An Abundance of Grace

And this brings me to grace. You see, God is truth and I need truth, truth about my weakness, my wretchedness, my utter need of a much higher power. The Old Testament is full of illustrations of God’s truth. But truth in isolation only brings death in this sin filled world.

While the world is vilifying ‘religious extremism’ let us not confuse this with the passionate zeal we need to have for our God. We must be extreme! -- extreme in love, extreme in forgiveness, extreme in sharing and sacrifice, extreme in faith and trust, extreme in the pursuit of our Father’s desire!

You know, of all that Jesus said, of all that He taught, besides the general admonishment to hold to it dearly, there was only one person, place or thing that He specifically warned his disciples to remember. We don’t even know her name.

God’s omniscience and omnipotence does not make Him the least bit stoic – that’s ancient Greek nonsense. I’m convinced God’s heart ached in infinite sadness and grief over the crushing and bruising of His only begotten Son. That’s part of the heart of a Father.

We say an electrical circuit is dead when it is open or separated from the flow of power. In a similar way, we lost connection with our Source, the essence of life; apart from Him, we rot and decay in every way. (As a matter of fact, we call it the Second Law of Thermodynamics - a law of physics.)

But God did not and does not change (see Mal 3:6). It was their perception of God that changed. Indeed, man has never since truly been able to recognize God for Who He is. Fundamentally, man sees God, in character, as a ‘man’ – loftier and grander than himself, but still imagining that the Lord perceives as he perceives, thinks as he thinks – i.e. he continues to believe Satan’s lie.

Each of our lives, no matter the stumbling, no matter the continuous need for cleansing and forgiveness, no matter the mountains of difficulties, discouragements, pain and failure – each of us plays a starring role in this drama-lesson. It’s God’s production – nothing is accidental, nothing surprises Him.

Can you see how his counsel was intended to hit back in the same way his family was hurt? Only note that it was magnified tenfold and done in public. This is the way of the vengeful heart, one that is filled with unforgiveness. ‘You hit me once, I’ll hit you back ten times!’

Wasn’t the cross enough?? Can’t we just believe that Christ died for our sins? What’s so critical about believing the witnesses to His resurrection?

Martha skirted the answer. Now, she was grieving and perhaps deeply disappointed in Jesus. The Lord had said her brother wouldn’t die and yet … he died. She called for His help and He had seemed to turn a cold shoulder. She wanted to believe. She gave Him the best answer she could at the time. Perhaps, “the Christ, the Son of God” meant to her an anointed teacher or healer or great leader, someone...

Now, this man was not seeking a sign out of curiosity. He had a desperate need. He was of the king’s court and had probably exhausted his other options. From Cana, it was about half a day’s walk to Capernaum, and so it was no small thing he asked of Jesus. This stands in stark contrast to the Roman centurion of Matthew chapter eight, also in Capernaum, who insisted that Jesus had but to speak the...

One of the lessons we can glean from this story is how easy it is for us to think of God incorrectly -- in terms of what is valued in society. But God is not a competitor, nor is He interested in our competition. Neither are His blessings the result of some heavenly lotto.

Do you know what you’re looking for? You see, everyone’s looking – however, most folks don’t realize what they are really seeking, really longing for. That’s why they fill their lives with the pursuit of substitutes – things that give at best only a momentary pleasure or satisfaction.

Consider His appearances to the disciples after His resurrection. There were no bands playing (on earth), no pomp, no General MacArthur-like “I have returned.” But rather, He was mistaken for a gardener, an out-of-touch traveler, a stranger on the beach. In fact, in John 21, when the disciples came ashore, He even had a breakfast cooking for them. Does this sound like the behavior of the King of H...

At the completion of the law on the Nazarite in Numbers, Moses recorded the priest’s blessing: “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace." (Num 6:24-26) Notice that the end result is all about peace, the peace of beholding the LORD’s countenance. Notice also that it follows His grac...

When we consider Samson, we naturally think of his physical strength but fundamentally, this principle speaks to our faith in God. Faith in what He accomplished on Calvary and faith that makes it more than theological – but rather personal. As Samson spread his arms to topple the pillars of the house of Dagon, so Jesus spread His arms on the cross and toppled the pillars of sin and death in the ho...

And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him!” That’s what’s happening right now, folks. It’s midnight so to speak, and the signs of the times are proclaiming, “The Bridegroom is coming!” And, “…now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”

Jacob the name means “heel snatcher” and it did typify the character of the man. Nevertheless, God had a plan for him that included a marvelous change. It wasn’t a change of health or wealth that God had in mind but rather a complete change in the man himself – his condition.

But Peter had become a different man. His faith was deep and unshakeable. How? Had he ‘worked through’ his problems? Had he achieved a ‘higher plane’ of sinless living? Did he find a secret prayer or great book or conference speaker that had delivered the answer? Nope. Quite simply the difference in Peter was the empowering presence of God’s Spirit.

In some ways, the disciples were just as blind as this man but perhaps at a disadvantage as well for at least the blind man knew he was blind. Now, the Old Testament scriptures contain promises that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind and Jesus did that numerous times. But I submit that as great a miracle as it is to physically heal, spiritual blindness is far more consequential and to be...

This is a principle with all that God does – it’s the ‘good stuff’. It’s perfect. It’s a ‘mind-blower’. The lame man jumped and danced; the blind man beheld the Son of God; the demon possessed became a disciple. On and on it goes. It is simply the way He does what He does. When He made the world, the scripture says, “ Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”

Ouch! Do you love the Light even though it exposes? You will if you’re born again. When you know your Father and your Savior as you should, His light is wonderfully welcome. It is truthful, but it is Life.

You see, in a certain fashion, how we perceive ourselves is an inverse reflection of how we perceive God. That is, the ‘smaller’ we are, the ‘bigger’ He is in comparison and vice versa. This is an important understanding in today’s Christian culture. The ‘bigness’ we’re conditioned to value simply strokes the ego. It serves up very spiritual sounding justifications while subverting the very founda...

Heaven is an actual tangible place – more real than any place you know. But it’s far, far more than a place. John tried to describe it in terms we could relate to – brilliant light, translucent gold, diverse gemstones, and such. Nevertheless, beyond its beauty is its essence or quality. The very atmosphere is filled with intimacy – with He Who is Holy, Holy, Holy and with His family. There is an a...

If we let the Bible ‘interpret itself’ if you would, I’m inclined to believe that this is really saying that these last days believers who chapter three says ‘have a little strength’ and ‘hold on to His Word’ (including His promise to return) are those who will experience, as John did, the next part of the revelation: And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “...