A View of Reality | 4/3/2023

In all the stuff of life it is easy for us to miss the forest for the trees. Near-sightedness – the willful neglect of the big picture and wider reality – is a symptom of human self-preeminence. You know you cannot run well while looking at your feet; the sprinter as well as the marathon runner keep their eyes ahead while progressing toward the goal.  Beginning with the Enlightenment, western civilization abandoned the goal; the focus became ourselves, and the foundation for hope crumbled. The result is today’s culture of cynicism.
 
Many children are told “You can be whatever you want to be,” but without a foundation and loving boundaries, the child – when a young adult – charges forward in what he thinks is freedom to determine his own truth and his own identity, only to end up drifting into the slough of despair. The lure of immediate gratification and living without defining parameters is tantamount to building a house without a foundation – it inevitably crumbles into a mound of debris.

The invasion of Jesus into our world, his perfect life, his colossal sacrifice of immeasurable love, his miracles – in particular, his resurrection – lift us up to a transcendent perspective to get a glimpse of the wider reality and rescue us from the hopelessness of self-reference.
 

The resurrection of Jesus changes everything!
 

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Connecting | 3/28/2023

It is a beautiful thing when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity.  The assumption is that they are together. I appreciate the thoughtful, prayerful time invested with Shean Philips and our pastoral staff on moving the merger conversation forward.  From this point, our focus is on getting people together and, from that, answering key questions.

With that in view, the pastoral staffs plan to meet weekly. We will also schedule joint board meetings.  But this is not just a leadership task – we are all in ministry.  Many of you serve in various capacities and we want to get the ministry teams of both churches together for fellowship and helpful conversation. Please be on the lookout for a contact from Dwight or Bobby about initiating meetings and conversations with your Vienna counterparts.

Here are some of the first things that have been scheduled to build relationship between the two congregations:

     April 1 (Sat) — Combined men’s breakfast at Vienna, 7:30 a.m.
     April 2  (Sun) — Pastor Shean will preach at Grace during morning worship, 10:00 a.m.
     April 5  (Wed) — Combined prayer gathering at Vienna, 6:30 p.m.
     April 5  (Wed) — GBC youth will meet with Vienna youth, 6:30 p.m.
     April 16 (Sun) — I will preach at Vienna during the morning worship, 10:30 a.m., followed by time for questions from the VBC family.
        
Here is an example of a delightful discovery about mutual connections with the folks of Vienna. I received a call from a missionary friend I had not heard from in a couple decades. His family is a part of the VBC family, and they are his sending church; it will be a joy to re-connect.

Several of you have approached me with creative ideas to get people from both congregations together – at a corporate level or a more personal or small group level. Let’s do it! And we want to hear about it. Being intentional about building meaningful, gospel-centered relationships is a work of God’s Spirit in us; let’s give it the time necessary for God to clearly lead us if he wants to open doors and prepare hearts and minds.

Though the GBC vote was overwhelmingly in favor of continuing the conversation, a few of you – though voting yes – wrote notes of caution on your ballots. We want to hear from you if you are willing to be transparent with your concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your questions or insights. Our goal is clarity and confidence of the Spirit’s leading.

God could be doing something new here. Imagine the impact of the combined strengths of ministry! Let’s be the church beautiful.
 

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Reach Out | 3/14/2023

As an instrument in the Redeemer’s hands, what do you do with the tools God places in your hands? When Jehovah called him to ministry, Moses was sure that the people would not believe him or listen to his voice.  Then God asked, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). This common instrument (a stick) turned out to be a tool that communicated the presence and power of God.
 

Something will soon be put into your hand – a book.  God has moved a generous donor to purchase enough paperback copies of 7 WORDS that can CHANGE YOUR LIFE so that every family can be given a book to give away to someone among your FRAN.

Here are some recommendations on what you can do:

1. Ask someone to read it. You can be ready to dialogue about the gospel.

2. Ask someone to read and study it together with you.

3. Disciple a new believer.

4. Give is to someone you can invite to study with your Care Group

5. Start an 8-week outreach or discipleship Bible study (there is precedent for this – with fruit!).

6. Give it to someone in a legalistic system and invite them to discover living by grace.

Do you want to see the Spirit of God work?  Be a willing instrument in his hands to extend grace to more and more people with the simple tool of a book.
 
