Category Archives: General

I’m sure there are some of you who read that title and immediately thought of the rock band that became popular during the turbulent 1960s. This group of musicians was famous for their wholehearted celebration of the San Francisco drug culture and hedonistic lifestyle. Several of them died as a direct result of that deadly embrace. Trust me when I say that today’s blog has nothing to do with that notion of “The Grateful Dead,” but rather with the life of those who have placed their trust in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

Where should those who were once dead and are now alive (Colossians 2:13) be found? There can be only one place: communing with Jesus.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.(John 12:1-2)

When Jesus arrived at the home of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, we see the beating heart of a man who had been raised from death to life, sitting among those who were enjoying a meal with Jesus—drinking in His presence and listening to His every word. How inappropriate and ungrateful would it have been for Lazarus to be found anywhere else—except by the side of His Savior?

Beloved, we too were dead at one time. We were dead to the things of God. We were dead to the spiritual life. We were dead to the Savior Himself. We were dead and buried, our souls putrefying in the grave of our trespasses and sins . . . and then Jesus called us forth from the dark, terrible tomb that held us in the grip of death and damnation. It was Jesus who removed our graveclothes of sin and corruption and draped the rich robe of His righteousness on our shoulders. It was Jesus who brought us near when we were far away (Ephesians 2:13).

The cords of death entangled me,

the anguish of the grave came upon me;

I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!”

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.

You, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 116:3-6, 8-9)

Can we, His adopted children, whom He saved from an awful eternity of separation from God, be satisfied living at a distance from Him? God forbid it! We, the “grateful dead,” must not live at a distance from our Savior. Lazarus set a wonderful example for all of us who have been brought forth from the grave. The grateful dead who have been raised to new life in Christ live lives that reflect their gratitude. They seek first the kingdom of heaven, knowing that everything else necessary for a life of godliness will be given to them (Matthew 6:33).

The grateful dead seek that new life in . . .

• Bible study
• Prayer
• Church attendance
• Service
• Giving
• Our homes, our workplaces, and in our communities

Lazarus could not imagine not sitting at the table of our Lord. Can you?

One last thought: If it has been a while since you have communed with Christ, fear not! Your place at the table has not been taken away or given to someone else. It is simply sitting empty, and Everlasting Love is eagerly waiting to embrace you when you return.

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

COMPASSION COMPASS

As you probably know, a compass is the direction-finding instrument typically used in navigation. A hiker, soldier, or sailor will use a compass to be sure he or she is headed in the right direction.

A compassion compass is the direction-finding instrument used by the Christian to find all those who are in need of Christlike compassion. This is the right direction for us.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)

I’d like to emphasize three things about the way the compassion compass works:

1. It requires searching.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages. He did not wait for people to come to Him. He did not hang up a sign that said, “The Great Physician is in” and wait for customers to bang on His door. He was not stationary in His service to others! He went searching for those who needed what He alone could provide.

2. It requires seeing.

Jesus was other-oriented, which opened His eyes to see the crowds of harassed and helpless sheep who needed a Good Shepherd. He refused to do what so many do today: look away from those in need. Our English Bibles do not capture the full force of the Greek verb translated had compassion in Matthew 9:36, which means to feel deeply or viscerally. When Jesus saw the sick, the lost, and the hopeless, He felt an ache in the pit of His stomach! Compassion began to beat His heart and He yearned to help them. So He did!

3. It requires shepherding.

A shepherd cares for his sheep. He knows how defenseless they are, and he knows that if he does not care for them, they simply will not survive. He knows how helpless they are without a Helper.

Like Jesus, we are to search, see, and engage. Recall Jesus’ foretelling of His words at Final Judgment:

“The righteous will [ask Jesus], ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:37-40)

When we serve the harassed and helpless, we are serving our Lord!

So . . . how well is your compassion compass working these days? Remember what is required to keep it in top notch condition: searching for those who need to experience the healing grace of God in Christ; seeing their distress and resolving to take action; and shepherding them by meeting them at their point of need. And in a lost, broken, and hurting world, their greatest need is to hear of the One who died in their place so that they might have life in His name.

