Category Archives: General

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

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 this:

Are we truly 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 our tendency to be more focused on pleasing men than on pleasing God. Make no mistake, people pleasers do not make a durable difference in the world! They find their deepest satisfaction when others are pleased and accepting of them. But this was not the life for the apostle Paul:

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

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 despised the thought of living life without Christ at the center and circumference of it. And he was willing to set all other things aside—indeed, he considered them “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8)—in order to pursue the faithful and fruitful service of his Lord. Paul made no account of his life apart from the life that the Lord Jesus had called him to live when He appeared to Paul 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.

Can the same be said of you today? Are you making a durable difference by the life you are living? Your answer can be a resounding “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. When you are living for Jesus and pouring yourself out for the advancement of His kingdom, you can know in no uncertain terms that the life you are living is making a durable difference—even an eternal 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)

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. . . . Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. (Genesis 5:22, 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? What would be the testimony of God about our lives?

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. Today, you and I 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 together 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 that person. 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. When we do that, we are affirming that God is the greatest good in our life, and we live at the level described by A. W. Tozer: We “live in a state of unbroken worship.”

Walking by faith is trusting God even when we cannot trace Him. We walk 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. And Enoch was not alone in the biblical account. It is said of Noah that he was “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). This is God’s 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 heart’s deepest desire to live a life marked by walking with your God wherever He leads, knowing that it will ultimately be for His glory and your good.

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

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

I have a word of encouragement for you today that can be found in two simple yet profound words: “so loved.” Think about this for a moment; writing his gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the apostle John could find no better word than “so” to describe God’s love for you. So regardless of where this finds you today, remember that you are “so loved” by your God.

These truly seem to be the best of all words, because who among us could define just how loved we are by God? Words cannot describe the kind of love our God has for us in Christ Jesus.

• When we lived in sin and cared not for the things of God . . . we were so loved.
• When we were rebels on the run away from God instead of toward Him . . . we were so loved.
• When God sent His only beloved Son to take our place on a cross so that our sins could be forgiven . . . we were so loved.
• When God turned away from His beloved Son as He cried out from that cruel cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” . . . we were so loved.

Truly there is no human definition that adequately describes what it means to be “so loved” by God. This should be both an encouragement and a comfort for you today.

Perhaps this finds you in a season of struggle. Or maybe Satan has been sowing seeds of discouragement in the garden of your mind. Could it be that you have been doubting the security of your place in God’s family of faith? Regardless of what may be causing you distress, let me encourage you to meditate on and marinate in the truth that the apostle John penned for you 2000 years ago: you are “so loved” by God—right now, right where this finds you.

I pray that you will live this day and all the days God gives you in light of this truth. Whether the road ahead is filled with rough patches and potholes of painful providences or it is straight and smooth because of the tender mercies of God, remember that you are “so loved.” Now, that’s a truth that will set you free to be all God is calling you to be

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

Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. (2 Corinthians 12:14)

When Jesus came into this world, He turned it upside down. The first became last and the last became first. The up were down and the down were up. It was far better to give than to receive. And Jesus Himself, who was sitting upon the throne of heaven, took off His outer garments, wrapped a towel around His waist, took a basin of water, and began to wash His disciples’ feet. The King of kings had taken on the role of a lowly servant. These are just a few examples of the radical transformation that our Lord wrought.

And yet, in a little over 2,000 years, far too many in the church of Jesus Christ have turned the world back in the other direction . . . and that direction is not the one we ought to be going in!

When I am sharing this concept with people in the church, they often ask how they can know for sure if they are living in the world that Jesus turned upside down . . . or if they are inhabiting the world that men have turned back the other way. It really is simple. Answer this question:

What do you seek after most in life? God . . . or the good gifts He gives you?

Now, I am not talking about what we all do from time to time—shifting our focus from our Savior to the stuff of life. What I am talking about is identifying the driving force in our lives. What is it that gets us up early and keeps us up late? Is it time we can spend with God and deepening our understanding of Him? Or is it time we can spend with the good gifts He has given us?

