Grace for the Race

Today’s message highlights two gifts beyond measure . . . two gifts which are a source of unimaginable comfort to all those who belong to the King of ages.

The Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory.

(Psalm 84:11)

As the sun gives light and a shield protection, the Lord will give grace and glory.  First, God gives His children grace.  This grace raises the dead sinner to life, pardons all his sins, and brings him into the family of faith.  This is the grace of justification—God the Father regards you just as if you had never sinned and just as if you had always and only done what is right!

But there is more . . . so much more!

God not only gives grace, He also gives glory.  Do you see the incredible promise in this truth?  Glory can only be realized on the other side of the grave.  So when God gives us His grace, He continues giving grace until we are finally and fully received into our heavenly estate.

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

The little conjunction and in this verse is a diamond rivet binding the present with the future: grace and glory always go together.  God has married them, and none can divorce them.  The Lord will never deny a soul glory to whom He has freely given to live upon His grace; indeed, glory is nothing more than grace in its Sabbath dress, grace in full bloom, grace like autumn fruit, mellow and perfected.

The promise inherent in God’s grace is the final state of glory.  God always finishes what He begins and what He began in you He will one day finish.  With Paul, we can be “confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it” (Philippians 1:6 NKJV).  And that completed state is to be glorified.

Do you see the incredible power in this promise?  The fact that God began His work in you is the guarantee that He will finish it.  Your glorified state is not in your hands and will not be achieved in your strength.  Glory is the gift you have been promised by God, and nothing will get in the way of Omnipotence completing what it started . . . and that includes you! 

Regardless of what you are struggling with today, there is a day coming when all your struggles will end:

• Every foe vanquished.
• Every storm stilled.
• Every fire doused.
• Every obstacle overcome.
• Every sickness cured.
• Every problem solved.
• Every Jordan crossed.

God is not finished with you yet.  And if He chooses to bless you through sunshine or rain . . . clouds or clear skies . . . pain or pleasure, you are being perfected for that great day of perfection. 

To know that God never gives grace without glory is to know that a day is coming when there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more sin, and no more death.  What once was will no longer be, as the saints glorified by His grace will reign with Him forevermore!

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

Have you ever considered it to be a great blessing to be the bearer of another’s burdens?  If you never have, please read on.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

(Galatians 6:2)

No ambiguity in this Scripture; every child of God is called to help others carry their burdens—and in so doing, to fulfill the law of Christ.  One of the blessings given us in this call is the fact that we are given countless opportunities to obey it!  Do you know why?  It’s because everyone is carrying a burden—and that includes you and me.  Everyone we meet is in the middle of their story, and most of them are laden with fresh burdens they need help in shouldering.

• The burden of loneliness
• The burden of loss
• The burden of fractured families
• The burden of wayward children
• The burden of sickness and disease
• The burden of being betrayed
• The burden of being out of work
• The burden of working too much
• The burden of not enough money
• The burden of too much money
• The burden of painful providences

These burdens, and so many more, are the common life experience for every one of us.  Peter cautioned us, “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).  While life on this side of glory will be filled with burdens, God never designed us to attempt to carry them alone.

My beloved pastor Tullian likes to remind us that God did not save us only from our sin; he also saved us from our solitude. We were saved by God to community—the community of faith, where we are to lay down our lives for each other.  The more we are oriented toward others (rather than toward self), the more easy it is to come alongside someone and share their struggle.  One of the great blessings of bearing the burdens of others is the way it shifts our focus away from ourselves.  And that is always a good thing.     

But the greatest blessing of bearing others’ burdens is found in the way we become more like our Savior.  Jesus bore the burden of the demands of the law because we could not do it.  Jesus bore the burden of the demands of God’s judgment because we could not do it.  Jesus bore all of our burdens and continues to bear them.  His words of burden-bearing are a constant source of comfort to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

This precious promise is not only fulfilled when we are weary and burdened with our own burdens, but also when we are exhausted from bearing the burdens of others.  Burdens bring our limits to the surface, and our limits magnify the limitless power of our God, who gives us what we need to do what he commands.  We are never more like our Lord than when we are carrying the burdens of others.