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

“Woe” is a wonderful word when it is rightly used. But, sadly, we have learned how to use this word in ways that only weaken us:

• “Woe is me . . . I failed the test!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t make the team!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t get asked to the prom!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t get accepted to the college I wanted!”
• “Woe is me . . . I don’t like my job!”
• “Woe is me . . . I lost my job!”
• “Woe is me . . . I have too much month left at the end of the money!”
• “Woe is me . . . I’m showing signs of aging!”
• “Woe is me . . . !”

You finish the last one. We have become experts at holding “pity-parties” and living under the shadow of the tree of “woe” when life doesn’t go according to our plan.

But this is not for you! The apostle Paul showed us a way to keep from wasting the witness of our woes. He wrote:

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.  (1 Corinthians 9:16)

There is a “woe” that is not wasted! All of the woes mentioned in the bullet points above are focused on self and circumstances, but Paul’s woe was focused on Christ and our calling as Christians. The apostle had devoted his life to preaching the gospel and was ready to cast an oracle of woe upon himself if he did not do what God had called and equipped him to do. Now, that is a “woe” that was not wasted!

I want to caution those of you who may be thinking something like, “Well, that’s fine for Paul, but I am not called to preach the Gospel like he was.” To be sure, most of us will never travel to other countries, risking great peril on land and sea to preach the Word, as the great apostle Paul did. But every one of us is called to be a conduit of the Gospel, regardless of our station in life. From the boardroom to the locker room to the classroom to the family room, every Christian has been called to preach the Gospel, with our lips and our lives. And woe to us when we do not!

So . . . how are you doing at making the message of your Master the story of your life? We are to be so taken by the truths of the Gospel that these truths take over our lives. At this level of living, we won’t waste our “woes” on anything smaller than Jesus!

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

Unless you subsist solely on fast food, you have heard of organically grown food, which is grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Most grocery stores stock organically grown products, which are usually more expensive.

Did you know that the statement organically grown also applies to the Christian? What I mean by this is the “vital” or “spiritual” union between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Christian believer, which is best illustrated in the following passage.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  (John 15:1-5)

Our Lord’s teaching on the vine and branches perfectly illustrates just how the Christian is connected to Christ. It is organic, not mechanical. It is a living, vital union, where the believer (the branch) has been grafted into the vine (the Lord) and finds nutrients for growth through this organic connection.

Think about it this way: Just as the branches of any tree or vine share in the nature and life of that tree or vine, the Christian is united with Christ by faith and shares in His nature and life.

Jesus final words in the passage above—“Apart from me you can do nothing”—give us the sum and substance of the life of the saint separated from the Savior. Any perceived growth in a Christless environment is nothing more than behavioral change. Anyone can change behavior, but heart transformation only takes place through union with Christ. It is a transformation which not only changes behavior, but changes the believer as well.

When Paul said, “To live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), he was making it clear that his union with Christ was the very life he was living.

So . . . how is your connection to Christ these days? Are you plugged in and powering up? Or are you somewhat disconnected and feeling a bit lethargic? Make no mistake: staying organically connected to Omnipotence will keep you growing and producing fruit that will last all the way into glory.

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

I would like to share a word of encouragement with you today that can lift you above every wave of challenge that is rolling your way. It comes from the pen of the apostle Paul:

In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.(Colossians 2:9-10)

Take some time to consider this remarkable passage. Paul says that all the fullness of God—the sovereign Lord of all the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth and the seas and all that is in them—all of His fullness is in Christ and that those who have placed their trust in Christ’s atoning death on their behalf have been given this fullness!

Now, I don’t claim to know the depth of this fullness, nor would I be foolish enough to believe I (or any human being) would be able to plumb it; but whatever its depth, it is ours to dive into and draw strength from. HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS!

Now, we must not to think that we have been made like “little gods” who possess the attributes that only God Himself possesses, attributes such as omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. We are still finite, fallible human beings. John Calvin explained it this way:

Having been given this fullness in Christ does not mean that the perfection of Christ is transfused into us, but that there are in Him resources from which we may be filled, that nothing be wanting in us.

In other words, in our union with Christ we have been given everything we need for living the life God has called us to live. HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS!

As children of Adam, we come into this world empty—spiritually bankrupt. We are born rebels on the run from God; we have no interest in the things of God until we are given fullness in Christ—a gift we receive from God by grace through faith.

