Category Archives: General

Levi held a great banquet for Jesus, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. (Luke 5:29)

If you are a regular reader here at Grace for the Race, you know that tax collectors in ancient Israel were utterly despised because they were Jews who had hired themselves out to work for the Roman government. It was bad enough that the Israelites had to pay taxes to the hated Roman invaders; it was the worst of insults to have those taxes collected by their own countrymen.

To make things even worse, these tax collectors were not paid an actual wage by the Roman government. Instead, they were given a contract to pay a certain amount of money to Rome; any tax monies collected in excess of that contract amount they could pocket for themselves. Many tax collectors flagrantly abused this system, gouging their own countrymen with excessive tax payments in order to line their own pockets. Tax collectors were both rich and reviled by their Jewish brothers and sisters.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law . . . complained to [Jesus’] disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:30-31).

Levi was one of those despised tax collectors, but Jesus had him invited into relationship. (The name Levi will be unfamiliar to some readers; you know him better as Matthew, who authored the Gospel of Matthew.) Levi left a lucrative business to follow Jesus, and then held a banquet for his fellow tax collectors and other “sinners,” with Jesus as the honored guest. This is a powerful picture of the good news of the Gospel. To eat with someone in the ancient world was an act of friendship, fellowship, and intimate communion. Jesus was visibly demonstrating to these sinners, outcasts from polite society, that He was their friend . . . that He actually wanted them to be with Him!

In this story, there are only two kinds of people: sinners who acknowledge their sin and look to the Savior (the tax collectors and sinners who ate with Jesus), and sinners who refuse to acknowledge their sin and look to themselves for salvation (the Pharisees and teachers of the law). It is only when we acknowledge our own brokenness and look to Jesus to make us whole that we find ourselves with a place at His banquet table. Those of us who recognize our own sin and look to Jesus for cleansing are the broken-yet-beloved bride of Christ.

When that truth seized Levi, he became an instrument of Gospel grace for the glory of Jesus. Levi was so impacted by the love of Christ that he held a banquet for other broken people to meet with his new Master and be mended. Levi went from serving riches to serving his Redeemer.

May this be the confession of all our lives.

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

The Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! (Isaiah 30:18)

The Bible is filled with stories of men and women who wished they had waited on the Lord. Abraham and Sarah got impatient and tried to fulfill God’s promise for a son according to their own timetable. Moses got impatient and tried to fulfill God’s promise to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt in his way and in his timing. The entire Israelite nation grew increasingly impatient regarding God’s promise of inheriting the Promised Land, and they rumbled, stumbled, and grumbled through the wilderness for 40 long years. Saul, the first king of Israel, suffered dearly for his impatience and haste, refusing to wait on God’s timing on several occasions. And then, of course, you have the apostle Peter, impetuously impatient by nature, who must have wondered frequently why he hadn’t sought the Lord before he opened his mouth.  

I believe we all can relate to these stories! We are faced with two choices in life every day: We can wait on the Lord in our assigned place . . . or forge ahead at our own pace. The first choice is an example of faithfulness to follow wherever and whenever God leads; the second choice is an example of unbelief. When the plans we have made for the day are disrupted, the unbelief of impatience will push us to respond poorly; if we lapse into this impatience we will either take our eyes off the Lord and abandon the path He has set before us, or we will make impulsive countermoves against the obstacles blocking our way.

As I’ve already indicated, the key to waiting on the Lord is to keep our focus on Jesus and to walk by faith and not by sight. To be sure, we will engage in an ongoing battle deep within our hearts to maintain that focus, but it is a battle that can be won if we fight in the strength of the Almighty.

God’s plans are better than our plans. God’s timing is better than our timing. That is why we must stay anchored in the Word of God. The Bible is the weapon of wisdom we must take up if we are to live according to God’s will, rather than our own will.

Regardless of where this message finds you today, never forget that there is indeed something worse than the challenge of waiting on the Lord, as difficult as that can be at times, and that is wishing you had! Keep this encouragement from Isaiah in the forefront of your thoughts: “Blessed are all who wait for him!”

