Category Archives: General

As we draw nearer to Valentine’s Day and our thoughts turn toward the ideas of “romance” and “love,” I am in the midst a series of five articles spotlighting the amazing love that God has poured out on all those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ. This is the third article in that series.

So . . . how encouraged are you by knowing that the love of Almighty God wrought you and sought you? Today you will be even more encouraged when you see that God’s love also CAUGHT you! That is all based on a single promise that God made to—of all people!—Satan.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

(Genesis 3:15)

When God makes a promise, you can take it straight to the bank and cash it. God promised to destroy the one who tempted Adam and Eve to turn away from Him. Here the first Gospel message (theologians call it the protoevangelium) was preached to the serpent: that the seed of the woman, the Savior of the world, would ultimately have victory over Satan by crushing his head. To be sure, the Savior would have His heel bruised, but His victory would not be denied. And that victory would grant you and me access to God’s love . . . the love that CAUGHT you!

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

(Luke 15:4-7)

Our Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one lost sheep. What a beautiful picture of God’s love that CAUGHT us in spite of our wandering. And make no mistake, we are most definitely prone to wander away from the loving care and protection of our Good Shepherd! And yet, just as God went after Adam and Eve to speak words of healing and hope and redemption, the Good Shepherd is not content to lose even one of His flock.

You know God’s love CAUGHT you when you find your heart filled with a godly sorrow as you repent over your sin. Our hearts should break when we know we have broken the holy heart of God. The difference between Judas and Peter was not evidenced by whose sin was more terrible; both men betrayed their Lord. One might even suggest that Peter’s sin was more grotesque; at least Judas admitted that he knew Jesus! No, the distinction lies in the condition of their hearts after their sin. Judas was filled with a man-centered sorrow, while Peter was filled with a godly sorrow. One led to death . . . the other to life.

Now if being WROUGHT, SOUGHT, and CAUGHT doesn’t light the fire of your faith . . . your wood is wet! What a powerful truth to marinate in today . . . to know that no matter where we go and what we do, we are never beyond the loving, forgiving reach of our Redeemer! And once we are His, nothing can separate us from the love of God that CAUGHT us!

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. . . . And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

(John 6:37, 39)

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

(John 10:27-30)

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

As many of us begin to think about Valentine’s Day and our hearts turn toward the idea of “love,” I wanted to present a series of five articles spotlighting the almost unimaginable love that God has poured out on you. This is the second article in that series.

After God wrought Adam and Eve, everything in creation was very good. We know this because God pronounced it so (Genesis 1:31). Our first parents were busily engaged in taking care of God’s creation, yet taking time to walk with Him in the cool of the day.

We saw in the previous article that God gave Adam a Cultural Mandate; that mandate contained only one prohibition. Let’s take a look:

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

(Genesis 2:15-17)

Man had authority and dominion over all things in the Garden . . . except God. That was the whole point of this one prohibition. There was nothing “bad” or wrong with the tree itself; the tree and its fruit were part of God’s good creation and had been pronounced “good” by God. The tree was simply a test. In essence, God was saying, “You can come this far, but no farther.”

Would Adam and Eve trust God? Would they submit to His ultimate authority? The moment of testing came, and . . .

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

(Genesis 3:6-10)

I remember Dr. Sproul telling us in seminary, “The word ‘fall’ is one way to describe what happened in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve disobeyed God. But I think a better word is PLUNGE!” I agree. Think about going from walking with God in the cool of the day to hiding from Him in the brush. Think about a wonderful relationship between God and man, one marked by love and trust, now replaced by fear. “Plunge” really does seem like a much better word to describe the fall, don’t you think?

But notice what is unfolding in this narrative. God came after those two rebels who were running away from Him. God’s love SOUGHT Adam and Eve. He refused to leave them in their shame and their sin.

Think about this for a moment: the Creator sought out the creature, two sinners who had just chosen to disobey God and follow the way of the serpent. And yet in spite of their awful revolt, God made a promise that will lead us to the next aspect of His love: CAUGHT!

More on Friday.

