Tag: Grace

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A Level Place

Daily Reading

Luke 6-7

Daily Thought

A guy in a suit, pointing at a beggar on the side of the road, crowed, “There but for the grace of God go I,” and I secretly wondered if he was more proud he was not than humbled he could be.

Yehiel Dinur had survived Auschwitz and was now a witness against Adolf Eichmann, who was on trial for the millions of Jews he had slaughtered. Dinur entered the courtroom, stared for a moment at the butcher, but then collapsed on the floor, and left the room sobbing. “Were you overcome with hatred,” a reporter asked, “staring at the face of evil incarnate?” “No,” responded Dinur. The Eichmann he saw was not a demon, but an ordinary man. “I was afraid about myself. I saw that I’m capable to do this … exactly like he. Eichmann is in all of us.”

Love your enemies. They are not unlike you. “Love your enemies, and do good, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36). The more impressed I am of my sin, the more amazed I am at God’s grace.

A crowd of people gathered to hear Jesus, and he “came down with them and stood on a level place” (Luke 6:17). A level place, no orchestra seating, no balcony, everyone side by side, rich and poor, high society and low, righteous and unrighteous, a level place. “Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated and reviled. Woe to the rich and those who have a full stomach, those who laugh and are spoken well of” (Luke 6:20-26). He was lifting the humble and warning the proud. Jesus has a way of doing that.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, Help me see others with Your eyes, with Your heart. Help me see myself that way, as well. I know how much You love me. I need to remember how much You love those I see as enemies. You died for all of us, not because of any merit, but because You are love. I need the same humility and the same sacrificial attitude.

May I become more and more like Jesus Christ, who, for the grace of God, became like me, so that I may see God and become like Him.

Amen

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Jesus of Nazareth

Daily Reading

Mark 6-7

Daily Thought

His miracles, his teaching, his kindness, and his confidence set Jesus apart and above the typical celebrity and left people astonished and in awe, and then Jesus went home. You would never know of Nazareth had Jesus not grown up there. Population 500, it was a little place, 25 miles southwest of Capernaum, in the middle of nowhere. Jesus came home “and they took offense at him” (Mark 6:3). They knew Jesus and his brothers and sisters and his mom, and they do not mention his dad because it is a small town and there were rumors about his birth. He was not what they expected of a prophet, let alone a Savior. They sought majesty, he was ordinary, too ordinary to be extraordinary. They deserved better, “and he could do no mighty work there” (Mark 6:5).

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men, ~Isaiah 53:2-3

Later, far from home, outside Israel, a woman fell at his feet. “Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter” (Mark 7:26). Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, the Savior of God’s children, and he rebuffs this foreign woman, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (Mark 7:27). I do not know how to make that sound not rude, yet the woman accepts her role as dog, and still insists on her food, “she answered him, ‘Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs’” (Mark 7:28). She is not allowed at the table, she is not of the tribe of Israel, she does not worship Israel’s God, she does not read the Bible, she does not follow the Law. She knows she is unclean and unworthy in the eyes of Israel, and so she does not ask Jesus of Nazareth to give her what she deserves because she is good; she asks Jesus to give her what she does not deserve because he is good. “And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone” (Mark 7:30).

One of the disciples, when he was first told of Jesus, asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Another answered, “Come and see.” (John 1:46).

Daily Prayer

My God, You are righteous and good, but more than that, You are full of grace. I do not deserve Your favor, I am neither righteous nor good, and yet You looked upon me with love, and sent Your Son to bring me back into Your family. Thank You.

May I look at others as You look at me. May I see each person as a special creation, lovingly made by You, and give them the grace and the goodness You have shown me.

Amen

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Crucify Him!

Daily Reading

Matthew 27-28

Daily Thought

From where he sat in a prison cell, Barabbas could not hear Pilate speak, but only the shout of the raucous crowd in the courtyard. “Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’” (Matthew 27:17). It was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by this crowd, and the crowd cried, “Barabbas” (Matthew 27:21). Barabbas, in chains, in prison, a rebel, a murderer, and a thief, heard his name shouted from the crowd. “‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” (Matthew 27:22).

Alas, all Barabbas could hear, over and over, was, “Barabbas! Barabbas! Crucify him! Crucify him!!” Imagine, then, his astonishment when he was set free. “Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified” (Matthew 27:26); and an innocent man was crucified on the cross of another, one who was guilty and deserved the punishment Jesus would endure. 

