Grace for the Race

Do you know what the world’s greatest labor-saving device is? Tomorrow! That’s right; why do today what you can put off until tomorrow, right?

But this is not for you!

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!” or, “I will be murdered in the streets!” (Proverbs 22:13)

Notice that it is not the fearful who cry, “There is a lion outside,” but rather the lazy. Why? Because they’re lazy! The sluggard creates all sorts of reasons in his mind for his inactivity. Rebellion always finds its reasons, and what better reason for being lazy than a lion?

You see, deep down the sluggard knows that his laziness is a bad thing and that he will receive no sympathy—and certainly no reward—for his procrastination. But who could fault someone who postponed his work because there is a lion on the loose, looking for someone to devour?

OK, perhaps you never actually talked about lions, but . . . have you been making any excuses for not doing what you know you ought to be doing at home, at work, or for your church family? Scripture is piercingly painful in its description of our procrastination: “As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed (Proverbs 16:24). There will always be a lion for the lazy to rationalize laziness. We all have a tendency to put off what we ought to do in order to do what we would rather do.

So how do we overcome this tendency? We stay focused on the Lord, rather than the lions!

Think about this truth for a moment: Jesus was born to die. He came into this world to pay the price for your sins and mine with His precious blood. When our Savior said, “There is a lion crouching at the door,” there really was one—Satan, the roaring lion who would stop at nothing to disrupt and destroy our Lord’s perfect purpose. Yet even though Jesus knew that pressing on meant that He would die the most horrible of all deaths, He rejected the way of the sluggard. “He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51) and kept pressing on in His amazing work of love and grace.

This is what the Bible means when it says we are to keep God’s mercy in view. God’s mercy is to both the motive and motivation put aside procrastination and set our hearts to do what we have been called by God.

Procrastination is simply not an option for the people of God, if for no other reason than that it boasts in what it will accomplish tomorrow. But Scripture warns us clearly:

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth(Proverbs 27:1)

As I have said many times before, the past is gone, the future is promised to no one; all we have is the now, and that is why it is called “the present”—because that is exactly what it is: a gift from God!

Remember, even if there truly was a lion outside, it should not keep us from doing what God has called us to do. As disciples of Christ, we are to be devoted to Christ. That devotion may lead us down lonely paths of pain and persecution, but what better road to travel than the one that our Savior travelled before us—the road that makes us more like Him!

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

Far too many in the church today mistakenly believe that the adversity they are currently facing is a sign of God’s abandonment. NOT TRUE! Regardless of the reason for the adversity, God has not abandoned His children, and in the end it will prove to be for their good and His glory.

Think of all the adversity the children of Israel experienced shortly after their divine deliverance from over four hundred years of captivity in Egypt. They experienced the adversity of an army of angry Egyptians thundering up behind them, with the Red Sea blocking their only means of escape. God led His children through the Red Sea—they passed through on dry ground—and annihilated the Egyptians. Israel experienced the adversity of hunger; God provided manna from heaven. They experienced the adversity of thirst; God provided water from the rock.

Adversity did not equal abandonment for the Israelites. God was with them in every adversity they faced, teaching them to call out to Him in every circumstance. One of the most important lessons you and should take away from the Exodus is that, despite the difficulties they faced, God could and indeed did bless them every step of the way into the Promised Land.

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)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”(Hebrews 13:5)

Adversity has been promised from the Almighty. But in every adversity we will see that our God is with us. Not only does adversity not equal abandonment, but adversity is actually a stepping stone upon which we advance in the direction of God’s call in our lives. Peter exhorted us to remember that adversity has come “so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:7).

So . . . what adversity have you been facing lately?

• Trouble at the office?
• Difficulties in your marriage?
• Tough times at school?
• Struggles in your singleness?
• Prodigals in your parenting?

Adversity and hardships are designed by God to humble us and strengthen us. Trials remind us to depend more on our Savior than on ourselves. Remember, some blessings in life can only be found on the other side of adversity. Keep on keeping on, knowing that Jesus is with you every step of the way. Adversity does not equal abandonment; it’s the necessary precursor of blessing!

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

Today we celebrate American Independence Day, commemorating the day the Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The American colonists had legally separated themselves from the authority of the British Crown on July 2, but the Declaration formally laid out the reasons for the colonists’ separation from England.

