Category Archives: General

Our message on God Replacements from Monday was well received.  Today, by God’s grace, we are going to drive the roots a bit deeper into the soil of the sanctified life. 

The heart of the believer is the battleground where all our fights are fought.  God replacements (idols of the heart) battle for supremacy of the heart and in the heart there is only room for one supreme ruler.  Make no mistake, whatever rules your heart runs your life.  Moment by moment, either God or one of your God replacements will be on the throne of your heart exerting inescapable influence over every area of your life.         

In the Bible, the word “heart” describes the inner person or your “spiritual” self…“that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16).  Inasmuch as we are caught in a world that looks at and overemphasizes the outer person (physical self) at the expense of the inner person, the heart is the “real” you.    

Because the heart is the source of all that we think, do, and say only a total transformation of the heart will lead to lasting change.  If you are facing external pressure, internal guilt or great incentive…A change in attitude can be a good thing.  A change in language can be a good thing.  A change in behavior can be a good thing.  A change in circumstance can be a good thing.  But without a change of heart done by the Great Physician through what I call “Open Heart Surgery” all change, as positive as it may be, is only cosmetic and temporary. 

Jesus by His death on the cross, sought it, caught it, and bought it with His precious blood.  Forgiveness alone was not enough.  Jesus had to fight His way into our hearts.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus enters the heart of every believer, claims it as His own, and racially changes it for His glory.  How?  Not by rehabilitating the desires of our heart but by recapturing our heart and reorienting our desires to love and serve the One who did for us what we could not do for ourselves.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

We were designed by God for God so why do we so often exchange our Creator for created things?  In a word…sin.  Sin has seduced us into believing that created things, idols of the heart, can give to us what only our Creator can give.  They promise what they cannot deliver and when we seek to find our identity in things smaller than God, we eventually become smaller than God has called us to be.  “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).  Sin has sent all of humanity into a downward spiral of serving an endless supply of God replacements. 

Sin has driven us away from the Creator and toward the creation..away from the spiritual and toward the physical.  In exchanging the truth for a lie, we have exchanged our vertical relationship with all things horizontal.  The problem is not that all things horizontal are evil.  Relationships are good.  Jobs are good.  Hobbies are good.  Service projects are good.  They only become evil when we use them as replacements for our relationship with God.  We are never to find our identity in created things.  We are only to find our identity in our Creator.  As my pastor Tullian likes to say, “Good things become bad things when they become ultimate things!”    

So what have you been using as God replacements in your life lately?  Your work?  Your mate?  Your children?  Your church service?  Your physical attractiveness?  Your finances?  Created things were never designed by God to sustain us in this life or the next.  They were never designed to do what only God can do…provide eternal meaning, purpose, and significance.  Let us examine our hearts today and take all of our God replacements, lay them at the foot of the cross, and replace them with God.  This is life.  This is the gospel.  This is grace for the race.   NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!   

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.  But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”  When I served in the Hollywood Fire Rescue Department I was given the privilege of cooking for the men at my station.  Salt was an important ingredient during the preparation of the meals to enhance the flavor of the foods.  It never ceased to amaze me to watch many of the men vigorously shaking the salt shaker all over the food I had labored hours over preparing and cooking before even taking the first bite!  Yet, the primary importance of salt was not so much to add flavor but to act as a preservative.  So what is Jesus talking about in this verse?    

Jesus was telling His disciples that their lives were to be poured out in faithful service to others to hinder the corruption in their sin-stained, self-centered, and spiritually-dead world.  He is saying the same to us today.  When Jesus laid His life down for sinners, He was giving us the model of what a disciple is to look like.  Being a disciple is not about living a life of self-protection, self-absorption, and selfish ambition.  It’s about living a life marked by self-sacrifice. It is trading a life of ease for activity, consumption for contribution, materialism for the Master.   So are you a “salty” saint or have you lost a bit of your saltiness?

Oh, one final point about this “salt” Jesus is talking about.  Salt is a singular ordinary ingredient that makes an extraordinary contribution to the whole.  Every grain of salt is as important as every other grain of salt which means…YOU ARE AS IMPORTANT AS EVERY OTHER SAINT!  You have gifts, talents, and abilities that are uniquely yours, given to you by God to be used for His glory and the good of others.  Never underestimate or under value the transforming impact God is calling you to have in the lives of all people living in this hurting and broken world.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

What kind of pressures have you been facing lately?  What has it been producing in your life?  The longer I walk with Jesus the more I am convinced that there are some blessings that can only come as a result of intense pressure.  God puts us in the pressure cooker not to drive us into the ashes of defeat, but to demonstrate His radical and disruptive grace in our lives.  In 2 Corinthians 12:9 we read, But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

God’s grace is most magnified when we are navigating the waters in the storms of life.  It all comes down to trusting God…even when we cannot trace Him.  Whether pressures in our…singleness – friendships – marriage – parenting – school – work – church service…we all face them and we are responsible to deal with them in a way that glorifies our God.  When we do, we can be certain that the pressures we are facing are producing fruit that will last.  James tells us that “pressure produces perseverance” (James 1:3).  Hammered out on the anvil of pressure, God is honing, shaping, and molding His adopted children into the likeness of His precious Son.  What more could we ask for. 