On the Conversation about Merging:
 

Taking the initiative to reach out is key. Numerous folks have reached out already – from both churches. You can reach out with questions, reach out to make acquaintances (I’ve been blessed by this!), reach out to explore, reach out to pray together. Tomorrow night’s Prayer Gathering (6:00 p.m.) will focus on this conversation.

Here is a link to the FAQ document handed out on Sunday. A Q&A meeting is scheduled for this coming Sunday (19th) at 6:00 p.m. including pastor Shean and his board chairman, Jeremy Henry.
 
 

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Open Doors | 3/7/2023

Dear Family of Grace, here are three things I want to bring to your attention:
 

1. There is a specific way you can help spread the message of the gospel and invite people to the freedom of living by grace. This approach employs the dynamics of the online community.  When something is available for the public to purchase online, one of the first things looked for is reviews. The more reviews (assuming they lean favorably), the more people will be inclined to consider the product.
 

Our book (because you own it), 7 WORDS that can CHANGE YOUR LIFE, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. If you read the book and then leave a review, you will contribute to the increased possibility that more people will encounter the gospel. A review could be two words or two paragraphs, but it will help bring attention to the message.  If you would do that, thank you for taking the time to spread the word.

2. With this book, God has opened doors for speaking opportunities to present a message that supplements the theme of the book. The GBC board has granted me a set number of Sundays in the calendar year that I can be engaged in a speaking ministry outside of our church.  It is my joy and desire to share the message of living by grace to as many as possible. I deeply appreciate your understanding and prayer support for this ministry.

3. As stewards of the flock that God has entrusted to us, we remain sensitive to how and where his Spirit leads us forward in the mission of the gospel. God could be doing a new thing as a potential opportunity has been proposed to Grace Bible Church.
 

In that vein, I want to let you know that a special and important announcement will be made to the congregation on Sunday, March 12, following morning worship. The worship service will conclude at 11:00 a.m. so time can be given to the announcement.

 
Delight in his grace!
 

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Standout

It was a curious thing that ancient Israel wanted to be like other nations by having a king. I guess they didn’t want to stand out too much. Why is blending in so important to people? Everyone wants to be noticed and appreciated; many aspire to be the best in their field – notoriety based on accomplishment or bizarre behavior. But who is willing to be truly distinguished – being different in a way that prompts wonder?

“You’re not like other people” may be heard. Such a distinction is not pretense, but something about this person at the core sets them apart. Daniel distinguished himself because an excellent spirit was in him. Noah’s obedience – clearly not affirmed by others – condemned his generation. Joseph was set apart because God was with him. Peter and John were uneducated, common men, but baffled the educated men in high position who realized that they had been with Jesus.

When Moses debated with God about continuing on without God’s presence, he said “…Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:16) In other words, if God is not with us, what is the point? There would be no distinction. Throughout Scripture God’s people are set apart and called to be distinct by our faithfulness to God, by marching to his drumbeat, by living for his opinion alone (2 Corinthians 5:9), by living with the end in view and making his purpose our overriding goal.

Onlookers may think it strange or threatening; they may laugh or lash out. That may be new for us in 21st century America, but it was nothing new in history – consider Daniel, Noah, and Joseph; the prophets, the apostles, and the martyrs of church history.

Amy Carmichael, an Irish missionary to India mused, “Certain it is that the reason there is so much shallow living—much talk but little obedience—is that so few are prepared to be, like the pine on the hilltop, alone in the wind for God.” Blending in is like hiding your lamp under a bushel; it is like tasteless salt. None of which makes sense if indeed you are part of “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Christian – God’s Spirit has taken up residence in you. He is the Spirit of truth, and where the Spirit is, there is liberty, and the ability to walk lovingly in God’s commands without fear. In this loving, fearless walk God promises to manifest himself to you; as you draw near to God, he will draw near to you. And who is like the Lord our God? Step out, take the bushel off of your lamp. May your walk with the benevolent, sovereign, Creator/Redeemer compel others to say that God really is among you.

