Your Christianity shouldn't work - A meditation in the middle of 1 John

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason the world does not know us is because it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 1 John 2:28-3:3

Fellow Christian, knowing that you are "righteous" (2:29) because of Jesus' righteousness, trusting you are a son or daughter of God the Father because Jesus became your brother (3:1-2), acknowledging your status as pure because "he is pure" (3:3), can only help you to live both freely and productively. The victory has preceded the final total, the verdict has preceded the performance, and your adoption has preceded your family resemblance (to Jesus). So you and I are released by Jesus from the fear of not being enough to genuine change because He is enough. 

By most measures, those attracted to
& sustained by the gospel should
be more like Wonka's Veruca Salt.

Consider: Every other religion/life-philosophy attracts and maintains allegiance through (a) works which may or may not be enough on the divine scale or (b) the fleeting results (ie. temporary forms of peace, stillness, vigor, confidence) of rigorous discipline which no one can forever maintain. The gospel message contains an offer to rescue us from death to life, separation to reconciliation, godlessness to God-in-you immediately, permanently, and for free! This should never work as a religion or life-philosophy because all of its adherents would be like spoiled children who always get their dessert at the beginning of every meal and their allowance prior to doing their chores! Yet adherents to the good news have historically done more work of significance and societal transformation than any other (though no such work is required). Furthermore, people who derive life from the gospel message also endure over the long haul in varying disciplines (although rigorous discipline is no condition for entrance). 

Significant works, societal transformation, rigorous self-discipline might not be the phrases you'd use to characterize your life at this point - though you'd wish to. Do not dismay! The process of maturity is typically subtle and non-obvious to the one who is actually changing. This is why the apostle gives us the hope of certain victory 3:1-2: "We shall be like him because we shall see him as he is" (3:2). And so then says: "Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure" (3:3). During either the heat of battle or tepid doldrums when, in either case, little progress seems to be made, we are reminded that we will one day fast-forward to the likeness and glory of Jesus - at which point we will realize that He had all along been inching our resemblance far closer to the final result than we had imagined.

And at which point, every tongue will confess: It really did work!

Yahtzee! Adult Scripture Memory through Song & Visual Art

Isaiah 43:1-2

I am absolutely thrilled right now because I've stumbled upon an internet treasure. For years, our family has been singing Seeds Family worship Songs through which our children have memorized 20+ Direct Scripture references (and their happy tunes whittled their way into my brain to add verses like Psalm 34:10 and Philippians 4:11-13 to my arsenal). While there are some great songs & hymns out there saturated with the Word of God and deep truths - I've never seen an undertaking for adults like the one started by pastors by Joel Limpic and Ryan Gikas - The Verses Project.

The Advantages:
1. Well-Composed Adult Praise Music
2. 117 Scripture References as of March 2014.
3. Visually Artistic wallpaper for 1. Smartphones; 2. Tablets; 3. Desktops - all of which serve the purpose of reminding you of not only the verse (though certainly that) but also beauty and creative power of God's Word. 
4. Those who've perhaps done the Scripture or New Testament in a year thing, may want to instead (or in addition) try meditating on 1 Scripture Memory Reference per week! 
>>When Dietrich Bonhoeffer set up his seminary in Finkenwalde he had each student, including himself, meditate on the same verse for an entire week - a half hour each day. They were not allowed to consult any notes or helps but deal with the verse as though it was God's Word to them personally. 
>> Perhaps you've grown cold toward the Word of God, the great Puritan Thomas Watson once explained: "The reason we come away so cold from reading the Word is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation." 
5. Option to Sign up to have weekly updates (ie. new verse) sent to your Inbox
6. Free

Two Disclaimers:
1. Recognize the artists are "limited" by their subject matter. Some will cry foul: "Are you saying, Pastor Ryan(!), that the Bible is limiting?" Not at all. Only that the words they sing are consecutive verses (usually 2 or 3) of Scripture and they are limited to these. No artistic license to ponder examples in their lives of what is pure, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy and the like from Philippians 4:8 nor spot-on descriptions of the futility of life before "passing from death to life" from John 5:24. Also, it's the same words again & again (albeit done well!). If I'm honest, I had to initially tune my brain to "Ryan, Remember this is helping you Remember."  The singing is helping plant the Word of God deep into my mind, heart & soul. 

