Category Archives: General

If someone asked you how you would measure maturity as a Christian, how would you answer?  Would you focus on performance, effort, and good works?  Here are some of the most common yardsticks Christians give when asked about measuring maturity:

• Daily devotions
• Consistent prayer life
• Weekly witnessing
• Regular church attendance
• Faithful tither
• Scripture memorization
• Outreach oriented
• Mission minded

As good as these answers are, they are not accurate measurements of true maturity in the Christian.  Think about it: if faithful, consistent practice of spiritual disciplines was the measure of maturity, the Pharisees would have been the holiest individuals on the planet!  Yet Jesus said their holiness never moved from their head to their heart.  The Pharisees were more concerned with what their hands and feet were doing than how their heart was beating. 

Real Christian maturity is never measured by behavior; it is only to be measured by belief.  What we believe about Christ’s behavior on our behalf is the true measurement of our maturity.  The Pharisees believed it was all about their work . . . their effort . . . their performance . . . their righteousness.  In their eyes, what they did made them holy.  And the more they did, the more holy they believed they were.  This is why Jesus excoriated them. 

Christian maturity is grounded in our understanding that it is all about what Jesus has already done on our behalf . . . His work . . . His effort . . . His performance . . . His righteousness.  Our behavior cannot gain for us He has already accomplished for us.  Christ’s behavior secured for us everything we need, and it is only in our believing it and re-believing it every day that we find ourselves walking in the way of maturity.

The more we grasp the Gospel, the deeper we drive the roots of Christian maturity into the soil of the sanctified life.  Our sense of sin deepens; our hope brightens; our zeal quickens.  Daily we must become ever more seized by the truth of God’s unconditional love poured out for us on Golgotha’s Hill—while we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8).  If God didn’t wait for us to be good before He loved us, He’s not waiting for us to get better to keep loving us!  We are completely loved in the Beloved.  The mature Christian is undergirded and uplifted by this truth and walks in it moment by moment. 

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

If you are not in the Fort Lauderdale area, or did not get to attend Coral Ridge last Sunday, here is the video from the sermon.  A special thank you to Pastor Tullian for asking me to preach in his place…

At first glance, faith in Jesus Christ and the beliefs of the functional atheist seem as far apart as the east is from the west.  But upon closer inspection, we see that everyone who professes faith in Christ does, at times, live like a functional atheist.

A functional atheist is someone who professes faith in Christ, but behaves as if He doesn’t exist.  They don’t say, “There is no God,” but rather they deny the existence of God in their lives by the way they are living at a particular time.  The functional atheist has decided to live apart from the revealed truth of Scripture.  He professes faith in Christ, but lives life as a practicing atheist. 

There are countless ways this is fleshed out in the life of a Christian.  Let’s take a look at some functional atheists and see if any you recognize any of these folks.

Sunday-only Sam and Sandra focus on God on Sunday but forget about Him Monday through Saturday. On those days, they live like God doesn’t exist.  Sunday-only Sam and Sandra confine their focus on God to the time they spend in the church sanctuary.

Home-only Harry and Holly focus on God at home through daily devotions and prayer but forget about Him as soon as they get out into the world.  Home-only Harry and Holly find it easy to practice their faith at home, but not before the watching world of their non-Christian peers.

Painless providence-only Peter and Pam focus on God when the clouds are fleecy, the sky is blue, and the sun is shining.  Painless providence-only Peter and Pam keep their focus on God when all is going well . . . but as soon as the storm winds begin to blow, they take their eyes off Jesus and focus on to the storm.

All functional atheists have one thing in common.  They believe they were made in the image of God but do everything in their power to return the favor by making God into their image.  They refuse to serve the God who is because they prefer to serve the God they want.  They believe in God and trust Him . . . just not with the whole of their lives.  God is only part of their lives rather than all of their lives.   

I am the way, the truth, and the life.  (John 14:6)

Jesus is not only the way to eternal life; He is, in and of Himself, everyday life.  When He gave the promise, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19), He was speaking of a deliverance that transcended the political, social, and economical deliverance the people of Israel were looking and hoping for.  He offers a life of freedom from the bondage to sin and the self.  It is a life of freedom to live according to His will, rather than our will. 

