Grace for the Race

Have you been working out lately? I’ve worked as a coach, martial artist, and trainer of athletes for decades, so when I ask those who know me this question, they immediately think I’m talking about going to the gym or some kind of physical work out.

To be sure, exercise is a good thing. Scripture tells us . . .

“Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”(1 Timothy 4:8)

But as you can see, the Bible also tells us there is a better thing: godliness. Godliness is something we are called by God to grow in.

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

Here we see two different kinds of workouts that are part of our spiritual growth and maturity. The first “work out” is our responsibility and calling from God. The second “work out” is actually a “work in,” and this is God’s role alone. To be sure, godliness is all of God’s grace. Without God’s grace, we cease to exist. Yet God is calling us to participate in the process of growing up into Christ and maturing in our faith. The Holy Spirit not only works in us, but with us, as we work out our salvation.

Now, take note of what the passage does not say: it does not say that we are to work for our salvation. Salvation is a free gift of God in Christ Jesus. When Jesus said “It is finished,” he meant what He said! There is nothing we can add to His finished work in our salvation. In a physical workout we exercise to develop our body, not to get a body. In the very same way, in our spiritual “work out” we develop strength in our salvation; we aren’t working to get our salvation.

What a great privilege we have been given by God to participate in our spiritual growth! The words with “fear and trembling” in Philippians 2:12 simply mean we are to take our “work out” seriously. We are to work at it on a consistent basis, with great effort and intensity. Just as physical workouts strengthen the body, spiritual “work outs” strengthen the soul.

So . . . how have your “work outs” been going lately? Remember that all of this is done, not in our own strength, but in His strength. He has more than enough strength to keep us going all the way into glory.

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

The Lord Jesus Christ is many things to His precious people. He is Creator, Sustainer, Master, Mediator, Messiah, Lord, Light, Life, Protector, Advocate, Rock, Redeemer, Savior, Shield, Bridegroom, Brother, and Friend.

Friend? The King of kings and Lord of lords is our friend? Yes, and not just our friend, but our Best Friend! Jesus said to His disciples:

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15)

In the times of the Old Testament, only a very special few had the privilege of being designated as friends of God. Scripture describes both Abraham (James 2:23) and Moses (Exodus 33:11) as “friends of God.” The Lord referred to David as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22).

But all that changed through the cross work of Christ. When the veil in the holy temple was torn from top to bottom on Good Friday, everything about our access to God changed! Direct and immediate access to God was available once again, just as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We no longer need a priest to approach the throne of God on our behalf. We may now “approach the throne of grace with confidence,” as Hebrews 4:16 assures us, “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

In John 15:15, the Greek word used for friend is much deeper than our general understanding of the word friend today. Jesus was not talking about a casual, “Hey, how-ya-doin?” relationship, but rather a deeply intimate covenant friendship that is marked by unconditional love, unwavering devotion, and total trust.

One of the best ways to demonstrate that we are pursuing this kind of intimate relationship with Jesus is by the amount of time we spend with Him. Is He simply an item on your “things-to-do” list, to be checked off each day? Or is He sitting atop the throne of your life as your highest priority?

To be sure, Jesus wants us to have a daily time of devotion with Him, but that is only the beginning. He wants all of us! He wants to be invited into every aspect of our lives, into every corner of our thoughts. He wants us to be focused on Him when we rise up and when we lie down, when we walk along the way and when we sit down to rest.

In his marvelous little book, Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence, a 17^th-century monk who worked as a cook in a French monastery, provided great insight into turning the most commonplace and menial tasks into acts of worship, praise, and communion with God. Friendship with God for Brother Lawrence was not about what he was doing for God, but what he was doing with God and the attitude of thanksgiving that he brought to everything he did.

Please don’t think I am telling you to get away from your daily “quiet time” to get with God. It is good to carve out a specific portion of each day to spend concentrated time with our Lord, but remember that this is only the starting line, not the entire race! When we practice the presence of God in all our daily routines, we will develop a friendship with Jesus that will surpass all others!