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Train Your Memory

You are forging pathways in your brain. Habits of thought are like water – the default is following the path of least resistance. There is a reason why it is easier to have a “good day” when things are going as you like, and a “bad day” when things are not going so well. Picture yourself at the beach building a sand mound; you fill a bucket of water and pour it over the mound – it forges pathways in the sand. If you pour water a second time – the water will not so much forge new pathways as it will follow the path of least resistance and flow down the established pathways.

This points to the necessity of the biblical virtue of meditation – considering God, and then expressing the fruits of that process.

May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.

Psalm 104:34

This was Asaph’s resolve in a season of despondency filled with questions. The 77th Psalm records his thoughts as he prays his emotions.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.

Psalm 77:11–12

Asaph begins with three truths about God’s benevolent sovereignty:

“Your way is holy” – God’s ways are far above ours because he is infinite and transcends time and space. His ways are pure – they do not include pretense, misunderstanding, or ill will.

“What God is great like our God?” – there is no higher, purer, or more trustworthy object of trust.

“You have made known your might among the peoples” – God’s providential power is not myth or wishful thinking – it is objective reality.

Then the Psalmist trains his memory on an actual event in history – a time of God’s awesome deliverance of his people, which was a display of God’s unrivaled power and his control over the created order. Three realities of his deliverance emerge:

“Your way was through the sea” – not around it or avoiding it, but through it.

“Yet your footprints were unseen” – the people had to exercise trust.

“You led your people like a flock” – With tender care, God leads his people in community.

Laura Andrews sums it up well: “We approach God because he eagerly invites us, and because our shame is ultimately eclipsed by his desire to make us holy. What’s more, Jesus is our High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and has been tempted as we are. As a result, we can draw near to God’s throne with confidence and receive mercy and grace for our needs.”[1]

The discipline of meditation will forge new pathways – train the brain – to meditate on things that are true, noble, just, pure, trustworthy, excellent, good, praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8) – all that is the character and purpose of God.

________________________________________________________________

[1] Laura Andrews | CCEF | “God Loves a Complainer”

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Using Your Memory Well

Sometimes you feel like the walls around you are closing in; or you are drifting in a dark tunnel unsure of where it is taking you. In times of adversity or crisis our memories can be slaves to gloom. A despondent mind will remember dark details and expand upon the dismal realities of the present.

Let’s look at two examples in Scripture:

My soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

[Psalm 77:2-4]

Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!

My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

[Lamentations 3:19–20]

These are examples of God’s people praying their emotions with raw honesty. They admit that their struggles are in the bitter providence of God. In these times your self-talk can be wearing a deep rut in a negative direction, but as C.H. Spurgeon said, “That same recollection that on the one hand brings so many gloomy omens may be trained instead to provide a wealth of hopeful signs.” At this point Asaph and Jeremiah help us with a pivotal undertaking – anchoring their remembering in what is unchanging.

As persons made in God’s image, they engaged the selective power of what occupied their minds. “My spirit made a diligent search,” cried Asaph. “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope,” affirmed Jeremiah. They rehearsed the character and kept promises of God through his mighty acts of grace. Their conclusions were the same – God is not like us; he is like what he has done. He is faithful, and he does all things well.

We are called to interpret our present circumstances in light of God’s known faithfulness in the past. Remember the loving kindness of the Lord and rehearse his deeds of grace. Forgetfulness is one of humanity’s greatest spiritual maladies, which is why the Scriptures constantly call us to remember (see 2 Peter 1:3-14). Forgetfulness will lead to wandering from God, but fresh experiential knowledge of God (remembering and following – even when you don’t feel like it) will lead you to a walk of enduring hope garnished with joy and mystifying peace (Philippians 4:4-9).

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

That I May Know Him

“Eternal life” is a designation not just of duration (forever, without end), but of an unsurpassed quality.  Jesus said: “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Eternal life is entering into communion with and delighting in the triune God.
 
As Paul outlines the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, we see a progression in his knowledge, experience, and ambition: …that I may gain Christ; …and be found in him; …that I may know him (Philippians 3:8-10). His union with Christ incited the passion to know him more.  A principle of personal development is that whatever skill you want to improve, spend time with those who are excellent at it. I admire Abraham Lincoln and would like to emulate his virtues of leadership, confidence, and compassion. But knowing about the 16th president could not be the same as knowing him, speaking with him personally, or working alongside him. Paul’s statement about Christ presents him as the objective and the means to that objective. 
 
