Grace for the Race

Here is a story I came across some time ago that provides great insight into the secret of success:

A young bank clerk was being promoted to vice president—a position for which he felt ill-equipped. Approaching the wise and aged bank president, he asked, “Sir, what is the secret of success in my new position?”

“Right decisions,” the president promptly replied.

“And what, sir, is the secret of making right decisions?”

Again, the president was quick to respond: “Experience.”

“And what, sir, is the secret of gaining experience?”

The president smiled and said, “Wrong decisions.”

To be sure, “To err is human,” as Alexander Pope said, but a mistake is only a mistake if we persist in it. All of us make wrong decisions along the path of life. Wisdom comes from learning from those wrong decisions and gaining the experience that comes from them so that we begin making better decisions. And the most important key to making right decisions is rooted, to an extent you might not have suspected, to the amount of time you spend in the Word of God.

When Jesus attacked by the devil during His wilderness experience, He responded each time with these words: “It is written…!” Much of God’s will for the Christian is clearly outlined in the Word of God. The better we know the Word of God, the better decisions we will make in every area of life. Now, God will not tell you whether you should be a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker. He won’t tell you whom to marry or what kind of car to drive. But by spending consistent time in God’s Word, you will learn what is pleasing and acceptable in His sight and be strengthened to carry that out more often than not.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

If the secret of success is right decisions, then the only source that will give us everything we need to make those right decisions is the Holy Bible. We need not fear wrong decisions along the way, unless we are like the fool who despises wisdom and instruction and refuse to learn from our mistakes. We simply need to learn from every decision we make, focus on the Lord, and follow Him wherever He is leading.

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

Even in a place filled with people, we can feel all alone at times. We may feel just like the paralyzed man lying by the Bethesda pool when Jesus showed up:

Here a great number of disabled people used to lie–the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” (John 5:3-7)

Notice the words: “I have no one to help me.” How often we feel like we are all alone, with no one to help us! We need to remember that Jesus is always there with us and always helping us, even when we don’t know it. Jesus promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us no matter what the circumstances we find ourselves in (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus is not a “fair-weather friend” who disappears when we are engulfed in one of the storms of life; He is with us from beginning to end.

Jesus cares about everyone, and in this passage we see just how much He cares for those who feel they “have no one to help.” He cares about those who are alone. He cares about those who reside in nursing homes. He cares about those who are confined to hospital beds. He cares about the widow and the orphan . . . and He cares about you!

If you have been feeling lonely, shift your focus to your faithful Friend who sticks closer than a brother. Remember His words to the one who had no one to help him into the pool of water:

Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. (John 5:8-9)

Whatever proverbial “mat” you may have been lying on, paralyzed by the thought that you have no one to help you, do as Jesus instructed that man to do: “Pick up your mat and walk,” knowing that Jesus is walking alongside of you every step of the way. If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, you are not alone. You never have been . . . and never will be.

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

When was the last time you found yourself getting ahead of the Almighty? It is one thing to walk with God along the path of life, but it is another thing altogether to run ahead of Him . . . which is the great tendency for many of us. Abram did that very thing when it came to waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise that Abram and his wife Sarai would be parents to a child of promise. You can read about it in Genesis, chapters 15-16.

Humanly speaking, Abram and Sarai could never have children; he was 100 and she was 90, both long past the biological age for producing children. But they forgot that with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE (Matthew 19:26). And when God makes a promise, HE KEEPS IT (1 Samuel 15:29)! God even confirmed His promise to them in Genesis 17:3-16 by changing their names to Abraham (“father of many”) and Sarah (“princess”).

Unfortunately, Abraham suffered from two conditions that affect all of us. His perception of God was as small as his patience was short!

So . . . where in your life have these conditions afflicted you? Where has your perception of God been way too small? In your finances, your calling, your relationships, your physical health? And where has impatience marked your life? In your single walk with Christ, your desire to be a parent, your hope of a getting out of school and getting on with life, your career?

We serve a BIG God, who works all things together for our ultimate good in His way and in His timing (Romans 8:28). Impatience and a small view of God are harsh taskmasters, and the consequences of either often stay with us for the rest of our lives. We need to remember that God will fulfill every promise He has made, but it may not come to us when we expect it to and it may not look like what we were anticipating. But just as God confirmed His promise to Abraham, so He has confirmed His promises to all those who have placed their trust in Christ’s redeeming work:

No matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.  (2 Corinthians 1:20)

It’s important to note that Abraham believed God, even if he did a very foolish thing in running ahead of God. I love the way the Bible describes the faith of Abraham and exhorts us to live in a similar way:

 [Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness — for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:20-25)

We all do foolish things and can look back on a life littered with our impatience and a small view of God. But don’t let the past keep you a prisoner! Learn from the past and look to the future promises of God. He will accomplish every one of them, in His time and in His way. Remember, regardless of where this finds you today, waiting on God is the best work you can do.

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

The church is full of people who spend the lion’s share of their time trying to broker God’s favor and bind His conscience for a blessing. They believe their “good works” can obligate omnipotence. They have lost sight of our Lord’s words in Luke 17:10 . . .

So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”

Even if we were to live a life of perfect obedience (which, by the way, we cannot do) we would only be doing our duty . . . and at the end of the day, we still would be unworthy servants. Think about it this way: if we were to keep the laws of our state perfectly, would the state be under any obligation to reward us for our obedient behavior? Of course not! We would have only done what our duty as American citizens. The same is true when it comes to our relationship with God. And on top of that, even our best works are no more than filthy rags in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6).

Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me. (Job 41:11)

You will remember the story of Job, who lost everything except his life—his health, his wealth, and his children. Even his wife turned against him and urged him to curse God. Then Job’s three friends showed up and hurled false accusations Job’s way. In defending himself, he began to demonstrate an attitude of “deserving better from God” . . . and God quickly corrected Job’s misguided thinking.

To be sure, Job suffered through an unimaginable season of tragedy. He started out well, saying “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21). But Job drifted into an “I deserve better” mentality, complaining that “It profits a man nothing when he tries to please God” (Job 34:9). At that point, the Lord stepped in and redirected Job’s focus away from himself and back toward God.

Regardless of the life we live—even a righteous life like Job’s—we simply cannot obligate Omnipotence. We live in a fallen and broken world, and storms winds will blow our way; our comfort is found in the fact that Jesus is in the middle of the storm with us. Knowing that Gospel truth helps us to weather any storm, trusting that God has delivered it for our ultimate good and His glory. Instead of trying to obligate Omnipotence we must simply open our heart to gratefully receive whatever He sends our way.

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

The apostle Paul provided Christians with a compelling cause that leads to living a life of both freedom and faithfulness to Jesus.

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)

The compelling cause for the Christian is Christ’s love. It is the love of Christ that frees us from living a self-centered, self-absorbed, self-focused life. The love of Christ empowers us to trade the love of self for the love of our Savior—the One who died for us, who was raised to life on the third day, and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

Think about what the apostle Paul is really saying in this passage: he is telling us that when the love of Christ rules our hearts, it shapes our lives. Paul was not compelled by the fear of bad consequences when he stepped out of line; he was not compelled by the hope of some reward when he was serving in the center of God’s will for his life. Rather, Paul was compelled to live the life God had called him to live because of the love of Christ—a love that died for Paul so that he might rise above the challenges of daily living.

So . . . what compels you to do what you do? Paul was compelled by the love of Christ in everything he did. Paul’s motivation was not the desire to avoid the pain of consequences or to gain a sweet reward; it was simply the love Christ poured out on him that kept him going moment by moment.

Paul kept both the cross and the empty tomb in view and was compelled daily to live for Someone bigger than himself . . . and His name is Jesus Christ!

Can the same be said about you?

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

In August I had the privilege of marrying Mark and Kaitlin, the young couple who head up our Young Adults ministry at Cross Community Church. Starting with pre-engagement coaching, we spent a considerable amount of time over the past year talking together about the “stuff” of marriage. I remember discussing the all-too-common prenuptials that many bring into their marriages today, even Christian marriages.

A “prenuptial” is defined as:

A contract entered into prior to marriage which commonly includes provisions for the division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce.

Clearly, heading into a marriage with the end (divorce) in mind is not the way God intended for two people to become one flesh. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16)!

I’d like to carry this concept of a prenuptial into your personal walk with Christ in order to make one thing perfectly clear: in God’s economy, love needs no legislation. This was the problem the apostle Paul faced in preaching salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many were trying to add a requirement of obedience to Jewish law to the simple message of salvation through faith in our risen Savior.

We must remember that the law of God was never intended to cause us to live an obedient life; it was graciously given to drive us to our knees at the foot of the cross. And if the law cannot save us, it certainly cannot sanctify us and make us more like Christ! It is a growing relationship with Jesus that leads to living a life of obedience, not a growing list of rules. Love needs no legislation.

When you love the Lord Jesus Christ, your heart beats for pleasing Him. As my friend Steve Brown says, “The law will tell you where the land mines are to keep from blowing yourself up, but it won’t lead you to living a life of righteousness. Only Jesus will do that!”