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

If I asked you which chapter in the Bible is known as the “love chapter,” how would you respond? All of sacred Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is rooted in the love of God, but most Christians would promptly identify the 13^th chapter of 1 Corinthians as the “love chapter” of the Bible.

Now, if I asked you which month on our calendar is known as the “love month,” how would you answer? Most would point to February, the month we have just started, because of Valentine’s Day. So as we move toward February 14^th, that special “love day,” I would like to sharpen our focus on the love of God that has been poured out on you under five headings: God’s love . . .

• WROUGHT YOU
• SOUGHT YOU
• CAUGHT YOU
• BOUGHT YOU
• TAUGHT YOU

Today, let’s see how God’s love WROUGHT you. The word wrought means to fashion, form, or create. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; He also created (wrought) you.

God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

You [O Lord] created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body . . .

(Psalm 139:13-16)

The unbelieving world tells us that we are merely a product of time plus matter plus chance; God reveals something altogether different. We are wrought by God, for God, and created in the image of God. Do you really believe God created you without a purpose in mind? Of course not! Everything that has been made has been created by its Creator for a purpose. The car maker has a purpose for creating the car. The watchmaker has a purpose for creating the watch. The ice cream maker has a purpose for creating the ice cream. And God has a purpose for creating YOU!

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, “I give you ever seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

(Genesis 1:28-30)

As an image bearer of the Most High God, you have been designed by your Maker to reflect His glory in all you think, do, say, and desire.

All of this comes under the heading of what theologians call the Cultural Mandate. You were wrought to be a creational caretaker of all that God has made. Now, since the fall in the Garden (which we will explore in the upcoming “CAUGHT YOU” devotional), our cultural caretaking must be accomplished by the sweat of our brow as we wrestle with the thorns and thistles of God’s judgment. Nonetheless, we have been given the very same mandate—both before and after the fall—to care for and have dominion over all that God created.

So . . . how are you doing in this very important area? Are you acting as a good steward?

More on the God’s amazing love for you coming on Wednesday.

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

In the previous blog, I wrote of “The Silence of THE Lamb,” and explained how that seeming silence is always a good thing. Today, I would like to speak of another kind of silence . . . one that is always sin.

Far too many saints of God hold their tongue when they should speak up on behalf of their Lord Jesus Christ. This is what I call “The silence of the saints.” We must remember that the Great Commission has been given to every saint from the pew to the pulpit. We have all been commanded by God to “Go and make disciples,” and the only way that can be done is when we speak what the Lord God has spoken to us.

Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.

(Exodus 4:12)

God uttered these words on the day when He spoke to Moses from the burning bush and commanded Moses to go back to Egypt to free the people of God. Moses feared Pharaoh, but truly Pharaoh had far more reason to be fearful of the slow-speaking Moses. The reason for that was simply . . .

Moses had God on his side!

God was not sending Moses back to Egypt alone. God promised to go with Moses, to help him speak, and to give him Moses the words to say. Moses was merely an instrument in the hands of the Almighty, one who would be used by God to free the Israelites from 400 years of bondage. The natural weakness and infirmity Moses experienced would now be connected to supernatural omnipotence. Nothing would be able to stop Moses in answering the call of God, because the call came with the assurance that the Caller would be with Moses every step of the way.

All of this is true for you and me today! How can we remain silent when God has called, equipped, and empowered us to expand the cause of His kingdom in this world? When we don’t have the words to say, God will give them to us. When we don’t have the strength to go, God will give us the strength. When we don’t have enough faith to believe, God will help us in our unbelief.

God’s Word to us is wisdom. God’s strength to us is empowerment. God’s presence with us is comfort. What have we to fear when our God has promised never to leave nor forsake us? As David sang to God,

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

(Psalm 56:3-4)

Greater is the power that is in you than any power that comes up against you! The fear Moses felt at the beginning of his call was quickly dispelled when God demonstrated His awesome power and might in the land of Egypt. God will not be mocked and His Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11). All we need to do is GO, knowing that our God will help us speak and teach us what to say to all those we meet.

