“I need You to soften my heart and break me apart
I need You to open my eyes, to see that You're shaping my life
All I am, I surrender

Give me faith to trust what You say,
That You're good and Your love is great
I'm broken inside, I give You my life

I may be weak but Your Spirit's strong in me
My flesh may fail, but my God You never will”

           (Give Me Faith - Elevation Worship)

I know I usually open my posts with a Scripture, but this song has been resounding loudly in my soul all day long. My heart has been overwhelmed with just about every type of emotion over the last two weeks, and the chorus of this song is a prayer I just can’t seem to get away from: “give me faith.”

As someone who devotes much of my time to various forms of ministry and trying to convince others of the love and goodness of God, it feels awkward to admit that I’ve had to continually pray for Divine reminders of these things. After all, they’re two of the most basics aspects of Christianity. Yet I think it’s because they are in fact so fundamental that Satan makes a special effort to convince us that God is either impressed by our strength or ashamed of our weakness. When we don’t fully believe that God’s love is unconditional and that His grace is free, we inevitably exhaust ourselves trying to earn what we so desperately need.

It’s true that faith and doubt are complete opposites by definition, but I think they often share close quarters in the secret places of our hearts. Even Peter, who had enough faith to step out of a boat onto raging waters with Christ, was overwhelmed by doubt and fear just seconds later and began to sink (Matt. 14:30-31). It’s as if the disappointment we feel every time the love of the world fails keeps us from ever fully trusting in a love that cannot fail.

But God isn’t the earthly father that turned his back on you; He’s your heavenly Father Who imparts “the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Rom. 8:15) He isn’t a fair-weather friend who doesn’t have time for your problems; He’s “a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Prov. 18:24) Your boss may capitalize on every opportunity to criticize your mistakes, but the strength of Christ is perfected in weakness and depravity (2 Cor. 12:9-10). He doesn’t hold your humanity against you; He delights in you as His child and “will joy over thee with singing.” (Zeph. 3:17)

You don’t have to make God aware of your fears. He already knows what troubles your mind and burdens your heart. Pray for faith to believe that you really are the object of the greatest love that has ever existed, and that you be made “confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6)

 

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
(Romans 3:24)

I'm someone who generally tries very hard to think as logically and as rationally as possible. Even though I was taught to believe the Bible since I was very young, my commitment to God is based on a personal certainty that Christianity just makes sense. For example…

• My conscience confirms that sin is wrong; the Bible defines sin and its consequences (1 John 3:4; Rev. 20:15).
  
  
• The beauty of nature points to a divine Maker Who is described in Isaiah 40:28 as "the Creator of the ends of the earth."
  
  
• Thousands of Biblical prophecies have been irrefutably fulfilled in exact detail, and many last-days prophecies are continuing to unfold.*

Despite what anybody says, you don’t have to commit intellectual suicide to become a Christian. In fact, to fully know the truth is impossible without becoming personally acquainted with Jesus, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14:6)

Of course there are some aspects of the Gospel that no human mind can fully comprehend. The underlying principles of grace and unconditional love defy human logic altogether – especially when you consider that we are offered so much more than salvation from hell. The Son of God Himself stands at the door of our hearts, offering a relationship that will radically transform every moment of the rest of our lives (Rev. 3:20).

If this doesn’t astound you, consider Paul’s analysis of grace in 2 Corinthians 8:9,

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He
became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”

Even though God’s grace cannot possibly be matched by human generosity, imagine passing a stereotypical homeless person on the street who asks you for money. You could brush him off like most people, or give him $10 and feel proud of yourself for the rest of the day. Would you even consider withdrawing every penny from your bank account and handing over your life savings? Would you volunteer to take his place sleeping under the bridge and sign over the title to your house? Hypothetically speaking, would you trade your good health for tuberculosis and frostbite?

