Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

We all know about the importance of taking good care of the temple of the Holy Spirit with a “workout” plan that includes consistent exercise, sound nutrition, and adequate rest, especially after a Christmas day of feasting on tasty treats, if you are anything like me. Today, I want to encourage you with another kind of “workout,” one that builds your temple from the inside out.

First, let me make something perfectly clear. The apostle Paul is not suggesting that we need to “workout” a salvation that we can lose if we do not have the right kind of workout and produce the right kind of results, living in a continual condition of fear. That beloved, would violate not only the good news of the gospel, but all of sacred Scripture. The fear Paul is speaking about is best translated as “reverence” or “respect” for our Redeemer.

So, what does it look like for the Christian to work out their salvation? It starts with a desire to live obediently before the face of God. The primary witness of our “work out” is to be found in our practice of obedience to the Lord. Notice I did not say the perfection of obedience, because that will not happen until we cross the Jordan and are received into glory. Along the way, we will live lives marked by obedience and disobedience because the old sinful nature is in a constant struggle with the new sinless nature. 

The secondary witness of our “work out” is found in the environment in which we are “working out” in. An attitude of reverence and respect for the Almighty is to be the environment in which we “work out” in, remembering that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, we are to take seriously the call of Christ to live as obedient disciples. Even though we know we will “work out” our salvation imperfectly on this side of the grave, nonetheless, we desire to be obedient in all things. True disciples desire to live lives that are pleasing and acceptable to God. True disciples seek to use all of their time, talent, and treasure for the advancement of the kingdom of God. True disciples look to glorify God is all things.

So, what has the witness of your “work out” been saying to those around you? In what areas are you working well? In what areas do you need to put in a little extra effort. Remember, the same grace that saved you is the same grace that is sanctifying you . . . and it is all of grace. Yet, God has called each one of us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” May this be the confession of our lives.

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

“That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.” (Linus – Charlie Brown Christmas Special)

As a little boy growing up, A Charlie Brown Christmas was my favorite. When I was a boy, my mom and I would search through the TV Guide to see when it was on so we would not miss it. Today, we can just put in the DVD and watch it anytime we want – which is often during the Christmas Season. The part that caught my attention long before I was a Christian was when Linus responded to the question asked by Charlie Brown, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Here is the response from Linus, right out of Sacred Scripture:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:8-14 KJV

And with that being said, Linus picks up his blanket and shuffles off-stage. Why? Because he said it all. That is what Christmas is all about – the Christ Child. Jesus is the Reason for the Season. This is the greatest Christmas present the world has ever been given. May we rejoice in having received this great Gift by grace through faith, and may we respond by sharing this great Gift with others because that’s what Christmas is all about.

Tomorrow is Christmas Day – may yours be filled with the presence and power of Christ.

He chose our inheritance for us. (Psalm 47:4)

Infinite wisdom has chosen for us His “Inspired Inheritance.” He who knows what is best knows what is best for us and when we come to this understanding, we come to that place where we can rest in our redemption.

Left to our own design, we would never choose the best destiny either in this life or in the next life because we are making those decisions from the place of a wisdom that is not only finite and fallible, but utterly fallen. Again, the old saying is as true as it always is timely, “Father knows best!” When God is at the helm of our lives, we can rest assured that He will steer us into His intended port of call. Now notice two biblical truths:

1. This does not mean God will not steer us into the storms of life. To be sure, our God has ordained storms to strengthen us for the ministry of service in which we have been called.
2. This does mean God will be with us in the storm. Like the disciples in the boat when the storm winds arose out on the sea, the Lord was with them asleep on a cushion, in complete control of everything that was going on. 

Every inheritance we receive from the hand of our Lord is as intentional as it is inspired. It is always delivered for two simple reasons: God’s glory and our good. Now I know by way of personal experience, that this is often difficult to see when we are in the middle of the storm. Some storms simply seem to pop up out of nowhere and wreak havoc in our lives. But this is simply not true. Nothing just pops up in the life of the disciple of Christ. Everything happens “on-purpose” because it is according to His purpose.