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

From him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:36)

Everyone wants to live a life of success. No one gets out of bed in the morning with the goal of being a failure. So how do we live a successful life? We live for what we were made to live for . . . and His name is Jesus Christ.

I have written here before that when Adam and Eve rebelled against God and chose to live for their own glory, rather than the glory of God, they denied their own humanity. Our first parents were made to live for the glory of God, and they would only be fully human when they were living for God’s glory. God created us for the purpose of glorifying His beloved Son, Jesus Christ; the Westminster Shorter Catechism states that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. We will lives of meaning, purpose, significance, and success only when we are living for the expansion of the kingdom of God. It is only when we are doing all things for the glory of God with every breath we take and with every beat of our heart that we are doing what we were created and designed by God to do.

This state of being is called transcendence. Transcendent living is living for the One who created you. Each day we find ourselves in the middle of a battle between two kingdoms: the kingdom of the self and the kingdom of the Savior. When we are living our lives for the kingdom of Christ and investing our time, our talent, and our treasure into that end, we are living successful lives.

How is it with you? What have you been living for lately? Is Jesus sitting on the throne of your life? Or have you been taking up residence there? We are never more fully alive than when we are living for the glory of God in all that we think, do, say, and desire. To be sure, we will never do this perfectly on this side of the grave. Throughout this life there will be that ongoing battle deep within our hearts. But when living for the Savior is the deepest desire of our heart, we can be sure that, even when we mess things up, we have found the secret to successful living. It’s worth the fight to get there!

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

The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

Older readers will remember a cartoon strip that used to appear in daily newspapers titled “Dennis the Menace.” Dennis was one of my favorite characters, because I thought I was a lot like him. So did my mom and our neighbors! Dennis was always getting into mischief. His questions and his antics were a constant thorn in the side of his neighbor, Mr. Wilson. In one episode Dennis held up a handful of flowers and asked Mr. Wilson, “How can anything so pretty and clean come out of dirt?”

All of us could ask the very same thing about mankind. If we are honest, we will readily admit that we have all felt a lot like the man with leprosy who came to Jesus, knelt before Him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2). In our sinful nature, we are all lepers; we are utterly unclean and ugly in the presence of a holy and righteous God. And yet our Lord Jesus is ready, willing, and able to make us clean.

That cleansing starts when we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but that is only the beginning of the Lord’s work. For the rest of our lives, God will be cleaning us from the inside out; one day, when we breathe our last, we will be made perfect. We will be like Christ (1 John 3:2).

Unlike the religious leaders in Israel, Jesus did not withdraw from the leper. He did not reject dirty, downcast, and defiled sinners. He did not avoid the marginalized and the vilified. Our Lord loved the outcasts and He ministered to them. Please take note that Jesus could have very easily healed the leper without saying a word or doing a thing, just as he healed the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8:13. But here “Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’” (Matthew 8:3). The religious leaders could not get far enough away from this unclean man, but Jesus met the leper in his place of deep need with the gentle, healing touch of love.

Just as Dennis the Menace held up flowers and wondered how such beauty could come from dirt, we often wonder how we will ever be conformed into the beautiful image of Christ as we stir up dirt in our lives by what we think, do, say, and desire. Fear not, Christian! Jesus is continuing to work in you, removing the dirt from your life. This will not take place in a day, but rather daily. And Jesus will not stop short of removing every speck of dirt from your life and from your heart. And when that day comes when He takes you into glory, He will complete His work, and you will be made whiter than snow.

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

Do not despise these small beginnings. (Zechariah 4:10)

We live in a world that firmly believes that “Bigger is better” — a bigger house . . . a bigger car . . . a bigger boat . . . a bigger bank account . . . an even bigger bank account! The bigger the better. Supersize it all!

That is the way of the world. But our God is in the business of using small things. God used a small lunch from a small boy on a hillside, and Jesus multiplied it to feed thousands of people. God used five small, smooth stones in the hands of a small shepherd boy to defeat the giant Goliath.  