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

What constitutes a good work in the eyes of God? I believe the 18^th-Century English pastor Abraham Booth put it best:

To constitute a work that is truly good, it must be done from a RIGHT PRINCIPLE (the love of God), performed by a RIGHT RULE (God’s revealed will in sacred Scripture), for a RIGHT END (God’s glory).”

I don’t think those words can be improved on, do you? To be sure, even our “good works” are like filthy rags in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6), because we stain even the best actions with mixed motives and less than perfect performance. Yet Booth clearly explained the foundation upon which a good work must be built: for the love of God, by the Word of God, to the glory of God.

So . . . how are you doing in this area? What has been your motivation for living a life that is pleasing to God? Hope of reward for doing good? Fear of consequences if you don’t succeed? The apostle Paul makes it clear there is a better way, a far better way.

“Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Notice the ultimate why behind all the what that we do: that why is the love of Christ. We are not motivated by a fear of consequences, nor are we inspired by a hope of reward. The love of Christ is the ultimate motivation to live the life God has both called and equipped us to live.

The best way to keep the love of Christ before us is to keep the cross before us. While we were still sinners, Jesus demonstrated His love for us on that cross by dying in our place. Jesus made it clear that there is no greater love we can demonstrate for someone than to lay down our lives for that person (John 15:13). And that is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us on the hill Golgotha.

Beloved, keeping this truth in view will keep your works good in the eyes of God, because they will be done from a right principle, performed by a right rule, for a right end. And that is what makes a work good!

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

I know that I have written many times about the sin of pride being expressed by the sin of comparison. One of the best examples of this in all of sacred Scripture is found in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” (Luke 18:11-12)

This Pharisee is the perfect example of what we are not to do in relationship with others. Instead of praying up to God, he was looking down on others—all others. But there is a time when comparing yourself to others is NOT a sin: that is when we follow the example of the apostle Paul.

“Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me; to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8)

Paul looked around, and everywhere he looked he saw himself as “less than the least of all God’s people.” Paul was expressing the depth of his absolute amazement in the God who would call him to be an apostle. Paul knew he was an apostle only as a result of God’s unmerited, undeserved favor. In Paul’s eyes, everyone else would have been a better candidate. And so he readily acknowledged that his ministry was simply because of the grace of God that had been poured out into his life.

Paul expressed this grace two other times in the most remarkable ways. In 1 Corinthians 15:9 he stated, “I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle.” Later, he wrote to Timothy, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).

So . . . how do you see yourself in comparison to others? Can you compare yourself to others and not sin, because you see yourself as the least of God’s people—perhaps even as the chief sinner? To be sure, this humility is a wonderful grace from God, and it is available to every one of us if we understand that God’s grace is sufficient for our insufficiency and inadequacy.

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

The Bible knows nothing of the solitary saint—the “holy hermit” who seeks the quiet solitude of the monastic life. To be sure, we are all saved individually, but we are saved to community. Christianity is a team sport!

Let’s see what Scripture has to say on the subject.

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.    (Ephesians 2:12-13, 19-22)

When God said it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18), He was not speaking only of marriage; God is instructing us as to the importance of community and fellowship in the family of faith. As my friend Steve Brown says, “Everyone who belongs to Jesus belongs to everyone who belongs to Jesus.” Because “the church” is a body and not a building, we need to stay connected to each other if we are truly going to be the church Christ died to form.

As a pastor, I have noticed that one of the very first symptoms of spiritual deficiency and decline is the inconsistency of attendance at worship services and other church gatherings. And what starts as an infection (missing an occasional worship service), winds up a disease (missing months at a time). We must keep the truth before us that we have been called by Christ to do more than believe; we have been called to belong to His body. When we withhold ourselves from His body, the entire body is diminished.

