Grace for the Race

At this, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. (John 6:66)

Did you know that good and godly leadership is about following? Yes, leadership is about becoming a follower of One . . . and that One is Jesus Christ. Be blessed as you read on!

Whether we are leading our company, our family, our small group, or just ourselves, we are all leading others. Even when we are not in any kind of obvious leadership role, we can be certain that others are watching us, simply because we have professed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If our walk is to match our talk and bring the most glory God and good to others, we must be committed to living as a follower of One.

When we are truly committed to following Jesus, we will go wherever He leads us, unlike the many disciples who deserted Him because His teaching was “hard” (John 6:60). To be sure, there are times when following Him can be difficult. It’s easy to stay in step with Jesus when He is leading us down the path of progress and the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is shining brightly. But what about those seasons when Jesus leads us down a path that is littered with pitfalls and problems, and the sky grows dark and the storm winds begin to howl? We have a tendency to separate ourselves from Him at those times, thinking that distance will insulate us from the difficulties we are facing. But nothing could be further from the truth! Our Lord has ordained the difficult path for us to walk, and He has committed to walking it with us every step of the way.

Can you imagine what Matthew must have been thinking when Jesus said, “Follow me”? Here was this hated Jewish tax collector, a traitor in the eyes of his countrymen because he had chosen to serve Rome. Matthew was making a ton of money at the expense of his own people and was fully protected by the Roman government. This would be the last person anyone would think Jesus would be interested in leading, and Jesus would be the last person anyone would think Matthew would be interested in following! Yet when the Lord spoke just two words, — “Follow me” — Matthew got up and followed him! (Matthew 9:9). In an instant, Matthew gave up his old life for his new life in Christ. He walked away from a position of prosperity and power and protection to become a follower of the One, which would eventually cost Matthew everything, including his very life.

Who have you been following lately? Remember, we cannot judge the direction in life based on the difficulties we are facing. Jesus leads us down the difficult path because He is more concerned about our holiness than our happiness. Ultimately, of course, He intends for us to be conformed into His image. So don’t turn back! Press in and follow Him.

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

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

I encounter far too many people in the church who are held hostage by unforgiveness. What they need is a dose of Gospel forgiveness that Jesus shared with Peter: seventy times seven. Read on and be greatly encouraged today!

When we withhold forgiveness from others, we are holding on to some of the most damaging and deadly emotions we can experience:  hurt, blame, anger, and revenge. These toxic feelings not only cloud our judgment but discolor every aspect of our lives. I have said many times from the pulpit that unforgiveness does far more damage to the vessel in which it is stored than it does to the object on which it is poured.

When Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness, he knew that the rabbis taught that forgiveness was to be extended to the wrongdoer up to three times. So, Peter being Peter, he doubled that number plus one and suggested to Jesus that perhaps up to seven times should be a sufficient number of times to forgive a brother who had sinned against him. Jesus immediately course-corrected Peter by describing the kind of Gospel forgiveness that Peter had been given by God: “I tell you,” Jesus said to Peter, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22).

In the 2009 film Invictus, actor Morgan Freeman played the part of Nelson Mandala, who was imprisoned for 27-years, subsequently elected president of South Africa, and faced the daunting task of unifying a country that had been deeply divided by race. In one memorable scene, Mandela/Freeman says firmly, “Forgiveness starts here,” that is, with us. “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon. The past is the past, we look to the future.”

Have you been held hostage by unforgiveness? I think we all have from time to time. The key is to remember how unconditional God’s forgiveness is for us and trust Him for the strength to deliver it to anyone who has wronged us. Now, I am not saying this is easy to do! Some have endured unimaginable pain and hurt from others. That is why forgiveness can only be done in the strength of our Lord. We must never forget how our Lord offered forgiveness to His enemies as He hung on that cross, bleeding and dying for your sins and mine. When we do that, we will be given the strength to forgive even when we would rather not.

