God desires that we be like His Son (Rom. 8:29). In the end, this is what salvation looks like, that we live the way He does because we have the relationship with God that He has. Jesus gave us a forceful command that helps us evaluate how we are living our lives and get back on track where we’ve gone off.
He said to His disciples, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
Continue readingAs I read America’s Declaration of Independence this morning, I was struck by its many parallels to our times. The Declaration included a list of 27 grievances committed by the British king against the original “united States of America.” For these reasons, the colonies determined to be “Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown” and to live as “Free and Independent States.” (Uppercase and lowercase have been preserved from the original document.)
We have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire, for the Declaration’s grievances against the king have parallels to problems we face now.
Paul, who devoted his life to earning righteousness through the Mosaic law, found something that was foreign to him: grace. To clarify grace, he later wrote, if it is “by grace, it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Romans 11:6 NKJV). Grace is not dependent on us having something to offer as a prerequisite. If we say, “I can’t receive grace because I did not do well,” we have turned grace into a reward. It is no longer biblical grace. Grace (for instance, in the form of God’s help to us) isn’t given based on how well we’ve behaved, good deeds we’ve done, some charitable work we are proud of, or some difficult goal we’ve achieved. If we have received Christ, we are positioned for blessing because grace depends on his finished work, not ours.
Continue readingI read with interest the quotes you had gathered about repentance, addiction, and other subjects to help you grow. They are really good quotes.
I see one glaring problem with your quotes. First, read Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation [deliverance, rescue, or setting free] for everyone who believes…” The glaring omission from your quotes is Jesus Christ. He should be the star on every page of your quotes. V. 16 says so.
Continue readingSome of us may wonder why Christian growth seems to take such a long time, and we wonder if it is happening at all. Jesus addressed this issue in Mark 4. It’s a matter of how well we are hearing and receiving the message the Bible passage is trying to teach us. Frankly, the principles behind Bible learning are the same as learning other things as well.
How well do we listen? Regarding the message of the word, and hearing it, Jesus said, “But these [seeds] are sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” (Mark 4:20).
When Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord and ate the fruit of the wrong tree, the Lord spelled out the consequences for each of them in Genesis 3:16-19. These curses were not because God was angry or vindictive. It was much worse than that.
After these curses, we learn that Adam called his wife’s name Eve, “because she was the mother of all the living,” v. 20. Yet she was not the mother of all all life, was she? She did not create the animals or creeping things, neither the creatures of the air nor sea.
Continue readingMany words have been inked about the Son of God becoming a human being in the Christmas story. However, I seldom read of one aspect of the story, one important reason that’s left unmentioned, of why Jesus had to be born a human male.
Yes, He came to die for our sins, be buried, and rise from the dead, saving us from the wrath to come and giving us hope. Yes, He came to fulfill prophecy. He came to set up His kingdom. To reveal what God is really like and be our example to follow. To break the power of sin and the devil. To offer salvation by grace through faith for all. All of these blessed reasons are true and not to be taken lightly.
After seeing King Solomon’s riches and hearing his wisdom, the queen of Sheba said to him, “Behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I heard” (1 Kings 10:7, NASB).
What wonderful words to say when we’ve had our fill of daily bread in the Word of God, “The half was not told me” of my Lord. How wonderful is the wisdom of our Savior and the riches of grace we have in Him.
Continue readingWhile King Solomon stood before the people before the newly dedicated temple, he prayed for several scenarios in which they would need to pray before the temple of God’s presence. “When your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You” (1 Kings 8:33). This scenario of defeat will tell the people they have sinned and they’ll need to confess it to get God’s wisdom and strength for victory again. When they humble themselves and seek the Lord, order will be restored and the Lord will once again lead the way.
Continue readingAt the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, a house of prayer, Solomon prayed that when a foreigner “comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven” and answer their prayers that they “may know Your name and fear You” (1 Kings 8:41-43).
The contrast between the Pharisees of Jesus’ time and the Old Testament times regarding Gentiles is striking. Here, Solomon prays for the Lord to hear the Gentile prayers. And when we look among David’s mighty men in 2 Samuel 23:8-23, we find many non-Israelite nationals. Moses married a Moabite woman. Ruth was a foreigner, yet by God’s grace her story put her in the lineage of the Messiah (Matthew 1:5).
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