Grace

Supreme Court Decision on Marriage and Our Response

By in Controversy, Discernment, Gospel, Grace

supreme-court

The Supreme Court continues to make decisions that not only reflect our current culture, but shape it. This past Friday the Justices voted 5-4 to strike down a state’s right to ban same sex marriage. As soon as the news broke there was at the same time great celebration and great outcry. How can that be? How can Americans have such different responses and be so polarizing in their views?

Your “world view” is how you see things. It is your perspective. My world view flows from a belief in God. I believe he is the creator of all things and sovereign ruler of the universe (Genesis 1:1). I also believe he has spoken, and that his word is truth (John 17:17). I believe his word is the guide for my life and that I am responsible to believe it and obey it (Proverbs 3:5,6). So, from that particular world view I form a certain set of values and perspectives on life. Consequently, this is how I interpret events in life like Friday’s Supreme Court decision. I am going to ask “what does God say?”, and “how does he want me to respond?”

I must, however, recognize that not everyone shares my view. There are citizens of our free country, the United States, that do not believe in God. There are others who say we cannot know if there is a God. And then there are those who profess to believe in God yet do not believe in an absolute truth or in the authority of the Bible. So, these, and many others, are not going to interpret Friday’s Supreme Court decision the same way I do. Should I really be so surprised? I need to understand and respect the fact that every human being is a “free” moral agent.

So then, as a Christian, how am I going to respond to this decision and announcement? John 1:17 says, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Grace and truth. God is truth, Jesus is truth, and the Scripture is truth. The Christian is to walk in truth, never compromising what is right before God. We are not to give in to popular culture, nor are we to give in to hate. Jesus, our master, was full of grace and truth. He modeled both and so should we. We find out what God has to say about the matter, follow his instruction and do so with grace.

Let’s not miss the point! This is about the gospel. A loving God sent his only son into this fallen world to rescue us from sin and death. And yes, we were all born sinners and in need of a rescue – all of us. So, let’s keep this in mind and maintain a proper focus. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing – placing our energies into telling the good news of Jesus everywhere we go.

Overwhelmed

By in Grace

“Overwhelmed” is not a word that I use very often to describe how I feel, but the events of the last ten days have certainly been one of those times.

Usually when I feel this way it is because of a certain set of challenges or circumstances I am presently facing. Physical, mental, and emotional strength begin to wain and it becomes difficult to breathe. You’ve been there—we have all been there.

Recently I listened to a song titled “Overwhelmed” by Mike Weaver. When I first saw the title, I thought, “that’s me, I’m overwhelmed.” After listening, I realized the song writer was talking about being overwhelmed with God. Wow, what a rebuke! Then I discovered that the more I became overwhelmed with Him the less I was overwhelmed with life.

I see the work of Your Hands
Galaxies spin in a Heavenly dance oh God
All that You are is so overwhelming

I hear the sound of Your Voice
All at once it’s a gentle and thundering noise oh God
All that You are is so overwhelming

I delight myself in You
Captivated by Your beauty
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You

God, I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You

I know the power of Your Cross
Forgiven and free forever You’ll be my God

All that You’ve done is so overwhelming
I delight myself in You
In the Glory of Your Presence
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You”

Praise God for letting me be overwhelmed with life so I could become overwhelmed with Him.

If you have 20 minutes, you need to watch this:

Growing Together

By in Family, God, Grace, Northland, Sanctification

Just this past week Diane and I recorded a brief video where we look back at how we have been continually challenged to keep growing and digging into the Word. This has been challenged and fueled as we have attempted to disciple our own children and now an entire college student body. There has never been a time that we have more fully realized that we ourselves are still in the process of being conformed to the image of His Son. I guess that reinforces the idea that the best teaching comes from the overflow of what God is doing in your life.

Grace is Not the Easy Path

By in Grace

It is easier to throw rocks from a cornfield than to get involved in someone’s life. And so we can get pretty good at throwing rocks. It is easier to judge someone than to love them. It is easier to point out a fault than to restore. Grace is not the easy path. It will cost you more than you want to give. It will mean stepping out of the shadows and doing what the average man fears to do. It will mean making yourself vulnerable and taking the risks of getting hurt. And you will get hurt. It will mean making sacrifices of time, energy, and resources. Grace does the hard things. Sounds a lot like Christ, doesn’t it? I also sounds like the words of Paul to his son in the faith, Timothy, “Be strong in grace” (2 Timothy 2:1).

I would love to connect with you! If you have any questions or would like to connect please use the contact page.

So, What Do You Fear?

By in Discipleship, Galatians, Grace

There are two very different kinds of fear: First, there is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10). Secondly, there is the fear of man (Proverbs 29:25). What you fear tells your story.

The fear of the Lord comes from a right view of God, is rooted in faith, and evidenced in love (Galatians 5:6). The fear of man comes from an absent or flawed view of God, is rooted in unbelief, and cannot please God (Galatians 3:2,21, 22).

“By faith” has always been the way to righteousness. In Genesis 15:6 we read, “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” This is true for both justification and sanctification. God does not change the means after we are saved. Sanctification is by grace, through faith as well, and will bear the fruit of righteousness. More

The Paralyzing Effects of the Fear of Man

By in Fear of Man, Grace

I have never considered myself to be a fearful person but the testimony linked above began exposing that very thing. Over the past few years I have become more and more concerned about the “culture of fear” in our churches and organizations. This fear drives us to more control and less grace. It paralyzes our ministries and our lives.

Del Fehsenfeld Jr., founder of Life Action Ministries, gave this audio testimony to a group of pastors shortly before he died from a brain tumor at age 42. God was working in him deeply about the fear of man for the last seven years of his life and this became his most passionate closing message. That was over 20 years ago. It is a message that is probably needed more today than ever.

I know that this piece of audio is a bit long, but please listen—and then look into your own heart. If you want to download the audio you can do so from the Life Action website.

I would love to connect with you! If you have any questions or would like to connect please use the contact page.

The Biggest Lie About Grace

By in Grace, Legalism

We are comfortable talking about grace when it comes to our justification but become incredibly uneasy when applying it to the Christian life. It’s almost as if the word “grace” has become “dangerous” and “too risky.” How is it that the very means of authentic Christianity is something we have come to fear? Fear drives us to control people with rules and regulations. These have no power to produce what pleases God but instead only bring about a kind of religious moralism that is very far from genuine Christianity. And we feel safe?

Tullian Tchividjian addresses these thoughts in the forward of the excellent book Give Them Grace by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. He writes:

The biggest lie about grace that Satan wants Christian parents to buy is that grace is dangerous and therefore needs to be “kept in check.” By believing this, we not only prove we don’t understand grace, but we violate gospel advancement in the lives of our children. A “yes, grace, but…” disposition is the kind of fearful posture that keeps moralism swirling around in their hearts. And if there’s anything God hates, it’s moralism! …The irony of gospel-based sanctification is that those who end up obeying more are those who increasingly realize that their understanding with God is not based on their obedience but on Christ’s. In other words, the children who actually end up performing better are those who understand that their relationship with God doesn’t depend on their performance for Jesus but on Jesus’s performance for them.

He continues on with this powerful statement,

Long term, sustained gospel-motivated obedience can come only from faith in what Jesus has already done, not fear of what we must do. Any obedience not grounded in or motivated by the gospel is unsustainable.

Don’t believe the lie. Grace is not just for saving, it is for living.

I would love to connect with you! If you have any questions or would like to connect please use the contact page.