Grace for the Race

What was the first thing that came to mind when you read that question? If you have been with me for a while, you knew immediately that I am not talking about a physical building with brick, stone, and mortar. Rather, you immediately picked up on the fact that I am directing your attention to the people of God, whose body is called “a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19). So let me ask you again: Are you a temple builder?

Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

To be a temple builder is to be an encourager. It is to be the kind of person who lifts others up and comes alongside as wind beneath their wings. And being an encourager is not an option for the Christian; it is as much a command as any other imperative in the Bible.

What is the key to being the kind of encourager God is calling us to be? It is to see others—all others—as what they truly are: image-bearers of the Most High God. As image-bearers, we reflect God through our gifts, talents, abilities, and accomplishments. Encouragement is nothing more and nothing less than finding God’s reflection in the person we see. An encourager acknowledges the truth that God is at work both in and through an individual, which becomes a power source of positive affirmation.

This is the encouragement that builds other up and strengthens their resolve to be all God is calling them to be. It is also the foundation upon which we connect with and evangelize others. Francis Schaeffer said, “One of the best ways to evangelize people is to treat them well through encouragement.” At the deepest level, we all need encouragement. We have been wired by God to need encouragement that builds us up.

It’s important to make a clear distinction between encouragement and flattery. Encouragement is rooted in biblical truth and is expressed for the good of the person we are encouraging. Flattery is smooth, selfish talk that is designed to benefit the one speaking it.

So I ask you once again: are you a temple builder? How would those closest to you answer that question? The Bible contains so many “one another” commands—encourage one another, accept one another, love another, to name only a few—because we need one another! God hard-wired us for community, and community is built upon biblical encouragement. The Bible knows nothing of living in intentional isolation. To be sure, we are saved individually, but we are saved to community.

Jesus modeled just how “other-oriented” we are to be; we are to lay our lives down for each other, which is the supreme demonstration of encouragement. We are all more than we have become, and encouragement is one of the tools God uses to inspire, motivate, and challenge us to keep going when the going gets tough. Biblical encouragement empowers others to expand the borders of their lives to the boundaries of God’s creation, where we spend our time expanding the cause of God’s kingdom rather than our own.

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

God not only cares for you, He cares for you deeply . . . so deeply that He is not only there with you in your storm, He has promised to take you through to the other side of it.

Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

In my weekly sermons, I frequently discuss the definitions of words used in the Scriptures in the original languages, because our English translations don’t always capture their full meaning and impact. I generally don’t do that in these short blog articles, but today I am making an exception. I’d like to introduce you to the Greek word sumpatheo (pronounced “soom path EH oh”), translated as “sympathize” in the passage above, which means much more than we might think it to mean today. You and I hear the word sympathize and probably understand it to mean feeling sorry for someone . . . having a bit of pity or compassion for someone who is experiencing a difficult situation. In the original Greek text, the author of Hebrews used sumpatheo, which means . . .

TO BE MOVED BY SOMETHING THAT HAS MOVED SOMEONE ELSE!

In other words, our Lord Jesus Christ is moved by the stuff that moves us. He suffers when we suffer! You may find that hard to believe . . . that our Lord is that concerned with the details of our lives. Sumpatheo rises well above the level of feeling compassion or pity for us when we are facing some difficulty in life; it goes far beyond Jesus “feeling sorry for us” when we are in the midst of a storm.

The sympathy Jesus has for us is sympathy for a pain or heartache that He has already experienced; He has gone through what we are going through, and He is willing to do something about it. The storms in our lives become His storms! The double negative—“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize . . .”—is a profound positive proclamation that Jesus is with us every step of the way. Our storms do not scare away our Savior.

Do you see how intimately personal this makes our Lord? He is right there with us in the middle of every storm we face. The God of the universe is deeply concerned with the affairs of our lives; He hurts when we hurt, and He sympathizes with us as we navigate (and sometimes stumble) through every difficulty that blocks our path. There is nothing that moves us that doesn’t also move our Lord.

And don’t forget this: God both sends storms in our lives and allows others. Scripture speaks of the “stormy winds that do his bidding” (Psalm 148:8). These storms always come for the same two reasons: His glory and our good.

When we know that our Savior cares deeply enough to sustain us through every trial, we are able to face pain and heartache with the confident assurance we will get to the other side . . . because He will take us there! And when we arrive, we will be better than we were before, because we will be able to testify of His great grace and sustaining power.