Let me close with these words from the 20th-century Christian theologian Lewis B. Smedes, who said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

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

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

We have seen this week how God has loved you always, from eternity past and that He loves you in the present, no matter what. In the final installment of this series, we’ll look at the truth that God will continue to love you in your promised future.

Loved in the Promised Future

Because all of the rest of your life lies in the future, it is absolutely vital to be reminded of God’s continuing love for us throughout that future. We do not know what the future holds, and we certainly cannot control the future, so we must keep our eyes on “the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways” (Daniel 5:23 NKJV). He is the One who determines our future and has everything in His complete, sovereign control. And there is no better passage of Scripture to assure us about God’s love in our promised future than this promise that the Holy Spirit gave to the apostle Paul:

I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor death nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Regardless of the details of daily living, including death itself, nothing can or ever will separate us from God’s love. No issue . . . no event . . . no storm . . . no sin . . . nothing can separate us from the love God has for us in Christ Jesus. Think about it this way: God is love, and we can’t have God without having His love. Therefore, if we were to be separated from His love, we would have to be separated from God Himself. And as we just saw from the passage in Romans, that is not possible!

Nobody knew this truth better than the one who penned it. Paul’s Christian life was filled with adversity, and he knew that one day his faith in Jesus would cost him his very life. But he also knew the truth that he was not only eternally loved by God in his past and in his present, he would always be loved by God throughout His promised eternal future.

Remember, God so loved YOU that He sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for your sins. Let His love be both a comfort and a challenge – a comfort when the storm winds are blowing and a challenge to keep on keeping on, no matter what trials you are facing in this life. God loves you! He has always loved you . . . He loves you today . . . and He will love you for all eternity. You have His Word on that!

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

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

We’re going to continue looking at God’s love for you throughout this Valentine’s week. On Monday we saw how God has loved you from eternity past; today we will look at the truth that God loves you in the present.

Loved in the Present

Good news: God is not an angry taskmaster who only demonstrates His love when we are doing what we are supposed to do. God is not a concerned coach who demonstrates His love only when we are succeeding in life. God is love, and He loves us no matter what. And there is no better passage of Scripture to demonstrate that truth than this one from the inspired pen of the apostle Paul.

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

God did not wait for you to get your life cleaned up. God did not wait for you to get right with Him. God the Father sent God the Son to pay the penalty for your sins while you were a rebel on the run away from God and had no love in your heart for Him. If God loved us that much when we were far off from Him — alienated from God and enemies in our minds, as Colossians 1:21 tells us — what would make us think that He does not love us right now, no matter what?

Well . . . there is the accuser of the brethren. The evil one is forever yammering in our minds when we miss the mark in our thoughts, words, deeds, or desires. Satan hisses accusations and insinuations that cause us to doubt God’s love for us. And the only way we can keep from buying into the devil’s slurs is to remember this glorious, divine assertion from Paul’s epistle to the Romans:

There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Jesus took our condemnation and nailed it to that cross. He was condemned in our place. And He walked out of His grave and appeared to hundreds of people (1 Corinthians 15:6) to provide proof positive that God the Father was completely satisfied with God the Son’s atoning sacrifice on our behalf. So now there is nothing we can do that will cause God to stop loving us in the present. We are loved in the past and we are loved in the present.

On Friday, we will take a look at God’s love for us in our promised future. Happy Valentine’s Day!

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

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

This being Valentine’s week, I want to use all three of our articles this week to encourage you with the truth of the deepest need of every human heart: a love that will last . I will present this amazing, unwavering love under these three headings: Loved in the Past; Loved in the Present; Loved in the Promised Future. But before you read on, read John 3:16 above once again, but this time, substitute your name for “the world.” Read it aloud . . . and let that truth set you free. “For God so loved . . .” YOU!

