Grace for the Race

We are in a season of a new babies at Cross Community Church. Many of our young married couples are happily engaged in what I call “Church-Growth 101,” as we watch our numbers increase through the miracle of life . . . beautiful, newborn babies.

It’s easy to see great events such as the birth of a child as the handiwork of our Holy God. We all marvel at this great miracle. But all too often, we can miss His handiwork in our daily lives. We may sense God’s presence, but we feel like we’re the one fitting all of life’s puzzle pieces together in our own strength and in our own time. Not true!

Consider these words:

Our life contains a thousand springs,

and dies if one be gone;

strange that a harp of a thousand strings

should keep in tune so long!

Did you recognize these words? They are from the pen of the great hymn writer Isaac Watts; the title of this particular composition is “Let Others Boast How Strong They Be.” God has not only uniquely made each and every one of us, but He is busily engaged in keeping us “tuned” as a hymn to His glory. God did not form you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13) and then move you off to the periphery of life, merely to watch as a spectator. God is with you every step of the way!

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord established their steps.

(Proverbs 16:9)

Whether in seasons of scarcity or plenty, sickness or health, God is shaping our existence and moving us in the direction of our eternal destiny. In your times of scarcity and sickness, God is giving you lessons to learn and a Lord to lean upon. And in your times of plenty and health, God is giving you opportunities to show what you have learned and how much more He can trust you with.

When was the last time you saw every appointment in life as a divine appointment arranged by God? God has brought you to this very place today. Nothing in your past has been wasted. He has used and continues to use every life experience. Our Almighty Architect takes our good, our bad, and even our ugly, and turns it all into a masterpiece.

We have all had some good, some bad, and some ugly in our past. God doesn’t just use our good—if the truth is told, nothing we ever do is really that good! Everything we do is stained by our sinful hearts. God takes all of experiences and refines them in His fiery furnace, bringing a better version of us out the other side. And what is “a better version of us”? Simply one that is more conformed to the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With this as God’s primary goal in our lives, there is never a moment that God is not at work refining and remaking us. “From life’s first cry to final breath”—whether the sun is brightly shining or the storm winds are howling—God is at work in your life. From the classroom to the boardroom to the family room, God is calling you further in and further up into your redemption . . . which ultimately leads to a deeper walk with your Redeemer.

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

When you think of the word “jealous,” what comes to mind? I’m confident that it’s highly unlikely your thoughts would run to Jesus!

The dictionary defines the word jealous this way:

Intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness

Disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness

Hostile toward a rival

You think that doesn’t describe the Lamb of God? Upon closer inspection, this is exactly how our Lord views His relationship with us! However, there is a clear distinction between the jealousy of man and the jealousy of God: our jealousy is sinful, but God’s is sacred.

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God.

(Nahum 1:2)

Jesus will tolerate NO RIVAL in the lives of His people . . . nor should He! When you think of the cost Jesus paid for you, it makes all the sense in the world that He would be very jealous for your love and fidelity. God did not choose you so that you would choose another. He left the throne of grace, came into this sin-filled world took on flesh, knowing that He would be denied, betrayed, spit upon, jeered at, and put to death . . . all so that He could have an intimate, personal, loving relationship with you.

What a wonderful attribute of our God! His jealousy is directed at us for all the right reasons. Jesus knows there is nothing or no one we should love more than Him. Only Jesus loves perfectly; only Jesus meets our needs perfectly. He knows there is nothing our hearts should beat for stronger and faster than for Him, because all other things are flawed and imperfect.

Oh, the joy in the heart of Jesus Christ when we are leaning totally upon Him! But when we transfer our dependence to anything lesser, He is jealous for our return. How often the human heart beats for things smaller than Jesus! We seek lesser loves in every aspect of life and we are continually disappointed, because they simply cannot deliver on their promises.

But Jesus delivers and surpasses every promise uttered in His faithful love to us. When God created Adam and Eve, they were never intended to meet their needs in any aspect of the creation. Every need was to be met vertically by their personal relationship with their Creator. Tragically, they turned away from God and brought all creation into ruin. But God, in His jealous love, pursued those stubborn rebels on the run and reentered into relationship with mankind through Jesus Christ.

