Grace for the Race

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name. (Isaiah 25:1)

There are only two reasons to do anything in life: One is for personal gain and the other is for God’s glory. The Scriptures are filled with examples of men and women acting out of both motives, and it is always a good idea to inventory our own hearts to see just what motivates us to do the things we are doing.

We can sum it all up this way: are we using God as a means to attain an end? Or is the end we are seeking God Himself? The first mindset has us pursuing God for personal gain; the second has us pursuing God for His glory. Often we can be sailing through life without ever noticing the difference . . . until the storm winds begin to blow. When they do, we will know the true motives of our heart, which will be indicated either by our shrinking back from difficulty or standing firm.

Let’s take a brief look at these two categories of professing Christians. The person working for personal gain thinks about his or her relationship with Jesus in terms of the great gifts He can give. Such people come to Jesus for hope. They come to Him for happiness. They come for health. They come for a better home life. These are just a few of the personal gain reasons, all of which make it clear that Jesus is not their Messiah, but rather He is the means to their desired ends. However, the person working for God’s glory looks to Jesus as the end itself. Jesus is not the vehicle to victory for these people; He is victory Himself. Jesus is not the way to wealth; He is our wealth. He is not the way to happiness; He is our joy.

How would you describe your walk with Jesus right now? Is your relationship with Jesus merely the means to a desired end? Or is Jesus the end Himself?

Christian, you were created for relationship with Jesus, not for the rewards you receive from Him. Perhaps the best portrait in all Scripture that displays this truth lived out is the book of Job. God allowed His servant Job to suffer unimaginable loss: his health, his wealth, and all ten of his children. His own wife ridiculed him for staying committed to God. In essence, had Job lost every reason to stay in a right relationship with God . . . except God Himself.

It is clear from the biblical account that Job loved God more than all the good gifts God had given to him. Yes, Job loved his wealth, health, and children, but He loved God more. “‘You are talking like a foolish woman,'” he replied to his bitter, mocking wife. “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Scripture states that, “In all [his trials], Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (Job 1:21-22, 2:10). For Job, God was not the means to a desired end. God was the end Himself.

May this be the confession of your life and mine, that our relationship with God is based solely upon a shining vision of His glory and not our gain, because ultimately His glory is our greatest gain.

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

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. (Hebrews 12:7)

There is a special hope contained within every hardship, and the book of Hebrews both comforts us and challenges us with this truth. Now, I will be the first to admit that I have never found the divine discipline of hardship delightful. I cannot remember a time when I was experiencing some form of hardship and thought to myself, “This is so helpful to me!” Hardship never seems to be helpful; it usually feels hurtful, doesn’t it?

There is, however, hope in every hardship because of the One who sends difficulty to us as discipline. If God did not love us, He would not care what we are doing. He would watch from a distance as our wheels came off the track and we drove ourselves into a ditch. But throughout the pages of Scripture, we see how God cares for His children and refuses to allow us to shipwreck our lives. When we begin to veer off course, God sends some holy hardship to get our attention and get us back on track.

Take notice of the second half of today’s verse: God is treating us as His children. Which parent loves their children more? The one who wants to be their children’s best friend and allows them to do whatever they want? Or is the truly loving parent the one who understands the profound responsibility a parent bears to course-correct when the child is heading in the wrong direction? The answer is obvious. When we are being disciplined by God, we should see hardship as His loving guidance and look for the lessons He is trying to teach us. The hope in hardship is a holy hope, because is comes from our Holy God, who is conforming us to the image of His Son by any and every means necessary.

It is important to remember that when God is disciplining us, He is not delivering a punishment or penalty. Jesus took all our punishment and paid the full penalty for every one of our sins on the cross on the hill Golgotha. Because of this, we can trust that God’s discipline is not punishment, but protection; our gracious, loving God is protecting us from our sinful self and sheilding us from the damage we do to ourselves and others when we drift away from His plan and purpose for our lives.

If you are in the midst of a season of hardship right now (or the next time you find yourself in such a season), let these three benefits of divine discipline both comfort and encourage you:

• Hardship as discipline is proof God loves you.
• Hardship as discipline is proof you are His child.
• Hardship as discipline is conforming you to Christlikeness.