2. Most songs are a bit slower in tempo and softer in sound. This is so the artists can sing God's Word clearly - not to fast so that words run together nor too loud so that the words can't be heard over the music.  

Why do we say: "God told me"?

A very helpful article by Nancy Guthrie on the motives behind this phrase and some elaboration on how we can have consistent confidence that we are hearing from him.

Three broad points in response:

1. Prioritizing difference over depth. 
Nancy Guthrie rightly reminds us of a common experience of thinking how various characters in the Bible heard from God and wanting likewise for our own relationship with Him (even though such speaking were part and parcel of God's special outworking of His grander salvation plan across history). She notes that this is often because "many of us want something more, something different." That's a important point worth expanding. As Christians we must recognize we live in a world addicted to prioritizing difference. What's new (and thus different) is automatically assumed to be better, improved, and thus desired. New technology, new ways of learning, new diets that will finally make us feel/look different, new philosophies of parenting, even God doing a "new thing" to use the oft-quoted Isaiah 43:19 (whereas, as Pastor Bill Mills points out, if God does have a plan then He is actually doing old things and working them out in time - indeed there is very little that's truly new...and not heresy). New can be very good - indeed God often calls us as a church to do old things with new 'clothing.' However, it is important to recognize our cultural propensity to idolize the new and different and how that might greatly influence how we would prefer to relate to God. Such that experiencing God to feel something different becomes a higher priority than relating to God to grow something deeper. This is an encouragement to prioritize going to the Scriptures primarily for hearing from God and for growth - indeed He promises growth only here (Isaiah 55:10-11 - note the focus on growth imagery).

2. I only partially agree with Guthrie's assessment on hearing from God. I had never before considered that nowhere in Scripture do we see God speaking to His people through an inaudible voice - and Nancy is right to point this out especially as such are the terms by which hearing from God is most often couched (eg., "I sense God is saying to me/us"). However, I do think God speaks through people brief messages that are not directly, word-for-word, from Scripture (1 Cor. 12:8-10) but are always reflective of Scripture and are often saturated with Scripture. And so we hear Paul say in the same breath: "

[19] Do not quench the Spirit. [20] Do not despise prophecies, [21] but test everything; hold fast what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).

Listen and consider but also weigh. Weigh by not only asking: "Does this contradict the Bible?" but more and more so: "Do I hear the Bible in this?"

3. The Most trusted 'prophets' are ones steeped and saturated in the Word of God.

I served in a local church that regularly practiced the use of prophetic giftings and was, at times, blessed by the use of this gift. In my experience, there were only a handful people in the church whose impressions or words consistently applied to my life and/or edified me as a Christian. In each case (and I have saved those words given to me as they were written down), each person was someone I knew to be steeped and saturated in the Word of God. That doesn't mean others didn't "hear from God" occasionally but those experiences were all-over-the-map and seemed to reflect, by-and-large, a lack of regular submission to the Word of God. I once observed in a small group setting someone giving a 'picture' involving a fire hydrant, a red-wagon, and a dalmatian. The impression given was bizarre and uncomfortable - and you can imagine the reaction of the person to whom it was given (they never returned to the small group...and likely never bought a dalmatian). Yet the person kept on going with such 'pictures,' impressions, and 'words.' 

When someone continues to claim to be hearing from God but seems to be slightly (or greatly) missing the mark as they express it, an often overlooked argument from Paul seems applicable:

[36] Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? [37] If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 14:36-37 ESV)

Someone who claims to semi-regularly "hear from God" will quickly recognize the commandments of the Lord because he or she is steeped in reading, meditating, and cherishing God's Words to them in His Scriptures. You can envision the likely circumstance to which Paul is writing. "I think God is telling me this." Paul: "Really? Good thing you don't have a monopoly on what God is saying. Let's look at the commands of the Lord found in the Scriptures and compare." Not only should any potentially "from God" statements not contradict the Bible, my opinion is that they will more often than not be very reflective of it and in some case even mirror it (containing the very statements/verses of God's Word).