To know Christ means to know his life, his character, his unwavering ambition to glorify the Father, his compassion, and his strength. Paul recognized that what Jesus Christ was in his strength and perfection was, in fact, the objective of Paul’s life and existence. What better way to become like Christ than through interaction, emulation, and communion with him. Spend time with, walk with, do life with the One who is excellent in every way – the One who is altogether lovely, in whom you will never find disappointment.
 
Paul’s recognition of Christ as his life’s objective developed in him the consuming ambition to know him. Therein is the means of becoming like him. This path is reflected in John’s statement: “When he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). This is full and first-hand acquaintance and presence, as well as full conformity to the perfections of his character.  John continues: “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:3).  Does it not stand to reason that if we are satisfied in Christ, we will not rest until we are like the One who satisfied us so?  David wrote: “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (Psalm 17:15).   
 
May our prayer be as the words of the song: “burn all desire, ‘til You are my one delight.”  As I know Jesus Christ with my whole being, he becomes the ambitions and architect of my whole being.

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

True, Right, and Good

The Bible instructs us to honor everyone (1 Peter 2:17).  Jesus said the whole law is summed up in two commands: love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40).  Unlike the lawyer who – wanting to justify himself – tested Jesus by asking “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29), today the question is, what does it mean to love or honor? We need to discern what is truly loving and honoring in challenging cultural contexts.

Is it honoring to endorse one’s disobedience to Scripture? Is it loving to celebrate behavior that is contrary to God’s character and purpose?  Is it kind to endorse what God says is not good? We are not called to support or say what is not true or right.  In other words, we should not live by lies.

But here is the tension, if you abstain from saying or supporting what is not true or right – yet culturally popular, you take the risk of being branded as unloving, unkind, or even hateful – worthy of being shunned and silenced.

How do followers of Jesus Christ interact with the unbelieving community – being faithful to God and his word, yet gracious to fellow humans? We must recognize that faithfulness may come at a cost.

The Sunday Night Seminar, “How to Champion What is True, Right, and Good” addresses these questions, and is designed to equip you to make biblically faithful decisions and dialogue with a Christ-like disposition as these challenges arise in our day-to-day lives – work, home, extended family, and neighborhoods.

“How to Champion What is True, Right, and Good” is a three-part Sunday Night Seminar series beginning January 22nd at 6:00 p.m.

Start a conversation with this seminar. Follow up  that conversation  with 7 WORDS that can CHANGE YOUR LIFE or a podcast on the message of grace.
 

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

A Good Word

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
Prov. 12:25

Jehoshaphat was in a quandary; the small nation of Judah was being attacked by a coalition of nations that surrounded his. What did he do? He “set his face to seek the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:3). Imagine a king confessing “we are powerless… we do not know what to do” (2 Chronicles 20:12). Admitting he was at the end of his resources the king resolved, “our eyes are on you.” – Jehovah, the God of Israel.

This was not just a bad situation where a godly king implored God to “do something about it.” Jehoshaphat set himself to focus on the character of God and his promises as specified in his revealed word.  As a result, God sent strong encouragement and confidence to the king – so much that he lined up the choir in front of the infantry. As they marched to meet the challenge they sang, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21).  This king was faced with circumstances beyond his control. Instead of sulking about victimization and defeat he encouraged himself in the God who has revealed Himself and he overcame.

To the 50,000 that had returned from exile and had been gripped to tears by the words of the Law, Nehemiah and Ezra encouraged them saying, “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Nehemiah reports that the people rejoiced greatly “because they had understood the words that were declared to them” (Nehemiah 8:12).

The joy God gives from an understanding of his truth
is a place and means of safety.

 
That is the meaning of Nehemiah’s word “strength.”
 
The Scriptures abound with expressions like,
 

In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches (Psalm 119:14)
I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word (Psalm 119:16)
 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart  (Psalm 19:8)

Is it because these are such great pick-me-up sound bites? Or could it be that what we have in the Scriptures is not the wavering perspectives of human opinion and emotion, but the eternally enduring word of the infinite, holy, and loving God who redeems us and draws us to himself? The first Psalm affirms this truth:  the one who is blessed (joyful) is the one who delights in God’s Word; it is the good word which makes one glad, and a joyful heart is good medicine. The joy of the Lord is your strength – practice this truth.