When you squeeze an orange you get orange juice.  When you squeeze a tomato you get tomato juice.  What do those around you get when you are squeezed by the pressures of life?  God’s commitment to you, demonstrated on the cross, makes it clear that pressure is merely a passageway into producing deeper fellowship with the Prince of Peace.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!     

Have you ever wondered, “Is this all there is?”  I think we all have at one time or another for one simple reason.  Deep down inside of each one of us there has been placed an unquenchable desire for more.  We all want to be part of something bigger than the narrow borders of our own lives.  We want to live lives that truly matter.  We want to feel that we are doing something that is making a difference and will live on long after we are gone.    

God has made us for more.  The problem comes in when we are seeking that “more” without the Master.  In this fallen and broken world some do it by seeking “more” in their work.  Some do it by seeking “more” in their recreation.  Some do it by seeking “more” in their relationships.  Still others do it by seeking “more” in supporting some special cause.  But seeking “more” without the Master is actually seeking so much less.  It is exactly what Adam and Eve did in the Garden when they bought into Satan’s lie of “more.” 

Satan’s more is self-absorption; Satan’s more is self-satisfaction; Satan’s more is self-survival; Satan’s more is self-reliance

The more that we have been made for is not more of the self.  It is more of the Savior.  As Augustine once said, “There is a God-shaped void in each one of us that can only be filled by God.”  The more we try to fill this void with the things of this world the less we will be filled.  So what “more” have you been seeking lately?  Over the next two days take a close look and as you do, answer this question, “What is your “more” that is driving your life?”  The answer will never be found in simply having a purpose.  Everyone has some kind of purpose they are living for.  The answer will never be found in a position, prosperity or pleasure.  It is only to be found in a person and His name is Jesus Christ.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

In our Adult Sunday school class we are studying the book of Acts.  One particular lesson was rooted in Acts 10:38, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.  He went about doing good…”  Wouldn’t that be well said of all of us…that the confession of our lives would be that we “went about doing good.”  Briefly look with me at one truth found in this remarkable passage and one personal application.

• TRUTH: Jesus did good personally!

With so many disciples and followers willing to drop everything to serve their Master, it was good that He went about personally doing good.  He went personally to cure the sick.  He went personally to give sight to the blind.  He went personally to make the lame walk.  He went personally to raise the dead to life.  Never did He need to go personally to do good.  In fact the centurion feeling unworthy to have Jesus come personally to his home to heal his servant said, “Only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8).  Even when asked to speak a word of healing from a distance…He did not! 

• PERSONAL APPLICATION: We must do good personally!

If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we too must go about doing good.  Too often we are willing to pray and even give, but not go!  It was the mission of our Lord to go about doing good.  It must be our mission too.  Because of what God in Christ has done for us…reaching down to raise us from death to life, our response must not only be to reach up in worship and reach in through discipleship, but we must be willing to reach out in service to others.  What friend needs a word of thanks from you today?  What neighbor needs a word of kindness from you today?  What co-worker at the office needs a word of encouragement from you today?  What family member needs a word of love from you today?  

It is remarkable to see that nothing deterred our Lord from going about and doing good.  Not difficulty.  Not danger.  Not even death.  The ultimate good that our Lord did He did as He hung on that dirty tree.  He hung there for you and for me.  When we understand the example that He left us in both life and death, what else can we do but go about personally doing good.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

In Colossians 1:22 we read, “He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”  Because of what Christ has done, all those who are by faith in Christ stand before the Father “holy and blameless and above reproach.”  Justified (counted righteous) not because of anything we have done for ourselves, but because of what Jesus has done on our behalf. 

In the eyes of God, the sinless life Jesus lived we lived.  In the eyes of God, the sin-filled death Jesus died on that cross…we died on that cross.  Think about this for a moment.  We get the credit for all that is good in Jesus because He got the credit for all that was bad…and is still bad in us.  This “Great Exchange” is greater than we could have ever imagined because it is ongoing. 

Every day in thought, word, and deed we sin.  Every day we are in need of the righteousness of Christ to cover those sins and this righteousness was never intended to be a one-time event.  Every day we must look to Christ for His robes of righteousness to wear as we stand before the Father.  Those who think they can stand before God because of the “good” they are doing just don’t understand how sinful they really are, how needy that makes them, and how dependent they are on Christ. 

The apostle Paul knew how sinful he was, and how needy and dependent he was on Christ when he said by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).  The Jesus Saul met on the road to Damascus was the same Jesus Paul needed on the roads he walked every day of his life.  Paul knew that his acceptance before God was never based on the good he was doing because he knew too much bad went along with it (Romans 7).  He looked to Jesus alone, by faith alone, which empowered him to live the life God had called him to live. 

So, have you like Paul learned to look to Jesus for your acceptance before God…every day?  Are you relying totally on Christ and Christ alone for both eternal life and everyday life?  This will be our daily experience if we understand just how needy we really are.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

After our first full week of blogging and so many wonderful and encouraging comments, the question finally came up about our title.  I was asked, “Coach, what does it mean when you say grace for the race?”  My response was, in a word…the Gospel.  And as long as the Good Lord has me sending out these messages, the Gospel is what we will be focusing in on. 