Consider for a moment how one nourishes & grows their spiritual gift: Those I know who are gifted in mercy usually look to the cross of Jesus for mercy and are touched by the mercy of Jesus' ministry. Those like myself who sense God's gifting in teaching, usually are fed by the teaching ministry of others - listening to good sermons of other pastors, etc. Those who are gifted in leading, are good sheep being led by the great Shepherd (1 Corinthians 11:1). Those gifted in making people feel comfortable through hospitality, themselves derive comfort from the ongoing presence of God and so abide in the Vine (John 15:5). In other words, that which God has given you to serve and feed others, you yourself tend to be nourished with from God Himself. Similarly, a dear believer who senses the Spirit does want to speak profitable words through them is himself nourished by the Word of God. Not surprisingly then, in my experience, I haven't found someone whose words consistently speak to me and stir my soul who is not also someone I know to be steeped and saturated in the Word of God.

I should also note: I know I'm much more likely to even trust someone's wise counsel who is steeped in God's Word but doesn't necessarily claim to be having a supernatural experience of "I think God is telling me/us." Their lives, however, are so saturated with God's Word that the outworking of how they live and make plans is wise, profitable, and brings great glory to Christ Jesus.

Two points of potential application:
1. If you want to be someone who hears from God or believe God has given you some degree of prophetic gifting, steep and saturate yourself in the Word of God. Here alone will you find the nourishment needed the grow in depth as opposed to difference. Through feeding on the Word you can consistently step out in faith and with confidence for wise decisions that bring great glory to Jesus.

2. When someone says: "I think (a) I might be hearing from God; (b) I have a 'word' from God; (c) God may be trying to tell us something," it is okay and even recommended to ask: Is this someone I know to be regularly steeped and saturated in the Word of God? Not that God doesn't occasionally speak through a donkey (Numbers 22:28), but that donkey is normally going to speak like...well...a donkey.

Keeping a Look-Out this Year

Hey, he was cool during the Age of Exploration!

Having finished up First John and packing my bags for a three week holiday in the States, I reflected on what God taught me most from that letter at the very back of the Bible - namely, that God is growing me less from understanding and analyzing myself and far more from looking outward to Jesus. For every look at my sin, five more times at my Savior; for every analytical moment, two more looks outward to His atonement; for every inward shame, a re-focus on Him who bore my blame. Okay...that counts as hopelessly cheesy use of rhyme but you are far more likely to remember cheesiness so ... WORTH IT! 

What stands out for me is the middle of 1st John, where 5x in 5 verses we can note visual verbosity: 

[28] And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. [29] If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

[3:1] See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. [2] Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. [3] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 2:28-3:3 ESV)

None of this should be confused with
Double-A minor league baseball team:
The Chattanooga Look-Outs

On that note, I've been reading a morning and evening devotional from one of my heroes of the faith - Charles Spurgeon (19th c, Metropolitan Tabernacle Church in London, "Prince of Preachers"). I leave you with a devotion of his I read the other morning that puts what's rumbling round inside of me far better than I could. See you in August:






Looking to Jesus
Hebrews 12:2

It is always the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus. But Satan's work is just the opposite; he is constantly trying to make us look at ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you do not have the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold on Jesus." All these thoughts are about self, and we will never find comfort and assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that Christ is everything. 

Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you - it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you - it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, although that is the instrument - it is Christ's blood and merits. Therefore, do not look so much to your hand with which you are grasping Christ as to Christ; do not look to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope; do not look to your faith, but to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith. We will never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our deeds, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul.

If we are to overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking to Jesus." Keep your eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession be fresh upon your mind. When you waken in the morning look to Him; when you lie down at night look to Him. Do not let your hopes or fears come between you and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail you.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

When I am God

I recently had a fellow pastor send me this short little thought/faith provoker. It's written by a guy named Tim Challies, who is a pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto. I'm pasting it below & then following up with a challenge as to how you might practically grow in putting God back on the throne of your life.

When I am God    by Tim Challies

Sin is inherently anti-God, inherently pro-self. Each time I sin I make a statement about myself and a statement about (and against) God. Each time I sin, I declare my own independence, my own desire to be rid of God; I declare that I can do better than God, that I can be a better god than God. Recently I took some time to think about how life changes when I am god. The results were not pretty.