Copyright © 2023 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Set Apart

As you read about the sacrificial requirements of the Mosaic Law (The Old Covenant/Testament), the amount of animal sacrifices becomes daunting. They were performed by God’s people according to God’s command. So why does David write, “In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted” (Psalm 40:6)? The sacrificial system was not the ultimate remedy for the plight of humanity. Those sacrifices were merely a reminder of the sins of humanity (Hebrews 10:3). Also, no animal willfully volunteered to be sacrificed, nor did it have any righteousness to be imputed to the faithful. It was only a temporary foreshadowing of the true remedy – the greater reality of Messiah who would present his own perfect life as the sacrifice for the sins of humanity.
 

The writer of Hebrews attributes this quote to Jesus (it certainly could not apply to David), who would come to do the Father’s will. It focuses on the necessity of a body – hence Christmas.  Christ necessarily had a body not only to be sacrificed, but to live a faultless and complete life among us in the Father’s will.
 

And what was the Father’s will?
 

It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring;
he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Isaiah 53:10
 

Christ purposed to come into the world to do the Father’s will (Hebrews 10:7) and do it with delight (Psalm 40:8). But in the crushing moments before his betrayal, he found it necessary to confirm the Father’s will due to the unspeakable cost – separation from the Father.  When Jesus said, “yet not my will but yours be done” he was communicating love. Christ’s sacrifice was his supreme act of love – for the Father. He was fulfilling the Father’s love for us.
 

The Father’s desire and sovereign plan was to create a redeemed and new humanity by reconciling sinners to himself. That is why – the same night of Jesus’ prayer in the garden and his betrayal, he uttered very significant words to his apostles, “this cup …is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25).  Jesus’ crushing sacrifice launched something new – righteous humanity. A new humanity was created in the perfect likeness of Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 4:17-24). Unlike the animals, his sacrifice was the supreme, definitive, and final one because his life was perfect, and because he is an infinite being.
 

God is creating masterpieces in his people who – now, under the new covenant – have full and complete forgiveness, newness (the nature of the parent handed down to the child), and his presence through the indwelling Holy Spirit. As the writer of Hebrews insightfully writes, “by that will” (the Father’s will and the Son’s willful, delightful obedience) “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). We – in Christ – are set apart to God. We are set apart to him not just one day a week, but we exist (do everyday life) in a state of being devoted to him. This is not something we do – it is what Christ has done for us.
 

The best way to remember Christ’s sacrifice for you is to practice the presence of God. That is your privilege because you have been reconciled to him. That is the measure of your success. So, draw near to God, abide in Christ, walk in the Spirit, and let his word dwell in you richly.  Then live in the outflow.

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

HOPE and REST

God has made himself known to us in person.  He wants us to know him and enjoy him. He calls us to find our forgiveness and our hope in surrender and submission to his Son.
 

He has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also he created the world.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
 and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
 After making purification for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews 1:2-3

Who is like our God? O come, let us adore him!

Christmas Day is this coming Sunday. Our one gathering as a church will be at 6:00 p.m. at the Lord’s Table. Let’s meet there to remember and give thanks in wonder and humility.

This Christmas may you find peace and delight in the marvel of God’s grace. May your hope rest in what he has done, and may you live with anticipation of what he has promised.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

The Prince of Peace

Human history since Genesis 3, according to C. S. Lewis,  is the long terrible story of man trying to find his satisfaction and significance in something other than God. It is the story of man looking to himself for meaning or at least to determine his own meaning. For strong personalities and influencers, that meaning comes through the control and manipulation of others. To look back on the history of human government is - for the most part - an endless thread of hubris, intrigue, corruption and oppression.

So it is very good news when God announces to us that a child is born and a Son is given, and the government will be upon the shoulders of the One who is the Prince of Peace. His will be unending dominion over all the created order (Eph. 1:10). Shalom will be one of the chief characteristic of his perpetual reign, meaning, we who enjoy him will be forever in a state of completeness and soundness. We will be in his favor, his delight, and our satisfaction. It will be an eternal state of prosperity where we will know unfading security and perpetual novelty in the infinite One.

