Psalm 32

 God, Your forgiven ones are merry,

honest, guilt-free in Your Wide Mercy.

Trying to hide or deny sins,

my energy died beneath Your frown

but when I faced up, came clean,

what relief You gave! Forgave all.

Let every wannabe do-gooder

pray to You, Loving Listening One.

You will wall off inundating floods.

Holy Presence, secret protection,

Your Embrace deflects raucous chaos,

fills our minds with rescue music.

“I’ll be your Teacher” You tell us.

“I’ll watch and guide you with Tender Care;

don’t react with knee-jerk rebellion.”

Devilish players pile up sorrows

but True Love signs multiply

all around Your trusting followers.

People with God-honoring desires,

sing out wild grateful joy!

The Message Of Grace

 The Message of Grace

I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

ACTS 20.32

When leaving the city of Ephesus, the apostle Paul spoke one final word to the friends he loved and had led in that church. He told them that he commended them to God and to the message of His grace. The apostle Paul had spent three years teaching them the good news of grace and now, as he was leaving, he reassured them. It was through that message that God would build them up and cause them to experience the inheritance that was their spiritual birthright.

There are many trendy topics in the church world today, but never lose sight of the fact that it is the message of God’s grace that will cause you to grow spiritually and to live the life He intends for you to experience. Grace isn’t just another subject in the Bible. It is the subject, because grace is the fountainhead from which everything that can be known about our God springs.

Examine every biblical topic through the lens of the Father’s grace expressed in Jesus Christ through the Spirit. Any other approach will leave you with nothing but dead doctrine. It is the message of Living Grace that will build you up and equip you in life.

Biblical Verification

 Biblical Verification

These were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

ACTS 17.11

The Berean Christians were commended by Paul for not only enthusiastically receiving the word, but also for examining the Scripture for themselves to see whether or not his message was true. Their example still stands as a pattern for “noble-minded” people.

There are two extremes in the modern church. There are those who believe everything they hear. And there are those who don’t believe anything they hear unless they already have heard and come to believe it. Both extremes are a mistake.

When you hear a teaching that is unfamiliar to you and you aren’t sure what to think, don’t immediately accept or reject it based on your present understanding. Go to the Scriptures for yourself and study to see whether the things you have heard are so.

The Spirit of Christ lives in you and will guide you into the truth if your heart and mind are open to Him. Believe what the Holy Spirit shows you, and the truth becomes yours. Otherwise the most you can do is to parrot what somebody else has said. As one in whom Truth lives, you are capable of much more than that.

Made Holy

 Made Holy

A voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

ACTS 10.15

In Acts 10, Peter had a vision about animals descending from heaven on a sheet. There were all kinds of animals, both clean and unclean according to the Law. When God told him to eat, he resisted by reminding Him that no good Jew would eat an unclean animal. It was at that point that God spoke these words to him: “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”

The lesson Peter needed to learn wasn’t one primarily about animals, but about people. God was about to send him to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile who Peter would have considered unholy up till then.

Are you holy? How you answer that question says much about your own perspective on this matter. By His blood, Jesus has cleansed you. By His grace, He has made you holy. To grow in your grace walk, it is important to affirm that fact. Don’t deny or even diminish the reality that you are holy. You didn’t do anything to make it happen. He did, so simply thank and praise Him for it. And, as God taught Peter, it would be wise to see other believers in that light too.

Ruthless People

 Ruthless People

This Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to the cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again.

ACTS 2.23-24

Has anybody ever been terribly unfair to you? Have you ever been almost destroyed by the ruthlessness of another? You’re not alone.

The greatest offense ever committed against a man was what was done to Jesus by those who opposed Him. They tortured and killed the perfect Son of God. The amazing thing about the mistreatment of Jesus (and you) is the Father’s ability to redeem it.

God is bigger than the wrong men do. Human beings were completely responsible for crucifying the Son of God. “You nailed [Him] to the cross,” Peter said. But God was sovereign over even this, and in fact, had planned it before the foundation of the world, Christ was “delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.” Do you see how the two fit together? We do have an awesome God!

Mentally release those who have treated you with unfairness or even cruelty. Don’t live in the past. Your God stands above all that has happened in your life. He can redeem and use those things for your good and His glory.

Seeing Miracles

 Seeing Miracles

Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene [was] a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst…

ACTS 2.22

The Bible says that it was God who performed the miracles, wonders, and signs through Jesus. Our Lord did not live out of his own ability. He lived out of the infinite ability of His Father. Peter stresses the fact that Jesus was a man who relied on His Father to accomplish His work. If Jesus chose to depend totally on His Father to animate and empower His lifestyle, how foolish it is to think we can do anything for God by our own natural abilities!

A miracle is an act of God that defies natural explanation. Do you know when miracles happen? A person will see the miraculous work of God in and through him to the extent that he renounces self-sufficiency and rests in the all-sufficient Holy Spirit within him.

If you want your grace walk to be marked by the kind of miraculous power Jesus knew in this world, don’t depend on yourself. Instead, trust Him to do His works through you in the normal flow of your lifestyle. As He does, it will be apparent to you and others that it is Him at work, and He will get the credit for it.

And Suddenly

 And Suddenly

And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

ACTS 2.2

Don’t ever lose hope about your Father moving in an area that concerns you. Things could change in your life in a moment. God has a way of acting suddenly. After the disciples had waited in the upper room for ten days, suddenly everything changed.

Don’t worry about obstacles either. In an instant, they can be removed and life can turn around. Don’t think that your life will always be like it is now. Believe God for His blessings. Never give up on Him. He indeed does love you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Maybe you’ve lived life on the same track for many years. You’ve thought about your dreams, but they have seemed impossible. After all, considering your circumstances, how could things be different?

Don’t judge your future by your past. If you sense that God’s will for you requires a change, know that it can happen at any moment. Change will come. Live with faith-led expectancy. It might be today. If not today, it might be tomorrow. Keep persevering and trusting God because He is good and certainly will act on your behalf.