Grace for the Race

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)

Inasmuch as we simply cannot calculate how much higher the heavens are than the earth, neither can we imagine how much higher are God’s thoughts are toward us than our thoughts are toward Him. Beloved, let the truth of this verse comfort you today: Not only are God’s thoughts higher than your thoughts, but so too are His plans, His purposes, His wisdom, and His ways. Because they are God’s thoughts, they are better than our thoughts, and He delights in giving good gifts to His children.

Think about it this way: God’s plans and purposes for your life are beyond what you could ever imagine them to be for yourself. They will take you to places you had never dreamed you could go, because they come from the One who is in control of all things. They will often surprise you along the way and always meet you in your deepest place of need. God can do this because He is God, and He delights in working all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Does that describe you today? Do you love your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength . . . as much as it is within your power to do so? Remember this: we love God, but His love is higher love, and is able to lift us above all the waves of challenge that confront us each day. Nothing can stand in the way of the will of God, and that includes His will for your life. His ways are higher. His thoughts are higher. His love is higher. Why? Because He is God, and He has a higher love for all those who are His . . . and that includes you.

Christian, let this truth set you free today to live out His perfect plan and purpose for your imperfect life, even when you cannot fully understand what you are currently experiencing. Isaiah tells us that we can trust our God even when we cannot trace Him, because we know that we are the objects of His higher love. Our Lord says to His children:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

And He assures us . . .

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

(Jeremiah 29:11, 13)

Seek Him with all your heart, child of God, and you will know an eternal love that extends higher and greater than anything we can comprehend.

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

Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. (Joshua 1:5)

God to spoke these words to Joshua, who was being installed as the leader of the people of Israel. Moses had died, and it was now time for Joshua to assume command and lead God’s people across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. But make no mistake, these words are not to be thought of as merely the account of ancient history; they are to be applied to every believer in every age in every kind of circumstance. Remember the words of Jesus Christ to His followers: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

God’s promise to Joshua is a promise to all His children. Perhaps we are not conquering new lands to expand the cause of God’s kingdom, but life is every bit as filled with “warfare” for us today us as it was for Joshua. Is there any Christian reading this who cannot testify to the truth of the battle that rages within us against the world, the flesh, and the devil?

We have been promised times of trial, trouble, and tribulation, but we have also been promised One who will walk with us every step of the way, just as He walked with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego through the blazing fire of Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. If it is strength you need, God will give you strength. If it is wisdom you need, God will give you wisdom. If it is patience you need, God will give you patience. Whatever you need, God has promised to meet and exceed your needs in the glorious riches of Christ Jesus.

Is this not a word of great encouragement to you today? You are not alone in the struggles you are facing. You are not without the help you need to get through the waves of challenge that will inevitably wash over you. You may have experienced the loss of a close friend or a family member, and you feel as if you have been left to fight your battles alone. But your God has promised to be by your side through both thick and thin, good and bad, sunshine and rain.

Christian, I want you to know this: You mean as much to God as Moses and Joshua did. You are a child of the Most High God, and you have been purchased by the blood of His beloved Son. God is faithful to keep His promise to never leave nor forsake you.

Let me offer you one final word of encouragement. Would this not be a great time to consider your response to the cosmic comfort in these words? “I will be with you . . . I will be with you always.” Remember, since God cannot fail you, you faith cannot fail him, and when you do fall short of your heart’s desire to please Him, know that you are completely loved and fully forgiven . . . forever!

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

Wednesday September 11, 2019

You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:14)

Eighteen years ago today a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic group al-Qaeda was launched against the United States. There were 2,977 victims of these reprehensible suicide attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and that number could have been much higher except for the courage and selfless action of passengers on the fourth plane, United 93, which never reached its intended destination, crashing instead in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers mounted their own counterattack against the hijackers.

Let us not recall murder and terror this day, but rather courage, heroism, and a love that willingly laid down its life for others, a love that was exemplified by the passengers of Flight 93 and the first responders who sprinted into burning buildings while all others fled.

Since that fateful day, for those who travel by air, the security rituals are constant reminders that, regardless of where we are heading—to a business meeting . . . a vacation with our family . . . a special event with friends . . . a graduation ceremony of a family member—we are not as secure as we once thought we were in America. And that is why faith is the best way forward, regardless of our mode of travel and the destination to which we are traveling.

Regardless of what it may seem like to a watching world, our God is in control of all things. He is not asleep on His throne, a distant deity disconnected from His creation. He is sovereignly controlling all things to accomplish His perfect purpose, even using the sinful acts of man along the way. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, sin stained everything, but God did not leave them in their sin. He promised to send a Savior who would bear the penalty for our sin to bring us back into relationship with Him. And along the way, God has promised to work all things together for the good of those who love Him.

