Tag Archives: Grace

Judgement and Grace

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I really want the Lord to judge “them” for their sin.

Whoever “they” are, and whatever “they” are doing, I want Him to get them. After all, they deserve judgment. I mean, look at what they are doing! God, go get ’em!

Now, for me and I my sins, I want grace. I want forgiveness. I want God’s mercy for the mistakes that I make every day.

For “them” and their sins, I want the holiness of God to come and smite them for the mistakes that they make. For me and my sins, I want the grace of God to smooth over the rough edges of my life and remind me that I’m His beloved child, no matter what.

So, to recap, I want judgment for them, and grace for me.

All of us as Christians are tempted to live that way. To think that we are the righteous and they are the sinners. We as Christians are sometimes (most times) tempted to live a life of judgment.

Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 14:10-12:

“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Paul says who are you to pass judgment on another? And in our society, we like that verse because it lets us off the hook. We can say, “Don’t judge me!”

But Paul is really saying this: we are not to judge each other, because ultimately, we will all stand before a truly righteous judge one day. One day, we will all give account to God for our lives and what we do.

This passage isn’t a “get out of jail free card” but a reality check card. We don’t judge because we are not worthy of being a judge. Only God is.

Because of that, I want to live that graceful life that is given mercy for my sin, as well as your sin. Only God can judge.

None of us are good enough to judge.

But, God is.

And how does He respond to our sin? Grace.

May we respond the same way to others and their sin.

And may we all seek to live our God’s grace and life in our lives.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones

Thorn in the Flesh

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I don’t like being weak. I don’t like asking for help. I’m a pretty independent guy. I can pretty much do it for myself and I have to ask you to help me, then it’s not worth doing.

I hate asking for help. I hate not being able to do it myself.

But, here’s the thing about faith. We can’t do it by ourselves. We can and aren’t able to save ourselves. We have to ask for help; we have to ask for God’s help.

Listen to what Paul talks about today in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Paul said to keep him from boasting, he had a thorn in the flesh given to him. No one knows what it was, but whatever it was, it made him weak. It humbled him. It made him turn to God and ask for it to be removed.

He asked God to take it away. And each time, God said no. Because God’s power is made perfect in Paul’s weakness.

Why? Why does Paul have this thorn? Why do we have to deal with similar things? Why must we go through this?

Because God’s grace is sufficient. God’s grace is all we need. And we have to turn to it for strength.

For comfort.

For life.

Today, especially, if you are like me, the “not ask for help, I can do it all myself” type person, stop. Turn to God. Find His grace. Mercy. Grace. Forgiveness.

We can’t do it alone. We aren’t good enough or strong enough. We need Him and His life.

Turn to God. Find His life. His mercy. His hope. His purpose.

Today, may we find our strength in His strength. And may we find our life in His life.

May our thorns in the flesh be used for what they were made for.

To turn us to Him.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are

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One of my favorite songs by Rich Mullins is entitled We are Not as Strong as we Think we Are. It’s not a song that many of us have heard; I heard it for the first time when I was in college.

I was going through a rough time, that odd point in life when you aren’t sure where your place is in life; what God is calling you to; what you will do. I always enjoyed Rich Mullins’ music and I bought his CD (yes, I’m so old I remember CDs!) Songs. And I hear this song. The words still resonate with me today:

We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made . . . we must be awfully small and not strong as we think we are.

That song summed up the tension of life so well to me. We are frail and weak, but we are also fearfully and wonderfully made.

But we need the humility to understand that we are not a strong as we think we are.

Listen to what Jesus says today in Matthew 23:11-12:

The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

We must humble ourselves. We must arrogance has no place in our hearts. We stand on God’s grace and mercy. And we are not as strong as we think w are.

Our strength comes not from ourselves, but from Him. Our ability to stand is not our own, but His. Our life is not our life, but His.

Today, know you are fearfully and wonderfully made. But also know that you are frail and needy.

And know that when we humble ourselves, realize our weakness, we will find His strength. Today, may we live with humility. And may we find His strength.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

The Way Grace Works

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Grace is being given something that we haven’t earned, or don’t deserve.

It is a true gift. Grace is God’s true gift to us. We don’t deserve it. We can’t earn it. It’s not something that we can make God give us. It’s something, that is we are good enough, God will give us.

It’s simply His undeserved gift to us.

We all love it when we get grace. We when we get God’s undeserved mercy for ourselves. But what about then “they” get it? Whoever “they” are, when “they” get grace. And we all have a “they.”