This is why Paul could write to the Christians at Rome that, in addition to rejoicing in the glory of God, “We also rejoice in our sufferings.” And Paul did not stop there. He explained why:

Because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:3-5)

Our loving Lord, He who is our gracious, heavenly Father, is working all things together for our good, just as He has promised (Romans 8:28). There really is some holy hope in hardship, wouldn’t you agree?

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

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. (Psalm 115:3)

I know from personal experience that uncertainty is one of the worst feelings we can experience, especially when the uncertainty involves someone we deeply love or something we care about a great deal. So how do we remove the “un” from uncertainty? Read on, and be both comforted and challenged this day.

Let’s start by taking a look at what we are not to do when facing uncertainty. By nature, we have a tendency to dig in our heels, hold on even tighter with a double-white-knuckle grip, and try to force the outcome we desire. We try desperately to establish control of people or circumstances that are clearly beyond our control, and uncertainty threatens to seize us as the currents of chaos hold us captive.

So how do we shake off the shackles of our bondage to uncertainty? Sovereignty! That’s right; God’s sovereignty shatters our shackles. We simply remember the sovereignty of our God and trust that He has everything in complete control. We respond to every uncertainty we face in this life by rccalling the certainty of God’s eternal plan and His perfect purpose for our lives. This is how we remove the “un” from uncertainty.

“For 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).

You see, God’s plan is better than our plan, and God is in complete control of His plan for our future, regardless of what it looks like to us. Life from our perspective is a bit like looking through a small hole in the side of a wooden fence; we can only see what is right in front of us. But God sees everything; He is in control of all things, and He has promised to work all things for His glory and for our ultimate good. In every uncertainty we face, we hold fast to the certainty of the sovereignty of God, knowing that “The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations (Psalm 33:11).

Are you facing uncertainty in life at this time? Again, the key to removing the “un” from uncertainty is to focus on the sovereignty of God. He assured Isaiah, “When I act, who can reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:13). When things seem darkest, we must remember that we have the Light of this world, who is leading us into His perfect plan and purpose for our lives, even when nothing that is currently happening would convince us of this truth. But it is the truth, Christian; hold to it in faith.

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

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. (Acts 9:18)

The conversion experience of the Pharisee Saul will be our focal point for what I hope will offer you a great word of encouragement today. Saul was persecuting the church and was traveling on the road to Damascus to ramp up his persecution of the believers even further. But then Jesus showed up, and we read in the ninth chapter of the book of Acts that the brilliance of the Lord’s glory brought Saul to his knees and blinded him. Three days later, Jesus sent one of His disciples, Ananias, to commission Saul for the spread of the Gospel; when Ananias laid his hands on Saul, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see clearly once again.

The account of Saul’s conversion brings me to our promised encouragement of “Clear Seeing . . . Not Clear Sailing.” For the very first time, Saul could see the truth clearly. He had experienced a saving encounter with the resurrected Christ; now he had been raised from death to life and was ready to begin his new life as the apostle Paul. Paul could now see clearly who Jesus was, what Jesus came to do, and what the cost was for being His disciple.

Not long after His conversion, Paul found that his Christian brothers and sisters feared him, and the Jews who had once been his friends were seeking to kill him. Paul now understood the truth that being a follower of Christ brings the promise of clear seeing, but not clear sailing. Paul’s writings make it clear that the Gospel he preached was no “prosperity gospel.”

I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles. (2 Corinthians 11:23-26)

The Lord Jesus never shrank from telling His disciples about the cost of following Him. Indeed, He told His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). “But take heart!” He continued. “I have overcome the world.” The more clearly we see this truth, speak this truth, and show this truth in love, the more we will be buffeted by the storm winds that blow. We must never forget that God’s promise to us is for clear seeing, not clear sailing.

What storms winds have you been facing lately? Have you been tempted to give in to discouragement or even despair? Remember these words from Paul, who lived a life marked by suffering and storms for the sake of the Gospel: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). And because He understood the promise of God so well, Paul was able to say, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. . . . I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12, 14).

