Good morning!

I was out golfing this week with a friend of mine. We keep score and this round was not a good one for me. That has me thinking about how we evaluate our performance...measuring up. This reminds me to think again about where salvation comes from – not our work but the work of Jesus, our Savior.
 
How often do you get caught in the trap of whether you have jumped high enough or run fast enough or worked long enough or played golf well enough (LOL)…or <fill in the blank>?
 
In our work places, in any ministry work and daily lives, we measure performance.
 
Does this leave you exhausted? Is this how your relationship with Jesus Christ looks? Pursuit of His love through performance to meet some bar of perfection?
 
I know I have been and probably still will be guilty of that at times. God shares His truth about us and His love for us and gives us the right perspective in this passage below from Romans.
 
Romans 3:21-26
Righteousness Through Faith
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
 
Not one of us will measure up to the perfection that God requires of us – sounds bad right – but God knows that about us – so He provides the solution for us – the perfect sacrifice of atonement for us – Jesus Christ – and not just for Jews, but for us Gentiles as well. We become justified and right(eous) before God because of the blood of Christ – through faith in Jesus Christ as our savior.
 
No we do not measure up...so no striving on our part to get salvation will bring us that! But – only our  faith in Christ, through which we receive God’s grace and mercy; we receive a repaired relationship with God. Even our faith is a work of God, as shared in the Gospel of John (John 6:44), God draws us to Christ. God is calling out for us to return home to Him.
 
It is not that we shouldn’t work or measure that work or set goals.
 
However, the motivation for the work we do in the name of Jesus Christ should flow from the joy of knowing we received salvation by His hand alone.
 
Setting goals and measure helps us focus work, but it shouldn’t take over how we value ourselves – leaving us tired, frustrated or depressed. For if we truly get up every day to do our work, where ever that is, and we are focused on celebrating the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, then we can rest in our title given from above – “children of God”. And know we perfect before God – through Jesus and His work.
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is we find peace in God’s truth about each of us as His children and we put behind us trying to strive for His approval – for He has given us that approval – through Your sacrifice Lord Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

I think more than ever we need to give and to receive grace. So to that end I want to share again about one of God’s attributes – His graciousness. Today we find ourselves living with more strife and hate around us, so, we, more than ever, can be a light of love and truth through living and giving grace freely.
 
For the most part all of God’s attributes could be described in some way as being beautiful but this one in particular shines a beautiful light – the light of having been made new – and made right before God. So this attribute is an action word – we mostly treat it as a noun – we received God’s grace when we were saved…but this attribute – gracious – implies action, something that involves effort, pouring something valuable out of oneself to another…personal, really personal!
 
If any of you believe you are saved and now are a child of God through His Son’s death on the Cross, you know God’s graciousness. I know God’s graciousness. And since that saving moment in my life, God’s graciousness continues to grow. It hasn’t been a one-time thing.
 
And graciousness is a relationship building attribute. Relationships flourish when covered in grace – when we are gracious to each other – when we pour ourselves graciously into each other’s lives strong relationships are built.
 
Graciousness, as an action, breaks down walls, opens doors for us to nurture and build bridges to harder to know and love people or taking steps to loving our enemies…
 
That brings questions to mind – in that God takes an active doing role in bringing his graciousness into our lives – do I see God’s graciousness present in the world? Do I see it in my life? Is God filling my life – pouring out His graciousness into me? If the answer is no, maybe I should ask myself - what steps can I take to build bridges using this godly attribute – using it as an action not a noun – to SHARE God’s grace with others? Might living graciously in relationship to others open my eyes to God’s graciousness. If the answer is yes, how can I take that graciousness I am receiving and pour it back out into others’ lives?

• Gracious

Most of us are familiar with the idea that grace is unmerited mercy / favor from God which we received through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Put another way, mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve, and grace is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it. Mercy is deliverance from judgment. Grace is extending kindness to the unworthy.
 
So as commented above, do I pass on this blessing actively as a verb into the lives of others around me?
 
Psalm 84:11-12 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.”
Comments: You can see parts of how God is gracious described in these verses – God s gracious providing warmth and protection, giving the gifts of favor and honor – not withholding anything good for those whose walk is blameless…our walk becomes blameless before God when we were/are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. This expression of graciousness is ours when we trust our God. How do I use the graciousness God is giving me in relationship to others?
 
