Grace for the Race

This prayer is taken from one of the parables taught by Jesus; it is very familiar to students of God’s word.

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a 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.’ ”But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  (Luke 18:9-14)

When was the last time you thanked God that you were not like a family member, a neighbor, your boss, your co-worker, the person you sit behind in church, a celebrity or politician, and so forth? Our “thanksgiving” list could go on and on, because we can always find someone we can compare ourselves to and feel much better about ourselves.

The question that should be asked about the Pharisee is, “Why do you think he didn’t compare himself with the patriarchs of the faith—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—rather than a tax collector, a man who was despised by society?” The answer, of course, is that he knew he would come out on top and thus feel better about himself.

So . . . let me ask you: do you ever make a comparison like the Pharisee’s?

•  Thank God I’m not like David . . . an adulterous murderer
•  Thank God I’m not like Jonah . . . running away from his calling
•  Thank God I’m not like Rahab . . . an immoral outcast
•  Thank God I’m not like Zacchaeus . . . dishonest and despised by his own people
•  Thank God I’m not like Martha . . . not knowing when to exchange work for worship
•  Thank God I’m not like Thomas . . . who doubted the resurrection
•  Thank God I’m not like Peter . . . he denied Jesus three times!

Shortly after I first trusted in Christ as my Savior, I read the Bible’s account of King David and found myself angry and confused. I talked frankly to a spiritual mentor about what I was feeling. The Bible describes David as “a man after God’s own heart,” yet he committed adultery with Bathsheba and later ordered her husband to be killed! Why on earth, I wondered, was this man regarded so highly by sacred Scripture?

I’ll never forget my mentor’s response: “The problem with you, Tommy, is you don’t see yourself as being as bad as David!” He was right; I didn’t. And why would I? I hadn’t committed adultery or murder. My mentor continued, “Until you see yourself as being like David and every other sinner in the Bible, the truths of the Gospel will never fully free you.” Once again, he was right! It wasn’t until I saw David’s story as my story that the Gospel began to take root and return a harvest of unshakable peace and unspeakable joy.

The truth is that we are all great sinners in need of an even greater Savior. The story of the sinners in the Scriptures is your story and mine. Their stories are simply mirrors into which we are able to see ourselves for what we truly are. At the deepest level of understanding sin, we must confess that we have committed them all. We have all committed adultery and murder. Perhaps you doubt me on this? Let me take a just a moment to convince you, using our Lord’s words from the Sermon on the Mount:

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell . . . You have heard that it was said, “Do not commit adultery.” But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28)

Man or woman reading this, would you really stand before God and claim that you had never been angry with someone? Really? You’ve never called someone a fool (or perhaps much worse) to their face or behind their back? And if you’ve passed puberty, would you claim before the all-seeing, all-knowing God that you have never—not once—taken a lustful look?

There is only one perfect Man who has walked this earth; the rest of us have long since forfeited any false hope of achieving sinless perfection. And perfection is what God’s law requires! The demands of God’s perfect justice are inflexible:

All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” (Galatians 3:10)

Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)

Whether by revelation or by intuition, we know that we are not fit to stand in the presence of holy God. And so we have spent a lifetime running from God, making silly excuses to ourselves like, “Well, at least I’m not as messed up as _______!”  And, along the way, we have both betrayed and denied Jesus. You still insist you haven’t committed adultery? Is there a Christian reading this who has not confused the worship of work with the worship of our Lord and Savior at one time or another? Have you really kept God’s command to love Him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength? Or has there been a time when you loved something or someone else more?

Instead of thanking God that we are not like others, we should acknowledge that we are far worse! Like Paul, we should see ourselves as the worst of sinners. Yet in spite of our sinful condition, God in Christ has set His saving grace upon us. With the assurance of the love of Christ we no longer have to compare and contrast ourselves with others. We no longer have to be slaves to self-deceit. We are unconditionally loved and completely forgiven . . . and God did this while we were just like every other person we meet in the Bible (except Jesus): we are sinners in need of a Savior.

And praise be to God! He sent that Savior to redeem you and me.

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

We have all heard the phrase “Stuff happens!” This slang phrase is intended as a simple, existential observation that life is full of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. It implies that bad things happen all the time and for no particular reason.

But is it true? Does stuff “just happen” to us by chance or a random roll of the dice?

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

God had given the prophet Jeremiah a vision that was diametrically opposed to the wisdom of the world, which insists that the events that surround our lives are merely “C’est la vie”—that is, “Such is life!” Jeremiah had confessed, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). Not even a bird falls to the ground apart from our Father’s will (Matthew 10:29), and Jeremiah knew that full well.