Like the apostle Paul, the way for us to maintain through difficulty is to keep our eyes fixed on Christ, not on our circumstances, and to press on, with joy in our hearts and His praise on our lips, knowing that Jesus has promised to carry us safely to our final, glorious port of call.

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

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

You have probably heard the term “exchange rate,” which identifies the value of one country’s currency compared to that of another country. Today I’d like to offer a word of encouragement to you as we peer into the great depths of the eternal exchange rate . . . that is, the value of our eternal country’s currency compared to the earthly country of our present existence.

The deepest, most comprehensive view of our eternal exchange is best understood by looking at what took place on the cross at Calvary, where Jesus laid down His life for the lost. That exchange is set forth in our verse for today, 2 Corinthians 5:21, which tells us that Jesus exchanged His righteousness for our sin. Jesus Christ, the sinless Savior, stood in the place of the profoundly guilty — that’s you and me — and paid the penalty for our sin in full, redeeming us from our bondage to sin, Satan, and death by His perfect righteousness.

Jesus was tempted in every way, yet He remained sinless (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15). It would take a lifetime to grasp this unimaginable, eternal exchange rate graciously given to us by Jesus, and even then our finite, human understanding will fall short of comprehending this glorious truth. Jesus Christ willingly took off the rich, luxurious, sweet-smelling robes of perfect righteousness that are His by nature and by virtue of living a perfect life here on earth, and exchanged them for the vile, filthy, foul-smelling rags of sin that you and I wear by nature and by virtue of sinning countless times every single day we walk this earth. The key to living the life God has called us to live is to keep this incredible truth before us, always remembering that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

But that’s not all! Hear are three more incredible eternal exchange rates that should rock your world and fuel your desire to live for our Savior.

Jesus exchanged His blessings for our curses

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:14-15)

Jesus exchanged His perfect health for our diseases

He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

Jesus exchanged His glorious riches for our poverty

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

To think that the sinless Son of God would provide this kind of eternal exchange rate for fallen and broken sinners like you and me boggles the mind. Yet this is exactly what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit planned from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). When we keep in view what Jesus did for us on that cross, I am convinced that we will begin to embrace what it means to live the abundant life Jesus promised to those who believe.

So . . . have you cashed in on this eternal exchange rate from your Redeemer? Have you placed your trust in what Jesus Christ did on your behalf? If not, why not do so today?

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

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12)

Perhaps you have heard it said that the only Bible some people will ever read is you. That is completely true, so the question we all must ask ourselves is, “What kind of God do they see in me?” I hope that today’s meditation will both comfort and challenge you.

The greatest need that everyone in the world has today is to see God. Now, all of humanity are receipients of God’s general revelation; He is visible in nature, the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20), and He has set eternity in the hearts of men (Ecclesiastes 3:11). And yet, because God is love, the most recognizeabnle and compelling demonstration of God must come through His love in us that we share with others.

Jesus has told us that, after loving the Lord our God, the most important commandment is to love our neighbor as we love ourself (Mark 12:31). And He has given us this exhortation: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). We cannot be “camouflage Christians,” hiding the indwelling Spirit by acting just like the world around us. Throughout my years of service as a pastor, I have often heard people say that they just can’t seem to love others as God wants them to; I always respond by citing 1 John 4:13 — “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”

Due to our sinful nature, none of us are truly loving people; any love we that demonstrate to others is actually self-love, which has the ultimate goal of satisfying our deepest need, which is to be fully known and yet fully loved. But when God reveals Himself to us in Christ and raises us from death to life, we are given the Holy Spirit, who begins the process of giving us the ability to love . . . a godly, sacrificial love that flows from a heart that beats for the glory of God and the good of others — all others.

You see, when the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, our camouflage is supernaturally cast off , because “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). Now we are ready, willing, and most importantly, actually able to put God on display to the watching world. Our verse for today, 1 John 4:12, makes it clear that the best way for others to see our God is to see God’s love for them flowing through our lives. This Spirit-fueled love loves others at all times, with no thought of or desire for a return. We love simply because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and by loving others, we let the world see our loving God.