We need each other! One of the best ways to discover your personal role to play in the body of Christ is through relationships with others already serving in the church. Remember, the church is God’s Almighty Agenda for the world. We have been saved for service; as a community of believers, we are to be influencing and impacting the community around us. Holy hermits hold no hope for making this happen!

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

This is my first Mother’s Day without my mom. I miss her! Our children miss her tremendously also. Mother’s Day was also called “Bunka’s day” in the Boland home, Bunka being the pet name the kids had for Mom. Every Mother’s Day, as soon as church was over, our family would make the 20-mile pilgrimage to Hollywood to surprise her with some goodies. Mostly Mom just wanted to see her four grandkids again.

Our Lord brought Mom home last December, only 6 weeks after she was diagnosed with Stage IV liver cancer. As much as it was a blessing for her to go quickly, it was hard on the kids, who never expected her to be gone so quickly. I remember sitting on the couch with Kim after school and telling our children that Bunka had died that day. It’s amazing how God makes our children so different! Same mom and dad . . . but very different kids. Brock just stared off into the distance. Jenna and Katie cried. And after thinking about it for several minutes, the Tank said, “It’s OK Dad, Bunka is with Jesus!” I am writing this through a veil of my own tears.

So many memories flood my mind. I remember that I never came home from school to an empty house. You see, Mom held the most important job in the world: being a stay-at-home mother. She was always waiting for my brothers and sisters and me to come through the door. I couldn’t wait for that afternoon snack of cookies and milk! I loved to dip the cookies in the milk before shoveling them in. Then I was out the door to play until supper time. When I was late coming home for dinner I always had a great story for her. Mom would always respond with, “Someday, my son, you will be either a politician or a preacher!” Well, we all know how that turned out!

I must confess that my memories of supper are not quite as fond as my after-school memories. It’s because of those dreaded peas! I didn’t like peas back then and I don’t like them now. I never could figure out why peas seemed to go with just about everything we ate! Mom would always say two things: “There are starving children in Africa who would love to eat those peas,” to which I would think—but never say—“Then why don’t you send these peas to those starving children so I don’t have to eat them!”

When the distress in Africa failed to motivate, she would follow up with these words: “If you don’t eat your peas, you won’t get dessert.” This was serious, because I loved dessert! I would take a deep breath, shovel them in and wash them down with my milk. Yuck! But dessert always made me forget the taste of peas and milk. Mom made the absolute best homemade desserts . . . from pies to cookies to puddings to Jello with fruit in it.

Once I started playing sports—and I played most of them—Mom never missed a game. She always on the sidelines, cheering me on. Looking back, it seems like Mom always knew just how to cheer me up after a loss. Instead of the usual snack at home, she would have Dad stop at a 7-Eleven to get one of those “Slurpee’s” (a flavored frozen drink), which was my favorite drink in the world at the time. When I went away to Florida State, Mom never missed an opportunity to call and check in on me. On every return trip home I was greeted with a handshake from Dad and a huge hug and kiss from Mom.

The next fifteen years after college is a blur. Mom was so proud of me when I was hired by the Hollywood Fire Rescue Department in 1982 and just as proud when I walked away after 9 ½ years to follow my dream and open the Total Wellness Fitness Center in 1991.

Kim and I started dating in 1990. Shortly after I brought her to meet my parents, Mom told me, “My son, it seems like you are robbing the cradle!” (Kim is 9 years younger than I am.) After we got past that hurdle, Mom was excited to hear that we wanted to get married and start a family.

Mom became my hero in 1991. After a stroke left my father paralyzed on his left side, confined to a bed and wheel chair, Mom refused to let him stay in the nursing home; she brought Dad home to care for him. The next four years nearly killed my mom, caring for Dad with help from my younger brother, Bobby, who moved back home.