When God promised to give Israel a hope and a future, things looked pretty hopeless for Israel! A great many of the people had already been taken captive and exiled to Babylon, and Jeremiah knew that Jerusalem was doomed to be overrun and the temple of the Lord destroyed. Jeremiah could have stubbornly insisted—as many of his countrymen did—that this disaster was a result of chance, but of course he did not. Jeremiah knew that the judgments on Israel came from the hand of the Creator; he also knew that God’s discipline was ultimately delivered for the prosperity of His people, not their punishment.

It is no different for you and me. To be sure, God will discipline us, just as a loving father does with His children. But the discipline of God is never designed to harm us or crush us. It is always designed to prosper us—to help us grow and mature in our faith and to encourage us to call out to Him.

The Bible makes it clear: what the world calls “coincidences” are actually God’s providences, which He delivers for the good of those who are the called according to His purposes and for His glory. It is a wonderful comfort for the people of God to know that “stuff” doesn’t “just happen” and that there is no such thing as “happenstance” in heaven above or on earth below. This is exceedingly comforting when we find ourselves in painful providences. To know that nothing happens to us that doesn’t first pass through His nail-scarred hands is to know a truth that is as comforting as it is centering.

To know that sovereignty happens—not stuff—is to know the truth that sets us free to live out our faith with unspeakable joy and unwavering security. God plans to prosper His people, not paralyze them with the fear of uncertainty. God plans to give a holy hope and a future to the hopeful and the faithful. And knowing that this is the promise of the Almighty is to know all we need to rise above the circumstances of life and see God’s hand in everything.

One final point: there would not be a single painful providence that would be for our good if Jesus had not completed His mission. Only Jesus is the “Yes” and “Amen” to every promise of God (2 Corinthians 1:20), including the one given us from Jeremiah. We build our hope on the truth of the perfect life of Christ, His sacrificial death, His resurrection from the grave on the third day, and His ascension into heaven. God’s stamp of approval, assuring us that our debt had been fully paid and thereby cancelled, is found in the empty tomb. Gone is the gnawing guilt and faithless fear.

Jesus paid it all, so we can have joy unspeakable even in the face of all the “stuff” that is causing us pain. The truths of the Gospel have turned our groans into gladness, our sighs into songs, and our hurt into hopefulness. What God has promised He will most certainly deliver!

So . . . what stuff have you been dealing with in your life lately that may have you disoriented and disrupted? God is at work and He will not stop one step short of completing what He began in you. And you would not want Him to do that for a minute . . . even the painful ones.

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

There is much in nature for which we have all given praise and glory to God. In sunny South Florida, we praise God for the beauty of the palm trees that sway in the breeze and the azure blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean that tirelessly wash up on the sandy shores, wave after wave after wave. But when was the last time you gave praise for thornbushes?

Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, “I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.” Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, “I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.” (Hosea 2:5-7)

The unfaithful mother in this passage represents the people of Israel, who went after the Canaanite fertility religion to meet their needs and forgot the Lord. Sadly, this is the picture of most of us—perhaps all of us! The beauty of this passage is found in the fact that God pursues every rebel who pursues lesser lovers. And God is pleased to use painful providences (thornbushes) to rescue us from ourselves. For every idol we fervently chase after God has a blessed thornbush that will block our path, wall us in, and cause us to lose our way. What love the Lord has for His wayward children! He prevents them from getting what they want when what they want is something they do not need and should not have.

Experience has taught me that the grace of God’s thornbushes keeps us from reaching for more than Jesus (as if there were something “more” than Jesus!) or settling for less than Jesus. Remember, many of the things we chase after come under the heading of “good things,” but, as I have often said, good things become bad things when they become ultimate things. Family is a “good thing” until it becomes an ultimate thing . . . then it becomes a bad thing. Work is a “good thing” until it becomes an ultimate thing . . . then it becomes a bad thing. Church service is a “good thing” until it becomes an ultimate thing . . . then it becomes a bad thing. Recreation is a “good thing” until it becomes an ultimate thing . . . then it becomes a bad thing. You get the picture.

The grace of God’s thornbushes is intended to keep us from chasing and catching lesser lovers, which in the end turn out to be poor, blind, pitiful, and naked. As we are providentially pricked by God’s thornbushes, we are jarred awake from our slumber so that we can return to our first and far better love, the Lord Jesus Christ. So jealous is our God for our affection, He will stop at nothing—even thornbushes—to reorient our hearts back toward Him.

