Grace for the Race

This is my birthday card to my beloved Kim, who turns the page on yet another year. She is more than I ever could have asked for or deserved as a wife, mother, and unquestionably my best friend in all the world.

Kim, I find it hard to put into words what joy you have brought into my life since we met in an exercise class I was teaching in 1990. As I recall, it was the first time I saw you in the class and I simply wanted to say “thank you” for attending. The way you tell it, I chased after you through the equipment, out of the fitness center, and all the way into the parking lot to introduce myself and invite you out. Whichever version is correct, I know it was love at first sight for me!

What began as a wonderful friendship has become a wonderful life together. I had heard the phrase, “I cannot remember life before you,” but I had no idea what it meant until I met you. The Bible says it is not good for man to be alone, so God made a helper for him. You, my beloved, have helped me every step of the way. Without you, there would have been very little forward movement in my life. Our closest friends would confirm that statement!

What a “magical” wedding we had on March 3, 1993! And how could it have been any other way? I asked you to marry me in Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World. I got down on one knee, but because I’d just had knee surgery, you thought I had fallen to the ground, so you helped me up onto a bench. Not exactly the way I’d pictured it! But on the second attempt, you left me down there long enough to ask you to marry me and present you with the ring. And you actually said “YES!” Never has a “yes” sounded so sweet to me, before that day or since.

Not long after that, in September of 1995, God gave us both the greatest gift possible, a gift that changed everything. We were saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ while I was passing a kidney stone in the hospital. God’s timing was perfect; He gave us new hearts just before we began the adventure parenthood. And by His grace, you have given us four beautiful, remarkable children: Brock in 1996, Jenna in 1998, Katie in 2002, and Tank in 2004.

You stayed right by my side through all the storms. When the wheels came off the wellness center in 2001, you never wavered. I remember standing next to you, holding your hand as they towed our car away, and you never wavered. I remember selling just about everything we had except our wedding rings, and you never wavered. I remember being dropped by our health insurance carrier, and you never wavered. I remember painting houses and working security for the church, and you going back to work to help make ends meet, and you never wavered. You were living out the Gospel in front of me before I even knew what it actually was!

Then came the call from Westminster Academy for a teaching position, followed by our service at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in men’s and sports ministries. What a ride that was, from 2002-2011. Along the way, I kept telling you about my vision for planting a church. And you kept firmly telling me your vision of “NO! Not now.” I understood . . . sort of. We finally had some security, and after all we had gone through, we would have to be crazy to risk that all over again, especially now with four children.

Then it happened.In the summer of 2011, I raised the subject of planting a church yet again, but this time you said “YES”—the second sweetest sounding “Yes” I have ever heard. Or so I thought initially. The more I got to thinking through it, the more I started to wonder if I was dragging you into another mess. And once again, you never wavered. You were convinced, after years of prayer and godly counsel, that God was calling the Bolands as a missionary family to plant a church.

On March 3, 2012, we launched Cross Community Church in Deerfield Beach. We have never looked back,mainly because we have been too busy looking up! After only 18 months, God has grown His church to the point of needing to add a 3^rd service.

What an incredible life we’ve had together so far! As a boy, I had dreams of what it would be like to be married; Kim,you are more than I could have ever dreamed of as a friend and wife and ministry partner and the mother of our children. You are certainly far more than I deserve. I love you so very much, Kim, and I thank God for you every day.

Happy Birthday to the woman who is my best friend in all the world . . . the one who never wavered!

Thank you for living the Gospel; thank you for giving me grace for my race!

Love,

Tommy

I spend a great deal of my time as a pastor in ministry to a great many hurting people. It is a wonderful privilege to be used by God in the lives of others and to help them fix their eyes on Jesus in the midst of their storms.

Scripture tells us that Christ is the Friend who sticks closer to us than a brother. We have no need to rip through a roof to get to Him who has promised never to leave us or forsake us, but some situations seem so desperate; I know I would do it if I thought I had to, and I’m sure you would too.