Because of what God in Christ has done for us, you and I have been granted to “participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), and we now have available to us everything we need to be what God is calling us to be. All that Jesus is—and He is EVERYTHING—we have available to us.

• His wisdom . . . our guidance
• His peace . . . our comfort
• His presence . . . our consolation
• His power . . . our protection
• His faithfulness . . . our confidence
• His cross . . . our trust
• His love . . . our security

Let us drink fully and freely from our Fount of Every Blessing, rejoicing in the truth that HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS.

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

You may have heard the old adage, “The best defense is a good offense” which simply implies the idea of being proactive rather than reactive. You hear this phrase used in a variety of fields. Sports teams that constantly press their opponent and score lots of points will usually win the game. Armies that don’t wait for the enemy to mount an attack but instead go on the offensive tend to gain the upper hand.

This maxim proves especially true in the spiritual realm. On this side of eternity, we are surrounded by the powerful triple threat of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We face a constant battle on all three fronts, and at times the onslaught seems overwhelming. So how can possibly gain victory in this ongoing fight?

His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.(Psalm 1:2)

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.(Psalm 119:11)

For the Christian, the best offense is a godly, spiritual one: staying rooted in the Word of God. Instead of waiting for the attacks of temptation to test the outer edges of our faithfulness to Christ, we go on the offense by marinating in, meditating on, and memorizing the Scriptures—God’s living and active Word. You see, the more we are in the Word of God, the more the Word of God gets into us!

In the apostle Paul’s famous “armor of the believer” passage in Ephesians 6:13-18, he exhorts us to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Bible scholars frequently point out that the Greek machaira, translated “sword” here, referred to the short sword that every Roman soldier carried on his belt for hand-to-hand combat. It was a powerful offensive weapon that the Roman legions had used to conquer the world.

You will remember that this “sword” was the weapon that our Lord took up to confront and conquer every temptation Satan threw at Him during His wilderness experience (Matthew 4:1-11). Three times, Jesus slashed at the devil with these words, until the accuser retreated:

“IT IS WRITTEN!”

Our Savior’s encounter with the evil one underscores the fact that, as important as it is for us to marinate in and meditate on the Word of God, we must hide it in our hearts as well. When we memorize the Word of God, it is readily available for us to decimate the wily serpent’s slings and arrows.

Make no mistake, for every battle you face against the world, the flesh, and the devil, God has a Scripture to address that specific fight. Remember: to know what is written, we have to read what was written. So read your Bible regularly and develop your godly offense.

One last thought: when you find yourself on the losing side of a particular skirmish—as we all will, for we are all sinners—God’s Word has a promise for you to tuck securely into your mind and heart and soul, so that you will get right back up after you’ve fallen and keep on fighting:

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

I’ve written this on a number of occasions, but I want to remind you again that nothing—“neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your eternal Savior, there is nothing you can do, nor is there anything that the world, the flesh, or the devil can do to you, that will separate you from God’s amazing, gracious, eternal love.

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

In our final installment on the means of grace, we will take a look at the grace of commitments and see if we are plugged into the power of God’s Spirit . . . or unplugged.

I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. (Job 31:1) Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.(Daniel 1:8)

Here we see two wonderful examples of making commitments to keep plugged into the power sent to us from on high. Job made a commitment regarding lustful looks (a huge problem in today’s sex-saturated culture), making a covenant with his eyes. Daniel was in training to enter the service of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, having been taken into captivity in Babylon along with many others of the Jewish nation. Part of this training was to eat what was served at the king’s table, but Daniel made a commitment not to eat the king’s food, which would have violated God’s dietary laws. So . . . how are you doing in the area of commitments? Job made a commitment (plugging into the power of God) against his sinful heart. Daniel made a commitment (plugging into the power of God) against his sinful surroundings. We all must make commitments on both fronts: guarding against violating God’s commands due to the sinful condition of our hearts and the sinful condition of our surrounding culture. One of the best ways to approach this means of grace is to identify some areas of weakness in your life and decide in advance how you will deal with these situations when they come up: If you know you have a weakness in the area of lust, why not make the same commitment Job made? Maybe your weakness lies elsewhere; perhaps you need to make a covenant with your tongue and the language you use . . . perhaps you struggle to control your temper . . . or could it be your credit cards and how you spend your money? When it comes to commitments, we must remember that, by God’s grace, we travel this road in two directions. In one direction we abstain—we avoid sinful practices. In the other direction we advance—we live in a way that is good, right, noble and pleasing to God. The apostle Paul provided the biblical motivation for Christian commitments:

