Category: Grace

3/22/2023 0 Comments

Boldness

Herodotus, a Greek historian from Halicarnassus, wrote the Histories, a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars that modern historians and archeologists have largely validated.[1] The Roman orator Cicero called him “The Father of History.” Herodotus wrote, “It is better by noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half the evils we anticipate than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what might happen.” Herodotus understood Spartan warriors' courage and the Greeks' bravery in defeating Persian armies that dwarfed them in size and resources. Imagine if this astute historian had understood the boldness available to those who serve an unshakable kingdom!

9/7/2022 1 Comment

The Long Walk

Meditation
Romans 8:3-4--What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

8/31/2022 1 Comment

Wrong

Janice* called me.  Her voice conveyed discouragement, confusion, and a hint of controlled resentment.  After listening to her, I felt saddened and angry.

Several leaders—male and female from various churches in other states and a school, all tied to a nationally-known pastor and speaker told Karen she was not a Christian.  One of those pastors refused to baptize her. Janice shared the statements they leveled against her. They judged a woman suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS) from their presumptuous and self-righteous position, causing grave damage to a young Christian struggling to grow in her faith.  Now she was uncertain of her salvation.  She felt unsafe and criticized in churches—where she should be most safe and find compassion—not condemnation.

7/22/2022 0 Comments

Revisiting Grace

There is a thoughtful piece on grace circulating on Facebook that I have amplified and maximized with apologies to the unknown author.

Grace constitutes unearned or unmerited favor. She is seen throughout the Bible. Grace means promotion, not based on qualifications. When she speaks, protocols are suspended. So, King Ahasuerus extends the scepter to his Queen Esther. With Grace at work, laws are set aside for a higher purpose. A hungry David understood this when he ate consecrated bread (1 Samuel 21:6). Jesus commended his insight because “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). A Samaritan woman with five different husbands was blessed by a thirsty grace-giving Savior. An adulteress experienced no stones from a sin-convicted crowd. When Grace acts, pedigrees and ethnic background are irrelevant, so Joseph, the Hebrew prisoner, became Egypt’s second most powerful leader. When Grace operates, educational qualifications are thrown out. Fishermen become disciples, to the dismay of the religious elite. Grace instills hope in the hopeless, joy in the forlorn, and peace in the agitated. She has your back while she holds your heart. She transforms lament into a dancing melody. She is the warmth that accompanies light, and she is God’s gift to you forever.

2/17/2022 0 Comments

Life

Satan shrewdly deceived Eve in the garden. Just eat the forbidden fruit and you will be like God and know the difference between good and evil (Genesis 3:5). The deeper implication behind his temptation was that Eve was somehow deprived. At this point in her existence, she had no knowledge of evil. What Satan did not tell Eve was that it was her relationship with God that was most important. Having her eyes opened would make her like him—a fallen creature out of God’s favor. His intent was to sever Adam and Eve’s relationship with their Creator by cunningly convincing them to disobey His command.

9/14/2021 0 Comments

Disruptive Innovation

Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, coined the term disruptive innovation.[1] Essentially it describes how a product or service begins at market bottom and then inexorably rises in the market until it at some point, displaces well-established competitors. A small, new company that is weak on resources successfully overcomes proven incumbent businesses by offering what the incumbents overlook in providing their more established clientele. An example of this is Microsoft and Apple moving into the computer industry and turning it upside down by providing affordable desktop and laptop computers.

10/31/2020 1 Comment

Grace & Holiness

Meditation
James 2:18—But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (ESV)

The faith versus deeds debate is a wrestle that transcends generations. Even so, I believe that in the wrestle of today’s culture, these verses could be reapplied as so: “But someone will say, “You have grace and I have holiness.” Show me your grace apart from your holiness, and I will show you my grace by my holiness.”

8/23/2020 1 Comment

Marking People With Grace

Ron and Joyce York

At the age of 88, my dad is walking the final chapters of his life on earth still on fire to share the gospel with any and every person he can. Mark Cahill wrote the book One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven and that one thing is evangelism. Dad is making sure he maximizes now what he won’t be able to do once he is home.
I’m working on writing a biography of his life and was challenged by an entry in his journal on October 10, 1983 while he was serving as the country leader for the Navigators in the Philippines.

11/10/2019 0 Comments

Uncommon Kindness

Alex is a high school student in Vancouver, Washington. One day he was driving on a job when he was rear-ended by another driver. Alex took a photo of the man’s driver’s license so he could report it to his insurance company. He noticed that the man held a commercial license. In conversing with him he found out that he was married and a father and that this was his second accident in less than a month. The man was upset that he had been so careless.