God in Christ is jealous for your trust, your service, your fellowship, and your love. Jesus did not die to make you “good” . . . He died to make you alive—alive to Him and nothing smaller. Only in Him will you find the things that matter most in life: meaning, significance, purpose, and identity. Only in Him will you begin to plumb the depths of who you are in Christ and all He is calling you to be.

Praise God that Jesus is jealous for His people!

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

Regardless of who you are and where this finds you today, if you are faithfully serving Jesus, you can be sure that God takes your “little” and makes it a lot!

The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.

(Isaiah 60:22)

The Master’s math is a source of great encouragement for every child of God. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what level of education you have, or the resources you have at hand; God makes it clear that the least of His servants can do great things. Why? Because it is God who always supplies the increase.

Make no mistake, we water and we plant, but it is always God who supplies the increase. The “prince of preachers,” Charles Spurgeon, put it this way:

Works for the Lord often begin on a small scale, and they are none the worse for this. Feebleness educates faith, brings God near, and wins glory for His name. Prize promises of increase! The Mustard seed is the smallest among seeds, yet it becomes a tree-like plant with branches that lodge the birds of heaven. We may begin with one, and that “a little one,” and yet it will “become a thousand.” The Lord is great at the multiplication table. How often did He say to His lone servant, “I will multiply you!” Trust in the Lord, you ones and twos; for He will be in the midst of you if you are gathered in His name.

Think back over your own personal experience. Has not the Lord multiplied mercies in your life in spite of what you expected because of the little you had to offer? You see, when we are working for the Lord, in His strength and in His time, we are guaranteed a good harvest . . . even when we are the “least” and the “smallest.”

Every great saint has this truth as their personal testimony. In our weakness we are strengthened by our Lord. Every area of lack becomes an area of abundance in the hand of the Almighty. In fact, you cannot serve your God in your strength, because then it is not service to your God; it is service to yourself. God will never accept that kind of service!

There was a time in my life when I believed in “personal power” and would frequently utter the phrase, “If it is to be, it’s up to me!” Today I know better. The truth is, “If it is to be, it’s up to God!” With that foundational truth firmly planted in our minds, we are free to venture out into the deep waters that we may have avoided before; we can confidently let our nets down for a catch, trusting in God to supply the increase.

Remember, God chose the foolish to shame the wise; He chose the weak to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). What has God chosen for you to do for His glory today—professionally . . . personally . . . relationally?

If you go in your strength—with your plans and your resources—regardless of the outcome, you will be left weary, weak, and wanting. Only those who go in the strength of the Almighty, even those who are the least and the smallest, will reach a place where these words ring true: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

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

In your daily walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, how do you picture yourself? Have you ever pictured yourself as a wall of bronze? Well, after reading today’s word of encouragement, I believe you will!

I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you.

(Jeremiah 15:20)

Notice the work of grace in the life of the believer. The Lord does not say that we are to make ourselves like a fortified wall of bronze through our own efforts. He assures us that this is all the work of our Great God. And when God says He will make you a wall of bronze, you can be assured, that is exactly what He will do in your life!

In a day when the witness of far too many in the church is so thoroughly diluted by worldliness, we need believers who truly are like fortified walls of bronze, Christians who can withstand the slings and arrows of the evil one. We need believers who are not afraid to be “politically incorrect” and stand for the truth claims of Christianity. We need believers who have been made strong in the Lord through the preaching of the whole counsel of God, Christians who are not “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).

I have learned that those who love the doctrines of grace are those who possess the doctrines of grace. They understand that the same grace that saved them is the same grace that is sanctifying them, fortifying them in the face of increasing unbelief and even outright hostility from the world around them.

Please don’t miss the last part of the Lord’s words to Jeremiah: even when you have been made as a wall of bronze, God is still with you! The reason we cannot be overcome is because our God is with us . . . our God is in us . . . and our God is for us! Make no mistake, God is the One who rescues; God is the One who saves; and it is God who sanctifies us and makes us as a wall of bronze.

