Category Archives: General

The world places people into two distinct categories: “Winners” and “Losers.”  This discrimination is hardwired into the DNA of all of us—that people are either winners or losers.  But the Gospel provides another completely different category, which I like to call “Witnesses” and “Learners!”

Instead falling into the worldly categories of winning and losing established by a culture dominated by competition and one-upmanship, the Bible says that God’s children are either “witnesses” or “learners.”  A witness is someone who faithfully reflects the character of Christ.  A learner has fallen short of that mark, but from a posture of Gospel-saturated humility, is engaged in learning the lesson God has given to them.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.  (Acts 1:8)

The Greek word for “witness” in the New Testament is Martos, from which we get our English word martyr.  In essence, a witness for Christ goes beyond their words in life to a way of life.  They bear witness with both their lips and their lives . . . their profession and their practice . . . their words and their works.  You see, the Gospel not only provides for spiritual needs, it provides for physical needs as well.  How else would we explain Jesus feeding crowds of thousands and making the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and the dead live again?

When Christians bear false witness—that is, when their practice contradicts their profession—they are moved into the category of “learner” . . . NOT loser.  Every time we mess up is an opportunity for the Master to teach us something about ourselves and our God.  Every time we bear false witness, whether in thought, word, deed, or desire, we are given an opportunity to learn more about the truths of the Gospel and the trustworthiness of our God. 

So the next time you stumble and sin, look for the lesson God wants you to learn.  Don’t let the world convince you that you are a “loser”!  With Jesus on your side, losing is not an option, because He has secured every victory for you on Golgotha’s Hill.  And the most important lesson we need to learn is the truth that God, in His grace, loves us through every storm . . . every struggle . . . and every sin.  He does not withdraw His love from us, no matter how often we bear false witness.

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

The devil is on the prowl for unbelievers; he is busily engaged in keeping them in utter darkness.  

[T]he god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Satan is on the prowl for the believers too! Scripture is bookended by admonitions to be on guard against our cunning and terrible adversary.  God cautioned Cain, “Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). And Peter warns the church, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

To be sure, Satan can never take you out of the hand of your Savior (see John 6:37 and 10:27-30).  But Satan can and will mess up your life . . . if you let him.  I once heard a speaker quote John 10:10—“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10)—and declare that Satan is working tirelessly to steal your innocence, to destroy your dreams, and to kill you!

The devil is on mission to blind you to the truths of the Gospel in subtle and surprising ways.  You would do well to review how Satan approached Eve in Genesis, Chapter Three.  Satan doesn’t try to convince you that there is no God; instead he smoothly seeks to convince you that a Godless existence isn’t all that bad—it’s actually quite fun and fulfilling!  The more the devil can ensnare us in living a life of self-seeking personal pleasure, the more profoundly we are blinded to the life God calls us to live.

Christian believers are blinded when the devil distracts and diverts their affections to things smaller than God.  And how frighteningly easy this is to do—especially when these things are not inherently bad . . . or even incredibly good. 

• Work is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• Relationships are good . . . but not when they blind us to Jesus
• Recreation is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• Taking care of our home is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• A hobby is good . . . but not when it blinds us to Jesus
• Serving the church is good . . . but NOT when it blinds us to Jesus!

My beloved pastor Tullian frequently admonishes our congregation that “Good things become bad things when they become ultimate things.”  Our love for the good things in this world can blind us to what should be the one true love of our lives: Jesus.  The devil has expertly developed the diabolical tactic of blinding believers by keeping them busy being busy.  We are certain that idle time is the devil’s workshop, so we keep on keeping on, chasing after lesser gods that never deliver what they promise.  At the end of the day, we realize that our problem is not so much in what we are running after, but in what we are running away from. 

The only cure for the blinding of believers is the Gospel, which tells us that repentance and recovery of spiritual sight are gifts from God.  Paul wrote to encourage us “in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25-26 NIV).

