Grace for the Race

When was the last time you really blew it? Most of us would have to admit that it was recently! Sometimes we say things we ought not say and do things we ought not do. YET! You may be wondering, what’s with this word “yet”? It is a word of unimaginable comfort for all of us today, especially those of us who know the messes we can create in our lives.

I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. (Psalm 73:22-24)

Oh believer, did you see it? Did you see that word of comfort . . . YET? Here we find Asaph, the psalmist, in a moment of deep confession to God about the mess he had made of his life, and then, right in the middle of his confession, he made it crystal clear that his mess had not moved him away from his Master. It was one thing to confess his ignorance before God, but Asaph sank way past ignorance all the way down to being a brute beast before God. YET he knew he was always with God, in spite of his senseless sin and ignorant ways.

What about you? Do you ever doubt God’s loving presence in your life? Do you wonder if perhaps you’ve fouled things up so badly that He has turned away from you? If so, here’s a word you gotta get . . . YET!

• Struggling with a persistent sin . . . YET God is always with you
• Trouble with your job . . . YET God is always with you
• Difficulties in your marriage . . . YET God is always with you
• Prodigals in your parenting . . . YET God is always with you
• Struggles in your singleness . . . YET God is always with you
• Financial difficulties . . . YET God is always with you
• Broken relationship . . . YET God is always with you
• Hurting heart . . . YET God is always with you
• Suffering loss . . . YET God is always with you

What a word of comfort we have here in YET. For the tired, for the downcast, for the afflicted, the word YET is a gateway to the glories that await us in heaven right now. Asaph knew that nothing can separate him from his God. Nothing could break his love-relationship with God. And what was true for the psalmist back then is true for the Christian believer today . . . and that includes you! He holds you in His hand and nothing will ever be able to pry you from His almighty grip. You probably know this glorious passage from Romans, but bask in it again today:

I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Another way of saying God is always with you is to say that God is always for you. He takes whatever providence He sends and makes it work for our ultimate good and His glory. What a comfort for us today! Whether the sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy or the storm winds are blowing and the thunder is roaring, God is with us and for us and nothing can separate us from that love! To know that truth is to know enough.

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

Does the title for this message seem nonsensical? How, you might ask, is it possible to be unsatisfied in our success? Isn’t that what we’re all pushing for . . . to be successful?

It has been said that the Hall of Fame football coach Tom Landry said these words after his Dallas Cowboys had won their first Super Bowl, which is the pinnacle of success in the National Football League:

The overwhelming emotion in a short period of time among the players was how empty that goal seemed to be. The thought was, there must be something more.

I have pastored and coached many men and women who have achieved high levels of success in business, sports, and life, only to discover the biblical truth that success does not always bring with it the deep satisfaction of the heart we truly desire.

And God designed it that way! You see, He created us with a God-sized void inside us that can only be filled by Him. Regardless of how much success we achieve in this world, if it is not rooted in our Savior, it will ultimately leave us empty, unfulfilled, and wanting something more.

Success was designed to leave us unsatisfied when it is disconnected from our Savior. We were created by God for God, and when we are living for anything smaller than God it will always leave us wanting. We can climb ladder after ladder of success, climb each one all the way to the top, but if it is leaning against the wrong wall, we will eventually climb back down feeling more dissatisfied than when we started the climb. Let me close today’s word of encouragement with this beautiful poem from C.T. Studd (1860-1931), Only One Life:

Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years, Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfill, living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife, Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

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

We hear a great deal from preachers talking about living a victorious life, but what does that really mean? For the Christian, the answer is clear: it means to glory in God. When used as a verb, to glory in God means to revel, boast, delight, and rejoice proudly in God.

So . . . what does the confession of your life say about this verb for victorious living?

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

Jeremiah made it clear that, while there is much that is good in life, we are not to glory in it. We are not to revel, boast, delight, and rejoice proudly in the things of this world. Our God says we are not to glory in . . .

• Wisdom
• Strength
• Riches

Wisdom, strength, and wealth are just a few of the good gifts we receive from God, yet we are admonished never to glory in any of them. What we are to glory in is our increasing understanding and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, to glory in God is true wisdom, strength, and riches, and these can never be found in anything smaller than Jesus.

It is important to lay out what these three dimensions of increasing in understanding and knowledge of God look like in the life of the believer.

       1.  It is intellectual. We increase in knowledge of the absolute truth about God.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

2. It is volitional. We make a conscious choice to move beyond knowing God to trusting God.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

3. It is moral. Our obedience to the Word of God is rooted in love—both vertical (love for the Lord above) and horizontal (love for the people around us).

