his bankroll and a woman by her external beauty.  But in God’s economy, the world has been turned upside down. 

The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him.  For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

(1 Samuel 16:7)

You matter to the only One who truly matters.  You matter to God, not because of what you have or what you have done, but because of who you are.  You are a child of the Most High God.

Let me ask you a question.  What do birds, hairs, and flowers have in common?  They all matter to God and are continually under His divine care.  Because God doesn’t make any junk, everything He has made matters to Him. 

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  And not one of them is forgotten before God.  (Luke 12:6)

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  (Luke 12:7)

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds!  (Luke 12:24)

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  (Luke 12:27)

Perhaps you are going through a difficult season right now and feel like you don’t matter much to anyone, including God.  Maybe you feel unimportant, uninvolved, unwanted, under-appreciated, or unloved.  Is it possible you feel like you are only a number at work, a nobody at church, and a knucklehead at home?  Cheer up! 

Birds matter to God.  Flowers matter to God.  If the Creator of the universe takes special care of birds and flowers, how much more will He take care of you, oh you of little faith!  The fact that He knows the number of hairs on your head should be a source of great comfort to you today.  You matter to God more than you could ever imagine!  He knows the nights we toss and turn on our beds; he knows the number of ever tears we’ve shed! (See Psalm 56:8.)

Unlike birds and flowers, you were made in the image of God.  To be sure, since the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, that image has been marred, twisted, and stained with sin, but still it is the image of God.  As His image bearers, God is infinitely more concerned for you than anything else in the entire cosmos.  So much so, He sent His only Son to the cross to pay the penalty for your sin.  You matter to God, and that should matter to you! 

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

The white flag is an internationally recognized sign used to signify a truce, ceasefire, desire for negotiation, or intention to surrender.  The first mention of the usage of white flags to surrender is made during the Eastern Han dynasty (A.D 25-220).  The white flag was widely used during the Middle Ages in Western Europe to indicate the desire to surrender. 

Can you guess what “white flag faithfulness” is?  It, too, is a sign of the desire to surrender . . . but to whom?  It is surrendering yourself—all of yourself—to your Savior.  “‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble,’” James instructed.  “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:6-7).

There are numerous examples of white flag faithfulness in sacred Scripture.  Abraham waved the white flag and left everything he knew to faithfully follow God.  Noah waved the white flag and worked for more than 100 years to build a boat, working miles from any body of water.  Gideon waved the white flag and won the day against the Midianite army with only 300 warriors.  Mary waved the white flag when the angel Gabriel announced she was God’s choice to be the mother of the Messiah, knowing full well the scorn and shame she would attract as an unmarried pregnant woman.  John the Baptist waved the white flag and preached the coming Savior, a surrender which ultimately cost him his life.  Paul waved the white flag on the road to Damascus and transformed from persecutor to pastor. 

Prayerfully consider the extent of your sold-out surrender to your Savior in the following areas; are you submitted and waving the white flag in your . . .

• Dating life?
• Married life?
• Finances?
• Professional plans?
• Thought life?
• Prayer life?
• Church service?
• Sharing your faith?
• Forgiving others?
• Rejoicing for the success of others?
• Hurting when others are hurting?
• Removing the plank from your own eye?

In what areas have you totally abandoned yourself to the will of God?  In what areas are you holding back?  What is keeping you from totally surrendering and trusting God in any of these areas?  Whatever rules your heart shapes your life.  Whatever you refuse to surrender to Jesus is serving as your functional savior.

When you wave the white flag and surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you live for something bigger than your own life.  When you live for the transcendent purposes of God you live a life that truly matters—not just on Sunday, but every day of the week. 

A surrendered life is the fulfillment of the call of Christ, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.”  This kind of white flag faithfulness is a call to death that leads to life.  It is only by dying to yourself that you can live for your Savior.  Go ahead!  Wave the white flag of faithfulness and live the life you were designed by God to live. 

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

Since the beginning of time, mankind has been wrapped up in a hope that disappoints.  Do you know what it is?  It is hope in finding fulfillment, meaning, and significance apart from God.  It started with Adam and Eve when they decided they wanted to live autonomous lives, apart from the grace, goodness, and glory of God.  And men and women have been doing the same thing ever since.  When your hope is in anything smaller than God is will always disappoint.  Self-sufficiency makes a poor savior.  So what is the hope that does not disappoint?  The Apostle Paul tells us.

 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

(Romans 5:1-5)

Make no mistake; if what you have been hoping in is disappointing you, it is the wrong hope.  Nothing in this world can do for you what only Jesus can do.  If your hope is in your career, you have the wrong hope.  If your hope is in your education, you have the wrong hope.  If your hope is in your network, you have the wrong hope.  If your hope is in your next business deal, you have the wrong hope.  If your hope is in your gifting, you have the wrong hope.  If your hope is in the applause of man, you have the wrong hope.  If your hope is in your marriage, you have the wrong hope.  If your hope is in your children, you have the wrong hope.  Hope that created things will do for you what only the Creator can provide is utterly hopeless!

Paul made it crystal clear that when we hope in God we are never disappointed.  You see, when you place your hope in something you are connecting your identity to it.  What you place your hope in provides you with your meaning, significance, purpose, and ultimate identity in life.  Your hope is your savior, regardless of what you are hoping in.  That is why hope in anything smaller than God will always disappoint you.  Only God is big enough to satisfy your deepest needs, meet you in the middle of your darkest night, and deliver you from a meaningless existence from the cradle to the grave. 

To hope is to be human.  We all need hope and we all place our hope in something.  Therefore, we all need to make sure we are hoping in the right thing!

So what have you been hoping in lately?  Has your hope been unable to deliver?  Has your hope been unable to meet you in your place of deepest need? 

Scripture tells us that when our hope is in God, something counterintuitive happens.  Our hope does not disappoint us, even in the middle of a season of suffering.  Most people think hope is connected to painless providences.  Not Paul.  He knew firsthand that his hope would not disappoint, even in the middle of suffering.  Why?  Because His Savior was his hope and his Savior was in the middle of his suffering.  Paul did not need blue skies and sunshiny days to have hope, because his hope was in the only One who is worth hoping in: Jesus Christ.   

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

What “prize” have you been looking for lately?  How are you spending your discretionary time and money?  It has been rightly observed that our checkbooks and our free time reveals a great deal about what we value most in life. 

From the pen of the apostle Paul we are given the formula for keeping our eyes on the only prize that matters in life. 

One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians 3:13-15)

Let’s briefly unpack the Bible’s formula for keeping our eyes fixed on the prize that should be the object of our greatest affection.

1. Forgetting what lies behind . . .

On the surface this seems to contradict what God says in other portions of Scripture when He says, “Remember . . . !”  So what is going on here?  Paul is not telling us to forget the past.  He is telling us not to live in the past.  We are to treat the past like a school and take the lessons God would have us learn into our promised future.

 I am not minimizing a painful past.  At some level, this is the reality for everyone simply because we are broken people living in a broken world with other broken people.  Yet God calls us to move beyond our past, regardless of the pain, and enter into our promised future by living fully in the present.  You will remember that Paul’s painful past was marked by his participation in intense persecution of the church; had Paul focused on his past, he would have become a prisoner to it, rather than the man God called to pen most of the New Testament. 

2. Straining forward . . . press on toward the goal . . .

Forward motion in life is difficult.  God made that clear to Adam and Eve after they sinned in the Garden of Eden.  Life would be difficult, filled with thorns, thistles, trials, and tribulations. 

 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”  And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  (Genesis 3:16-19)

3. The prize . . .

Paul says in spite of our straining, there is a promised prize that is to be our motivation for moving forward and it is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  In other words, Paul is pressing on into the truth of John 10:10—the abundant life in Jesus Christ.  God had already saved Paul and called him to be His own.  Now Paul desires, more than anything else, the deepest experience of his salvation and union with Christ.  So his life is marked by fixing his eyes on the prize . . . Jesus Christ.

Paul closes out this section of Scripture by identifying those who live this kind of life; he calls them mature.  Those who are mature do not prize possessions.  Those who are mature do not prize prosperity.  Those who are mature do not prize prestige.  Those who are mature do not prize pleasure.  Those who are mature prize only one thing: the Prince of Peace.  They organize their lives around the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus rules their hearts and ultimately shapes their lives; they rise early in the morning thinking about Jesus.  They go throughout their day thinking about Jesus.  They retire in the evening thinking about Jesus.  Like Paul, they believe that to live is Christ!  

Is this the confession of your life?  What has God been revealing to you lately?  Are you one of those who Paul identifies as mature?  Fix your eyes on the only prize that matters—in both life and death—and you will be. 

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

What “impossible” thing are you facing today?  What Red Sea are you standing before, with no way out, as the enemy is closing in on you from behind?  What water needs to be turned into wine?  What dead thing in your life needs to be resurrected?  Today’s message, “The Steel Did Swim,” will prove profitable for your comfort and for your courage as you face whatever challenge is before you.  My prayer is that you would read this message with a spirit of great anticipation about what God will do both in and through you.  

2 Kings 6:1-7 recounts a remarkable story of the omnipotence of the Almighty and demonstrates that nothing is impossible with God for those who believe.