So . . . who in your life right now needs help in shouldering a burden?  What’s holding you back from carrying it?  God never calls us to do something without equipping us to get it done, and that includes carrying burdens.

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

For all those who have spent any time at “rock bottom,” I promise you today’s message will be a source of great comfort and encouragement for you. 

The eternal God is you dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.  And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy. (Deuteronomy 33:27)

If the eternal God is your dwelling place, then when you find yourself at rock bottom know this: you are still standing on the Rock—and His name is Jesus Christ.  No matter how far you fall, His everlasting arms will be there to cradle you.  You cannot fall so far that He is not still underneath you.  The Savior is your support, regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself. 

• Are you under the weight of financial misfortune?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of trouble at the office?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of sickness and disease?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of difficulties in your marriage?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of rebellious children?  He is underneath you still.
• Are you under the weight of the snares of sin?  He is underneath you still.

His arms never grow tired or weary, but continually provide strength and support.  When you find yourself as low as you can possibly go, you are eternally sustained in His everlasting arms. 

The blessing of rock bottom is to know that you are still standing on the Rock.  When you feel you are at your lowest, He is lower still, holding you up with His everlasting arms.  He provides comfort and strength for every battle you face.  When the flesh takes you low, He is lower still.  When the devil takes you under, He is underneath.  When the world takes you down, He is down under!

What a promise for the child of God, that there is no sinking past our Savior! “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). 

There is safety even in the grave, if you are an adopted child of God.  The grave cannot hold you, because His everlasting arms are underneath the grave, doing two things at once: preventing us from going further down and propelling us into the presence of our Lord. 

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

The Bible tells us that the human heart is the “control-center” of life: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).  In other words, what rules your heart shapes your life!

What is ruling your heart and shaping your life these days? 

For some, empty emotions—such as doubt, fear, or anxiety—have taken hold of their hearts and are shaping their lives.  For others, vain pursuits—such as power, prestige, or prosperity—have taken hold of their hearts and are shaping their lives.  Still others find that the applause of man or the affection of another have taken hold of their hearts and ultimately are shaping their lives.  To be sure, the possibilities are as limitless as the depths of our sinful, self-absorbed, and self-centered hearts.

But this is not for you!  Colossians 3:15 gives us the key to penetrating a sinful heart that is ruled by anything smaller than Jesus: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”  This peace finds its power in one overwhelming Gospel truth: this peace is His peace!

The peace of Jesus is not found in silver and gold . . . not in power and prestige . . . nor in honor and high society.  When Jesus walked this earth on His way to Golgotha’s hill, His estate was one of abject humiliation, for He had no earthly estate to give to His disciples.  He frankly admitted, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). 

It was the peace of Christ that overcame the temptations of the devil, the betrayal of Judas, the desertion of His disciples, the false accusations of the religious leaders, the denials of Peter, and the taunting of the crowds as He hung on the cross.  This is the peace that we have been given through faith in the Prince of Peace. 

You see, the peace that is to rule our hearts and ultimately shape our lives will never found in the stuff of life.  It will only be found in our Savior.  He warns us all, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19, 21).

It is only the peace of Christ that is unaffected by the circumstances of life.  Storms cannot disrupt it.  Trials will not disturb it.  Challenges do not dislocate it.  This is the peace that passes all human understanding, and it will guard your heart (Philippians 4:7).  Our natural, sinful nature would rather try to find our peace in something tangible.  But our new nature is empowered by the same peace that propelled the Prince of Peace.  And this is the peace that is to rule our hearts and shape our lives. 

This peace empowers us to care about more than the cares and concerns of our own lives.  This peace allows us to lay our lives down and lift others up.  This peace frees us to come out of hiding—to emerge from behind every flimsy fig leaf, knowing that God has accepted us in His beloved Son.  A heart that is ruled by the peace of Christ is shaped like the cross: loving God (vertical) and reaching out in love to others (horizontal).