So regardless of where this finds you today and what storm winds may be swirling around you, remember that God has made you a fortified wall of bronze. You will not be blown over! “I will strengthen you and help you,” He has promised us; “I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). You shall stand firm because your God is with you every step of the way. Even if all around you is crumbling, you can rest in the promised truth that you will stand in your place and not be moved.

Praise God this day for this splendid truth: God has fortified you and He continues to strengthen you, moment by moment!

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

Perhaps the title to this article caught your attention as a “typo.” You may have thought I meant to write “Faithful to Forgive.” Not so fast! Inasmuch as our God is faithful to forgive, He has also promised to be faithful to forget.

Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.

(Hebrews 10:17)

God is not forgetful like we are. If you’re like me, you forget where you left your car keys…you forget to bring the shopping list to the store…you forget where you left the remote control for the TV. This is not the case with God! God is omniscient; He knows all.

So what is the writer of Hebrews telling us? He is saying that our God is so gracious, He will never bring up any of our past sins to accuse us. He has placed our transgressions as far away from us as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). He has hurled our iniquities into the depths of the sea, never to be seen again (Micah 7:19). Every sin has been nailed to the cross and covered by the blood of Jesus.

In his devotional, Faith’s Checkbook, Charles Spurgeon, often called “the prince of preachers,” put it this way:

According to this gracious covenant, the Lord treats His people as if they had never sinned. Practically, He forgets all their trespasses. Sins of all kinds He treats as if they had never been, as if they were quite erased from His memory. Oh, miracle of grace! God does here that which in certain aspects is impossible to Him. His mercy works miracles that far transcend all other miracles.

I remember hearing this truth expressed this same way as it relates to our justification . . . when we are justified (declared righteous) by God, it’s just as if we’d never sinned. What a God we serve! Because of the cross work of Christ, we who are in Him—by grace through faith—are clothed in the righteousness of Christ and seen by God the Father as perfectly holy. God will never remind us of our past sins.

If you are struggling with feelings of guilt from any past sin, commit Hebrews 10:17 to memory and keep it at the forefront of your thinking every time the devil causes you to think about it. Remember, as long as the devil can keep you focused on some past sin, he succeeds in keeping you from faithfully serving God in the present.

When we appropriate God’s incredible promise to forget all our sins, it strengthens us to treat the past as a school. We can and should take every lesson from the past, but we are never to live there. God has chosen to “remember no more” every time we turned away from Him. Knowing that our spiritual slate has not just been cleaned, but actually broken and thrown away, we are freed to make forward progress in serving our Lord. We are freed from the strongholds of past sins.

If this message finds you in the grip of any past guilt, take that guilt to the cross and lay it at the nail-pierced feet of Jesus. You have been buried with Christ in baptism and raised to walk in the newness of life . . . His life, not your life. You live under the victorious banner of the finished work of Jesus Christ, and that includes the truth that God sees you just as He sees His Son Jesus: He sees you as perfect in every way!

Let that truth set you free from anything that has you chained to the past.

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

John’s gospel tells us about the seven signs—seven miracles that Jesus performed which, in a word, provided the credentials to back up His claim. And what was His claim? Jesus claimed to be God! He made this claim in a number of ways, most profoundly through His seven great “I AM” statements:

• I am the bread of life
• I am the light of the world
• I am the gate
• I am the good shepherd
• I am the resurrection and the life
• I am the way, the truth, and the life
• I am the true vine

These “I AM” statements echoed Exodus 3:14, where God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush. When Jesus repeating these words, He was making it crystal clear that He was God incarnate. And that is why the religious leaders sought so many times to put Him to death and ultimately nailed Him to a cross.

The seven miracles Jesus performed were proof that confirmed Jesus as the promised Messiah, who had come into this world to save His people from their sins. Here are those seven miracles, along with a statement of practical application to your life today, right where this finds you.

• Turning water into wine – Jesus is the answer for our disappointments
• Healing the nobleman’s son – Jesus is the answer for our doubts
• Healing the paralyzed man at the pool – Jesus is the answer for our disabilities
• Feeding of the 5,000 – Jesus is the answer for our daily bread
• Jesus walks on water – Jesus is the answer for our despair
• Healing of the man born blind – Jesus is the answer for our darkness
• Raising Lazarus from the dead – Jesus is the answer for our date with death

Now, Jesus is not the answer to many questions in life, such as what job we should have, the kind of car we should drive, the clothes we should wear, the food we should eat, who to marry, where we should live, and countless others. But when it comes to the major questions in life that matter most? Jesus is the answer and each one of the Master’s Miracles provides us with a map in which to find them.

