Grace for the Race

As we prepare to celebrate Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I would like to share a word of cosmic comfort with you from the One who loves you exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ever ask or think. The apostle Paul prayed that God’s people would be able “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18). In other words, the love of God in Christ Jesus truly is beyond our imagination!

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

John 3:16 is probably the best-known passage in all Scripture, even among unbelievers. There are times, however, when we tend to breeze past verses that are so well-known and so frequently repeated; they can lose their message and ministry in our lives. So let’s take just a few minutes to slow down and look closely at these words from Jesus.

First, notice that the love of God in His Son Jesus is a gift to us. There is nothing we do to invite it. There is certainly nothing we do to deserve it. There is nothing we can do to earn it. It is simply a gift from God to undeserving sinners like you and me. Second, this gift comes to us through belief, not behavior. We simply need to believe that Jesus is who He says He is and did what He said He did on our behalf.

God could have dealt with us in a variety of ways that had absolutely nothing to do with love. Remember, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, it was a deliberate willful, rebellion against His loving and gracious provision. Adam and Eve were unfaithful to God, the One who created them in His image and gave them the gift of life itself. God could have responded with judgment. God could have responded with wrath. He could have responded with contempt. At the very least, God could have responded with disappointment. But He did none of these things! God responded with love, because God is love (1 John 4:16). God demonstrated His love for us by sending Jesus into this world to pay the penalty for all of our sins, so that we could live in intimate, personal relationship with Him throughout all eternity.

Valentine’s Day is a time when we express our affection for others by giving cards, candies, and gifts; many of these reflect mere sentimental feelings. Not so with God! His love acted decisively in history and in our hearts. God’s agape love is sacrificial. God so loved that He willingly and intentionally sacrificed His Son in order to pave the way for a love relationship with sinners like you and me, who were in desperate need of a Savior. Here is a passage of Scripture that best describes God’s profound love in the most personal way:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The great apostle Paul said that Jesus loved me and gave himself for me! When we planted Cross Community Church, my mentor and spiritual father Dr. Ron Kovack connected these words from Paul to John 3:16. “It is one thing to know that ‘God so loved the world,’” he told me, “but it is another thing altogether to know that God so loved me!” Dr. Ron encouraged me to teach this verse to others by personalizing it. That is what the apostle Paul did, and that is what we are to do too.

Here is something to remember as we bring this word of encouragement to a close. Everything God does in your life, He does out of love. When the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shining, it is because God so loves you. And when the sky is dark and foreboding and the storm winds howling, it is because God so loves you. When you are delivered from the attacks of the devil, it is because God so loves you. And when you mess things up, it is because God so loves you. Everything God does in your life He does because of His love for you.

Never forget this: When God gave His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, it was not a measurement of our value, our worth, or our significance. God gave His Son “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8) and “alienated from God” (Colossians 1:21). No, the death of Jesus Christ was simply an expression of His unconditional and unending love, for God so loves you.

I pray this truth will be a source of both encouragement and empowerment for you to live the life God is calling you to live for His glory and the good of others, with freedom and faithfulness to the One who so loves you right now and will continue loving you throughout all eternity.   

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

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!  As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

I have a word of great comfort for you today, which is rooted in the passage from which today’s verse was taken. The apostle Paul was in harm’s way after having confronted the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. The uproar was so fierce that the Roman guard needed to take Paul away and put him in the barracks for his own protection. Some of the religious leaders were plotting to kill Paul, but the angel of the Lord assured Paul that he was surrounded by “Divine Protection,” because God was not finished with him yet. And the same is true for you and me! 

The Bible makes it clear that we are all immortal until our work is done. God’s purposes will be accomplished, and nothing and no one will stand in His way. It mattered not that the corrupt religious leaders had conspired to kill the apostle Paul. In fact, the narrative tells us that “more than forty men were involved in this plot” (Acts 23:13). Forty men were no match for God, because God had more work for Paul to do. The whole world could have taken its stand against Paul, but they were utterly impotent to do anything to Paul while Omnipotence still had plans for him. 

Make no mistake, when you work for your Lord is done, He will usher you into His eternal presence along with all the saints of God. But that will not happen one moment before you have completed your assignment here on earth. So as the angel of the Lord said to Paul, “Take courage,” because God is not finished with you yet! As an ambassador for the Almighty, your safe passage is guaranteed while you are fulfilling your service for your Savior.    