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

My prayer for you today is that this verb, to glory in God, consumes you like a raging fire, and that by living the victorious Christian life you will positively impact everyone you come in contact with for the glory of God . . . by glorying in God.

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

As a pastor I often deal with death. Funerals are a regular aspect of ministry. And, if the truth be known, we are all dying at the rate of 60 minutes per hour! With that said, I would like to provide the key that unlocks the door leading to faring well in our farewell.

To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)

The apostle Paul knew, by grace through faith, the gain that will be found on the other side of the grave. He knew and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ . . . and that is the key to faring well in our farewell. Paul lived constantly in the light of eternity. He was so captivated by Christ that his earnest desire was to depart and be with Him, yet he knew he had more ministry to do in this world until that moment when his Lord would call him home to be in the next.

Paul knew that whatever joy and pleasure he experienced on this side of the grave paled in comparison to what he would experience in the presence of his Lord on the other side. It was Paul who reminded the Christians in Corinth of Isaiah’s word of encouragement: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Paul knew he would experience the fullness of his salvation in unveiled and unhindered intimacy with Jesus. Because Jesus was Paul’s greatest treasure in life, he knew his greatest gain would be death. Do you know that truth?

Sadly, for many, the answer to that question is no. Those who have not trusted in Christ alone for salvation will fare poorly in their farewell. They have lived for treasure infinitely smaller than Jesus; when they are faced with their inevitable departure from this world they are overwhelmed with unsettling emotions. Death to them is not gain; it produces fear and an unimaginable pain of loss. Make no mistake, the way we die—the way we approach our final moments in this life (if we are given that time by our Lord)—makes it clear what our treasure has been.

The only way to fare well in our farewell is to live like the apostle Paul and look forward to death as the ultimate gain, because we know that Jesus is on the other side, waiting to welcome us home. When our treasure truly is Christ, we will not fear death; we will know how to die well. I am reminded of the last words of Confederate general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson hung between death and life for days. Toward the end he slipped into delirium, barking commands to imagined troops. Then, a witness recalled, Jackson’s tone abruptly changed. He smiled, and his last words on this earth were, “Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.” Thomas Jackson had no fear, no pain of loss—only eager anticipation of entering the presence of the Lord.

In knowing how to die well we will know how to live well! We will refuse to live for anything smaller than Jesus. We will turn our backs on the fleeting pleasures of this world and focus on the all-satisfying eternal pleasure in the world to come. Only when we can sincerely say that “To live is Christ” can we live out the truth that to die is gain. This is faring well in our farewell, and nothing can ever rob us of this joy.

This has been my personal experience is saying good-bye to the saints of God. I hope it will both comfort you and challenge you to keep your eyes firmly fixed on what God has prepared for those who love Him.

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

By nature, we all like the security of certainty. Yet uncertainty and risk are simply parts of our existence on this earth. In the face of this truth, we can be unshakable in uncertainty if we keep our focus on Christ and not our circumstances. Let’s take a look.

Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:15-16)

In saying “If I perish, I perish,” Esther was making it clear she was uncertain of the outcome of going to plead to the king on behalf of her people. She knew that Persian law made it clear that anyone who approached the king without being summoned could be put to death. Yet she was unshakable in uncertainty, because of the certainty she had in her God. Esther trusted in whatever outcome God would deliver to her, because she knew she was doing God’s will.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)

Here we have another incredible example of being unshakable in uncertainty. The Jewish people were in exile in Babylon under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The king set up an enormous statue of gold and required all the people to bow before it when the trumpets sounded. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow before the statue, Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace for their disobedience. Notice what the three young Jewish men said: “The God we serve is able to save us . . . but even if he does not, we will not bow to your image of gold.” They knew God could save them, but they weren’t certain God would save them. Yet they remained unshakable in uncertainty.

We all face great uncertainty in this life. But just like Esther, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we can remain unshakable in uncertainty if we fix our eyes on the Author and Perfecter of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So . . . are you facing any particular uncertainty today in your personal life? Perhaps in your professional life? Are you asking for divine deliverance in some particular area? You can be sure that, regardless of the outcome, God is always working toward two great ends: His glory and your good!

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

In an old Dennis the Menace cartoon, Dennis is holding a handful of beautiful flowers and he asks Mr. Wilson, “How can something so pretty and clean come out of the dirt?”

When you think about it, that question applies to every Christian! I have a word of ineffable encouragement for you, taken from these magnificent words from John, the Beloved Apostle:

. . . And the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7 NKJV)

Notice that John did not say that Jesus’ blood “will cleanse us from all sin” or “shall cleanse us from all sin,” but rather Christ’s blood does cleanse us from all sin! The Greek verb katharizo, which our English Bibles render as cleanses or purifies, is in the present tense, meaning that the blood of Jesus is continually cleansing us from all sin! Take this truth to heart, believer, because in it you will discover a joy that can be found in no other place. All those who have placed their trust in Christ’s atoning sacrifice were cleansed at the moment of salvation, and they continue to be cleansed each day, moment by moment, in spite of the dirt that still remains.