As important as this day is in the life of our great nation for our independence, I pray we will be reminded to declare our utter dependence upon God . . . and not only this day, but every day on this side of heaven.

Jesus spoke of our need to recognize our dependence on Him:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:1-5)

As a pastor, I often meet Christians who believe our dependence began after Adam and Eve sinned against God. They are mistaken! Before Adam and Eve’s dreadful act of cosmic treason in the Garden of Eden, they were totally dependent upon God for everything! Their divine design was one of utter dependence upon Omnipotence. They were made by God for God, and they were never to live a single moment independent from God. Self-reliance and self-rule were never a part of their divine design; rather, it was the fruit of their terrible rebellion against God, when they greedily grasped for autonomous rule apart from their Creator and Sustainer.

The serpent spun his slick lies and convinced Adam and Eve to seek their independence from God and live above and apart from the One who created them and was sustaining them. Tragically, they immediately found out just how dependent they were upon God! Only now they were dependent upon God for His mercy and forgiveness, which they received in the promise of a Savior.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel….And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. (Genesis 3:15, 21)

God would have been totally justified to strike our rebellious parents dead right on the spot to satisfy His holy justice . . . but He did not. What God’s justice required—payment for in full for their sin and ours—God’s grace provided for in the giving of His precious Son, Jesus Christ. Adam and Eve were dependent upon God for life prior to sin and they were dependent upon God for life after their awful sin through God’s grace and the cross work of Christ.

When was the last time you considered just how dependent you are on God? Most people immediately reflect back on a season of struggle, suffering, or sorrow and how dependent they were upon God to get through it. But what about the times in life when the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the clouds are fleecy? We have a tendency to forget about our dependence upon God in seasons of plenty and prosperity.

Regardless of where this finds message you, your next breath is dependent upon God. The next beat of your heart is dependent upon God. Your hearing, eyesight, and the circulation of your blood are dependent upon God. If God were not upholding you right now, life as you know it would cease. This is true, not only for every person who has ever lived, but for everything that was ever created. Everything in the cosmos was created by God, for God, and is totally dependent upon God. The universe exists as a holy hymn for His glory. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands: (Psalm 19:1).

So on this Independence Day, let us all be reminded of our total and utter dependence upon God, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

The Bible makes it clear that the person who is most aware of his or her dependence upon God is the one who is most often pursuing God through prayer. The more you feel your need for Him, the more time you spend in prayer to Him. If your prayer life is short or shallow, you can be assured your sense of dependency upon God is short-circuited.

Scripture is full of examples of saints who were sold out in pursuing God through prayer. The model, of course, is our Master, who was in constant communion with His Father in heaven. Here is one of my all-time favorite verses:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

“Prayer for God’s help” John Piper says, “is one way that God preserves and manifests the dependence of his people on his grace and power. The necessity of prayer is a constant reminder and display of our dependence on God for everything, so that he gets the glory when we get the help.” Dependence is a good thing, when we place our dependence upon God, and our prayer life is one of the best indicators of just how deeply we sense and show our dependence. Our Lord modeled it for us, and we are to continue in daily, heartfelt prayer and supplication.

What better time than now, as we Americans celebrate Independence Day, to declare and celebrate our utter dependence upon the righteous, self-sacrificial, and benevolent rule of our Gracious God!

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

Do you know the last command in the Bible? It is found, as you might expect, in the last book in the Bible.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22:17)

Oh, what comfort can be found in this final command in sacred Scripture: “COME!” Are you thirsty? “COME” and quench your thirst with the water of life. What great encouragement is in this command from Christ!

And notice the qualifications set forth for those who are to come: Whoever is thirsty! Here we find our Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, offering living water to replace the bitter water of our broken lives . . . the bitter water of selfish ambition . . . the bitter water of self-righteousness . . . the bitter water of self-centeredness . . . the bitter water of sin and self-rule.

To be sure, this world offers water that spills out from broken cisterns, but it will never—never—deliver what it promises. We are always left thirstier than when we started and totally unsatisfied. Dare not to slake your thirst with anything smaller than Jesus! Our Lord explained this to the Samaritan woman who had come to fill her water jug from Jacob’s well:

Everyone who drinks [from this well] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:13-14)

Scripture invites us to drink our fill from the Fount of every blessing to all those who thirst. Do you thirst . . .