Go back over 2 Corinthians 12:14, our verse for today. The apostle Paul was making his third missionary journey to Corinth; look where his focus was. The love that Paul had for Jesus Christ poured out into the lives of those he ministered to, and because of this Paul could say, “What I want is not your possessions but you!”

Clearly this is a reflection of the heart of the great apostle. His world had been turned upside down by Jesus on the road to Damascus, and he chose to live in that upside-down world from that day forward. Never was he focused on the many good gifts God had given to him; Paul was always and in every way focused solely on God. He wanted more and more of his relationship with God; because of this burning desire deep within his heart, he focused more on people than he did on their possessions.

May that be the confession of our lives as we live in the upside-down world where we become servant to all and slave to our Savior. At this level of living, we will be able to say to God each day what Paul was able to say:

I WANT YOU . . . NOT WHAT IS YOURS!

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

Tomorrow will mark the 500^th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, which flared into life on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther published his Ninety-Five Theses and posted them on the door of the church at Wittenberg. It was the goal of Luther, John Calvin, and the other Reformers to “reform” the Roman Catholic Church by reconnecting Christianity to the original message of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel . . . summarized in five Latin phrases, often called “The Five Solas,” which emerged out of the Reformation:

1. Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone
2. Sola Fide – Faith alone
3. Sola Gratia – Grace alone
4. Solus Christus – Christ alone
5. Soli Deo Gloria – To the glory of God alone

500 years later, Luther’s legacy under the lordship of Jesus Christ is enormous: there are 560 million Protestants world-wide, which accounts for more than a third of the world’s professing Christians.

I’d like you to consider some findings from a new Pew Research Survey that clearly demonstrate that American Protestants are distancing themselves from the fundamental biblical beliefs that undergirded the Reformation. At the very least, American Protestants completely misunderstand what those beliefs actually are.

Of all the Professing American Protestants . . .

• 52% believe faith and works are needed to get into heaven
• 52% believe church teaching and traditions are also needed
• Only 46% believe faith alone in Jesus is required for salvation (sola fide)
• Only 46% believe that the Scriptures are sufficient for faith and practice

How far we have fallen in 500 years! More than half of all professing Christians in America stated that faith in Jesus Christ alone is not enough for salvation; they believe that faith in Jesus plus their good works (church attendance, acts of mercy and service, giving, etc.) are required for eternal life. (Such an understanding, of course, is entirely unbiblical, running counter to the doctrine Sola Fide—by faith alone—which is expressed in Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:5-6, and elsewhere.) And more than half of all professing Christians in America believe the Bible plus the teachings and traditions of man are necessary for living a Christian life that is pleasing and acceptable to God, rather than trusting in the clear assertion of 2 Timothy 3:17 that the teachings of God’s Word leaves the believer “thoroughly equipped” for every good work.

What has brought us to this sad station? How did the wheels come off “The Truth Track”? To be sure, there are many factors, including our sinful nature, a stubborn belief in universalism, an increasing desire for things below rather than things above, and simple spiritual sluggishness. But I am convinced that the men who stand in pulpits all across our country bear the greatest weight of responsibility for our drift away from Reformation truths. When pastors find it more important to preach messages that meet people at the level of “felt needs,” rather than true needs, we have begun our return to the Dark Ages.

The whole counsel of God is the light that must be directed into this dark and depraved world, not “gospel-lite” messages. When the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is no longer preached from our pulpits, we allow the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil to infect our congregations. And thus it is no surprise to see survey results like these in a “cultural church” context that sees the average professing Christian attending church once a month, abandoning any thought of attending Sunday School or Bible studies which would add another hour at church, and little or no time for family devotions and personal Bible Study.