Do you look toward the future with anxiety? Has disease or simply the inexorable march of time made you think that the end is near? If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ, you have nothing to fear! In the instant that you are absent from your earthly body, you will be present with the Lord, He who gave us life and has promised new life for all those who trust in Christ alone for salvation. Only the Christian can face this uncertain, even sometimes ugly world with the confident assurance that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

The dreadful events of the 9/11 attacks drove our nation back to its knees, if only for a brief time, and each year it causes many to pause and consider the uncertainty and the brevity of life. For the Christian, however, one thing that is absolutely certain: Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Let us thank Him this divine promise that will transform a human heart from fearful to faithful.

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

Tell me, you whom I love . . . (Song of Songs 1:7)

Notice the absence of any possible doubt in Solomon’s statement that we read in today’s word of encouragement. He did not say something like, “Tell me, you whom I think I love . . . Tell me, you whom I hope I love . . . Tell me, you whom I want to love” No, no, a thousand times no! In spite of his many failures, Solomon knew that He loved His God beyond the slightest shadow of any doubt, and he made it clear for all the world to read.

I find it striking that the early saints of God never wavered between two understandings when it came to their relationship with God. We do not come across a plethora of “ifs” or “buts” or “hope to’s.” Job cried out to God in his confusion and despair over all the calamity that had befallen him and his family; you would think that he might have been the most likely person to express his love for God with an “if,” a “but,” or a “hope to.” Yet Job provides perhaps the finest example in all of sacred Scripture of wholehearted devotion. He wrote:

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. (Job 19:25)

This statement, you might remember, comes from a man who had lost his wealth, his health, and all of his ten children. You and I know from the biblical account what was happening to Job, but Job did not. When his three friends showed up, after mourning with Job for a week, they became miserable comforters by accusing Job of sin in his life as the reason for all his calamity. If anyone had cause to question the goodness of the Almighty, it was Job. But he did not. Job never wavered in his belief that his Redeemer lives and that he could trust God even when he could not trace Him. Even when his wife encouraged Job to “Curse God and die,” he remained steadfast in knowing whom he loved.

We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). Our love for God is the fruit of His love for us, worked in us and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. But once we have been given this supernatural love, it is ours to give back to Him. To be sure, true love loves when the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shining; but true love also loves when the storm winds blow and the waves of challenge are washing over us. Is He not altogether lovely and worthy of our love, regardless of the circumstances we are facing in this life? Job knew this truth—he embraced this truth, even in the worst of conditions—and so should you and I.

Remember, child of God, it was not nails that held Jesus on that cruel cross. It was His love for you and me that would not allow Him to save Himself. His love bore the nine-inch nails, the crown of thorns, and that cruel cross of crucifixion. Can you not say with Job, regardless of what you are currently facing, “I know that my Redeemer lives”? And can you not echo Solomon by addressing your God as “You whom I love”? May this be the confession of our lives!

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

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:14-15 NKJV)

We all know the importance and value of light. Turn on a light in a dark room and what you could not see before is now made manifest. In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light to dispel the darkness. I pray that today’s word of encouragement will both comfort you who are the Lord’s light, and that it will also challenge you to let your light shine brightly into the darkness of this present age.

Knowing that we are the Lord’s light is an unmatched cosmic comfort. We received this light by way of the unwavering love, unimaginable sacrifice, and unmatched cost to our precious Savior, Jesus Christ. We who were once far off have now been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13), and we have been given the gifts of the Spirit to communicate His grace to a watching world.

But that’s not all! What comforts us must also challenge us. If we are the Lord’s lights, should we not shine so brightly that no one can come near us without coming near to our Lord? The words we say, the deeds we do, and even the expressions on our faces and the tone of our voices should fairly shout the witness of our walk with Jesus to a watching world.

We must remember that we were once groping in darkness until Someone shone His light into our hearts. We were drawn to His light by the power of the Holy Spirit and given the greatest gift the world has ever seen: eternal life in Christ. Now, as the Lord’s lights, we are to shine so brightly that those who currently walk in darkness will be drawn to the Lord’s light. Our words of light should lift others up. Our deeds of light should warm others’ hearts. Our thoughts of light should love others into the kingdom of heaven.

How is it with you today? How brightly does your light shine? Is there anything shrouding your light and making it difficult for others to see Christ in you? Perhaps a critical or unforgiving spirit? Maybe an angry or self-righteousness disposition? We have been given light to be a light to others, and I can tell you from personal experience that there is no greater joy than to know that your light has dispelled the darkness of discouragement, despair, or spiritual death in the lives of others.

