Tag Archives: Grace

His Grace is Enough

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None of us like to be weak. None of like to think about or be reminded about the things that we don’t do well. None of us enjoy these things.

But, we all have them. We all have areas of weakness. We have things that are painful.

And I’m not talking about temptation. I’m not talking things that we are not great at. I’m talking about things that hurt. That tender spot in your life that when you, or someone else, touches it, it really hurts.

I’m talking about those flaws, those pains, that when they flare up, it hurts. I talking about the things in our lives that make us doubt ourselves, doubt God, doubt everything.

I’m talking about the spot in your life that have flung your hands up to the heavens and yelled – please God, please take this.  That is what Paul is talking about today in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Listen to what he say when talking about his thorn in the flesh:

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. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul asks three times for God to take this thorn. To take this from him. To give him relief and peace.  And God doesn’t take it.

Because sometimes, we need that moment and spot of weakness to know how strong God is. We need to sometimes be reminded of how weak we are, to know how strong He is.

When we see what we can’t do, we are reminded about what He can do. When we see that efforts are enough, we see that His are more than enough.

In our weakness, His grace is made perfect.

His grace is enough. For you. Today. No matter what you are going though. No matter what your weakness. No matter what your pain. No matter what is happening. His grace is enough. For you. Today.

Rest in His grace. Rest in His mercy. Rest in His life. Rest in His hope. Rest in His strength. It is enough for you.

Even in your weakness, in your hurts, in your frailties. God is enough for you. Know that. Live that. Believe that.

Transformed

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You were not created to stay the same. We, as Christians, we created to be changed. To be transformed. To be different. To be changed.

That is reassuring. Because none of us are perfect, none of us are as we ought to be, none of us have hit the exact mark that God would want us to hit.

We are all lacking, all imperfect, all as the old saying goes “missing the mark.”

That doesn’t mean that we should be satisfied with our imperfections. It doesn’t mean that all is perfect and we should be ok with where things are wrong. We shouldn’t.

Because we were not created for that. No matter where you are; no matter what has happend in your life; no matter what is going on, God has a plan for you that is more than you can dream or imagine. God has a plan for you that is bigger than your heart’s desire. God dream for you life and and peace and grace.

And God is going to transform you to bring it into being.

Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Our job is to be faithful. To read. To pray. To worship. To be part of His body and put ourselves in a position to be changed. And He will do the rest. He will change, transform and clean us up.

Today, be faithful. Follow Him. And He will have you where He needs you to be. God is good. You are loved. May He transform us and make us into His image!

A Turning From

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This morning, as I was praying and reading, I read a verse that I’d read a good many times in prayer in the morning, but it had never really stood out to me, until today. I ready from Psalm 38, and in verse 18 it says “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

And that got me to thinking. I spend time in my prayer time confessing my sin – Lord I’m sorry for this, forgive me for that. That’s healthy. That’s what God wants us to do. The Bible teaches us confess our sins, and He is faithful and just and will forgive us.

But this verse in Psalm 38 hit me, I am sorry for my sin. And I thought, huh. Am I really sorry? Do I really feel sorry for the sins I’ve committed against God and against others.

Huh.

And then I read in today’s reading from Matthew 3:11-2.  Liste to what it says:

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Today,  John the Baptist came saying that he comes with water for repentance but Jesus was coming with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

And so these things all tumbled around in my brain this morning and it became clear to me. I (and we) are called to than just confess our sin. We are feel that since of sorrow over wrongs done.

And we are to repent (i.e. turn from) these things.

That thing in your life, that thing that causes you pain? That hurts you? That hurts your family? That thing is not God’s will for you. God’s will for you is something good. Something life giving. Something that will bring you joy and peace and life.

God wants good things for you. Really.

The reason why He wants us to feel sorrow and turn from our sins is that these things aren’t life giving. They are life draining. And God wants to give us life.

Today in our lives, may we turn from the things that take away life, and turn to the things that give us. May we feel sorrow over wrongs done, but feel joy over forgiveness offered.

God loves you. Really. He does. May we turn from the things that turn us away from Him. And turn to the things that turn us to Him.

He is good. And His mercy endures forever.

Because of the Tender Mercy of our God

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In the passage today that we are reflecting upon, we see Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, praise God for what God is going to do through his son. We know from the story of John the Baptist, that he was a man that, shall we say, lived outside the norm.

