Growing in Grace

True worship is not confined to any place or building on earth. It is not concerned with stained-glass windows, ecclesiastical garments, candles, liturgies, or incense. Rather, in genuine worship we pass from earth to heaven by faith, and there, in the presence of God, we pour out our souls in thanksgiving, praise, and homage to the Lord for all He is and for all He has done for us. -From Alone in Majesty by William MacDonald; part of The  Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version  by Max Lucado The Israelites worshiped the Ark, rather than God himself. Is there an "ark" in your life? Does something get more attention than God? If so, turn your focus to the ever-present God, whose power transcends any object.

It is not only the greatness of the blessings promised by Jesus the encourages us in His service. Their security encourages us too. The young man turned away from Christ because he was unwilling to part with his possessions, but it is an irony of the story that he turned from possessions that were certain to possessions that were at best uncertain. Maybe he lost those possessions before the year was out. maybe his gold was stolen. His land could have been taken. As in the prodigal's case, his friends could have grown cold and abandoned him. This point can be made even stronger. God often allows the ungodly to amass great wealth - to their destruction. But if you are one with whom God is dealing and if you put the pursuit of riches (or anything else) before service to Christ, God may take away those riches (and other things) until you turn to Him. Some years ago Donald Grey Barnhouse was counseling a young woman on the sidewalk in front of Tenth Presbyterian Church following an

How can the characters in a play guess the plot? We are not the playwright, we are not the producer, we are not even the audience. We are on the stage. To play well the scenes in which we are 'on' concerns us much more than to guess about the scenes that follow it. . . The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end. The curtain may be rung down at any moment: say, before you have finished reading this paragraph. This seems to some people intolerably frustrating. So many things would be interrupted . Perhaps you were going to get married next month, perhaps you were going to get a rise next week: you may be on the verge of a great scientific discovery; you may be maturing great social and political reforms. Surely no good and wise God would be so very unreasonable as to cut all this short? Not now, of all moments! We think thus because we keep on assuming that we know the play. We do not know the play. We do not eve

According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. . . it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride lead to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind. . . If you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, 'How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off?' The point is that each person's pride is in competition with everyone else's pride . It is because I wanted to be the big noise at the party that I am so annoyed at someone else being the big noise. Two of a trade never agree. Now what you want to get clear is that Pride is essentially competitive - is competitive by its very nature - while the other vices are competitive only so to speak, by accident. Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud of being rich

One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give up a thing himself without wanting everyone else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons - marriage, or meat or beer, or the cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning. One great piece of mischief has been done by the modern restriction of the word Temperance to the question of drink. It helps people to forget that you can be just as intemperate about lots of other things. A man who makes his golf or his motor bicycle the centre of his life, or a woman who devotes all her thoughts to clothes or bridge or her dog, is being just as 'intemperate' as someone who gets drunk every evening. Of course, it does not show on the outside so easily: bridge-mania or golf-mania do not make you fall down in the mid

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up . -Deuteronomy 6:5-7 . . . Pay careful attention to all the words I have said to you today, and command your children to obey carefully everything in these teachings . -Deuteronomy 32:46 The good people who live honest lives will be a blessing to their children . -Proverbs 20:7 Train your children how to live right, and when they are old, they will not change . -Proverbs 22:6 A father should tell his children that you provide help . -Isaiah 38:19 Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord . -Ephesians 6:4 But you should continue following the teachings you learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. Since you were a child you have

  We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us. . . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them . Numbers 13:31, 33 NASB  "I'm no grasshopper. . . When I arrive in heaven, I don't want my life here on Earth to have been characterized by viewing myself as a grasshopper. My God is so big, I want to expect and believe Him for great things." -Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade, via Dennis Rainey

Be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer . 1 Peter 4:7 NASB A is for Adoration . Worship and adore God for His love, grace and forgiveness. Praise Him for His work in your marriage and family. C is for Confession . Agree with God about any sin that needs to be confessed before you make requests for His help, clearing your heart to be pure minded in your petitions. T is for Thanksgiving . Thank God for your spouse, your children, your job, your home - anything He brings to mind. S is for Supplication . Ask Him for those things that are heavy on your heart - a child struggling at school, physical and spiritual needs in your family, financial trouble, etc. Don't worry about impressing Him with religious language. Remember that praying is both reverential and relational. -Excerpted from Moments with You by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

  The mind of a person with understanding gets knowledge; the wise person listens to learn more. -Proverbs 18:15 If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to all people, so he will give you wisdom. But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind. Such doubters are thinking two different things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do. They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord . -James 1:5-8 There are ten questions you'll want to ask yourself and pray about when you're faced with a decision. The first five are generic. They represent moral issues and godly wisdom that are normative for all times. The next five are questions that you need to ask when facing a change in direction. Let's take a look at what each question entails. First, have you prayed about it? The Lord's Prayer begins with a petiti

What is the grace of God? The grace of God says you serve God because you're saved, not in order to be saved. You love people because you're saved, and not in order to be saved. You're not trying to keep a legalistic system, you're responding to a system of love and peace. What is grace? It's what someone gives us out of the goodness of his heart, not out of the perfection of ours. The story of grace is the good news that says that when we come, he gives. That's what grace is. Grace is a pleasant surprise. Grace is a kind gesture. Grace is something you did not expect. It is something you certainly could never earn. But grace is something you'd never turn down. You know what happens when someone sees the grace of God? When someone really tastes the forgiving and liberating grace of God? Someone who tastes God's grace is the hardest worker, the most morally pure individual, and the person most willing to forgive. Always remember that Jesus says

Someone may say, "I believe the historic facts of the gospel, but still I am not saved." Perhaps so, for the faith that saves has one distinguishing quality - saving faith is a faith that produces obedience, it is a faith that brings about a way of life. Some have quite successfully imitated this way of life for a time, but for those who trust Christ for salvation, that faith brings about in them a desire to live out that inward experience of faith. It is a power that results in godly living and surrender. -From Peace with God by Billy Graham; part of The  Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version  by Max Lucado

We had cardboard testimonies this morning at church during this song. It was deeply moving to see how the Lord has helped others overcome so many different things. It made me think of what my cardboard testimony would read. . .   Before I knew Christ I lacked self esteem. I didn't feel valued or cherished. I wanted to feel loved unconditionally. In search of these things I comprised my purity and what I knew to be right. . .  When I surrendered my life to Christ I became a daughter of the King  (1 John 3:1) and He reveled to me that I have my name written on His hand (Isaiah 49:16), I am a divine work of art (Psalm 139:13), He cares about me (1 Peter 5:7), I am delightful (Psalm 147:11), forgiven (Psalm 130:3-4), loved (1 John 4:16), I was chosen (1 Peter 2:9), I am strong (Philippians 4:13) and beautiful (Song of Solomon 2:10), and my identity is in Him! Thank you, Jesus! Cardboard testimonies from our church service. . .

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 7:21 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. -Luke 3:8 Surely you know that when you give yourselves like slaves to obey someone, then you are really slaves of that person. The person you obey is your master. You can follow sin, which brings spiritual death, or you can obey God, which makes you right with Him . -Romans 6:16 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love . - 2 John 1:6 The partially surrendered life may be Christian in spirit, but it is secular in practice. It may save one's soul, but it hardly leaves a noticeable ripple on one's lifestyle, life view, or the world and culture in which we live. Of what earthly value is Christianity if it leaves no indelible mark on one's lifestyle? It is of no value (i