Pastor Tommy is the senior pastor of Cross Community Church (PCA) in Deerfield Beach, FL. Rev. Tommy Boland is his official title. Pastor Tommy often seems too formal. Most everyone calls him "Coach".
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)
Make no mistake about this biblical truth: Your life . . . my life . . . everyone’s life will serve as either an example to follow or a warning to avoid. As one who worked as a coach for decades, I have always been dismayed by high-profile athletes who insist, “I’m not a role model!” The truth is, they may not want to be a role model, but they most certainly are for someone who is watching. The same can be said of everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ.
You do understand that you are the only “Bible” some people will ever read, yes? Many unbelievers — particularly those raised in the West during the last 30 years — know nothing about the 66 books of sacred Scripture, but they know a great deal about the life they see you living before their eyes. And if they know you to be a disciple of Jesus, the way you live is what they will come to believe about the Jesus of the Bible.
The question that you and I must ask ourselves is this: Is my life serving as an example to follow? Or is it a warning to avoid?
I want to make something perfectly clear: I am not saying we must live a perfect life. Only Jesus did that. We live every aspect of our lives imperfectly. We all do things we ought not do, we say things we ought not say, and we think things we ought not think. What I am talking about is the desire to live a life that is pleasing to God, recognizing that it will not be perfect on this side of the grave.
Peter’s life was far from perfect; he denied our Lord three times and later refused to eat with Gentile Christians, earning a sharp rebuke from the apostle Paul (Galatians 2:11-14). Yet the life Peter lived serves as a wonderful example of what it means to live for nothing smaller than Jesus, even while living imperfectly. Every great saint in Scripture and in the history books had their share of blemishes and warts that all the world could see. But those failings just make them more real to us.
If you’re anything like me, your own failings are all too real. Others may not see our shortcomings, we know they are there. We are painfully aware when we do not measure up to the standards Scripture sets for us. But in spite of our sins, God has chosen us to put the Gospel on display. Remember, God uses imperfect people because that’s all He’s got!
Have you considered the example you are setting for those who are watching you? When you mess things up (as you inevitably will), confess your sin and ask for forgiveness, both from God and those you have offended or hurt. Then get on with life, asking God to give you His supernatural strength to live it for His glory and the good of others.
Everyone is an example . . . including you. The question is not whether you are an example, but rather what kind of example are you setting? Christian, be an example of one who is living for the glory of God.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. (Mark 2:1-4)
Every time I read this passage I have to stop and ponder two questions: First, do I have any sold-out friends like that, who would rip a hole in someone’s roof because the doorway was blocked . . . just to get me in front of Jesus? Second, am I a sold-out friend like that to anyone in my life right now, for whom I would refuse to be denied in bringing him before Jesus? Those are questions we all need to consider, don’t you think?
Sold-out saints have a way of making things happen for the good of others and the glory of God. They refuse to be denied. Blocked doors will not keep them out. Crowded rooms will not cause them to shy away. And if they cannot bring someone to Jesus by the ordinary way that has been set before them, they will simply make a new way and refuse to stop until they get before our Lord.
Luke offered this insight to the account we read from Mark: “When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd” (Luke 5:19). What great risk these men took to get their paralyzed friend before the Christ! Just the sound of them up on the roof would have drawn the attention of those in the home. Then when they started digging and tearing away at the roof tiles, everyone inside would have been looking up as dust and pieces of the roof began to cascade down into the room below.
I really cannot think of any better phrase than sold-out saints when I read this account. These men would let nothing stand in the way of getting their friend an audience with Jesus. And how did Jesus respond?
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven. . . . I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” (Mark 2:5, 11)
The friends’ sold-out faith not only brought their friend physical healing, but spiritual healing as well. So the question I want to leave you with today is this: Do you have the kind of sold-out faith that will tear through roof tiles to get someone you know before the Savior of the world? May that be the confession of all our lives as we look for opportunities to bless those God has put in our lives, to the glory of the praise of His name.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
“Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)
When Jesus came to visit Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, the sisters were very busy, probably engaged in preparing a meal for the Lord and His disciples. Luke’s account tells us that Martha was “distracted with much serving,” giving us valuable insight into her heart . . . and into our own hearts as well! In serving her Lord, Martha was actually serving herself. Even service to Jesus can become self-serving if we allow it to happen. Martha had lost sight of her Savior because she shifted her focus to her service. Mary didn’t all into that trap; when Jesus arrived, Mary knew it was time to put her doing down and sit at the feet of her Lord.