So, regardless of where this finds you today, let me ask you this question: “Who would you rather have choosing your inheritance, your Savior or yourself?” As for me and my house, we shall choose that Jesus makes the choice for us. Remember, if this finds you in a painful present place today, this did not happen by accident. God chose this for you and He is working it all out for your absolute good no matter how bad it is. We must remember to trust the heart of our God in all circumstances even when we cannot trace His hand. Have you received your “Inspired Inheritance” today?

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

“Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.” (Luke 15:9)

In the ancient world in Palestine, it was common for women to receive ten silver coins as a wedding present. These coins had both a monetary value and a sentimental value, kind of like a wedding ring would have today. To lose a single coin would be as distressing as it was upsetting. So the woman who lost the coin would search everywhere until she found it. And just as the woman would rejoice and celebrate with her friends, so too, the angles in heaven rejoice and celebrate when one lost sinner is repents and turns to God.

Here are a few things to take from this story that will both comfort and challenge you as a “Christian Coin” –

• We were lost because of our sin
• We had no interest in being found
• We were the object of a search by the One who wanted us
• We were found by the One who searched for us
• We were celebrated by the One who found us

Remember this important point in the story: even though the woman still had nine coins in her possession, she went after that one lost coin and would not stop until she found it. God loves us so much and desires deeply to be in a right relationship with us, regardless of how many other coins He has, He still goes after that one lost coin and will not stop until that coin has been found. Why? Because that single lost coin has true value and the same is true for every lost sinner in the eyes of our Lord.

Oh, one final point. There was a cost for the woman in finding her lost coin. “Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it.” First, to light a lamp would be costly simply because of the oil expended. Next, she does not just glance here and there, but uses a broom to sweep the whole house, searching diligently and carefully until the coin is found. Remember, Jesus was making this point to the self-righteousness religious leaders who cared not for others. Certainly, they had no concern for “sinners.” But Jesus came to seek and to save lost sinners and He paid the ultimate cost to have them – His precious blood shed on a cross. 

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

Love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

We have a “Cosmic Covering” in our Lord Jesus Christ. To “cover” at the deepest level of understanding is to forgive and to forget and only God has the ability to do that over and over again in our lives.

While Jesus hung on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Once we have this truth firmly planted in our understanding, we can begin to live it out in our lives with others, which is specifically what Peter is referring to in today’s passage. Peter is talking about interpersonal relationships on the horizontal level. Only as we are able to love others as Jesus has loved us – by forgiving as we have been forgiven – can we truly be considered His disciples. Because we have been given this “Cosmic Covering,” we must be willing to share it with others.

But what we must remember in our interpersonal relationships is the fact that love covers a “multitude” of sins . . . not all of them . . . and Paul makes this clear in the following ways:

• We are to separate ourselves from those who claim to be believers and still live immoral and destructive lives (1 Corinthians 5:11)
• We are to give a word of warning to those who are living idle and disruptive lives (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
• We are to bring restoration to anyone who has been caught in the snare of sin (Galatians 6:1)
• We are not to participate with others in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather we are to shed light on them (Ephesians 5:11)

To be sure, the life of the believer is a life lived in the shadow of the cross, as we forgive and forbear. Love does indeed cover a multitude of sins. Yet, there are sins that must be addressed in love when someone’s sin is destructive to them, others, and us. There are biblical boundaries for every relationship if that relationship is to being glory to God and good to others and the truth of those boundaries must always be clearly communicated in LOVE.

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

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

Most of us would be quite familiar with the biblical title, “The Prince of Peace,” rooted in the prophecy of Isaiah. But are we as familiar with the biblical title, “The Prince of Prayer?” One of the most neglected understandings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the church today is the continually heavenly intercession He is making on our behalf.

We have a tendency to focus primarily on what God in Christ has done for us in the past and what He has promised to do in the future, but we have a tendency to minimize or even forget what Jesus is doing right now for us. To be sure, everything that was needed for our salvation has already been done for us through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and supernatural resurrection of our Lord Jesus. All that comes under the heading of our Justification. But we must never forget that the work of our Lord is not finished as it relates to our sanctification and growing and maturing in our faith. And that comes under the heading of His Intercession.