This is the longing at the core of every person because we are created in God's image. We exist for him, so it is in him that we find our highest purpose and deepest satisfaction. This ultimate reality can only be found in union with and submission to the Prince of Peace who came to us from the Father, and who did the work and paid the price necessary for our peace with God. So, in Christ, we can live a life of anticipation - even in the current, transient context of intrigue, manipulation, brokenness, and frustration.

On the other hand, those who live for themselves and demand life without the Prince of Peace will, in the end, get what they want. But here is what they don't know - because God is infinite, there is nowhere that he is not (Ps. 139:7-12). Those who deny or ignore the Prince of Peace will be eternally separated from his loving and satisfying presence, but his holy presence will be a perpetual consuming fire.

Surrendering to the Prince of Peace is the only life that can make sense of the journey. The brokenness and frustration of this present world is too much to bear without suppression of truth and denial of reality. Were it not for the One who is the anchor of our reality - the Prince of Peace -  there would be no prospect of inner peace. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (Col. 3:15).

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Comfort and Joy

Did you know that your brother is a king? Congratulations! That makes you royalty. Jesus, your sovereign Redeemer, is not ashamed to be called your brother (Hebrews 2:11). 

We all love a pauper-to-prince story. The Bible has the most significant one because it has to do specifically with you. Joseph’s rags-to-riches saga is one of the most well-known narratives of the Scriptures. But it may not be as well-known that in it, we see foreshadowings of the greatest story of redemption and forgiveness. For example, when Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers in Egypt, and while their jaws were still gaping in stunned silence, Joseph reported, “God sent me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5). A brother, sent to endure suffering, then rise to prominence in order that his brothers might live. Sound familiar? 

There is another foreshadowing in the story where Judah, the forefather of Messiah, offered himself as a substitute for his brother, Benjamin. “For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life’” (Genesis 44:32).  Jesus was our substitute in payment of a debt so that we could be brought back to the Father.

“For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory,
should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Hebrews 2:10

”For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”
1 Peter 3:18 

That is why, writes the author of Hebrews, Jesus “had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). There is a necessity to the Christmas story – he had to be made like his brothers. Without Christ coming to us in human form there is no redemption or forgiveness – we are doomed in hopeless despair. But…

“God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day
To save us all from Satan's pow'r
When we were gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy!”

Contemplate the sovereign grace of your Creator/Redeemer this Christmas season.

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

The Nearness of God

The Genesis record has love stories that far outdo Hallmark romances. Isaac and Rebekah getting together is one of them. In Genesis 24, banking on God’s promises, Abraham delegated his chief servant to go to the land of Abraham’s heritage to find a wife for Isaac – the son through whom God would fulfill his promises. Without clarity as to how he would recognize “the right one”, nor the certainty that she would agree to come back with him, the servant sets out to the land of Mesopotamia in search of a bride for his master’s son.

Having arrived at his destination, the servant was gripped by the enormity of his task. So, he prayed that God would “show steadfast love” to his master, Abraham, and lead him to the right woman for the success of his mission. Trusting the promise that God made to his master, the servant requested a specific sign – when I ask a young woman for water, she will offer to water my camels, too. Camels drink a LOT of water!

As the servant pulled up to a well at evening watering time, the “amen” to his prayer was, “By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master” (Genesis 24:14). Before he finished his prayer, the young and beautiful Rebekah approached the well. He asked her for water; she gladly refreshed him… then she offered to water his camels!

Upon discovering Rebekah’s heritage, the servant was once again gripped – but no longer by the magnitude of the task. When God answered his request with specific detail, he became intensely aware that God was near – he heard, he provided, his love was steadfast. The servant bowed down and worshiped.

The word translated “steadfast love” is the Hebrew word hesed, which Michael Card defines as, “When the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything.”* It is the LORD our God who purposes and brings to pass through his loving providence. He comes near to grace us with his goodness in unmistakable ways. God has spoken to us in his Son (Hebrews 1:2; Philippians 2:6-7). He is the God who comes near. Bow and worship him.