Probably not – and yet that’s only an imperfect picture of the grace of God. According to Isaiah 53, He alone “bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Vs. 4) When we had “turned every one unto his own way”, the Father “laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Vs. 6) Our redemption was fashioned through the gruesome crucifixion and marvelous resurrection of Him “Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21)

No matter how hard I try, I can’t make sense of the grace of God. It goes completely against the grain of human/Adamic nature that mixes ulterior motives of selfishness and pride with nearly everything we do. But even though it may not seem logical, God’s grace is a very real extension of His immeasurable love for humanity. It’s absolutely undeserved and yet completely free.

^{*http://www.reasons.org/articles/articles/fulfilled-prophecy-evidence-for-the-reliability-of-the-bible}

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
-James 5:16

Our culture is one that glamorizes perfection. If you're not sure what I mean, just turn on your T.V. or take a trip to the mall. Commercials tell us we're incomplete without the latest and greatest gadgets. Photoshopped supermodels tell us what we should wear. The car that just passed you on the highway was newer than yours. In some way or another, we are confronted on a daily basis by the lie that our shortcomings are unacceptable.

But the truth of the Gospel is that God sees our shortcomings as opportunities to lavish us with His grace. Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10,

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

Take a moment to reread these verses and fully grasp what Paul is trying to teach us here. He's saying our weakness is not only acceptable, but it is actually a glorious thing when placed in the hands of our loving Savior. We don't have to have everything together emotionally, financially, or even spiritually - which is a good thing for people like me. Instead, Paul insists that our inadequacies can actually bring glory to God when we allow the power of Christ to “rest upon us”. This means abandoning our own tendency to "just try harder" and allowing the strength and grace of Jesus to reign over every aspect of our lives. As in Paul’s case, this could mean learning to live with a “thorn in the flesh” that God chooses not to remove for reasons we may never understand (2 Cor. 12:7).

My experience over the last several months, however, has been that viewing my own weaknesses through the lens of grace is much easier said than done. Even though most Christians I know would agree with everything I've written so far, it seems that most believers, including myself, are obsessed with convincing everyone else they've got it all together. We try to look perfect every Sunday morning and play the part of a Type A Christian, while on the inside a majority of us are battling doubt, fear, and/or depression on some level.

How do I know this? Because I’ve seen too many people who played the part of Super Saint simply give up without warning. Everyone thought they were happily married until he left. No one knew she was depressed until she attempted suicide. He never talked about his doubts until he quit going to church. People who played the part perfectly week after week were entrenched in the greatest spiritual battles of their lives, but were too afraid of condemnation to reach out for help.

Do you see the resemblance yet? While pop culture is telling us how many Instagram followers we should have, the church world is setting its own standards of spiritual excellence. If you need just one more friend on Facebook, you might be tempted to accept that request from someone you may or may not have passed in Walmart last week. If you lack a little faith in God, pretending to be stronger than you really are is usually easier than admitting your doubt, especially when you’re convinced no one else will relate to your struggle.

The only problem with this masquerade of perfection is that it’s just that: a masquerade. Somewhere along the line we tend to lose sight of our daily need for grace and then exhaust ourselves trying to impress God and everyone else with our faithfulness. We’ll request prayer for a sick relative or a lost family member, but dare not admit our own discouragement for fear of appearing weak. We try to measure up to standards of commitment set by other believers, not realizing that many of them are playing their own small role in this charade.

What's so wrong with this type of Christianity is that it effectively "sets aside the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21) in one's relationship with the Lord and his relationship with fellow believers. And a life devoid of grace is hardly worth living.

"Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"
-Galatians 3:3

Despite my own propensity to overcomplicate things, I have arrived at the conclusion that the key to victory in almost every battle one can possibly face is simply to trust in God's love and grace, to lean on the “rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). Paul's point in Galatians 3:3 is very clear: grace is what saved us and grace is what keeps us going. To the extent that we trust in our own strength we are prone to failure, but when we cast our burdens upon the Lord it becomes evident that only He can sustain us (Psalm 55:22).

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.”

               -Ephesians 4:1

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

               -1 Timothy 1:15

“I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.”