Now it’s important to understand this ongoing work of our Lord doesn’t mean anything related to our right standing before God was left unfinished. When we understand that Jesus is always making intercession for us, we are to see it as the application of what His atonement has accomplished. His intercession is a powerful picture of the fulness of His victory and His cry on the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), through the daily, and even, moment by moment, application of all that Jesus accomplished on our behalf.

Here is something to remember that will be both a comfort and a challenge. Just as Satan is continually accusing us and pointing out our sins and shortcomings, Jesus is interceding for us, which means Satan’s accusations fall on “Divine Deaf Ears!” There is no condemnation for the believer (Romans 8:1), and not until that truth seizes us will we be able to withstand the slings and arrows of the evil one. On final point – you need no other mediator between you and God. Jesus is the One and Only Mediator as the God-man who has your back in every set of circumstances you find yourself in. Oh, Jesus also has your front, sides, and inside too because Jesus is your Prince of Prayer who is continually making intercession for you.

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

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!  As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

I have a word of great comfort for you today rooted in the passage from which our verse was taken. The apostle Paul was in harm’s way after having confronted the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. The uproar was so great that the Roman guard needed to take Paul away and put him into the barracks for his own protection. While some of the religious leaders were plotting to kill Paul, the angel of the Lord told Paul that he was in a word . . . UNTOUCHABLE . . . because God was not finished with him yet. And the same is true for you and me. 

The Bible makes it clear that we are all “immortal” until our work is done. God’s purposes will be accomplished and nothing and no one will stand in His way. It mattered not that the corrupt religious leaders had conspired to kill the apostle Paul. In fact, the narrative tells us that “more than forty men were involved in this plot” (Acts 23:13). Forty men were no match for God, because God was not finished with Paul yet. The whole world could have taken its stand against Paul, but they were impotent to do anything to Him while Omnipotence had more work for him to do. 

Make no mistake, when your work for your Lord is done, He will usher you into His eternal presence along with all the saints of God. But that will not happen one moment before you have completed your assignment here on earth. So, receive what the angel of the Lord said to Paul, “Take courage!”- because God is not finished with you yet. As an ambassador of the Almighty, your safe passage is guaranteed while you are fulfilling your service for your Savior.    

So, as a disciple of Jesus, you have been called to testify to the truth. Every child of God has been given the assignment of participating in the expansion of the kingdom of God. Is there anything keeping you from fulfilling your calling? Remember, the Lord is standing right by your side every step of the way into glory. His promise is to never leave nor forsake you. Therefore, be at peace as you participate in the greatest work on this side of the grave – witnessing for Christ. Let this truth sink in and ultimately set you free – He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion regardless of the cost or circumstances you face because greater is He who is in you than the one who is in this world. No weapon formed will keep you from finishing the work God has set before you to do because under the care of the Almighty, you are UNTOUCHABLE. 

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

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (Philippians 3:7)

Because we have been made in the image and likeness of God, we have been made to make a durable difference in the world around us. So the question before you and me today is – “Are we making a difference that is durable?” 

To be sure, there are many things that get in the way of making a durable difference in the world around us. One of those things is to be more focused on pleasing man rather than pleasing God. Make no mistake, people pleasers do not make a durable difference in the world because they are more concerned with what others think of them rather than what God thinks of them. They find their deepest satisfaction when others are pleased and accepting of them.  But this was not the life for the apostle Paul and that is why he made a durable difference.

I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may accomplish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  Acts 20:24

These are the sentiments of a man who made a durable difference in the world. Now it was not that the apostle despaired of life itself. Rather, he despaired of life without Christ as the center and circumference of it. And he was willing to give it up in the faithful and fruitful service of his Lord. Paul made no account of his life apart from the life the Lord Jesus had called him to live on the road to Damascus. 

Paul’s goal was to accomplish or finish his course or race. He knew a durable difference would only be made when he crossed the finish line of life having given all he had and all he was as a testimony to the gospel of the grace of God. Paul purposed to live a life for something bigger than just his life. He lived for His Savior. He refused to shrink the size of his life down to the size of his life. Paul lived to please God, not man, and in doing so, he made a durable difference as a disciple of Jesus. 