One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 5:17-19)

Take a moment to marinate in the great faith in this passage—not only the faith of the paralyzed man, but also that of his friends, who were willing to rip through the roof to get their friend to Jesus.This is a powerful challenge in this passage directed at you and me!

In the days when Jesus walked the earth, the homes were generally made of stone with flat roofs constructed of a mixture of straw and mud.On an outside wall you could find a stairway that led to the roof.The friends of the paralyzed man were filled with so much faith in Jesus that when they could not find a way to get to Jesus because of the crowd, they climbed the stairs and ripped through the roof to get the man to their Redeemer.

You have heard of the power of faith as small as a mustard seed (Luke 17:6).Well, this is the faith as big as a roof-ripping!Jesus responded to their faith with forgiveness and healing.Do you see how the faith of the friends of the paralyzed man impacted his life?They refused to let anything stand in their way of bringing their friend to Jesus.

So the question we all must ask ourselves is this: “What kind of faith do I demonstrate when it comes to the friends and family members who have never trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord?”

To be sure, we are not the ones responsible for another’s salvation.Only Jesus saves!But God is pleased to use means, and that is what we are in the hands of the Almighty: a foreordained means for His foreordained ends.Scripture tells us we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Are we willing to be used by God in the lives of others to bring them to Jesus?Are we willing to get past any of the obstacles that stand in our way? Those obstacles might be . . .

• ·Fear
• ·Doubt
• ·Circumstance
• ·Self-protection
• ·Unforgiveness

Think about this:God had ordained that paralyzed man to be saved through the faith of his friends.God has also ordained some to be saved through you.The key is that we simply are faithful to do what God has called us to do and leave the results up to Him.We are called by God to be used of God as instruments for the salvation of others.The only thing left for us to do is to overcome every obstacle that stands in the way of answering that call.

Are you ready for some roof-ripping?

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

Father Knows Best was a 1950’s American radio and television comedy series that portrayed middle class family life in the Midwest. The title character, in both the radio and televisions versions, was played by Robert Young, who later enjoyed great success with another television series: Marcus Welby, M.D.The “Father” character was beloved throughout the country for providing wise, kindly advice whenever his children had a question or problem. At the end of each program, everything always worked out for the best.

The title of this show reminds me of a deep Gospel truth that anchors the life of the believer on solid rock rather than shifting sand:our Heavenly Father truly does know what is best for His children. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5-6 advises us; “in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” If we ignore our Father’s guidance, we’ll stumble along a rutted and crooked path. He really does know best!

• ·His plan is better than our plan 
• ·His way is better than our way
• ·His path is better than our path
• ·His life is better than our life

Omnipotence is working on behalf of God’s children twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Now,if we assume a worldly perspective, some of the providences we face in life might not seem like they are the best, but they truly are! God has promised to use everything that happens to His children for their good.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:28-32)

Notice first what this passage does not say: it does not say that all things are good. There is a lot of bad that happens in this fallen, broken, sin-filled world. But our Heavenly Father knows best how to make all things, including the bad, work together for the good of His children.

The ultimate purpose of everything in life is that God uses it to conform us to the likeness of Jesus. And don’t miss this: what God started He will finish. All those who have been justified (saved), God will ultimately glorify (fully sanctify). You will not always be like you are . . . and I know that is good news for all of us who know just how much sin still remains on this side of the grave!

One more point before we close. If God is for us, who cares who is against us? Regardless of the waves of challenge you are facing today—at the office, within your family, around your neighborhood, in your health and finances—your Heavenly Father knows best and will bring the best out of you, no matter what you are going through.

And what is the best inside of every child of God? The Lord Jesus Christ! As God is conforming us to the image of His precious Son, we are decreasing and He is increasing in our lives. Our Heavenly Father is causing us to reflect more and more of the character of Christ with each passing day. He grows more and more visible as we display the fruit of the Holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23).

And one day, in the not-so-distant future, we will be brought home into our heavenly rest where we will be with Jesus forevermore. To be sure, our Heavenly Father knows best!

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

In all my years of coaching and training athletes for the challenges of competition, regardless of the sport, the most successful performers were the ones who were the most disciplined in their preparation.The ones who not only engaged in team practices with 100% effort but also followed a rigorous personal training schedule were far more prepared to meet and exceed the demands of competition.

The years have taught me that the same principle applies for the “spiritual athlete” as well.Those who put forth a disciplined effort in preparing for the game of life receive multiple rewards.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave . . . (1 Corinthians 9:24-26)

The only way to have any measure of success on the spiritual battlefield of life is to go into it prepared through the consistent practice of the spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible intake, weekly worship, service, generous giving, etc.

The apostle Paul exhorted his spiritual son Timothy to train himself in godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 4:7).In this context, the word “train” was borrowed by Paul from the realm of athletics.The word originally referred to the training and discipline of athletes for competition in the games of that day, but came to include both mental and moral training. Paul used it to set our minds on the need for consistent spiritual training.

To be sure, there is much for the committed Christian to do in pursuit of growing up into Christ, but it is never to be attempted in our own strength.We are as much dependent upon the Holy Spirit to guide, govern, and grow us in the area of sanctification as we were in the area of justification.Without grace, there simply is no race!But without a disciplined effort there is no race either.Jerry Bridges explained it this way in his book, The Discipline of Grace:

There are many instances in the Scriptures where the concepts of both dependence and responsibility appear in the same sentence or paragraph.For example, Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”The psalmist sees God so intimately involved in the building and watching. He does not say, “Unless the Lord helps the builders and the watchmen” but unless the Lord builds and watches.Yet it is obvious that the psalmist envisions the builders laboring to build the house and the watchmen standing guard over the city.The builders cannot put away their tools and go fishing and expect God to build the house.Neither can the watchmen retire to their beds and expect god to watch over the city.

In a word, when it comes to advancing in our walk with Christ we are to both “walk” and “pray” every step of the way.We work and God works and it is all of grace.Our next breath is a grace from God.Our next heartbeat is a grace from God.Yet we must be disciplined in how we use our breath and the beating of our heart in order to make progress in the Christian life.Make no mistake, the discipline I am speaking of here in the life of the believer is not a “work of the flesh,” as some imagine it to be.When the Bible tells us to train ourselves, it is not telling us to do it apart from the grace that God is working in our lives.

The apostle Paul never envisioned Timothy training through sheer willpower and “want-to,” but in fact he urged Timothy to be strong in the grace of God (2 Timothy 2:1).But he also never envisioned Timothy leaving it solely up to the Lord.He was to both trust in God and train himself, knowing that his disciplined effort would return multiple rewards.

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

Now that I have your attention . . .

Think and Grow Rich is a motivational and personal development book written in 1937 by Napoleon Hill. Hill is considered to be one of the first influential “self-help” authors. At the time of his death in 1970, Think and Grow Rich had sold more than 20 million copies. Amazon.com reports that BusinessWeek’s best-seller list ranked Think and Grow Rich as the sixth best-selling paperback business book 70 years after it was first published, with more than 70 million copies sold worldwide.

Charles Stanley, the popular senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta once wrote, “I began to apply the principles of Think and Grow Rich to my endeavors as a pastor, and I discovered they worked.” Why did they work? Because the principle is biblical.

As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV)

God has given human beings a remarkable ability to “think about what we are thinking about” moment by moment. God has endowed us with the power to choose what we will think about and dwell on. This is one of the great gifts from God and part of His image He created within each human being. And this ability is the pathway that God has provided to help us grow into the person He is calling us to be.

The challenge for most of us is that we forget this, especially when we are doing battle with sin. Here is a reminder from the apostle Paul:

As I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3:18-19)

Over and over again, the Bible reminds us to think about what we are thinking about in order to gain victory over the battles we are fighting against sin on a daily basis. In our therapeutic age we have fallen prey to the passive mind-set approach; we believe we’ll gain victory by talking through our problems with a therapist, working through our issues with a friend, or looking for the roots of our brokenness in our painful past.

I’m not saying that these approaches are bad; they can actually be helpful. But there is a better way to personal growth and change, and it is found in sacred Scripture.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:2)

The mind will continually dwell on something, and what it dwells on continually it becomes like. So we must intentionally set our minds on things above. We are to focus our minds on the glory of Christ and the truths of the Gospel. This is the key to empowering us to engage in the battle against sin—to fight through it and rise above it. To “think and grow rich” is to think about the riches we have in our Savior and grow into the person He is calling us to be. Now that is a thought worth holding on to moment by moment.

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

Do you know what the sin of self-sufficiency is? Quite simply, it is prideful independence. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we who succumb to this sin believe we can live autonomous, independent lives apart from the One who created us. We believe we are self-sufficient. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the great expository preacher, explained it well:

Anyone who reads the New Testament objectively can see clearly that the Pharisees of our Lord’s time were greater sinners (if you can use such terms) than were the publicans and open sinners.Why?Because they were self-satisfied, because they were self-sufficient.The height of sin is not to feel any need of the grace of God.There is no greater sin than that.Infinitely worse than committing some sin of the flesh is to feel that you are independent of God, or that Christ need never have died on the cross of Calvary. There is no greater sin than that. That final self-sufficiency, and self-satisfaction, and self-righteousness, is the sin of sins; it is sin at its height, because it is spiritual sin.

Our sinful nature desires more than anything else to be independent from anything or anyone who would rule over us, and that includes Almighty God.We think freedom is to be found in doing what we want to do, when we want to do it, and how we want to do it, apart from the authority of anyone over us—Almighty God or anyone else.

This is one of the reasons why God allows us to stumble and fall into sin, to remind us that we simply cannot live autonomous and independent lives apart from the help and assistance of God.When we get ourselves into trouble, we come running back to the only One who can deliver us from that trouble.“Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities,” the Psalmist recalled. “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.” (Psalm 107:17, 19).Every stumble is designed to bring us back to sit at the feet of our Savior.

When we are sitting at the feet of Jesus, we are given the “secret” of slaying the sin of self-sufficiency; that secret will be found in no other place.We see in the teaching of our Lord that even He was dependent upon His Father in heaven.Jesus said,

By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.(John 5:30)

The secret to slaying the sin of self-sufficiency is found in the fact that Jesus lived a life that was fully dependent on His Father.Not only that, but He was not afraid to acknowledge this truth.Jesus made it clear that all of us are dependent on God.Jesus modeled a life of dependence upon God and gave us the secret to slaying the sin of self-sufficiency.

Think about this for a moment: Jesus actually said, “By myself I can do nothing”!In His fully human nature He made it clear that He was fully dependent upon His Father.His spirit of dependence is to be our spirit of dependence.

We must look to God for everything.He will meet us in our place of need.He will even meet us in our places of the needs we don’t realize we need yet!It is freeing to know there is a God . . . and it is not us!When God is sitting in His rightful place—on the throne of our lives—we begin living the life we were designed by God to live.It is a life that is created by God, to be lived for God, and to be lived in God.

Now that I have told you the secret to slaying the sin of self-sufficiency, pass it along—because there isn’t a person you meet who isn’t struggling with it!

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

As a pastor, I hear that question often.Generally after a service someone will come up to me and ask, “If Jesus did it all and we are no longer bound by the law, what difference does it make if we are obedient or not, seeing as we are fully loved and completely forgiven?”

To which I invariably reply, “It makes all the difference in the world!”We are finally and fully motivated to please God because we are fully loved and completely forgiven.Our obedience flows from a heart that overflows with thanksgiving for all Jesus has done for us andhas promised to complete in us.

