Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. (Acts 9:18)

I am using the conversion experience of Saul, who was transformed into the great apostle Paul, as our focal point for a great word of encouragement today. Saul the Pharisee was bent on persecuting the church, “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1), but while he was on the road to Damascus to ramp up his persecution even more, Jesus appeared in the road in a flash of light, driving Saul to his knees and blinding him. Three days later, God sent a disciple named Ananias to Saul to commission the former Pharisee to spread the Gospel; at that time, as we see in today’s verse, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see clearly. This brings me to our promised encouragement of “clear seeing,” not “clear sailing.”

For the very first time, the apostle Paul could see the truth clearly. He had a saving encounter with the resurrected Jesus, and in that moment, Paul was raised from death to life. Now Paul could clearly see who Jesus was, what Jesus had come to do, and what the cost was for being His disciple. It was not long after His conversion that Paul saw that his Christian brothers and sisters feared him because of who he had been, and the Jews who were once his friends wanted to kill him because of who he had become. Paul understood the truth that being a follower of Christ brings the promise of “clear seeing, not clear sailing,” and he explained it this way. First, the clear seeing:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. . . . For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4, 6)

When God, in His infinite grace and mercy, shines his light into our hearts, the scales of unbelief fall from our eyes, and we are able to behold and comprehend the salvation that is ours, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That is clear seeing. But that does not in any way bring with it a promise of clear sailing! Consider Paul’s own testimony:

I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles. (2 Corinthians 11:23-26)

The Lord Jesus never shrank from telling His disciples about the cost of following Him. The more clearly we see this truth, speak this truth, and show this truth in love, the more we will be buffeted by the storm winds that blow. We must always remember that the promise is clear seeing, not clear sailing. In fact, when our Lord was instructing to Ananias to go to Paul, Jesus said, “[Paul] is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:15-16).

What storms winds have you been facing lately? Remember these words from Paul, who lived a life marked by suffering and storms for the sake of the Gospel: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). Like the apostle Paul, the way through your trial is to keep focused on Christ — seeing Him clearly — and not focusing on the rough sailing of our circumstances. Trust our Lord’s promise to get us safely to our final port of call, and you will experience the love and joy and peace that are the Spirit-filled qualities of the committed Christian life.

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

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

You’ve probably heard of an “exchange rate,” which sets the value of a certain country’s currency compared to the currency of another country. The exchange rate for one U. S. dollar to the euro, for example, is .91. Today I’d like to give you a word of great encouragement as we plumb the depths of the eternal exchange rate: The value of our eternal country’s currency compared to that of our earthly country today.

The deepest, most comprehensive view of our righteous, eternal exchange rate comes into view when we behold the cross of Calvary, where Jesus laid down His life for the lost. That exchange, which is often referred to as The Great Exchange, is set forth in our verse for today, 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Jesus exchanged His righteousness for our sin

Jesus stood in the place of the guilty and paid the penalty for our sins, redeeming us by His perfect righteousness. Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet He remained sinless (Hebrews 4:15). To be sure, it would take a lifetime to fully grasp this unimaginable eternal exchange rate, which was freely given to us by Jesus and is freely offered to all sinners, for God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), but desires for all sinners to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The key to living the life God has called us to live is to consistently keep this incredible truth before us.

But that’s not all! Here are three more incredible eternal exchange rates that should rock your world.

Jesus exchanged His blessings for our curses

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:14-15)

Jesus exchanged His perfect health for our diseases

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Jesus exchanged His glorious riches for our poverty

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

To think that the sinless Son of God would provide this kind of righteous, eternal exchange rate for fallen and broken sinners boggles the mind. Yet this is exactly what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit planned from before the foundation of the world (Hebrews 13:20). When we keep what Jesus did for us on that cross in view, I am convinced that we will begin to understand what it means to live the abundant life Jesus promised to those who believe. Think about this for just a minute: Before God formed Adam from the dust of the ground . . . He loved you! Jesus Christ had agreed to die for you! You are of tremendous, eternal value to God!

Have you received this eternal exchange rate from your Redeemer? He offers it to you without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1). Simply believe in the Lord Jesus and in what He did on your behalf . . . and you are redeemed. Your sins–all your sins–exchanged for His perfect righteousness.

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

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12)

You may have heard it said that the only Bible some people will ever read is you. That’s very true! So the question is, What kind of God do they see in you? I hope that today’s message will both comfort and challenge you.

The greatest need in the world today is to see God. Now, we know that God’s nature is visible, for the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). Yet because God is love, the most profound demonstration of God will come through His love in us that we share with others. People will tell me that they just can’t seem to love others as God has commanded them to, so I go right to our verse for today and continue on to the verse that follows it: “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13).

