“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
This is a question that we all need to ask “What ‘Centers’ You?” First, I need to define what I mean by “centers.” What is it that calms you, emboldens you or gives you a feeling of completion? This is not a real good definition, but I think you get what I mean. We have something, or someone, that we can fall back on when life seems to be getting out of control, or when we just feel down and depressed. When we center ourselves on that, we can see things more clearly. There are people and things that encourage me and help me in life, but when the going really gets tough the main thing that centers me is my faith in Jesus Christ. Everything else just falls at His feet. I pray that you can say the same thing. What I have found is that I am more easily centered on Jesus when I stay in close fellowship with Him through prayer and Bible reading. Jesus cannot be the center of things for us, if we do not take advantage of the intimate, personal relationship that we have with Him. The question then becomes: “Who Centers You?” Paul stated it succinctly in the text: “I live, nevertheless not I, but Christ lives in me.” That is the most important relationship that we can have in our lives. Relationships with family and friends are certainly important, but even those relationships are stronger when Christ is the center of our lives. We can be glad that Jesus is not just a religious figure, or statue, like Buddha. Jesus is a real living person, who loves us and wants the best for us. He lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and is available all of the time for us to fall back on. The Bible even promises us that He loves us enough to discipline us if we get out of line. Pause now and ask yourself if Jesus is the One who centers you. Paul added something to this testimony about Jesus: “And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Now we can turn to the “what” of what centers us. The cause of our personal, saving relationship with Jesus is “by grace through faith” in Jesus. It is faith in Jesus that helps to center us in our daily lives and in all of the bumps and bruises of life. I imagine that you are like I am when I really get in a bad situation; I turn to Jesus in faith and He gets me around or through whatever it is that is troubling me. This will not do a whole lot of good if I ignore Him when life is going smooth, and then call on Him in faith when life gets rough. Our faith in Jesus is meant for every situation in our lives – the good and the bad. You know: “The God on the mountain is still God in the valley…” We need to understand that the Lord, who is the center of our faith and our lives, honors our faith in Him. This is true throughout the whole Bible. The Old Testament does not stress the word “faith” like the New Testament does, but faith is implicit in its teachings. Hebrews 11 tells us about the faith of Old Testament saints. They had faith in the promise of God, and that faith enriched the lives of people like Moses, David, Elijah and Daniel. Their faith in God and in His promises centered them and helped them to serve Him effectively. Like us, they stumbled and fell from time to time, but all in all their lives reflected their faith in God. In the New Testament we have men like Peter, Andrew, James, John and Paul to show us what it means to center our lives in faith in God/Jesus. You just need to ask yourself if it is faith in Jesus that centers you as you face all of life? Think about it. Bro. Joe
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“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
Paul wrote His epistle to the Galatians because “Judaizers” were teaching them that they had to become Jews before they could become Christians. This meant that they had to keep the Mosaic law and be circumcised in order to receive Christ as Savior. It didn’t make sense that if one had to become a Jew to become a Christian, that Christ had to come and offer Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. Paul’s teaching about the law was that the law taught us what sin is, i.e., it defined sin as idolatry, adultery, lying, etc. The law also gave names to sin in order for us to recognize it. But the law does not have the power to save us from sin. Paul also wrote on this theme in Ephesians. Ephesians 2:8-10 is the standard definition of what it means to be saved: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” The main catalyst for salvation is not based on who we are or what we do; rather, it is based on God’s grace. Grace has been defined as “unmerited favor.” This means that we can never merit, or earn, salvation: “not of works, lest any man should boast.” We cannot earn salvation, but through our faith in Christ, by God’s grace, we can be saved. Our part is to put our faith in Christ, but without grace even faith could not save us. Paul gave God’s grace credit, not only for his salvation, but also for everything that was accomplished through his ministry. For example, here is what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by grace I am what I am: and His grace which was given to me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Paul could not have been saved and could not have served were it not for the grace, the unmerited favor, of God. It makes sense then that we are saved, not by our own righteousness, nor by our own works, but because of the grace of God. Paul admitted that because of his past actions in persecuting the church, that he should not have been able to be saved, nor should he have been able to serve the Lord. It was the grace of God that made all of it possible. I can say the same thing about my own salvation and my own ministry. There was nothing that I did that enabled me to be a servant of the Lord. By grace He has let me serve Him. It is the same for all of God’s servants, from Peter, to Paul, to Martin Luther, to Billy Graham, to you. The essential element in all of our dealings with God, whether it be our salvation or our service, is God’s grace – His unmerited favor. God’s grace has made it all possible. Praise God! GRACE...... God's Riches At Christ's Expense Bro. Joe “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
I want to pick up on one word in this text, and that is “grace.” This is God’s unmerited favor, meaning that we get from God what we do not deserve. Question: Why do we need God’s grace in order to be saved? The first answer is because of the nature of God. God is completely holy. This is illustrated by Moses at the “burning bush” in Exodus. When Moses turned aside to see the burning bush, he was warned: “And (God) said, Draw near, put off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ( Exodus 3:5) God is too holy to be approached in His heavenly presence. The second answer is because of the nature of people. Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Because of our sins we cannot stand in the presence of Holy God. When God visited His people in the Old Testament temple in the “Holy of Holies,” no one could approach that part of the temple where God came among His people but the High Priest, and that only on the Day of Atonement when the people’s sins were atoned. The third answer is that people could only be saved by an act of God on our behalf. In the Old Testament, the blood of animals was shed to atone for Israel’s sins. But when God acted in His full grace for, not only Israel, but for the whole world, His Son came and was sacrificed on the cross so that we could be saved by faith in Him. Ephesians 1:8-9 gives us the gist of how sinful people can be saved: “For by grace have you been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” We are not saved by our own volition, but we are saved by the act of God’s Son shedding His blood on the cross, and by putting our faith in Him through the confession of sin and repentance from sin. The fourth answer is that when we are saved by faith, then we work for the Lord’s kingdom as witnesses and in any way that He would use us. We are not saved by works, but we are saved to work. Ephesians 2:10 continues the narrative on our works after we are saved: “For we are His (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” All of us have sinned, and all of us need God’s grace by faith in Christ to be saved. Bro. Joe "When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”
This verse gives us great reassurance when it states: “for God is for me.” Now don’t misunderstand me to be intimating that God approves of everything that we do, and that He is thoroughly impressed with us. Let’s just take this as a statement of fact – God is for us. He is not willing that any should perish, and He does not want anyone to throw their lives away. In fact, throughout the Bible, especially in the accounts of Jesus, there are some things that God offers that we need to claim, because they are there in God’s word for all of us to claim. We need to claim God’s grace. Grace means that, though we are sinners, God is for us anyway and wants the best for us. Grace does not mean that we have God’s blanket approval for everything that we do. It means that in spite of our sins and shortcomings, God still offers us salvation. In Ephesians 2:8 Paul wrote: “For by grace through faith are you saved, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God.” We can be saved from sin because God is the God of grace. Throughout the Bible we see the grace of God at work. In the Old Testament, we see God’s grace at work in Israel. Time after time the Israelites let God down, and they had to suffer His discipline, but still they were His chosen people and by grace they continued on and it was through them that our Savior came to us. We see God’s grace at work in the life of Paul. Saul of Tarsus was a real, and dreaded, enemy of Christ and His church, but Christ came into His life and turned Paul around. This is grace and it is available to you – claim it. We need to claim God’s mercy. I believe that mercy is God’s grace in action. There are times when we take the grace of God for granted and go too far, but in spite of this, God, through Christ, shows us His mercy. I think of Simon Peter when I think of mercy. During Jesus’ trial in Jerusalem, he denied Jesus three times, in spite of the fact that he had sworn he would not. One would think that Jesus was through with him, yet because of God’s mercy, Peter became a powerful advocate of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Without God’s mercy, this would not have happened. This mercy is available to you – claim it. We need to claim God’s love. Grace and mercy are at our disposal because of God’s love for us. A lot of people read the Bible and all they see is the wrath of God. In fact, they might think, whether they would admit it or not, that God ought not to be like that. But God is who He is and what He is and we cannot change His nature, but one thing is certain – wrath is not the final word about God. Throughout the Bible, God is depicted as the God of love. John wrote that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Anyone who has ever been to Sunday School will remember John 3:16, which tells us of the extent of God’s love for us. This has not changed. God still loves us, in fact, God loves you. This love is available to you – claim it. We need to claim God’s forgiveness. God’s grace, mercy and love come together in His forgiveness. Our God of grace, mercy and love, revealed to us through Jesus, is the forgiving God. Throughout the Bible, we see God’s forgiveness at work. We see it at work in Israel. We see it at work in Jesus. In fact, the first words that Jesus offered from the cross were: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) If you have not been forgiven by God for whatever sin, or sins, that you have committed, God will forgive you. We see God’s grace, mercy and love at work in His forgiveness. This forgiveness is available to you – claim it. I don’t know what your present view of God is, but if it does not include His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness, you need to go back and take another look. All that God has to offer is available to you – claim it. Bro. Joe “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high.”