So . . . why obey if Jesus is the only way?LOVE!In his book, The Disciplines of Grace,Jerry Bridges writes:

Love for God, then, is the only acceptable motive for obedience to Him.This love may express itself in a reverence for Him and a desire to please Him, but those expressions must spring from love.Without the motive of love, my apparent obedience may be essentially self-serving.Negatively, I may fear God will punish me, or at least withhold His blessing from me, because of some disobedience.I may abstain from a particular sinful action out of fear I will be found out or because I don’t want to feel guilty afterward.Positively, I may be seeking to earn God’s blessing through some pious actions.I may conform to a certain standard of conduct because I want to fit in with and be accepted by the Christian culture in which I live.I might even obey outwardly because I have a compliant temperament, and it is simply my “nature” to obey my parents, or my teacher, or civil authorities, or even God.

Think back for a moment: can you remember a time when your obedience was rooted in either the negative or the positive—the desire to avoid punishment or to gain a reward?To be sure, negative and positive motivations may in fact change behavior.But make no mistake;these motivations simply cannot transform the heart.Only love for our Lord can do that, and only behavior that is rooted in the love of God is worthy of being called obedience.

We don’t obey because of what we can get or avoid getting; we obey because we love the One who loved us enough to give us everything good we have:

• ·Pardon
• ·Forgiveness
• ·Adoption
• ·Salvation
• ·Eternal Life
• ·Everyday life in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit

We obey because we are overwhelmed by the amazing love of our willing Savior, who hung on our cross in order to give us every spiritual blessing.Jesus suffered the penalty we should have suffered for our sin . . . and He was without sin.He was perfect in every way,yet instead of being glorified by us He was crucified by us.Instead of being honored, He was dishonored in the worst way.

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

Jesus took our place out of love.He was born because He loved us.He lived a sinless life because He loved us.He died a sacrificial death because He loved us.He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father because He still loves us and will continue loving us for all eternity.So the only right motive for any kind of obedience on our part must flow out of a heart that loves Jesus.“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Think about this:more important than our obedience is the motive behind it.Obedience that does not come from a heart that beats for the love of Christ is disobedience.Only obedience that is rooted in love is true obedience.Make no mistake; what we do matters to God.But why we do it matters more.Jesus is the only way, and we obey to simply say, “Lord, how I love you!”

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

The experience of life tells us if we are not currently dealing with storms, we will be in the near future. Storms are simply part of living. Some are like summer showers that disrupt a day at the beach. Others, however, are like tsunamis that devastate our lives.

Regardless of the storm, we can find great comfort in knowing our Savior is in the middle of it with us. We have a Savior who can sympathize with us because He suffered the greatest storm the world has ever seenwhile He was nailed to a cross atop the hill Golgotha.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  (Matthew 27:46)

From the 6^th to the 9^th hour Jesus was alone in a way that you and I simply cannot imagine. His Father could no longer look upon His Son because of His abhorrence of all things evil in this world. So for the first time ever, in all of eternity, the Father and the Son were separated. Why? Because the sins of all who have ever placed—or will ever place—their trust in Christ had been laid on God the Son (Isaiah 53:6), and the eyes of God the Father are too pure to even look upon evil (Habakkuk 1:13).

To be sure, Jesus enduredterrible pain at the hands of His executioners. Isaiah predicted that the Roman soldiers would beat the suffering Servant so savagely that He would no longer be recognizable (Isaiah 52:14).He was brutally flogged, a crown of thorns was jammed down into His brow, and his hands and feet were pierced through by nine-inch iron spikes.

But as dreadful as all that was, it amounted to little more than a mosquito bite compared to the unimaginable anguish of drinking the cup of God’s wrath for our sins. Our Lord’s despairing cry—“Why have you forsaken me?”—came after He had hung for three hours in darkness, a darkness caused by the darkness of our sin.

So we have a Savior who knows what it is to be in the middle of hurricane-force storm winds infinitely worse than any we will ever experience. And the encouragement in that for you and me is thatno matter what storm we are facing or ever will face, we will never face it alone.

[Jesus said] “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  (Matthew 28:20)

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

So . . . what storms are you facing today? What waves of challenge have you come up against that are trying to drive you down to the bottom of your sea?