When I am god, it is against me, me only, that you may sin and do evil in my sight. This world exists for my pleasure, for my glory, and the gravity of your sin is measured according to how badly it interferes with my sovereign will. My wrath falls upon those who do their will instead of mine.

When God is God, your sin against me is light when weighed against its offense to God. This is the Father’s world and it exists to bring glory to him. Sin is any lack of obedience to God or any lack of conformity to his just and holy ways. For such sinners I have sympathy, and love, and hope in the gospel.

When I am god, worship of God interferes with my plans, with my slumber, with my loyalty to pleasure, to socializing, to sport, to amusement. I hate the thought of worshipping another, but long to worship myself or have others worship me.

When God is God, worship is joy, it is nourishment, it is life. There is no greater joy than to gather with God’s people to bring glory to the Creator, to give thanks to the Redeemer.

When I am god, sexual fulfillment is my right; sex exists to bring me pleasure and the value of other people is measured only in their ability to fulfill what I am convinced that I need.

When God is God, sex is a gift given to strengthen my marriage through service to my spouse. It is guarded and treasured and hallowed and motivates me to joyfully give thanks and praise to God.

When I am god, love is directed to me, the one most worthy of it. True love, meaningful love, meets the desires of my heart right here and right now. It grants peace when I long for peace, silence when I need silence, attention, affection, whatever it is that I demand. This is love. Greater love has no man than this—that he lay it all down for me.

When God is God, love is directed outward. Love for another is simply a means of expressing love to God; it is loving much as one who has been loved much. Love is not asking “What do I need?” but “What does God desire?” Greater love has no man than this—that he lay down his life for a friend, just as Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners, has done for me.

When I am god, I myself am the source of all wisdom. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child or in the heart of anyone who contradicts or contravenes me. I am good and do good and long to teach you my statutes.

When God is God, wisdom flows from a source outside of me; wisdom is extrinsic and other-worldly and infinitely, eternally good. This is wisdom from above, wisdom from a book.

When I am god, I am enslaved. When God is God, I am free. I thank God that God is God. 

How God helped me practically grow from a simple exercise. After reading this, I sensed the Spirit slowly nudging at me as to what I would add to this list. Doing this really helped me call out the specifics of my self-centeredness, see the glory & freedom of God-centeredness, and helped me, well, repent.  


Here's mine: "When I am god, I have credit due to me for the good or important deed I've done. I will not give my credit or glory to another. I am offended when another would rob me of my credit or glory."


"When God is God, my left hand forgets about what my right hand just did,  anything I give is remembered and stored up by God as treasure in heaven, and I view my righteous deeds like filthy rags compared to the gracious, immeasurable, and radically persistent deeds (He just keeps doing them even when I don't notice!!) of my Father."


You. What would you add to the list? Beginning with "When I am god..."

Call to Courageous Manhood - $2 through Oct 15

I'm excited that the first weekend of Dec (Dec 2-3) Sunrise Community Church will be hosting a Marriage Conference from FamilyLife Ministries called "The Art of Marriage."


In preparation for this, I came across this wonderful resource from author & relationship guru, Dennis Rainey. It's called Stepping Up: The Call to Courageous Manhood. 


In this book, Rainey examines the five stages of every man's life and the God-given opportunity as well as responsibility of each stage. I read the first few chapters already and it is outstanding. If you know a man & especially if this man owns a Kindle, iPad, or reads eBooks - consider getting him this book (a cheap Birthday present??) or send him the link to this post. See the trailer below for a better idea of what to expect.


Best part: The eBook version is only $2 through Oct 15. Here's the LINK.


If you don't have an iPad or Kindle, here are links to some free eBook software to read the book on your laptop. Microsoft Reader and also Stanza Desktop for Mac. 

Eating Daily Bread...Daily

Is that a Bible made out of bread?!