7/12/2019 0 Comments

Gratitude

Meditation
Colossians 3:16--Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.

6/29/2019 1 Comment

I Have What I Need

Meditation
Psalm 23:1—The LORD is my shepherd; I have what I need. (CSB)

As I read Psalm 23 for my devotions I was struck in a new way by verse one. What David declares is very powerful for several reasons.

6/3/2012 0 Comments

Covered

It was an amazing show of sportsmanship. Tiger Woods walked into the gallery and was met by Jack Nicklaus, arguably the world’s greatest golfer. Jack complimented him for his performance—his winning score of 67 matched Jack’s own record. And then he told Tiger that his birdie on the 16th hole was one of the greatest shots he had ever witnessed.

Why was this conversation so remarkable? For the simple reason that Jack knew the heinous sins of Tiger. He witnessed the planet’s most popular golfer meltdown morally and behave in ways that were a complete embarrassment to the sport. He rendered grace and dignity to an athlete he could deliberately have avoided.

3/21/2012

Costly Grace

Meditation
Ephesians 4:7—Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift.

Ephesians gives us a powerful apologetic for the true meaning and application of grace. Too often we hear preached today the message “God loves you and allyou have to do is tell Him you are sorry for your sins, place your faith in His Son, Jesus and you will be saved.” This incomplete statement pales in weight to the message that follows—“Don’t worry about your sin, God has taken care of it. You just do the best you can. God wants to bless you. You don’t need to suffer anymore. Just claim your blessing and live your dreams.” Both messages are well-received and both carry with them an implied assurance that so long as we believe in Jesus we can live our lives in pursuit of whatever pleases us. But watch the progression of truth about grace the Apostle Paul teaches the Ephesians and see if it differs profoundly from what we often hear taught today.

9/26/2010 0 Comments

Reported

Meditation
John 5:15—The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Never underestimate the need for approval. A man is sick for 38 years. Jesus sees him and knows his situation. He asks him if he would like to get well. Instead of answering “Yes!,” the man shares a pool of woes. You can read about it in John 5:1-7.

8/16/2010 0 Comments

Lenience

Thank God we are not a heap of ashes! 1. Do you know people who believe the Old Testament God is exceedingly harsh and not the same New Testament God? 2. Have you ever done something so bad there was just no way you thought God would forgive you? 3. Do you know someone who has committed some disgusting sin and Christians will have nothing to do with that person despite his or her repentance?

2/4/2010

Unauthorized

When I read my Bible I look forward each day to hearing from the Lord. I look forward to learning something that will help me live more effectively or that will enable me to help others. I don’t know about you but I find the book of Leviticus to be hard reading. For the first nine chapters, God instructs Moses in how the Israelites are to bring offerings and the priests are to conduct themselves and I’m struggling to see anything even remotely interesting. Then chapter ten comes along and I read the shocking verses below.

3/20/2009 0 Comments

Knecht the Dots

Almost five years ago, I shared the story of David Knecht, a West Point classmate who suffered a horrifying injury while on a military exercise that left him partially paralyzed and blind in his right eye. The name of that reveration was Glory. This week I was able to visit Dave and Annette in their home in Tampa, Florida.

7/21/2006

Bad

Every week, Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., I have the privilege of helping lead an emergency food ministry. What is somewhat unique about this organization is that each person who comes into our facility reads a pre-intake form which tells them that they are about to receive food but must first agree to meet with a counselor to discuss personal and spiritual issues.

5/27/2006 0 Comments

Long Suffering

Recently, the Vietnam Traveling Wall (the 3/4ths replication of the amazing black wall in Washington D.C.), traveled to Portland, Oregon. Etched in somber stone is the name of every veteran killed in Indochina. During the opening ceremony I represented the 104th Division. Afterwards I was invited to a dinner with the special people from the cemetery that planned the event.

9/22/2005 0 Comments

Gracious

Isaiah chapter thirty contains a stern message from God to a nation consistently at odds with His will. Judah was rebellious, deceitful and unwilling to listen to His instruction (vs. 9). The people told the prophets to stop telling them what was right. They asked them to speak pleasant things and to share illusions (vs. 10). I’m reminded of Paul’s word to Timothy when he foretold a time “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new” (2 Timothy 4:3).

Photo used under Creative Commons from Rachel Maxey Miles