The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there.” And he answered, “Go.” Then one of them said, “Be pleased to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.” So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. And he said, “Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

Can you imagine a more hopeless situation regarding the recovery of the axe head?  And to make matters worse, it was a borrowed axe that would now be forever lost.  To be sure, by man’s power, the axe head that fell into the water would have remained submerged and lost.  But with God, the steel did swim!  What sunken “steel” is in your life right now that needs to swim to the surface by the grace and power of the Almighty? 

• Shipwrecked by your singleness
• Pressured by your peers
• Anxiety over your academics
• Adversity in your athletics
• Mystified by your marriage
• Forsaken by your friends
• Perplexed about your parenting
• Worn out by your work
• Confused about your calling
• Snared by your sin
• Discouraged about your direction
• Struggling with your service
• Let down with your life

Notice in this passage three important truths that form the key to unlock the door of possibility when you are facing any problem in this life. 

1. The man who lost the axe head cried out and shared his challenge.

2.  When the Lord intervened, Scripture says the man “reached out his hand.”

3. Finally we read, the man “took it.” 

What obstacle do you need to turn into an opportunity to magnify the name of your God?  What problem has God sent your way to stretch your faith?  What boat is He calling you to step out of and come to Him?  Sure, the wind is howling and the waves are crashing, but Jesus is right there with you in the middle of your storm. 

God will always place the grapes of goodness within your reach . . . but not in your mouth.  You must reach out your hand and take them, by the grace of God.  God has promised to do His part.  Are we willing to do ours?

Remember, God has given us everything we need to live the life he is calling us to live—with freedom, faithfulness, and fruitfulness to Jesus.  Call on Him, regardless of the challenge you are facing.  Approach the throne of grace with confidence and plead the blood of the Lamb.  The same God who made the steel swim for Elisha is standing at the ready to make steel swim for you.  He will never disregard your predicament and He will never dishonor your plea. 

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

I cannot think of a better way to kick off the season of THANKSGIVING than with a message of giving thanks from the Word of God.

Take a moment to contemplate and answer the following three questions:

1. Would you describe yourself as a person who spends more time in a posture of THANKSGIVING or a posture of COMPLAINING?
2. How would those closest to you answer this question about you?
3. If the answer to question #2 does not start with the letter “T” then what changes do you need to make in your life right now so that you may be known by better fruit?

Regardless of your answers, I think we all would agree that we could use a little more of the fruit of THANKSGIVING in our lives and a lot less of the fruit of COMPLAINING!  Regardless of how well life is working for us right now we have a tendency to look at what is not working well.  This has been the story of God’s people from the beginning.  After having been set free from over 400 years of bondage in Egypt, the Israelites were marked more by the fruit of COMPLAINING than THANKSGIVING.  You would have thought after having witnessed the hand of God deliver the ten supernatural plagues on Egypt and after marching right on through the Red Sea without ever getting wet, that THANKSGIVING would have risen up to heaven like smoke billowing up from a furnace.  However, it was not.  Instead of giving thanks they whined, grumbled, and complained every step of the way. In the following verse, the psalmist gives us the cure for COMPLAINING and the key to living a life of continual THANKSGIVING.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

Psalm 107:8

When we focus more on God than we do ourselves, we find that we live in a posture of THANKSGIVING rather than COMPLAINING.  Take a moment to think about all that God has done for you.  And I am not even talking about the “BIG” things such as redemption, justification, adoption, eternal life, and the like.  Think about the eyes that are reading this blog right now.  God gave you your sight.  Think about the mind that is processing this blog right now.  God gave you your mental capacity.  Think about the breath you just took or the beating of your heart.  God gave you the gift of life.  What do you have that you have not been given?  Consider, in a sense, that the more you have the more you are in debt to the One who has given it to you.  The only thing you have that God did not give to you is your sin.  You own all of that!!!

So, as we begin our season of thanksgiving together, let us resolve to be someone who is known by others for a heart of THANKSGIVING rather than a head of COMPLAINING.  To be sure, this blog post may not find you in a season of great prosperity.  Perhaps sickness and disease are testing the outer edges of your health plan.  Maybe this time of year brings back memories of some great loss in your life.  This is the result of living in a fallen and broken world with other fallen and broken people.  Yet, in all of it you have a God whose love sought you, caught you, and bought you with the precious blood of the Lamb.

Write down today’s verse and put it up somewhere.  Put it up on your refrigerator.  Put in up on your bathroom mirror.  Attach it to the sun visor in your car.  Or even better, take some time to memorize it and meditate on it when you lie down, when you get up, and when you walk throughout your day (Deut. 6:7).  The more you focus on the steadfast love of God and the wondrous works He has done for you, the more your life will be defined by the fruit of THANKSGIVING rather than COMPLAINING.  I promise you this…a little effort now in keeping this verse before you will return multiple rewards not only during this season of thanksgiving, but throughout the rest of your journey toward the Celestial City.

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

Oscar Wilde once said, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you place the blame!”