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

Are you focused more on yourself . . . or your Savior?  What would those closest to you say about you?  If we watched a video of how you spent this past week, what would we conclude about your focus?  One of the best ways to answer this question is to take an inventory of your thinking during those times when you have nothing much to think about.  I know that sounds contradictory, but it really isn’t.  When you have nothing pressing to think about, where does your mind wander off to? 

By nature we all think far too much about ourselves and far too little about our Savior.  We think about our goals, our desires, our ambitions, our wants, our preferences, our position, our power, our prestige, and our place at the table.  Self-rule is the order of the day as we seek to further our agenda and our kingdom instead of His agenda and His kingdom. 

The cure for slaying this stronghold is found only in the Gospel.  The Gospel is the story of One who was so other-oriented that He willingly set aside all the glory of the King of kings and laid His life down for others.  His life is the model for all those who are children of the Master. 

If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:1-11)

The Gospel tells us that service is the key that unlocks the stronghold of self-focus.  When we are focused on others and looking to their interests, we have no time to focus on ourselves.  Putting others first enables us to go to the back of the line and forego the chief seats.  This is what Jesus has done for us.  Is it not right that we do the same for others?

When we in humility count others more significant than ourselves, we are not thinking less of ourselves; we are simply thinking of ourselves less.  By the power of the Gospel we fulfill the two greatest commandments: loving God and others.  And when we fail—which we do daily—we run to Jesus for the complete cleansing of perfect and pervasive forgiveness that His blood provides.  Daily reminders of our forgiveness in Christ free us to focus more on Him and the countless Gospel benefits we have been given.  And one of the most precious of these benefits is the privilege of serving Him and others!   

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

Throughout Scripture we find “Rock” used as a metaphor for God.  Primarily it conveys His immutability—His inability to change in His essential nature and character.

The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.  (Deuteronomy 32:4)

Presbyterian minister and Bible commentator Matthew Henry rightly observed, “God is the rock, for he is in himself unchangeable, immovable, and he is to all that seek him and run to him an impenetrable shelter, and to all who trust in him an everlasting foundation.”  To know that God cannot change should be a source of great comfort to you today.  When everything around us is changing at incredible speeds, God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be forevermore (Hebrews 13:8). 

Rocks and stones are quality building materials because of their solid, unbreakable strength.  They serve as one of the best foundations upon which to build.  God our Rock serves as the absolute ultimate foundation upon which to build, in both life and death. 

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.  (Matthew 7:24-27) 

To be sure, the stability of a rock speaks to the faithfulness of our God.  In a world marked by deceit and inconstancy, we have a God who is unwavering, unshakeable, and eternally faithful to the promises He has made. 

He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.  (2 Peter 1:4)

Jesus as our Rock . . . simply rocks!  He rocks by being for us.  He rocks by being with us.  He rocks by being in us.  He rocks because He is the Rock of Ages.  Our Rock laid His life down for us that we might live.  And when Jesus said it was finished, He meant what He said.  He uttered His victory shout from the cross, and the earth shook! There is nothing we can add to the finished work of our Rock.

He has done it all, and all we need do is remember and rest in this Gospel-saturated truth: “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).  Make no mistake, our Rock rocks!!!!!!!!!

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

I am not a supporter of “celebrating” Halloween.  This observance is firmly rooted in pagan tradition and continues to rise in popularity as a festival of the occult.  Our church offers an alternative, called “HarvestFest.”  We invite the community to come and celebrate Jesus through games, rides, candy, and contests . . . and yes, that includes costumes! 

Back in my childhood, Halloween was little more than carving out pumpkins and a night out trick-or-treating with the neighborhood kids.  Today it is big business for adults and kids alike, including horror movies, haunted houses, and Halloween parties and celebrations of all shapes and sizes.  One of the attractions our family never misses in our trips to Walt Disney World is the Haunted Mansion. 

Because today is Halloween and likely we will have young, costumed visitors coming to our homes looking for candy, I thought I would write about the “costumes” we adults like to wear year-round. And I’m not talking about the store-bought ones!