And what starts as an infection that is barely visible festers and becomes an insidious disease that is emptying out our churches. Why? Because motivational messages, inspirational insights, and secular stories will not hold up when the storm winds begin to blow and the waves of challenge come crashing down on you. And those storms come with great regularity! As I frequently remind our congregation at Cross Community Church, there are only three stages in life on this side of the grave. Either you are . . .

In the midst of a storm

Heading out of a storm

Or heading back into a storm!

So what is the way forward? I would insist that, even after 500 years, the Protestant church must keep reforming! We must reclaim the pulpit for its intended purpose: preaching the wisdom of the whole counsel of God, not the wisdom of the world. When we preach messages designed to tickle ears, meet felt needs, and fill seats, we forsake souls; God will call those who hold the privileged position of preaching His Word to account for their empty messages.

On the eve of the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, it is my prayer that every pulpit will proclaim the inspired truth of Scripture alone, preaching salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

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

“He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:7)

All of us who have worked in business have been involved in cancelled meetings, whether the meeting was cancelled on us or we cancelled the meeting ourselves. And there has undoubtedly been at least one time in our lives when a boss or coworker said to us, “Where were you? I sent you an invite!” And we realize that we have completely missed a meeting that did take place and that we were supposed to attend.

But there is One who never misses a meeting . . . and His name is Jesus Christ.

Not long before He was arrested and crucified, Jesus told His disciples that He would meet them in Galilee after His resurrection (Matthew 26:32). The women went to the tomb on that glorious morning, saw that the stone had been rolled away, and looked in. They saw an angel dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side of the tomb. They were alarmed, trembling and bewildered, as you might imagine. Then the angel told them that Jesus had risen from the dead and gone ahead of them into Galilee, where He had promised to meet them after His resurrection. Even death itself could not keep Jesus from His intended meeting.

You and I may miss meetings for any number of reasons, but make no mistake, the Master never misses a meeting! Jesus has promised to meet you in a myriad of ways in your daily living. He has promised to meet you continually in prayer. The throne of grace is always accessible to those who approach. He has promised to meet you in His Word. The Bible is “living and active” and is always available to meet you in your deepest place of need, whenever and wherever you are. He has promised to meet you in church. Corporate worship is one of God’s special meeting places where we meet with our Master.

But these are not the only meeting places ordained by our Master! We expect to meet our Master when we are on our knees in fervent prayer. We expect to meet our Master when we are meditating on and marinating in the Word of God. We expect to meet our Master when we come to His house to praise and worship His mighty name. We quickly give thanks to Him when we get good things happen: the promotion at work . . . seeing a beloved friend you hadn’t seen for years . . . deliverance from some health issue.

But Jesus often meets us in places we would never expect. Perhaps it is a divine appointment in the checkout line at the grocery store . . . you know the one: the shortest line with the longest wait! Maybe it is at a sporting event or a social gathering when you bump into someone you had not seen for years . . . and you hadn’t been missing that person all that much! Possibly you are at the doctor’s office . . . and the test results are not what you wanted to hear.

Now notice the words in our verse today, Mark 16:7—“He is going ahead of you.” Jesus always goes ahead of you. Jesus is always first in fellowship with His family of faith . . . and if you have trusted in Christ for your salvation, you are part of that family! His strength goes ahead of you. His grace goes ahead of you. His mercy goes ahead of you, because your Master never missed a meeting . . . just as He told you.

Perhaps it is time for you to look more closely for your Master in your meetings.

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

Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)

The Bible teaches us that there is indeed a proper place for argument with the Almighty in the life of the disciple of Christ. Let’s examine this idea, and may you be encouraged to continue fighting the good fight of faith as you begin yet another week of walking with our Lord.

Some of the great saints in sacred Scripture can be found arguing with God . . . and God allowed it for His glory and their good.