ü  For truth? Drink in the Scriptures!

ü  For peace? Drink from the Prince of Peace!

ü  For a forgiving heart? Drink from the Fount of Forgiveness!

ü  For unconditional love for others? Drink from the Well of Limitless Love!

Only Jesus can slake your every thirst. Remember, the Bible promises that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled (Matthew 5:6).

One last thought: Do you recall the cost of all the bitter water you sipped on over the years? They were costly, right? You paid in ruined relationships, shattered dreams, and separation from God. Well, this glorious invitation to drink in the water of life comes without cost! There is nothing you must do—nothing you can do—to “earn” the opportunity to drink from the living waters. That cost was borne by Him who paid in full the staggering cost of sin for all those who will simply trust in His atoning work on their behalf.

Thirsty Christian . . . Come! Come and drink! Come and drink freely and fully!

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

I’m sure there are some of you who read that title and immediately thought of the rock band that became popular during the turbulent 1960s. This group of musicians was famous for their wholehearted celebration of the San Francisco drug culture and hedonistic lifestyle. Several of them died as a direct result of that deadly embrace. Trust me when I say that today’s blog has nothing to do with that notion of “The Grateful Dead,” but rather with the life of those who have placed their trust in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

Where should those who were once dead and are now alive (Colossians 2:13) be found? There can be only one place: communing with Jesus.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.(John 12:1-2)

When Jesus arrived at the home of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, we see the beating heart of a man who had been raised from death to life, sitting among those who were enjoying a meal with Jesus—drinking in His presence and listening to His every word. How inappropriate and ungrateful would it have been for Lazarus to be found anywhere else—except by the side of His Savior?

Beloved, we too were dead at one time. We were dead to the things of God. We were dead to the spiritual life. We were dead to the Savior Himself. We were dead and buried, our souls putrefying in the grave of our trespasses and sins . . . and then Jesus called us forth from the dark, terrible tomb that held us in the grip of death and damnation. It was Jesus who removed our graveclothes of sin and corruption and draped the rich robe of His righteousness on our shoulders. It was Jesus who brought us near when we were far away (Ephesians 2:13).

The cords of death entangled me,

the anguish of the grave came upon me;

I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!”

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.

The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.

You, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 116:3-6, 8-9)

Can we, His adopted children, whom He saved from an awful eternity of separation from God, be satisfied living at a distance from Him? God forbid it! We, the “grateful dead,” must not live at a distance from our Savior. Lazarus set a wonderful example for all of us who have been brought forth from the grave. The grateful dead who have been raised to new life in Christ live lives that reflect their gratitude. They seek first the kingdom of heaven, knowing that everything else necessary for a life of godliness will be given to them (Matthew 6:33).

The grateful dead seek that new life in . . .

• Bible study
• Prayer
• Church attendance
• Service
• Giving
• Our homes, our workplaces, and in our communities

Lazarus could not imagine not sitting at the table of our Lord. Can you?

One last thought: If it has been a while since you have communed with Christ, fear not! Your place at the table has not been taken away or given to someone else. It is simply sitting empty, and Everlasting Love is eagerly waiting to embrace you when you return.

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

COMPASSION COMPASS

As you probably know, a compass is the direction-finding instrument typically used in navigation. A hiker, soldier, or sailor will use a compass to be sure he or she is headed in the right direction.

A compassion compass is the direction-finding instrument used by the Christian to find all those who are in need of Christlike compassion. This is the right direction for us.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)

I’d like to emphasize three things about the way the compassion compass works:

1. It requires searching.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages. He did not wait for people to come to Him. He did not hang up a sign that said, “The Great Physician is in” and wait for customers to bang on His door. He was not stationary in His service to others! He went searching for those who needed what He alone could provide.

2. It requires seeing.

Jesus was other-oriented, which opened His eyes to see the crowds of harassed and helpless sheep who needed a Good Shepherd. He refused to do what so many do today: look away from those in need. Our English Bibles do not capture the full force of the Greek verb translated had compassion in Matthew 9:36, which means to feel deeply or viscerally. When Jesus saw the sick, the lost, and the hopeless, He felt an ache in the pit of His stomach! Compassion began to beat His heart and He yearned to help them. So He did!