I meet far too many Christians who have never fully appropriated this truth. Because you and I are sinners, both by nature and by habit, we still have some remaining “dirt,” even after we have, by grace through faith, been cleansed from all unrighteousness. Many Christians are acutely aware of their ongoing unrighteousness; they hope to be cleansed . . . someday. They hope to be forgiven of all of their sins. They hope to enter into their eternal rest.

Yet this “hope” is actually a false gospel! The hope that Scripture exhorts us to embrace is a confident expectation, not the tenuous hope expressed by phrases like, “I hope it won’t rain tomorrow” or “I hope God will forgive me for all I’ve done.” Christian believer, read these words and hold fast to them: Scripture tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ washed us clean from all sin at the moment we first believed. John’s glorious promise assures us that we are not cleansed from “some” sins, or “most” sins, but from all sin! Every sin in your life—past, present, and still to come—has been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God, who paid the full and final price for all our sins.

Take a moment to marinate in this truth! It will give you a peace that passes all understanding and propel you into God’s promised and perfect plan for your life. We should carry no baggage from our past, which is one of the sharpest darts that Satan employs to pierce our hearts and cause us to focus more on ourselves than our Savior.

Satan would have loved for Peter to carry the baggage of denying Christ three times during that awful night of Jesus’ betrayal. Peter could have been so burdened with guilt and shame that he would never have been able to get on with God’s plan for his life. But Jesus made sure Peter’s past would not define his present and future. Asking Peter three times if he loved Him (John 21:15-17) was our Lord’s way of telling Peter (and us) that his three denials had been cleansed by the atoning blood of the Lamb.

Christian, you and I deny Christ every day! We deny Him with our anxiety and anger . . . our self-righteousness and self-centeredness . . . our unbelief and unforgiveness. The record of our sins is much, much longer than you and I could ever imagine, and it should cause us to do as Peter did—to weep bitterly. Yet regardless of how many or how terrible our sins are, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all of it!

This Fount of every blessing removes both the baggage of our past and the failures in our present, which frees us to walk by faith into the Promised Land that God has set before us. Yes, dear one, you and I are clean and beautiful, just like Dennis’s beautiful flowers—in spite of our dirt—and that is a truth that truly sets us free.

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

Today is our final installment on the debt of love we owe all people. Let’s first review the original passage, Romans 13:8-10 —

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

We’ve looked at what this love is and identified to whom we owe this debt of love. Today’s message answers the question: “How do we pay it?” The answer, in a word, is SACRIFICALLY!

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

(1 John 3:18)

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)

These passages clearly state that to simply tell someone we love them is not the biblical understanding of love. How easy it is to say those three words—“I love you”—without ever backing it up with actions and in truth.

But this is not for you! You see, God did not only send a book that told us that He loved us . . . as amazing as that is. He sent His one and only Son to die on a cross to show us his love. The apostle Paul exulted, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The love of God in Christ is a sacrificial, agape love that revealed itself through the ultimate sacrifice the world has ever seen. The perfect, sinless Son of God went willingly, lovingly to our cross; He took our nails in His hands and feet; He wore our crown of thorns; and He died the death we should have died and paid the penalty for our sins.

John echoed Paul when he wrote, “This is how God showed his love among us . . .”—by giving His Son as the atoning sacrifice for sin, “that we might live through him.” It’s truly incomprehensible to imagine that the unblemished Lamb of God was given over to the most horrific, agonizing death for the blemished sinners of this world—sinners just like you and me.

Let me remind you what we are doing as we pay off our Divine Debt: we are fulfilling the law! Jesus said,

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Disciples of Jesus fulfill the law by loving vertically (by loving God) and horizontally (by loving all others). The great reformer, John Calvin, wrote that our Lord’s command is “reducing all the precepts of the law of God found in sacred Scripture to love!”

So . . . let me ask one final as we close out this series: How are you doing in paying down this divine debt? Let me leave you with these words from the great evangelist, D. L. Moody:

A man may be a good doctor without loving his patients: a good lawyer without loving his clients; a good geologist without loving science; but he cannot be a good Christian without love.