• ·Mistakes in your marriage?
• ·Stumble in your single walk with Christ?
• ·Pressures in your parenting?
• ·Passed over in your profession?
• ·Stagnant in your church service?

Someone once wisely said, “We are either heading into a storm, we are in the middle of a storm, or we are coming out of a storm . . . so be better get used to storms!”

One of the most comforting things Jesus ever said were two of His last words on the cross, uttered shortly before He gave up His spirit: “I thirst” (John 19:28).Remarkably, this was foreshadowed more than a thousand years previously by David’s Psalm 22:15—“My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.”

Why, you may wonder, would I comment on this seemingly insignificant detail of the crucifixion? Because it is so very significant! These details shout a great truthto us: at the center of Christianity is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and He is not remote from the difficulties of our human existence. He was not only fully God; He was fully man, and in His manhood He endured every kind of storm we will ever have to experience, yet without sin.

He was tried. He was tested. He was rejected by high society. He was tempted. He got tired, thirsty, and hungry. He wept. He was betrayed. He was falsely accused. He was abandoned. He cried out for His Father and got no answer. He walked where we walk and experienced what we experience (and much worse!) and He has promised to be right there with us in the middle of whatever storm winds blow our way.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you . . . Because I live, you also will live.  (John 14:18-19)

Do you believe that truth? Does that truth bring you comfort today in the middle of your storm? If you will let that truth drop from your head down into your heart . . . it will!

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

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September to celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers.Today I would like to celebrate the contributions of all workers who are busily engaged in building the kingdom of God.

First we need to ask, “Who is a kingdom builder?”Is the designation reserved only for those who are in full-time vocational ministry, like pastors and missionaries?If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you know how I’ll answer to that question . . . with a resounding “NO!”

Here are some profound words from Os Guinness on this subject,taken from his book, The Call:

There is a great distortion which argues that Christ gave two ways of life to his church.One is the perfect life, the other is permitted.The perfect life is spiritual, dedicated to contemplation and reserved for priests, monks, and nuns; the permitted life is secular, dedicated to action and open to such tasks as soldering, governing, farming, trading, and raising families.Higher vs. lower, sacred vs. secular, perfect vs. permitted, contemplation vs. action.

Sadly, this two-tier or double-life view of calling flagrantly perverted biblical teaching by narrowing the sphere of calling and excluding most Christians from its scope.If all that a believer does grows out of faith and is done for the glory of God, then all dualistic distinctions are demolished.There is no higher/lower, sacred/secular, perfect/permitted, contemplative/active, or first class/second class.

Calling is the premise of Christian existence itself.Calling means that everyone, everywhere, and in everything fulfills his or her (secondary) callings in response to God’s (primary) calling.For the Reformers, the peasant and the merchant—for us, the business person, the teacher, the factory worker, and the television anchor—can do God’s work (or fail to do it) just as much as the minister and the missionary.

The recovery of the holistic understanding of calling was dramatic.William Tyndale wrote that if our desire is to please God, pouring water, washing dishes, cobbling shoes, and preaching the Word is all one.William Perkins claimed “polishing shoes was as sanctified and holy act and the action of a shepherd in keeping sheep, performed as I have said in his kind, is as good a work before God as in the action of a judge in giving sentence, or of a magistrate in ruling, or a minister in preaching.”

The cultural implications of recovering true calling were explosive.Calling gave to everyday work a dignity and spiritual significance under God that dethroned the primacy of leisure and contemplation.Calling gave to humble people and ordinary tasks an investment of equality that shattered hierarchies and was a vital impulse toward democracy.Calling gave to such practical things as work, thrift,and long-term planning a reinforcement that made them powerfully influential in the rise of modern capitalism.Calling gave to the endeavor to make Christ Lord of every part of life a fresh force that transformed churches and cultures.Calling gave to the idea of “talents” a new meaning, so that they were no longer seen purely as spiritual gifts and graces but as natural and a matter of giftedness in the modern sense of the term.Calling demanded and inspired the transforming vision of the lordship of Christ expressed in the famous saying of the great Dutch prime minister, Abraham Kuyper: “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!’”