Keep looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.

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

We in the West have a tendency to count our temporal blessings far more often than we do any of the spiritual ones. Yet if we had not one temporal blessing to speak of, we would still be blessed beyond measure.

Habakkuk knew this truth; the question today is . . . Do we?

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

(Habakkuk 3:17-18)

Let us fully understand what Habakkuk, who was a member of an agricultural culture, was saying. I’m sure that many of you reading these words are urban dwellers like I am, and we might not immediately realize the horror Habakkuk was describing for anyone in that culture. If all the crops failed and the herds had all died off or fled, the people of Israel would be facing ruin and an awful, lingering death. And yet Habakkuk was saying that even in the midst of utter disaster—when everything around him failed and fell to the ground—he would still be blessed because God was his ultimate blessing.

The condition of Habakkuk’s soul would be marked by rejoicing and joyfulness. Habakkuk would look past his temporal provision to his eternal promise . . . God would always be his Savior.

The only way that we will truly know if we are able to respond like Habakkuk is when we actually lose some blessing of value. When something we value is taken away, how do we respond to God and those around us? When the sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy and the sun is brightly shining, it is easy to speak of the glory of our God. But what happens when the storm winds begin to blow our way? What happens when what we have been holding on to so tightly in this life slips through our clenched fists?

Habakkuk knew the secret to true joy on this side of the grave. He kept his focus on the One who had given him every blessing. Habakkuk knew that everything he had was a gift from his God, and he also knew that the Giver of every gift was infinitely more valuable than all the gifts added up together. Even in losing every temporal blessing, Habakkuk still had the only thing he truly needed: his God!

Sadly, many in the church today find this truth hard to accept. We get so caught up in the temporal blessings God gives us that we begin to look for our identity, hope, purpose, and meaning in the gifts . . . rather than in the Giver. Then when one or more gifts are taken away, we feel like we are adrift out on the open ocean, with no safe harbor in sight.

Where does this find you today? Are you in a season of abundant blessing? Pause and name those blessings one by one, thanking God for all of them. Are you in a season of scarcity and lack? Pause and remember that God has promised to meet your needs, not your wants, and what God has promised He will always fulfill. You are blessed far beyond temporal blessings, so learn to look past the gifts to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. That’s when you will begin tapping into a joy that simply cannot be shaken.

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

It is not uncommon for me to counsel with men and women who believe that God is not able to use them because of their youth—either their physical age or their time walking with the Lord. The Bible, however, tells us this belief is not true. We are never too young to be used by God.

Consider the prophet Jeremiah; he frankly acknowledged his sense of inadequacy:

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 1:6-8)

Jeremiah was a young man who did not feel up to the task of speaking for his God. This is a common ailment among many of our youth today. Satan loves to convince young people that God is not ready to use them because of their age. This is one of the sharpest tools in Satan’s tool box. And yet God says, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’” Why? Because wherever God sends us to speak on His behalf, He goes with us. What any of our youth lack in age, God makes up for in “almighty assurance” that we go in the strength of our God.

If you read the passage from Jeremiah closely you will notice two things: Jeremiah did not have to find an audience to serve or create a message to speak; God chose the audience for Jeremiah and determined the words he would speak. And what was true for the prophet Jeremiah more than 2,600 years ago is just as true for all of us today—especially for young people. Everyone we meet is a divine appointment. There are no accidents in life and we never randomly “bump into people.” God arranges the meeting and creates the message. We simply must be faithful to answer the call.

This is just as true for those who are young in the faith. Far too many tell me that they need more training and education to serve God. NOT TRUE! Education and training are certainly good things, and as Christians we become students for life. But our service to God is to begin the moment we are saved. And our service begins by telling others what God has done for us in raising us from death to life.

