Tag: <span>grace</span>

“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants…”  Luke 17:10    “Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?  Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?” Job 22:2-3 “We have not, as his servants, profited or benefited God at all.” J.F.B. Elihu repeats the same: “If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him? And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?  If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand?” Job 35:6-7  What’s the point? Have you ever struggled with your identity? Do you see that identity as connected intimately to your performance record? I dare say, many do —…

“And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Samuel 9:1 David never forgot the love of his friend, Jonathan. This man had helped David escape at a time when Saul’s jealous wrath was pointed toward him. Jonathan was a friend that loved at all times, a brother born for adversity — a rare, but loyal and true friend. As we navigate the perils of the Christian’s call, we certainly have a similar friend, Jesus. Touched with the feelings of our infirmities, He meets us at the Throne of grace. Here we find acceptance in spite of our broken hearts, mercy that rejoices against a certain judgment. As the story of 2 Samuel goes, found in the shadows of Lodebar (pastureless), was a forgotten son of Jonathan whose name was Mephibosheth. “Then King David sent and brought…

“For we are human, weak and prone to wrong,And by Thy grace alone are we made strong.”Henry Coyle, Thankful Heart In the midst of our failed attempts at loving Jesus, His grace covers us. Francis Chan, Crazy Love Grace needs nothing added to it. It’s either you believe it’s all God’s grace or you believe you have to help God do his work. God saved the believer by his grace, and the believer cannot take any credit for it – none whatsoever. It is totally a gift from God, and you have to understand that you don’t pay for a gift nor do you work for a gift. Thomas Young, The Truth About God’s Grace “Grace is more than love; it is love set absolutely free and made to be a triumphant Victor over the righteous judgment of God over the sinner.” Chafer “Grace, the glorious theme.” “God answers the mess of…

Traveling this week to Africa for missions trip. I will be gone for two weeks. Many thoughts accompany me as I prepare. I think of Moses famous line in Exodus 33:   “…If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.”  Exodus 33:15 Moses had the assuring Word of God’s presence from the previous verses, nevertheless, he repeated back to God how much His grace was desired and needed. Moses was seeing that to have found grace in God’s sight means that God would surely accompany them on the journey. Something undeserving to Moses could not be compromised — otherwise — not going! I wondered about how much of this sense formed my mindset. Did I expect this grace? Could I leave without it? Funny that I would compare my little adventure with the great Moses. Regardless, deeply worked into Moses psyche, appeared a desparation — “without…

Two brothers approached and offered God yield of their life occupations. One offered a sheep, the other fruit. God respected one offering, the other, He rejected. The Genesis story describes two men and their God, two men shaped in iniquity, two men born outside the presence of the Almighty, two men excluded from the ongoing fellowship which their parents had enjoyed. A similar state belongs to every human born of Adam, it includes us also. Question? How do we approach Him? Do we need to appease God, or do we simply present the “already accepted” offering of a Savior? Do we need to do anything? What reconnects man and his God? First simple observation — production alone will not appease Him. Why? Because God cannot accept any works, fruit, or outcomes which have been born, developed or perfected by a sin-infected soul, including motivation or handiwork. Sorry but any product…

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1Timothy 3:16 “Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”  1 Timothy 3:9 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”  Colossians 1:26 – 27 Many are the mysteries. The gospel, the second coming of Christ, the rapture of the Church, partial blindness to Israel are some of these. Also there is the mystery of iniquity, which does already work in 2 Thessalonians 2:9. Though many mysteries abound,  many also are revealed to…

We meet a lot of precious people who hold high standards for their life. Many of these good people rely on their track record of goodness and good deeds to determine their self-image — its mostly a good one. Nevertheless, these fail at glorifying a holy standard which magnifies the only One to be exemplified, Jesus Christ. Yea, this “fine point” of discernment remains the most critical, indeed it divides the Christian from the world. Who was this Christ? Some Bible words which characterize Him: Meek and lowly of heart, having no place to lay His head, through His Poverty we are made rich. Didn’t He do many good works? Yes, as He followed His Father, Father led Him to work miracles, healing lepers, delivering children, even raising dead people. Friends, sadly our current secular culture demands “good” works — but these good works cannot compare to the deeds produced…

“…Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?” Genesis 3:8=9 Have you heard? God talks to sinners. “…And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? Genesis 4:5-6 God talks with angry men. He goes on to say much more to Cain, even after Abel’s slaying. To say it straightforwardly, if God never spoke to sinners, we’re all lost. Often the words are ignored. “…And forthwith he (Judas), came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. And Jesus said unto him, ‘Friend, wherefore art thou come?’” We know the unfortunate ending for Judas. Matthew 26:49-50 But, Jesus, God incarnate, spoke to an adulteress in John 8: “When…

“In short, no one can purge him or herself from all faith assumptions, and assume an objective, belief-free, pure openness to objective evidence. Hume There is no “View from nowhere.” “…all reasoning is based on prior faith commitments to which one did not reason.” Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Merleau-Ponty. “…reason depends on the faith that our cognitive senses — our eyes and ears, our minds and memories, are not tricking us.” “…the declaration that science is the only arbiter of truth is not itself a scientific finding, it is a belief.” Evans All quotes taken from “Making Sense of God” by Timothy Keller So? Though a tough truth to swallow, reasoning requires faith. Let’s explore this farther. The Bible attributes to man a bearing-witness conscience. Romans 2:15 etc. A faculty for discerning, it accuses or excuses.  All men have this faculty of passing judgment on their actions. It acts according to the…

“The unjust conceives iniquity in his heart, there is no fear of God before his eyes. He is unwilling to see his sins forgiven, or to hate them. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit, he is unwilling to do good. He devises mischief upon his bed, he walks in a way that is not good, that he may do evil.” Psalm 36:1-4 Lamsa translation .  Have you met him? How did it happen to him?  Easy, he simply followed the way of a human being. I saw this expression on a person’s sweatshirt: “Be better Human Beings.” Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… Forgive me for laughing.  This person has likely adjusted their soul to our Psalm 36 man: alarm free-living “Consciousness of sin” free-living. “Hatred for sin” free-living. God free-living. Mischief > evil. These do not understand the concept of “weight.” First,…