None of us by nature are truly loving people. Any love we demonstrate toward others is self-love; our ultimate goal is satisfying our own needs. And thus we are hiding — or camouflaging — the image of God in us, because God is love (1 John 4:16), but apart from a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our love is directed at ourselves, not at others. But when God in Christ raises us from death to life, we are given the Holy Spirit, who begins the process of making us loving – a godly, sacrificial love that flows from a heart that is beating for the glory of God and the good of others . . . all others.

You see, when the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, our camouflage is automatically cast off, because “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). Now we are ready, willing, and most importantly, able to put God on display to the watching world. Our verse for today makes it clear that the way for others to see God is to see God’s love for hurting human beings flowing through our lives. This supernatural, Spirit-generated love loves at all times, with no thought of getting anything in return. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19); by loving others, we let the world see our loving God.

So . . . have you been camouflaging God’s love? Or are you putting it on display by loving others? This is a choice we make moment by moment, so we must pray continually that God will fill us with His love so that we can pour it out on others.

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

Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (2 Corinthians 10:3)

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or raw recruit, we are all on the front lines of a spiritual battle, not just daily but moment by moment. But the glorious good news is that God has given us His armor so that we can fight against our enemy — not in our strength, but in the strength of Almighty God — and be victorious. Scripture instructs us, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10 emphasis mine). If we attempt to fight a spiritual battle in our own strength, we are doomed to inevitable, abject failure.

Let’s take a quick look at the individual pieces of the full armor of God to make sure we are putting them on each day. By the way, if you are not a regular attender at Cross Community Church, I recently preached on each of these pieces of spiritual armor. You can access those messages here. Scripture instructs us:

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:14-17)

The Belt of Truth – Jesus said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). To put on the belt of truth is to put on the Word of God. We must spend time meditating on and marinating in the Bible.

The Breastplate of Righteousness – The Bible tells us that Jesus is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). We do not have any inherent righteousness in ourselves. We need this “alien” righteousness that comes from our Lord. When we are in Christ, we have been clothed in His righteousness to protect the most vital organ in the body: our heart!

The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace – Good footwear is absolutely essential for long marches toward the battle and for staying upright during close combat with the enemy. God sends us into this world with His shoes on, spreading the Good News about the Prince of Peace, who graciously gives us the peace that passes all human understanding.

The Shield of Faith – Roman soldiers covered their shields with heavy animal hides and would then dip them in water so that when flaming arrows fired by the enemy hit the shield, the wet hides would extinguish the fire. Our shield of faith must be dipped in the water of God’s Word each and every day to extinguish the fiery darts of Satan, because “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The Helmet of Salvation – The battlefield of our mind is the primary place where our spiritual battle is fought each day. We must renew our minds by “setting our minds on things above, not on earthly things below” (Colossians 3:2).

The Sword of the Spirit – This is the only piece of God’s armor that is both defensive and offensive. The best example of wielding the sword of the Spirit, of course, was provided by Jesus during His wilderness confrontation with Satan. When the devil tempted Jesus, our Lord used the Word of God to chop down every temptation; you and I must do the same thing.

Christian, God has placed His armor within our reach, but we must put it on. God will not dress us for battle each day, but when we clothes ourselves in His full battle dress, God will give us victory against every attack of the devil. And on those days when we fail, we do not despair, because we know that we are fully loved and completely forgiven. We have His Word on that!

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

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Before we dive into the meaning of the comfort provided in today’s passage, don’t “speed read” past the fact that God comforts us in all our troubles. This, of course, indicates that trouble is simply a part of living as broken people in a broken world with other broken people. But we never face those troubles alone. God is always with us (Hebrews 13:5), and He has promised to provide cosmic comfort to sustain us through every difficulty.

Here are three important things to remember about this comfort: First, God is the God of all comfort. There is no other source of comfort like God, and we must always look to Him for the comfort we need during times of trouble, trial, and testing. As Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69). Our source of comfort and restoration is always God.

Second, God comforts us in all our troubles, both great and small. We never face a challenge alone. We must remember that nothing happens to us that first doesn’t pass through His nail-scarred hands. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). And He offers His gracious invitation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Third, today’s passage tells us that the comfort God gives us is to be passed on to others who are experiencing troubles. There will be times in this life when we go through challenges so that God can use us to minister in the lives of others who are going struggling to bear up under similar challenges. We are to be conduits of God’s comfort to others.

How is it with you these days? Where do you look in times of trouble? Remember, the greater the challenge, the greater the cosmic comfort. God will not leave us wanting when it comes to the comfort we need to rise above every wave of challenge that washes over us. Let that truth set you free to praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He who is the God of all comfort.

