Ephesians 1:7 – “In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”

Brothers and Sisters,

Every one of us are sinners.  We have been united with Christ, and the victory has been won, but there is still sin in our fleshly nature that has to be battled daily.  It is because of this truth, that we will need to forgive and be forgiven from others until Jesus calls us home.

How can we as Christians, be marked by the love of God in forgiveness?  As with everything else, it must be not just outward forgiveness, but accomplished at a heart level.  Simply – we forgive because we know we have been forgiven.  God is infinitely holy, and we sin against God to various degrees every moment of every day.  But God demonstrates His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).  Christ forgave all our sin past, present, and future.  The magnitude of this forgiveness is beyond our comprehension.  It literally cost God His life on the cross to accomplish.

Do you feel the weight of God’s forgiveness towards you?  How often are you thankful towards God for His grace towards you?

If you do feel the weight of the forgiveness of God towards you, that should overflow into a heart of forgiveness towards others.  Is there someone you need to forgive?  Hebrews 12:14-15 gives us a warning – “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;” 

My exhortation today is this.  Root your heart in Christ’s forgiveness towards you.  Seek God, and seek to be at peace with others, demonstrating the glory of God in Christ.  It will be healing to you, and glorify our Savior.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Galatians 5:6-7 – “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Christian, there is always a way among us who have been called as adopted sons and daughters of God.  We have the Spirit of God, Christ in us, to remind us of who God is, what He has done for us, and who we are in Him.  We also have flesh, stained by sin, that desires to draw us away from our hope in God, to pursue hope in the world (which always disappoints).

Walking by the Spirit is walking in the same humble, repentant heart of faith that united us to Christ in the beginning of our faith.  As our faith to believe was given by grace, a gift of God, so too must we ask for grace daily from God to sustain us.  As Christians, when we tell God “I’ve got this” or when we stop coming to Him for grace and mercy to believe and follow Him, we will ultimately turn from Him towards the desires of our flesh.  I could give countless personal examples, but my guess is I don’t have you – each of you no doubt can point to times in your life when you stopped coming to God daily, and you were led away by your own desires away from God, and if you are now following Him – God likely intervened in a powerful (probably painful) way to restore you in love.

My question for us all today is this – is your heart humble before God?  How often are you coming before God, just to acknowledge that you “can’t do it”?  How often are you asking for God’s grace and mercy on your life to trust Him and follow Him?  If this isn’t a daily practice, what is keeping you from acknowledging your need for God’s grace and mercy?

Be encouraged brothers and sisters, where there is hopelessness (in ourselves), there is great hope (in God).  Pray without ceasing – Your Heavenly Father loves you infinitely.  As you walk by the Spirit to please God, you will not gratify the desires of your flesh.  Light casts out darkness, and our God has already won the victory over sin.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Galatians 1:10 – “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  

This verse pierces me, because I see so many of my failings and my sin in it.  A great many of my outward sins have been rooted in a desire to be approved of or affirmed in some way, outside of God.  From times where I neglected relationships because I did not feel affirmed in them, to even desiring affirmation through ministry, this particular sin of the heart has been deceitful and destructive in my own life.

Why is seeking the approval of man a big deal?  Because at its core, it is a denial of the gospel and the goodness/all-sufficiency of God as our treasure.  In the gospel, Jesus takes all of our sin, and gives us His perfect righteousness.  In Christ, we are adopted as sons and daughters of the Living God, who looks down on us with perfect acceptance, affirmation, and love.  So at it’s core, the desire for seeking the approval of man is us telling God that He isn’t enough, and what He has accomplished for us isn’t true – that we need to add to it.  So we look for approval in the world through things and people instead of God.  This never works of course because things go away, and people are just sinners like us, so they will always let us down eventually.

How do we fight against this?  At every opportunity we seek the glory of Christ.  We eagerly acknowledge our weakness and struggles to ourselves and others, to show that in all things, if there is any good in us, it belongs not to us, but to Christ in us.  Lastly, we become forgetful people.  We forget ourselves and set our mind on Jesus, and His glory.  We remind ourselves that in God, through Jesus, we have been affirmed fully, and we proclaim that gospel message to our own heart and to others.

In what ways have you been seeking out the approval of others?  What does God say about How he feels about you in the gospel?  How does the truth of the gospel free you from the need for affirmation from others, and free you to pursue selflessly loving others?

I hope this message finds you well.  Know you are prayed for, and loved perfectly by our Father.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Friends,

I hate sin.  I hate the lies that sin tells us that happiness is found apart from God.  I hate the brokenness that sin brings into relationships and the world.  I hate that sin does not glorify our Loving Father and Savior Jesus.  I hate sin and look forward to eternity without sin, but in this world, broken by sin, we will have grief.

Every lost opportunity, every broken relationship, every loss, comes with grief.  We have all felt it.  When grief comes, people will pursue healing.  They will do this in one of two ways, they will pursue healing by coming humbly before God, or they will pursue healing apart from God in the world.  For those how have experienced the comfort and healing God brings through times of grief, they know that the pain of grief can be a blessing towards something better.  In my own life, my greatest periods of growth in holiness and my pursuit of God (and therefore joy in my relationship with God) have always come during times of grief.

Ultimately, it comes down to this – God loves us too much to let us run after things that are going to keep us away from Him.  There are times when the most loving thing God can do is wreck our world so that we see that everything we were hoping in is a lie.  Only God can meet the desires of our heart.  We are not meant to walk each day under our own power, we’re meant to walk in the power of God’s Spirit, through the grace he provides to us each day.  God in His love will bring pain and grief from our sin and others to show us that we’re not in control, we have no power to change anything, and we are hopeless in ourselves.  God reminds us that He created all things, and is in control of all things.  God reminds us that we are His, and we can always hope in Him because God already accomplished everything for us that we need in Jesus.  So we run to Him, broken, but repentant and hopeful in Him.  This is the mercy and the love of God.  If you are in a season of grief, don’t allow yourself to be swallowed up by your emotions, and do not allow yourself to try to medicate your pain through the world, but run to your loving Father humbly with a repentant heart.  He is Love, He is Comfort, and He is the only one who can bring true healing and lasting joy.

2 Corinthians 7:8-11 – “if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.  10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.”

Know you are loved and prayed for.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Friends, I want to do an overview today of God’s Word to us from 2 Corinthians 5.  God generally works by instructing us on the Truth of our vertical relationship with Him, and then leads us to how that should affect our horizontal relationships with others.

2 Corinthians 5:6-9 – “We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”

In 2 Corinthians 5, God tells us that while we are apart from Him, because of His love towards us, we make it our aim to please Him.  First question then to ask yourself – is your aim to please God or to please yourself or please others?

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – “the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

Do you meditate on the love of God towards you?  Do you feel the weight of what it means for the infinite all-powerful, holy God to die the death for your sin, in your place?  Does the love of God compel you to die to yourself, and instead live for Christ?

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 – “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

If your aim is to please God, and if you are compelled by the love of God towards you, then here you go.  Your life will be a ministry of reconciliation.  Is your life marked by reconciliation?  Does the love of God compel you to not count others trespasses against you, and seek reconciliation if possible?  Does the love of God compel you to want to see others reconciled to God?

Christian, each day is a new day in the Lord and a new race to run.  We start each day with a choice to live according to what seems right to us, or to live in faith and follow after God.  Each day is a new day to allow the love of God to control how you live your life.  Each day is a new opportunity to give yourself to the ministry of reconciliation.  In all of these things we are dependent upon God and His grace, so run to Him knowing He is good and eager for our joy in following Him.  Know that you are loved and prayed for.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

If you want to have a better body, what do you do?  You eat well and work out, right?When we think about how we can change, we think about what we need to do in order to be changed.  God doesn’t change people like that though, we change not through our efforts, but simply by seeing God and His grace working in us.

2 Corinthians 3: 14-18 – “But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

This passage is referring to how many Jewish people were looking to the Old Testament law (rules) to establish their righteousness, and make themselves holy.  Following rules, can make you a good, moral person, but it doesn’t change anyone’s heart.  We’re changed because we see that no one is righteous by following the law, but in Christ we have defeated sin and the curse of the law, to be granted Christ’s perfect righteousness.  This promise of Christ’s righteousness is sealed by the Holy Spirit that indwells us.  Now, when we come to God’s Word, we no longer have to fear condemnation, because we are perfectly holy in Christ, now and forever.  Instead of fear, we are free to see and savor God’s perfections and glory.  Moreover, God even uses our sight of His glory from the Word to change us from the inside out; He changes our hearts and minds to become more like Him.  How amazing is our God!  My encouragement, is to not be fearful or reluctant in pursuing God in His Word, but devour it.  Let God meet you there, and ask Him to show you more of Himself and change you for your good and His glory.

Grace and Peace,

Adam

Often times God uses times of suffering and times of trials to remind us that this world is not our home, and every day we are in need of the grace of God. Every day, we need to be reminded that yes we sin, we are no longer bound to it because of the death of Jesus.  We no longer live under sin, but under the grace of God.  Likewise we are free to live a life of service and love towards others, an overflow of the joy we have in the love of God and delighting in His perfections – our inheritance in eternity, secure through the work of Jesus to the praise of His grace.  My encouragement today is to remember that our treasure is Jesus.  This is world is not as it should be because of sin – my sin, your sin, and the world’s sin.  But Jesus has died, and conquered sin, and overcome the world.  We have been reconciled to God, and the power of God in the resurrection of Jesus Christ in victory over sin and death lives in us, so that we can walk in freedom and joy.  Look to Jesus, and meditate on how He is better, more glorious, than anything the world could offer – our eternal reward, and rest in Him.