Christian, you are the Lord’s light. May your light be a searchlight and not merely a candle.

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

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:4-5)

Confronted by a completely packed house and a totally blocked doorway, a devotion that would not be denied made its way to the Master . . . for true devotion will always find a way to get to its Object.

Jesus’ reputation had preceded Him, so when He entered Capernaum, the people flocked to receive Him. Some were interested in His message, but everyone was interested in His miracles. Earlier in Mark’s gospel account we read that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town because of the frenzied mobs of people who were magnetized by His amazing ministry, a ministry unlike anything the world had ever seen. And in today’s passage, we see a paralyzed man and his four friends display a devotion that would not be denied, in spite of the wall of people blocking their way to the Master.

The question we all must ask ourselves is this: Does my commitment to my Master demonstrate this kind of sold-out, single-minded, will-not-be-denied devotion, regardless of the cost or circumstance? I am convinced that this is exactly what the church needs today if we are going to fulfill the two greatest commandments—to love God faithfully and love our neighbor completely. We must demonstrate a disruptive and a disturbing devotion, just like the men in our story. Picture yourself sitting in that packed house, straining to hear every word from Jesus. Can you imagine just how disruptive and disturbing the devotion of thee five men was, as they dug through the roof and dust and debris began dropping onto the crowd below?

Let us all prayerfully consider this day how we can amp up a devotion that will not be denied. Let nothing block the way between you and your Master, and let nothing stand in the way of you bringing others to sit at His feet. To be sure, we should begin by knocking on the door or climbing through an open window, but if we cannot make entry, let us stop at nothing to get ourselves and our neighbors into the presence of the One who stopped at nothing to get to us—going all the way to the cross and to the grave so that we would be with Him for eternity. May we, like our Lord, demonstrate a divine devotion that will not be denied.

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

Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

The idea of a “begging believer” may sound strange, but, oh, how it needs to be revived in the body of Christ today, for we are all likely to lean toward self-sufficiency. An independent spirit is an ungodly spirit, because the self longs to sit upon the throne of life. But God, in His grace, will at once strip away all the resources that we cling to in order to cause us to cry out to Him for the help we so desperately need.

I learned this remarkable truth a long time ago: You will never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have! This is the truth that Peter expressed in our verse for today.

I think that one of the best ways to fully grasp this biblical concept of the begging believer is to contrast its antithesis—the proud believer. One of the best pictures of self-sufficient Christians comes from the words of our Lord to the church at Laodicea.

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. (Revelation 3:14-17)

In the eyes of the watching world, the church at Laodicea was the place to be. These Christians were the picture of self-sufficiency. A beggar’s spirit was as far from them as the east is from the west, but, from God’s perspective, there was no church in a worse condition than the one the Laodiceans were in. They received His sharp indictment: far from being wealthy, they were poor, blind, and naked. They acknowledged the name of Jesus (they were not “cold” toward Him), but because of their self-sufficiency they were about to be spit out of our Lord’s mouth.

So . . . where in your life right now are you leaning more toward self-sufficiency? What do you need to change in order to assume the posture of a “begging believer?” What will it cost you if you don’t? Remember, Jesus has promised never to leave you nor forsake you, and He has promised to meet your every need . . . not every want. And He will meet your needs in His way and in His timing. And so, as our Lord said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

May we all echo the apostle Peter and say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

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

Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. (Isaiah 1:14)

The Bible makes it clear that we are to love the things God loves and to hate the things God hates. There are indeed many things our God loves, for He is a God of love . . . and we love because He first loved us. But there are also many things our God hates, and we are to keep those things in view as well. Let’s take a look at some of those things and be challenged to live in deeper conformity to the likeness of His beloved Son.

• Haughty eyes (a proud look)
• A lying tongue
• Hands that shed innocent blood
• A heart that devises wicked schemes
• Feet that are quick to rush into evil
• A false witness who pours out lies
• A person who stirs up conflict in the community.

That’s a straightforward list taken from the sixth Proverb. And I think we would all agree that we are to hate these things as God hates these things. But if you go back and reread today’s verse, you will find something God hates even more, and it is often harder to detect than the things on the Proverbs list. Our God particularly hates a superficial sacrifice that comes from the head or the hand but not from the heart. The empty sacrifice is abhorrent to God and we must at all costs guard against offering it.