Listen to what Jesus says today in Matthew 20:10-15:

Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’

Is He not able to give grace to whoever He wants to?

There are no levels of degrees of grace. None of us deserve it. Not me, not you, not “them.” None of us.

All of us are offered it. Me. You. And “them.” We just have to receive it.

That’s how grace works. It’s God’s free gift to the world.

That means that God loves you more than you’ll ever know. And He loves “them” more than you’ll ever know.

So, the way that grace works is this. We are called to love “them” as well.

I know, I know. I don’t want to do it either. It’s hard. It’s tough. It’s something that none of us want to do. But, as long as we allow ourselves to be consumed with unforgiveness towards others. Or contempt for others. Or even hate for others, we lock ourselves in a cage.

We are trapped. We are not free.

Do they deserve our love and forgiveness?

No.

Do we deserve God’s love and forgiveness?

No. It’s a gift. That’s the way that grace works.

Today, may we live in God’s grace and love. And may we give that to others.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Don’t Settle for Crumbs

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Today, we ready the story of Jesus feeding the 4000. Jesus actually feeds a lot people in ministry. Here, He feeds the 4000. Elsewhere in Scripture, He feeds that 5000. There are lots of folks that get fed by Jesus in the Bible.

And, when we look at this story, we could look at it in so many different ways. We can see so many different things. That’s the beauty of the Bible, to me, we can read the same passage over and over again, and have the Holy Spirit reveal something different every time.  Listen to what we hear in Matthew 15:34-38:

And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

Today, as I was reading this passage what struck me was the amount of food that was left over.

This meal started with 7 loaves and some fish. That’s not much. And look what is left. Seven baskets.

So, 7 loaves (and fish) turns into 7 baskets. Wow. that’s amazing.

And that’s what God does for you. And for me. He gives us more than enough.

He takes care of our needs, in ways that we don’t even this is possible.

Even if it doesn’t look like it. When they were hungry and waiting, the people probably just would have settle for crumbs.

Instead, Jesus wanted to give them a feast. He wanted them to have not just enough. He wanted them to have an abundance. So does He for you today.

Maybe it’s not an abundance of possessions (and it’s probably not!) but an abundance of grace. Of love. Of mercy. Of forgiveness. Of service.

Of life.

Today, God wants the best for you. He wants you to really and truly live.

But, just like in the text, that life flows only from Jesus. Today, feast on His goodness and mercy.

Don’t settle for crumbs. Seize His life. And life in abundance He has for you!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Doing our Part

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I sometimes think of what Dr. Bryson, one of my professors at Mississippi College, used to say about Paul. He said, sort of jokingly, that we as preachers would rather preach on Paul than Jesus. He said Paul was hard understand, so we could preach for hours about Him.

He said Jesus wasn’t hard to understand. He was just hard to follow. It’s not hard to understand loving your enemy. It’s really, really hard to do.

Today in Philippians 2:12-13, we have one of those Paul passages that can be hard to understand at first.

Listen to what it says:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Is Paul telling us that we have to earn our salvation? That our salvation is up to us? That its something that we have to “do?” He says to work it out.

But then, notice what he says right after, it’s God that works through you. For His will and good pleasure.

So, well then. Which is it? Do we work it out, or is it God that is at work?

Yes!

We do our part. We are faithful. We put ourselves in a position to hear God speak and move in us.

One of my mentors used to always say – pray, read your bible, and go to church. That won’t make everything easy or perfect, but it will put you in a position to hear God.

So, we do our part. We put ourselves in a position to hear God and know God.

And God moves. God speaks. God changes us. God saves us. God works on us.

So, we’ve done our part. And God does His. We don’t earn it. It’s not about anything we can do. It’s about all that He has done and is doing.

And, the very fact that we have the desire to know Him, to follow Him, to love Him, to put ourselves in that position?

That desire comes from Him. He is at work. Even in the acts of faithfulness. He is at work, calling us to be faithful.

So, today, let’s do our part. And let’s know that in that, God is at work. And He will be working on us for His good pleasure.

Let’s be faithful. And let’s see what God will do in our lives!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Today, You are Forgiven

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I read a Max Lucado quote a million years ago that I think of quite often. He said “The reason God hates sin so much is because of what it does to His children. It destroys them.” The longer I live the more I find that to be true. Sin destroy us. John 10:10 tells us that the thief (the devil) comes to rob, to kill, and to destroy.

That is what sin does in the big picture. It’s also what it does in our own lives. When we sin, when we do something stupid, when we fall, what happens, at least in my life, is this.

I run from God. I’m ashamed. I’m embarrassed. I feel like I’ve failed. And I want to hide from God.

