Category Archives: General

If you spend any time watching television, you’re probably familiar with DirecTV commercials featuring the actor Rob Lowe. Today’s message of encouragement is drawn from the ad in which “regular” Rob Lowe has DirecTV and enjoys his wireless setup and great picture, unlike the “peaked in High School” Rob Lowe, who still has cable. High School Rob Lowe doesn’t mind the fact that he still has cable, he says, because he is still the captain of his high school football team. He is still wearing his high school “letter” jacket and looking to his past to find his identity in his present . . . which is paralyzing his future.

The same message is delivered in the sitcom Community, where Troy, the jock character, is still wearing his high school letter jacket at Greendale Community College. Considered his signature item with its large purple “R” embroidered on the front left of the jacket, Troy’s letter jacket serves as a constant reminder for him and all the other students of his previous life at Riverside High, where he was the star quarterback. Eventually Troy settled in to the new season of life as a college student.

QUESTION: Have you settled in to your current season of life—in whatever station this finds you in—or are you looking to your past to find your identity in the present?

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

There is no “peaking in high school” for the people of God. God has wonderful plans to prosper you with an unimaginable future, one built upon the foundation of a holy hope. Your identity is never to be found in your past. It is only to be found in your Prince. God has you right where you are for two incredible reasons: His glory . . . and your good! The key to living His perfect plan in your imperfect life is to learn from the past, live in the present, and lean into your promised future.

Whatever challenges you are facing today . . .

• Marriage difficulties
• Parenting a prodigal
• Opposition at the office
• Stress at school
• Friendship fallout
• Relationship speed bump
• Peer pressure

. . . your God is at work, both in you and through you. Remember, your identity is never to be found in anything you have ever done, are doing, or will ever do. Your identity is only to be found in the One who can meet you in your place of deepest need and move you into a future of unimaginable joy. This can be your daily experience when you refuse to live for anything smaller than Jesus.

Hang up that proverbial high school letter jacket and hang on to Christ alone!

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

Let me ask you a question: do you consider yourself an optimist or a pessimist? How would those closest to you answer that question? Do you see the proverbial glass as half full . . . or half empty? Can you find the silver lining in every dark cloud . . . or the dark lining in every silver cloud?

Well, I’d like to offer you the divine directive for living a life of “Omnipotent Optimism,” regardless of the circumstances you are currently facing.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this. He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. (Psalm 37:1-8)

This passage contains the framework for every believer to live a life of optimism rather than paralyzing pessimism in the life of every believer. Let’s look at two points from the passage above.

1. In the Lord — If we are not solidly grounded in our exalted position in Christ, any perceived optimism is little more than wishful thinking. It is only when, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we are in the Lord that we have the power available to us that will enable us to rise above any situation we are facing. Whether it is a devastating medical diagnosis, difficulty at the office, discord in our marriage, or distractions in our school life, when we are in the Lord we have the connection to the deepest source of joy that will keep our glass half full.
2. Trust . . . Delight . . . Commit . . . Be Still . . . Wait Patiently — After we understand the power of being in the Lord, we come to the divine imperatives of just how we are to live out our mystical union with Christ.

• Trust . . . in the Lord and not in your circumstances
• Delight . . . in the Lord and not in your temporal treasures
• Commit . . . to the Lord and not to the idols of your heart
• Be Still . . . before the Lord and not before your own wisdom
• Wait Patiently . . . for the Lord and do not look to your timetable

When we follow this framework in the strength of the Almighty, we will not fall into the pessimism that paralyzes those of little or no faith. These five actions steps of the Almighty transcend “the power of positive thinking” that is so popular today. Yes, it is good to think positive thoughts, but we must not stop there. We add the divine directives that God has provided in the Scriptures in order to rise above the challenges of daily living.

Because these actions steps are rooted in the Lord, we who have placed our trust in Jesus Christ’s atoning death on our behalf now possess the ability to face any challenge in life with omnipotent optimism. We know, as we go through whatever challenge or trial we are currently facing, that when we come out on the other side it will be for our good and God’s glory. Remember, “bad news” is never as bad when we view it through the promise of the Good News of the Gospel.