As a disciple of Jesus, you have been called to testify to the truth. Every child of God has been given the assignment of participating in the expansion of the kingdom of God. Do you believe that something is keeping you from fulfilling your calling? Take courage! The Lord is standing right by your side every step of the way into glory, and He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you. So be at peace as you participate in the greatest work that can be done on this side of the grave – witnessing for Jesus Christ.

Let this truth sink in and ultimately set you free: He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, regardless of the cost or circumstances you face, and that’s because He who is in you is greater than the one who is in this world. No weapon formed can keep you from finishing the work God has set before you to do because you, like Paul, are surrounded by Divine Protection. 

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

On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem . . . in summer and in winter. (Zechariah 14:8)

Oh, what a word of encouragement we have today! Though seasons change and affect the world we live in, the living waters of our Lord’s love continually flow. The burning heat of the summer cannot dry up His love and the frigid cold of the winter will not cause it to freeze over. Our God changes not, and His love continually flows to us like streams of living water, regardless of the season of life we find ourselves in.

I don’t know where this message finds you today, but I do know this: Regardless of whether you are living in a season of summer, with the scorching heat of trials and tribulations knocking at your door, or experiencing a season of winter, with the icy winds of challenge and change blowing over you, God is ready, willing, and able to meet you in your place of deepest need with a steady flow of living waters that will never cease.

Knowing this truth must keep us from wandering and wading in other streams. To be sure, the world promises us delights if we will but sip from its springs, but these are empty promises that the world simply cannot keep. The world can never give us what only God can give. When we drink from the waters of this world, we are left thirsting for what matters most, because the waters of this world will never slake our thirst. Only God can give us purpose in life. Only God can give us meaning in life. Only God can give us significance in life. God created us in such a way that the things that matter most in this life can only be found in Him. 

Jesus said it very plainly to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: “Everyone who drinks this water [that is, the water of this world] will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).

Regardless of where this message finds you today, remember that the way to slake your thirst in any area of life is to sip from the streams of your Savior. They flow continually and they flow to you. But remember, you must drink from them yourself, because God will not drink for you. An unlimited supply of living water will not serve you if you will not take the time to drink from it. Remember these words from our Lord, and be encouraged to drink your fill this day and every day God gives you: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” (John 7:37).       

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

Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind. (Psalm 26:2)

God is in the business of testing His people. His testing is as promised as it is promising. Unlike the devil, who tempts us with the intent of tripping us up and turning us away from our Lord, God tests us to strengthen our faith and conform us more and more into the image and likeness of His beloved Son.

Here is a question to ponder today: Do you receive God’s ways — which can be quite mysterious at times — as readily as you receive God’s Word? Every child of God receives His living and active Word with great joy. But there are times when joy is not our first response when we receive God’s ways. God’s ways are not our ways. We expect God to respond to us one way, and He behaves in a completely manner. When this happens — and it happens a lot — we must remember this incredible truth given to us by the prophet:

The ways of the Lord are right. (Hosea 14:9)

Hosea is telling us that no matter what God decrees for us, it is right. God’s way is righteous, fair, just, merciful, and absolutely what we need at that time. You see, God created us for His good purpose; He made us for Himself to expand the cause of His kingdom in this world. He knows what is best for us all the time, and He knows exactly how to deliver that best to us at just the right moment. However, God’s best is often not what we expected or wanted at the time. 

When we have difficulty receiving God’s ways, it is usually because we are seeking our will rather than God’s will for our lives. We are pursuing what we want for ourselves rather than seeking what God wants for us. Now, remember that we all have a sinful nature that struggles against the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:17), and it is plain to see that God must intervene on our behalf by delivering His ways if we are ever going to live the life He is calling us to live. 

How is it with you lately? Have you been struggling with God’s ways in your life? You are not alone! We all struggle to accept His ways at times. And that is when we must return to Hosea’s assurance that the ways of the Lord are always right! Think about it this way: God loves us so much that He will cause us to walk in His ways rather than our own, knowing that, in the end, it will ultimately be for His glory and our good. When the Lord tests us with His mysterious ways, we must trust Him even when we cannot trace Him. Allow Him to examine your heart and your mind; the result will always be the best!