So . . . take some time to prayerfully consider your walk with Christ. Is it characterized by a growing list of rules? Or a growing love relationship? Trying to legislate what love empowers people to do willingly is silly, foolish, and counterproductive. Keeping in view the love that was poured out for you on the cross will keep you moving in the direction of living a life that is pleasing to God and beneficial to all others.

Christ’s love compels us. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

You are no longer what you once were because of what Jesus has done for you. You are a new creation, and that new creation is compelled by the love of Christ . . . not the law of God. Love leads to Christian living and love needs no legislation!

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

The title for today’s encouragement came from a joke I heard some time ago that went something like this:

Two pastors were exchanging the latest news. One said, “Did you hear about the revival we had at our church?”

“No,” replied the other pastor. “How many new members did you add to your rolls?”

“None,” the first pastor exclaimed, “but we had some very helpful and necessary subtractions!”

Here is a word of encouragement for us all. If we ever find ourselves in the midst of a revival, let’s make sure we are on the side of addition and not subtraction! The book of Acts shows us that the early church was marked by both kinds of “revival,” as the Sovereign Lord both added to and subtracted from the church.

You might remember that 3,000 were added to the church, and then 5,000 more. What a revival that must have been! But we must never overlook the growth of the church that took place by divine subtraction also. In the fifth chapter of Acts, we read about Ananias and Sapphira, who came under the divine discipline of the Almighty and were removed from the church.

Revival isn’t a matter of collective church growth only; it begins in the heart of the believer. We can start our own revival by adding something to our personal walk with Christ or by subtracting something. Here are a few examples of some good things to add that can strengthen our walk with Christ:

• Daily devotional time
• Consistent prayer
• Regular church attendance
• Volunteer for a service project
• Join a Bible study
• Regular rest
• Go on a mission trip
• Daily exercise program

Here are a few things that are good to subtract that just might be hindering our walk with Christ:

• Television time
• Internet time
• Burning the candle at both ends
• Spending more than we make

There may be several other things you can identify to add or subtract in your own life. Take some time to consider just how God would have you start your own revival in your life. You can be certain of two things: it will be for your ultimate good and God’s glory.

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

One of my strong childhood memories is my mom’s frequent use of President Truman’s familiar saying, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!” I have a word of encouragement for you today about a holy heat that, by God’s grace, we learn how to live in and love over time.

I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (Romans 12:1-2)

You may remember that the Old Testament records several instances when animals without spot or blemish were offered as sacrifices to God for worship or a devotion offering or for forgiveness of sin. These animals were selected by the priests and had no say in the matter. In other words, they didn’t get a vote!

But the death of Christ put an end to the Old Testament sacrificial system, because He is the Lamb of God without spot or blemish. John the Baptist called Him “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The New Testament reveals that, since the finished cross work of Christ, God has instituted a new sacrificial system and it includes us. “In view of His mercy,” we are to become a voluntary “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” as an expression of our thankfulness for all He has done for us.

The problem with being a living sacrifice is the heat in God’s kitchen. We have a tendency to pull back and crawl off the altar of the Almighty when it gets too hot in the kitchen . . . when we think the sacrifice may be too costly or uncomfortable. Only by keeping God’s mercy in plain view can we learn to love the holy heat God sends our way in order to conform us to the likeness of His beloved Son.

So . . . how well are you learning to love being a living sacrifice? Our love will always be in direct proportion to our view of God’s mercy. Everything we have is because of the mercy of our God. Out next breath . . . the next beat of our heart . . . every temporal and every spiritual blessing has been given to us because of the mercy of our Master. The more we keep His mercy in view, the more holy heat we will be able to endure.

We are called to die to sin, to live to Christ, and to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to our merciful Savior. Think back for a moment about the last time the heat was turned up in God’s kitchen. How did you respond? Did you receive it in view of God’s mercy or did you run out of His kitchen? Regardless of our past responses, we can look forward with positive anticipation to the next time God turns up the holy heat; by keeping His mercy in view, we will learn to live in and love His holy heat!

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

Before we launch out on yet another New Year, it is important to take some time to reflect on the past year. Have you taken the time to consider all of the many blessings God has given to you, both temporal and spiritual, over the past 365 days? To be sure, each year has both its ups and downs…highs and lows, but through it all we know that our God is good and all things are ultimately working together for our good.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

The first thing we need to do before we claim the promise of this verse, is to make sure we understand who this verse is speaking about. It is not speaking about the unbeliever who knows not and loves not the Lord Jesus Christ. It is speaking about those who love God and have been called, raised from death to life, according to His purposes. The promise of this verse is reserved for those who have removed themselves from the throne of their lives and given Jesus His rightful place.