Look at it this way: we can offer our sacrifices out of duty, and we know that we owe all duty to God. Duty can descend into drudgery, and that opens the door to the heartless sacrifice. But we can also offer our sacrifices out of devotion, which leads to delight.

What we must continually do is ask about the “Why” behind all of the “What” we do for our Lord. When the “Why” is simply out of a heart that beats with love for our God, we can be sure that our sacrifice is not a burden to our God, but rather, a blessing which He will never grow weary of bearing.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,” David wrote, “that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. . . . I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord” (Psalm 27:4, 6). David was called by God “a man after my own heart.” David was a sinner, just like you and me, but his wholehearted devotion to the Lord his God, through times of both great success and terrible failure, was the sacrifice of praise that pleases our God and marked David as a man after God’s own heart.

May you and I also lift our hearts to God, asking Him to move our hearts to love what He loves and hate what Hates, always remembering that our great God loves vile, hateful sinners—sinners like you, like David, and like me—so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on a cruel cross so that we might live with Him forever.

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

Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. (Deuteronomy 33:29)

Everyone seeks the blessed life. Some seek to find blessing in power, others in fame, and still others in the pleasures of this world. But the Scriptures make it clear that the life that is truly blessed is the one that is saved by the Lord and that is serving the Lord. I pray that this truth will encourage you mightily today.

Those who say that Christianity is nothing more than a list of rules and regulations, a veritable ball and chain wrapped around the neck of its long-suffering followers, are surely strangers to this great faith. To be sure, there are certain behaviors that our Lord expects His children to embrace and others we are commanded to eschew. But make no mistake, a right relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ is the mark of Christianity, not adherence to rules and regulations. You see, when God saves a sinner, that man or woman is at once transformed from being a slave to sin into an adopted child of the Most High God. The new believer is now a member of the family of faith, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and given a seat at the great banquet feast. Every Christian believer has been blessed by the Best!

And notice that the primary blessing is not found in material things, but in our Master Himself. Indeed, our God blesses all of us materially. We have all received good gifts from His helping, holy hand. But if we limit our focus to these things, we miss the deeper message of what it means to be blessed, and when the storm winds blow (which they inevitably will) we are left stranded on a sandbar of suffering.

The greatest blessing we can strive for is knowing the One doing the blessing. Only when we see our relationship with God as our ultimate blessing will we be able to weather the tribulations that have been promised to confront us. Material gifts are good blessings that God gives us. But the Gift-Giver is far better, for He is our shield, our helper, and our glorious sword, and He has promised to bring us safely home into His glorious presence.

When Jesus left this earth, He promised to send His Holy Spirit. Knowing that we have the earnest (that is, the deposit) of our inheritance in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is to know a blessing that will last forever, because we have been blessed by the Best. Christian, be encouraged and empowered to be all God has created you to be!

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

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)

I pray this message will bring you great comfort today as you rest in the wisdom of the Word. By nature, man’s intellect looks everywhere for wisdom except in the one true place it can be found . . . in our Lord Jesus Christ. And even after man has, by grace through faith, been made right with God, we are still prone to wander in our search for wisdom.

Much like the Christians at Corinth, the Colossians also strayed in their search for wisdom, and the apostle Paul was moved by the Spirit of God to remind them of the all-sufficiency of Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” so that these young Christians would not be deceived by the “fine-sounding arguments” of men (Colossians 2:3-4).

Now, when Paul said the treasures of wisdom are “hidden” in Christ, don’t misunderstand and think that this wisdom is difficult to find, like some kind of buried treasure that requires a map with an “X” that marks the spot. Rather, what Scripture is telling us is that, for all those who are in Christ, wisdom is available and accessible.

Here is how the great Bible commentator Matthew Henry put it:

The treasures of wisdom are hidden not from us, but for us, in Christ. . . . The world does not understand this truth about the witness of wisdom that is found in Christ. In fact, the world of fallen humanity considers it to be “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). They have been bewitched by their unbelief. But to those who have placed their trust in Christ alone, wisdom is as available as the air we breathe. It satisfies the deepest mind, the highest intellect, and the strongest constitution, because “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).

Here is the key that unlocks the doorway to cosmic comfort as it relates to the witness of wisdom. Where the world seeks wisdom as some kind of “what,” we seek wisdom as some kind of “Who,” and His name is Jesus Christ.

Job, in all his unimaginable anguish over the loss of his children, his wealth, and his health, never lost sight of where wisdom could be found. He said –

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.” God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. . . . And he said to man, “The fear of the Lord — that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” (Job 28:20-24, 29)

Just as we look to our loving Lord for care and protection and blessing, we are to look for Him for wisdom, for He is “wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”

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