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  (Genesis 3:1-13)

Adam and Eve constructed the first-ever “costumes” in the Garden of Eden after they stepped into the serpent’s trap.  When their consciences were seared by their sin, they sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness and shame.  And when they heard the sound of God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, they ran and hid.  This is the primary reason we wear our costumes.  We like to hide ourselves from the view of others.  We don’t want anyone to see what we are really like . . . as if our blemishes are unique to us. 

God confronted Adam and Eve in love and not in anger, but instead of confessing their sin and seeking God’s forgiveness, they attempted to shift blame.  Adam blamed Eve and God Himself (“The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit . . .”); Eve blamed the serpent; and we all have been blaming-shifting ever since.  We wear costumes, seeking to cover our mistakes, shortcomings, and sins—which makes it easier for us to blame others and God for the predicaments we find ourselves in.   

Wearing costumes allows us to keep from confronting the real person underneath the mask.  This, of course, is a great comfort for all those who willing seek after satisfying the desires of the flesh rather than the Spirit.

So . . . what costumes have you been wearing lately?  What would happen if you took yours off?

The Gospel frees us to step out of our costumes, because—regardless of what others think of us—God’s love is as unchanging as it is unconditional.  Costumes enslave us; the Gospel frees us.  Costumes blind to the glories of His kingdom; the Gospel opens our eyes to see with the eyes of faith.  The Gospel liberates us from the need to hide and when we are found out and rids us of the need to blame.  Jesus died to set the captives free, and in Christ we are free indeed to be exactly what we are: great sinners in need of an even greater Savior. 

As fallen, sinful people living in a broken, sin-filled world, we can step out of every costume we wear for creaturely comfort, because the only true source of comfort is found in Christ.

What costume will you wear today?  Why not rest is the reality of being clothed in the righteousness of Christ?  With His robe of righteousness wrapped tightly around you, what else could you possibly need?

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

Have you ever thought yourself to be free from idolatry? Do you believe that idolatry has been reserved only for the most primitive of people on the other side of the world?  If you do . . . think again!

Idolatry, by definition, is simply replacing the worship of anything in creation instead of the One who created it.  It is hardwired into our fallen nature to repeatedly overlook our Creator and grasp at His creation.  Take a look at this list of idols and see if any of them sound like you:

• We seek our identity in our work.
• We seek our power in our position.
• We seek our security in our finances.
• We seek our significance in our peer approval.
• We seek our purpose in our kids.
• We seek our pleasure in our spouses.
• We seek our meaning in our ministry.

Created things were never intended to give you what only your Creator can provide.  Every promise idols make smells like smoke and comes from the pit of hell, as Steve Brown likes to say.  Idols simply cannot deliver on what they promise! 

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen!  (Romans 1:25)

The great replacement is the replacement of God with anything smaller than God.  We replace the supernatural with the natural.  We replace the spiritual with the physical.  We replace the eternal with the temporal.  And we all do it far more often than we would like to admit.  Think back over the past week: what have you been pursuing and praying for?  What caused you to get up early and stay up late? 

I’ve said this before: many of the things we go after are, in fact, good things.  Work is good.  Family is good.  Money is good.  Ministry is good.  These good things only become bad things when they become ultimate things and replace the only One worth pursuing: Jesus.  Everything we look for in creation can only be given to us in our Creator.  We are to find our identity in Him and not in our work.  We are to find our power in Him and not in our position.  We must find our security in Him and not in our finances.  We should find our significance in Him and not in the approval of others.  We must find our purpose in Him and not in our kids.  We are to find our pleasure in Him and not in our spouses.  We must find our meaning in Him and not in our ministries.  It’s all about Him!

The Gospel is the cure for putting the Creator back in His rightful place in our lives.  The more we marinate in the truths of the Gospel and the finished work of Christ, the less we move toward created things.  What must always remember that everything we need we already have in Jesus.  As my beloved friend and remarkable pastor likes to remind us: “Jesus plus nothing equals everything.”