The Guinness Book of World Records recently awarded Blaming the title of the world’s “Oldest Game.”  The Blame Game began in the Garden of Eden, played by the first two sinners.  The original blame was actually worth double points, because Adam blamed both Eve and God for his act of cosmic rebellion!  Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit from the forbidden tree, followed by a more subtle blaming of God for giving him Eve in the first place.  And we have been blaming ever since.

This game has become so popular that back in 1999 MTV aired a 30-minute game show entitled “The Blame Game.”  In a fictional courtroom setting, two “ex’s” were pitted against each other to ultimately decide who was to blame for the breakdown and breakup of their relationship.  The saddest aspect of the world’s oldest game is everybody plays and nobody wins. 

We cast blame for countless reasons.  We fear taking responsibility when something goes wrong, so we blame . . . just like Adam did in the Garden.  We seek the applause of man, so we blame others for our shortcomings, seeking to cast a better light on ourselves.  We blame parents for the way they raised us.  We blame coaches for the way they coached us.  We blame teachers for the way they taught us.  We blame the environment in which we were raised.  We blame the economy.  We blame the government.  Because we are sinners by both nature and by habit, blame is a part of everyday life.  Blame is simply part of our DNA. 

So . . . have you been playing the blame game lately?  Have you been blaming others?  Perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end of blame?  To be sure, blame marks every one of our horizontal relationships with other people.  And at times it marks our vertical relationship with God as we, like Adam, blame God for our lot in life.  At the deepest level, participation in the blame game is nothing more than a sinful attempt to rewrite a portion of our story so we can make ourselves look better to others and feel better about ourselves.   

And there is absolutely no need for it! All those who are in Christ stand before God blameless, because Jesus took their blame.  This is the great exchange; sinners stand sinless before a holy God because the One who knew no sin became sin for us. 

Jude, the brother of James and the half brother of Jesus, gave us a compelling reason for refusing to participate in any aspect of the blame game:

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Notice the word blameless and how it is applied to the believer.  The believer is blameless today in the sight of God because of what Jesus did on the cross—paying the penalty for every sin, past, present, and still to come.  The believer is clothed in the righteousness of Christ and stands blameless before God, in spite of living a life that is worthy of unending blame.  Jesus has made us blameless before God, setting us in the seat of holy honor, without spot or stain.  Meditate on the word blameless for a moment, and you will see just how remarkable it is when it is applied to you! 

Jude gives to us one of the most incredible promises in all of sacred Scripture.  Blame has been nailed to that dirty tree.  Blame for the believer is as far as the east is from the west.  Jesus became our blame, making us blameless before God.  Blame was washed clean in the blood of the Lamb, making every believer blameless.

The next time you have an opportunity to play the blame game, flatly refuse to take it!  Don’t blame others, regardless of what has happened, and don’t let it bother you if others blame you.  Jesus climbed Golgotha’s Hill and ended the blame game for every child born of grace, exchanging our unending blame for His unimaginable blessing. 

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

From the third chapter of Genesis on, the Bible makes it clear that we are BROKEN PEOPLE living in BROKEN PLACES.  Everything is out of whack from the way God intended it to be.  There is sickness, mourning, pain, suffering, and ultimately death.  So what’s the use in going on as BROKEN PEOPLE living in BROKEN PLACES?  Because God is in both BROKEN PEOPLE and BROKEN PLACES.   

BROKEN PLACES 

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.  (Romans 8:20-22) 

When Adam and Eve fell, the whole cosmos fell.  The world is now broken, which means we live in BROKEN PLACES, no matter what they may look like with the naked eye.  The world is marked by confusion and chaos, and darkness covers the land.  Yet, instead of starting over with a brand new creation, God is in the process of making all things new.  God is bringing His light into BROKEN PLACES, which means He is using these BROKEN PLACES in the process of cosmic renewal. 

Painful providence is God’s servant.  Sickness is God’s servant.  Mourning is God’s servant.  Pain is God’s servant.  Suffering is God’s servant.  Death is God’s servant.  As Charles Spurgeon once said, “Omnipotence has servants everywhere.”  God is using BROKEN PLACES to mend BROKEN PEOPLE just like you and me.

BROKEN PEOPLE

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

(Isaiah 61:1-3)

Jesus entered into this broken world to bind the brokenhearted and to set the captives free.  Jesus is mending BROKEN PEOPLE and BROKEN PLACES.  He brings hope to the hopeless . . . joy to the joyless . . . grace to the graceless.  Paul recounted that “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). 

What an amazing promise from God to BROKEN PEOPLE living in BROKEN PLACES—that His grace is sufficient.  Regardless of the BROKEN PLACE this finds you in today, and regardless how much longer God has you traveling on your road of brokenness, God has promised to mend BROKEN PEOPLE . . . and that includes you!

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