               -Genesis 32:10

Let me know if I’m off the mark here, but it seems like Christians today have become increasingly consumed with self-confidence. Maybe it’s because the world would have us believe we are all worthless, but many who disagree with this have taken things to the opposite extreme by suggesting God couldn’t live without us and wants nothing more than for us to “ask Him into our heart” so we can fill a man-shaped hole in His. If you don’t know what I mean, simply tune in to your local Christian music station or visit the inspirational section of any bookstore. It probably won’t be long before you find yourself squarely confronted with the idea that God actually needs us as much as we need Him. “We were worth dying for,” is the message.

What I have a hard time with, however, is beholding the bruised and bleeding Son of God and thinking for any length of time that I was worth that. Certainly we must have held some value in God’s eyes if He sacrificed His very life to gain us, but God’s love is not the result of our own goodness. Did adulterous Gomer deserve for Hosea to take her back? No, and we didn’t deserve for Jesus Christ to be killed on our behalf. Since when are we the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46)?

In “Dug Down Deep”, Joshua Harris puts it this way: “I had always heard [the cross] explained in terms of my great worth. I am so valuable that God would send Jesus to die. The question [John] Piper closed his message with deeply challenged me. “Do you love the cross because it makes much of you” he asked. “Or do you love it because it enables you to enjoy an eternity of making much of God?"  Turning the cross into a monument of humanity’s worth is to rob our Redeemer of the glory for the greatest thing He ever accomplished.

Again, I believe it’s important to combat the lie that humanity is worthless. Each of us has been created in the Divine image of our Creator, but to think that we were worth even a drop of Christ’s innocent blood turns His sacrifice into a mere transaction. Only when we recognize just how unworthy we truly are can we fully experience the joy of being God’s child.

 

“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”

               -Galatians 3:3

One of the greatest struggles for any Christian is finding the delicate balance between discipline and legalism. In my own experience there have been occasions when everything seemed to be going so well that I actually took mental notes on what I was doing at the time and determined to keep doing those things indefinitely. If spending 2-3 hours a day in my prayer closet seemed to do the trick, I would make that my standard and feel ashamed anytime I fell short.

Of course praying for hours in a day is excellent, but, as I soon learned, is not always possible. It’s certainly possible much more often than we’d like to think so, but the truth of the Gospel is that God gave us His very best and asks in return that we give Him ours. If our best gift to Christ is consistently offered we can rest assured in the truth He will be pleased with our service, just as He was pleased with the widow who offered her entire substance of only two mites at the temple’s treasury (Mark 12:42).

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

               -Ephesians 2:8

The key to true spiritual discipline is not always found in devotional books or Bible reading plans. These are indeed powerful tools, but, like all tools, are only constructive when used properly. I’m obviously not encouraging you to forsake routines which have proven helpful in the past, but simply to ensure these things are treated as stepping stones in your journey to heaven rather than an end in themselves. As the Apostle reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:19, if Christianity offered hope only in this life we would be “of all men most miserable.”

Good days and happy prayers are too small a thing to live for. If the yardstick whereby we measure our spiritual progress is nothing more than the minute hand on a clock, then we need to seriously examine ourselves in the light of Scripture and pray with David, “search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

 

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”

               -Numbers 32:23

There’s no such thing as secret sin. I remember being told many times as a child that no matter how earnestly I might try to keep something hidden from my parents, they would eventually find out and I would be punished for my actions. Perhaps this was said in part just to convince me that my mom had eyes on the back of her head as she often claimed, but, as someone who put this rule to the test enough times to know, I can certainly attest to the truth of this Scripture: sin will always be brought to light, no matter how well you think you’ve hidden it.

According to the Scriptures as recorded in 1 Corinthians 4:5, even if you’re sly enough to successfully deceive your spouse or your parents, the Day is coming when the Lord shall return, “Who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” His eyes “are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3) Try as you might to get away with wrongdoing, your best efforts to conceal it are like that of a little child covering his eyes in the corner: he thinks he’s out of sight and can do what he wants, but in reality he’s the only one being fooled.