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

Oh, what a word of comfort for the faithful today! Do not despair or grow fearful if you have been praying about a particular need and have not yet received an answer to your prayers. The Lord has determined the perfect time to bestow your requested blessing upon you.

Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once. (Matthew 15:21-28 NASB, emphasis added.)

How strange it seems on the surface; Jesus acknowledged that this Canaanite woman had great faith, yet He did not answer her at first, not even with a single word! The woman cried out to our Lord from the depths of her heart. She addressed Jesus in humility and with the honored titles of Lord and Son of David. Her situation was desperate, as her daughter was cruelly demon-possessed. And, to be sure, desperation always precedes deliverance. Yet often that deliverance does not come in the timing or way we expect.

Great faith does not always bring quick answers. God knows exactly what we need and the exact time we need to receive it—the time which will result in the greatest good for us and in His greatest glory. Christian, answers delayed are not answers denied! God uses the testing of our faith to strengthen our faith, and that test often comes through the silence of heaven.

When Jesus said that He was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel, He was telling this Gentile (non-Jewish) woman that a “wall of hostility” between Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14) still stood in its place. We learn from the New Testament that this wall would only come down after the death and resurrection of our Lord, when the great Gospel mystery (Ephesians 3:6) of salvation through faith in the promised Messiah would be revealed to Jew and Gentile alike.

The woman’s humble response to Jesus about the dogs being willing to receive “the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” reveals a heart that presumed upon no blessing promised to the house of Israel. Rather, she simply hoped to find a blessing for her daughter in the overflow of God’s blessings bestowed upon the Jews. Her humility was a great as her faith, which may call to mind Jesus’ lovely assurance that “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

How instructive is this story for you and me today! Answers delayed are not answers denied. May our faith find its expression in trusting in our Lord, even when we cannot trace Him, knowing that in His perfect time and in His gracious way He will give us exactly what we need, never withholding it one moment longer than it is necessary for our greatest good and His majestic glory.

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

Today marks 22 years that Kim and I have been married, so I thought I would give you a word of encouragement about the two most important things we have both learned about marriage during the course of two-plus decades: the purpose of marriage and the power in marriage.

1. The Purpose of Marriage

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31-32)

Paul is telling us here that the purpose of marriage is to put the covenant-keeping love of Jesus Christ and His church on display. In other words, marriage is designed to point to our Master. Without understanding the purpose of marriage, we have a tendency to make our marriages about meeting our needs rather than displaying the love and grace of Christ.

You see, because God designed marriage, it must be more than just us; it’s about Him! Jesus underscores this truth in the following passage:

“But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Mark 10:6-9)

Jesus is telling us that the making of a marriage is primarily the work of God, not man. It is God who has joined together both the husband and wife. Because of this, God is to be the central focus of marriage, and we are to put His covenant-keeping love for us on display for all the world to see, to the praise and glory of His name.

2. The Power in Marriage

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:21-27)

I would turn this blog into a Bible commentary if I were to unpack all the truth in this passage, so for our purposes today, I simply want to focus on the first verse: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The power in marriage is the Lord Jesus Christ. To be sure, this passage beautifully lays out the different and divine roles husbands and wives are called by God to play in marriage. But every aspect of it is rooted in submission—by both parties!

When we focus more on laying down our lives for each other, we exalt Jesus to His rightful place in our marriages—on His throne—which means He always gets the last word. The more we submit to Jesus, the more we live in the only power that can crush every marriage-wrecking thought, word, and deed.

I said at the beginning that I hoped this article would encourage you; I hope you’ll indulge me as I close today with a few words of thanks.

I thank God for 22 years of marriage and the grace that was sufficient in every season of life we have faced so far.

I thank Him our four precious children: Brock, Jenna, Katie, and the Tank. You have witnessed it all, and, by God’s grace, I pray you will live out your marriages far more smoothly for having lived through both our successes and our failures along the way.

Finally, to my beloved Kim . . . THANK YOU! Thank you for walking alongside of me every step of the way. I could not have imagined the reality of our vows when we said them . . . in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want! Yet these words have marked our marriage, and God has used it all to transform us and conform us, a little more each day, into the image and likeness of His Son.

Kim, I cannot presume on God for another 22 years, but I hope He has ordained many more years together. I am just starting to get the hang of this “husband” thing. But regardless of the time we have left, I pray God will continue growing me into the husband He has called me to be and the husband that you deserve. I love you more than these words can possibly express.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KIM!