You know it, your spouse/flatmate/good friend knows it, your college roomie figures it's still true though they haven't seen you in years. So I won't be another person who beats that barely breathing horse: It would help to be reading your Bible daily. Let's get past that factoid. You open Genesis and begin. You're doing it! Then somewhere either when you grow noxious at the Bible's version of "Temptation Island" in Genesis 19 (but far more twisted), when you encounter the detailed architectural plans of God's temporary beach/desert house (5 straight chapters, which means 5 days of power-napping), or, one word, LEVITICUS, you give up. Okay, a new season is starting: What are you gonna do about it this time? (resist saying: "Read my favorite Psalms." Everyone is comforted by ice cream, but people don't grow from eating a steady diet of Cherry Garcia...just ask my kids).


Might I suggest 3 simple things (including 2 resources) to help get you back on your feet:


(1) Simple attitude adjustment. "Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 8:3). Every day we need bread for strength (or, if gluten-free, Rice Bread). Every day we need God's Word for strength to live for Jesus. Might I suggest that we take this one step further: That our Father is so intimately involved in our lives that whatever you read next in God's Word on a given morning (or evening), that is exactly the food you need. I have found this to, by and large, be true even if I don't realize it when I'm reading it. But each morning I make a conscious effort to wonder aloud: Lord, I wonder what you have cooked up for me today. This allows me to receive what He has to say much more readily. James 1:20 says this: "Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." Each day God is planting His Word in your heart to deliver you, to strengthen you, to help you further depend on Him: Will you and I humbly accept what He's putting on our plate?


2) Staying in God's Word Daily requires Accountability. This can be accountability with others or just accountability before God. Bottom line: If you don't have a plan, it's ain't gonna happen. Here's a resource that I've found helpful in making, storing, & sticking to a plan: MyBiblePlans.com.  Here you can Choose: (1) The Books of the Bible you wish to read (eg., John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John); (2) The duration of time in which you wish to read them (eg., 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months); (3) Store your plan online and/or print it out; (4) Read Your Daily Scripture Passage(s) in different formats: It can be sent to your Email Inbox each morning, sent as an RSS feed, it can even be sent in audio format. Stay accountably by making a plan & sticking to it.


3) Staying in God's Word Daily requires Interaction. At least I find it to be significantly helpful as interaction stimulates the mind and keeps us from distraction. Write down something about what you read that day. Could be a promise from the Scriptures, a sin you were convicted of and for which are receiving Christ's forgiveness, a prayer you felt led to pray in response to the reading. You could just write down one verse. For years, I kept notebooks full of a very, very simple & free online study. Starts with a "peak your interest" type of question, moves into questions for Study, 1 or 2 application questions and a final prayer. Did I mention it's free? And it covers any book of Scripture. IV Press Online Bible Studies. After you click on the link, in the URL after the final backslash (/) type in the book of the Bible you wish to study. (Ex: ivpress.com/bible/john). Be flexible and try a couple times -- for Philippians, type in phil; for Leviticus, type in lev; for 1 Corinthians, type in 1cor.


May God strengthen and grow you with the food he puts on your plate.

A few quotes on Sanctification

This past Sunday we looked at Romans 6: 15-23 & Sanctification. In a nutshell, I argued that: "Through sanctification, God helps us become who we are."

We are sons & daughters of the King. But it takes a while for the 'family resemblance' to show up. We are God's workmanship, but when we first start following Jesus, we look at our lives and think, "I don't work like the Bible says I should." God growing us toward His resemblance and toward working right is sanctification.

Here are a few fun quotes on sanctification & our responsibility in it (obedience) that I had jotted down but was unable to share in the sermon:

"The more often [man] feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel." - C.S. Lewis

"Only the devil has an answer for our moral difficulties, and he says, 'Keep on posing problems, and you will escape the necessity of obedience." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Our sanctification does not depend as much on changing our activities as it does doing them for God rather than ourselves." - Brother Lawrence

"Holiness is not an experience; it is the re-integration of our character, the rebuilding of a ruin. It is a skilled labor, a long-term project, demanding everything God has given us for life and godliness." - Sinclair Ferguson

'My child,' 'my child,' When fathers say 'my child,'

'Tis easier to conceive the universe,

And life's transitions down the steps of law. - Elizabeth Barret Browning

Grace: Reused & Recycled

Warning: This post is not about the environment

(though your comments about the adjacent picture are welcome).