Did you ever wonder why God uses small things? It is so that “no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:29) When God uses small things, there can be only one reason for victory: it was God who ordained it. Do you remember what God did to Gideon’s army before they went off to fight the Philistines? Facing 135,000 Philistine warriors, God reduced Gideon’s army of 32,000 men all the way down to a band of 300. When Gideon led his 300 troops into battle against the Philistine army and won the day, there was no doubt who was the One responsible for the victory: God!

God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

Jesus selected a small group of twelve disciples, trained them, sent them on mission, and they turned the world upside down! Wherever this message finds you today, regardless of what you have — no matter how “small” you may think it is — bring your gifts to Jesus and offer them up in faithful service to Him. Whatever may seem small to you — your knowledge, your possessions, your status, your influence, your finances, your place of service — your seemingly meager gifts can be used by God in a MAJOR way for His glory and the good of others.

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

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)

We all encounter storms in this life that can send us swirling into the depths of depression . . . if we allow it to happen. Depression is one of the enemy’s greatest weapons against us. It destroys our joy and disrupts our peace. Depression can cause us to grow weary in our well-doing, taking us to a point where we find ourselves doing very little of anything at all. Once depression has its grip on us, it will cloud our vision and dull our senses in our service of our Lord. Depression will cause us to feel alone and isolated from the rest of the world.

So how do we defeat depression? First, we must not buy into the common misunderstanding that depression is a natural response to the difficulties we face in life. That is the wisdom of the world, not the wisdom of the Word. Jesus told us in no uncertain terms that we will face trials of many kinds in this life, but we are not to get depressed over them. We will be delivered through each trial, because Jesus has already overcome the world. We have been given all we need to defeat depression, because we have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside us. We can win the war over our feelings and defeat depression in the power of the Spirit.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Disappointments will come and go, but we can resist the devil, who wants us to descend into the discouragement that ultimately leads to depression. Never forget, Christian, that the power that is at work within you is greater than any power that will come against you. Resist the devil, who wants to oppress you, and he will not gain a foothold to depress you. Go on the offensive! Be proactive. When the devil comes knocking, do not let him in. Lock the door of your heart.

One final point: As you resist the devil, respond to Jesus, who has promised never to leave or forsake you. Keeping Jesus front and center in your life and counting the blessings He has given you every day are the keys to defeating depression.

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

To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. (Isaiah 61:3)

Jesus has promised trials in the lives of all of His disciples, regardless of the length of time we have been walking with Him. And because we know God does not make mistakes, we can be sure that every single trial we endure will ultimately become a treasure to us. It has been wisely said that “What we lose in the fire, we will gain in the ashes.” Our Lord Jesus is far too wise to ever be wrong and far too faithful to ever be false. He is always at work within us, and He will use every means necessary to conform us more and more into His likeness.

Now, the devil likes to hiss in our ears, “God doesn’t really care for you! If He did, why would He allow you to face such difficulties?” Never forget, Christian, that the devil is a liar and a murderer from the beginning. His desire is to steal, kill, and destroy. Because we live in a fallen and broken world as fallen and broken people interacting with other fallen and broken people, we will face trials of every imaginable kind. This is not a sign that God does not care for us. In fact, it is just the opposite! God does care; if you doubt that, think of God the Father allowing His beloved Son to die on a cruel cross . . . for you. And that same loving God has committed to using trials in our lives for our ultimate good; He will turn all our trials into a treasure.

Regardless of where this message finds you today, never forget that God is at work in your life. As you process the trials and difficulties you are facing, keep the truth of Psalm 119:75 in view: “In faithfulness you have afflicted me.” God sends storms into our lives in faithfulness as a way to bring us to the end of ourselves. Only as we decrease will our Lord Jesus increase in our lives. And experience has taught me that this increase does not take place when the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shining. It happens when the sky is dark and the storm winds are blowing.

Praise God for the storms! He is using them to forge our very own crown of beauty.

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

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

We have a tendency to think that God only leads us from the front, but that isn’t true; He also leads us from behind. The reason is clear: We all need God to push us at times! There are two reasons we need that “supernatural shove.” First, there are times when we have settled into the place we currently are without making any forward progress. Second, there are times when there is a storm looming ahead and we will need God to push us through it. Either way, being led from behind is a great grace from God.