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”

               -Genesis 3:8

Even as members of a fallen race, most humans recognize sin as a shameful thing. The problem isn’t that we don’t see it, but that we often spend our time trying to cover it up rather than obtaining the forgiveness which is freely offered through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24). If the Holy Ghost has used these words to lead you to repentance (Romans 2:4), then don’t hide any longer in the bushes as Adam and Eve did; confess to Him – and to those you’ve misled – your need for forgiveness, cast off the cloak of lies you’ve so long been clinging to, and be washed in His blood and covered with His grace. Only then will you “obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

 

 

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

                      -Romans 5:1-8

Only when we find ourselves standing in the magnificent grace of God can we have hope for tomorrow. A life lived apart from the sweet and incomparable taste of His mercy and love  has been wasted in the truest sense of the word, and those who spend their days “laboring for that which satisfieth not” (Isaiah 55:2) will reap to themselves a harvest of anguish and discontent.

Trust in Jesus today, O sinner, and find rest for your wearied soul (Matthew 11:29). Those that come to Him shall never hunger and they who believe on Him will never thirst (John 6:35).

 

 

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

              -Luke 6:45

Your attitude says a lot about what’s in your heart. If your actions are corrupt, then the chances are an even greater problem has already developed beneath the surface. To prove it, simply look around you at the culture in which we live: despite their best efforts to perfect the outward appearance and impress those around them, the evidence continues to overwhelmingly prove that something is desperately wrong which just can’t be covered up with Maybelline.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”

                    -Matthew 23:27

Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, it seems to me that many modern-day Christians are so consumed with perfecting the outside that they pay little or no attention to what’s actually causing their problems. Of course there’s nothing at all wrong with examining one’s life in the light of God’s Word (Psalm 139:23-24), but we should also be careful to realize that self-sufficiency is just as much a problem as any other sin in the Book (Proverbs 3:5), and thus rely more on God than we do ourselves. The answer to our many problems cannot be found in our own sense of determination, but in our whole-hearted reliance on God to provide us with the strength we indefinitely lack.

What are you battling? Jealousy, bitterness, or a lack of self-control? Regardless of your struggle, let me take this opportunity to remind you that the same grace which delivered your soul from the amazing bondage and penalty of sin (Ephesians 2:1), is the very same grace which offers to deliver you from the trials of today. In the words of Peter, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of temptations.” (II Peter 2:9)

 

 

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

                                                        -Matthew 28:19

Water baptism can be described as an outward declaration of an inward transformation. It represents not only the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3, 4), but the fact that we have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts and now walk in newness of life with our Lord (Galatians 2:20). While the Scriptures clearly emphasize the importance of every Christian being baptized in water, many have been falsely taught that, if you haven’t been baptized yet, you are not truly saved at all. This is an attack against the very core of the Gospel (i.e. salvation by grace through faith), which I’d like to address in this post by examining the essence of what the Gospel truly is. After all, as Paul wrote, “…it is the power of God unto salvation.” (Romans 1:16)

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul defined the Gospel as the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (v. 1-4). 1 Corinthians 1:17  makes it even clearer that, though it’s certainly important, baptism and the Gospel are two different things and should not be confused. If it is true that salvation is impossible apart from baptism, then it must also be true that the Gospel is not enough to save you and that the shed blood of Christ does not hold full redeeming power. Think about that. By suggesting that only those who have been baptized are saved, you are doing more than just saying faith is not enough; you are saying that what Christ did on the cross is not enough and that we must perfect our own redemption! Isn’t the fact that we can’t do that the whole reason Jesus died on the cross?