And the day will come when we will no longer need the grace of God’s thornbushes. No longer will the words, “I will go back to my husband as at first” pass through our lips. What God began in us He will one day complete (Philippians 1:6), and when that work is done we will no longer need the grace of thornbushes. We will be satisfied, fully and completely, with the love of our Bridegroom, and never again will we seek after anything smaller than Jesus.

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

When was the last time you were on your knees before the throne of heaven, only to feel like no one was home? Have you ever felt like the prophet Jeremiah who believed his prayer was a one-way conversation?

You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through.  (Lamentations 3:44)

To be sure, one of the great trials for the Christian is the trial of the silence of heaven. The years have taught me that often those with great faith are given even greater faith through seasons of silence from the throne room. Charles Spurgeon explained it this way:

The Lord, when He has given great faith, has been known to try it by long delaying. He has suffered His servants’ voices to echo in their ears as from a brazen sky. They have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained immovable, as though it were rusted upon its hinges. True saints have continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because their prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but because it so pleased Him who is a Sovereign, and who gives according to His own pleasure. If it pleases Him to bid our patience exercise itself, shall He not do as He wills with His own! Beggars must not be choosers either as to time, place, or form. But we must be careful not to take delays in prayer for denials.

When no one seems to be home in heaven, you can be sure that God is preparing you for a greater good than an immediate answer to your requests. Make no mistake, unanswered prayers are never unheard. God hears all of our prayers and knows which answer is best to give to us: YES, NO, or WAIT. Our God does not hear our prayers and then forget them over time. Can you not testify to prayer answered long after you had forgotten the prayer request itself? I certainly can testify to this truth.

You see, God knows what is best for everyone of His children.Sometimes the child needs a rapid response of YES and God is delighted to give it. At other times the child needs a firm NO, and God is so pleased to give that too.And there are times the child needs a solid WAIT in order that faith might be strengthened and God would be glorified.

So . . . what prayers have you been praying lately?They never “fall on deaf ears” in the eternal counsel of the Triune God.God hears our every petition and will deal with us according to His sovereign purpose and plan for our lives.

When Solomon said, “I called Him but He gave me no answer” (Song of Solomon 5:6), he was simply experiencing what every child of God experiences from time to time.Solomon knew God had not departed, even though the answer to his prayers was delayed.And you too must never forget that God cares so much for you that He will only give to you what He knows is for your ultimate good and His glory.Let that Gospel truth carry you through seasons of silence from the throne room of heaven.

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

We often read the word blessed in sacred Scripture, but do we really know what it means and how God wants us to understand this extraordinary word?

In the New Testament, the Greek word for blessed is makarios, which has a very special meaning. You see it in rapid fire in our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount:

•  Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .
•  Blessed are those who mourn . . .
•  Blessed are the meek . . .
•  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . .
•  Blessed are the merciful . . .
•  Blessed are the pure in heart . . .
•  Blessed are the peacemakers . . .
•  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness . . .
•  Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you . . .

To be blessed in the biblical sense means considerably more than our modern meaning of the word happy. Happy is good, but it does not rise to the level of blessed, because happiness is based on circumstances. In good circumstances we are happy; in bad circumstances we are angry or sorrowful or frightened. But for the person who is in a state of biblical blessedness, what is going on around him or her has nothing to do with what is going on inside.

To be blessed is to be in possession of the favor of God, which is entirely unaffected by the circumstances of life. It is experiencing the highest level of spiritual prosperity, no matter how much or how little physical prosperity one is experiencing at the time. Homer wrote of the mythical Greek gods as being blessed in themselves, a state unaffected by the world of men, who were subject to poverty, weakness, and death. Homer described this state as being “of the gods,” who were elevated above earthly suffering and the limitations of earthly life.

The apostle Paul expressed this idea beautifully in his letter to the Philippians:

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  (Philippians 4:11b-13)

In the Beatitudes Jesus set forth in His majestic sermon, He made it clear that those who have God as their father are blessed, regardless of the circumstances they are currently facing in life and in death. This is the experience of the person who has been saved by grace and who daily experiences God’s salvation and forgiveness of sins . . . all of which is altogether apart from his outward condition. Because of our union with Christ, we are raised above earthly suffering and the limitations of earthly life, because we know that we are eternally His and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and His continual care.