Elsewhere Paul exulted that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).  We are not to fear, for we know our victory was eternally secured when our warrior King cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30).  Martin Luther exulted in the victory Christ won for us in “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”

And though this world, with devils filled,

should threaten to undo us,

we will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us. 

The Prince of Darkness grim,

we tremble not for him;

his rage we can endure,

for lo, his doom is sure;

one little word shall fell him.

By resting in the truths of the Gospel and recalling all that Jesus has done for us, we begin to see more clearly.  And in seeing more clearly, we see Jesus as the only thing and the only One who can satisfy our deepest needs: pardon for our sins and peace for our weary souls.

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

Do you remember the story of the “good” thief on the cross who entered into heaven moments after his conversion?  He went instantly from imperfection to perfection.  God has done this great work of salvation countless times in the lives of His saints; some folks have used the phrase “deathbed conversion” to describe it.  But our loving Lord did not do this for us.  Why?  Why would God keep us out of His heaven when heaven is what we all long for?

Charles Spurgeon profoundly asked, “Would God keep His children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary?  Why is the army of the living God still on the battlefield when one charge might give them the victory?  Why are His children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from His lips would bring them into the center of their hopes in heaven?”

The answer to the great preacher’s question is found, of all places, in the oft-repeated refrain from The Blues Brothers movie: “We’re on a mission from God!”

If God did not have work for us to be doing, we would have already entered into our eternal rest alongside the saints who have gone before us.  We remain here on earth as ambassadors for Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:20), tasked with expanding the cause of His kingdom.  We are here to be both salt and light.  Our Lord commands:

You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.  You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.  (Matthew 5:13-16)

Jesus used the metaphors of salt and light to tell us something very important about our mission.  Salt in ancient times was used both to enhance flavor and to act as a preservative.  As salt, we are to bring Gospel flavor to all we do, as well as preserve the truths of the Gospel in our fallen and broken world.  As light, we are to be visible as living epistles of Christ, shining the light of His truth into every dark place, so that God would be glorified.

So don’t fret about the length of time God takes to complete your transformation from imperfection to perfection.  There is work to be done!  You’re on a mission from God!  And the mission He has given you is Kingdom work, in which you live beyond your personal wants, needs, and desires, and live instead for the glory of the King and the good of others . . . all others!

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

I remember when God saved my wife, Kim, and me in September of 1995; we were so excited about the personal benefits of our salvation!  Jesus was going to give us our best life now—a better marriage, more prosperity in our business, optimal health, influential friends, and obedient children.  We made the rescue Jesus had provided for us all about us, not about Him, and during the next few years we began shrinking our salvation.  Does this resonate with you?

Thankfully, God did not leave us in our short-sighted self-absorption.  Through a variety of grace teachers, including Steve Brown and Jerry Bridges, God graciously shifted our focus from ourselves to His Son.  During that process we began to see that our redemption was about so much more than what we had imagined to be a “good” life.  Jesus didn’t save us to make us good, but to make us His; and as His children we are to be more concerned about His kingdom than ours. 

God not only rescues us from our sin, He rescues us from ourselves!  Self-focused living was never the goal of our redemption.  We are delivered from our slavery to self and circumstances so that we can focus on the One who saved us.  We are set free to live a life that is bigger than our own lives.  God is on a mission of “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5), and He raises us from death to life to be part of this incredible cosmic restoration process. 

When we understand God’s purpose, we can begin to see beyond the constricted borders of our own little lives.  We can shift our focus away from what we want to what God wants . . . from what we desire to what God desires . . . from what we love to what God loves.  This is when where our salvation stops shrinking and begins stretching—through sacrificial service to God and others.    

When we are wrapped up in our own lives, we utilize our time, talent, and treasure to serve ourselves and advance the cause of our own kingdom.  But when we are wrapped up in the life of our Savior, we pour out our time, talent, and treasure to serve Him and advance the cause of His kingdom, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  When we are living at this level, we can be assured that we are not shrinking our salvation.