John 1:12-14 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Comments: Part of God’s graciousness is that when we received Jesus Christ, and believed on His name, it was an act of adoption by God. Graciously we have been made children of God. As we see here, Jesus came full of grace – grace and graciousness from God made available to all of us through Christ’s death and resurrection on the Cross – He came to save with grace – not to condemn.
 
2 Timothy 1:9-10 “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
Comments: Paul shares here that God’s graciousness belongs to Him – that we receive it and it is His doing not ours or of our effort – and we receive it through Jesus Christ – which was God’s plan before the beginning of time…but we are then called in the great commission to share this immense gift – not that we can bestow God’s grace or graciousness – but we can imitate that graciousness in our lives with those around us whoever they might be…so the light of Christ shines into the world – because showing grace or acting graciously is wrapped up in loving others.
 
Let us be givers of grace, not just receivers of God's grace! Let God’s graciousness to us flow back out into the world! 
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into the weekend is that we turn from just being the recipients of God’s grace into being His givers of graciousness to all those around us, to all those we encounter, so they too have a taste of Your grace which we received through You and Your work on the Cross, our Savior! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

Have you ever pondered how God throughout your life is working and shaping you?

Have you ever looked back and realized a certain challenge or circumstance now looks a lot like God’s hand in your life preparing you for your current season, circumstance or challenge?

Have you ever wondered about the process of sanctification, the work of God through the Holy Spirit, the work to perfect you so that on the day you stand before our King Jesus, you now reflect His perfection?
 
I participate in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) which runs from September through early May. Several years ago we were studying some Old Testament books which included studying Solomon’s life in the book of 1 Kings. There are lots of metaphor’s in what God shares with us about Solomon…
 
Studying that lesson for BSF brought a revelation in this area around the process we call sanctification…
 
1 Kings 5:17-18 “At the king's command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the men of Gebal did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.”
1 King 6:7 “7 When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.”
1 Kings 9:3 “And the Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting my name there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”
 
One of the BSF group leaders made an observation about the temple being built by Solomon – that it foreshadowed this truth – that each of us today, our body and soul, as a believer in Jesus Christ, houses the Holy Spirit. We are a temple for God here on this earth, in preparation for our eternal destination which is to live in the full presence of God in heaven.
 
This truth is still foreshadowing the perfect union of God’s people, fully sanctified in the presence of Jesus Christ in the new heaven and new earth.
 
BSF provides notes around the scripture we study each week. I found the notes supported this thinking around sanctification. Here is the paragraph from the notes that really grabbed my attention:

God’s people are living stones He is building together into a holy temple. As God dwells in and with us, our lives can display Him to the world. Because our bodies are God’s temple, how we use our bodies matters to God. How can you show God’s glory in your time alone and with others, whether at work, home or in the world? Through ordinary acts of obedience and love, God’s glory shines out to others through us.
 
As I read the notes, having the group leader’s comment about us being the temple, it became clear, as each of us is a part of Jesus’ Church, each a stone in the construction of the temple – in Heaven we become perfectly like Christ. BUT here in this life (offsite or on this side of heaven – away from where the temple is being built (see 1 Kings 6:7 – stones were prepared at the quarry) God through the Holy Spirit, is chiseling us (offsite – in this life) before bringing us to our place in the temple (as a perfected stone properly fit and ready).

To me this sounds like the perfect picture of the process of sanctification – is that process of chiseling, smoothing the stone out so that it fits perfectly.
 
I would like to wrap up by asking you this question – Have you or are you seeing, experiencing or feeling God chiseling you into that perfect stone as a part of Christ’s Church?
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that our eyes turn toward our Perfector, You, Lord Jesus Christ, recognize Your work, through the Holy Spirit, being done in our lives and that we give God all the praise and glory for that work, even when it hurts, for it brings us that much closer to being face to face with You, our Savior. Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

​Especially in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is often found sharing and teaching through parables. Here is an example followed by some thoughts about this.
 
Matthew 13:3-9 “Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.””
 
Many of those reading this have heard this part of the Matthew’s Gospel and know that what follows is the disciples asking why Jesus spoke in parables. We know from His response that, if our heart is hard our eyes and ears will be closed and we will miss His message and call to us.
 
A few years back, this part of the Gospel was the main reading and basis of the sermon which focused on an idea related to this – the idea of commitment (commitment as an inflexion point or an enunciation…)…when we make our commitment to Christ, our surrender to Him, our eyes and ears are opened.
 