"Reduce, Reused, Recycle." As I grow further into fatherhood, sadly, many of my analogies are reflective of just that (I caught myself singing the Disney Channel's Special Agent Oso theme song when warming up my vocal cords for this Sunday Morning's Sermon). I heard the above three words uttered over & over during a season of time when my children were addicted to a claymation character in a hard hat named Bob the Builder. Bob was advocating trying to reuse any and every material when building.

One of my passions in life is to eradicate a mentality that plagues churches & individual Christians -- namely, that the gospel of grace is to be used one time (for salvation) but then thrown into the rubbish bin as each of us "goes on then to DO the Christian life."

So trusting in Jesus' finished work on the cross is amazing, we are saved by it; but now you need to move past it to grow in the Christian life.

People, even us pastors and minister-types, may not actually say or admit that this is the message being proclaimed from our pulpits and with our actions -- but isn't it?

Grace: Reused & Recycled

Grace is the fuel that ought to motivate the Christian life. The cross is to be returned to each day as a place to mourn over & confess sin, receive forgiveness, & celebrate and exult in the the crucified & risen Christ as we freely walk in obedience. Otherwise, we start subtly trusting in self & self-efforts, which will end in our ruin.

Few express this better than Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century pastor of the London Tabernacle (this dude started preaching at the age of 18...can you imagine receiving your weekly dose of preaching from a freshman in college?!). The following excerpts are from his book All of Grace, which I've been reading lately. I'll leave it without commentary and pray that these words would be a source of life to you as they have been for me:

A dark fear haunts the minds of many who are coming to Christ. They are afraid they will not perservere till the end...I believe that this fear is often the father of fact--that some who have been afraid to trust Christ for all time and eternity have failed because they had a temporary faith which never went far enough to save them. They set out trusting Jesus in a measure, but looking to themselves for continuance and perseverance in the heavenward way...If we trust in ourselves for holding on we will not hold on.

I have no doubt whatever that mistake about the perseverance of the saints has prevented the perseverance of many who ran well. What hindered them that they should not continue to run? They trusted in themselves for the running, and so they stopped short. Beware of mixing even a little of self with the mortar with which you build, or you will make it untempered mortar. The stones will not hold together. If you look to Christ for your beginning, beware of looking to yourself for your ending. His is Alpha. See to it that you make Him Omega also...

The urgent need of the believing soul is confirmation, continuance, final perseverance , preservation to the end. This is the great necessity of the most advanced believers, for Paul was writing to saints [ie. Christians] at Corinth who were men of high order, of whom he could say, "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 1:4).

Such men are the very persons who most assuredly feel that they have daily need of new grace if they are to hold on and hold out and become conquerors at last.

May each of us hold on by daily reusing & recycling the gospel of grace as our fuel. It's the same 'stuff' by which we were saved & it's the same 'stuff' that will keep us living for Him till we die.

What's the Particular Grace God has given you?

Particular Grace in Prison

Last night I had another opportunity to speak & visit with prisoners at Northward Prison out toward the Savannah area. Every time I go, I'm convinced that I'm exceedingly more blessed listening to the Spirit speak through these men than they are by hearing from me.

Anyhow, last night I spoke on the "Importance of WHY." I knew they'd been asked by so many persons-- Guards, Wardens, Pastors, Volunteers, & society-at-large -- to reform. When I asked them: "Reform what specifically?," they all agreed -- their behavior. I communicated to them that God cares about WHY? because He cares about our hearts & He has far greater and more certain reasons for reforming than the other reasons they told me they'd been given. I shared a few verses about this and closed by challenging them to think, really take time to think about: "Why do you do whatever it is you do?." And make a little list (even if it's a mental one).

Why did I go in this direction? Well, I was recently considering God's immense goodness towards each person no matter their current situation. God gives saving grace through faith in His Son. He also gives general grace -- God "sends rain on the just & unjust" (Matthew 5:45). But I also think he gives another kind of grace that I'll call, for lack of a better term, Particular Grace.