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

Today we celebrate the signing of our Declaration of Independence in 1776.  July 4^th is a national observance of the anniversary of the beginnings of national independence of the American colonists from the authority of the British Crown.  As important as this day is in the life of our great nation for independence, it is critical that we never forget to declare our dependence upon God.

Sadly, Adam and Eve forgot this truth and sent the entire cosmos into a downward spiral of depravity, decadence, and death.  Many Christians mistakenly believe our dependence began in the Garden of Eden when our first parents sinned.  Not true!  Prior to sinning, Adam and Eve were fully dependent upon God for everything.  Their divine design was one of dependence.  They were created never to live for a single moment independent and separated from God.  Self-focus, self-centeredness, self-satisfaction, self-reliance, self-rule, and self-survival were never part of their blueprint—these were a result of their act of cosmic treason. 

The serpent in the garden convinced Eve of a lie, and Eve convinced Adam that they should seek their independence from God and live above and apart from the One who created them.  Ironically, instead of the “independence” Satan had promised, our first parents were now totally dependent upon God for His mercy and forgiveness, which they received through the grace of the promised Savior.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel . . . And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

(Genesis 3:15, 21)

God would have been totally justified in striking down Adam and Eve right on the spot to satisfy His holy justice.  But He did not.  What God’s justice required—payment for sin—God’s grace provided in the giving of His precious Son, Jesus Christ.  Adam and Eve were dependent upon God for life prior to sin and they were dependent upon God for life after sin . . . through the cross work of Christ. 

When was the last time you considered just how dependent you are on God?  Most people immediately reflect back on a season of struggle, suffering, or sorrow and acknowledge how dependent upon God they were to get through it.  But what about the times in life when the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the clouds are fleecy?  In seasons of plenty and prosperity we have a tendency to forget about our dependence upon God. 

Regardless of where this finds you, your next breath is dependent upon God.  The next beat of your heart is dependent upon God.  Your hearing, eyesight and the circulation of your blood are dependent upon God.  “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever” (Romans 11:36).  If God were not upholding you right now, life as you know it would cease.  This is true for every person who has ever lived and for everything that was ever created.  Everything in the cosmos was created by God, for God, and is totally dependent upon God, originally existing as a holy hymn for His glory.  So—as Americans celebrate their independence from the evil and self-centered rule of sinful man—let us all be reminded of our total and utter dependence upon God, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

I cannot think of a better time than right now to declare and celebrate our utter dependence upon the righteous, self-sacrificial, and benevolent rule of our Gracious God. 

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

Today’s message is based on the truth of 1 John 4:7-8—“God is love.”

Let me ask you: are you in love with Love?  Before you quickly respond “YES,” like every good Christian would do, consider this challenge from John Piper, in his book God Is The Gospel:

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

If your answer to Pastor Piper’s question about being satisfied with a heaven where there is no Jesus is “Yes,” then your answer to my question is NO.

Is there something you have in this life that, if it was lost or taken away, your life would be ruined . . . over . . . driven into the ashes of defeat?  Is it your job?  Your spouse or children? Your retirement fund?  Your health?  Your status in your community?  If there such an ultimate thing, you can be assured you are in love with it more than you are with the One who so graciously gave it to you!  You have created an idol for yourself that is every bit as abhorrent as the golden calf fashioned by Israel so many years ago.

Please give this some thought: if you did not have Jesus, how different would your life be today?  God cares about us SO much more than we care about Him!  We chase after worldly success; God drives us toward holiness and godliness.  We pursue the temporary pleasures of this world; God drives us toward the eternal pleasures of the new heaven and earth.  God loves us with a love we simply cannot fathom, “an everlasting love,” as He proclaims in Jeremiah 31:3. 

To be in love with Love is to pursue Him, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  That doesn’t mean you try harder to love Him and make bigger and bolder promises to follow through.  If loving Him is an obligation, your love for Him is more about you than it is about Him.  Rather than loving out of obligation, we are to love out of overflow—the overflow of our relationship to Jesus.  This is the love that Love desires.     