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

As we look deeper into our divine debt, we will learn to whom we owe this debt of love. Let me quickly refresh you on the passage this message is grounded in:

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  (Romans 13:8-10)

In the previous blog, we looked at the Greek word agape, which Paul was inspired to provide to describe this unrestricted, unrestrained, unreserved, and unrelenting love; today I’d like to unpack the Greek word allelon, from which we get the English phrase “one another,” and which the New Testament often employs to refer to the relationship between believers. But here allelon is not limited to the body of Christ. It refers to EVERYONE! Here are a few Scripture passages which reveal this truth:

As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:10)

The “all people” here means exactly what it says—ALL PEOPLE—including those who do not belong to the family of faith.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for

you.  (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

Here “each other” identifies the family of believers, and “everyone else” identifies everyone else! We are to love everyone, without exception. The reason for this is rooted in creation and the fact that all men without exception are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Francis Schaeffer offered this profound explanation:

All men are our neighbors, and we are to love them as ourselves. We are to do this on the basis of creation, even if they are not redeemed, for all men have value because they are made in the image of God. Therefore they are to be loved even at great cost.

This wonderful truth takes us from our natural tendency to be “tribal minded” (caring only for the members of our “tribe”—that is, our family, community or nation) to becoming “mission minded” (caring for all people, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation), regardless of cost or circumstance.

So . . . how are you doing in paying down your debt to all people? Do you find it easier to love only those in your “tribe” and those who love you in return? By nature, the answer for all of us is “Yes.” But by the new nature, which was given us by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are equipped and empowered to put the Gospel on display and make God attractive by loving others—all others—even when we would rather not!

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

What debt are we to pay daily and yet never pay off? The answer to this profound question is the focus of our next three meditations, which are taken from a sermon I preached at Cross Community Church. The messages were rooted in the following passage, which came from the inspired pen of the apostle Paul.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandments there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

The debt we are to pay daily and yet never pay off is the debt of love. It is important to pause for a moment to define this word love. The Greek (in which the New Testament was originally written) employs a number of words for love that are not in view here.

Philos is brotherly love between two people with shared interests; philos love steadily grows through a strong commitment. (Now you know why Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is called “The City of Brotherly Love”—it comes from the Greek!)

Eros is the root from which we get our English word “erotic.” Eros love is primarily emotional and sexual. It is characterized by an insatiable desire to be near its target; it changes suddenly; and it is based entirely on circumstances.

Storge is love for one who is dependent. It is a “motherly” love based on the relationship between the lover and the loved.

But the word used here in Romans 13 is not a feeling motivated by physical appearance, emotional attraction, or self-satisfaction …

The Greek agapao in this passage is from the root agape, which is a love that is as unconditional as it is sacrificial. Agape love finds its meaning and manifestation in the revelation of God in Christ Jesus.

So the debt every Christian owes, moment by moment, is the debt of agape love, a love that is unrestricted, unrestrained, unreserved, and unrelenting. It is volitional (a personal choice), unconditional (not motivated by hope of some return), and sacrificial (it loves regardless of the pain or cost).

So . . . how are you doing at paying down your debt? In the next blog we will dive a little deeper into this passage and discuss who it is to whom we owe this debt.

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

Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Life by a thousand deaths. How in the world can we have life . . . by death? Let’s take a look.

I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.  (1 Corinthians 15:31)

The apostle Paul is saying that dying daily is the only means to finding life. Remember, Paul also said that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). He made it abundantly clear that the Christian life requires daily dying.

Are you still wondering what in the world I am talking about? Paul was saying that we must die to our old ways of living:

• Death to the approval of others
• Death to the applause of man
• Death to the acceptance of peers

The Lord Jesus Christ calls all of His followers to deny self and die daily:

Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”  (Matthew 16:24-25)

Truly, life will only be found in a thousand deaths! We must keep in mind that “death” simply means the absence of life; in the spiritual life of the Christian, it means that the old self dies daily and ceases to be the foundation upon which life is built. We die daily to our selfish, sinful desires and live moment-by-moment for our Savior. Without death to self, we simply cannot be alive to our Savior.

Just a cursory glance through the Gospel accounts makes it perfectly clear that this was the point where many turned away from Christ. They refused to make Him Lord over their lives. The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-26) is one of the most poignant examples of this truth. When Jesus explained what was required to be His disciple, the young man went away sad, because he had great wealth. He refused to die to the self and life for the Savior.

And let me be clear here that his problem was not the fact that he had great wealth. Many Christians throughout the ages have had wealth, yet have wholeheartedly lived their lives for the Savior. The problem is not with what we possess, but what possesses us . . . and if our passion is not for Jesus, then we are living for a savior that simply cannot save.

When Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20) he was making it clear that there is no life to be found outside of Christ. To be sure, there are many things in this world that promise life, but only One who can deliver on that promise . . . and His name is Jesus Christ.

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