Consider Gideon. When God called him to lead the Israelites in battle against the mighty Midianite Army, Gideon argued with God. First, he argued that his clan was too weak and that he, Gideon, was too insignificant. Then he asked for confirmation that he was really hearing from God; but even after realizing that he had spoken face-to-face with the preincarnate Christ, Gideon still argued for a sign, wanting to be absolutely sure that the Lord intended for him to lead Israel. Gideon set out a fleece of wool on the dry threshing floor and said if there was dew on the fleece alone the next morning, he would believe God’s message. God caused that to happen just as Gideon had asked, but Gideon argued yet again, this time asking for the fleece to be dry and dew to be on the ground all around it. Once again, God graciously accommodated to Gideon’s arguing. Finally, fully convinced, Gideon watched in amazement as God shrank his army down from 32.000 men to only 300. Gideon then went forth and led the Israelites in victory against Midian.

Please note this all-important biblical truth:

Almighty argument is allowed only to convince us . . . never to convince God!

Consider Moses at the burning bush; God commanded Him to go back to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from Pharaoh’s bondage. Moses had absolutely no desire to go back to Egypt, from which he had fled 40 years earlier after he killed the Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. First, Moses argued from his inadequacy to answer God’s call (just as Gideon did). After God accommodated that argument, Moses anticipated a question from God’s people and argued from the basis of unbelief, objecting that the Israelites would never believe God sent him as their deliverer. After God accommodated that argument, Moses went on to argue that he lacked the ability to speak eloquently. After God accommodated that argument, notice what happened next:

Moses said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. (Exodus 3:13-14)

Argument with the Almighty is allowed . . . but there is indeed a limit. God allows our argument only to the point of clearly confirming our call. Once confirmed by God, we then must answer the call . . . not argue any longer against it.

It is natural for us to argue with the Almighty against His call just like Gideon and Moses. Do you know why? Because God never calls us to anything that does not require God’s strength to accomplish it. And therein lies the rub. We fear having to trust and depend solely upon God, but that is the only way God works with His people! God always calls us to do what we could never do in our own strength so that we, and all those around us, will know that it was God—and not us—who is responsible for the victory.

So let me ask you this question: Have you been arguing with God about something He has been calling you to do? Perhaps it is time to walk by faith and not by sight and see what marvelous and mighty things God has called you to do for His glory and the expansion of His Kingdom.

Oh, by the way, if you’re wondering why I began today’s message with Matthew 4:19, it is because I wanted to highlight the response of Peter and Andrew to the call of the Word of God on their lives: “At once they left their nets and followed him.”

May that be the confession of your life and mine: “Here am I; send me!”

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

Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you.  (Psalm 119:91)

Did you know that God’s greatest servant is also our greatest fear? At least it is the greatest fear for those who know not the Christ, and that fear is . . .

DEATH!

What is death? First, it is the promised consequence of disobedience that God made to Adam in Eden. And God made good on His promise after Adam and Eve sinned. They died spiritually immediately, just as God had warned, and they would die physically years later. Along with humanity, all of creation was affected by their sin and it still groans today (Romans 8:22).

But death is more than just the promised consequence of disobeying God; death is God’s servant. In fact, death is God’s greatest servant. Why? Because death brings every child of God home to that place that the Savior has been preparing for us (John 14:2).

For unbelievers, death is a terrifying thing. Whether they believe it or not, death apart from Christ is the doorway leading into hell, an eternity of separation from the love of God, where “the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). Death for the unbeliever is the awful entrance into the eternal wrath and judgment of God. To be sure, death is fearful beyond words for those who have not surrendered control of their lives to Christ, but for the Christian believer who has transferred trust from self to the Savior, death is God’s greatest servant.

Marinate for a moment on what the apostle Paul said about God’s greatest servant:

To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

Death is gain for the believer; it is unimaginable gain—so much so that it is too great for our finite minds to comprehend. Scripture tells us, “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and the mind has not conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Every day on this side of the grave is pointing to that day, the day when we will be welcomed home into glory.