_____________________* Michael Card, Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s lovingkindness, (IVP Books, 2018) p.5

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Gratitude: Taking God at His Word

We learn by observing people. I can name numerous people off the top of my head that have left lasting impressions on me either by interaction or through reading about them. This is one of the great values of the Old Testament. Paul said, “whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction” (Romans 15:4). Indeed, we have a “great cloud of witnesses” that lived long ago but left valuable life lessons about living by faith. Not one of them was perfect; they all had flaws and blind spots, yet they are in the canon of Scripture as exemplars of faith.

Genesis 12 introduces us to Abram and Sarai. From this point on, the record of Scripture is about their family through which all nations will be blessed (Genesis 12:3). God had promised Abram protection and posterity, but Abram was still learning what trusting God’s promises looked like in the everyday.

When Abram ventured to Egypt, he was sure that his beautiful wife would be noticed. He assumed that he would be killed so Sarai could be taken for Pharoah’s harem. Abram was scared for his life and God’s promise was obscured. So, he lied to Pharoah and engineered a narrative to prioritize his own safety to the jeopardy of Sarai, placing her in a precarious situation in Pharoah’s house.

After God intervened to rescue Sarai, we find her having an Egyptian servant who – she thought – would be useful in helping God keep his promise of a progeny since she was now old and beyond childbearing (Genesis 16). So, she and Abram arranged for her servant, Hagar, to be the mother of Abram’s son. When Hagar became pregnant, however, she demonstrated such contempt for her that Sarai could not abide so, she required that Hagar be sent away.

From those who line heaven’s hall of faith, albeit as imperfect humans (Hebrews 11), we learn what we tend to do when we do not take God at his word:1) We deceive because the truth becomes less important, 2) we manipulate circumstances to fit our priorities, 3) we marginalize moral boundaries and put others in jeopardy, 4) we compare ourselves, leading to jealousy and entitlement, 5) we create division and hostility.

God’s precious and very great promises, however, form in us the nature and character of Jesus (“partaker of the divine nature”) and free us from the corruption that is the product of sinful desire (2 Peter 1:4). This calls for our gratitude – not just a spoken “thank you” – but a life of taking God at his word that manifests trust instead of manipulation, rest instead of anxiety, stewardship instead of control, confidence instead of comparisons, and harmony instead of division. Taking God at his word produces a life marked by gratitude, which is the fountainhead of happiness and harmony.

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Let There Be Light

With you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light – Ps. 36:9.

God has turned his light on in our darkness by his self-disclosure. “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (Jn. 8:12), and the writer of Hebrews speaks of him as the radiance of God’s glory (Heb. 1:1-3). “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (Jn 1:4).

So, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7) and “the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9:10); “the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Prov. 2:6).

“Light” is the information that God gives us to understand the reality of life, beginning with God himself as the greatest and most important reality. Thereby we understand ourselves, and our world, in the light of God’s character and purpose. Conversely, darkness is ignorance and unbelief – “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). Jesus said, “he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).

All this leads up to the understanding of Ps. 36:9, “in your light do we see light”. Only through God’s self-disclosure (“your light”) do we grow in our understanding of the reality of what is (“do we see light”), leading us toward not just knowledge (science) but wisdom – the skill of doing life well according to God’s design and desire.

Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.
Psalm 119:98–100

It is like C.S. Lewis explained, “I believe in Christianity like I believe in the sun, not just because I see it, but by it I see everything else” (emphasis mine). Therefore, the Psalmist proclaimed how much he loved God’s self-disclosure, and it was his constant meditation (Ps. 119:97).