The Gospel is the cure for functional atheism.  The more we focus on the Gospel, and the better we understand it, the more it will draw us into a life of faithfulness rather than functional atheism.  When we catch a glimpse of who Jesus really is and what He really did on our behalf, we begin to focus less on ourselves and more on Him.  We begin expanding our relationship to Jesus throughout the week.  We begin expanding our relationship to Jesus outside of the home.  We begin expanding our relationship to Jesus even when His providences are painful. 

Wherever this finds you, the power of the Gospel can transform you into the person Jesus is calling you to be.  Fear, worry, and doubt over an uncertain future are replaced by faithfulness, worship, and devotion to Christ.  We begin letting go of everything smaller than God, because we realize those things can never do for us what only Jesus can do.  The unconditional love and undeserved favor we are given in the Gospel are the motive and motivation to give up our functional atheism for a life built upon and centered in Christ alone.  This is the only place where we can live a life that truly matters. 

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

When Jesus saved you, He placed you into His body—the church.  The Christian life was never meant to be lived in intentional isolation—which, sadly, is how far too many Christians live.  As a member of the body of Christ, each person is as needed and as valuable as the next.  And one of the most important roles we can all play in one another’s lives is to be an encourager.  I call encouragement “Christian Vitamin C.”      

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.  But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.  (Hebrews 3:12-14)

Everyone is carrying a burden.  Look closely into the eyes of the people around you and you will see their desperate longing for a little encouragement . . . a kind word . . . a pat on the back . . . a warm smile.  Encouragement is to the soul what vitamin C is to the body.  “Gracious words are like a honeycomb,” Proverbs 16:24 asserts, “sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”

There’s just one problem: we are not encouragers by nature.  Our sinful self-centeredness keeps us from encouraging others.  We are consumed with OUR dreams, OUR goals, OUR desires, OUR sorrows, OUR suffering, OUR success, OUR doubts, OUR fears.  Our mantra is Jesus and ME . . . not Jesus and we!

Only the power of the Gospel can free us from the suffocating prison of self-absorption.  The Gospel shifts our focus from self to the Savior; when we are focused on the Savior He redirects our focus to others so that we might minister in His name.  And one of the greatest ministries we can all have, regardless of our gifting and calling, is to be an encourager.   

Scripture is quite direct on this point: “Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

William Barclay put it this way:

One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement.  It is easy to laugh at man’s ideals.  It is easy to pour cold water on the enthusiasm.  It is easy to discourage others.  The world if full of discouragers.  We have a Christian duty to encourage one another.  Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet.  Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.

So . . . what about you? Are you such a person?  Do you speak encouragement into the lives of others?         

Here’s another crucial question: do you have an encourager in your life?  Someone who speaks life into your life?  If you can say yes, get on your face before the Living God and thank Him for this incredible gift!  I thank God daily for the many encouragers He has given me: my beloved wife and best friend, Kim; my mentor, Clark; and several brothers in Christ.  There is one man whom I’ve nicknamed “Brother Barnabas” (Barnabas means “son of encouragement”), because of the daily dose of the Christian Vitamin C he gives to me.  I thank God for Kim, Clark, and all those who pour words of life and love into me.  And I also make it a point to give heartfelt thanks to my encouragers.  Those like Barnabas, who are wired as encouragers, need to receive encouragement every bit as much as those to whom they deliver it. 

If you don’t have an encourager in your life, why don’t you make a point of being an encourager in the lives of everyone you meet?  Jesus put it this way: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12).  If you want encouragement from others, you be an encourager to them.  Everyone needs a daily dose of Christian Vitamin C!

Ultimately, the Gospel is our greatest source of encouragement.  That is why we need to continually preach it to ourselves.  But as we’ve seen, God has called each Christian to fill the role of encourager in the lives of others.  Encouragement is divinely designed to keep us from being hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  That is powerful stuff!

“Let us encourage one another,” the letter to the Hebrews exhorts.  Jesus gave us the Gospel to empower our encouragement through a reorientation toward others and away from ourselves.    

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

A life without rules and regulations would be no life at all.  I’m sure we all think at times that we would like to live a life without rules and regulations, but it wouldn’t take long for our world to degenerate into utter anarchy.  Our collective despairing cry would be for the return of rules and regulations!

But what is the reach of rules and regulations?  Rules and regulations are designed to create boundaries and protect rights, in order to ensure that everyone in society behaves in such a way that a community can function, regulate, and work appropriately.  When the rules and regulations are violated, consequences follow; for many, the fear of these consequences keeps them from committing violations.  Doing what is right is driven by the fear of the consequence of doing what is wrong.

The reach of rules and regulations can indeed control, constrict, and confine behavior.  But rules and regulations can never transform the heart, which is the ultimate source of our wrong thinking and evildoing.  Only the Gospel can do that, as the apostle Paul powerfully explains:   

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle!  Do not taste!  Do not tough!”?  These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.  Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.  (Colossians 2:20-23)

Rules and regulations can only go so far in controlling behavior.  Eventually we all follow the natural desires of the heart, and those desires, if not directed by the Holy Spirit, ultimately lead to death.  It is only the transforming power of the Gospel that can change the heart . . . only the Gospel which can radically and permanently change behavior.  This change is motivated, not by instilling fear or inflicting guilt, but rather, out of a heart overflowing with thanksgiving to the One who has transformed our life . . . who gave us a new heart and a new spirit.

Rules and regulations were never designed to do for the human heart what only the Redeemer can do: make it alive, make it new, and make it beat to the things of God.  Remember, it’s not about changing behavior.  It’s about changing the heart, which will ultimately change behavior, and only the power of the Gospel can do that.

If you are in a position of influence in someone’s life as a parent, teacher, coach, etc., aim at changing behavior, and you may win the battle.  But if you aim at changing the heart, you will win the war.

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

We have all heard someone say, “The grass is always greener on the other side!”  But is it true?  Let’s take a look at what is meant by this maxim, and decide whether or not it is true.

First, when someone says these words, what they mean is that the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence because it is someone else’s grass!  Our sinful, self-absorbed nature is fond of looking at what we don’t have and thinking it is better than what we do have.  This problem goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.  They had everything in the Garden of Eden except one tree, and that one tree seemed greener to them than everything else they had.

And we are just like our first two parents.   

• The job I don’t have is greener than the job I do have
• The body I don’t have is greener than the body I do have
• The education I don’t have is greener than the education I do have
• The talent I don’t have is greener than the talent I do have
• The opportunity I don’t have is greener than the opportunity I do have
• The car I don’t have is greener than the car I do have
• The home I don’t have is greener than the home I do have
• The marriage I don’t have is greener than the marriage I do have
• The social network I don’t have is greener than the social circle I do have
• The ministry I don’t have is greener than the ministry I do have

The Bible makes it clear that we are not to spend our time fixated on the things we don’t have and thinking them to be better than what we do have. 

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.  (Exodus 20:17)

You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them (graven images), nor take it for yourselves, lets you be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.  (Deuteronomy 7:25)

Do not be deceived; neither fornicators . . . not the covetous . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God.  (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

What do you have that you have not been given?  Everything you have is a gift from God and every gift you have been graciously given—you could say undeservedly so—and should be received with gratitude, appreciation, and contentment.  The Westminster Shorter Catechism explains, “The tenth commandment requires us to be completely satisfied with our own status in life.” The letter to the Hebrews instructs, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

So . . . is the grass always greener on the other side in the world you currently live in?  Only the Gospel empowers us to see the truth about where the grass is greener.  And do you know where that is?  It is always where you water it . . . fertilize it . . . nurture it . . . and care for it. 

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

They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
(Acts 16:6-8).

What a remarkable passage of Scripture!  Paul and his companions were embarked on mission to share the Gospel of Christ with as many as possible.  You would expect that Satan would make every effort to frustrate their efforts, and that God would move heaven and earth to advance the good work. And yet we see that the Holy Spirit twice forbade them from preaching the Good News in certain regions. As the kids often say, what’s up with that?!

I cannot tell you how many times I hear someone describe how the devil is hard at work opposing them.  This is frequently true, yet I’ve learned from personal experience that often it is not Lucifer, but the Lord who has His loving hand of restraint upon me.  It only looks like the work of the devil, because my vision is short-sighted, my plans are self-centered, and my goals are self-absorbed. 

I must continually remember that God has not promised to give to us all our hopes and dreams.  We want to get a good education, a secure and successful career, marry the perfect person, raise perfect children, and live happily ever after on a plush retirement plan.  Just one problem: God never promised to give us any of these things!  We may in fact enjoy these good gifts from the hand of God.  But the moment we begin to connect our identity to school or job or spouse or children or bank accounts and anchor our happiness in these, we can be certain that God will place His restraining hand upon us.  God will not make us comfortable in our idol worship!

If we are adopted members of God’s forever family, there are times when God will stand in opposition to us—not because He is angry with us or disappointed with us, but because He loves us and wants the best for us.  “The Lord disciplines the one he loves,” the letter to the Hebrews explained, “and chastises every son whom he receives” (12:6).

Just like a child who pleads for a chocolate bar twenty minutes before dinner, we often set our hearts on what our Father knows is not best for us!  Our vision is clouded by our sin, and we may regard God as a cosmic kill-joy when we don’t get what we want.  We mentally stamp a petulant foot and wonder why God won’t come through for us!  Yet He has come through, by withholding the stuff we think will meet us in our place of deepest need—the need which, in reality, only God can meet. 

Our deepest need will never be met by people, our profession, or our possessions.  It will only be fulfilled in a person—one Person—and His name is Jesus Christ.  Everything smaller than God will inevitably disappoint us.  We all know this to be true from repeated personal experience.

So remember, it’s not always Satan who is working to derail your plans.  God will take the wheels right off the track when we are moving in the wrong direction.  God simply loves us too much to let us shrink the size of our life down to the size of our life by chasing after the idols of the heart.

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

At first glance, it might seem that I am going to address the subject of debt.  There are many Christians today who are “broke and still buying,” maxing out credit card after credit card, turning a blind eye to the unyielding admonition of Scripture: “The borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).

Not so long ago, when your wallet or bank account got to empty you had to stop buying.  Not anymore!  Today you can race past zero and dig a hole you may never climb out of.  If you’re the United States Government, you simply print reams of dollar bills like they were monopoly money and dig a hole you may never climb out of. But that is a topic for another day . . .

Today’s message is not about miserable money management, but munificent deliverance through the power of the Gospel.  The Gospel is for those who are spiritually penniless, and yet empowered to buy. 

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

(Isaiah 55:1)

Let the one who desires take the water of life without price.  (Revelation 22:17)

The Gospel invites all those who have no money; they are broke.  It’s not that they don’t have enough; they are busted!  So how do you buy without money?  GRACE!  The grace of God is not designed to make up the difference of what we lack to stand righteous before God.  The grace of God is designed to pay the entire cost of our salvation through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is only the proud, pharisaical heart that believes it beats in harmony with the Almighty.  Only the self-righteous believe they have enough money for a seat at the table to come, buy, and eat.  But this is not for you! 

Words fail to capture just how desperate our condition is after Adam’s catastrophic fall in the Garden.  It’s bad enough that we don’t have enough money to come, buy, and eat; worse still, whatever we do have, we spend on everything other than the things of God.  Even if we had enough, we wouldn’t want to buy what God was selling anyway!  We are so corrupted, so self-absorbed, so desperately wicked and sick, we never rightly see ourselves.  It’s like peering at ourselves in a carnival mirror, seeing a reflection that is grossly distorted, and believing we look OK . . . at the very least, I look a whole lot better than many of you!

We look at our morality and see others who are far worse than we are . . . and believe we are OK.  We look to our performance and see others who fall short of our efforts . . . and believe we are OK.  We look to our goodness and see others who are bad to the bone . . . so we believe we are OK.  We believe that in God’s economy we are graded on a curve . . . and at least we aren’t as bad as the next guy.  We sound very much like the Pharisee in the temple, purring, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11).

But this is not the Gospel.  The Gospel tells us we have nothing, are nothing, and can do nothing about our condition.  We are stone cold dead in trespasses and sins, “No one is righteous, not even one . . . All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:10, 23).  We can only cry along with the tax collector, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luke 18:13 NASB).

Because of our abysmal poverty, God has to do it all.  And He does do it all through the supernatural power of the Gospel!  It has been well said that the one thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that makes it necessary; God’s remedy for our sin is our Savior.

Come, you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, drink the water of life without cost!  Jesus has paid the price in full.

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

On a scale of 1-10, how content are you?  What would those closest to you say regarding your level of contentment?  How would your coworkers rate you?  Honestly now, does your score depend upon the circumstances you are facing at the time and God’s “painless” providence for your life?

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5)

Therein lies the key to exchanging chaos for contentment.  Chaos is found in the love of money, because regardless of how much you have, you never have enough.  Contentment is found in what you have—and His name is Jesus Christ.  Knowing that you will never walk this life alone is the key to exchanging chaos for contentment.  And the choice is always yours. 

• Whether you are in plenty or want . . . He is with you!
• Whether you are in sickness or health . . . He is with you!
• Whether you are in prosperity or poverty . . . He is with you!

 You see, contentment is never found in the stuff of life.  It is only found in the Savior.  He is enough.  We stumble into quicksand when we look for satisfaction in anything smaller than God.  Nothing in this world was ever designed to do for us what only Jesus can do, and that is to replace a life of chaos with contentment. 

In God’s economy, the stuff He gives us was never intended to satisfy us at the deepest level.  Only God can do that, because only God is big enough to fill the God-sized void inside of us that He placed there, so that we would cry out to Him alone and depend on Him alone!  When we focus on what the world offers, we find chaos instead of contentment.  But when we focus on what the living Word offers, we find true contentment, because we understand all our gifts must be held loosely.  It is never “the stuff” that destroys our contentment and fills our life with chaos; it is how tightly we hold on to it that does.  Hold on loosely to all your stuff and cling tightly to your Savior.

One last thought: if you ever find yourself losing your grip on Him, relax.  You were never holding Him in the first place!  He has had a hold on you from before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and He has promised to never let go! “Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  Now that is the ultimate source of continual contentment.   

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

As we come out of Holy Week, let’s take a moment to reflect on our motivation the ministry we engage in for our Lord and Master.  First, let me once again dispel the notion that only those in “full-time,” “professional” positions in the church or para-church organizations are in ministry for the Master.  Every child born of grace is in full-time ministry, regardless of the work they perform (excluding, of course, work that would be prohibited by the revealed truth of Scripture—dealing drugs, prostitution, pornography, etc.).  The butcher, baker, and candlestick maker are all in full time ministry and should be “rendering service with a good will as to the Lord” (Ephesians 6:7) for the glory of our risen King.  With that understood, let’s take a look at our motivation for ministry.

Have you ever felt unqualified or inadequate for the ministry of service God has called you to?  If not, reflect more deeply on who you really are and what He has called you to . . . and you will!  Feeling unqualified and inadequate puts us in good company.  The apostle Paul felt this way. 

Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.  (Ephesians 3:8)

Paul knew he did not live up to the truth he was teaching and preaching.  Yet he understood a great truth that we all need to understand: his ministry was a grace given to him by the Lord Jesus Christ . . . and so is yours!  Paul never felt worthy or adequate in his calling.  He knew who he was before Jesus showed up (a great sinner in need of a great Savior), and he knew what he was after Jesus showed up (a saved sinner in need of a great Savior).  Yet he fulfilled his calling, because he knew it was because it was caused by God’s grace and not his own goodness or good works. 

It is only when we see our calling as a result solely of the undeserved and unmerited favor of God that we can we get past the concern for our worthiness and adequacy.  Every person who has ever ministered in the name of the Most High God has been unworthy and inadequate—except, of course, for Jesus Himself.  For the rest of us, it is all because of God’s grace . . . it is only because of God’s grace . . . period!

Some readers might be thinking: “What about my clear gifting in my area of ministry?”  Well, as Paul rhetorically asked the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).  Do you think your gift is something that you somehow generated yourself?

We have different gifts according to the grace given us.  (Romans 12:6)

The spiritual gifts Paul was speaking about, gifts which equip, enable, and empower us to perform our ministries to the glory of the Master, are only a result of God’s grace.  John the Baptist stated, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27).  We did not earn these gifts.  We did not merit these gifts.  We did not deserve these gifts.  They are nothing less than a gracious bequest from our good God, to be used for His glory in the advancement of the cause of His kingdom.  Both the gifts and the ministries in which we are to use them are gifts of God’s amazing grace.

So what is our motivation for ministry?  We know we don’t deserve to minister in the name of Jesus, and yet He has determined to call us into service.  The key is found in 2 Corinthians 4:1.

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 

We are unworthy.  We are inadequate.  We are undeserving.  But we are His, and He has called us into service for His glory, and that is enough to know!  Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, never lost sight of his unworthiness and inadequacy as an apostle and writer.  But he balanced his understanding of his emptiness with the fullness of Christ.  To be sure, Paul knew he was undeserving of his calling, but because Jesus called him, that was enough to know. 

We claim nothing in and of ourselves.  If we are gifted, it is because He has gifted us.  If we are fruitful, it is because He has made us fruitful.  If we are blessed, it is because He has blessed us.  Everything we get that is good comes from Him (see James 1:17).  Knowing that it is all of God’s grace is the motivation for ministry.  Knowing it is not about us and it is all about Him is the motivation to keep on keeping on, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

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