We know this is not a one-time event – that keeping our eyes and ears open means deepening our relationship with Christ. What makes that possible is God is now indwelling through the Holy Spirit.
 
So how can we deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ?
 
As I was listening to that sermon, a clear thought came to mind about the idea of “good soil” or “rich soil”…our soil – our hearts become good or rich when we spend time with God… through His Word…we can enrich the soil of our faith and how we live it every day, we can enrich the openness of the hearts (openness of the soil to receive and nurture truth) by spending time in God’s Word.
 
And for me, this thought becomes really interesting when you read John 1:1-5 and 1:14:
 
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
 
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
 
Here John shares that the Word of God is not just scripture, it is God, through Jesus Christ, the Word became one of us.
 
For me, this seems to tie things together – even with Jesus back in heaven, we have God with us through the Holy Spirit and we have God’s Word in scripture which tells us the Word was God. So, if we want to enrich the soil of our hearts, open our eyes and ears, and to really understand and embrace our relationship with Christ, have our faith grow and be shared in the world, and for Christ’s light to shine and overcome darkness…we need to spend time in the Word – it will bring us to closer to God.
 
So much for my musings. 

What do you see in the soil of your heart?

Is it rich from time with God, in His Word?

Or is suffering from lack of water and nutrients?
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we enter this weekend is that each of us are finding time daily to enrich the soil of our hearts, where our faith is nurtured and grown through the Your presence through the Holy Spirit, by being in the Word! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick

Good morning!

I think the last several years, which have at times seemed surreal, dreamlike at times and even nightmarish at other times, have driven me deeper into my faith. My desire to know my Savior, Lord Jesus, to walk with him, has been a constant drum beat in my life, getting more intense as each day passes. Maybe, just maybe, it is the ticking of the clock, my getting older…LOL, but I don’t think so. God has placed on my heart the consuming desire to know Him, to know Him through His Son, Jesus.
 
So with that as a back drop, I reached back to some past thoughts on what it means to be a Christ follower:
 
“A Christian is: a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ helps.”
Saint Augustine
 
When I saw this quote it just resonated with me. It seems to speak to the idea that living as a Christian is being a person that produces fruit in living, fruit that flows out of faith founded in God’s gift of mercy and grace, leading us to surrender our lives to Christ, laying our lives down, picking up our cross to follow Jesus, living for Him and His glory, not for ourselves.
 

• A mind through which Christ thinks – see Philippians 2:5-8 – “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

 
Other related verses - 1 Corinthians 2:16; Luke 19:10; Luke 5:16; Matthew 9:36. A commentary from one person about what the mind of Christ means – “Having the mind of Christ means we understand God’s plan in the world—to bring glory to Himself, restore creation to its original splendor, and provide salvation for sinners.”
 

• A heart through which Christ loves – see Matthew 11:29 – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” In just reading this verse , I can almost sense the gentleness of Jesus and His deep and abiding love.

 

• A voice through which Christ speaks – as we study the Word (see John 1:1-5 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” ), we become equipped by Christ to actively share the Good News – both that we are all sinners, not one of us has our own righteousness (Romans 3:9-11), and then that indeed, through Christ’s perfect sacrifice we can be saved (John 3:16-18). We are a voice that Christ can use.

 

• A hand through which Christ helps – see Matthew 25:34-36 – “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’” Our hearts ought to be so full of Christ’s presence through the Holy Spirit, that we bear this kind of fruit of service to others, putting ourselves aside to see to the needs of others. In this we do need to remember that our motive in this work is not earning salvation, but rather an outpouring of the love, grace and mercy we received when we became children of God (see Ephesians 2:8–9). Other related scripture references include: James 1:27; Mark 1:40-41;

 
This quote evokes the idea of transformation and sanctification – the change that happens when we are reborn and become children of God. We are dependent on Christ through the Holy Spirit to live transformed lives, lives that reflect the light of Christ. We become a tool, servant of Christ when we surrender our lives to him. The more we trust and are fully surrendered the more our lives look like that of Christ.

How is God moving you to deepen your relationship with Him? In what ways are you seeking Jesus? 
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we each can open up ourselves to know Jesus more deeply and then to let Him, through the Holy Spirit, to fully use us – mind, heart, voice and hands – to share Him with the world, to shine His light! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick