Category Archives: General

Have you ever wondered why there was that one forbidden tree in the center of the Garden of Eden?  It’s not as if God stumbled upon this Garden Paradise and then decided to place man in it.  God was the One who created the Garden and everything in it.  So why in the world would there be that one forbidden tree in the center of Paradise?

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  (Genesis 2:16-17).

In a word, that one forbidden tree was a test for Adam and Eve.  Would they be ruled by their love for God or their love for themselves?  Would they continue to live their “dependent-upon-God-divine-design” or would they choose the way of self-sufficiency and self-rule?

God had graciously given them everything they needed to live lives of unimaginable freedom, joy, and faithfulness to the One who had created them (vertical relationship) and to each other (horizontal relationship).  Life in the Garden was absent of everything bad we experience on this side of their cosmic rebellion.

• Selfish ambition was absent
• Self-centeredness was absent
• Self-focus was absent
• Self-reliance was absent
• Self-rule was absent

Because God had granted Adam and Eve rule and dominion over all of the creation, they needed to be reminded that they were still under the rule and authority of their Creator.  And therein lies the purpose behind that “one forbidden tree” in the center of their Paradise.  They were never meant to live apart from God.  Living a life of autonomous rule was to be as far as from their thinking as the east is from the west.  The great 16^th century theologian John Calvin wrote:

Abstinence from the fruit of one tree was a kind of first lesson of obedience that man might know he had a Director and Lord of his life, on whose will he ought to depend, and in whose commands he ought to acquiesce.  And this truly is the only rule of living well and rationally, that men should exercise themselves in obeying God.

So, where in your life right now has God been testing your obedience?  Who has been directing the areas in your life that matter most?  Whose will have you been depending upon?  We simply were never designed to live our lives apart from God and His life-giving, life-changing Word.  We find our identity in Him; we find our direction in Him; we find our purpose in Him; we find our understanding of everything in Him.  It was only when Adam and Eve chose to find their identity, direction, purpose, and understanding outside of God that Paradise was lost.  But not forever!

You see, a better Paradise was promised through the life and death of Jesus Christ—the Second Adam.  God, in His amazing grace, refused to leave mankind forever trapped in bondage to sin and death.  He promised in Genesis 3:15 to send our Redeemer.

The Lord God told the serpent, “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.”  Our Redeemer lived the perfect life we refused to live and paid the debt we could never pay.  His victory on the cross paid the price for all of our sins—past, present, and to come.  And when Jesus Christ returns, He will make all things new . . . and that includes you!

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

I still vividly remember breaking four toes on my right foot during a karate tournament back in 1984.  I was in a competition and attempted a jump-up front snap kick to break a 4-inch-thick piece of wood.  I either jumped higher than I meant to or the boards were held a little lower than expected.  Either way, I was unable to fully flex my foot prior to hitting the boards with the ball of my foot.  Instead, I hit my intended target with the tips of my toes.  OUCH!  The wood did break, but so did my toes.  The next few months were miserable, as I moved around on crutches and rewound the mental “instant replay” over and over, wishing I had another opportunity to do it over again. 

Years later, when God had raised me from death to life, I was brought up short when I read Psalm 51 for the first time.  My attention fixed on verse 8—“Let the bones that you have broken rejoice.”  I remember thinking how counterintuitive it was to find blessing in broken bones!  But when God is the one doing the bone breaking, we can be assured that it will result in blessings multiplied.  When David speaks of “broken bones,” he is turning our attention to the pain associated with our redemption.  This physical metaphor for the painful process of our salvation is quite instructive.  How self-centered, self-reliant, self-righteous, and self-absorbed David must have been to have painted such a picture of pain as he related his redemption, wrought by the hands of his Redeemer! 

Over the years I have found the secret of being able to receive with great joy this blessing of broken bones.  The key is found in the understanding that David’s story is my story . . . and it’s your story too.  This was very difficult for me to understand and receive early in my Christian life.  I had not committed adultery.  I never fathered a child with a woman who was not my wife.  I never committed murder to try to hide my sin.  How naive I was, until God took the blinders from my eyes so I could see myself for what I truly was—a great sinner in need of an even greater Savior.  This season of David’s life was the proverbial “train wreck,” and my train was moving steadily down the tracks of total truth toward its intended destination. 

There are two reasons why we cannot see ourselves playing the lead role in David’s story.  The first is a distorted self image; we simply think we are better than we actually are!  The second is a distorted image of God and His holiness.  We either raise ourselves up too high or bring God down too low.  Either way, we view ourselves as those looking into a carnival mirror, who see an imprecise reflection that looks nothing like the real person.  But God refuses to leave us this way.  And in the process of our redemption, He often finds it necessary to break a few bones along the way.  As much as we don’t like it, it is better to suffer a broken bone or two than to be left alone to wallow in our distorted unbelief or disillusioned unwillingness. 

The Great Physician knows what is best for His patients and is committed to breaking however many bones as it takes to eradicate every idol our sinful heart manufactures and to bring us back into the loving arms of our Savior.  He will break us free from our comfortable existence.  He will break us free from our addictions.  He will break us free from our self-protection, self-absorption, and self-reliance.  This is the blessing of “broken bones.”  This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!       

Tomorrow is the 9^th anniversary of that infamous day when three planes were intentionally piloted into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. A fourth plane was wrestled to the ground in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, by a group of ordinary individuals who decided to do something extraordinary that day.  19 misguided and lost souls took over those four planes, and their collective actions resulted in the deaths of more than 3,500 people. 

As with the assassination of JFK in 1963, most people remember exactly what they were doing when they heard the appalling news and glued themselves to the television for the next few days.  Over and over again we saw the ghastly images of those planes streaking toward the towers and then disappearing in a ball of flame.  It all seemed so surreal, especially in light of the incredibly beautiful backdrop of a clear, sunny fall day. 

Having served 9 ½ years in the Hollywood Fire Rescue Department prior to my call into ministry, my heart was especially grieved for the New York City Fire Fighters who gave their all that day.  Over the years, many people continue to ask me two penetrating questions:

Why?

Where was God?

The why question can be answered with a single word—SIN!  All of the bad things that happen in this world are the direct result of the cosmic rebellion of Adam and Eve, the first two human beings ever created by God.  When they fell in the Garden, we all fell with them, and we now live in a fallen and broken world filled with fallen and broken people. 

The where question can also be answered with a single word—EVERYWHERE!  Omnipresence was everywhere.  He was on those flights providing strength to passengers in the middle of the unimaginable final moments of their final storm in life.  In all the reports of flight crews and passengers on those doomed planes who were able to call loved ones, not once did we hear about panic-stricken people.  The passengers on Flight 93 had learned about planes that had been turned into flying bombs that morning; instead of going to their graves like sheep led to the slaughter, they decided to make a stand and fight back.  Todd Beamer and other heroes on Flight 93 gave us the battle cry that defined the war on terror for every American: “Let’s roll!” 

God was also busy limiting the number of passengers on those flights.  All four planes could have accommodated more than 1,000 passengers, but there were only 266 aboard.  God likewise limited the number of workers in the Twin Towers from the more than 50,000 who could have been there to just over 20,000.  For those caught in the middle of this incredible tragedy, God sent countless highly trained professionals to rescue those trapped and tend to the injured.  God was in traffic jams, delayed trains, and changed plans.  He was also on every floor and in each stairwell of the Twin Towers. 

In the middle of all that God was doing that day, we found a nation driven to its knees in utter desperation.  Churches across America were filled with hurting, grieving, and confused people, all seeking comfort in the storm.  Countless lives were saved through this incredible tragedy because our God will use all things ultimately for His glory and the good of His children.

So if someone asks you “Where was God?” tell them this:  He was EVERYWHERE, and He still is EVERYWHERE, working all things, even the unspeakably evil acts of man, to accomplish His perfect purposes.  Remember, in God’s economy, desperation always precedes deliverance. 

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

When was the last time you found yourself in the bottom of a pit?  Did you dig the pit for yourself and then jump in?  Or were you thrown into a pit by someone close to you, like Joseph was by his brothers?  There is a plethora of “pits” available to us:

• The pit of debt
• The pit of shattered dreams
• The pit of broken promises
• The pit of failed relationships
• The pit of company layoffs
• The pit of sickness or disease
• The pit of being betrayed
• The pit of persecution—gossip, slander, false accusations

The bad news is that the pits of life are truly endless; the good news is that no pit is too wide or too deep that God cannot rescue you from it.  David penned these lovely words:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

(Psalm 40:1-3 NIV)

David had personal experience in going from the pit to the palace.  How was it possible for him?  Two reasons rise to the surface.

1. The psalmist cried out

We were not created to go through life alone.  Our divine design in creation is dependence on God.  Everything in creation is dependent upon the Creator.  Made by God, for God, we were never created to live apart from God, whether in seasons of plenty or want, sickness or health, harvest or hard providence.  God not only encourages us to come boldly before the throne of grace, He expects us to cry out to Him along the way.  The writer of Hebrews exhorted, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  Our God invites and delights in taking us from the pit to the palace. 

2. The psalmist waited patiently

David knew better than to rush through the pit.  He knew that God is working every slimy pit of providence for two reasons: God’s glory and our ultimate good.  He knew the mud and mire, when shaped in the hands of the Master, would eventually be transformed into His masterpiece.  God inspired David to write these words of exalted praise in Psalm 31:3—“You are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.”

Notice with me that the firm place where the psalmist stood is the same firm place set out for you and me; His name is Jesus Christ.  Christ is the Rock of our salvation.  Paul wrote that during the Exodus the people of Israel “drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them,” and then clearly explained that “the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). 

Christ is our everything—in both salvation and sanctification.  He is the Author and Finisher of our faith and all points in between.  What God begins He completes, and that means you and me!  He will not leave us in any pit we are currently facing . . . even those we dig with our own sinful hands.  He has promised to deliver us out of every pit and in the process give us a “new song and a hymn of praise to our God.”

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

“The godless in heart harbor resentment . . .” (Job 36:13 NIV).

The dictionary defines resentment as a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as wrong, insult, or injury.  We’re even provided with a few examples of resentment in action: “He’s filled with resentment at his boss . . . She expressed her resentment of the new policies.”  Scripture tells us that resentment is so destructive that it “kills a fool” (Job 5:2).  So how are we to deal with the reality and reach of resentment when it rears its ugly head in our own lives?

First, we must understand that the Christian life calls us to overcome obstacles.  Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  Regardless of where you are in your life right now, Christ has promised to take you to the other side of it.

But along the way you have also been promised trials and troubles, struggles and storms.  Paul assured us that “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29 NIV).  Scripture is telling us that not only our saving faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from God, but so is much of our suffering!  However, because we have been united to Christ, we can have peace in facing every problem.  In this world we will have trouble, but take heart!  Christ has overcome those troubles . . . even our problem with resentment!

So where in your life have you been feeling resentful?  Know this: complaining and a critical spirit often results in a growing feeling of resentment. 

Here’s one of my personal traps: choosing the “wrong” check-out line at the grocery store.  Even after painstakingly scouring the landscape to make sure I am in the shortest line (even using my children as scouts and/or placeholders), I inevitably find myself stuck behind someone who forgot an item and has to go to the very back of the store to retrieve it, or who feels compelled to summon a manager to dispute a twenty-cent price discrepancy. I immediately feel my blood pressure skyrocketing and I begin to resent this disruption of my careful planning.  In the end, I play the part of the slowly dying fool! 

And I know I’m not the only person who does this!  One of my most beloved seminary professors confessed during a sermon that “Hell, for me, would be one long bank line.”  I could only heartily laugh in complete agreement!

The reach of resentment takes the small stuff of life and blows it up into major matters.  Resentment moves us from being thankful for all we have received into a sinful, poisonous, self-centered spirit of entitlement.  This provides a perfect foothold for Satan to sink comfortably back onto soft pillows on the throne of our lives—a throne that should only and always be inhabited by Christ!  Once Satan is in position, he busily engages in handing us all the wedges we need to drive between our resentment and the relationships that truly matter.  Countless relationships in the church, home, and workplace have been ruined by running aground on the ruinous rocks of resentment.  

• We resent the career advancement of a co-worker as we are passed over once again.
• We resent the marriage proposal to a close friend as we continue walking faithfully in our singleness.
• We resent the birth announcement as our home remains childless.
• We resent the noticeable weight loss of a family member as we waddle into the holidays bigger than ever.
• We resent the anniversary celebration that reminds us of our painful divorce.

The next time you sense those ugly stirrings of resentment, pause and focus on Jesus.  Allow Him to replace your resentment with His gift of repentance, and remember that His grace is indeed sufficient to meet our every need . . . even overcoming the reach of resentment!

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

Who is Number One in your life?  Now, before you say God, take a moment to prayerfully consider who is actually on the throne of your life in every area.  There are of course, only two choices: Jesus or you.  So how do you know who you are looking out for in every area of life?  1 John 3:16 provides the answer:

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

When Jesus is on the throne of our lives, we live lay-down-your-life-for-others lives, regardless of the cost or circumstance.  When self is on the throne of our lives, we never rise above looking out for number one and wanting to be first.  This was the problem with Diotrehpes.

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us.  So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us.  Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers.  He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.  (3 John 9-10)

Pastor Scotty Smith wrote, “To have one’s name recorded in the Bible is one thing.  But to be chronicled there as someone who loved to be first isn’t a very attractive proposition at all.  I have no clue what was going on in Diotrephes’ life that made him disrespectful of the apostle John and so divisive in the community.  But his story certainly invites me to look at mine.” 

When was the last time you took a close look at your life?  The Bible makes it clear that this is something we must do on a regular basis.  If we are to live lives modeled after our Master, looking out for Number One will mark our lives . . . and His name is Jesus Christ!

If Jesus had desired to be first, He never would have left heaven to come to earth.  He never would have given up continual praise for constant persecution.  He never would have accepted the cross when He had the crown from all eternity.  In laying down His life for others, Jesus has given us the perfect model of how we are to live as His disciples.  He never sought the chief seats, the front of the line, or the head of the class.  Paul put it this way: 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  (Philippians 2:5-8)

Jesus Christ, God incarnate, refused to consider equality with God something He needed to hold on to tightly.  He was driven by His mission of laying down His life for His people.  Because He focused so much on glorifying the Father, He was never concerned with glorifying Himself.  May God forbid that we would seek a crown of glory when the King of kings and Lord of lords chose a crown of thorns on our behalf!

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

In prayerfully considering how to start off September, I thought a little encouragement regarding trusting in God would serve us all well.  If you are a regular reader, you know that I often quote Charles Spurgeon who is one of my all-time favorite teachers.  I generally read through his Morning and Evening devotional and found his September 1^st devotional really ministered to me.  I pray it will do the same for you.  By the way, if you do not have this devotional, I highly recommend it.  My version is based on the King James Version of the Bible, “Trust in Him at all times” Psalm 62:8.

Faith is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life; we ought to have faith in God for our earthly affairs as well as for our heavenly business.  It is only as we learn to trust in God for the supply of all our daily need that we shall live above the world.  We are not to be idle, that would show we did not trust in God, who worketh hiteherto, but in the devil who is the father of idleness.  We are not to be imprudent or rash; that were to trust chance, and not the living God, who is a God of economy and order.  Acting in all prudence and uprightness, we are to rely simply and entirely upon the Lord at all times. 

Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in temporal things.  Trusting in God, you will not be compelled to mourn because you have used sinful means to grow rich.  Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience.  Trusting God, you will not be guilty of self-contradiction.  He who trusts in craft, sails this way to-day, and that way the next, like a vessel tossed about by the fickle wind; but he that trusteth in the Lord is like a vessel propelled by steam, she cuts through the waves, defies the wind, and makes one bright silvery straightforward track to her destined haven. 

Be you a man with living principles within; never bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom.  Walk in your path of integrity with steadfast steps, and show that you are invincibly strong in the strength which confidence in God alone can confer.  Thus you will be delivered from anxious care, you will not be troubled with evil tidings, your heart will be fixed, trusting in the Lord.  How pleasant to float along the stream of providence!  There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God.  We have no care, for He careth for us; we have no troubles, because we cast our burdens upon the Lord. 

I think you will agree that there was no way for me to improve on that devotional.  There is no better way to begin another month than to cast all of our cares upon our Lord.  So much did He care for us that He refused to save Himself so that He could by dying, save us.  This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

(2 Corinthians 12:7-8 NIV)

The dictionary defines a thorn as any of various sharp, spiny protuberances; a prickle that causes sharp pain, irritation, or great discomfort.  But if you’re older than about age 4 and have spent any time at all outside, you probably have a more “piercing” memory of the definition of thorn!  We have a bush in our yard that, no matter how careful I am when pruning it, sticks me a few times before I’m done.     

Commentaries offer a number of suggestions as to what Paul’s “thorn” in 2 Corinthians 12:7 actually was; the possibilities range from bad eyesight to a physical ailments to severe persecution.  They all agree, however, that whatever this “thorn” actually was, it was extremely painful for Paul.

Paul was no ivory tower preacher.  Throughout his ministry he faced severe persecution and calamities. In this same epistle to the Corinthians, Paul described the dangers and difficulties he faced in bringing the Gospel to the nations. Paul had endured:

 . . . far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

(2 Corinthians 11:23-29)

Paul had suffered in ways that you and I can only imagine—stoned and left for dead in Lystra (Acts 14:19), actually spending a day and a night drifting in the open sea, perhaps clinging to a piece of wreckage, praying for rescue.  For such a man to cry out to God—not once, but three times—that the Lord might remove this “thorn” from him . . . Paul had to be in anguish!  The thorn was, after all, a messenger of Satan, and the cruel adversary of the saints must have hated Paul with a vicious fury that is reserved for very few men.

What about you? Are you experiencing the stabbing pain of a thorn? They come in all shapes and sizes.  Do any of these describe your current existence?

• Regret over the past
• Fear about the future
• Sickness or wasting disease
• Rebellious children
• In-laws who act like outlaws
• Shattered dreams
• Broken promises
• Unpleasant or unreasonable boss
• Unfriendly co-worker
• Unemployment, bankruptcy, or simply “too much month at the end of the money”

 I’m sure you can recall many more thorns that have tested your faith.  They affect us physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.  They frequently rob us of our joy . . . but this is not for you! This does not have to be the ultimate testimony of the thorns in your life!

The other day I was talking with my friend, the headmaster of Westminster Academy, Dr. Leo Orsino.  He said something that really struck me and inspired today’s blog, “The test you are facing IS your testimony!”

So . . . do you have a thorn? Are you making that trial your testimony about the all-sufficient power of Christ?  Have you taken your pain and laid it before the throne of grace, as Paul did? 

Persistent prayer is a very good thing; Scripture commands us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  But notice that there was a time for Paul to pray and there was also a time for Paul to press on, regardless of the thorn.  The key to Paul’s ability to triumph through his trial was his relationship with Jesus Christ.  Because Paul’s life was shaped by his Savior, he was able to rise above the thorn’s stabbing pain and serve God with freedom, fervor, and faithfulness.   Because his life was oriented around his Savior, he was able to embrace the Lord’s response to his persistent prayers.

I am not a big fan of paraphrased Scriptures, but I do love J. B. Phillips’ rendering of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

[God’s] reply has been, “My grace is enough for you: for where there is weakness, my power is shown the more completely.” Therefore, I have cheerfully made up my mind to be proud of my weaknesses, because they mean a deeper experience of the power of Christ. I can even enjoy weaknesses, suffering, privations, persecutions and difficulties for Christ’s sake. For my very weakness makes me strong in him.

Our thorns—our troubles and trials—are designed to dismantle all of our idols, including self-sufficiency and autonomy.  Our thorns weaken us, and in our weakness we are driven to the Cross for the only power that will sustain us.  Christ’s steadfast love, mercy, and power are made manifest in our powerlessness.  Your thorn is one of God’s greatest graces your life!

Do you see it?  The test you are facing is your testimony of God’s power working in your life!  Every thorn is an opportunity to glorify God.  And God’s purpose for Paul’s thorn was the same as it is for yours.  Just like our first parents back in the Garden, we all tend toward self-sufficiency and autonomy.  Whether we are conscious of it or not, we act as if we embrace the lines of the haughty humanist anthem: “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”  God allows the thorns to remind us that we were made by Him and for Him, and our divine design demands our need of Him.

We were never created nor intended to find our identity and significance outside of God.  God is always to be the center and circumference of our lives, and He will send as many “thorns” as we need to live out this truth.  When we invite Jesus to sit on the throne of our lives we will be able to say with Paul, “I have cheerfully made up my mind to be proud of my weaknesses, because they mean a deeper experience of the power of Christ.”

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

Here is a question that is not uncommon among Christians: How do I know if I am truly repentant?  To be sure, this is a question that demands an answer—not from man, but from sacred Scripture.  We will use Acts 20:21 as our foundational verse, in which the Apostle Paul declared that he never shrank back from “testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This verse seems to suggest that there is a repentance that is not toward God.  So before we see what repentance toward God is, let’s see what it is not.  It is most certainly not any of the feelings that spring forth from being found out for our sin.  Some, when they are found out, are overwhelmed with a sense of shame because of the judgment and condemnation they receive from their fellow man.  Others are filled with a sense of regret over the consequences of their sinful behavior, such as divorce or bankruptcy.  Still others are gripped with fear over what might happen to them in the future as a result of sin that has surfaced in their lives. 

In most cases, the individuals who experience these emotions would have gone further in and further down into their sin if they had not been found out.  They are not truly sorry for the sin; they are simply unhappy about the consequences of their transgressions; their sorrow never rises like smoke from the altar to the throne of grace.

Let me make this perfectly clear: writhing under the lash of the wages of sin is not repentance toward God.  It is only repentance toward yourself.  This is a repentance that stings, but it never sings, because there is no corresponding forgiveness from our Father in heaven.  True repentance, which is turning away from sin (180 degrees) and toward the Savior,  is rooted in sorrow for the sin we have committed, which is always an affront to the One against whom we have committed our sin. We cannot simply be sorry about the wages our sin has earned for us.  Repentance that stings and sings is always directed toward God and it always rises toward heaven, far above the earthly, self-centered realm of shame, scandal, and sorrow. 

Jesus painted a portrait of repentance toward God in bold, vivid brush strokes in the Parable of the Prodigal Son returning to his father (Luke 15:11-32).  Because the prodigal knew his sin was primarily directed toward his father, it was his father to whom he must go to seek forgiveness and find peace for his soul.  Listen to the cry of a heart filled with a godly sorrow: “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son’” (Luke 15:18-19).  Here is the repentance that both stings and sings.  The Prodigal embodies deep soul conviction, and his stinging sorrow was directed toward the One whom he had ultimately committed his sin against—“I have sinned against heaven and before you.”

And yet such repentance will always sing, because of God’s promised response to it. 

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.  And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate’” (Luke 15:20-24).

David, who knew much of godly sorrow and the forgiveness of God, exulted, “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music” (Psalm 101:1).

True, biblical repentance stings greatly because of the holy perfections of the One whose perfect Law we have violated.  And yet we can sing for joy, because that same perfectly holy God also provided the means for eternal forgiveness and joy: through faith in Jesus Christ.

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

Restlessness is no respecter of persons.  Everyone is born restless.  Since the fall of Adam and Eve, every one of us has been born a sinner at enmity with God, and restlessness is the result of sin in our hearts.  Created by God, for God, we are restless until we find our rest in Him, as St. Augustine so rightly said. 

However, those who are born again are not to be marked by restlessness.  How is this possible?  How do we still the relentlessly restless spirit that indwells all of us?  I’m glad you asked!  The answer is found in Scripture.

And [Jesus] said . . . “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Restlessness is replaced by relationship, both with God (vertical) and with others (horizontal).  The more we invest in our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationships with others, the less restless we become.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in perfect relationship from eternity past to eternity future.  As image bearers of God, we are made for relationship. 

Quickly—can you name the first time in Scripture when the Lord said that something was not good?  Would you say that this surely must have occurred after the Fall?  Throughout the days of creation, we read that “God saw that the light was good,” “And God saw that it was good,” and so on, seven times, “It was good . . . it was good.”

And then, jarringly, in Genesis 2:18, we read of what is not good: “It is not good that the man should be alone,” the Lord announced.  We are made for relationship, and when we fall short in this area for whatever reason—career advancement, social status, achieving and accumulating—we grow restless, because we are denying our divine design. 

The world will tell you that your restlessness is rooted in your lack and need.  Fill your lack and satisfy your need and your restlessness will be gone.  As soon as you find the right relationship, get that promotion, land that new job, close the next deal, fit back into the clothes that have been hanging in the back of your closet since graduating high school, or move into a better neighborhood, you will be at peace, the world assures us.  Don’t you believe it! 

Peace is only to be found in a Person, and His name is Jesus Christ.  The closer you grow in your relationship to Him the more you will be at peace.  The more at peace you become the more you will be able to invest your life into the lives of others.  When we look for fulfillment in someone or something other than Christ, we will be forever restless.  Nothing in the created world was designed to do what only Christ can do for us.  Investing in both the vertical and horizontal relationships will bring the deepest kind of fulfillment that can be experienced. 

To love God and others is to love service more than status.  In putting others first, you are filling a “soul hole” that can be filled in no other way.  Give yourself to God.  Give yourself to others.  Relationship is the key that will unlock the chains of restlessness forever. 

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