I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.(Romans 12:1)

In view of God’s mercy . . . that’s the key that unlocks the door leading to a life of freedom, joy, and power. God’s mercy—not our merit—is both the inspiration to commit and to carry on in our calling, knowing that when we fall short we are both fully forgiven and completely loved. This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

The first Father’s Day in the United States was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane Washington. The day was proposed by in 1909 by Mrs. John B. Dodd, who wanted to honor her father, William Smart, a civil war veteran who raised six children alone after his wife died in childbirth. Clearly, Mrs. Dodd took seriously the Lord’s instruction, set forth in the fifth commandment, to “Honor your father.”

I understand that not all of us had a father like William Smart who seemed worthy of honor. But the Commandment does not tell us to honor our father if he is honorable, we are commanded by God to honor . . . period! We all know—those of us who are fathers are painfully aware—that no father is perfect. We all have our weaknesses, blemishes, blind spots, and flaws. There are many examples throughout sacred Scripture of godly men who were flawed fathers. Two who immediately come to mind are Eli and David; both men pursued God with all their hearts, yet were badly flawed in their roles as parents.

My father went home to be with our Lord on Christmas Day, 1995. But if he was here today, as far from perfect as he was, I would tell him one more time how much I loved him and thanked God for him.

So . . . to all of you who still have dads on this side of eternity, take a moment to honor him today. And to all of you who are dads, here are six pillars of parenting encouragement, which I offer to strengthen your resolve live intentionally as the spiritual head of your home and the father of God’s covenant children.

• Pillar #1 Keep Leaning

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God is infinite and we fathers are finite. As often as we think we have it all right, we frequently have much of it wrong. Just ask mom! And that is why we must be willing to lean not on our own understanding, but rather on the wisdom of the Almighty. James instructs those of us who lack wisdom (which, of course, if all of us) to ask God and He will give that wisdom to us (James 1:5). The father God is calling us to be is the father who keeps leaning on the Lord.

• Pillar #2 Keep Leading

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

Fathers are called to be thermostats who set the temperature in the home, not thermometers who simply record it. The biblical definition of leading—serving the Lord and serving others—is the foundation upon which a godly home is built. Remember, it was Jesus who said He did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). The father God is calling us to be is the father who keeps leading his children toward the Lord.

• Pillar #3 Keep Listening

Let the wise listen and add to their learning. (Proverbs 1:5)

With four beloved children (Brock, age 17; Jenna, age 15; Katie, age 11; Tank, age 10), I have learned, often the hard way, why we have two ears and only one mouth. The Bible makes it clear that we are to be much quicker to listen than we are to speak (James 1:19). The father God is calling us to be is the father who keeps listening and learning along the way.

• Pillar #4 Keep Lighting

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

In this dark and depraved world, it is the function of the father to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6), which means we are to light the way for our children through the Word of God. The father God is calling us to be is the father who keeps lighting the path for his children through the Word of God in every aspect of life.

• Pillar #5 Keep Looking

Be alert and always keep on praying . . . (Ephesians 6:18)

Every father is to be the “lookout” for his children, watching for signs of the enemy approaching. Remember, the enemy will look for any and every way into the hearts of our children:  smart phones, music, movies, video games, the Internet, friends . . . everything! The devil “prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8), looking to devour our children; it is our responsibility to keep him out by any means necessary. The father God is calling us to be is the father who keeps watching over his children and praying for them continually.

• Pillar #6 Keep Loving

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Ephesians 5:25)

All of the above categories, when lived out by faith, demonstrate a father’s love for his children: leaning, leading, listening, lighting, and looking. It is important to note here that the best gift of love we can give our children is the love we demonstrate for their mother. The father God is calling us to be is the father who keeps loving mom as Christ loves His church.