Nevertheless, I believe it’s important for us to remember that there is a very good reason for all those other verses that seem to tie salvation and water baptism together: they should always accompany each another! Asking whether you can be a Christian without being baptized is like asking whether or not you can live for Christ and disregard the beatitudes or the 10 Commandments. To neglect baptism is to neglect the commandment of the Lord and, when you neglect the Word of God, there will always be serious consequences. You might be forgiven of your sins at an altar of repentance, but rest assured that you are placing yourself right back under the wrath of God by disobeying the Lord - especially when you do so after being shown the truth (Hebrews 10:26, 28-29). The point of my writing this is not at all to diminish the importance of being baptized, but to show that faith, not baptism, is what saves a person from sin and an eternity in hell (see here for an explanation of saving faith). You should be baptized as soon as possible after receiving salvation, but you can be sure that, if you die on your way to the church, you will still go to heaven, as will your friend who was reconciled to God while lying on his or her deathbed. It’s not about what we can do, but about what He has already done for us!

 

 

“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

                  -II Corinthians 12:9, 10

Think for a moment about how many times in a day you use the word “need.” If there’s something we want but don’t have - even if it’s nothing more than a new video game - we somehow think we can’t live without it and determine not to be contented until our often selfish desires are satisfied. After all, we reason, doesn’t God want us to be happy?

“Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.”

                                               -Psalm 144:15

The fact is, God does want you to be happy. As I mentioned in my last post, giving you more abundant life in Him is a stated priority of our heavenly Father and the joy of the Lord is something no Christian should be without (Galatians 5:22). Where we often make our mistake, however, is in assuming that the answer to our unhappiness could ever be found in earthly and material things and then set our heart on them in hope of fulfillment. According to Scripture, though, the abundant life described in John 10:10 can only be found when we delight ourself in the Lord and make Him the most sincere desire of our heart (Psalm 37:4), realizing the pleasures of this world last only for a season (Hebrews 11:25).

“He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”

                                                 -Ecclesiastes 5:10

Despite how much you’d love to have a new car, a nicer home, and a bigger salary, those things simply do not bring lasting satisfaction and never will. If you had more money, you wouldn’t be happy unless you spent it; if you spent it, you wouldn’t be happy until you had more money again. It’s a hopeless and endless cycle that leads to nothing but dissatisfaction and, as Solomon wrote, vanity (see also 1 Timothy 6:6). God can do without us, but we certainly can’t do without Him. The joy is there for the taking; don’t fly around the world just to get across the street.

 

You may have heard it said that God has instituted a “whosoever will” program when it comes to salvation. And while I don’t mean to abuse a cliché, that is the blatant truth of the matter. The Lord will force Himself on nobody, and requires each of us to make a personal choice either for or against Him out of our own free will.

In case it isn’t obvious, the phrase “whosoever will” in this passage simply means “whoever wants to.” The Lord does not give prejudice to those with Christian parents, or to those who seem to have already established a set of seemingly good morals. No, He says “whosoever will.” Whether the above description fits you, or is the complete opposite of who you are and the lifestyle that you live, “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34), and His only requirement is a broken and contrite [i.e. repentant] heart – what David called “the sacrifices of God.” – in order to be saved. (Psalm 51:17)

Perhaps the devil has been telling you that you’re too far gone, and that there is no hope for you. But yet while you’ve read these words, something within your being has yearned for this thing called Living Water. Though you may not fully understand what it is, you know it’s what you need. That, my friend, is all you need to be eligible to receive it: the desire. The invitation still stands.

Up until about two and a half years ago, my spiritual life was like one big roller coaster ride. I would constantly flip back and forth between serving the Lord and serving myself, and I never stayed in the same place for very long. But then, in January of '08, I had a life-changing experience with God and I've since found that commitment I once lacked.

Since that day, my life has changed drastically. I have no desire of any kind to return to the ways of this world, and to be honest, I've done almost everything imaginable to ensure that I don't. Sounds good, right? To an extent, it is; but we've got be careful that we steer clear of the idea that we can somehow earn God's love. Let me explain:

After I truly gave my life to God, I developed a very systematic routine of serving Him. I decided on an amount of time I wanted to spend praying every day, and would actually mark down my new daily total after I spent any amount of time in prayer. I also had a daily quota when it came to Bible reading, Scripture memorization, and a set number of minutes I had to spend reviewing past memory verses. If, at the end of the day, I had completed my "to do list", I considered it a good day; if otherwise, I felt almost as if I had sinned and vowed to do better next time.

I looked at my routine as a sort of "safety net." I told myself that if I began to drift from God, my prayer schedule, Bible reading plan, etc., would keep me from drifting too far. Rather than depending on the Lord to catch me when I fall, I depended on my self-imposed rules to keep me in line. I guess I thought it was impossible to drift from God if you were being so careful to make Him a part of every day. I was wrong.

I've discovered that my legalistic view of how I could please God was anything but a safety net; it was a stumblingblock. Instead of keeping me in line, these rules only served to burn me out spiritually and cause me to drift from the Lord - the very thing I was trying to avoid.

Routines are by no means sinful; in fact, I plan on carrying on with much of the routine I've developed. But instead of going to bed asking myself, "How much time did I spend praying today?", I will now ask, "Do you think God is pleased with how you spent your day?"  Rather than asking, "How many chapters of the Bible did you read today, and what is your weekly total of memorized verses?", I'll be asking myself, "What did you learn from your Bible studies today, and how can you make sure you are a doer of the Word, and not a hearer only?" 

The reason I write this is not to encourage you to abandon all of your spiritual disciplines. But I am asking you to examine your heart and see if perhaps you are depending on good works more than you are depending on grace. Take my word for it, it doesn't work.

"Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"

                            -Galatians 3:3

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

                               -Matthew 5:7 

The Word of God tells us time and time again that, in order to be forgiven ourselves, we must forgive others. Or, in other words, in order to obtain mercy we ourselves must be merciful.

"And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." 

                            -Matthew 6:12

I recently commented during Sunday School at our church that, by praying these words, many Christians are really praying a curse on themself. By asking God to forgive us in the same was we forgive others ("as we forgive our debtors"), many times that would mean, "Lord, please forgive me...that is, until I do something else wrong. Then you can rehash it all, and hold everything I've ever done against me." After all, that seems to be the way in which most "Christians" forgive others, isn't it? As sad as it may be, many times children of God haven't the slightest idea of what it means to truly forgive someone.

"For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell."

                            -Psalm 86:13 

The mercy of God is immeasurable. Likewise, our mercy should also me immeasurable. We should grant forgiveness to those who ask it, as well as to those who don't ask it. In doing so, we are assured that we will be shown mercy by God Himself - and if you're like me, you need all of His mercy that you can get!

According to Psalm 51:4, all sins are ultimately against God Himself. If someone lies to us, they've sinned against God and violated His holiness. If someone steals from us, they've done more than just do us wrong; they've transgressed the express commandment of the Lord Almighty (Exodus 20:15)! With that said, we should be able to grant mercy to those who sin against us without hesitation, if the One Whose name is Holy is able to be merciful toward them (Isaiah 57:15).

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." 

                            -Lamentations 3:22-23

"This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"

                            -Galatians 3:2-3 

We often talk about God's saving grace. We speak of it's power to rescue us from sin's grasp, and reconcile us to God, bringing us back into fellowship with Him. But I'm afraid that sometimes we limit God's grace, thinking that all it does is save us. The Galatians did this, and we can see by the tone of Paul's writing that he was not happy about it. I think a suiting paraphrase of these two verses would be, "Answer me one thing: Were you saved by works, or by faith? Are you so foolish to think that, having begun in the Spirit by faith, you could now be sustained by works?"

Let's look at it this way: Suppose I wanted to fly. I tried everything I could think of to get airborne: jumping off the roof, gluing feathers all over my body and flapping my arms, but nothing worked. Then one day I asked a pilot friend to give me a ride in his plane - then I could finally know what it's like to fly! He took me up in his airplane, and after we were riding the clouds 1,000 feet above the ground I said, "Thanks for getting me up this high. I think I can fly by myself now..." and I jumped out, frantically flapping my arms all the way to the ground. It would be pretty foolish of me, wouldn't it?