We must always keep in mind what the word blessed does not mean. It does not mean:

• Healthy are you . . .
• Untroubled are you . . .
• Prosperous are you . . .
• Popular are you . . .
• Successful are you . . .
• Admired are you . . .

To be blessed by the Best is to be deeply secure in our relationship with our Savior. It is to be filled with joy unspeakable and profound contentment to be who we are—because we are His. And the life of the one who is blessed is to be marked by rejoicing and gladness, “because great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:11).

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

If you are a regular follower of this blog, you are aware that we’re in the midst of study of Paul’s letter to the Romans at Cross Community Church. Occasionally someone in the congregation will comment on something in a sermon that resonated with them and suggest that it would make a great blog. Well, thanks to one of those comments, here is one such message, which was given during the exposition of Romans 5:1.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

The apostle Paul clearly sets forth the peace that is promised to all those who have trusted in Christ’s atoning work on their behalf. The justified have peace with God through Jesus Christ. As Paul wrote to the Colossian Christians, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation . . .” (Colossians 1:21). Christian believers are declared eternally righteous in God’s sight (we are justified) and thus have peace with God.

This is the promise to all those who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. But let me briefly share three pillars of peace that were never promised to the Christian. We should not look to lean on any of these!

PILLAR #1 – Peace with the world
Far from any guarantee of peace with the world, the exact opposite has been promised to us by our Lord Jesus Christ: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, emphasis added). Why should we expect peace with the world when Jesus has promised trouble? The world jammed a crown of thorns down onto our Lord’s forehead and hung Him on a cross. Do we expect to wear a crown of glory in their presence? The Son of Man had no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20); do we expect to recline in the lap of luxury? No, peace with the world was never promised.

PILLAR #2 – Peace with the flesh
From the moment of our conversion, a war began between our flesh and God’s Spirit; that battle will rage until we are brought all the way into glory. The apostle Paul made this point perfectly clear, warning us that “The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17). It was Paul who cried, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24.)

Make no mistake, the old sinful man is waging war against the new spiritual man, and we can expect to be harassed and hounded by the corruption of our sinful nature. Peace with the flesh was never promised.

PILLAR #3 – Peace with the Devil
The Devil was after our Lord in His wilderness experience (Matthew 4:1-11) and he is after us in ours (1 Peter 5:8). There will never be peace between the Christian and the Prince of Darkness; we can go back to the Garden of Eden to find this promise. God told Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). Enmity means we are enemies; this promised enmity is clearly no promise of peace! Just as the “sinful mind is hostile to God” (Romans 8:7), and the “friendship of the world is hatred toward God” (James 4:4), we will be at enmity with the devil until we are brought safely into our heavenly home.

Our promised peace is with God, not the world, the flesh, or the devil. It should not come as a surprise to you when you warring against the world, fighting against the flesh, and being dogged by the devil. You can be certain of this: if the world, the flesh, or the devil never distressed, discouraged, nor battled against you, then God has never created new life in you. Peace with sin is sinful peace—not the peace promised to the saints of God.

You have no promise of peace with the world, the flesh, or the devil, but you do have peace promised with God. Could there be any better peace in both life and death? I think not!

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

All believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are called the “saints” of God—not because they are perfect, but simply because they are His. In the original Greek, the word hagios, which is translated as our English “saints,” means set apart ones. Saints are those whom God has set aside according to His eternal, sovereign purpose.

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7)

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ–their Lord and ours. (1 Corinthians 1:2)

God calls these saints to be “searching saints,” and what they are to be diligently searching are the sacred Scriptures. Jesus said,

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me. (John 5:39)

So . . . if you are in Christ you are one of those set apart for God. Are you a searching saint who is investing time in searching the Scriptures? The Greek ereunao, the word rendered as search in John 5:39, can be likened to someone who is panning for gold. Gravel and sand is scooped into a pan and gently agitated in water. The gold panner slowly sifts and pours out the water and lighter materials. The heavier materials, including possible nuggets of gold, sink to the bottom of the sediment. What remains within the pan is then scrutinized (searched) to find any gold that might be there. The primary reason we are called to be searching saints is because skimming the surface will never bring us into the deep truths of the Gospel. For those who are satisfied with milk, a mere surface reading will accomplish this goal. But for those who hunger and thirst after the Master’s meat, which will cause them to grow and mature in the faith, a diligent and disciplined searching of the Scriptures is required.

The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews cautioned, “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14). We must dig, sift, and mine our way through God’s holy Word if we wish to find its hidden treasures. Every believer must be a Berean believer.