Silence of the saints? May God forbid that this would ever be said about us, regardless of the cost or the circumstance!

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

Every Christian knows that prayer is the pathway to communion with God. And yet we also know that there are those times when it seems like heaven is silent. For some of us, the silence of the Lamb of God seems like a regular occurrence. Our faith is tested as we wait to hear from God after we have knocked on heaven’s door . . . only to find that the door does not swing open.

I called him but he did not answer.

(Song of Solomon 5:6)

All those who have been followers of Christ for some time can relate to this lament of the wise preacher by way of personal experience. We storm the gates of heaven . . . yet they seem to us as immovable as they are unconcerned. We petition and plead with our God, yet the Lamb of God remains silent. We are living out the experience of Job and Jeremiah.

I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer . . .

(Job 30:20)

You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.

(Lamentations 3:44)

Why does this happen? Time and again, Scripture exhorts us to ceaselessly pray; then why does it seem like no one is home in heaven? Because our Lamb knows exactly what we need, moment by moment; when we are looking for a YES to our petition, our Lamb’s seeming silence says one of two things: either NO or WAIT.

Charles Spurgeon explained it this way:

Thus have true saints continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because their prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but because it so pleased Him who is a Sovereign, and who gives according to His own pleasure. If it pleases Him to bid our patience exercise itself, shall He not do as He wills with His own! Beggars must not be choosers either as to time, place, or form. But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials. We must not suffer Satan to shake our confidence in the God of truth by pointing to our unanswered prayers.

What we must always keep in view is that God’s delays—“delays” from our perspective—are not God’s denials. God hears every prayer, and not a single one goes unanswered. Looking back in life, every seasoned saint will agree that we are truly grateful that God did not say YES to many of our petitions because NO was exceedingly better for us! And we can also testify to the truth that we emerged better and stronger Christians for the many times God made us wait on His response to our cry. Faith untried and untested is faith underdeveloped.

So the next time it seems like the LAMB is silent to your heartfelt cries, do not fear that you are unheard. God knows your heart before you can utter a word. Cry out and carry on, knowing that your Lord knows what is best for your life and will give you everything you need to do all He is calling you to do. You have His Word on that . . . even when you are facing the silence of the Lamb!

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

Did you know that school is ALWAYS in session for the Christian? I’m not talking about the formal education of “reading, writing, and arithmetic,” but rather about the school that is in session for every one of the saints of God, who have been commanded to love God—not only with all their heart, soul, and strength, but with their minds as well!

Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.”

(Matthew 23:37)

As my mentor and friend Dr. D James Kennedy was fond of telling the congregation, “Don’t check your mind at the narthex when you enter this church.” We have been saved by God to think: to think God’s thought after Him. In other words, we are to think “Christianly.” School is always in session for the saints of God.

The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

(Proverbs 15:14)

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.

(Proverbs 18:15)

Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

(1 Corinthians 14:20)

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

(2 Peter 3:18)

God tells us we are to be continually involved in holy higher education throughout our lives; there is never a time when we “graduate” and complete the schooling process. It is not enough for the Christian to have a heart that beats for Jesus, as important as that is. We must also have a mind that thinks like Jesus. We are commanded to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). God saves the soul, and in that process He also saves the mind.

The Christian mind knows that absolutely everything in this life has everything to do with God. We are to know nothing apart from Him, “For from him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36). We are to look at life through the lens of the Scriptures and make sure everything we think, say, and do, squares with God’s Word. The Bible provides the framework for living the life God has called us to live, and we are to live according to the wisdom of the Word . . . not the world. And that is why school is ALWAYS in session!

So . . . what kind of a student have you been? Have you been skipping any classes lately? Sleeping in? No worries! Every day is a new beginning and every new beginning is a new opportunity to become a serious student, committed to growing up into Christ. But it won’t happen by accident; it will only happen when we intentionally set our minds to the lifelong study of God, so that we may fully develop the mind of Christ.