Particular grace is a blessing given by God that is remarkably unique to one's circumstances & situation in life. I asked the prisoners to tell me about a typical day and then I asked them, "How much time to you get to think?" The response was overwhelmingly in the favor of "plenty" to even "Too much." For these prisoners, one particular grace God had afforded to them was time to think. Few others outside prison walls are either afforded or take advantage of time given to think & ponder.

This truth really resonated with them. So much so that one inmate who is in prison for life, got up after me and started challenging the other 30 or so men regarding if they ever stop to think about why they do what they do. He said he'd been asking himself the same question. He pressed home the gospel message as the superior answer to "Why?" Men then began to share both with everyone and then privately afterwards that they'd heard so much from preachers and thought they knew right answers and right reasons, but recognized their real reasons for doing things were way off.

Particular Grace in the Bible

One of the foremost examples of this notion of particular grace is the Apostle Paul and his calling to minister the gospel to Gentiles (ie. the non-Jewish world):

Of this gospel I was made minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3: 7-8).

Paul woke up to the notion: "Of course God would put me, of all people, in this situation & circumstance." He implies just this above: "I am the very least of the saints." But because of his past of persecuting Christians and thinking he would please God by being a model Jew, he was even more convinced:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (I Timothy 1: 15-16).

"Of course it was me. I was complicit in murdering Christians while being more zealous than anyone about earning favor with God through righteous acts. If God forgives & has a plan for me (of all people), He supremely demonstrates the infinite, mind-blowing nature of his forgiveness & patience." As a side note: We can also see that particular grace is mingled with the idea of calling. But not only can calling be a more general calling toward all persons (see I Thess. 5: 16-18), but calling also connotates burden & responsibility. There is a sense in calling can be a burden & it is certainly a responsibility -- but for today, I'm choosing to focus on such a particular blessing as grace.

Particular Grace allows for an Opportunity to Respond

As you might be able to tell from the previous examples, particular grace allows for an opportunity to respond. And this is true of grace in general -- the responses of faith, then repentance, & then obedience to saving grace through Christ. Responses of thanksgiving to unmerited favor when we receive rain & sunshine from Above. Furthermore, particular grace is often borne out of hardship -- consider prison for the inmates & going immediately blind when first meeting Jesus to significant persecution for the remainder of his life in the case of Paul.

Particular Grace applied to Us

So I've been considering the particular grace God has given me. I want to offer two. The first is God calling & moving us here to pastor a church in Cayman. On the one hand, what God has called us to is tantamount to a church plant. It has been filled with a lot of excitement as we watch God work to grow His church, but it has also required a lot of extra hours of tender and watchful care. On the other hand, island life is laid back. We're more isolated and there isn't as much to do. For instance, Scuba Diving is good times -- but usually lasts 4-5 hours and isn't conducive to the Saturday of a husband and father of two young kids. The particular grace given ever since God called us out of our old church and we had some time to regroup is: Extra & more focused time with the fam. It has proved to be a tremendous blessing just to hang more with my family. The opportunity to Respond: Stepping up to be more intentional as the leader of my family. Christ-centered family traditions, taking opportunities with boys to share with them their need for Jesus, praying and reading God's Word with Katie, setting an example of love & holiness as I'm around them more. All are blessed opportunities to respond.

A second involves Katie specifically. In order to cover Mason's tuition, Katie is currently teaching Art part-time at a small, private school (first time she's ever taught). Concurrently, she's being certified to teach on the island through a full school year of classes. Sufficed to say, some particulars have changed since the beginning of September. Obviously, a number of challenges presently exist for Katie (but I won't speak for her...she has her own blog). The particular grace in this for me is to step up in dying to self and sacrificing as a husband and dad. Why is this a grace? I know relying on Christ's help to die to self and give of myself, I'll become more & more like Him! The opportunity to Respond: For the first two years of being a dad, I was so selfish (still am). I've always been stubbornly independent. But my Father has patiently helped me gradually die to self toward my family. Now, he's asking me to die further -- which really is just further life ("He who loses his life for me will find it"). Plus, the high degree of laundry-folding improvement makes Katie think I once worked retail at Old Navy...maybe even Abercrombie.

What's the particular grace God has given you?

What opportunity for response has He laid at your feet?