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

A few weeks ago, Katie, Tank, and I went to the opening night of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now, I don’t enjoy opening nights because of the crowds, but the Tank spends much of his play time with the Avengers action figures, so I let them both talk me into it. We had a blast watching these superheroes (especially my favorite, the Hulk) fighting against evil with their supernatural strength and winning the day. When the movie ended, the Tank said, “Papi, I will always remember we went to see the Avengers on opening night!” That certainly made braving the crowds worth it!

Watching the movie got me thinking about another kind of supernatural strength, one that is not merely a made-up story for our entertainment, but real and available to us all, regardless of our station in life.

. . . Being strengthened with all power according to [God’s] glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience . (Colossians 1:11)

I’m pretty sure that all of us, when we are watching movies like The Avengers, secretly wonder what it would be like to have a superhero’s supernatural strength. It’s easy to forget that the Bible makes it clear that we do have real, supernatural power that gives us strength, not as make-believe superheroes, but as children of the Most High God.

When we place our trust in the atoning death of Jesus Christ, we are immediately indwelt by His Holy Spirit. The same power that raised Jesus from death to life now resides in us! He promised that we would be “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 23:49), and that power is available to us 24/7, 365 days each week.

Christians have been given the power to live a supernatural life. We receive supernatural power to hope even in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation . . . to love even someone who is utterly unlovable . . . and to find peace even in the midst of the most violent storm. This is real, superhuman strength that has been given to us to lift us above the challenges of daily living and to put the Gospel on display.

Moses was given this strength when God sent him back into Egypt to confront Pharaoh. Daniel was given this strength in the lion’s den. Esther was given this strength to petition the king without an invitation. John the Baptist was given this strength to be a voice crying out in the wilderness. Paul was given this strength to fight the good fight of faith and finish his race. Every hero in the Scriptures was endowed by God with supernatural strength to do everything God was calling him or her to do. Several of these heroes are enshrined in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.

One last thought: there really is only one great Hero, and all of Scripture testifies to His greatness. If we see the giants of the Christian faith as superheroes, we will have a tendency to want to look like them and try to be like them. Now, that’s not a bad thing, but it is not what God wants us to do! That’s because very hero of Scripture points to the one true Superhero: His name is Jesus Christ. And we are to fix our eyes on Him.

I genuinely enjoyed Age of Ultron, but there’s an even better story, a much more powerful and captivating one that should lift our hearts every day, stirring us on to love and good works. Sally Lloyd Jones’ marvelous children’s Bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible, summarizes it beautifully:

[The Bible is] an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure.  It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything–to rescue the one he loves. 

This young Hero, this brave Prince, this is the One we are to look to, follow, and reflect on as we receive His strength and live out our lives in His power for His glory, moment by moment.

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

There are some passages of sacred Scripture that, on the surface, may seem confusing . . . even crazy! Today I want to explore one such passage, which I call a “paralyzing proclamation” from our Prince of Peace.

When Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:1-5)

Can you imagine what the paralytic and his four friends must have been thinking? After all the effort they had put forth just to get an audience with Jesus, all He said was, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

If I was the paralytic, my brain might well have locked up at that moment. “What? Are you kidding me? Really? Perhaps you don’t understand, Lord. I didn’t come here to have my sins forgiven; I came here to have my legs healed so I can walk again! What in the world is going on here?”

Here’s what was going on: Jesus was telling His audience—the people of Capernaum and you and I today—that there is something far more important in this life than physical healing. To be sure, anyone who had lost the use of his legs would desperately want to regain it. Worse still, at that time the Jews believed paralysis was a sign of God’s judgment for some kind of abiding sin. It was a horrible condition. But as Jesus looked down at the hopeful paralytic, lying on his mat, He made it crystal clear that there is a deeper healing that we all desperately need.

First, in saying, “Son, your sins are forgiven” Jesus was unambiguously stating who He is. Only God can forgive sins, and Jesus was telling His audience that He is the one and only Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He was also making it clear that the forgiveness of sins is far more important than the healing of our physical infirmities.

But the story does not end there! When some teachers of the law were grumbling in their hearts that Jesus would presume to offer forgiveness of sins, Jesus perceived their thoughts and said to them . . .

“Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:9-12)

Jesus has both the authority to forgive all our sins and to heal all our infirmities. How sad it would have been for the paralytic to have only had his legs healed, if had walked away still travelling on the road to eternal destruction. But Jesus, in His unrelenting mercy and grace, gave the paralytic both the physical healing that he wanted . . . and what he needed most!