The question we must ask ourselves is this: Am I more like Mary or Martha? We can get so busy doing stuff for our Savior that we neglect spending time with Him. Martha was encumbered by all of her doing, and she quickly grew frustrated that Mary had stopped helping with the preparations. “Lord,” she grumbled, “don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40). Notice how Jesus responded to what amounted to a peevish rebuke from Martha.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
In the ancient cultural context, when someone’s name was repeated, it was a sign of relationship, friendship, and intimacy. Jesus was not upset with Martha, even though Martha seemed to be a bit upset with Him. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Martha, I appreciate all that you are doing in making preparations for our visit. Hospitality is a good thing, and we are to show it to everyone. But if we aren’t careful, the focus of our hospitality can shift away those we are serving, because we have begun serving ourselves.”
I can personally testify to this truth –perhaps I should say confess to this truth — from my life as a pastor. There have been too many times when my service has been self-serving. We are not immune to serving ourselves even when we are serving our Savior. We must constantly check our motives.
How is it with you? Which of the two sisters do you more closely resemble? I think we all have a bit of both Martha and Mary in us if we truly love our Lord. We want to serve to the best of our ability, but we need to know there is a time for serving and a time for sitting. Have you chosen what is better? May this be the confession of our lives.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7 NKJV)
There is a wonderful promise in our passage of Scripture today, but it comes with a condition. God has put His holy hedge of protection around those who fear Him. Now, this is not the kind of fear that drives us into a small, dark corner, cowering in fear of God. This fear is a holy reverence for the sheer glory and magnificence of our God because we love, respect, and honor Him.
When we read that “The Angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,” the word encamps reminds us of the 40 years of wilderness wandering of the people of God. After being freed from bondage in Egypt and being led out to the Promised Land, God gave Israel forty years to think about their unbelief and rebellion (Numbers 14:34). But during all that time, God never abandoned them. He encamped around them and protected them from everything that would come against them. Even in their faithlessness, they still feared God, and He ultimately delivered them into their Promised Land.
Do you fear God? Do you love and respect Him? Do you esteem Him above all else? Then you have this promise today, that God will deliver you from anything that will come against you. You have the promise of God’s protection, God’s deliverance, and God’s love, favor, and mercy.
We must be careful not to assume something that is not promised. The promise is not a trouble-free existence; regular readers here know that I frequently recall that Jesus flatly told us that we will experience trouble in this world (John 16:33). The promise in Psalm 34:7 is that God will encamp around you and ultimately bring you to the other side of everything that has come against you – if not in this life, then certainly in the next, when He brings you to your true Promised Land.
Are you living your life in the fear of God, knowing that He has encamped around you with His holy hedge of safety? We can feel all alone when the waves of challenge are crashing down on us, but we must remember what Jesus said to His disciples before He left them: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). You are not alone! Jesus is with you every step of the way, especially when your way is long and winding and filled with difficulties.
One final word of encouragement. A few verses earlier in this psalm, David said, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4). God not only hears your cries, He has promised to answer them and replace your every fear with faith. All you need to do is seek Him out, and you can look forward to His deliverance.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
To you, Lord, I call; You are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. (Psalm 28:1)
When was the last time you wondered if God hears your prayers? When was the list time you sensed the sound of silence as you were pleading at the gates of heaven? Notice that I said “When,” I didn’t ask, “Have you ever?” Like David, we all find ourselves in seasons when heaven seems silent, and, like David, we want to know that God has not turned a deaf ear to our pleas.