John lived away from it all, and he lived a life with a singular purpose – to point the way and prepare the people for the coming of Christ. He was the baptizer, out by the river, calling folks to righteousness, calling them to repent, calling them to follow the path of God.

And calling them to get ready for the one that would save the people from their sin. Calling them to salvation.

Why? Why did John do this? Why did God call him to this, and why did God give Zechariah and Elizabeth at their advanced age this child that would grow into this man? Listen to what Luke says in Luke 1:74-79:

that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

We see – because of His tender mercy. Because of His mercy, God gives light. Because of His mercy, God gives hope. Because of his tender mercy, God gives the freedom to serve.

Look at what it also says in verse 74 – we might serve Him without fear.

God desires today that you serve Him, but not out of fear. Out of love. Out of grace. Out of His tender mercy. He loves you. He gives His son for you. He gives us each folks pointing the way to Him.

And He wants us to respond. To serve. To love. To care. To obey. Because of the tender mercy of our God we have been given grace and salvation.

And He wants us to serve Him without fear. Today, and each day, may we do that!

Another Church Word

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We see John the Baptist enter the scene today in scripture with a simple, but profound message.  Listen to what John says in Matthew 3:1-3:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'”

John says this – repent.  Repent, or repentance, is something that I call a “church word.” It’s a word that we use in church and we Christians can say at lot, but we don’t really know what it means.

It’s just a word that we hear used, or we used, or we say when we want to sound Christian. We hear preachers say it, we talk about, but sometimes we really aren’t sure what it even means.

So, today, John says repent. What does He mean by that? Repentance is a turning away from you sin.

It’s not just feeling bad about sin. That’s conviction. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin and cause us to realize that there are things in our lives, sins we are committing that we need to stop. That’s conviction.

Repentance is turning from these sins. It’s stopping, and walking away. Fleeing. Doing a 180. Going the other way. Getting out of dodge. Whatever phrase you want to you use.

That’s what it means to repent. And that is what God wants for us today. There are sins, things we are doing, that are causing us great harm and pain, and causing great harm and pain to those that we love.

That’s not God’s will and plan for us. That’s not what He wants. And today, He us to, and He will help us to, turn from those things. He will give us strength. He will give us courage. He will help us.

Repentance leads to life. Which is God’s plan for us. Life.

Today, what are the ares you need to turn away from? What are the areas that you need to give fully to Him. Today, John talks about repenting. Today, and each day, may we turn away from the things that cause us harm.

Being Thankful: We Don’t Get What We Deserve Podcast

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The sermon podcast for Sunday, November 13, 2011 is up on Asbury Church’s website.  This is second sermon in our series “Being Thankful.”  We talk about in this message how we are thankful that we don’t get what we deserve.  The text for this sermon is Exodus 32:1-14  Also by clicking on these verses you can see my notes from the sermon as a note in the YouVersion online Bible.   You can listen to it by clicking here, or you can listen to it here on this blog by clicking the link below. And, as always, you can subscribe to my sermon podcasts through iTunes.

CLICK HERE

We Don’t Get What We Deserve

How Do You React?

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There are lots of good Bible Songs we learned as children. I love seeing kids today, my kids in particular, learn the old songs that I learned when I was a kid.

Formost among them is Zacchaeus. You remember him, right? He was a wee little man and a wee little man was he? Most all of us know that song pretty well, and my deepest hope is that after reading the first line from the song just now, you’ll have the song stuck in your head the rest of the day 🙂

But I bet most of us remember more about the song than we do the actual story in the Bible. When we look at the story, there’s lots of things to notice.

Zacchaeus was tax collector, which means in this day he was despised by all, because he worked collecting taxes for the hated Roman government. It also mean that because of his power, he was a thief, he was able to rob from others under the cloak of tax collecting.

He was not a well-liked person.

Listen to the story, as found in Luke 19: 5-10:

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. “So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

And, so, it was very surprising when Jesus not only told Zacchaeus to come down, but told him that He would be coming to Zacchaeus’ home. Which is always a big deal. But in that day, it was more than a meal. Jesus is saying, but coming to his home, that he was worthy. He was loved. Jesus love him. Jesus saw his worth. In spite of all the rotten things Zacchaeus had done, Jesus still loved him.

That’s powerful. That’s awesome. Jesus loved Zacchaeus more than He disapproved of the things that he had done.

And then, we see the reaction of the people. They grumbled. They said why? Why would Jesus go there? Don’t they know that Zacchaeus is a bad guy? Not worth much? A liar and a cheat?