What is the “river”? We know that the “city of God” mentioned in the text symbolically is Jerusalem, because of the mention of the “holy place of the tabernacle of the most high.” In John 4, Jesus pointed out that the time will come when people will worship God in “spirit and in truth” wherever they are. Since this is true let’s just consider that the “city of God” is the people of God. The river and its streams “shall make glad the people of God.” If you are a Christian this pertains to you. Let’s take a look at the river and its streams. Let’s say that the “river” is the presence of God. Throughout the Bible the people of God have rejoiced and have been made glad when they knew that God was with them. Jesus made two promises that make this “river” real in our live. He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with His people after He ascended to the Father, and that He would be with them “always, even unto the end of the ages.” God’s Spirit and His presence flow like a river through our lives on a daily basis and make our hearts glad. Then let’s say that one of the “streams” is the grace of God. In Ephesians 2:8 Paul wrote: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” According to this verse, if it wasn’t for the grace of God we could not have the salvation that God freely offers through His Son. The classical definition of grace is “God’s unmerited favor.” A more understandable definition is “getting something that we do not deserve.” The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Without God’s grace we would all be lost and without hope. His grace, freely given through Jesus, allows us to come into His presence. Let’s say that one of the “streams” is prayer. You remember that when Christ died, “the veil of the temple was torn in the from the top to the bottom.” This meant that God was now available to us without anyone else to take us to Him. Hebrews 4:16 reminds us that we can “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need. “ The reality that God will hear and answer our prayers whenever we pray certainly makes “glad the people of God.” The wonderful thing about this “stream” is that it never ceases to flow. I’m sure that I could come up with more “streams,” but the three that we have considered should suffice to make us glad that we are the people of God through our faith in Jesus Christ. We have the promise of God’s grace and the promise of His availability through prayer. BE GLAD!!!!!! Bro. Joe “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
With his history of persecution, Paul understood how amazing grace was in his life. It was the same with the former slave trader, John Newton, who wrote the song “Amazing Grace.” I want to share my thoughts on the subject. Grace is so amazing because it reminds us that God loves us in spite of ourselves. There is no way on this earth that we can earn the boundless love that God has for us. Jesus loved us enough that He died for our sins. I identify with the song that says, “When He was on the cross, I was on His mind.” (Or something akin to that.) You probably feel the same way. That is love beyond human understanding; we just have to accept it as amazing grace. Grace is so amazing because it is through grace that God forgives us in spite of our sins. You might think that your sins are so enormous that Jesus cannot forgive you. Read the text written above. If Jesus could forgive Paul, He can and will forgive you. On the other hand, you might be one of those people who says that you do not need God’s grace, that you are good enough without it. That is why you will never experience amazing grace until you come to him in humility, confessing the sin of pride. We all need to grasp the meaning of 2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though, He was rich, yet for your sake He become poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.” Grace is so amazing because it is through grace that the Holy Spirit is actively at work in our lives, using us for God’s work in spite of our sins. Paul was amazed that God used Him in all that He did. I am truly amazed that God has used me in spite of myself. Every time someone tells me that something I have said, or written, blessed them, I truly have to thank God for it, for it was His amazing grace working through me. God can use you too in spite of yourself. For example, it might be that the Sunday School class that you teach has been a blessing to many people, beyond what you could imagine. That solo that you sang, probably blessed many people beyond what you imagined. I could go on. Just suffice it to say that whatever you do for the Lord, His grace is working through you to be a blessing to others. My epitaph will be: “By the grace of God he was a blessing.” (That will truly be on my tombstone.) Grace is so amazing for thousands of reasons beyond these three points. Thank God for His grace in your life. Bro. Joe “For by grace are you saved through grace are you saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”
“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
"Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
References to the “law” in Psalm 119 are about the scripture, or the Bible, that the psalmist had at that time. When I read this I thought about my own experience in Bible reading and Bible study. I have been reading the Bible word for word every weekday for the last thirty years, and I am always discovering things that I did not see in other trips through the Bible. That actually excites me. I want the Lord to open my eyes to see the things in His word that will make a difference in my life. It’s not that I just want to know the Bible; I want to know enough about it to live it. Following are some examples of what I mean: I want my Bible to open my eyes to the importance of humility. Pharisees in the New Testament could probably have made a hundred on a test about knowledge of the law, but it did not make them better people. It made them self-righteous. If one becomes self-righteous about his or her Bible knowledge he or she has frankly missed the point. The Bible is about the greatness of God and the humbleness of people. Peter made a salient point about humility in 1Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He might exalt you in due time.” I want the Bible to open my eyes to make me more loving toward my fellow human beings. I want to love like God loves as best I can. This means that I want to love and accept people, but that doesn’t mean that I will agree with everything that they do, or that they believe.. (I actually do not love what I do at times. You might as well admit it too!) The Bible teaches us that we should love each other. 1 John 4:20 reminds us: “If a man say I love God, and hate his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen.” I want the Bible to open my eyes to the lesson in 2 Corinthians 12:9:”And (Jesus) said to me (Paul), My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (This was Jesus’ answer to Paul when he asked to be healed of his “thorn in the flesh.”) I want to always depend on the sufficiency of Christ’s grace in every aspect of my life. I was saved by His grace, and I want to always be sustained by His grace. Of course this is not everything that I need to have “my eyes opened to” in Bible study, but I think they are three worthy goals. I hope you learned from my meanderings on reading the Bible. Bro. Joe “To the praise of the glory of His grace, where He has made us accepted in the beloved. 7. In whom we have redemption through (Christ’s) blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Why not follow yesterday’s 3 F’s with 3 G’s today? There are three important G’s that have to do with our salvation and our service. Grace – Everything that has to do with our salvation and our Christian lives depends on God’s grace. The classic definition of grace is “unmerited favor.” This means that we do not deserve anything from God, but He gives salvation to us, and all else, by His grace. It is by grace that we are “accepted in the beloved.” Without God’s grace we could not have redemption from sin, nor could we be accepted into the love of Christ. People are always wondering how they can make themselves fit to be saved, and the fact is that they cannot. We must come to Christ, confessing our sins, and by faith inviting Him into our lives. He comes into our lives by grace. Lean on God’s grace, knowing that He willingly gives you His grace when you commit your life to Him by faith in Jesus Christ. (“For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8) Gifts – When we are saved by God’s rich grace, we are given gifts of service through the Holy Spirit. When we endeavor to serve God, we do not just decide what we are going to do, but we are given gifts by Holy Spirit to do His service. There is really no definitive list of spiritual gifts of service. Did you know that being a church usher is a gift of God? It is called the gift of hospitality. These gifts are not just used in church work, but Christ wants us to use His gifts in all of life. For example, my greatest spiritual gift is the gift of encouragement. I can certainly use this gift in preaching and teaching, but I can also use it in daily life. You need to discover your spiritual gifts and put them to work in your church and in your daily life. Guidance - When we are saved by grace and gifted by the Holy Spirit, we are given the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is one of the greatest promises that Jesus has given us in scripture: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter that He might abide with you forever. 17. Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14:16-17) Then in John 16:13a we are told: “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth…” Jesus doesn’t just save us and turn us loose into the world. He gives us the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Claim God’s grace, God’s gifts and His guidance. You either have these three G’s, or you can have them by confessing your sins and inviting Christ into your life by faith. Bro. Joe |
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