Growing in Grace

Stop and think about who Jesus was speaking to when He said the following: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Of course, it was directed specifically at those (Jewish people) who had been held under an unprofitable law which required them to work at hearing and *doing* all of it in order to *try* to attain to right standing with God. There was no rest for th...

What comes to mind when you hear the word "saint"? Most will picture what tradition and perhaps even our dictionary has told us ... such as these examples: A) An extremely virtuous person. B) A person of exceptional holiness or goodness. C) Someone regarded with deep respect or reverence. D) A person who has died and gone to heaven. E) The process of canonization from earthly humans, making the ap...

Happy New Year all! We'll be back in 2026 with plenty of brand new grace-filled episodes. This week we're going back into the archives for an encouraging episode that focuses on our identity in Christ apart from what we do, and the freedom we have in Him. The church system in Christianity is largely based on following formulas and three-point sermons to help people work at how to become something...

One of the greatest announcements in the history of the world happened on a night when a heavenly visitation was on display before a group of shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks. A heavenly host appeared with the angel and proclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" Most of the world has taken this statement to mean the proclamation of peace a...

In the financial world of investing, it is usually wise to diversify to reduce risk. This way, different asset classes or industries which may perform poorly for a time in one area can be offset by better performance somewhere else. In the religious world, even among Christian portfolios, there is often a concern that selling out fully into God's grace is risky business ... even dangerous. It has...

The sad reality for many weekly churchgoers is finding themselves wondering if they are doing enough to remain in God's good graces. They've been told about the risk of having dead faith if they lack in works. People who came to believe in Jesus by grace through faith—apart from works—didn't see the rug getting pulled out from underneath them when they had been previously told Jesus was their soli...

For those of us who have experienced the gospel of abundant grace, it can be interesting to think back to the BG days (before grace). The Christian "religion" so often touts the need for believers in Christ to "do" things to maintain salvation and God's acceptance or approval ... while trying to work on finding the right combination of works to keep their faith alive. Bible verses get quoted with...

We can all look back at the many things we've learned (or unlearned) about God, His love, the message of Jesus and His redemptive work at the cross. And yet, there seems to be so much we don't know when it comes to eternal things. Theology becomes a tangled mess full of twists and turns. We change our perspectives sometimes, especially when God's Spirit helps us in reaching a greater knowledge of...

In our culture today, the collection of writings commonly referred to as The Bible has often been called God's Word. Some call it our final authority. Yet we see within the pages where it is Jesus who is specifically defined as the Word who was with God from the beginning—and was God—and He became flesh. In Him was life and light. Jesus never promised an addendum to the writings of the old, holy,...

A slogan heard quite often within Christian circles—used in various ways—is that God is the Author of the Bible. It's a concept that somewhat turns into a catchphrase without entirely taking into consideration what this specifically means. For those who have listened to us for the past twenty years, you know how we embrace the truths found within the pages of this compilation of writings called Th...

Our former days from working in radio brings a reminder of something the FCC required at the top of every hour for broadcasters. It's called a "Legal ID," where each station airs their call letters and city of license. From a Christian spiritual perspective, what would appear on your ID if it were printed out ... similar to a driver’s license or other form of identification? How do you see yoursel...

Have you lived in fear of wondering whether God has forgiven you because you've had struggles forgiving others? This is often related to a "scary" statement Jesus made to His disciples during the "Sermon on the Mount." But we need to consider why Jesus said what He said and to whom He was speaking. In the previous chapter during His talk with these Jewish disciples who were still under an impossib...

Jesus made a statement to His disciples after giving them what is commonly referred to as The Lord's Prayer in Matthew Chapter 6. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." As we compare this to some things Paul said about forgiveness in Ephesians chapters 1...

It's easy to look at "Bible characters" such as the apostles and assume they were some type of spiritual super-humans who understood everything there is to know about God. In their writings, there are references to growing in various ways when it comes to Jesus, our knowledge of the truth, His grace and love, etc. We'll always be learning, otherwise, eternity might get rather dull. Regardless of h...

Our conversation this week takes a different approach on avoiding the judgment of others when it comes to trying to identify whether or not they are saved or considered as believers in Christ. We find passages in the Bible where it's easy to jump to the wrong conclusions and allow human speculation and misdirected theology of the written pages to put God in a box, which limits His love and grace....

"So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you'" (John 6:53). This was one small piece of a passage that had people trying to figure out just exactly what Jesus was saying. This not only included those opposed to Jesus but also those who had been following Him. In fact, many of the disciples left at that...

Chairs within church buildings are filled with people week after week who just want someone to tell them what they need to do to experience God's blessings and acceptance. They just want to know they are right with God. In John chapter 6, after seeing Jesus perform some miracles, a group of people went looking for Him across the sea—who previously had their stomachs filled with what started out as...

Have you been told that God will not provide blessings to you until you pass a test ... or a series of tests throughout your life? Imagine being in a state of mind that constantly has people wondering if God is withholding blessings as they try to figure out how to make themselves worthy. It's another one of those foggy notions religion likes to throw out there which leaves believers in Christ lon...

This week is a spontaneous conversation we were not planning on doing—as it happened in real time. There are tons of different church brands out there. Most consider the pages of the Bible as the source for their beliefs. And yet, consider there are millions of different opinions and perspectives that may be very contrary to each other. Even within circles where individuals consider themselves a g...

"Working for God" is a theme that gets tossed around in the religious world. The memo suggests that too much grace will throw things out of balance and will deceive people. You may have even heard some say grace is dangerous. Experiencing God's grace, peace and rest doesn't mean people should be encouraged to do nothing while their earthly life passes them by. The Apostle Paul said this: "But by t...

If repenting is required in order to be saved, justified and sanctified, it might be good to know exactly what it means. How is it defined? Well, that will depend on which church brand you do business with. Some will tell you one thing while others communicate something quite different. But most will be quite vague and not very specific. If repentance is based on a change of behavior, how does one...

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the words repent, repenting, and repentance? When someone from ChurchLand says people need to repent, they are usually communicating that the person who sins needs to stop sinning. But the messenger stating this hasn't stopped ... in spite of whatever sin reduction they may boast. So where does that leave them if God requires humans to stop commit...

Once upon a time there was a covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. It was based upon a law of hearing it and *doing* it. The ultimate goal was to be a doer of that word of law as they pursued right standing with God. In spite of how many may have thought they were performing as required, nobody could actually do it. About 1,500 years later, the fulfillment of that law arrived in the...

Overheard inside a church building near you: "The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin." "Sin separates us from God." "Sin will hinder our fellowship with God." What if none of these things are accurate? Would it positively change how you see God in your daily life? What if the blood of Jesus was stronger than sin ... stronger than your fleshly works ... would it bring an indescribable peace that surpas...

The practice of inviting God into our presence may be something many of us have done and may still do without stopping to think much about it. There are various phrases used when the invitation is extended but they all pretty much imply that God isn't with us, and we would like Him to show up and make some sort of appearance. God never leaves you. He doesn't come and go. The "worship" environment...