Your best friend,

Tommy

Are you facing any difficult circumstances in your life right now? Perhaps there is trouble at the office? Difficulty in your marriage? The challenge of a prodigal child? Sickness and disease testing the outer edges of your health? Or maybe financial troubles? Perhaps someone you love is dealing with one of these situations? Well, regardless of the seemingly impossible circumstances we might be facing today, we must remember that with God, nothing is impossible.

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'” (Ezekiel 37:1-6)

Is there anything more impossible than making dead, dry bones come back to life? I think not! Unless, of course, God is at work. Because we are all broken, living in a broken world, we find ourselves in the middle of a valley of dead, dry bones from time to time. And yet God showed Ezekiel that He alone could breathe life back into those sun-bleached bones. This passage is as inspiring as it is instructive; it should remove any obstacle to our believing that our God can overcome anything we are currently facing.

Notice the rhetorical question God asks Ezekiel: “Son of man, can these bones live?” It’s not Ezekiel who asks if there is any hope for the dry bones; it is God. The Author of life can breathe new life into any situation . . . and that means any situation you are facing today. This is the God who created everything out of nothing, simply by speaking it into existence. This is the God who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead three days after His death on the cross. He can thaw cold hearts and make dead ones beat anew. The more hopeless the situation, the more hope we are to have in it. There is absolutely nothing our God cannot do, so let us not try to figure out His process. Simply trust in His promise!

Imagine for a moment that you are Ezekiel standing in the valley of dry bones. What possible process could he have conjured up to bring life back to those bones? It was unimaginable. For man, the feat was utterly impossible. But with God, Ezekiel knew, all things are possible!

By the way, notice how the passage opens:

The hand of the Lord was upon me . . .

The bottom line is this: when the hand of the Lord is upon you, you are in the absolute best of hands! Remember, greater is the power that is in you—power to accomplish anything—than the power that comes up against you. Let that truth give you all the hope you need, even in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation, because with God, the impossible will become possible!

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

When was the last time you thought of your Savior as One who delights so much in you that He sings over you? If it has been a while—or if perhaps this idea never occurred to you before—prepare for a word of unimaginable encouragement and comfort this day!

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.(Zephaniah 3:17)

Reading through the gospel accounts, we see the clear and consistent evidence of our Serving Savior. Just one look at the cross reminds us of our Suffering Savior. But when was the last time we thought of our Singing Savior? And yet we read in Zephaniah that our Lord rejoices over us with singing! The Hebrew phrase “he will rejoice over you with singing” can be literally translated to read, “He rejoices over you with a shout of joy.”

I grew up in a home where my mother walked around the house constantly singing over her children. At the time, I wasn’t sure if her singing was designed to bless our hearts or buffer our noise. I know now. Kim and I have four children of our own, and they spent considerable time with Momma Boland each week. All of them commented on how “Bunka” (as they called her) would walk around the house singing over them. Her singing was a sign of a heart that overflowed with love for her children and grandchildren.

Well, today’s Scripture reveals that it’s the same way with our Savior. Jesus’ heart overflows with love for all of His children and He rejoices over all of us with singing. WOW! Here is a love with such a joyful outward expression, one that is designed to inwardly bless us at the deepest level. We are so loved in the sight of our Savior that He rejoices over us with singing!

You may find this difficult to believe; perhaps your picture is one of Jesus looking sorrowfully down from heaven, grieved—perhaps even angered—by your many sins. The thought of Him rejoicing over you with singing may be almost impossible for you to believe . . . but God’s living and active Word assures us that it is true! Your Savior is singing over you, literally shouting with joy, morning, noon, and night.

So . . . how does that knowledge make you feel today?

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! (Zephaniah 3:14)

Like Momma Boland, who rejoiced in her Lord in song for the great gift of children and grandchildren, we should all feel like singing and shouting aloud to our Lord. To be sure, we find ourselves in times of trouble, times when our hearts are filled with sorrow and pain. But if we keep our eyes fixed on our Servant Savior, our Suffering Savior, and our Singing Savior, we will weather any storm and come out on the other side of it singing with shouts of joy to the One who loved us so much that He paid to redeem us with His precious blood—and who today rejoices that we are His.