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11)

This passage clearly suggests that there is a great return given by God to those who emulate the Bereans in searching the Scriptures. First, the Bereans are said to have been of more noble character than the Thessalonians, and the passage tells us why: it was because of their great passion and precision in searching the Scriptures every day. This was not done when they got around to it or had nothing else better to do. This was not reserved for their time in corporate worship service. But daily did the Bereans search the sacred Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.
Oh, how we need more Bereans today in the church of Jesus Christ! With so many theologically barren pulpits across our country, we need to be a people of the Word by being a people who are in the Word. The more we search the Scriptures, the more we come face to face with our beloved Savior: “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

Marinate in that Gospel truth for a moment. Regardless of where you open up the Scriptures, you come face to face with Jesus. From Genesis to Revelation we are confronted with our Savior and Lord in every passage. Let us all be “searching saints,” and let this be the confession of our lives!

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

Today is Memorial Day, a federal holiday in the United States. It occurs every year on the final Monday of May. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the civil War. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, and many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries. Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veteran’s Day. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veteran’s Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.

To be sure, our freedom isn’t free and every brave man and woman who lost their lives defending this great nation proves this truth. They gave up their hopes. They gave up their dreams. They gave up their future plans. They gave up the families they had and the families they never got the chance to have. They gave up their lives to serve this great nation to give to us the freedom we enjoy today.

Sadly, far too many in our country today have forgotten or never learned what Memorial Day is all about. Some see it only as a 3 day holiday to hang out with family and friends for a barbeque. Others see it as merely an extra day off from work and a time to catch up on a little extra sleep. Still others spend their time working through the countless advertisements to find the best Memorial Day sales from mattresses to automobiles. How easy it is to get so caught up in enjoying our freedom that we forget the fact that it wasn’t free. It cost many much…and it cost far too many all. When you think about it for a moment, pausing today simply to say thank you is a good thing, but it really doesn’t seem like enough. But let us at the very least do that.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13

In these words we find the One who truly understands best what it means to sacrifice it all. The Lord Jesus Christ lived out the truth of this command demonstrating “no greater love” but there is something quite amazing about what He did. Jesus did not lay down His life for His friends. He laid down His live for those who were His enemies. He died for those who hated Him, for those who hurled insults at Him, for those who dishonored His mighty name, and for all those who put Him to the most horrible death by slow suffocation while hanging nailed to a cross.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. Colossians 1:21

As we go throughout this Memorial Day let us pause and take some time to remember and appreciate all those brave men and women who gave it all for our freedom. Pray for their families and find ways to participate in the process of helping all of our veterans and their families who suffer a lifetime of the after effects of the horrors of war. And as we do this, let us also remember the greatest sacrifice of all, the one paid by our Lord Jesus Christ for all those who would put their trust in Him for salvation. His perfect life and sacrificial death not only gave us the freedom we enjoy today from the reign of sin and death, the freedom to live a life that is pleasing in His sight, but secured our freedom for all eternity.

Remember, because of what Jesus freely did on our behalf, there is a time coming when their will be no more tears, no more suffering, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more wars, and no more death. Let that truth fill our hearts today and every day with thanksgiving for the One who laid down His life for us. The freedom we enjoy in our great nation wasn’t free. It was blood-bought by the brave men and women of the Armed Forces. And make no mistake, the freedom we enjoy as Christians wasn’t free either. It was blood-bought by the precious Son of the Most High God. May God bless you this Memorial Day!

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

That seems like a strange title for today’s meditation, doesn’t it? However, by the time you finish working through this article, I don’t think is will seem so strange. And I hope you will be both encouraged and inspired to make sure there is, indeed, a “church” in your home. Consider the following passage.

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home.  (Philemon 1:1-2)

To find a church meeting in the home of Philemon was not uncommon. Churches met in homes until about A.D. 200; church buildings were not established until the 3^rd century. For the early apostolic church, the size of the house would determine the size of the gathering of Christians worshiping their Lord. Inasmuch as people started migrating to church buildings for the corporate worship of God, Scripture gives no indication that God preferred that the “church” would leave the home. Charles Spurgeon put it this way:

Is there a Church in this house? Are parents, children, friends, servants, all members of it or are some still unconverted? Let us pause here and let the question go round—Am I a member of the Church in this house? How would father’s heart leap for joy, and mother’s eyes fill with holy tears if from the eldest to the youngest all were saved!