Psalm 28 provides great insight into David’s prayer life as he cried out to God from the depths of his heavy heart. We don’t know exactly what David was going through at the time he penned this psalm. Perhaps it was a season of sickness or a time of deep loneliness or a period of desperate despair. Regardless of the waves of challenge David was facing, he looked to his Lord, his Rock, for help. The question is, Do we do the same thing . . . in utter dependence upon God?
David knew where to take his weakness and fear: To the only One who could help him rise above the waves of challenge that were washing over him. He not only knew Who to go to, he also knew that the One he went to was able to act on his behalf because He is the Rock of Ages. Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th-century “Prince of Preachers,” put it this way in his commentary on the psalms, The Treasury of David:
The immutable Jehovah is our rock, the immovable foundation of all our hopes and our refuge in time of trouble; we are fixed in our determination to flee to him as our stronghold in every hour of danger.
What picture comes to mind when you read David calling God his Rock? God as our Rock is a picture of a foundation that cannot be shaken and will not be moved. For David, God was not only his source of strength, He was David’s source of stability and security. Many scholars have said God as Rock pictures His permanence and power, and David knew of these by way of personal experience.
But that’s not all! There is one more most important picture of God as Rock, painted by Paul as he described the wilderness wandering of Israel:
They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:3-4).
David was looking forward to the Rock that was to come, and this Rock was the “smitten rock” of Exodus 17:6, the Lord Jesus Christ, who provides streams of living water for the thirsty, even in the most barren wilderness we may currently be experiencing. So regardless of what you are facing, cry out to your Rock, knowing that He will never turn a deaf ear and will always answer – but in His way and in His perfect timing. May that truth set us all free to trust completely in the Rock of our salvation.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:29)
It is only natural to do everything in our power to avoid pain. Only a crazy person seeks out painful experiences in life. But when we realize that God is in our pain, we understand one of the deepest biblical truths: Pain is profitable, and the cross of Christ makes that clear.
The six hours of pain that Jesus endured on the cross defies human description. Because “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21), Jesus endured the infinite wrath and judgment of God in our place as He hung on our cross. During the three hours of supernatural darkness that fell across the land, our Lord Jesus endured the unimaginable God-forsakenness of hell itself. And when Jesus knew that He had fully paid the penalty for our sins, satisfying completely the wrath and judgment of God, thereby securing eternal life for us, He gave out His cry of victory: “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
To be sure, we cannot comprehend the divine mystery of the pain Jesus endured on that cross, but we can comprehend this: Knowing that His pain paid the full penalty for the forgiveness of our sins — all our sins — means that there is profit in pain. When Paul tells us that those who believe in Jesus will suffer for Jesus, we can rest assured that God has a perfect plan for our profit in every painful providence we experience on this side of the grave. And this is not a specialized understanding that God gave only to Paul; more than seven centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah declared, “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish (Isaiah 38:17).
Regardless of the painful providences you have experienced or are experiencing in your life, every one of them is designed and delivered for your profit. The key to getting through the pain is to understand this truth and to live in the light of it each day. Painful experiences in life make far too many people bitter, not better. They wallow in self-pity, not selfless love for their Savior. Others simply see the painful experiences in life as something to endure; they “keep a stiff upper lip,” as the saying goes, and get through it as quickly as possible. In both cases, these people miss the point of the pain: Profit. Jesus told us flatly that we will have trouble in this world (John 16:33), He was preparing us for the painful experiences that will inevitably come our way and telling us to remember that because He is in it, there is profit to be gained from it.
One final point: Jesus didn’t just promise us painful providences; He promised His peace in them and through them. “Take heart!” He told His disciples. “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Nothing happens to us that does not first pass through His nail-scarred hands. Because of this truth, we can be assured that there is profit in our pain, conforming us more and more into the image and likeness of our Lord, who endured a pain that we cannot imagine so that we will never have to experience it in life or in death: separation from God.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
If we read the Bible as if it is a book of disconnected stories teaching moralistic and ethical messages on how to have our best life now, we have a tendency to think it’s all about us. We look at the heroes of the Bible and think that God used these men and women because of their greatness. But when we recognize that the Bible is a single story about God’s unfolding plan of redemption that finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, we look at the heroes of the Bible and understand that what made these men and women great was nothing other than the fact that God graciously choose to use them.
