grace

Marvelous Mercy

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” – 1 Peter 5:8-9 We learned yesterday how David’s son Adonijah attempted to usurp the throne from his ailing father, who had already decided that Solomon would be his successor. After participating in a coronation ceremony that he planned with his brothers, Adonijah threw a huge party to celebrate his self-appointed reign. The only problem was that while he was busy grabbing power through human means, Solomon — the man chosen by God for the job — was rightfully crowned and received the blessing of the people. This was kind of a spoiler for the guests at Adonijah’s soiree, and Scripture says that when

September 8, 2021 No Comments

Manifold Mercy

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” – Ephesians 2:4,5 I love that the Bible says that God is rich in mercy. In fact, I believe His grace and forbearance come in waves, and like surfers catch the swells and ride atop their crests effortlessly, when we flow with the currents of His goodness, we experience a life that is exhilaratingly free. That said, in order to tap into this liberty, we must do one very important thing, and that is to forgive ourselves. While some of us struggle every day with the shame of wrong choices or hard living in our past, others of us grapple with the pain of not being perfect. And because our Savior has set eternity in our hearts

August 20, 2021 No Comments

Jesus Is

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” – John 1:18 The life of Jesus exemplifies perfect theology. What I mean is that if we want a totally accurate depiction of what God is like, we need only look at His Son. When we study how our Savior acted, how He preached, how He ministered, and how He loved people, we learn about the values and priorities of the Lord Himself. Knowing this, we can internalize the heart of our Creator by examining the way He behaved toward people when He was in the flesh. For instance, He was a servant leader — He didn’t go around making others sick to teach them a lesson or harming them to get His point across. He also didn’t use fear, guilt, or

August 18, 2021 No Comments

The Allure of Gentleness

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” – Philippians 4:5 I don’t know about you, but the world we’re living in wears on me sometimes. Especially since the dawn of the pandemic, it seems like there’s an angry energy that’s permeating society. While I believe it’s fueled by political tensions, a barrage of fear, and the pressures put on us by an increasingly media and image-driven culture, at the end of the day, it’s draining. Sharp edges and harshness seem to be all too common in interactions and reactions, and this is precisely why the children of God need to step up and be the antidote. Like Dallas Willard once said, there’s an “allure in gentleness,” and especially in times like these, we can be a source of healing and comfort to people. Because we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we have the power to forgo

August 15, 2021 3 Comments

Jesus for the Defense

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5 I think one of the best ways to envision how Jesus, our advocate and mediator, intervenes in our lives is to imagine a courtroom in Heaven. Packed full of people and ripe with anticipation, everyone looks intently at the judge. The defendant is on trial for a multitude of criminal offenses, and the prosecutor is the mangy old devil. He snarls as each new witness takes the stand, and he determinedly accuses and builds a case against the suspect. In his closing argument, he passionately declares, “Your Honor, the accused is addicted to pain pills, she’s really jealous of the lady at her job, she’s mean to her kids, and she just said a horrible thing to her sister.” On hearing him, the room goes totally silent, and it’s clear

August 9, 2021 No Comments

Don’t Let Fear Stop You

“After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” – Genesis 15:1 Faith is not the absence of fear, it’s moving forward in spite of fear. The Lord never promises to take away our feelings of fright, but He assures us that He’ll be with us in the midst of them. When He tells us not to be afraid, He’s not asking us to pretend to be stronger than we are, He’s simply inviting us to trust His power as we move ahead. For instance, some of you reading this might have a fear of flying. No matter how many people tell you that it’s safe, you still get jittery when you fasten your seatbelt and hear the engines roaring. Although your chances of being in a plane crash are one out of

August 8, 2021 2 Comments

Grace is Greater Than Guilt

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 1:14 Something I’ve learned as I’ve counseled people through the years is that shame always leads to sin and grace always leads to goodness. Nothing helpful comes from self-condemnation and guilt; rather, righteousness and holiness come from a base of grace, or an understanding that acceptance is not dependent upon behavior. The truth is that being emotionally healthy, grounded, and secure is only possible when we understand that in Christ, we are loved just as we are. God knew we were helpless to help ourselves, so He stooped down to us when we were still sinners and made us righteous by the blood of Jesus. This means that if we’ve said “yes” to our Savior’s redemption, we’ve already attained perfection in His eyes. And while

August 5, 2021 No Comments

Help Isn’t Hurried

“In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.’” – Luke 10:30-33 Today, I want to remind you of something important: you cannot help people and be in a hurry. Yesterday, we talked about becoming compassionate listeners and how, by opening our ears and hearts up to others, the Holy Spirit can use us to bring healing to the world. However, if

July 31, 2021 2 Comments

The Anointing of Nourishment

“But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” – 1 John 2:27 For the past few days, we’ve seen that as Christians, we have an anointing of power, light, and healing on our lives. Today, I want to talk about one final manner of authority we have in our heavenly covering, and that is nourishment. In Biblical times, the olive oil that was used to anoint physical bodies was also a critical source of nutrition. In dry and parched desert regions, the fat it provided was vital fuel that kept people going on long journeys across the wilderness. Even in small amounts, it had a satiating effect, and it was an important part of

July 25, 2021 No Comments

The Anointing of Power

“Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head.” – Exodus 29:7 In Christianity, we talk a lot about our anointing in Christ, but few of us actually understand where the term originates. Turns out that the practice of anointing actually began with sheep. Since they were prone to the infestation of bugs in their ears, someone figured out that slathering their heads with olive oil kept insects away. Then, later on, someone else wondered if it might work for humans also. Since there was no running water in ancient times, baths were not a common thing, and people tended to smell pretty bad. Even worse, because they traveled long distances and got really dirty, they also attracted bugs. Therefore, anointing their heads was a way to lessen body odor and shield themselves from creepy crawlers. Later, it became a religious ritual that was employed in

July 22, 2021 No Comments

Marvelous Mercy

Manifold Mercy

Jesus Is

Jesus for the Defense

Don’t Let Fear Stop You

Grace is Greater Than Guilt

Help Isn’t Hurried

The Anointing of Nourishment

The Anointing of Power

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