And Jesus responds that He has come to save the lost.

He came to forgive the ones in need for forgiveness. He came to save the lost.

How do we react to that? In our own lives? Are we willing to receive His grace? Admit our need? Find His love? It isn’t until we admit we need Him that we can find Him.

And in the lives of others? That person you don’t like? How do you feel when they receive God’s grace? The people grumped when Jesus showed Zacchaeus love. How do we react to grace?

Today, may we seek after grace in our own lives. And may we give grace to others.

What is our Goal?

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Sometimes in our lives, we feel like changing ourselves and our actions can be a hopeless cause. What can we possibly do? What can we do to make ourselves better, or more holy, or more obedient?

When we try, we fail. We try to be good. We try to behave. We try to do right. And when we do, we find ourselves falling time after time after time.

As CS Lewis said – “No man knows how very bad he is until he has tried to be good.” The frustrating thing can be trying so very hard to do good, to do right, to get it right; and then we fall down

So we quit trying. What’s the point? We’ll never do it right. It will never happen. There’s no reason. We’ll never be good enough to get it right.

Strangely that’s what God is saying through Ezekiel 36:25-26.  Listen to what He says in this passage.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh

Notice, God doesn’t say that you will do this, you will do that. God says, I will do it. I will sprinkle you clean with water. I will give you a new heart. I will remove your heart of stone.

God says I will do it. You can’t do it on your own. It’s not possible.

So, who does it? God does you.

You can’t change yourself. God can change you. So, today, you goal shouldn’t be to be a “better person.” Your goal should be to draw close to God.

If we draw close to God, He will do the rest. He will take care of the rest. He will clean and change us.

Being perfect a daunting goal. Drawing close to God, that’s a goal we can do today. He will clean us, He will change us.

Today, our goal is to draw close to God. May we do that will all that we have!

Second Chances

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I am teaching an Old Testament Disciple Bible Study at Asbury on Sunday nights. It’s a lot of fun to dig into the Bible, really read what it says and deal with the truths of the Old Testament for today’s world.

I always love teaching these in depth studies, because I feel like I learn more than the folks in the class. I feel like when I have to study like I do for the class, and then sit together with folks for a couple of hours, I learn so much.

I learn from their experiences. From their beliefs. From their feelings. I learn so very much from the people that I’m studying with.

And someone in our class said something that has really resonated with me in this study. We can sometimes get the impression that the Old Testament is only about Law, and the New Testament is only about grace.

But that is not the case. The Old Testament is full of God’s grace and mercy. Over and over again, God was within His rights to not forgive the people of their sins. He was within His rights to start over. He was totally within line of just blowing it all up and beginning again. He threatened to do so with Moses after the people worshipped the Golden Cafe.

But He didn’t. He have them undeserved second chances. He loved them. His love for them was greater than their sin.  Listen to what is says in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land

We are told today that when they turned from their sin, He heard it. And He forgave them. He loved them that much.

As He does us today. When we turn, when we ask forgiveness, when we want to start over, He lets us.

Today, God is a God of second chances. And third, fourth, fifth, sixth and so on and so chances.

Today, if we turn to Him and ask forgiveness, He will forgive. He is, and has always been, a God of grace!

Where Is God?

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It really is hard for us as humans to wrap our minds around God. We really can’t understand who God is. He is other. He is different from us. We simply can’t fathom who He is us.

We know of God what God has revealed to us through Scripture, through tradition (the wise teachings of others), reason (our ability to think and understand) and experience (the things’s we’ve experienced). So, there are things that we know about God. But there’s lots of stuff that we don’t.

Listen to what Isaiah 57:15 says:

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.

In this verse, it says God inhabits eternity. His name is holy. To say that His name is holy is to say that He is Holy. In scripture, you name wasn’t just what you were called, it was who you. To say that God is holy is to say that this is who He is.

He is holy. He is other. He is different.

But look in this verse what else He is. He is with the lowly of spirit. He is with the ones that are contrite. He is with the ones that understand they are in need of His grace and salvation. He is with the broken, the needy, the hurt, the one’s that know that they need Him.

Today, if you know you aren’t what you need to be; if you understand that you’ve made mistakes; if you understand that you need God, guess what?

You are right where He wants you. You are in the place to know His grace. You are in the place where He can draw you near.

Today, in knowing that we need Him more and more and more, we find that at that exact moment and place, He is waiting on us.

Today, where is God? He is with us.