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

We are all familiar with the game “Hide and Seek,” where children run and hide themselves and one or more seekers go and look for them.  There is a biblical version of this game that I would like to share with you today.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  (Colossians 3:1-3)

The “hide” part of biblical truth is the understanding that we are hidden with Christ.  God the Father no longer sees our sin, because we are hidden with God the Son and clothed in His righteousness.  In the eyes of God, we not only look as if we had never sinned, we also look like we have always and only done what is right!  To be hidden with Christ in God is to be covered by the finished work of Christ—despite of our continued sins, shortcomings, failures, and faults. 

The “seek” part of biblical truth is the knowledge that because of who we are in Christ positionally, we can seek out and set our minds on the things of God practically.  Our union with Jesus propels us in the direction of what God wants for us; it is precisely because of our union with Jesus that we desire to seek the things that are above. 

Because we are hidden with Christ, in spite of our sin, we no long have to run and hide because of our sin.  We are covered . . . cleansed . . . and commissioned because of what Christ has done for us.  This is a truth that must be recaptured and reclaimed by the church today.  Far too many Christians are hiding from God because of their sin, when they should be running toward Him.  Adam and Eve ran and hid from God because of their sin, yet God pursued them—not to punish them but to cover their sin.  God is in the business of pursuing rebels on the run . . . and that includes you and me. 

So . . . have you been rejoicing in God’s version of “hide and seek” lately?  Or have you been wasting time trying to hide from God?  You and I must always remember that we are great sinners, but we have been eternally loved by an even greater Savior!  Knowing that our lives are hidden with Christ in God, may our days be marked by continually seeking after the One who sought and bought us on Golgotha’s Hill with His precious blood.  Let us pursue God’s promise: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).  

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

Ever wonder why we face so much hardship in this life?  In a word, the answer is sin.  It will not always be this way!  When the church is presented to Christ as His bride, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and “Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4).  However, until that glorious day comes, we can expect to deal with hardship in this life.  And there is something profound lying just beneath the surface of sin that needs be understood by every child born of grace. 

Thanks to the finished cross work of Jesus, hardship is never a punishment, penalty, penance, or pain being exacted by an angry God to make believers “right” with Him.  Because God’s justice has been fully satisfied in Jesus, our hardship is designed to draw God’s children nearer to Him, not push us further away.  Far too many Christians interpret hardship as a sign of God’s displeasure with them, perhaps even of His abandonment—but it is not!  God loves you with an everlasting love; hardship is merely a sign of His sanctifying activity in your life.

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

(Revelations 3:19)

Hardship in the life of the believer is designed to discipline and to draw, never to discourage and destroy. God uses hardship in the lives of His children for a number of reasons:

• To train us in character
• To teach us in conduct
• To turn us from sin

We must always remember that God’s discipline—which we frequently experience in the form of hardship, trials, storms, and struggles—is never punitive; it is always redemptive, and always intended to cause us to draw nearer to Him.  God is not exacting His “pound of flesh” from us because of our wrongdoing.  Jesus paid the price for our sin—all of our sin—on the cross.  God will not collect a second time on a debt that has been paid in full.  So God is using His holy hardship for His glory and our ultimate good by conforming us to the image and likeness of His beloved Son. 

God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

(Hebrews 12:10)

The fact that hardship is inevitable should not drive us to despair, because it is a loving Father who delivers it to us.  God only wants what is best for His children; at times, the only way to achieve that “best” is through the holy hardships of life.  God is training us in our character and our conduct, so that we might become ever more useful for the advancement of His kingdom purposes. 

When we are forged in the fire of betrayal, abandonment, loneliness, heartache, false accusations, and denials—just as Jesus was—we are being prepared for greater service in the lives of others who are experiencing the same.  We will be able to empathize with our brothers and sisters in Christ, not merely sympathize.  We will be able to minister from the heart—to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, [and] weep with those who weep,” as Scripture commands us (Romans 12:15).  The more we suffer as Jesus suffered, the more we serve as He served . . . forgive as He forgave . . . minister as He ministered . . . and love as He loved.  Our hardship is holy because it passes through the hands of a holy God.

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