Fiday; June 25

Isn’t it great that God is filled with grace? Amen and amen!

I think we could stop right there and enjoy the moment of praise, but those of you who know me understand that I won’t do that. Before we go any further; however, I would like to commit to how much I believe in the first sentence of this blog. God’s grace in incredible and incomprehensible. Yet, I think there is another side to the issues of grace – while it is available to everyone, it will not be accepted by everyone. There will be people who will choose to reject the grace of God. The other day I heard a discussion of I Peter 4:18 that states, “And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?”. This seems to stem from Proverbs 11:31 and reminds us that, while believers will be able to experience the grace of God, those who don’t will be held accountable for their unbelief. As I read this, I was reminded of what the Apostle Paul wrote, “… work out your salvation with fear and trembling …” (Philippians 2:12). God’s desire is for everyone to be saved – in fact, He was so willing to make this happen that He sent His Son to pay the price for us – however, we get the very sobering reminder that the gift of the sacrifice of Jesus can be rejected. Unfortunately, the sad story of the Bible is that not only can it be spurned, but it will be by many.

Let’s be thankful for the grace of God because, without it, we are doomed.

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more