"He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me
from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my
life with good things." (Psalm 103:3-5)
I like the verbs in these verses: forgives, heals, ransoms, surrounds,
and fills. It's almost like there is an outline of the progression of
grace.
He forgives sin.
He heals disease.
He ransoms from death.
He surrounds with love and mercy.
He fills with good things.
He moves us from our sin and it's consequence (disease and death) to
what we don't deserve (love, mercy, and good things). This is the
Gospel and the unmerited favor that Jesus lavishes upon all who will
call upon His name. Sin deserves death but through God's great love and
mercy, we receive "good things". Praise The Lord!
Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 01, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Red Hot Burning Coal
"Then I said, 'My destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man
and a member of a sinful race.'"
(Isaiah 6:5)
"Then one of the seraphim flew over to the altar, and he picked up a burning coal with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, 'See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.'" (Isaiah 6:6-7)
The cure for Isaiah's deserved destruction was a burning coal from the the altar of God. God is like that! He fixes our failures. He solves our sin-issue. He delivers us from destruction. He forgives us with a burning coal.
"I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with the golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters" (Revelation 1:13-15)
John saw Jesus in a glorious vision on the Island of Patmos. Note Jesus' flaming eyes and burning feet. God loves us enough, that like He did for Isaiah, He sent a burning coal to deliver us from certain destruction.
Thank you Jesus!
"Then one of the seraphim flew over to the altar, and he picked up a burning coal with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, 'See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.'" (Isaiah 6:6-7)
The cure for Isaiah's deserved destruction was a burning coal from the the altar of God. God is like that! He fixes our failures. He solves our sin-issue. He delivers us from destruction. He forgives us with a burning coal.
"I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with the golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters" (Revelation 1:13-15)
John saw Jesus in a glorious vision on the Island of Patmos. Note Jesus' flaming eyes and burning feet. God loves us enough, that like He did for Isaiah, He sent a burning coal to deliver us from certain destruction.
Thank you Jesus!
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Repentance
"Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because
of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean
from my guilt. Purify me from my sin." (Psalm 51:1-2)
And so begins David's prayer of repentance after the prophet Nathan confronts him regarding his sins of adultery and murder. Psalm 51 gives us a glimpse into the heart of a man who not only messed up in a big way, but also repented in a big way. Today, let me suggest that we crack open our Bibles to Psalm 51 and pray David's prayer regarding our own sins. David is called, "a man after God's own heart"--not because he was perfect, but rather because he knew how to repent.
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” --Dietrich Bonhoeffer
And so begins David's prayer of repentance after the prophet Nathan confronts him regarding his sins of adultery and murder. Psalm 51 gives us a glimpse into the heart of a man who not only messed up in a big way, but also repented in a big way. Today, let me suggest that we crack open our Bibles to Psalm 51 and pray David's prayer regarding our own sins. David is called, "a man after God's own heart"--not because he was perfect, but rather because he knew how to repent.
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” --Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Grace & Karma
I found some interesting exerpts on the subject of grace from a recent interview with Bono of U2. Check it out and let me know what you think. At the bottom, I've included a link to the larger interview.
"You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff" --Bono
"Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched". --Bono
"If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s--- and everybody else's. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that's the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it". --Bono
Read more at The Poached Egg: here.
"You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff" --Bono
"Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched". --Bono
"If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s--- and everybody else's. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that's the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it". --Bono
Read more at The Poached Egg: here.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Living Beyond the Rules...
I just finished a five-part series on "Grace" taken from Acts 15. I thought I would go ahead and post the final message even though you have not had the benefit of the first five. The series was entitled, "Living Beyond the Rules". The title comes from Matthew 12:1-14 where Jesus' disciples broke the rules by harvesting grain on the Sabbath. Jesus then went one step farther by healing a lame man on the Sabbath. The message is clear: people matter! Rules are secondary.
Acts 15:36-41 describes a disagreement that arose between Barnabas and Paul over whether or not John Mark should join them on a second missionary journey. It seems that John Mark had abandoned the party and returned home prematurely perhaps leaving the group short-handed. Paul was not quite willing to let it go while Barnabas was enthusiastic about giving John Mark another opporunity. The result was division--Barnabas and Mark headed out on their own while Paul recruited Silas to join him.
The scripture gives us a pretty good look into John Mark's life:
- Acts 12:12 - Peter is miraculously released from prison and goes to John Mark's home where a prayer meeting is in session.
- Acts 12:25 - Paul & Barnabas bring John Mark with them when they return fom delivering an offering to the Jerusalem church.
- Acts 13:5 - John Mark joins Paul & Barnabas on their first missionary journey.
- Acts 13:13 - John Mark abandons the group in Paphos and returns home.
- Colossians 4:10 - John Mark is actually Barnabas' cousin.
- 1 Peter 5:3 - John Mark is one of Peter's disciples.
So here's the question: "Do you ever give up on people? Do you ever throw people away?"
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 declares that God has given us a "ministry of reconciliation". We are not to hold the sins of people against them but rather like Christ we are to be ambassadors in bringing the world back to God. Note these verses and meditate on them in terms of how you should respond to those that you may feel like giving up on.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things passed away; behold new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us te ministry of reoncciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has commmitted to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
For maximum impact, go back and read through the passage again changing the personal pronouns to real names. For example, "Therefore if 'John Mark' is in Christ, 'John Mark' is a new creature..." Use the text as a prayer for the salvation of those that you have been tempted to give up on. Tomorrow I will post an amazing video that I used on Sunday to illustrate this concept of exercising grace.
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