Do you see what Paul is getting at? The same grace that saved us is the same grace that is sustaining us, and we can't go a single day without it.

"Howbeit for this cause I [Paul] obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

                            -I Timothy 1:16 

Throughout the years, the devil has deceived countless people into believing that they are too sinful to be saved. They limit God's grace, thinking that it can only reach those who "aren't as bad as they are." However, Paul says in the 15'th verse of this same chapter that he was the chief of sinners. In other words, he was as bad as they come. Yet he then goes on to say that the Lord Jesus Christ saved him, displaying the height of longsuffering, for a pattern/example to others. Basically, part of the reason Christ even saved him was to show others that they are not too far gone to be saved either. After all, if God forgave somebody who played a part in Stephen's martyrdom, as well as many others, then surely He would be willing to forgive us too.

"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

                             -Luke 5:32

To those who think they are out of the reach of God's grace, remember that if you were holy, you would have no need of salvation anyway. You may think you are the worst of sinners, and maybe you are, but the blood of Christ can cover your sins too!

"And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing."

                            -Revelation 5:11-12

Yesterday in church, my cousin sang a song called, "When He sees me." The words went like this: "When He sees me, He sees the blood of the Lamb - He sees me as worthy and not as I am - He views me in garments as white as the snow - For worthy is the Lamb and He washed me this I know." The Spirit of God began to move mightily as she sang, and tears streamed down my face as my mind went back to these verses in Revelation.

If it wasn't for the Lamb of God sacrificing Himself on the cross for our sins, where would we be today? We would be in the same sins the Lord pulled us out of when He saved our soul, with no hope whatsoever. But through His death, when the Lord looks on His children, He doesn't see us; He sees the Blood. When we really understand that thought, we will join in with the angels singing, "Worthy is the Lamb..." Praise God!

"...for He [God] cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth."

- Psalms 96:13

The Bible tells us that the day is coming when God will "judge the world with righteousness". The Bible also tells us "...There is none righteous, no, not one:" (Romans 3:10). After reading only two Scriptures, we can plainly see that things do not look very bright.

In the Old Testament, God lets us know what His standard of righteousness is. One of the primary ways He did this is by giving us the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17). Examples of these commandments include "Thou shalt not lie", "Thou shalt not steal", and "Thou shalt not covet." Who of us can deny being guilty of breaking at least one of these commandments at some point in our lifetime? Jesus even said that in God's sight lust is the same as adultery and hate is the same as murder. In other words, God's standard is very high.

By definition, sin is the transgression of God's law. If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that we are all guilty of breaking God's commandments. If we are guilty of sin, we are therefore a sinner, and God will not allow sinners into heaven (Isaiah 13:9).

You may well be asking yourself "Who then can be saved?" (Luke 18:26). If God will not allow sinners into heaven, and we have all sinned, who then can escape God's wrath? The answer to this question is found in I Timothy 1:15:

"...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..."

Jesus Christ came to earth as man and bore the punishment for our sin on a cross. While on the cross, Jesus was paying the price for our sin by experiencing all of the pain and suffering that we deserved. Just before He died, His last words were "It is finished" (John 19:30). Or in other words, "The debt has been paid". After three days in the grave Jesus rose again from the dead!

Through Christ's sacrificial death, God can look at our sins and say "The debt has been paid", and therefore we do not have to experience the terrible punishment of hell that Jesus said awaits sinners (Matthew 8:12). In order to partake of this forgiveness, all we must do is repent of our sins (i.e. confess and forsake), and ask God to forgive us (Luke 13:3). From then on, we are instructed to stay away from sin and live a life that is pleasing to God by allowing Christ to dwell within us and guide us as we live out the remainder of our life (Hebrews 12:14).

Sounds simple doesn't it? It is...