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

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

During this Thanksgiving (“Thanks-Living”) week, we have given thought to our choice to rejoice always, regardless of the circumstances we are facing. On Wednesday we unpacked what is looks like to pray continually. Today, on the day after Thanksgiving, let spend a few moments in the matter of giving thanks in all circumstances.

Verse 18 — Give Thanks  In All Circumstances

Daily life confronts us with any number of difficulties, from a cranky child to a financial shortfall at the end of the month to a fender-bender during rush hour. The key to true thanks-living is to see every obstacle as an opportunity to give thanks to our Lord, because, as Paul said, “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20), and one day soon we will be enjoying unbroken, undiminished, and unending fellowship with our Savior, Jesus Christ. And remember, this command to “Give thanks in all circumstances” came from the Spirit of God through a man who had endured tremendous hardship in his service for our Lord. Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, jailed, abandoned, stoned and left for dead, and ultimately executed for his faith in Jesus.

Now, I will readily acknowledge that it is often far easier to grumble than to give thanks. I long ago lost count of how many times I have had to confess that particular sin. Yet when we keep the reality that we are children of God on our way to glory firmly in mind, we can rise above the waves of challenge and give thanks in all circumstances — both the pleasant and the painful.

Remember, if you want shift your focus from the moment to your Maker — lifting your eyes from your circumstances to Christ — pause and look up with thanksgiving for the breath you have in your lungs and the beat of your heart, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). God is working all things together for our ultimate good — not just some things or even most things, but all things — even those things we don’t like. There will be times when things aren’t going our way; we will encounter some “bad beats” along the way; at those times we must remember these words from the psalmist:

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1)

We have a good and gracious and kindly God; He cares for us even when we are dealing with bad stuff, because nothing can separate us from the love of God that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). We need no more reason than that to give thanks in all circumstances, do we? We are His, and He is ours (Song of Solomon 6:3). Now, that is a reason for thanks-living!

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

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

It is the week of Thanksgiving, we are focused on Thanks-Living, and we are using this passage from the New Testament to help us do it. On Monday, we looked at how and why we can rejoice always,regardless of the circumstances we are facing. Today we will give thought to what it means to stay in constant communication with our Lord and Savior.

Verse 17 — Pray Continually

At first glance, this seems like an impossible command. Who in the world can pray continually amidst all the hustle and bustle and noise of daily life and the waves of challenge that can crash over us on any given day? Well, the first thing we need to understand is what Paul was not saying. He was not saying we are to be on our knees in our prayer closets all day long, crying out to God and neglecting the duties of daily living. Because prayer is nothing more than conversation with God, Paul was telling us to live in a posture of prayer throughout the day. This posture of prayer is not physical; it is spiritual. It is living in an attitude of intercession with the Almighty, continually communicating with God about everything, both the majestic and the mundane.

Never forget that God cares about the mundane matters of our lives. God listens to every word we speak, and He is interested in every aspect of our lives. God wants us to talk to Him about everything. In fact, He absolutely loves it when we come to Him for a time of communion during those seemingly insignificant moments of life. Personally, I always go to Jesus and ask for His help in finding my “lost” car keys. If we are going to be people of prayer, we must be willing to bring Jesus with us throughout the day and consult with Him about everything that is going on. Obviously Jesus already knows everything that is taking place in our lives and throughout the universe, but He still wants to hear from us about what we’re thinking and how we are feeling.

Take another look: God’s Word does not command us to “Pray continually . . . unless you are really busy.” It is not only possible to pray continually without making significant changes to your daily schedule, it is practical. I have heard it said that “This is like keeping some music playing in the background as we go about our daily routine.” What a wonderful picture of praying continually! Keeping the music of prayer playing throughout the day will keep us in close communion and intimate conversation with our Master, Jesus.

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

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

This is the beginning of Thanksgiving week, so I thought we would well to take a verse-by-verse look at this powerful passage throughout the week. I pray these messages will be a source of eternal encouragement to you.

Verse 16 — Rejoice Always

Notice that God’s Word does not tell us to rejoice when things are going well or when we are riding the crest of the wave or even when we feel like it. We are to rejoice always. I’m sure we would all agree that this goes against our natural inclinations. There are times when we simply do not feel like rejoicing! Whether we have encountered difficulties personally, professionally, or relationally, there are times when circumstances seem to argue vehemently against rejoicing. Yet Scripture tells us we do not get a vote on when we are to rejoice; no, we are to “Rejoice always.”