So, can the same be said about you today? Are you making a durable difference by the life you are currently living? The answer of course is YES if you are living your life for the glory of God and the good of others. It matters not what your station in life is.  What matters is who you are living for in your current station. And when you are living for Jesus and pouring yourself out for the advancement of His kingdom, then you can know in no uncertain terms, that the life you are living is making a durable difference in the world around you. 

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

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”  For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. (Hebrews 11:5)                                                                                                                                        

It is said that Enoch lived such a holy and righteous life that God Himself testified to it . . . not once, but twice in sacred Scripture.

After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years.  Genesis 5:22

Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.  Genesis 5:24

So pleased is God when we walk by faith before Him, that He is committed to testifying to it as a fact before men. In essence, this is the testimony of God to a life well lived before His face and in the presence of others. Enoch walked faithfully with God every step of the way into heaven. Can the same be said about us? Is our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ a walk that is rooted in faith or a walk that is rooted in sight . . . and what would be the testimony of God?

Look at it this way. Never do we more closely bear the image of our God than when we are walking faithfully with Him. And never is God more pleased with us than when we are bearing more of His image. To be sure, when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, the image of God in them was stained by sin and that stain marred its perfection. Now we bear God’s image imperfectly in everything we do, but we do still bear God’s image. And never do we bear it more than when we are walking faithfully with our God. 

To walk with someone is to be in close proximity with them. As you walk, you talk, and your attention is focused on the one you are walking with. You are in step with that person and you share a time of intimate companionship with them. This is what it means to walk faithfully with your God. We are in close proximity to Him. We are focused on Him. We are sharing a time of intimate fellowship with Him and when we do, we are affirming that God is the greatest good in our life. When we do, we live at the level described by A. W. Tozer – “to live in a state of unbroken worship.” 

Walking by faith is faithfully trusting God even when we cannot trace Him. This is a life marked by walking in unwavering obedience to His Word and His will regardless of the cost or circumstance. This was the confession of the life lived by Enoch. But he was not alone in the biblical account. It is said of Noah that as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). And this is God goal for every one of His children and He is committed to testifying to it. 

So, be encouraged today by the example of Enoch. Make it your hearts deepest desire to live a life marked by walking with your God, wherever He leads knowing it will ultimately be for His glory and your good. 

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

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. (Revelation 3:7)

What a word of encouragement this is for us today. Our God is the keeper of the Gate into glory. It is God who holds the key that unlocks the door leading to eternal life, and it is God who locks it keeping all those who have entered in eternally safe. This is the key of David and it is designed to both encourage and comfort you not only today, but all the way into glory. Here are some of the incredible implications:

Salvation is rooted in . . .

• God’s mercy – not our merit
• God’s grace – not our good works
• God’s good pleasure – not our posturing

The gate that allows access into eternal life is opened by God and God alone. He is the one who extends His invitation. He is the one who pours out His grace. He is the one who offers His mercy. And when we receive it by faith, we can be assured that our home in heaven is absolutely assured. In addition, that same gate that allows access into eternal life on the other side of the grave, is closed and secured by God too. What this means is eternal life is assured and judgment is certain. 

You see, today is a day of invitation for all those who are outside the gate. God in Christ has extended His invitation to everyone who will trust in Christ alone for eternal life. The promise is eternal life for those who will abandon their self-salvation project and transfer their trust to the Savior. The flip side of this truth is – tomorrow may not be a day of invitation because we have breathed our last, and the door leading to eternal life is closed forever. So, if you have acknowledged yourself to be a sinner in need of a Savior and you have transferred your trust to Jesus Christ, rejoice knowing that a banquet is being prepared for you this day, and one day soon, you will be sitting at table with Jesus Christ.     

To know that your salvation is secure is to know that there is nothing in the entire universe that can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Not your sin. Not Satan. Nothing!  The door that was opened by your Savior has also been closed and locked behind you. Does that truth not fill you with unimaginable strength for the day ahead? If Jesus has the ultimate authority as the keeper of the gate, He is absolutely sovereign over everything detail of your life. Nothing happens to you that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands. And everything happens to you for two reasons: God’s glory and your eternal good. 

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