So let me ask you: Have you been camouflaging God’s love? Or have you been putting Him on display by loving others as Christ loves you? This is a choice we make moment by moment. And if you do indeed have the Spirit of God living within you, the choice is yours.

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

Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. (Exodus 23:12 ESV)

When you look at a printed page, you immediately notice that the space around the edges is white and without printed copy. This is known as the margin. If the words went all the way to the edges of the page, there would be no margin. For many of us, our lives are so completely filled with one activity after another that there is no margin . . . no room for down time, leisure, recreation, or rest. At this level of living, we are trapped in “No-Margin Misery.” But this is not for you! Read on and be encouraged.

In our passage today, we see what God thinks about margin, for He installed it into the weekly cycle of life. Notice that the Lord did not say, “Seven days shall you work.” Notice also that He did not say, “One day you shall work and rest the other six.” Our God who formed us in the womb knows exactly what we need, and He has installed margin around the borders on the pages of our lives.

And yet, in spite of God’s gracious provision, many people live marginless lives. Many people wear this marginless life as a kind of badge, because our culture exalts busyness and overextension. I know this from personal experience, because this I once wore this badge with pride. If you are way too busy and incredibly overextended, you assume that you are in a position of great importance and influence; you assure yourself that you are “indispensable.”

This fiction that feeds our ego, but in reality, when we maintain this marginless existence long enough, our lives begin to break down. We break down physically; we break down emotionally; we break down mentally; we break down spiritually. Worse still, everyone around us, especially those who mean the most to us, suffer . . . often in sorrowful silence. If you ask my wife, Kim, I’m sure she would frankly tell you that I carried this marginless mindset into my early years as a pastor, to the detriment of our family. Kim might wryly refer to my existence as “No-Margin Ministry.”

So what is the solution to No-Margin Misery? We must believe and trust that God’s plan for our lives is better than our plan. Remember, it is God who created us and it is God who knows best what we need. And we all need margin in our lives. As busy as Jesus was in His ministry to so many, He lived with the perfect amount of margin in His life. He often retreated to solitary places to pray. He took time for meals with others and attended wedding celebrations. On at least one occasion, He even took a nap! (Matthew 8:24).

Do you remember the instruction Jesus gave to Martha about margin? Both Martha and her sister Mary were busy preparing a meal for Jesus and His disciples, but Mary knew when to shut down and sit at the feet of her Master. Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen “what is better” — resting from her work to sit quietly in the presence of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). May this be the confession of all our lives.

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

Pray continually. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

When was the last time you considered the power of prayer? I want to encourage you today with prayer’s power from two perspectives: both offense and defense.

The idea of prayer as both an offensive and defensive weapon is not my own. When the apostle Paul described “the full armor of God” that allows us to take our stand against all Satan’s onslaughts, the final piece of the believer’s armor he described was prayer. Paul wrote: “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). We can and should use prayer both to go on the attack against the devil and to defend against the insistent, insidious attacks of the evil one.

The ninth chapter of Mark’s gospel tells us that while Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, a man brought his demon-possessed son to the disciples, who were unable to heal the boy. When Jesus returned from the mountain, the man came to Him, and Jesus promptly cast out the demon. Later, when the disciples were alone with Jesus, they asked Him why they could not cast the demon out; Jesus responded, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:29).

Jesus was telling the disciples that they were not doing enough “offensive” praying – that is, praying in advance to be used by God. I believe it’s likely the disciples had prayed over the boy, but Jesus was warning them that their prayer life was insufficient. Without persistent prayer, we will not mount the necessary offense against the spiritual battles which will inevitably be part of life on this earth.

As for using the power of prayer to maintain an effective defense, recall what Jesus said to his disciples as He entered the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak” (Mark 14:38).

The apostle Paul gave a very similar exhortation to Christian believers in Colossians 4:2, saying, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” The editors of the outstanding ESV Study Bible offer this commentary on that command: “Thanksgiving leavens prayer, so that it does not become merely a selfish pleading to have one’s desires fulfilled.” Defensive prayer prepares us to stand firm the ongoing assualts launched against us by the world, flesh, and the devil.