Death comes to all of us. But it comes to the believer as a minister of the Master, doing the Lord’s bidding in bringing us to our real home, a glorious home where we will live forever and ever with our Lord and all of His people.

Let me close with some lovely words from C. S. Lewis. This is the conclusion to The Last Battle, the final book in The Chronicles of Narnia series:

All their life in this world and all their adventures had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

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

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight.  (Jeremiah 15:16)

When I ask members of our congregation, “What does the Bible mean to you?” their true answer is easy to discern, no matter what they might say; The Bible means as much to you as the amount of time you spend in it. It really is that simple. Think about others things in life. The more you like something—a special food, a favorite recreation, an important relationship—the more time you spend engaging with it. Well, the same is true for the Word of God.

Think about our opening verse for a moment. What do you think the Word of God meant to the prophet Jeremiah? Jeremiah was on what I call a “Divine Diet.” He feasted on the Word of God; and when God’s Word is your food, it becomes your joy and your heart’s delight.

What have you been feasting on lately? How much time do you spend in God’s Word each day? How has the Word of God been shaping and sharpening your life?

I think we would agree that Jesus knew the Word of God better than anyone . . . spoke the Word of God better than anyone . . . and lived out the truths of the Word of God better than anyone. When Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34), He was making it perfectly clear just how important the Scriptures were to Him. As God, Jesus was the Word of God. But as a man, He needed to study, meditate on, and marinate in, and pray through the Word of God in order to know and do the will of God. And what was true for Jesus then is true for you and me today.

Because the Word of God is both living and active (Hebrews 4:12), the more we come to it, the more alive we are made to it, and the more active we become in living it out. When we are on a Divine Diet of both the Old and the New Testaments, we become more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and we are increasingly strengthened to follow wherever He is leading us.

Remember, after Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested, He used the Word of God to defeat the devil, saying, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

So . . . how’s your diet? Are you getting all the nourishment you need to be all God is calling you to be? Remember, God wrote the Bible so we would read it . . . and the Book we don’t read won’t help!

One last thought: This is the only diet in the world where you can eat all you want, whenever you want, and all you will ever gain is a heart filled with joy!

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

“Be still and know that I am God.”  (Psalm 46:10)

Many of us have a tendency to think that if we are not busily and frenetically engaged in doing something for the Lord, then we are doing nothing for Him. Not true! What about the times when we are to sit at the feet of our Savior and be still?

Being still is still something, and it is the something we all need much more than we think we do. Why? Because the natural man is addicted to activity. We think we must be like the Energizer Bunny and just keep going and going and going . . .

I want to encourage you today with two examples from Scripture which demonstrate that being still is still something.

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more.” (Exodus 14:13)

After having been freed from more than 400 years of bondage in Egypt, the Israelites were on the way toward the Promised Land. There was a major problem, however; Pharaoh had changed his mind about freeing the people and was furiously pursuing the Israelites, who were confronted by a seemingly impassable roadblock: the Red Sea. You know the story: after a bit of grumbling and complaining, the people of God obeyed the command to “stand still,” and they did indeed see and experience the salvation of the Lord as they walked through the Red Sea on dry ground and then saw the waters close over the Egyptian army and destroy it.

Being still was still something for the Israelites; it demonstrated their trust in and dependence on the Lord God. Now let’s look at the New Testament:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and aside, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42)

What a profound illustration of being still still being something! In fact, Jesus indicated that it is the best of things. Martha and her sister Mary were both busily engaged in preparing the meal for Jesus. Both women served the Lord and both loved the Lord. But Martha saw the meal as the most important thing, while Mary saw the Master as the most important thing. Martha was addicted to activity; Mary was adoring Jesus.

The message is clear. There is most definitely a time to work . . . but there are also those vitally important times for us to be still in the presence of our Savior. The question that you and I must ask ourselves is this: “Does my life reflect my understanding of the importance of both those times?”

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