Now it is also important to notice what this verse does not say. It does not say that all things are good. It says that all things work together for our good, but not everything is good. There is a lot of bad out there and some of it happens to all of us each year:

• Career collapse
• Health concerns
• Relationship breakdown
• Family strife
• Prodigal children
• Loss of finances
• Loss of a loved one

The list is endless and all of it is a result of sin. Bad stuff happens in this life because of the first sin of the first people on the face of this earth, Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve fell, we all fell because they were the representatives of all mankind. Not only did their sin affect us, it affected all of creation. Everything in this world is broken and that includes you and me. Yet, God is working everything together for our good and that is reason enough to pause, reflect, and celebrate the goodness of our Great God regardless of the circumstances of the past year. The fact that you are reading this right now is proof that God is not finished with you yet, so praise Him for the past year in spite of painful providences.

But now it is time to look ahead and move forward into another year of possibility if God is so pleased to give to us the next 12 months. A great question to ask and answer before we launch out on another year of life is this:

Regardless of what life throws our way, how different do we want to be at the end of this year?

You see, we simply cannot control what happens around us. But we sure can, to an altogether unsuspecting extent, control what is going on inside of us. What we think is a product of what we believe and if we believe all things are working together for our good, we will find the good in all things. Like Joseph who found the good in all the bad his brothers had done to him, we too can do the same if we keep our eyes on God and off of our circumstances. In the circumstances of life we want to be continually asking God, “What do you want me to learn?” and “What do you want me to do with what I learn?” regarding the stuff of life that is coming our way. Knowing that nothing happens to us without first passing through nail-scarred hands is to know that God is seeking our ultimate good regardless of the storm winds that are blowing. And that is to be a source of great comfort throughout this New Year as God is making a New You.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Ezekiel 36:26-27

Because God has given you a new heart and put a new spirit in you, He is making a new you. He is conforming you into the image of His beloved Son, and He is doing it by any means necessary. And He will not stop short of completing what He started. I pray that the start of another New Year would fill you with a new excitement about the “new things” God has promised to do. New opportunities. New possibilities. New challenges. New mercies each day. And most importantly, He has promised a NEW YOU, one that will reflect more and more of the character of Christ, which will be for God’s glory and the good of others…all others…including you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY NEW YOU!

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

People often approach me before or after a service at Cross Community Church and ask, “What do I need to do to experience more of God’s love in my life?” To which I respond, “Nothing! It’s not what you must do; it’s a matter of what you must believe.” What you believe in your heart about God’s love for you and the unchanging status He has granted you as a member of His royal family will determine, to an altogether unimaginable extent, the amount of love and grace you experience in your daily life!

Bryan Chapell puts it this way:

Many people feel that the means of grace (prayer, Bible study, church attendance, etc.) are the instruments by which we secure God’s love on a daily basis. In our humanity it is natural to think in terms of such a barter system of love, but such thinking creates the impression that these Christian disciplines are not means of grace but means to grace. We reason, as a consequence, that practicing more of the means of grace will cause God to love us more and, thus, the more we do them the more of his love we will get. Conversely we reason that we will have less love by not adequately pursuing these practices. We damage ourselves and our spiritual walk with God by reasoning that practices even as noble as the means of grace will gain us more of God’s affection. We will inevitably be forced to ask, “How much more must I do to earn his love?” And of course, the answer will not be pleasant.

You and I must constantly remind ourselves that God has given us His means of grace, not as a way of gaining His love and approval, but simply as a way of experiencing the love and approval we already have in Christ. There is no need to strive for God’s affection because we already have all of God’s affection, thanks to our relationship with His beloved Son—a relationship that is established wholly by God’s grace and apprehended solely through faith.

The way we experience more of God’s love is by keeping in view the love we have already received, which was purchased for us on the cross . . . paid for in full by the blood of the Lamb of God. From the moment we put our trust in Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf, God loved us completely. To be completely accurate, God bestowed His love on us before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He cannot love us any more than He has from all eternity, and He will not love us any less. We are completely and unconditionally loved. The more we marinate in this truth . . . the more we meditate on this truth . . . the more we will experience the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

God’s love for you is as unconditional as it is undeserved. In your disobedience you are loved. In your weakness you are loved. In your self-centeredness you are loved. In your unbelief you are loved. In every moment that you are unlovable you are still unconditionally loved. If you’re a regular attender at the Cross, you’ve probably heard me exclaim, “If that doesn’t light your fire, your wood’s wet!”

God’s love for us is not based on our performance, but rather on our position in His beloved Son. And that position, dear reader, never changes, for “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind” (1 Samuel 15:29). Let that truth increase your experience of God’s love today and every day—until that day when you are received into your eternal glory.

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