3. It requires shepherding.

A shepherd cares for his sheep. He knows how defenseless they are, and he knows that if he does not care for them, they simply will not survive. He knows how helpless they are without a Helper.

Like Jesus, we are to search, see, and engage. Recall Jesus’ foretelling of His words at Final Judgment:

“The righteous will [ask Jesus], ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:37-40)

When we serve the harassed and helpless, we are serving our Lord!

So . . . how well is your compassion compass working these days? Remember what is required to keep it in top notch condition: searching for those who need to experience the healing grace of God in Christ; seeing their distress and resolving to take action; and shepherding them by meeting them at their point of need. And in a lost, broken, and hurting world, their greatest need is to hear of the One who died in their place so that they might have life in His name.

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

“Woe” is a wonderful word when it is rightly used. But, sadly, we have learned how to use this word in ways that only weaken us:

• “Woe is me . . . I failed the test!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t make the team!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t get asked to the prom!”
• “Woe is me . . . I didn’t get accepted to the college I wanted!”
• “Woe is me . . . I don’t like my job!”
• “Woe is me . . . I lost my job!”
• “Woe is me . . . I have too much month left at the end of the money!”
• “Woe is me . . . I’m showing signs of aging!”
• “Woe is me . . . !”

You finish the last one. We have become experts at holding “pity-parties” and living under the shadow of the tree of “woe” when life doesn’t go according to our plan.

But this is not for you! The apostle Paul showed us a way to keep from wasting the witness of our woes. He wrote:

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.  (1 Corinthians 9:16)

There is a “woe” that is not wasted! All of the woes mentioned in the bullet points above are focused on self and circumstances, but Paul’s woe was focused on Christ and our calling as Christians. The apostle had devoted his life to preaching the gospel and was ready to cast an oracle of woe upon himself if he did not do what God had called and equipped him to do. Now, that is a “woe” that was not wasted!

I want to caution those of you who may be thinking something like, “Well, that’s fine for Paul, but I am not called to preach the Gospel like he was.” To be sure, most of us will never travel to other countries, risking great peril on land and sea to preach the Word, as the great apostle Paul did. But every one of us is called to be a conduit of the Gospel, regardless of our station in life. From the boardroom to the locker room to the classroom to the family room, every Christian has been called to preach the Gospel, with our lips and our lives. And woe to us when we do not!

So . . . how are you doing at making the message of your Master the story of your life? We are to be so taken by the truths of the Gospel that these truths take over our lives. At this level of living, we won’t waste our “woes” on anything smaller than Jesus!

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

Unless you subsist solely on fast food, you have heard of organically grown food, which is grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Most grocery stores stock organically grown products, which are usually more expensive.

Did you know that the statement organically grown also applies to the Christian? What I mean by this is the “vital” or “spiritual” union between the Lord Jesus Christ and the Christian believer, which is best illustrated in the following passage.

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  (John 15:1-5)

Our Lord’s teaching on the vine and branches perfectly illustrates just how the Christian is connected to Christ. It is organic, not mechanical. It is a living, vital union, where the believer (the branch) has been grafted into the vine (the Lord) and finds nutrients for growth through this organic connection.

Think about it this way: Just as the branches of any tree or vine share in the nature and life of that tree or vine, the Christian is united with Christ by faith and shares in His nature and life.

Jesus final words in the passage above—“Apart from me you can do nothing”—give us the sum and substance of the life of the saint separated from the Savior. Any perceived growth in a Christless environment is nothing more than behavioral change. Anyone can change behavior, but heart transformation only takes place through union with Christ. It is a transformation which not only changes behavior, but changes the believer as well.

When Paul said, “To live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21), he was making it clear that his union with Christ was the very life he was living.

So . . . how is your connection to Christ these days? Are you plugged in and powering up? Or are you somewhat disconnected and feeling a bit lethargic? Make no mistake: staying organically connected to Omnipotence will keep you growing and producing fruit that will last all the way into glory.