When you look back over your life, do you not see times when God was leading you from behind? Perhaps an unexpected storm suddenly blew into your life, similar to the sudden, violent squalls that often occur on the Sea of Galilee. If God had not been pushing you through the storm, you might very well have hunkered down and simply tried to “shelter in place.” And I’m quite sure you can also recall times when God had to push you in order to overcome your inertia and get you to answer His call on your life. If you are anything like me, you have experienced both kinds of supernatural shoves.

Think about it this way: If God were only to lead us from the front, we would have a tendency to ease up a bit as long as we had Him in view. We would only grow into a fraction of the person He is calling us to be. So our loving Lord, in His gracious providence, often leads us from behind, causing us to rely not on what we see in front of us, but on what we know within us. This is one of the ways God calls us to walk by faith and not by sight, making us more acutely aware of God’s voice in our lives.  

So whether you find yourself in a season where God is leading you from the front or pushing you from behind, as long as you are trusting in Him you will ultimately reach your promised destination. And as you go, you will be growing and maturing in your faith as you look ahead of you and listen for His voice behind you.

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

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. (Psalm 57:7)

We who are the sheep of our Great Shepherd all have a tendency to wander. Sheep stray from their Shepherd; that’s why we need a Shepherd to come collect us! But there is a huge difference between straying in our way and straying in our hearts.

When we read through the Bible, we are confronted over and over again with stories of those who strayed in their way. Abraham lied about his wife Sarah being his sister in order to save his own skin. Moses murdered an Egyptian overseer who was beating a Hebrew slave. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband. Martha presumed to rebuke Jesus, demanding that He tell her sister Mary to return to her duties in the kitchen. Peter denied Jesus three times on the night he was betrayed. These are just a few examples of those who strayed from God in their way. But they did not stray in their hearts, and that made all the difference in the world.

We all stray in our way at times. We say things we ought not say. We do things we ought not do. We think things we ought not think. And we desire things we ought not desire. Everything we do in our walk with Jesus is done imperfectly. But this does not mean we have strayed in our heart. The heart that has been changed and now beats for Jesus, by grace through faith, will always beat imperfectly.

The heart that strays is the heart that is unconvinced and unpersuaded by the truths of God’s Word. This is what happened with the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings. The Spirit of God said, “Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways” (Hebrews 3:10).

The key to making our heart stay on our Savior is to stay in the Word. The more we are in the Word of God, the more the Word of God will get into us and the more strongly our hearts will beat for Jesus. And remember, when you mess things up and stray in your way, look to the One who is at work within you and who promised to fully complete that work – but not until you are received in glory. Hold tight to His promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

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

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

We all need rest. Some need more rest than others, but we all need rest. Our strained eyes, spent bodies, and stressed souls crave it. God established the pattern of work and rest in creation: By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work (Genesis 2:2). Yet here in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus was speaking about so much more than just getting a good night’s sleep or taking a day off from work.

Jesus has removed the yoke of sin that weighed us down. He took on all our sin and nailed it to the cross. We are no longer responsible to carry its weight. He has removed the condemnation of sin from us as far as the east is from the west. To be sure, this gives us infinitely and eternally more than mere physical rest from activity.

Now, the devil loves to disturb our rest by making all sorts of accusations. But remember, Christian, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). When the devil reminds you about your past, tell him Jesus has taken care of that, and then remind him about his future in the lake of fire.

The best rest that any of us can get to rest in Jesus. We achieve this rest by living a life that is led by Jesus and a life that leans on Jesus. There is no striving when you are in Christ. He has already finished every aspect of work that needs to be done to make us right with God. All we are to do is to come to Jesus and rest in our redemption, moment by moment, knowing that He who began the good work in us has promised to bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). To be sure, there is much for us to do throughout our lives on this earth. But none of that doing has anything to do with our right standing before God.

Along with the rest Jesus offers comes His peace too. This is the peace that passes all understanding in the face of the stuff of this life that is designed to make us restless and fearful. Keep this in view when it comes to your sin: Debt paid . . . atonement made . . . sinner saved! Do that and you will experience the deep rest your soul aches for.

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