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:1–3

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

4 Hallelujahs!

John records an awesome praise and worship event that climaxes in a feast for the ages (Rev. 19:1-10). As Handel’s Messiah peaks in the Hallelujah Chorus and – traditionally – listeners have found it difficult to remain in their seats, this occasion crests four times with a collective shout of “Hallelujah!” – the universal word for “Praise God!” The multitude gives thanks and credit to God for four things:

First, truth (v1-2). The beauty and power of truth rightly orders and reflects God’s character and purpose. Deceit and lies will always fail, truth triumphs in the end. Second, justice (v3). All corrupt human systems, from the individual to empires that manipulate fellow man through deceit and oppression, will burn on the ash heap of history forever. The Spirit informs us that the Father anoints the Son with the oil of gladness because he hates wickedness and rules with uprightness (Heb 1:8-9). Third, purpose (v4-5). “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him small and great.” Paul states it plainly, “We make it our aim to be pleasing to him” (2 Cor. 5:10). Those who serve the benevolent sovereign are free and successful people. Finally, relationship (v6-8). This grand praise and worship event leads to a magnificent banquet and the fourth “Hallelujah!” The volume of this expression could be compared to being right at the Niagara Falls in the middle of the loudest thunderstorm you can imagine! Why the celebration? Because we are standing in the presence of the One who is absolutely good. We are reconciled to the One who is our deepest satisfaction – forever!

There is a mix of things that keeps me going back to the BASICS Conference in Chagrin Falls, Ohio every year at the beginning of May. Besides the rich teaching from God’s word by men who faithfully love and serve him, there is nothing like the experience of 1,200 men singing sweet biblical truth with enthusiasm. To top it all off is the spread of food provided for conference attendees. Every year I have attended I have left full of joy with a renewed vigor for ministry. But this is a tiny taste test compared to the worship banquet we will experience in God’s presence when we are done being under the sun.

While we remain in this earthly tent, let us pursue these for certainties in the light of God’s self-disclosure – truth, justice, purpose, and relationship – because we know that when all is said and done, these four triumph with great celebration and pleasure.

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

Christ Preeminent

When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he began with acknowledging God, “Our Father,” for who he is. Our understanding of what is will be deficient to the degree that we do not know God as he has revealed himself because all things were made by him and for him. For this reason, Jesus taught his followers the primary request in prayer is that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What’s going on in heaven? Worship. John’s vision gives us a glimpse (Revelation 4 and 5); the scene is one of spectacular order and beauty. All that happens is focused on the majestic being and gracious activities of the triune God. The endeavor of every created being is adoringly toward the One who is in focus because he alone has made this possible through his creative will and redemptive sacrifice.

Every creature in the heavenly scene enters into the resounding chorus, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” In this scene Christ is preeminent in everything. This is what is going on in heaven, so we are to ask that the same happens where we are now. All my activity, intellect, wealth, and ability are directed toward the One who is worthy of my unrivaled devotion. Everything that is weighty, beautiful, and praiseworthy is anchored in the One who is my deepest satisfaction and highest good.

This may not be happening around me, but I can seek the Spirit’s presence and power to see that it is happening in me and through me. Now is a good time to engage in this as dress rehearsal for our ultimate reality. We are told that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). To do this now is to worship God through the preeminence of Christ in all our endeavors.

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.

In the Love of God

Your life is a continual building process and God has promised to complete the work. Even though the outer self may be wasting away, the inner self is being renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4:16). In contrast to those who live according to their passions progressing toward destruction, Jude encourages you to be “building yourselves up in your most holy faith” (Jude 20). The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ that God has revealed is that “most holy faith” – there is nothing else even close to it. Peter’s final words to his readers was to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). To know the grace of Christ and to grow in it is to know his love for you. His boundless, endless, unconditional love is manifested most clearly on the cross where God’s love and holiness collided – his grace lavished upon you.

For this reason, Jude instructs you to “keep yourselves in the love of God” (Jude 21). At first glance it sounds like staying in God’s love is up to you, but it is not. God’s love is not like a room that you can walk in and out of, or a coat that you can take off and put on again a la “He loves me, he loves me not.” That would be oppressive and contrary to his steadfast love. Keeping yourself is the task of custody like the stewardship of exercising, managing, and guarding your heart and mind. The love of God is the element in which you do this – that does not change.

Dear chosen and beloved, God’s love is not dependent on your actions. You cannot make him love you any more or any less! Your actions, however, can flow out of experiencing God’s love encasing your life. Your life is built up and nurtured as you are occupied with God’s love in your walk with him. Jesus said the same thing using himself as an example; “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:9–10). Do you see the reciprocity? You are in his love. If you keep your attitudes and affections occupied by his love, you will love what he loves and do what he loves.

Copyright © 2022 Grace Bible Church, All rights reserved.