An Abundance of Grace

A sincere desire for the truth is fundamental to growing in faith. So many Christians never progress in their spiritual walk because they stop desiring the truth – that’s because it’s humbling, very humbling.

So, where does this ‘guts’, this trust in God, come from? From keeping in mind, in sight, the goodness of God. It is in these times of trial that we need most to recall ‘God is good’. As with Moses, to see His glory is to see His goodness.

Jesus knew immediately the source of Nic’s dilemma. And John presented it in his gospel because the poor Pharisee is not alone. We can all wear his sandals so to speak. Most of us at some time or another get caught in the same mess.

So how do you hear? What is the condition of your heart soil? Recall, Jesus said, “Take heed how you hear.” And the prophet proclaimed, “Break up your fallow ground.” In other words, it’s how we participate – the receptivity of our heart or how we hear.

You see, it is God’s plan both to save you from sin and death AND to conform you unto the image of His Dear Son. Did you suppose that to be a painless intellectual process? Did you want to roar with the Lion and not first bleat with the Lamb?

‘Marvelous’ you may think, ‘how Jesus knew the Word and quoted it accurately to the devil.’ But this wasn’t what decided the day. Jesus didn’t simply know the Word of God; it wasn’t that He had studied it diligently; it wasn’t that He could quote it or even that He kept it in context. That was basic and academic. What made the difference was something else far, far more powerful. He was submitted...

What you may never have considered is that our Holy, Holy, Holy God is thus indescribably beautiful, pleasant, lovely, delightful. Absolutely nothing compares, nothing even approaches. His holiness is a beauty that fills eternity with awe, that makes the highest sinless angels blush, that makes life…life.

Patriarchs in peril, a king in compromise, an apostle in persecution – all came to places of trying discouragement and defeat – or so it would seem. These weren’t simply trivial inconveniences or minor setbacks. They were far beyond all human ability to deal with, to control or to change for the better. And that’s exactly what God took advantage of – what He used. This is where He displayed with a...

"This, then, is how you should pray: “

“The question before the house is this: “Will you follow a God you do not understand? Will you follow a God who does not live up to your expectations?”

But then the ‘bottom fell out.’ This man of faith was not yet a man of abiding inward peace. And the two are inextricably linked. Abram feared greatly. We know this because right after these things, God spoke to him in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield…”

What’s heaven like? As we read of it in scripture, we only get glimpses, but they are startling and compelling.

Satan offered ‘wisdom’ and in doing so he enticed Eve with the ‘method’, but he didn’t specify the source – himself. Yes, our enemy has his own brand of wisdom – one that insanely perceives the wisdom of God as foolishness. Keep in mind that mankind did not originally have a desire to rebel against God but rather a desire to be more like God. The devil used that to snare and enslave us in the same...

In some Christian circles there is a tendency to hide from the light not so much because of what the Lord will think but what we suspect men will think. We believe that men will usually want to ‘stone us’.

So then, having moved us forward from the initial spreading of the Word and the consequent sowing of the enemy’s tares unto the final days of the age, Jesus next describes the unnatural nature of the last days Kingdom of God on earth.

God’s program for our preservation necessitates a pilgrimage, a sojourning, a constant trek of faith. And in this travel, He tells us that our inner man must look ahead in hope while our outer nature must repeatedly die. Neither one can truly satisfy its homeward goal in the here and now.

Jesus told Nick, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Yes, God is indeed a farmer and He’s ‘into’ fruit. In these last days, He is patiently waiting for it to mature. So, let’s look into His husbandry techniques, consider the fruit that He’s expecting, and examine our role in it all.

And then there’s love. Do you love anyone? What does that love do to your sense of their value? The more you love, the more you value someone. Unfortunately, human love is often short lived. It can be changed by mood, circumstance and the sense of reciprocity.

The invaluable lesson for us is not simply that his men adopted his passion or courage or forte, but that they became that way for a specific reason – they wanted to be like their king. Why? I submit that it was because they saw him as “ the light of Israel ”. It is indeed human nature to emulate those whom you esteem highly.

At the foot of the cross, John still didn’t get it and it was a dark, dark day. But in the empty tomb only a few days later, it all became much clearer.

Now, God desires that you draw close to Him (James 4:8) which is to ‘walk with Him’ as did Enoch, Noah, Abraham and others (Gen 5:22; 6:9; 17:1; 24:40; 48:15). But if you hang around with the wrong crowd physically and/or the wrong influences mentally you’ll find that your Christian walk loses momentum. As Psalm One describes it, walking slows to standing which, in turn, becomes sitting (Psa 1:1).

We’d so much like to think that the ‘older’ we get in the Lord, the saintlier we get. Whole denominations are built on this notion. Of course, there is some validity to this, but there is also a tension, if you would, with it as well. For, the more ‘mature’ we become in Christ, the more ‘taintlier’ we realize we are in comparison to our dear Savior.

Heroes and ‘hienies’. Just about the time we’re thinking someone is really awesome, they turn out to be awful. And we’re bitterly disappointed. We break up, walk away, go to yet another church. We become ‘monastic’, bombastic, sarcastic and sad. But someday you’d think it would sink in – it’s a ‘package deal’.

Herein is the great lesson for all of us – it’s about letting go and holding on. This world is a ‘sticky’ place filled with ‘sticky’ stuff. It sticks to the heart, and when it does it tempts us to hold on to it at all costs – even at the cost of the soul. On top of that, God Himself often gives us good things -- relationships, ministries, material goods, etc. that He sometimes later tests us with...