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

What is your picture of the God you worship? Do you see Him like Santa Claus, with a bag of gifts to hand out to you when you make your way on to his “good” list? Perhaps you see God as a terrible ogre in the sky, just waiting to crush you the next time you step out of line? Or perhaps you see Him as a disinterested deity who created the heavens and the earth and is now sitting idly back in heaven, watching the universe spin off in its own random direction.

Well, I have a word of encouragement for you today!

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. (Psalm 37:23 NLT)

The God who reveals Himself to us through the Scriptures delights in every detail of the lives of His adopted children . . . and if you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, that includes you! The Bible asserts that our God is working all things together for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28) —even those painful things which seem awful at the time.

There is so much encouragement packed into Psalm 37:23, but I will simply make two points here.

GOD IS RELATIONAL

Our Triune God is relational all by Himself: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit living in perfect relationship from all eternity. And since you and I are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), we have been designed for relationship, both vertically (with Him) and horizontally (with each other). God created everything—including us—not out of need, but out of love. We have been created for an intimate, personal, loving relationship with the Creator of the universe and we are to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).

Think about it this way: God does not need us; He simply wants us. Wow! Could we possibly find any greater source of comfort and strength in this life that in that truth?!

GOD IS ALWAYS RELATING

How often do we go through our daily routines without giving even a passing thought to God? But the same cannot be said about Him. To be delighting in every detail of our lives means that God is continually relating to us as we go through life. The Bible tells us that God is with us, for us, and in us. He is walking with us in all the details of life, every step of the way. And we have been given a great promise, regardless of how many times we choose to walk away from Him:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of [your enemies], for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  (Deuteronomy 31:6)

So regardless of where this finds you today—whether you are riding the crest of a wave of victory or barely keeping your nose above the waves of challenge—know that Jesus delights in the details of your life and He has promised never to leave you or forsake you.

How is it with you? Do you offer all the details of your life up to Him? May that be our daily prayer: that we will delight in trusting our Savior for every detail of our lives.

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

Even a cursory glance through the Scriptures makes it plain that God’s Word portrays human beings as cosmic contradictions. Quite simply, we are simultaneously image-bearers and idol worshippers. We are made in the image of God to reflect His goodness for His glory, and yet we bow down to all sorts of things smaller than God and choose to live for our own glory.

As image-bearers, we were created by God to find our identity only in Him. Yet, as the cosmic contradictions we truly are, we seek to find our identity in everything from relationships to recreation . . . professions to prosperity . . . family to feelings. In the words of theologian D. A. Carson, we “de-god God” by choosing to go our own way and focusing on the expansion our own little kingdom rather than the big kingdom of God. We live with one foot in the world and one foot in the Word of God . . . and wonder why the life we are living leaves us wanting.

Our only hope is to keep the Gospel in view and make Jesus our Number One priority.

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

Here is the God-given key to rising above our cosmic contradictions. Notice what Jesus did not say: He did not say we are to seek His kingdom and His righteousness; He said to seek it FIRST! It all comes down to what we are seeking first in life. For far too many, Jesus is just another item in a long list of things-to-do that we attempt to check off each day. At this level of living, our lives careen from wall to wall, going back and forth between being Savior-focused to self-focused. It is only when we make Jesus our first priority that we begin to make measurable forward progress in reflecting God’s goodness for His glory.

The apostle Paul provided another link in the chain that keeps us from living lives of contradiction with the inspired words, “To me, to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).

There was no cosmic contradiction in the life of Paul, no careening from wall to wall. He had an undivided focus and an unwavering commitment to living the life God had called him to live. He had both feet in the Word of God and His heart never beat for anything smaller than Jesus. Paul counted the cost and continued paying it moment by moment. He knew what He was as the Pharisee Saul on the road to Damascus, and He knew what Jesus created him to be as the apostle Paul.

So . . . where have you been focused lately? Have you been living for Jesus? Or something smaller? When we “de-god God” through the worship of the idols we create in our lives, we demonstrate to the watching world that our Christianity is a contradiction. But when we keep Jesus in His rightful place—on the throne of our lives—the testimony of our lives points to the only One worthy of pointing to: the Lord Jesus Christ!

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

Made in the image of God, by God, and for God, Adam and Eve were living in unimaginable joy as God’s creational caretakers. They found their identity in God, got their purpose from God, and lived a life of meaning and significance through God in a place that is rightly described as Paradise. Then the saddest thing imaginable happened. They turned away from God, seeking to become their own gods.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were open, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:6-8)

What happened in the Garden of Eden only makes sense in light of the second chapter of Genesis, where God gave Adam and Eve one prohibition. That’s right; God gave only one prohibition, over and against all His profound provision.

The Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

And die they did! In the instant they ate of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were immediately “cut off” spiritually from their Creator. They were, for the first time, aware of their nakedness and ashamed. At the first sound of their heavenly Father approaching, they ran from Him. Tragically, they were hiding from the only One who could fix their problem!

I have no idea what “God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” with Adam and Eve was truly like. But it’s clear that they heard and knew the sound of God’s approach, so this was not the first time this had happened. It suggests to me that Adam and Eve had regular, intimate fellowship and communion with their Creator in Paradise. Can you think of anything better than that? And yet they forsook that relationship and entered into rebellion.

In their attempt to displace Divinity, our first parents plunged themselves and all of creation into utter ruin. Everything is broken because of their horrific act of cosmic treason. Truly this has to be the saddest thing that has ever happened in all of human history.

But . . . the story does not end there! God promised to send a Savior (Genesis 3:15), telling Adam and Eve—and all of us today—that the way out of this mess is forward to the cross. We are not heading back to a Paradise lost; rather, we are moving toward a never-before seen Paradise, a new heavens and a new earth, where there will be no more tears, sorrow, sin, or death. The saddest story ever told turns into The Greatest Story Ever Told through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Today is Memorial Day, a time to remember all those who paid the ultimate price in defending our great nation. Sadly, for far too many Americans, it is merely a day that marks the beginning of summer and the end of a three-day weekend.

So . . . what does Memorial Day represent for you?

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)

There is no greater demonstration of love than to lay your life down for another (John 15:13). The freedom we enjoy in this country is not free! It came at great cost to so many. All paid some, and some paid all so that we might live in the greatest country on earth. The men and women from all of our armed forces—and their families also—paid a great price so that every U.S. citizen could enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

How thankful are you for that freedom today? In a Memorial Day speech in 1884, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who would later serve on the United States Supreme Court, said:

“Our dead brothers still live for us, and bid us think of life, not death—of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and joy of the spring. As I listen, the great chorus of life and joy begins again, and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers and destinies of good and evil our trumpets sound once more a note of daring, hope, and will.”

Holmes, who was himself a veteran of the War Between the States, was saying that our brave military men and women, who laid their lives down upon the altar of freedom, would want us to focus on the results of their sacrifice: life . . . and living it to the fullest. This is the best way to honor their sacrifice.

Holmes’ exhortation rings true for those who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior. We remember and proclaim His death every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper. But Jesus has called us to focus on life, not death, and to live a life of abundance for the glory of the Almighty.

I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

Are you currently living an abundant life for the glory of God? God never called you to muddle around on the mudflats of life. He has called each believer to soar on wings like eagles and pour ourselves out for something much bigger than a life marked by self-survival, self-centeredness, and self-fulfillment. And we have been given this great privilege because Jesus was willing to lay His life down for us.

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

On this Memorial Day it is right to give thanks for every person who has ever served this great nation, particularly all those brave American soldiers who laid down their lives for our freedom. If you have the opportunity to thank a veteran in person, do it. Yet behind this great temporal blessing is an even greater eternal blessing to keep in the forefront of our thoughts: Jesus paid the ultimate price for sin on our behalf; He gave his life as a ransom for many . . . and He did it because He loves us that much!

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

Dear Brock,

Your mother and I find it hard to believe that today has arrived so quickly.  Starting in the late afternoon of December 28^th, 1996, God gave us our third greatest gift (after salvation and our marriage)… YOU!!!  Here we are on this day where you will walk across the stage and receive your high school diploma from Westminster Academy in the class of 2015!

To say a flood of emotions is filling us to overflowing would be an understatement of gargantuan proportions.  Today we pause to thank everyone who has partnered with us in the parenting process: your teachers, coaches, administrators, countless classmates and teammates, extended family members, and of course, your siblings, Jenna, Katie, and Tank.  Most importantly, we thank our God for giving us the privilege of being your parents throughout this journey.  To be sure, it was all God’s grace flowing through a community of people that has grown you from a little boy into a young man after God’s own heart.

In the fall you are heading off to Stetson University in Deland, Florida on a voice music scholarship.  From the age of 3 years old, when Mrs. Jan Forester first identified your gift of song and you were chosen to sing “Happy Birthday, Jesus” in the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant, we knew God had a special plan for your life that included music.  This was confirmed when God brought you under the musical teaching of Mrs. Lisa Wilson, who both instructed and inspired your musical talents during those formative years.  And God placed His exclamation point on this entire process when you were given the Lisa Wilson Fine Arts Award during Senior Award Night.  With Rick Krive’s guidance and encouragement, you have helped lead worship at The Cross since Easter Sunday 2013, and we have watched God “fan into flame the gift that is in you!”  Clearly God orchestrated each step in this process, using so many to do so much.  He has opened this door leading into a new chapter in your life story that God is writing daily.