Now, if your meditation on these questions leads you to a place where you feel far from God and His love, do not despair; in fact, cheer up!  He hasn’t moved away from you; you moved away from Him!  All you need to do is start moving back toward Him.

“Come near to God and he will come near to you,” James 4:8 assures us.  Jesus paints a glorious picture of the steadfast love He has toward us in the story of the return of the Prodigal, plodding fearfully toward home, no doubt still stinking from his time in the hog pens, wondering how his Father, whom he had insulted so grievously, would react to the sight of him in his abject failure and filth.  “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).  That is how much you are loved!

You cannot wander your way out of His love.  You cannot drift your way out of His love.  You cannot sin your way out of His love.  Because He is Love and you are His, you are loved—eternally and everlastingly. 

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

Where do you go for help?  Some go to their family; others go to their friends.  Some will dive into the advice columns or self-help books. A few look for escape into alcohol and drugs.  For the Christian, however, there is one place to go that’s better than all other places, a place where we can find the greatest help the world has ever known.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  (Psalm 46:1)

• Are you snared by sin? Claim His blood!
• Are you gashed by guilt? Claim His pardon!
• Are you wilting from weakness? Claim His strength!
• Are you frustrated by past failures? Claim His victory!
• Are you lost in loneliness? Claim His presence!

Jesus is the answer to every question.  Jesus is the solution to every problem.  He is the passage through every obstacle.  And Jesus is available to you.  He is the Fountain of every blessing—past, present, and to come—and the only way to bless a fountain is to drink from it continually.    

Jesus not only desires that that His people acknowledge Him before the watching world, He desires to be appropriated.  Jesus has been given to His people to be called upon, in both bad days and good days . . . in sickness and in health . . . in prosperity and in poverty . . . in times of joy and times of mourning. 

One of the greatest comforts given to a Christian is to know that Jesus walked where you walk; He worked where you work; He served where you serve; He ate where you eat; He slept where you sleep; He was tempted where you are tempted.  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  He knows exactly what you are going through and so much more.  Indeed, as the Epistle to the Hebrews says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Go to Jesus, for He is your Holy Help who can meet you in your place of need . . . regardless of where that place may be.  For He has promised you: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

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

The dictionary defines “reckless” as utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution; careless.  Some antonyms for reckless are prudent, cautious, and calculating.  Which group of definition best describes your Christian life right now?  Are you reckless for your Redeemer . . . or calculating?

Many Christians today are far from living recklessly for their Redeemer.  They like to play it safe and live inside well-established zones of comfort.  They play it safe with their time, talent, and treasure, living only a portion of the life God is calling them to live.  They are sold-out for comfort rather than Christ. 

Those who are redeemed and reckless are easy to spot, because their lives don’t seem to make sense—not just to unbelievers but to Christians also.  They do things for Jesus that most can’t even imagine doing.  They worship openly.  They serve whole-heartedly.  They give generously.  And they do all this without any thought of what they will receive in return.  That’s because they don’t do what they do for a return; they are living out their unqualified, unquestioning love for their Redeemer.  This is reckless living, and it is the life Christ has called each of us to live!  Asked what is the most important commandment of all, Jesus replied:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  (Mark 12:28-30)

Let me make something perfectly clear.  The reckless Christians I am speaking about—at least those who live in the United States—are not likely to rise to the level of commitment evidenced by the early Christians, or those today around the world, many of whom live in Muslim or Communist countries and are beaten, imprisoned, tortured, separated from their families—even killed for their faith.  Scripture commends the tenacious faith of such as these:

They were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.  They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.  They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.  They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

(Hebrews 11:35-38)

However, if our reckless living for the Redeemer never rises to this level, may we who are living in relative comfort for Christ begin making decisions that will cause the watching world to sit up and take notice of our commitment.  Let them see us as the world once saw Abraham, Noah, Esther, John the Baptist, and countless others: as recklessly, incautiously committed to our Redeemer!  This kind of full-throttle Christian living puts us in good company . . . and puts our great and glorious God on display for all-the world to see.