Listen: God knows the numbers of hairs on your head and He knows your age, both chronologically and how long you have been walking with Jesus. He knows exactly what you know and will equip you for everything He calls you to.

You and I will never approach the level of wisdom that God gave Solomon. But fear not! God knows exactly what He is doing in calling you at your current age today. My years as a pastor have taught me that God calls the equipped by equipping the called, and victory is assured because God is with us!

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

Did you know that God knows EVERYTHING about you—every secret you would not want to share with anybody—and yet He still loves you UNCONDITIONALLY? As I have said before, If that doesn’t light the fire of your faith . . . your wood’s wet!

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go call your husband and come back.” I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”

(John 4:15-18)

This is John’s account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. It is one of the most beautiful pictures of God’s grace in all of sacred Scripture. Here is a woman scorned by everyone who knew her. She would not come to the well when all the other women were there because of their disdain and her shame. She came at the hottest time of the day, hoping to see no one while she drew her water. She had no idea that she was right on time for her divine appointment with Jesus, who was waiting to shower His grace upon her shame-filled life.

The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

(John 4:25-26)

The woman ran back to town, completely forgetting her water jar, running right into the midst of all those she had been so careful to avoid, and told them all, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” John 4:39 reports that this Samaritan woman evangelized her town and many came to faith in Jesus because of her testimony! For the very first time in her life, she was “naked and unashamed” as she stood before the Holy One of God.

What was true for this Samaritan woman is true for me and you today. We are all “naked” before God. Remember, Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking and frequently commented on it (Matthew 9:4, Mark 2:8, Luke 5:22). Yet we are still loved unconditionally. Jesus knows our every thought, word, deed, and desire, and He still loves us!

This kind of “Almighty awareness” should be a source of tremendous comfort to us. To be fully known and completely loved is the desire of every heart; only in Christ can we find this kind of love. Jesus was in a habit of showering down his love on the lowest in society—outcasts like the Samaritan woman—and it drove the religious establishment absolutely mad. They could not bring themselves to associate with “sinners,” because they simply could not see the sin in their own lives. The log in their eyes blinded them to this truth.

So . . . regardless of where this finds you today, whether you are climbing to the summit or crushed under the waves of challenge, the Almighty is aware of every aspect of your life and is absolutely, 100% for you. And if Jesus is for you, it really doesn’t matter what comes up against you . . . even thoughts of past mistakes!

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

At first glance, you might think that with a title like this on a day like today—April 1st—there must be a joke lurking in here somewhere. I promise you, this is no April Fools’ prank! Death is indeed life when we are dying for our Savior. In calling us to die, Jesus is giving us true life and rescuing us from certain death.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

(Luke 9:23-26)

The serpent in the Garden of Eden promised life to Adam and Eve if they would simply turn away from God. What they actually got was death. Death masqueraded as life, but no life was to be found; instead Adam and Eve found themselves on the run away from the One who had given them life.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

(Proverbs 14:12)

Not trusting in God seemed right to Adam and Eve, but in the end it delivered only death. You and I often find ourselves in the very same place. When we trust in ourselves rather than our God, it seems right to us at the time. When God appears to be slow in responding to our plans, it seems right to bypass God and make our own way. But in the end, it leads to death. Oh, we won’t drop dead on the spot! But we become dead inside; we die spiritually, just as our first parents did. It’s likely that all of you reading this have experienced this very thing on more than one occasion.

When Jesus said, “Deny yourself,” He was giving us the key to real life on this side of the grave. Death to self is life to the Savior. Death to our agenda is life to God’s agenda. Death to our goals is life to God’s goals. Death to our will is life to God’s will. When we say NO to ourselves, we are saying YES to God, and that is the only place we will find life. Death to self keeps us from the all-too-common condition of spiritual suicide.

Remember, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it,” and we try saving our lives when we insist on sitting on the throne of our lives. We miss out on the life Jesus is calling us to live. But “whoever loses his life for me will save it” is the result of keeping our Savior on the throne of our lives.

So . . . when is death life? Death is life when we are laying our lives down for the One who laid His life down for us. Living for the One who is the way, the truth, and the life is the key to finding and experiencing the life Jesus died to set us free to live!

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