You see, most believers believe the Gospel is only for the unsaved.  Preach the Gospel, get them saved, and move on to the next lost person you can find.  They do not understand just how much the Gospel is needed after salvation as it was before salvation.  From the pen of the apostle Paul we read, “I am not ashamed of the gospel…for in it the righteousness of God is revealed” (Romans 1:16-17).  What is this righteousness of God?  It is the perfect obedience of Christ.  This is what God requires and this is the standard by which we all will be judged.   

Christian’s believe they need the righteousness of Christ for salvation, but most mistakenly believe they need their own righteousness for God’s daily acceptance and approval.  They do not understand that even their best works are like “filthy rags” in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6), which means they need the righteousness of Christ just as much after salvation as they did prior to it.  Theologian B.B. Warfield said regarding the need of the gospel for the believer,

There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God.  We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all.  This is not true of us only when we believe.  It is just as true after we have believed.  It will continue to be true as long as we live.  Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be.  It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest. 

Here is where we get tripped up.  We begin convincing ourselves that we are really “not that bad.”  We are doing our best, we are good people, and we have not committed any of those “scandalous” sins.  We are so focused on the “speck” in our brother’s eye we miss the “plank” in our own…pride, anger, selfish ambition, critical spirit, impatience, and lust, just to name a few of the sins we commit before lunch.  As my friend and pastor Tullian continually preaches, “We are indeed great sinners in need of a Greater Savior.”  We are sinners by nature and habit which requires the righteousness of Jesus for both eternal life and everyday life. 

In the days and weeks to come, we will unpack this incredible Gospel truth known as “The Great Exchange” where God exchanged our sin for the righteousness of Christ.  Our dirty and sin filled slate was not only washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, it was filled with the righteousness of Christ.  Everything we need to stand before a holy God we already have because we have Jesus.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

Matthew 10:31

And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

As I read this verse today it got me thinking.  It’s hard to go anywhere without seeing a cross.  From body piercing to bookends the cross is everywhere.  But do we really know this thing called the cross?  When Jesus spoke these words His audience knew what He was talking about.  The roads were lined with criminals nailed to crosses so the cross for them meant one thing…DEATH!  The death that Jesus died on that cross was the death we should have died.  He laid His life down for you.  Are you willing to lay your life down for Him? 

Everyone united to Christ by faith has been given a cross.  Some choose not to submit their shoulder to it and trade a life of sacrificial service for selfish ambition.  They choose the way of personal preference.  They choose the way of self-centeredness.  They might agree to carry a cross but only a cross of their own making.  But this is not for you! 

Your cross has been assembled and assigned to you by the infinity of His love, the immutability of His character, and the infallibility of His wisdom.  It is just the right shape, size and weight and you will carry it the exact number of steps God has ordained for you and not one step further.  God is bringing you to the end of yourself and His way is the way of the cross.  There is no better way for rebels like us.  If there was, He would have given it to us.  Jesus was our cross-bearer.  Shall we not be like our master and carry our cross and walk in His footsteps? Remember, because His footsteps took Him to Golgotha’s Hill our footsteps will take us into glory.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

I lead four exercise classes during the week here at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in what I call the F.I.T. (Faithful In Training) Program.  These classes consist of core training, medicine ball work, fight training, self-defense, sport training and flexibility.  Never in all of my years of fitness training and coaching have I seen someone go from “strength to strength” during a workout as the psalmist writes in Psalm 84:7.  It is simply a natural result of physical work that one ultimately goes from strength to weakness.  So what can the psalmist mean when he says the experience of every child of God is to go through this life from strength to strength? 

I think the answer is clear.  It is grace for the race.  The Christian united by faith to Christ is continually given fresh supplies of grace to make consistent progress in the race God has set before him.  That is why we hear countless stories about Christian pilgrims who have been walking with our Lord for decades who have as much zeal, enthusiasm and vigor at the end of their race as they did when they first began, if not more.  Older…yes.  Physically weaker…yes.  To be sure, the years of toilsome travel over rough terrain have taken its toll on these pilgrims passing through.  Yet, they have gone from “strength to strength” because they understood the psalmist to be suggesting progress…not perfection.  This was a source of great strength to them because they knew that everything they did, they did imperfectly.  They…

• Worshipped imperfectly
• Witnessed imperfectly
• Walked imperfectly
• Prayed imperfectly
• Served imperfectly
• Loved imperfectly

With all of this imperfection, falling short and missing the mark, how can someone truly go from “strength to strength” on this side of the grave?  In a word…the CROSS.  The perfection of the cross covers all of our imperfection.  His perfection…our pardon.  His perfection…our patience.  His perfection…our persistence.  His perfection…our power.  His perfection…our protection.  His perfection…our  peace.  His perfection…our promotion.  His perfection…our position.

Because of our position of being united to Christ, we already have everything we need to live the life God is calling us to live.  This is the good news of the Gospel that we would go from “strength to strength” until we go into glory.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!