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

Then [Jesus] said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  (Luke 9:23)

There is a great deal of confusion today about sort of cross it is that disciples of Christ have been instructed to carry.  Many Christians have turned the cross of Christ into something it was never meant to be.  You’ll hear them say, “That’s my cross to bear.”  They seem to believe that some unpleasant situation or disagreeable person is a burden they must learn to live with . . . to “grin and bear it.” 

Our Lord, however, was laying emphasis to His teaching that the cross He was calling His disciples to take up is a cross of self-denial, self-sacrifice, and ultimately self-death.  In taking up the cross of Christ, we die to self and live for the glory of God and the good of others. 

Here are two examples of what this cross we should carry is not. It is not:

THE COMFORTABLE CROSS, which is really no burden to bear at all, because we are actively pursuing the good life rather than the godly life.  Our shoulders are so thickly padded with the stuff of life and the things of this world that we can barely feel this cross.  David Goetz offered this sharp admonition: “Too much of the good life ends up being toxic, deforming us spiritually.”  Those who carry the comfortable cross attend church regularly and even offer their time, talent, and treasure . . . just as long as it doesn’t take them out of their comfort zones.   

THE CONVENIENT CROSS is carried only when it is convenient.  As long as carrying our cross does not disturb our comfortable and convenient lives, we are perfectly willing to carry it.  But as soon as the cross interferes with our agenda, we put it down.  When the cross disrupts our plans, we put it down.   

The apostle Paul wanted nothing to do with a comfortable or convenient cross.  He knew who he was and where he came from.  He knew what Jesus had redeemed him from, and his only desire in this life was to be like His Savior. 

I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death . . .  (Philippians 3:8-10)

When you know who you are (a great sinner) and where you came from (the pit of hell), you can begin to understand what Jesus has redeemed you from.  At this level of living, you desire above all else to please and glorify your Savior by carrying a Christ-centered cross.  This cross looks like death to the watching world, but it is actually the only way to real life on both sides of the grave. 

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

How would you define the word “grace”?  For most Americans, grace is synonymous with words like kindness, goodness, charm, good manners, or some other attractive characteristic.  Some people might call to mind a picture of a Southern belle with flawless social skills; others might think of an accomplished dancer or figure skater.  These are perfectly good definitions of grace for those who are not Christians . . . but what about those of us who have been saved by grace?

A Christian child might connect the word “grace” to the short prayer said at mealtime, giving thanks and asking for God’s blessings upon the meal.  Their parents would likely recall the acronym G.R.A.C.E.—God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.  This last phrase comes very close to a workable, textbook definition of grace: the unmerited favor of God lavished on undeserving sinners, thanks to Christ’s suffering and death.

But we can’t stop there.  The truths of the Gospel demand we go further.  Any definition of grace that does not include the Gospel-truth of what we actually deserved is little more than a quick sketch, rather than a portrait of what our loving Lord has done for us.  Let’s make a brief study of what we HAVE earned from God.

[B]ut 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 2:17)

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.  (Romans 5:12)

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3:23)

For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me.  The soul who sins is the one who will die.  (Ezekiel 18:4)

The wages of sin is death.  (Romans 6:23)

 “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense” is a good beginning to defining grace, but to this we must add: “freely offered to those who deserved only death, hell and the eternal wrath of Almighty God.”  Martyn Lloyd-Jones summarized it powerfully: “Grace is favor shown to people who do not deserve any favor at all.  We deserve nothing but hell.  If you think you deserve heaven, take it from me, you are not a Christian.”  WOW!  Now that is an accurate picture of who we are and what we deserve apart from the grace of the Gospel.

My beloved pastor, Tullian Tchividjian, beautifully paraphrased Romans 5:8 in his “Pictures of Grace” sermon series: “When we were at our most appalling, Christ died for us.”  When we hold the truth about grace up to the light of who we really are and what we thoroughly deserve, it truly is spectacular! 

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