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

There is a battle raging, and it rages inside of the heart of all those who, by grace through faith, are in Christ. To be sure, sin no longer reigns in the heart of the believer, but make no mistake; it still remains!

I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.

(Romans 7:23)

Imagine if you did not know this truth; could you ever believe you truly are a child of the Most High God? Praise God for this truth, given us from the inspired pen of the apostle Paul. He knew full well the battle that raged within; he knew it personally! But Paul also knew that this is a battle that we are called to be faithful in fighting. We must never become complacent about the sin that remains in our lives. We are to take sword to the enemy, not only daily, but moment by moment. This is the command from our Commander:

If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

(Romans 8:13-14)

A word of caution here: this is not a command that will cause you to live a perfect, sinless life on this side of the grave. Nonetheless, it is a command to desire nothing less! We cannot use the tired, worn-out, pagan phrase, “Well, that’s just the way I’ve always been and will always be.” Not true! All believers have been saved by the same grace that also sanctifies them. Grace is given us, not only to pay the penalty of our sin, but to defeat the pleasure of it also.

So . . . how faithful have you been fighting the sins that have been affecting you lately? Remember these words from D. L. Moody . . .

The ship belongs in the water of the world, but woe be unto that ship when that water gets into it!

Because God is faithful to forgive, we can come boldly to the throne of grace every day and confess our sins. We can admit our failures, knowing that our God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). Because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross—all of our sin—God has already forgiven us of every sin. And herein lies the key to fighting faithfully: knowing that we are fully forgiven and unconditionally loved. Keep that truth before you each day as you do battle with the enemy—not in your strength, but in the strength of the Almighty.

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

Have you ever wondered why God the Father—who is perfect in every way—would use imperfect people to accomplish His purposes in this world? I have, and the answer God gave me was pretty simple: that’s all He has available to Him!

“Wait a minute,” some of you might object. “What about the great heroes of the faith in the Bible—giants like Abraham and Sarah, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul? How do they fit into this ‘flawed’ picture?” Let’s see:

• Abraham offered his wife to two different men in order to secure safe passage.
• Sarah offered her female servant to Abraham to conceive a son.
• Moses was a murderer.
• David was an adulterer and murderer.
• Peter was willing to deny Jesus to save his own skin.
• Paul was contentious and frankly admitted that he kept on doing “the evil I do not want to do” (Romans 7:19).

These are just a few of the numerous examples in sacred Scripture in which the word “imperfect” seems like an understatement of gargantuan proportions! Yet God choose to use these very imperfect people in the advancement of His kingdom in this world. Why? Because that’s all that He has available to Him! There is only one hero in the Bible: His name is Jesus Christ. Everyone else we read about in Scripture is just like all those we don’t read about—great sinners in need of an even greater Savior. In other words, they were imperfect in every way!

This should give you great comfort for two reasons: first, you can take anyone you have placed on a pedestal and set them right back on the ground where they belong! (Remember, the ground is always level at the foot of the cross.) And second, you are just as qualified as anyone else to be used by God, because you are no more “messed up” than these great saints were. God has been using imperfect individuals since the fall, in spite of their many failures, and His eternal purposes are being accomplished.

In addition to the fact that the only people available to God are imperfect, flawed people, there is another reason that He uses people like you and me: God delights in working through the kind of people whom the world could never imagine that God would pick to be on His team. Paul reminded the Christians at Corinth to . . .

Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

(1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

I don’t know about you, but I am reassured when I pick up my Bible and read about people who struggled with self-protection, selfish ambition, and other kinds of sin—just like I do—and yet were still used by God. If Scripture only offered stories of those who walked on water and spoke from Sinai, it would be pretty discouraging! Far from being inspired to excellence and driven to serve God, I would be driven into the dust of despair.

Thank God that He uses the imperfect . . . and the flawed . . . of whom I am the chief!

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

When you hear the term “idol worship,” what comes to mind? Most people immediately picture a tribe of primitive people, bowing down to a sacred totem, a tree, or an animal. If that’s how you think . . . think again!

By definition, idolatry is succumbing to the worship of anything in creation, rather giving thanks and praise to the One who created it. Our fallen nature repeatedly induces us to replace our Creator with His creation. Take a look at the following list and see if any of these points resonate with you:

• We seek our identity in our work.
• We seek our power in our position.
• We seek our security in our finances.
• We seek our significance in our peer approval.
• We seek our purpose in our kids.
• We seek our pleasure in our spouses.
• We seek our meaning in our ministry.

Created things were never intended to do for you what only your Creator can do! Every promise that any idol makes smells like smoke and comes from the pit of hell, as Steve Brown likes to say. That idol simply cannot deliver on what it promises.

[Men] exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen!

(Romans 1:25)

Idols of the heart remove our Redeemer from the throne of our lives and replace Him with things that are infinitely smaller. We replace the supernatural with the natural. We replace the spiritual with the physical. We replace the eternal with the temporary. And you and I do these things more often than we would like to admit!

Think back over the past week: what have you been pursuing and praying for? What has caused you to get up early and stay up late?

Remember, as I have said before, many of the things we pursue are most definitely “good” things. Work is good. Family is good. Money is good. (Remember that 1 Timothy 6:10 warns that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil; money itself is not evil, as some mistakenly believe.) Ministry is good.

These good things only become bad things when they become ultimate things and replace the only One worth pursuing: Jesus Christ. Everything we look to in creation can only be given to us in our Creator.

• We are to find our identity in Him and not in our work.
• We are to find our power in Him and not in our position.
• We find our security in Him and not in our finances.
• We find our significance in Him and not in the approval of others.
• We find our purpose in Him and not in our kids.
• We find our pleasure in Him and not in our spouses.
• We find our meaning in Him and not in our ministries.

We must make our lives all about Him!

The Gospel is the cure for putting the Creator back in His rightful place in our lives. The more we marinate in the truths of the Gospel and the finished work of Jesus Christ, the less we yearn for created things.

Please remember that everything we need we already have in Jesus. That is the root of all true joy and fulfillment!

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

Do you think that sacrificial living is reserved only for those great saints we read about in the Bible and in the written records of history? Not true! Everyone lives sacrificial lives. The question that must be asked and answered is this: For what are we sacrificing?

Each day is made up of countless personal sacrifices, from getting up early to staying up late and pouring out all day long. We sacrifice for whatever has captured and taken control of our heart.

• We sacrifice on the job
• We sacrifice for our families
• We sacrifice to build our retirement
• We sacrifice to buy that special outfit
• We sacrifice to be able to fit into it
• We sacrifice to go on that dream vacation
• We sacrifice to get an education

Remember that what rules your heart shapes your life. So . . . what are you sacrificing for right now? What is the shape of your life? The list of the things for which we willingly sacrifice could fill pages. The issue is not whether we are willing to sacrifice; rather, it is for what are we willing to sacrifice? Our first priority in living a sacrificial life should be found in our willingness to sacrifice for the One who willingly sacrificed Himself for us.

The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and let him away to crucify him.

(Matthew 27:27-31)

The sacrifice of our Savior was as radical as it was scandalous. There was no worse way to die than to be nailed to a cross. Our English word excruciating is drawn from the Latin root for to crucify. In Jesus’ day, crucifixion was reserved for only the worst of criminals; a Roman citizen, by law, could not be executed by crucifixion, no matter what the crime. As Jesus hung on the cross, broken and bleeding, the soldiers laughed, the spectators mocked, and His disciples hid. His history-altering sacrifice on Golgotha’s hill should inform, inspire, and ignite every sacrifice we make as His followers.

Jesus has called every Christian to live a cross-shaped life. “If anyone would come after me,” He said, “he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).

When we sacrifice in this way, we are no longer controlled by things that were never designed by God to control us. We fix our eyes on what is unseen, rather than on what is seen. We live for things above, rather than for things below. We live for the advancement of His kingdom, rather than for our kingdom. We lay our lives down for our Savior, rather than for ourselves, and we pursue His purposes and passions. When we do these things, we live sacrificial lives that echo in eternity.

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