Loved in the Past

Because God is eternal and God is love, His love is eternal. That means God has loved you from eternity past. There has never been a time when God did not love you. Take a look at these passages of Scripture that establish this truth beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children. (Psalm 103:17)

Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:26)

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed. (Isaiah 54:10)

He chose us in [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will . . . (Ephesians 1:4-5)

The everlasting love that God has lavished on you remains constant throughout every season of life – in good times and in bad . . . for richer and poorer . . . in sickness and in health. And that includes those seasons when you are not demonstrating your love back to God.

Remember, God’s everlasting love loves you always. God’s everlasting love loves you best. God’s everlasting love loves you perfectly. God’s everlasting love loves you most. God’s everlasting love loves you unconditionally. And God’s everlasting love loves you first – “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

I’l tell you more about God’s great love for you on Wednesday!   

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

The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV)

When you think about your relationship with Jesus, what comes to mind? Do you see it as Shepherd to sheep . . . King to subject . . . Savior to saint . . . Master to servant? To be sure, there are many different ways to see our relationship with Jesus, but the one I want you to consider today is this: You are precious in His sight (Isaiah 43:4).

When was the last time you saw yourself as precious to Jesus? If it has been a while, take a moment to marinate in and meditate on these biblical truths:

I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:16)

I have loved you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)

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

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. (1 John 3:1)

From Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God makes it clear that we not only matter to God as a unique creation, His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), but we are precious to Him. And there is no greater testimony to this truth than the cross on Calvary’s hill. When Jesus willingly took our place on a cruel cross to pay the penalty for our sins, He made it clear we are precious in His sight. In fact, the Bible tells us we were part of “the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2).

Here is another truth for you to absorb: You are not only precious to Jesus when you are doing well and walking worthy of Him; you are still precious to Jesus when the wheels come off the tracks and you run yourself into a ditch. Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus – not Satan, not your sin – nothing!

Let that truth strengthen you whenever you are beset by doubts, discouragement, or even despair. Jesus died to live in relationship with you. You are precious in the sight of Jesus. Now, if that doesn’t light the fire of your faith . . . your wood is wet!

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

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

If you have been walking with the Lord for any length of time, you have learned from personal experience that the theme of risk and reward is central to the Christian life. Jesus reminded His disciples there is a cost to following Him, and He crystallized that message with the following words:

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39)

When Jesus spoke of risk and reward, He was addressing an audience that fully understood the cost of being His disciple. The disciples risked a lot to follow Jesus – leaving jobs, security, families, and friends. And here is the key that unlocks the door leading to living a life like those early disciples: Because of what the disciples had witnessed in the life of Jesus, both in His words and His works, they knew whatever they risked was worth the reward. And what was their reward? One reward was eternal life, of course, but it was also everyday life — walking, talking, eating, and living with Jesus. For every disciple who chose to follow Jesus, the reward was well worth the risk.

Christian, search your heart: What are you willing to risk to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus? What are you willing to give up or lose for the privilege of walking with Jesus wherever He is leading you? Throughout the rest of your life, God will set before you opportunities that require you to risk personally, professionally, and relationally. You will have to make the decision whether the reward is worth the risk, but when the reward is more of Jesus, the answer is always “YES!”

And when you breathe your last, your greatest reward will be to stand in the presence of the Almighty and hear Him utter those two most meaningful words: “Well Done!” (Matthew 25:23).

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

Jesus told [Thomas], “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

I remember playing “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” as a child. With a blindfold securely in place, the player had to completely trust the one who was giving him or her directions that would lead the way to the prize. Our faith can be a lot like this: We must totally trust in a God we cannot see, even during those times when we cannot trace His hand.

We aren’t challenged in our trusting when the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shining. No, the challenge comes on those days when the storm winds are blowing and the waves of challenge are battering you time and time and time again. Some storms assail us because of foolish things we do, but some storms simply come, catching us completely by surprise. Those are the seasons when we must remember Who is leading us every step of the way through every storm we face, and that is when we call on the One who walked on the water and calmed the winds and the waves simply by saying, “Peace! Be still!” (Mark 4:39).