When you put both of these postures together — praying on offense and on defense –they show us how we are to fulfill the mandate of 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “Pray continually.” The Christian life is to be marked by prayer and continual communion with our God.

Let’s close out today’s mesage by returning Mark’s account of the healing the demon-possessed boy. Mark 9:25 tells us that Jesus commanded the demon to come out of the boy, and the demon immediately obeyed. There was no prayer involved. Why? Because Jesus was in constant communion and prayer with His Father in heaven. There were times He spent all night in prayer. Our Lord lived in the posture of prayer, and this is how we are to live as His disciples: praying on offense and on defense, which gives us strength to stand firm in the power of the Spirit of God.

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

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

When the sky is blue, the clouds are fleecy, and the sun is brightly shining, you and I have a tendency to live unreflectively. When things are going well, we have a natural tendency to settle into unreflective ruts of routine. But God wants us to live reflectively, and often He will send a seasonal storm to recenter our attention on what matters most in life. Read on, and I hope you will be greatly encouraged this day!

Storms come in all sizes. Some are quick and mild, while others rage on and on and on. From losing a sale to losing a job to losing a loved one, storms are promised to come our way. Some of the storms are terrible, like what Paul and Timothy suffered, and their despair was almost palpable.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so we despaired even of life. (2 Corinthians 1:8)

We are not given any inspired insight into what the hardships Paul and Timothy suffered actually were, but they were enough to drive them to despair even of life itself. But Paul did not stay mired in the “Slough of Despond.” He immediately provided us with the necessary instruction to help us get through any storm we are facing today.

Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:9)

The storms Paul and Timothy faced were ultimately for God’s glory and their good, and those storms caused these two men of God to rely more and more upon their God and to fix their thoughts on Him. It never ceases to amaze me just how much more reflectively I live my life when the storm winds begin to blow. They have a tendency to set my priorities straight. Storms show us what matters most, and they are designed to lead us back into the shadow of the cross to reflect upon all that God in Christ has done and is doing for us.

In short, storms are the undoing of living unreflectively. But we need not wait for storms winds to redirect our attention; we can decide in advance that we will set our hope not on what is seen, but what is unseen. Remember, Christian, regardless of the trials we face in the here and now, there is a “city that is to come whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10), a divine dwelling where all storm winds we be stilled and despair will be as far from us as the east is from the west.

So . . . what should you be reflecting upon today?

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

I will strengthen you and help you. (Isaiah 41:10)

Today’s word from the God who so loves us is a wonderful guarantee that is designed to both comfort and challenge every one of His children. Let’s take a look.

First, notice who has given us this promise of strengthening . . . it is none other than God Himself. Omnipotence has promised us strength; who would dare doubt such a guarantee? The Lord God Omnipotent possesses an endless stream of strength that is not diminished in any way when He gives us a portion of it. 

Next, notice that God does not specify in which season we will be strengthened. Therefore, we are to take this promise to mean all seasons. God has promised to strengthen us in our seasons of serene, successful service and He has promised to strengthen us in our seasons of stormy, sorrowful service. Regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in, at all times we have this guarantee from God: I will strengthen you!

Clearly, this guarantee from God should be a source of unimaginable comfort, but the living and active Word of God does not stop there; it goes on to challenge us to rise above any obstacle that stands in our way. And we can rise because our strength does not come from within, but from above. Human weakness is no impediment to divine strength. In fact, Paul tells us that when we are weak, our God is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). We can trust Him to strengthen us when we have no strengh of our own.  

• The fearful are given courage.
• The doubting are given conviction.
• The lonely are given company.
• The weak are given confidence.
• The broken are given compassion.

These seasons of fear, doubt, lonliness, weakness, and brokenness are just a few of the obstacles we face in this life; in these and all others God has promised to give us the strength we need to see them through.

So let me ask you a very important question right now: What strength are you in short supply of today? Fear not! Go to your Savior and ask Him, “Strengthen me supernaturally according to your Word!” His mercies are new every morning; His faithfulness knows no boundaries (Lamentations 3:22-23). Ask, and you will receive His strength and His help.

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