There you have it: six pillars of parenting encouragement. Some of you fathers may be thinking, “I have been messing it up big time!” Well, as Bruce Willis said in Die Hard, “Welcome to the party, pal!” We all mess this up every day, and that is why we so desperately need the truths of the Gospel to rain down upon us each day. We are great sinners in need of an even greater Savior on a moment-by-moment basis.

Scripture instructs us, “In view of God’s mercy . . . offer your bodies as living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1). We make this offering in view of the mercy God has shown us in Christ, not in view of our merit—and that certainly includes any merit in the area of being a father. Without the Gospel, we can remain imprisoned to our painful past parenting mistakes.

But this is not for you! The apostle Paul encouraged us to take this view: “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). Learn from the past, look forward to your promised future, and live in the present, knowing that you are unconditionally loved and eternally forgiven. This provides the power to press on into these pillars of parenting, knowing that you go not in your own strength, but in the strength of your Savior.

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

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Jesus promised us that “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). God gives us power through the indwelling of His Spirit and through the means of grace the Spirit uses to apply that power to us.

Last time we looked at the power available to us in God’s living and active Word. Today we will look at another means of grace —prayer—and see if we are plugged into it . . . or unplugged.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  (Matthew 7:7)

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

(Ephesians 6:18)

Pray continually . . . (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Draw near to God . . . (James 4:8)

So . . . how is your prayer life these days? As you can see from the Scriptures listed above, we are not only invited into prayer, but we are commanded to pray. I believe one of the main reasons we are commanded to pray is to help us overcome our own sense of unworthiness in coming to the Throne of Grace. We may often feel unworthy, especially after we have done something we ought not to have done. Then, when the devil chimes in with his accusations, we can begin to believe that heaven’s gate has been closed to us.

This is simply NOT TRUE; and that is why we must remember that we are commanded to come to Jesus . . . just as we are . . . at all times, on all occasions . . . both filthy and guilty!

The Bible provides a great example of the downside of neglecting to pray. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray and told His disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” So what did they do? They went to sleep. And what happened to the beloved apostle Peter immediately after that? He tumbled face-first into temptation.

Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:10-11)

And as you may remember, having neglected His Lord’s instruction to pray, Peter had not finished his free fall into temptation.

He replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”  (Luke 22:33-34)

About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:59-62)

What is true of Peter is true of all of us. Our public fall always begins with our private fall when we neglect the disciplines of grace God has given to us. Charles Spurgeon warned that “A neglected [prayer] closet is the beginning of all spiritual decline.”

Our Lord set the model for a life of prayer. If we truly are His disciples, our lives should be marked by prayer. Remember, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

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

Monday, June 9, 2014

The Lord Jesus Christ said the same power that raised Him from death to life is the same power that resides within every Christian.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)

There’s a question we must ask ourselves: “Have we unplugged from the power source?” You see, this power has been promised to every Christian. We have this power within us. The challenge is whether we are appropriating it or not. What I mean by appropriate is have we taken possession of the power? Have we tapped into it? Have we plugged into it by engaging in the means of grace God has given us to strengthen us in our walk with Christ?

To be sure, the Holy Spirit often acts in a completely sovereign way in our lives, apart from any appropriating work (disciplined effort) on our part. Praise God for that truth! Yet the Bible makes is crystal clear that God expects us to plug into the power He has given us in order to live the life He is calling us to live.

Today we will look at one of those means of grace and throughout next week we’ll examine a few more.

Bible Intake

A steady diet of God’s Word will strengthen us to live godly lives in Christ Jesus. Here are two exhortations to immerse ourselves in Scripture; one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament:

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8)

We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place . . . (2 Peter 1:19)

God wants us in His Word because He wants His Word in us! It is alive and active; it shines light into our world and into our souls (Hebrews 4:12). Every time we go to the Bible we are changed by it. You’ve probably had this experience: you have read the same passage of Scripture dozens of times before, but this time you read it and see something you never saw in the past. Why is that? Because you are not the same person you were the last time you read it! The Word is life-giving . . . imparting new life into the heart of the believing reader.

So . . . how are you doing in the area of Bible intake? Would you define your Bible reading as “plugged in”? Or “unplugged”? Remember, the book you don’t read won’t help.

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