Regardless of where this message finds you today, no matter what you have been going through lately, continue trusting Jesus even when you cannot trace Him, no matter how severe the storm that is assailing you. Remember, nothing happens to us that does not first pass through His nail-scarred hands. God sends every storm for two reasons: Our eternal good and His eternal glory. Storm winds cause us to deepen our dependence on Jesus, driving the roots of our faith deeper and deeper into the soil of the sanctified life, making us that much stronger for the next storm, which may already be looming on life’s horizon.

You have not seen Him . . . but trust that He loves you. Hold fast to His promise that He will never leave you. Blessed are those who have not seen Him and yet have believed.

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

Every good and perfect gift is from above. (James 1:17)

A sense of entitlement has enslaved our contemporary culture and crippled it from being able to rise above the inevitable waves of challenge that crash against every life. Entitlement is metastasizing like stage four cancer, both in the unbelieving world and within the church.

It never ceases to amaze me how many younger adults I speak to who feel entitled to immediately enjoy the same standard of living that it took their parents decades to attain. This insidious spirit of entitlement has infected the church and wreaked havoc in our spiritual lives. When we don’t receive what we believe we have a right to expect, all too often we look resentfully at God as the One who withheld it from us.

I hope you will forgive me for being blunt. God has promised to give to us everything we need to live the life He has called us to live (2 Corinthians 9:8). We have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), and God has promised to meet our every need along the way (Philippians 4:19). But we immediately veer off into the muddy ditch of entitlement when we believe that we are entitled to more than God has promised. God never promised to meet our every want. Often what we want is diametrically opposed to what God wants for us, and for good reason. It is not His best for us. But when we feel entitled to whatever that want may be, we may become bitter and begin to shrink back from all God is calling us to in our ministry of service to Him.

We must remember that God owes us nothing, but He has promised us everything in Jesus. The Christian life is to be marked by caring contribution, not covetous consumerism. It is only when we remember this truth that we will begin to break the chains of enslavement to entitlement. We must trust in God’s provision for us and receive with thanksgiving whatever He chooses to give to us.

Entitlement places self on the throne of life rather than the Savior. But by keeping an attitude of gratitude in all circumstances, we keep Jesus enthroned in our lives, and He in turn will dethrone every sense of entitlement.

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

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)

No doubt you’ve heard the phrase, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” That is shorthand for all the reasons and excuses people will offer for not making whatever changes are necessary to their beliefs or behaviors. But make no mistake, the life of the Christian is a life of continual change. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Old dogs can learn “new tricks” when the teacher is our Lord Jesus Christ.

The first step to making positive change in your life is to recognize that a change is actually necessary, whether that means changing a belief or a behavior. To be convinced that you need to change is to acknowledge that something was wrong or deficient, and sinful pride will always rise up against that admission. Sinful pride will do everything in its power to convince you that you are doing fine just the way you are and that change is entirely unnecessary.

Once you push past pride and identify that a change truly is necessary, the second step is to be willing to put in the effort to make the desired change, and that effort must always begin on your knees. Take your desired change to the Throne of Grace. All change begins and ends with God, which is why you must spend time in communion with Him. Add to that time in His Word. Come to the Scriptures and read with the prayerful expectation that God will reveal the path you need to travel to reach your new destination.

Finally, having convinced yourself of the need for change and committing to making the necessary effort, you must be willing to walk the path God has shown you, regardless of cost or circumstance. God has promised to strengthen your resolve so that you will be empowered to do what is necessary to change. But you must be willing to do your part. The process of learning “new tricks” requires your active participation. The gift of God’s grace is available to us without conditions, but we must receive His grace, respond to it, and act accordingly.

Remember, change is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian, because the Gospel changes everything, including you! With that in mind, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Come to the Lord and ask Him to direct your steps . . . including those steps that will take you in a new direction.

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