Who is the person that God chooses to use as an instrument of salvation and sanctification in His mighty right hand? It is the card-carrying “Triple-A member,” one who is –
AWED by the glory of God
AVAILABLE to the Spirit of God
ACTING on the Word of God
God is in the business of taking common people and making them uncommon . . . taking weak people and making them strong . . . taking foolish people and making them wise . . . taking average people and making them great. In God’s economy, it is not those with great ability whom God calls into His service; rather, it is those who are awed by His glory, available to His Spirit, and acting on His Word, regardless of the cost or circumstance. Does this “Triple A” describe you today? Is this the confession of your life right now?
When we are awed by the glory of God, we know what Paul knew: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!” (Romans 11:33 ESV). When we are awed by the glory of God, we become available to the Spirit of God, who makes us willing to follow God wherever He leads us. This, of course, leads us to live lives acting on the Word of God.
When we rightly read the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, we realize that God did not call great men and women into His service to expand His Kingdom. Rather, those ordinary men and woman — people like you and me, broken and marred by sin — were made great by God’s calling on their lives, simply because they were available to be used and acted on the words He had spoken to them. This is the person God uses.
How is with you today? Are you ready to go fishing . . . for people?
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24)
“My life is not my own!” Without a doubt, this was my mom’s favorite saying when I was growing up, and it had two distinct and different levels of truth that she was expressing. First, she would say it — sometimes in a tone of exasperation — in the context of the demands of raising five children while running the household. But there was a far deeper message Mom was teaching us, because she loved Jesus and she knew her life was not her own. Rather, her life was the Lord’s to use as He pleased.
One of the best descriptions of this biblical truth comes from the Heidelberg Catechism, which was written in 1563. The questions and answers are organized in 52 Lord’s Days; they were originally intended to be taught on each Sunday of the year.
Lord’s Day 1
Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A: That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil, He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
My mom knew that there was no greater comfort in life and death than to know that her life was not her own. She knew that she had been purchased by Jesus at the cost of His precious blood, shed on the cross for the forgiveness of her sins – all of her sins. She also knew that her Lord and Savior was in complete control of everything in the universe, which included everything in her life. My mom knew that no matter what was happening, Jesus was in control of every bit of it and was all working all of it together for her ultimate good. My mom loved us best by loving Jesus and living for His glory alone.
Are you living that way? Am I?
Regardless of where this message finds you today, let me encourage you to adopt my mom’s favorite saying and make it your own. Freely confess that “My life is not my own” and know the freedom and joy of living wholeheartedly for the glory of God and the good of others. This is a life that truly testifies to the Good News of God’s grace — not just daily, but moment by moment.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. (John 14:27)
When the chaos in the world around us is heaviest, the light of Christ is the brightest, if we will but look in His direction. Think about the chaos at the wedding reception that took place at Cana in Galilee when they ran out of wine. In the ancient world, wedding receptions were week-long events; often the entire town was invited to attend to celebrate the couple’s new life together. To run out of wine at such an event was not only an embarrassment, it was an offense to the unwritten rules of hospitality. Imagine the chaotic concern that was beginning to spread. “They have no more wine!” However, Jesus and His disciples were invited guests, and when His mother went to Jesus for help. Then the light of Christ shone brightly as He turned mere water into wine — and not just wine, but the best wine they had ever tasted (John 2:1-10).
Think about the chaos on the hillside where Jesus fed the 5,000. (And because only men were counted in those days, it is estimated that as many as 10,000 to 20,000 people were actually fed.) The disciples went to Jesus, saying that it was late, the people were hungry, so Jesus should send them away to go buy food. There was simply no way to feed so many people! Then the light of Christ shone brightly as He multiplied the five loaves and two fish to feed the massive crowd — and there were still leftovers after every man, woman, and child had eaten their fill (Matthew 14:15-21). Truly He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20).