You will be the first of our four children to be dropped off on a college campus.  As we imagine looking at you in the rear view mirror in just a few months, we are as emotional as we are excited for you.  You know “Papi” is tearing up right now as I am writing this.  For 18 ½ years, every day of our parenting has pointed to this day.  We know you are ready in spite of our imperfect parenting; we have raised you imperfectly, we have disciplined you imperfectly, we have loved you imperfectly…and boy how I coached you imperfectly out on the baseball field as the ogre dad pushing my plan for your life that would bring us to Fenway Park.  Yet, God has rained down His grace, growing us as parents as He was growing you.  It was our daily prayer to simply point you to Jesus with the ultimate goal of sending you off to college not with a religion to continue practicing, but with a right relationship to continue pursuing with the Lord Jesus Christ.  So with glad and grateful hearts, we echo these words of John …

“We have no greater joy than to hear that our [son Brock] is walking in the truth” (3 John 4).

Now just like our imperfect parenting, you will pursue Jesus imperfectly.  But because your Christianity is rooted in a relationship rather than a religion, you will look to the One who loves you unconditionally and forgives you completely.  Your understanding of the gospel will give you both the motive and the motivation to continue making forward progress, regardless of the bumps and bends in the road.  God’s goodness and grace has you ready to begin this new season of life.  To be sure, our daily prayers will be with you.  But better than that, God’s divine presence will be in you every step of the way.  You know, by way of personal experience, that greater is the power that is at work within you than any power that will come up against you.  And because God is for you, it really doesn’t matter what comes up against you.

Congratulations, Brock.  We are so proud of you and look forward, with positive anticipation, to what God has planned for your life.  I will never forget the counsel I received early in my walk with Christ from Lee Eaton, a godly man and friend who said, “Raise your child to love the Lord in such a way that when they go off to college and don’t have to come home any more, he wants to come home anyway.”  God truly blessed Mr. Eaton’s prayer and we trust that He will bless ours.  I really am having a hard time closing out this word of encouragement to you.  Perhaps it is best to let God have the last Word in a familiar passage your mom and I have used for countless graduates we have coached, mentored, and trained over the years.

“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.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”  Jeremiah 29:11-14

We love you son,

Mom & Dad

When was the last time God seemed distant in your life because of trial or circumstances you were experiencing? If you feel that God is distant, I can tell you this with absolute certainty: God did not move away from you; you moved away from God!

When You said, “Seek My Face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (Psalm 27:8 NKJV)

You may want to reread that unimaginable word of comfort from David’s psalm once again. And then perhaps you should marinate in it for . . . let‘s say . . . the rest of your life!

At first glance, we begin to catch a glimpse of just why God called David “a man after My own heart.” These words, “Your face, Lord, I will seek,” sprang from the vocabulary of a man who was in hot pursuit of God, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

And notice that David said this from the bottom of his heart. David’s heart was beating for nothing less than being in the presence of the Almighty. But don’t miss why! God had given David an “inspired invitation” to seek Him. God has given you and me the same invitation today and every day that follows.

The psalm reveals the God who created all things inviting David into His presence. As transcendent as God is—wholly other, above and beyond all of His creation—He is also immanent: present, personal, and desiring an intimate relationship with His people. David took God’s invitation to intimacy seriously, and he lived a life marked by seeking the presence of God.

You and I must remember that this man after God’s own heart did not seek God perfectly. As much as David loved his God, there were times when he loved other things more. When he should have been leading the army of Israel, he was having an affair with another man’s wife. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he tried to cover up his shameful sin by deliberately ordering the woman’s husband to the front line of a battle so that he would be killed. And yet God still called David “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). How is that possible? Because in this life, walking with God is not about perfection; it’s about direction. David loved God, but he loved Him imperfectly, just like all of us.

In all of our imperfection, Perfection has invited us into daily communion. God doesn’t say, “Seek my face when you are good” or “Seek my face after you get cleaned up” or “Seek my face when you promise to seek nothing smaller than me ever again.” God simply gave David an inspired invitation to seek Him . . . even when he was seeking other stuff he ought not to have been seeking. And that welcoming word is offered to you today.

The next time God seems distant or heaven is silent, remember who moved. God invites you to seek Him in spite of your imperfections. What is your response?

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