If there be such a Church in our house, let us order it well, and let all act as in the sight of God. Let us move in the common affairs of life with studied holiness, diligence, kindness, and integrity. More is expected of a church than of an ordinary household; family worship must, in such a case, be more devout and hearty; internal love must be more warm and unbroken, and external conduct must be more sanctified and Christ-like. We need not fear that the small number will put us out of the list of churches, for the Holy Spirit has here enrolled a family-church in the inspired book of remembrance.

Wow! Wouldn’t that be well said of our own homes today, to be remembered as a family church? And that brings me to a wonderful story I would like to share with you.

Our church plant started in a home back in February 2012. Our dear friends, Joe and Carolyn Miller, opened up their home to launch the planting of Cross Community Church. Joe thought a gathering in his living room would be a nice start for our church. When I told him we might overflow out on to the pool deck, he never flinched.

What I have come to understand over the past 15 months is that there was already a church in their home long before we ever showed up to launch The Cross. The Miller home is built not upon shifting sand, but upon the Rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church is a place where everyone should feel welcomed . . . and this is the mark of their home.

I remember Joe saying to me, “This is how the church got started back in the days of the apostles and I think this is the way God would like us to start The Cross in Deerfield Beach.” Well, he was right. The launch was electric; the atmosphere was charged with a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. Launching our church plant in their home church is a time no one who was there will ever forget.

Why? Because church was nothing new in the Miller home. Today they can say along with John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4). Sons John, Paul, Jimmy, and daughter Jasmine are all walking in the truths of the Gospel. Now, the home church did not save these children; Jesus did! But the Bible makes it clear that God uses means, and one of the means God uses is a home that is dedicated for the sole use of expanding the cause of God’s kingdom.

Carolyn puts the Gospel on display through her incredible gifts of hospitality and service in their home church. She simply cannot do enough for others, regardless of the cost or circumstance. Joe is busily engaged in sharing the good news of the Gospel with everyone who enters, and I am convinced more people hear the Gospel behind the walls of the Miller home than in most churches today. They have taken the model of the 1^st century church, marked by the love of Christ, and made it their mark in ministry to everyone who walks through their doors.

So . . . is there a church in your home today? If yes, praise God for the grace He has poured out upon you and your family in your home. If you would have to answer “no,” prayerfully consider how you can begin cultivating church in your home—for God’s glory and the good of all those who enter in.

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

In a world where people exaggerate their accomplishments and abilities, there is One who walked this earth who did not. Not only was every word from His mouth truth, He Himself was the Truth.

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”(Luke 19:40)

Jesus uttered these words during His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. The people were shouting and waving palm branches as their King approached Jerusalem. Some of the Pharisees demanded that Jesus rebuke (silence) His disciples, to which He gave this remarkable response about speaking stones. Jesus was saying that even if He silenced the crowds, the stones would burst into praise and adoration to celebrate the coming of the great King and Savior.

Should we find the idea of shouting stones hard to believe? Coming from the One who healed the sick, made the lame walk, gave sight to the blind, and brought the dead to life . . . not at all! Jesus has always done what He said He would do because He is who He said He was: the very Son of the Living God. Jesus created all things, including the stones, and sustains them by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). He spoke all things into existence and breathed life into the first man. Surely Omnipotence can give speech to a silent stone!

There was a time when the twin stones of the Law cried out for our condemnation, declaring just how far we moved away from God. But Jesus has forever silenced those stones; He broke them against the Gospel, which frees us from the penalty of the law.

I can only imagine what that huge stone might have said when the angel rolled it away from the opening of the tomb and Jesus walked out alive on that first Easter morning!

To be sure, every stone could be made to shout of our Savior, but we must not let that happen; we must refuse to keep quiet about our Chief Cornerstone! The stones should not need to make a sound, because we are shouting from the rooftops about our Lord and Savior, who came to seek and save the lost. Let us with one voice tell the world about the forgiveness we have received! Let us boldly proclaim the unconditional love that has been poured out upon us! Let us sing of the glories of the Gospel that have freed us from the prison of the past, propelling us into our promised future!

Even in the face of opposition we must shout of our Savior, for He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us. And if Jesus is with us, shall we shrink back from the privilege of telling the world about the only way of salvation, which is available to anyone who believes? God forbid! Peter said, “You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5).

We are called “living stones” and God is building us into a spiritual house. At one time we had no voice, being dead in trespass and sins; but now, having been raised to the newness of life in Christ, we can sing of His grace and His glory. May we be living stones that cry out about our Savior!

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