Think about the chaos in the region of the Gerasenes, when a man with an evil spirit came running from the tombs to Jesus, a man whom no one could restrain even with a chain. Night and day this demon-possessed man would cry out among the tombs and cut himself with stones. Then the light of Christ shone brightly as He cured the man and cast the legion of demons out of the man and into a nearby herd of pigs, who immediately ran over the cliff and drowned in the lake below. And the man who was being destroyed by Satan became an evangelist, traveling throughout a ten-city region and telling people all that the Lord had done for him (Mark 5:2-20).
What kind of chaotic circumstances are you facing today? Are the waves of challenge crashing over you? Are you caught up in the chaotic pace of everyday living in a culture that conditions us to emulate the Energizer Bunny and just keep going and going and going? Never forget that Christ is in every circumstance and available to carry your chaos . . . IF you will invite Him.
No life was filled with more chaos than the life of Jesus. The multitudes came to see Him and pressed in around Him, straining to hear Him, touch Him, follow Him, and be healed by Him . . . and also to ridicule Him, mock Him, trap Him, and condemn Him. And how did Jesus deal with the chaos that swirled around Him?
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
Jesus gave us the key to rising above the chaos of life and remaining calm: time alone with God. You see, the chaos in the life of Christ was ongoing. When the disciples found Jesus they said, “Everyone is looking for you!” This was no surprise to Jesus. Yet Jesus knew He needed to withdraw from the chaos to connect with His Father in heaven. This is the key to conquering the chaos in our own lives. We need to withdraw into the presence of Christ, especially in the midst of our chaotic circumstances, and He will give us the peace that passes all human understanding. You have His Word on that!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
When I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)
The title of today’s word of encouragement may seem a bit strange. When it comes to our limitations and weaknesses, we tend to do everything in our power to minimize or eliminate them . . . or at least cover them up. To be sure, God’s gifts of wisdom and strength are viewed as assets, and these are the areas in life we work to increase and improve. But Paul taught that God gives both strengths and weaknesses, and they are to be stewarded and used for His glory and the good of others.
Today’s verse comes from the “thorn” passage (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to take away his “thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan” that was tormenting him, and three times God refused. “My grace is sufficient for you,” God told Paul, “for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). God dispenses both strengths and weaknesses to His disciples, and we must learn how to lean into both in order to maximize our service to our Lord.
Understand that Paul was not using the word “weakness” as a euphemism for “sin” in the way that our present-day culture substitutes syrupy phrases, such as “having an affair” for “committing adultery,” to paper over the offense of sin. In his letter to the Romans, Paul rebuked those who were boasting that their sin displayed the grace of God to an even greater degree (Romans 6:1-2). In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul freely confessed that “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3). Paul certainly was not saying that he had come to the Corinthians in sin; no he was candidly admitting that he felt dramatically underqualified — that is, weak — in his role as a teacher and an evangelist.
The best way I know how to explain the difference between weakness and sin is this: Our weakness is given by God to cause us to turn toward Him and to depend on Him more; our sin turns us away from God as we depend more on ourselves. When we lean into our weaknesses, God’s power is put on display for all the world to see as we trust more in what God can do for us than what we can do for ourselves. Indeed, Paul said that “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).
Paul saw his “thorn” — his weakness — as a liability to His ministry at first, and he pleaded with God to remove it. But in time, he came to realize that God was using both Paul’s strengths and his weaknesses to advance the cause of the Kingdom of God. Now, if you are anything like me, learning to see weakness as a gift from God does not happen as quickly as it did for Paul. He asked “three times” for God to take it away; I sometimes still ask God to take my weaknesses away. But over time, I am slowly learning how to trust and depend more and more on God, and less and less on me.
When was the last time you considered leaning into your limitations for God’s glory and your good? That’s right; I said “for your good.” Paul said he was given his weakness to keep him humble, and that is one of the great blessings of our limitations. The more we lean into our limitations, the more God humbles us, and the more God humbles us, the more we are like our Lord Jesus, who made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant (Philippians 2:7).
When Paul said, “It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful,” (1 Corinthians 4:2), he was not confining the word “trust” to our strengths. He meant everything God has given to us: our strengths and our weaknesses too. May the confession of our lives demonstrate our utter dependence upon God as we lean into our limitations.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 