One of the more difficult and yet most valuable lessons I have learned during my years as a pastor is to maintain an eternal perspective. When we only focus on what is going on in our lives at the moment, rejoicing is sometimes the last thing we want to do. But when we look at our lives in light of eternity, we can and we will make the choice to rejoice. From life-altering news to daily frustrations and inconveniences, when we are living in the light of eternity, we are empowered to rejoice always, no matter what we are going through.

When we make the choice to rejoice, we are being proactive, rather than reactive. We are telling God we trust Him even when we cannot trace Him. Now, this does not mean that we don’t acknowledge the difficulties of daily living. We all struggle in our flesh with negativity, frustration, depression, bitterness, and countless other emotions that get in the way of rejoicing always. And make no mistake, God cares about everything we are going through and takes each heartache and heartbreak seriously. We can and should take everything to God and let Him carry our burdens.

Remember, the best place to live life is in the shadow of the cross. God cares so much for us that He sent Jesus to take our place on a cross. If we can think of no other reason to rejoice, we have this one: We have a Savior who redeemed us and reconciled us to Himself. We can rejoice in every circumstance because of who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and what He has promised to one day do: He will bring us into a place where there will be no more tears, sorrow, brokenness, or death. We will have arrived in our Promised Land. That is maintaining an eternal perspective. And that perspective gives us all the reason we need to rejoice always, wouldn’t you agree?

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

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

In our verse today, we see our Lord’s response to a wealthy young man who ran up to Jesus and asked how to receive eternal life. Even though “he had it all,” as we would say today, this young man knew, deep down, that he still was missing something. There was a God-sized hole in his heart that money and possessions could not fill. With all the good things this man had in life, he was hoping to add one more thing: eternal life.

Before we move ahead, I want to be sure that we’re all crystal clear on the truth that selling all our earthly possessions is not a requirement for eternal life. You see, it was not what this wealthy young man possessed that kept him out of heaven, it was what possessed him. His possessions possessed him and had him bound up in the temporal and the earthly, rather than the eternal and heavenly. The young man’s possessions were blocking the door to heaven and a right relationship with Jesus. For others, it could be pride or power or prestige or pleasure.

Jesus knew the young man’s barrier and gave him the solution. But, as we read in Mark’s gospel account, after Jesus had told him exactly what he needed to do to receive eternal life, the young man “went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22).

Truly, this is a sad story. This man refused to give up his earthly wealth to gain treasure in heaven. And I’d like to add something here about him going away sad: He wasn’t sad because he had great wealth; he was sad because he was walking away from Jesus! Deep down in his heart, he knew that what he had come looking for was standing right in front of him, inviting him into a life of meaning, significance, and purpose — a life that would never end — but he refused to let go of the here and now in order to take hold of the there and then.

We do indeed have a Cosmic Cardiologist who knows the condition of our hearts and knows exactly what we need to grab hold of and what we need to release. The question is, Do we know what we need to pursue and what we need to turn away from? And are we willing to make the necessary changes now? I plead with you, as an ambassador of Christ, do not delay! Be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Until we put God first in our lives, we will always fell that nagging inner ache the rich man had, because nothing can fill up the space in our hearts that only Jesus can fill. “Come,” He says to you now, “follow Me.”

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

Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21)

Just as the Father sent Jesus to do His will in this world, Jesus sends us too. The question is, have we answered the call to expand the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven?

We will always have two choices in life: We can focus on expanding the cause of our own little kingdom or focus on expanding the cause of the Kingdom of Christ. God will not force us to do His will. We must decide. As Joshua said, we must choose this day whom we will serve. The only way we will experience the sense of meaning, significance, and purpose we were created for is when we are serving the One who sent us.

God has chosen to use broken vessels, marred and scarred by sin, to do His work in this world because that’s all He has available to use. And when God sends us, He also equips us for the work we are sent to do. We don’t need to be plagued by “What if?” or “How do I?” questions when we are answering our call. We simply need to trust that Jesus will work out all the details of that call as we make our way through it each day.

Experience has taught me that God does not send the equipped; He simply equips those He sends as they proceed along the way. It is very much like our daily bread. God gives us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it, so that we can do everything He has called us to do.

God has prepared you for this moment — right now, right where this finds you — to move forward in faith to expand the cause of His kingdom. Walk by faith and not by feelings, trusting that God will guide you into His perfect plan and purpose for your imperfect life. Look to Jesus. Lean on Jesus. Learn from Jesus. You have been sent for such a time as this!

One final word of encouragement: God does not need any of us in order for His purposes to prevail. God’s will will be accomplished, with or without us. But God wants us, and that makes all the difference in the world!   

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