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

I would like to share a word of encouragement with you today that can lift you above every wave of challenge that is rolling your way. It comes from the pen of the apostle Paul:

In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.(Colossians 2:9-10)

Take some time to consider this remarkable passage. Paul says that all the fullness of God—the sovereign Lord of all the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth and the seas and all that is in them—all of His fullness is in Christ and that those who have placed their trust in Christ’s atoning death on their behalf have been given this fullness!

Now, I don’t claim to know the depth of this fullness, nor would I be foolish enough to believe I (or any human being) would be able to plumb it; but whatever its depth, it is ours to dive into and draw strength from. HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS!

Now, we must not to think that we have been made like “little gods” who possess the attributes that only God Himself possesses, attributes such as omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. We are still finite, fallible human beings. John Calvin explained it this way:

Having been given this fullness in Christ does not mean that the perfection of Christ is transfused into us, but that there are in Him resources from which we may be filled, that nothing be wanting in us.

In other words, in our union with Christ we have been given everything we need for living the life God has called us to live. HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS!

As children of Adam, we come into this world empty—spiritually bankrupt. We are born rebels on the run from God; we have no interest in the things of God until we are given fullness in Christ—a gift we receive from God by grace through faith.

Because of what God in Christ has done for us, you and I have been granted to “participate in the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), and we now have available to us everything we need to be what God is calling us to be. All that Jesus is—and He is EVERYTHING—we have available to us.

• His wisdom . . . our guidance
• His peace . . . our comfort
• His presence . . . our consolation
• His power . . . our protection
• His faithfulness . . . our confidence
• His cross . . . our trust
• His love . . . our security

Let us drink fully and freely from our Fount of Every Blessing, rejoicing in the truth that HIS FULLNESS . . . IS OUR FULLNESS.

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

You may have heard the old adage, “The best defense is a good offense” which simply implies the idea of being proactive rather than reactive. You hear this phrase used in a variety of fields. Sports teams that constantly press their opponent and score lots of points will usually win the game. Armies that don’t wait for the enemy to mount an attack but instead go on the offensive tend to gain the upper hand.

This maxim proves especially true in the spiritual realm. On this side of eternity, we are surrounded by the powerful triple threat of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We face a constant battle on all three fronts, and at times the onslaught seems overwhelming. So how can possibly gain victory in this ongoing fight?

His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.(Psalm 1:2)

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.(Psalm 119:11)

For the Christian, the best offense is a godly, spiritual one: staying rooted in the Word of God. Instead of waiting for the attacks of temptation to test the outer edges of our faithfulness to Christ, we go on the offense by marinating in, meditating on, and memorizing the Scriptures—God’s living and active Word. You see, the more we are in the Word of God, the more the Word of God gets into us!

In the apostle Paul’s famous “armor of the believer” passage in Ephesians 6:13-18, he exhorts us to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Bible scholars frequently point out that the Greek machaira, translated “sword” here, referred to the short sword that every Roman soldier carried on his belt for hand-to-hand combat. It was a powerful offensive weapon that the Roman legions had used to conquer the world.

You will remember that this “sword” was the weapon that our Lord took up to confront and conquer every temptation Satan threw at Him during His wilderness experience (Matthew 4:1-11). Three times, Jesus slashed at the devil with these words, until the accuser retreated:

“IT IS WRITTEN!”

Our Savior’s encounter with the evil one underscores the fact that, as important as it is for us to marinate in and meditate on the Word of God, we must hide it in our hearts as well. When we memorize the Word of God, it is readily available for us to decimate the wily serpent’s slings and arrows.

Make no mistake, for every battle you face against the world, the flesh, and the devil, God has a Scripture to address that specific fight. Remember: to know what is written, we have to read what was written. So read your Bible regularly and develop your godly offense.

One last thought: when you find yourself on the losing side of a particular skirmish—as we all will, for we are all sinners—God’s Word has a promise for you to tuck securely into your mind and heart and soul, so that you will get right back up after you’ve fallen and keep on fighting:

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

I’ve written this on a number of occasions, but I want to remind you again that nothing—“neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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).

If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your eternal Savior, there is nothing you can do, nor is there anything that the world, the flesh, or the devil can do to you, that will separate you from God’s amazing, gracious, eternal love.

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