Because Dad was a WWII veteran, he would spend two weeks a year at the VA Hospital. So for 50 weeks each year, Mom was his personal nurse 24/7. She told me early on that it was like caring for a 185 pound baby. But that would change dramatically over the next four years, as Dad withered away. When our Lord took him home in 1995 on Christmas Day, he only weighed about 85 pounds.

Kim and I married on March 6, 1993; Mom was so happy! That mother/son dance at our wedding . . . what a powerful memory! The year after Dad died, our first child, Brock, was born. As happy as Kim and I were, Mom might have been even happier. We would bring Brock to “Bunka’s house” a couple of times each week. She absolutely loved taking care of him. Brock seemed to bring life back into Mom after the toll that the years of caring for Dad had taken on her. Mom would be angry with me if we missed a scheduled time to bring Brock to visit her!

Man, I miss my mom! Two years after Brock, God gave us Jenna. Four years later, we were blessed with Katie; two years after that the Tank (Zack) arrived. Mom was in her glory, rotating from one grandchild to the next. From December 28, 1996 to December 12, 2013, Bunka could not get enough of our kids and they could not get enough of her.

I have so many memories of “firsts” with the kids and Bunka . . . their first step . . . their first birthday . . . their first sleepover . . . their first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. . . . the first (well, only) broken bone, when Brock fell out of the high chair at Bunka’s, who never could forgive herself (I still have the cast!) . . . . their first grandparents day at Westminster Academy . . . their first ballgame . . . the first tooth that came out for “the tooth fairy” (Bunka) to reward. I could go on and on. We were all hoping for the first graduation with Brock, but God had other plans. But as Tank said so well, “It’s OK Dad, Bunka is with Jesus.”

Wow! This was medicinal for me to write out some of my memories on this first Mother’s Day without Mom and share them with you. It is my prayer that this will be an encouragement and a comfort to all of you who are spending Mother’s Day without your Mom.

If Mom were still here today, we would have driven down to Hollywood after church. When she finished greeted the kids coming through her front door with “You are all growing up so fast,” I would have paused—instead of racing to the refrigerator to get a snack as I most often did—and looked deeply into her eyes. And I’d tell her one more time, “Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! I love you with all my heart and I thank God for giving me such a godly mom.”

Man, I miss my mom! But Tank is right. Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25) . . . and I know that Mom is with Him now. She had placed her trust in His atoning death on her behalf—she place her faith in Christ and Christ alone—and I know that Kim, my children, and I will see Bunka again. So I grieve, but I do not grieve as one who has no hope.

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

When all is said and done in your life, what would you like to have said about all that you have done? In other words, what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? Here is one recounting I am sure would not be on your list:

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. (2 Chronicles 21:20)

What a terrible testimony that is! Jehoram passed away . . . to no one’s regret! Why? Because he did not follow the Lord when he became king. Instead, Jehoram followed the example of the wicked kings of Israel and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He built pagan shrines and led the people of God into the worship of pagan gods. In essence, he was more focused on building his pathetic kingdom of one, rather than building the magnificent Kingdom of the One. And therein lies the truth of Jehoram’s terrible testimony: no one was sorry when he died because Jehoram had shrunk the size of his life down to the size of his life.

But this is not for you! Every Christian is called and equipped to leave a lasting legacy under the lordship of Jesus Christ. We simply need to keep the main thing the main thing . . . and that main thing is Jesus Christ. We are to live for the glory of our King; and as much as it is within our power, we should be doing whatever is true, noble, right, and pure in the sight of the Lord (Philippians 4:8).

Will our lives be marked by failing and falling short along the way? Of course; but that’s not the point! The point is to keep pressing on toward our Prince with a heart that beats after the things of God. When we do that, we will glorify God and do good to others—all others. And when we live in this way, it will never be said of us that we passed away . . . to no one’s regret!