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

I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (Psalm 116:14)

Married couples often ask me to perform a “Vow Renewal” ceremony, which is a symbolic way of reaffirming the original vows (that is, the promises made before God and man) that the couple made on that glorious day when they joined together in the holy covenant of marriage. Today I’d like to encourage you with a word about renewing your vow to your Savior.

To be sure, we make many vows to our Lord. But the one that surpasses them all is the vow of life, in which we promise to surrender our lives to Him. The reason I believe this vow surpasses all other vows we make to our Lord is because I know how often He tests our sincerity and commitment to keeping it.

We have promised to walk with our Lord wherever He leads, and as long as He is leading us beside green pastures and still waters we faithfully follow. But what about those times when He leads us into the Garden of Gethsemane? Do we, like Peter, pull out our spiritual swords to do battle for the glory of our Lord against His enemies? Or are we more like Judas, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss?

It is far easier to make a vow than to keep a vow. So how do we keep the vows we have made to our Lord? We keep in view the vow He has made to us: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). You see, our marriage vows to Jesus simply cannot end in divorce. Regardless of how often we fail to keep our vows to Him, He never fails to keep His vows to us. We remain in our marriage relationship with Jesus, not because of our faithfulness to Him, but because of His faithfulness to us, regardless of how terribly unfaithful me may be.

The key that unlocks the door to keeping our vows is the cross. Knowing how loved we are by Jesus is the driving force that will strengthen us in our moments of decision. It is His love for us that helps us say “Yes” to Him and “No” to everything else. Being reminded of His crucified life for us, a vow He made in eternity past (Hebrews 13:20) is what strengthens us to live out the vow we made to Him that we will live the crucified life. This is how Paul could say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Paul lived constantly in the shadow of the cross and was thus strengthened to fulfill his vows to Jesus.    

So regardless of where this message finds you today and how many unfulfilled vows litter your past, press on by renewing your vows today. Keep the cross in view, and more often than not you will find the strength to fulfill your vows. And on those occasions when your strength fails, remember that you have a God who forgives you completely and loves you unconditionally.

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

Before I was afflicted I went astray, buy now I obey your word. (Psalm 119:67)

Is sickness always an attack of the spiritual forces of evil in this world? If we are looking for the root cause of sickness, the answer is a resounding “Yes,” taking us all the way back to the encounter between Satan and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Now that sickness has entered into this world through the fall, we must decide if it is always the result of a demonic attack on us. Are we to assume, as the faith healers tell us, that God wants us to be healthy all the time, all the way into glory? When you put the question in that light, the answer to this question is an emphatic “NO!”

Sickness is a servant of our Savior. Is this not the truth that God put on display in the life of the apostle Paul? Paul was given a “thorn in the flesh,” and he prayed three times that God might take it away. God did not do that. Paul explained that his sickness was his Savior’s servant that kept Paul from growing conceited because of the incredible ministry God had given to him. We do not know what the thorn actually was — speculation from commentators has ranged from migraine headaches to malaria to bad eyesight to back problems to bad feet — we do know this: God could have taken the thorn away in an instant; God could have prevented it from ever happening, but He did not. Instead, God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). 

When we understand this truth, we change our perspective on sickness. Instead of first crying out for healing, we look for God’s purpose in it. To be sure, it is right to pray for healing and a restoration of our health, but we must not miss the deeper message that God sent sickness or infirmity as His servant to draw us closer to Him. Perhaps it was sent because of some sin (1 Corinthians 11:30) or because of satanic attack (Job 2:7) or some other unknown reason (John 9:3). But regardless of the reason, all sickness becomes a servant in our Savior’s hand. If God allows it to continue, you can be sure it is for His glory and your ultimate good.

Has sickness been testing the outer edges of your health plan lately? Cry out to God, but pay close attention to His response. It may be for you as it was for Paul, that God has a far greater purpose to accomplish in your life with this sickness than without it. When this is the case, submitting to the servant of sickness for the glory of our Savior is the pathway to blessing.