That’s what sin does. It separates us from God.

So, today, listen to what we read in Hebrews 4:14-16:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We have a high priest, Jesus, who has been tested as are, and yet remained sinless. He became the perfect sacrifice for us. He atoned for us. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves.

He allows us to go home. He allows us to stop running. He allows us to have peace.

He lets us know the fullness of God’s mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

Today, you are forgiven. Today, you can come home. Today, you can start over. Today, you can draw near. Today, you are new.

Not because of anything you’ve done, or haven’t done. But totally because of what He has done for us through Jesus.

Today, you are forgiven. May we each draw close to our God today!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Come Home

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There will be a break in posts for about a week or so, my family is going to Disney World this Sunday following worship at Asbury (come join us 8:20 or 10:40!).  I’ll be back the next week and resume posting then!

The Old Testament prophets are constantly warning the people. Stop doing the things that you are doing to break the law.

Stop abusing the poor.

Stop worshiping idols.

Stop departing from God.

They tell the people, over and over again, if you do not stop, there will be judgement. There will be pain.

Sin hurts. Sin destroys. Sin looks like it will be a good thing, it will bring fun, it will bring life, but it doesn’t. It only brings destruction and pain and hurt and loss.

It was once written the reason God hates sin so much is because it destroys His children.

Today, we hear the other word of the prophets. Come home. Listen to what it says in Joel 2: 12-14:

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?

If you return, return with your heart, He will forgive your sin. He will forgive, He will restore.

He will make it, and all things new. He will give hope and peace.

He will welcome us back home.

So today, no matter where we are, when we turn back to Him, He welcomes us back home.

Today, no matter where you are, God wants you to come home.

Peace, life, love and forgiveness are found in Him. And found there. Today, may we return to Him and find what we are looking for.

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

At Your Worst Moment

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Today’s passage has one of the most powerful and important concepts in all of scripture. Today’s passage lays one of the most important truths about God out for us.

Paul, in Romans, is laying out for us the fact that we are saved by grace through faith, not by anything that we can do. Our salvation comes not by our works, not by our actions, but it comes from the grace of God which is freely given, not earned.

Listen to what He says today in Romans 5:6-8:

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While we were still weak, Christ died for the ungodly. Other versions translate that passage by saying that while we were still His enemies Christ died for us. And then says that God shows His love for us that while we sinners, Christ died.

Wow. Think about that truth for a second.

While you were at your worst moment. The moment you were furthest away from God. The moment that you had wandered away. At you weakest. Most sinful. Lowest moment that you have had in your life.

At that moment. That’s when Jesus died for you.

He didn’t die for you because you had earned it. He died for you because He loves you.

And He wants to redeem you. He wants to save you. He wants to give you grace.

At your worst moment. At your biggest failure. At the time when you blew it up the most.

It was at that moment Jesus died for you.

Wow. When we are at our lowest, God loves us the most. When we are at our weakest, God is the strongest. When we are most unlovable, that’s when God gives us the most grace.

Today, at your weakest moment, God loved you. Today, in our all of lives, no matter where we are, weak or strong, may we know how much He really does love us.

And may that love cause us to love, serve, and follow Him, each moment of our lives!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.

Grace, Faith, and Life

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I love the book of Galatians. It may be my favorite book in the Bible. It speaks to so many things about faith, about grace, about the Christian lifestyle, about who we are called to be.

Today’s ready reading deals with two of the things we deal with.

Grace and sin.

Listen to what Paul says today in Galatians 2:15-20:

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

First Paul reminds of this central, core fact. We are saved by grace through faith. We are not saved by our works. We are not saved by anything we can do. We are saved by God’s grace made full in our lives.

Our works do not save us. Nothing we
“do” saves us. Only grace, through faith, saves us.

That’s it. That’s the list.

Ok then, what does that look like? We see that in verses 17 – 20. That grace makes us a new person. We are changed. We are different. We are not the same person that we were before.

We are new. We are different. We think different. We act different. We are new.

So, today, know this one face. You are saved by God’s grace which is made known to you by faith. That is what enables and makes salvation possible. That’s it.

But that salvation will change us. It will make us different. We don’t need to be the same. We need to be different. And if we’ve experienced grace, if we’ve experienced salvation and are not changed, how is it with our souls.

Today, we are made new by grace in our lives. Today, may that grace change us and grow us closer to God in amazing and powerful ways!

Don’t forget, you can click here to download Asbury’s mobile app and read these devotionals, as well as listen to my sermons on your smart phones.