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

Only two letters in this small word “my,” but it carries a message of the greatest importance when it is connected with this tremendous encouragement from the Book of Job:

I know that MY Redeemer lives. (Job 19:25)

If you’re familiar with the story of Job, you will remember the incredible, almost unimaginable, loss he suffered. He lost his wealth. He lost his health. He lost his ten children. He even lost the support of his wife, who was so devastated that she urged her husband to “Curse God and die!”

Yet, through it all, that little two-letter word—MY—gave Job the strength he needed in the midst of his crucible of crisis. Here was a man who didn’t need a theological proposition as he journeyed through a season of suffering; he needed a Redeemer, and he needed to know that the Redeemer was his.

To know that a Redeemer lives is a good thing. To know that MY Redeemer lives is the ultimate thing. Job could endure what he was going through because he knew his Redeemer lived. This was a truth that empowered, encouraged, and equipped Job to rise out of the ashes of desperation, doubt, and defeat.

So . . . do you know this truth today? Can you put the word “my” in front of Redeemer? If this is true for you, then you have been given everything you need to weather any storm that comes your way.

Remember that whatever you are going through right now, you are going through it. Jesus told His disciples to get into a boat and that they would go to the other side of the lake. But they forgot that truth when the storm winds began to blow; they thought they were going to sink and cried out to Jesus, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:35-40). All they needed to remember was the fact that Jesus had said they were going to the other side of the lake, which meant that not even the most violent storm could keep them from their destination.

This is a truth to be trusted by everyone who can say along with Job, “I know that MY Redeemer lives.” Jesus is MY . . . MY . . . MY Redeemer; and if you have placed your trust in Christ’s atoning death on the cross to fully and freely pay the penalty for your sins, then He is YOUR Redeemer too!

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

“No pain, no gain” is an old exercise motto I often used to hear (and use) throughout my youth and years of coaching. It is a saying that promises increased performance as a reward for hard, pain-producing effort.

What is true in athletics is also true in the life of the Christian. We have been promised pain (trial, trouble, tribulation), but on the other side of that pain is great and eternal gain.

The Promise of Pain –

It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:29)

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3:12)

Jesus told us, “In this world you will have trouble,” but He did not stop there. He went on to say, “But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He was telling us that the Christian is to expect pain and endure it on this side of the grave.

The Purpose in Pain –

Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:17)

Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

As I like to say, “No cross . . . no glory!” We have been promised a cross to bear in the name of our Lord; on the other side of it is great gain. We share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.

What a wonderful purpose in our pain! Keeping both the promise of pain and the purpose in pain in view, we can walk by faith and not by sight, knowing that along the way to our Celestial City, the pain we endure for the cause of the Kingdom will return to us glorious gain.

NO PAIN . . . NO GAIN!

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

The Bible speaks often about joy and how it is to be the mark of the Christian. So the question we must ask and answer is, “Am I marked by joy?”

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Be joyful always. 1 Thessalonians 5:15

The Bible makes it crystal clear that joy is the mark of the child of God. In fact, a joyless Christian is an OXYMORON. Now the reason we say that joy is an “inside job” is simply because it is not based on the circumstances of life. It is based on our right relationship to God. Here is a powerful example of this truth from the Old Testament.

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18

What we need to keep in view here is in an agricultural economy, this is what we could call a complete disaster. Yet in the middle of this mess, the prophet kept his eyes on God and did not let his circumstance rob him of his joy. Let’s take a look at another powerful example of this truth from the New Testament.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

James is making it perfectly clear that there is purpose in our pain and that purpose is to grow us up into Christ. Clearly Christian joy is an “inside job” unrelated to what is going on around us because of Who we have within us…The Holy Spirit. Here is the best definition I have ever seen of joy.

J           =          JESUS

O         =          OTHERS

Y         =          YOU

You see, the Gospel changes the orientation of our hearts. Vertically it orients us toward God and horizontally it orients us toward others. When we are working from this kind of “other-orientation” the joy of the Lord which is our strength flows both to us and through us.

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