WOW!Now that should help us all see the vision and value of calling from God’s perspective.From our first parents in the Garden of Eden, all of life was to be lived coram deo—before the face of God.It didn’t matter if one was a butcher, baker, or candle-stick maker . . . or a priest, monk, or nun, every service is sacred when it is lived out in the light of eternity for the glory of God.

So who are the “kingdom builders” for the King of kings and the Lord of lords?Everyone who is putting their gifts, talents, and abilities into faithful service in order to glorify God and expand the cause of His kingdom.

This Labor Day, take a moment to do a personal evaluation in the area of your calling and see if you have been imagining any sacred/spiritual split?How is your work impacting the kingdom of God?How are you allowing God to use you right where you currently are to expand the cause of His kingdom?

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31}

As I often tell my congregation, there is only one menial job in this world: that is the job where Jesus cannot be found.If your labor is a labor of love for the glory of God, the good of others, and the expansion of God’s kingdom, you can rest assured that what you are doing, regardless of what others might think of it, echoes in eternity.

Thousands gathered in Washington recently to observe the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr delivering his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. There’s another quote from Dr. King that has been circulating recently that is just perfect for closing out today’s meditation:

If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music … Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: “Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”

You are to be celebrated today for living for something that will outlast your life on this side of the grave.Laboring for the Lord means you are living for the transcendent glories of God, regardless of what you do for a living.Let that truth bless you this Labor Day.

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

If Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world—and He is—then we must understand that we are not saved by our own good works.No matter how good we are, we simply can never be good enough to save ourselves.It comes down to our understanding of an important theological term.My former seminary professor, Dr. R.C.Sproul, explained it this way:

The root of sin is pride and enmity against God, the spirit seen in Adam’s first transgression, and sinful acts always have behind them thoughts and desires that one way or another express the willful opposition of the fallen heart to God’s claims on our lives . . .

“Original sin,” meaning sin derived from our origin, is not a biblical phrase (it comes from Augustine), but it does bring into focus the reality of sin in our spiritual system. Original sin does not mean that sin belongs to human nature as such; “God made man upright” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Nor does it mean that the processes of reproduction and birth are sinful…Rather, “original sin” means that sinfulness marks everyone from birth, in the form of a heart inclined toward sin, prior to any actual sins; this inner sinfulness is the root and source of all actual sins; it is transmitted to us from Adam, our first representative before God. The doctrine of original sin makes the point that we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners, born with a nature enslaved to sin.

If we have not placed our trust in Christ’s atoning work on our behalf, it is impossible to please God and earn His favor. Our sin-filled condition, which we inherited from Adam, makes it impossible for us to stand before a holy God.As Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12). In short, we are born under a sentence of eternal death; we desperately need a Savior, and His name is Jesus Christ.

Once we settle the issue that we have not been saved by our good works, we must understand that we have been saved to good works.To be sure, God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does.Our good works put our good God on display to the watching world. They give those who are not believers an accurate picture of thegracious God who loved the world so much He sent His Son to save all those would believe in Him (John 3:16).

You know what has happened throughout Judea . . . how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good. (Acts 10:37a, 38)

Jesus “went around doing good,” and most often it was to those who were, in the eyes of sophisticated society, bad—really bad.Jesus did good to prostitutes, Samaritans, and even tax collectors, who were perhaps the most despised of all Jews, being seen as mercenary traitors to their people.Jesus did good to the sick, the broken, and the marginalized.And, as His image bearers, we too should be going around and doing good.

So . . . how would you rate yourself in the area of doing good?How would those closest to you answer that question?In God’s infinite wisdom, we have been saved—not by our good worksbut to do good works.

Let me close today’s encouragement with a marvelous exhortation from John Wesley:

Do all the good you can.By all the means you can. In all the ways you can.In all the places you can.At all the times you can.To all the people you can.As long as ever you can.

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