We must remember that we have been bought at a price and we are not our own. God has a right to do with us as He pleases to accomplish His perfect purpose. If He has ordained sickness as His servant in our lives, we are to receive it, knowing that His grace is sufficient and His power is being made perfect in our weakness. All glory to our God, until we get to the other side of the grave, where there will be no more sickness, no more suffering, and no more sorrow.

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

What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived – the things God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Have you ever given much thought to God’s purpose in your life? Now, I am talking about something much deeper than whether you are to be a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker. God is conforming all His people into the image and likeness of His beloved Son; when that is completed, we will be ushered into the kingdom of the new heavens and the new earth. But deeper still, God’s purpose for every believer is a process . . . not a place. And that process extends on into eternity. 

You see, the ultimate goal in our relationship with Jesus is not to simply arrive in the new heavens and the new earth. Rather, the ultimate goal in our relationship with Jesus is our relationship with Jesus, a relationship that will continue to grow and deepen from the moment we stand before Him unveiled throughout eternity. Eternity is active, not passive. We will not be sitting atop a cloud strumming a celestial harp forever and ever and ever. Many mistakenly believe the afterlife is like retirement, where we will just sit back and relax — shifting into neutral, if you will. Not true! 

Eternal life will present us the greatest opportunities and possibilities we could ever imagine. It will be one glorious adventure after another. In eternity, we will not only be worshipers, which would be more than enough, but we will be willing workers too. God has ministry magnified for each one of His children, where we will use all of our God-given gifts, talents, and abilities to continue bringing greater and greater glory to God. We will never grow weary. We will never get discouraged. We will never burn out. We will serve and serve and go from strength to strength, living at the deepest level of significance, a level that was unattainable on this side of the grave. 

Paul wrote, “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:3), and I cannot say with certainty what that means.  But I do know this: As we reign with our Lord Jesus Christ, the angels who were sent to minister to us here on earth will be at our disposal in some way, to assist us in doing all that God calls us to do. Truly eye has not seen and ear has not heard what is in store for us in the Almighty Adventure that awaits us.   

So regardless of where this message finds you today, pause and consider what awaits you on the other side of the grave. Be encouraged, Christian, in the knowledge that God has not only prepared a place for you, but He has also ensured a purposeful and powerful process for you to live out and rejoice in for all of eternity. 

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

Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. (Luke 8:13)

How often we have heard the phrase, “Grow Up!”  Perhaps we have said it to someone or maybe it was said to us. Growing up is a good thing, is it not? To mature in character and commitment is the way of the Christian life. But in order to grow up, we must also grow down. Let me explain what I mean so that you might be encouraged today.

When God in His grace gives us the gift of eternal life, grace is also given to grow us up into Christ. But in order to grow up into Christ, we must be “growing down” and establishing a root system that is solidly attached to the Rock of our salvation. In the Parable of the Sower, the seed (the Word of God) fell on four different types of ground: the path, rocky ground, among thorns, and good soil. The seed on the rocky ground received the Word with great joy and began to grow up, but at the first time of testing, it withered and died because it had a weak root system.

This parable provides a picture of what can happen in the life of the Christian if the roots do not go down deep. When the storm winds blow, we will be blown over if our roots do have not grown down deep enough into the soil of the sanctified life. 

Make no mistake, godly growth happens in two directions simultaneously: upward and downward. The key to unlocking the door leading to growing downward is to first go downward ourselves. We need look no further than Jesus. Jesus came down to us from heaven, but when He arrived, He was not done in His downward direction. Instead of coming as the King of kings and Lord of lords to be served, He came to serve others. The Creator of the universe got so low that He took a towel and basin and washed the feet of His disciples, a job normally reserved for the lowliest slave. But even then Jesus was not done! He willingly hung on our cross and took our death so that we might have eternal life in Him. “Greater love has no one than this,” He said, “that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

You see, we are most like our Lord when we go downward in life by serving others and willingly laying down our lives for them. “Nobody should seek his own good,” 1 Corinthians 10:24 instructs us, “but the good of others.” The more we do this, the deeper our roots go. And when storm winds start to swirl around us and the waves of challenge threaten to crash over us, we are not moved, because we are rooted on the Rock of our salvation.

So grow up, my friend! But don’t forget to grow down too. 

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

“You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.'” (Genesis 32:12)

Is it right to remind our Redeemer of anything? Does He not know all things and remember all things too? He most certainly does, so the idea of “reminding God” may sound strange. Yet we are given permission to remind God of His promises — not to jog His memory, but to strengthen our own.

Jacob did that very thing when he was about to encounter his brother Esau, whom Jacob had deceived and wronged. The last time Jacob had seen Esau, Esau was planning to kill him, so Jacob feared for his life and the lives of his family. He confessed to the Lord, “I am afraid Esau will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children” (Genesis 32:11). And then Jacob, in all humility, reminded God of His promise of blessing. We are to do the same when we are confronted by some difficulty or trial. 

Reflect on any promise God has given you and lay hold of it with a humble heart. What is there to fear from any angry “Esaus” that may come against you, when your God is absolutely and completely for you and has promised to do you good?  Notice the word “surely” in today’s verse; I take it as a guarantee from our God. In other words, we can be absolutely certain that God will make good on His promises to us. Our good God has promised to do us good, regardless of what may come against us. 

No matter what you may be facing today, when you remind your Redeemer of the promises He has made to you, your faith is strengthened and your hope is renewed. Remember, God’s Word is not for the benefit of God; it was given for our benefit. The better we know it, the better we will be able to recall it and remind our Redeemer of His many and varied promises to bless us, protect us, and do us good.

God wants us to come to Him and present our requests and desires to Him. In addition, He has given us permission to open our prayers with “You have said . . .” — recognizing that this reminder is for us and not for God, so that we might be strengthened in knowing that He who has promised can be trusted to make good on every promise He has made.

The Amplified Bible says of Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, that “No unbelief or distrust made him waver . . . concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised” (Romans 4:20-21).

Let me encourage you today to get in the habit of reminding your Redeemer when you are on your knees before the throne of grace. Is there anything in particular that you need to remind your Redeemer (yourself) of what He has promised? I promise you it will keep you from ever forgetting that your God is a covenant-keeping God who has promised ultimate good to you as you make your way into glory. 

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

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)

Perhaps you recall the Cabbage Patch Kids, a line of cloth dolls that were all the craze in the early 1980s. Today I’d like to encourage you with a word about the Lord’s “Lettuce Patch” kids. Many Christians refer to the tenth chapter of the book of Hebrews as “the lettuce chapter.” The reason for that is the repeated use of the exhortation “let us” in verses 22-25. Now, all that “lettuce” creates a supernatural salad that is designed to both strengthen and stretch you, right where this message finds you today.

If you’re a regular reader here, you’ve seen my frequent reminders that inasmuch as we are saved individually, we are saved to community. The Bible knows nothing of the solitary saint. When God in Christ saved us, He placed a new obligation on us: the obligation we have to the family of faith. The word US makes it clear that there is a mutual responsibility in the body of Christ, each for the other.

Perhaps the best way to express that responsibility is through the numerous “one another” commands of Scripture. Here are just a few:

• Care for one another (Galatians 6:2)
• Accept one another (Romans 15:5)
• Serve one another (Galatians 5:13)
• Confess to one another (James 5:15)
• Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
• Forgive one another (Colossians 3:13)
• Comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
• Carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)
• Love one another (John 13:35)

How well have you been feasting on the sweet-tasting supernatural salad Jesus has set before you? Remember that Jesus died to make us His family of faith. He wants us to live as a community of believers who put the Gospel on display in such a way that unbelievers begin to ask why we are so different from other people they meet. The answer to that question, of course, is that the grace of God that saved us is also in the process of sanctifying us. Without the grace of God, we would still be as sinful and self-centered as we were before we were saved. Even after salvation, we must still appropriate the grace of God in order to rightly live out the exhortations of “the lettuce chapter.”

Remember, Christians living in community is not only God’s desire for each one of us, it is the clear and present indicator that we are growing and maturing in our faith. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus vertically, we are to also be growing in our relationship with others horizontally. In the creation account, everything was good except one thing: It was not good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:18). So God created Eve, and the first community in the world was formed. If you are a Christian believer, you are part of the most important community in the world: the church. But in order for the church to truly be the church, we must do our part and commit to community.

That reminds me of another “lettuce” verse from the letter to the Hebrews: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching”:” (Hebrews 10:25).

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