2 Corinthians 4:5-10 “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” 

Grace and Peace,

Adam

1 Corinthians 9:24 – “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

Today’s message hits home for me.  I was reading this passage earlier, and recounting experiences in my own life.  The Lord was gracious to call me at a young age, but by no means have I lived a perfect life.  God has used times of pain and suffering to grow my faith, and sanctify me.  The good news of the gospel is that Jesus accomplished for me, what I could never accomplish for myself, He defeated the power of sin, and covered me in His righteousness.  That is the grace of God to me and all who have believed.  Without fail, every time I have faltered in my race with Christ, it has been two-fold 1) I have neglected Godly disciplines/wisdom and 2) I have taken my eyes off of God and His will to put them on myself

When I talk about “The Discipline of Grace”, it is meant to be a contradiction.  Grace cannot be earned, it is a gift of God.  What I do mean is that God, who loves us, has spoken to us through His Word about ways to abide in Him, and make our joy complete in our fellowship with Him.  Every day, we have choices to make – we can pursue joy in ourselves/the world, which offers immediate happiness, but leads to brokenness, or we can pursue a race with Christ, which does not offer immediate joy usually, but does give peace, and an abiding joy and happiness.  So we prepare ourselves.  We recognize that we’re living today in light of eternity.  We discipline our lives to be careful who we surround ourselves with in close fellowship.  We love all people, but we accept counsel only from those who will point us to God and His will.  We love our non-believing neighbors and friends, but we are careful in how we walk, not to put ourselves in temptation.  We intentionally read our Bibles not to just learn more, but to delight our hearts in the knowledge of the glory of God, and all that He is for us in Jesus.   We pray, as those who realize they cannot take another step unless God is with them.  We look for brothers and sisters in Christ who will grow our affection for God, and schedule time with them.  We also ask those people into our lives to hold us accountable, knowing our weakness.  

Above, I said there were two things that have caused me to fall away from close fellowship with God.  If our hope is to grow more joy in God and more like Christ each day, everything above are disciplines that will guard that goal.  These you will find will be a great burden unless you discipline yourself to one thing – In light of the gospel, decide to set our purpose each day to pursue God wholeheartedly.  Seek God in the morning.  Seek God throughout the day.  Seek God in the evening.  Brothers and sisters, I have fallen as many times as any of you, but I am encouraged in the Lord that we should never let what has happened in the past determine today or tomorrow.  Moreover, God will never leave you or forsake you, He is for you, and wants the best for you always.

Philippians 3:12-14 – “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  

Know as you read this, you have been prayed for, and are loved by God.

Grace and Peace,

Adam  

I created this blog to replace and supplement “Word for the Day” (WFTD) emails that I’ve sent out over the past 10 years or so.  Those began primarily as a means of sharing what God was showing my own heart with close brothers in Christ around me.  My writings will always be from this perspective – I will never share a message to others that God has not first shared/challenged my own heart with.  My hope for this blog is that it would be a place of rest and encouragement in God.  My own story is one of wandering from God and God’s redeeming work in my own heart and life.  I am not a vocational pastor, I’m just one broken sinner, telling other broken sinners where they can find life and joy in Jesus.  I have become convinced of this, that there is no good in me apart from God in me, and that the greatest joy we can have in this life and beyond is to follow Jesus.  In the early new testament church, Christians were called “Followers of the Way”, which is where this blog’s title comes from.

Christians, we are sinners saved by the grace of God, reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This is true of us vertically, how should our heart overflow this truth into our horizontal relationships with one another in love?

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 – “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Because of the gospel – because we in our hearts have known God and His great love towards us, we should carry that heart to others.  In love we should desire others to be reconciled to God.  First we must preach the gospel to our own hearts – our first task of each day is to do this, and seek to get our hearts happy in God.  To unbelievers, we demonstrate forgiveness, patience, and love, and are bold to declare the gospel.  To our brothers and sisters in Christ, we forgive, show patience, and love, giving reminders of the gospel truths, and who we are in Christ.  I love, we remind our brothers and sisters that our sin has been crucified, that we are not to live to our flesh, but to run to where true joy can be found, in Christ’s righteousness, submitting ourselves to God who loves us more that we can ever know.  In all these things, we are constrained by the love of God towards us, to love others towards Jesus, maintaining a spirit of reconciliation.  His grace is greater than anything the world would offer.

Grace and Peace,

Adam