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

On Monday, we looked at the “one thing lacking” in the life of the rich young ruler, which was the only thing he truly needed. On Wednesday, we saw the “one thing needed” in Martha’s life, which her sister Mary had widely chosen by sitting at the feet of her Savior. Today we’ll close out this series of “one things” with the “one thing I do,” as presented to us by the apostle Paul.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

If your name ever gets into someone’s book with the phrase “one thing” attached to it, make sure it is this one thing that Paul set before the Philippians! Nobody wants to have the “one thing needed” or the “one thing lacking” attached to their legacy, when we see before us just how simple it is to have this “one thing I do” forever linked to the life we have lived.

Like the rich young ruler, Saul (Paul’s name prior to his conversion) had it all going for him in the eyes of the world. He was young, very likely from a wealthy family, he had been taught by the widely respected Gamaliel, and he was a member of the Pharisees, the prominent religious sect of Jesus’ day. Yet when Saul was confronted by the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, he was willing to forsake everything he had once valued for the surpassing riches of Jesus. What Saul once possessed—noble birth, excellent education, religious zeal, good reputation, applause of man—obviously did not possess him. When Jesus called him, he let it all go; he forgot what lay behind him, actually regarding it as “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8) and strained ahead toward his calling in Christ.

Paul’s life was not marked by the avarice that had enslaved the rich young ruler or the tunnel vision that kept Martha working out her service to her Lord (which was a good thing), while missing a chance to sit at His feet (a better thing). Paul’s letter to the Philippians stands as a testimonial to a life lived Coram Deo—before the face of God. How easy it would have been for the great apostle Paul to be distracted with “much serving”—missionary journeys, strengthening the church, writing nearly half the books of the New Testament. Martha got sidetracked simply by preparing a meal! But with this “one thing I do” statement, Paul eliminated every possible distraction that could derail his ministry.

Notice the key in focusing forward on that one thing our Lord called Paul to: he was able to rise above his persecuting past and rest in his redemption and the call that his Redeemer placed on his life.

The inability to get past the past is one of the greatest stumbling blocks in the church today. Far too many Christians simply cannot get on with life because they are living in some painful past. The key is to learn from our painful past and not live in it. Paul had much to hold him back if he had allowed himself to focus on it. He had been persecuting the church, putting people in prison, and even held the coats of those who executed Stephen (Acts 7:58). Yet, by God’s grace, the same grace given to each of us, he was able to leave the past in the past and press on into his calling. Can the same be said about you?

This week we have seen “one thing lacking” in the life of the rich young ruler, “one thing needed” for Martha, and the “one thing I do” that kept the apostle Paul pressing forward. When the Lord Jesus Christ is our first priority, we can be certain that it will never be said about us that one thing is still lacking. We will have the Only Thing that truly matters in a life marked by the “one thing I do,” regardless of the cost or circumstance.

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

On Monday we looked at the account of the rich young ruler and the “one thing lacking” in his life—the only thing he truly needed. Today I want to give you a different view of the “one thing needed,” as presented in the story of two sisters, Martha and Mary.

“Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)

Jesus was welcomed into the home of Martha and Mary, who were preparing a meal for him. When Jesus began to teach, Mary stopped her preparations and sat at the feet of Jesus to listen to His every word. Martha, on the other hand, kept right on preparing the meal. Like the rich young ruler, there is much to be admired about Martha, at least on the surface. She was focused and faithful in her service to Jesus. She was busily engaged in the many things that were needed to complete the preparations for the meal.

Yet, once again, with all the good stuff that Martha was engaged in, to the penetrating eye of our Savior, there was still “one thing needed” in her life. Just as there was one thing lacking in the life of the rich young ruler, who seemed to have it all, Martha, in spite of her wonderful hospitality and focus on the task at hand, was still lacking the one thing that she needed most.

You see, the difference between the sisters, Martha and Mary, was that Mary knew when to stop serving and start sitting at the feet of Jesus. Martha complained to Jesus that Mary had left her alone to make the necessary preparations. So Mary had been, in fact, serving alongside of her sister. But Mary knew when sitting was more important than serving, and that is when you have the opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Do you and I know the same truth? We can be so busily engaged in doing the Lord’s work that we forget all about the Lord Himself. Giving our service to our Lord is a very good thing . . . but giving ourselves to our Lord is a better thing. Jesus made that clear by saying, “Mary has chosen what is better,” which was taking a place at the feet of Her Master.

What does the confession of our lives say about this truth? Remember, there was nothing wrong with the preparations Martha was making for her Lord. What was wrong was giving the work a higher priority over the Lord Himself. This is the message we are to glean from this “one thing needed” in the life of Martha, as we, like Mary, choose what is better than service: Our Savior!

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

This week I’m planning to take a look at three different verses containing the same phrase—“one thing”—yet each occurrence conveys a very different meaning. It is my prayer that this week’s series of messages will prove as instructive as they are inspirational.

Here are the three passages:

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” [Jesus] 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)

“Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

Today we will look at the account of the rich young ruler, whom Jesus instructed about the “one thing lacking” in Mark 10:21. To the watching world, this man had it all together. Certainly, today’s society would regard him as a Very Important Person:

• He was rich.
• He was young.
• He was a ruler.

This man would have been on the top of everybody’s party invitation list; he had everything going for Him! No doubt many of our churches would be scrambling to enlist him in a position of leadership.

Even when you look at the man’s spiritual condition, there was a great deal that seemed commendable, at least in his outward actions. Mark 10:17 relates that . . .

• The man ran up to Jesus (earnestly seeking an audience with Him).
• He knelt before Him (demonstrating humility and reverence).
• He addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher” (a sign of respect).

Yet with all he apparently had going for him, the penetrating eye of our Savior discerned that there was one thing lacking in his life. This rich young ruler had everything a man could ever want except the one thing he truly needed: a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We know this because Mark’s account reports that after Jesus had spoken, “The man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22).

You see, the problem for this rich young ruler was not that he had great possessions; rather it was what possessed him. His stuff was more important to him than his Savior. He was utterly unwilling to give up his possessions and take up his cross and follow Jesus. This “one thing lacking” was the only thing he truly needed: Jesus as Savior and Lord over his life.

So . . . do you feel that there might be one thing lacking in your life? I hope you’ll be back for the next two blogs. We’ll be looking at this concept some more!

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

That’s an odd question, isn’t it? At first glance, we all know that imperfection cannot also be perfection. The two words are antonyms; you simply can’t have perfection when there are imperfections! Yet in today’s passage we see that there is indeed a time when imperfection is perfection.

When this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:12-14)

“This priest” is our Lord Jesus Christ, and after He had completed His work—sinless life, sacrificial death, supernatural resurrection—He ascended back into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

It is important to understand the significance of our Lord sitting down. In the Old Testament Levitical priesthood, there was never a time for the priest to sit down because his work was never done. Every morning and every evening—one sacrifice after another sacrifice after another—the priest was busy offering sacrifices for the sins of the people. This tells us that these sacrifices that could never fully atone for sin; they were intended to point us to a better and perfect sacrifice. And when Jesus Christ came as the unblemished Lamb of God, His sacrifice was accepted as payment in full for all sin, once for all!

The next thing I’d like to point out in the passage from Hebrews is that by His sacrifice Christ “has made [past tense] perfect forever those [you and me] who are being made [present tense] holy.” In other words, in the eyes of God we are already perfect because we have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And yet, in the reality of daily living, we are not yet perfect; we are being made perfect.

We know this to be true by way of personal experience. We realize that we are far from perfect; on many days, perfection seems to be completely out of view! Yet because we are in Christ, God chooses to see our imperfections as perfection because they are covered by the blood of His precious Son. Every sin—past, present, and those to come—has been forgiven in Christ and covered by His blood. Someone once said that another way to explain this amazing truth is to think of the word “justification” as meaning . . .

Just as if I’d never sinned!

Think for a moment of how graciously God chooses to deal with us: He chooses to see us only through the perfect radiance of His Son. He chooses to love us in spite of our massive imperfections. He chooses to take our current mess and turn it into His eternal masterpiece. When we live in the light of this truth, we begin to live for nothing smaller than Jesus, the One who took our imperfection and made it perfect.

So when is imperfection perfection? When Jesus has covered it with His precious blood!

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