The horror of this is I find my place in the crowd and the criminal, and it should and would have been on the cross, but, there, Jesus took my place.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:4-5

Replace the name of Barabbas with my own and I begin to grasp the wonder of the salvation. 

Daily Prayer

My Father in heaven, I am not forsaken. I deserve to be, but You loved me by death, death on a cross. Your Son took what I deserved. He took my place and my penalty and set me free.

I show someone the smallest amount of grace and I pat myself on the back–as if I’d done something grand. You demonstrate Your love in this, that even while I sin, and keep sinning, and delight in sin, you died for me.

Now, how can I keep sinning? I must not. I must embrace righteousness because I have received grace and mercy. I am newly born, a saint. Thank You, Jesus.

Amen

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Touchdown!

Daily Reading

Matthew 20-21

Daily Thought

The religious leaders thought themselves the best in Israel, but Jesus told them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31). You see, the religious thought themselves righteous and God needed them. The ones on the bottom know better. It is not God who needs, but us, and sinners need a Savior.

Sometimes, when we were kids, my dad played street football with us. He was the quarterback and he drove us crazy. The best players were the first chosen, of course, and my dad would send all the best running to the right with the best defenders in tow, then toss the ball left to Billy. Billy had been chosen last and was undefended. Touchdown Billy! My dad had this annoying habit of making winners of the kids chosen last.

“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” ~Matthew 20:15-16

This smacks of Jesus, who likewise dismayed his disciples. In his kingdom, “the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16). Not sure what that meant, a couple disciples tried to come out on top the conventional way. James and John, the sons of thunder (Mark 3:17–and a great football nickname, by the way), coaxed their mom to approach Jesus, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom” (Matthew 20:21). Jesus, instead, explained, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. It shall not be so among you” (Matthew 20:25-26). One way to know if you are living like Jesus is to look around and see who wins and loses when you are in charge.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ~Matthew 20:28

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, I do not deserve Your grace. Of course, I don’t. It wouldn’t be grace if I deserved it. You have so much love for me, and for all of us, and You never run short of grace. There is enough for all. Even the thief on the cross, who came into Your kingdom just in time.

I know I don’t deserve the riches of Your Kingdom, but I’m thrilled that they are mine. I look forward to eternity, to being in Your presence, being in Your Kingdom, being Your child, co-heir with Jesus Christ, sharing in His glory.

Thank You.

Amen

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Judge Not

Daily Reading

Matthew 7-8

Daily Thought

John 3:16 may be the Christian’s best-known verse in the Bible, but the one most quoted by the world is Matthew 7:1–“Judge not, that you be not judged”–often employed to provide biblical cover to an “I can do whatever I want” lifestyle. The rub comes a few verses later, however, when Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15), which is an invitation to judge, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20), clearly judging them by their actions. So, which is it, to judge or not to judge? That is the question.

One thing for sure, everyone will be judged. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31). There comes a day when Jesus will judge and that judgment final. Jesus will sit on the throne of God and we will each stand before him. Some will contest, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” In final judgment, Jesus will respond, “I never knew you; depart from me” (Matthew 7:22-23). You do not want to be one of those. This final judgment of Jesus ought to relieve me of my hunger to judge. No one is getting away with anything, and that includes me.

Perhaps our problem is our favorite verse, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” We stop too soon. We should keep reading, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). The Bible is full of “you shall” and “you shall nots,” and the prophets judged people according to these standards, not to condemn, but to turn people toward God’s love. This is the heart of “Judge not, that you be not judged.” It is not our place to condemn, but to prepare each other to meet God. “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). God’s grace given to you, you give to others to help others see clearly, because when someone truly sees clearly, they truly see God and his saving grace and are prepared to stand before his throne.

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, what a great work You do in my life. You meet me where I am, a sinner, and embrace me and live in me and change me from the inside out. There is nothing I did or do to deserve this. It is only because of Your love and grace that I see salvation. Then you never stop saving me, transforming my heart and mind so that what I do displays Your grace and truth. May others see that same grace and truth in me and find you.

Amen

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Thy Kingdom Come

Daily Reading

Daniel 7-9

Daily Thought

Daniel, the interpreter of dreams, had his own, and they are terrifying. The latter half of the book of Daniel is filled with wild visions of future events. The course of history is contained in dismaying images of kingdoms, the first “like a lion and had eagles’ wings” (Daniel 7:4); the second, “like a bear, raised up on one side, it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth” (Daniel 7:5); next, “like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had four heads” (Daniel 7:6); and, finally, “a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet” (Daniel 7:7). Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, we know their names. But there is another.

“Behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him. ~Daniel 7:13

A keen awareness of sin accompanies Daniel’s vision of a righteous King, and he makes no excuses, “we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled” (Daniel 9:5). God hates sin, but loves repentance more, and grace the most, and Daniel appeals to God’s mercy, “O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name” (Daniel 9:19). This is the call to another kingdom and a righteous king. There is a future for Israel and all called by the name of God,

And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.” ~Daniel 7:14

Empires will rise, and all will fall, except one, one that rises not from the dust of earth, but comes down from the heavens.

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. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. ~1Timothy 1:15-17

Daily Prayer

God, full of righteousness and grace, justice and mercy. It is a wonder that I can approach You. It’s wonderful that You listen. My life does not warrant Your attention, but through the goodness of Your Son and the righteousness He gives me through His death, I can speak with You. I can even speak confidently. I have Your promises, written in Your Word, and I trust You completely.

So, God, I bring You praise, and I also bring the needs and concerns that surround me. I lay them at Your feet, and I pray in the Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Your will be done.

Amen

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More Than Justice

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 18-20

Daily Thought

Justice is matter-of-fact, “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), or if “he is righteous; he shall surely live” (Ezekiel 18:9). Plain and simple, and just. There is a problem with this, though, a problem for us. 

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one. ~Psalm 14:2-3

Do we really want justice? Ezekiel began listing Israel’s sins, “defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes profit” (Ezekiel 18:11-13). He could keep going, and he could have been listing ours.

God saw Israel’s sin and ruled rightly, “I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them” (Ezekiel 20:8, 13, 21), yet, time and again, God gave mercy, “I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name” (Ezekiel 20:22). When Moses asked God his name, God told him, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). God defines justice but justice does not define God. God is who he is, and while he is just, he is far beyond. When God looks down from heaven and sees our sin, justice is due, but God came down from heaven and, for the sake of his name, brought more than justice, and that is the Gospel, that is Jesus, that is “the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Jean Valjean took shelter in the Bishop’s home. He also took the silver. When he was caught by the Constable, Valjean was returned to the Bishop for justice. “He claimed that you gave the silver to him,” mocked the Constable. “Yes, of course I gave him the silverware,” replied the Bishop. “Thank you for bringing him back. Release him.” Then turning to Valjean, the Bishop handed him more, “You forgot the candlesticks, Jean Valjean. They are worth 2,000 francs. Why did you leave them?”

“You shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” ~Ezekiel 20:44

The Bishop glared with terrifying love, “Jean Valjean, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I’ve bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God.”

Daily Prayer

My Lord, my God, You have shown a love unimaginable. You bought me with Your love, a love that sacrificed what is most precious to You. You made Your Son sin, not sin of His own doing, but my sin and the world’s sin. He bore it all, sin and the just consequence. He died, separated and forsaken by You, because You cannot look upon sin. But sin could not hold Him, and He rose again, the first of more to come, of which I am one, I will be raised again to eternity.

I am Yours, God, bought fully by the blood of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. I welcome the rain of justice upon me because I have the reign of Jesus over me. I am, therefore, a living sacrifice to You, showing the world Your good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Amen

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Who Pays the Debt?

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 9-12

Daily Thought

God had an agreement with Israel, a long-standing covenant that said, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” This is Creator making a commitment to creation. Think about that–the Creator owes nothing to creation; creation owes its all to the Creator, and yet, God kept his word and his people broke theirs repeatedly.

Ezekiel is a tough read; judgment is terrifying and terrible. When God commands his angel, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion” (Ezekiel 9:5), I shudder. I fancy the God who is gracious and merciful, the patient and long-suffering Father, failing to consider I am the reason he suffers long. I expect patience in others with no thought of lessening their burden.

Israel used God’s mercy and grace to disregard his holiness and justice. They said of each prophecy’s terrible doom, “the vision he sees is for many years from now, and he prophesies about the distant future” (Ezekiel 12:27). They are content to live in God’s favor even if their children pay their debt. Now that is truly terrible.

We, rather, have the heart of Jesus before us, who “bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1Peter 2:24). The world lives as if their joy is another’s burden. Christ dies because his burden is our joy.

Daily Prayer

Lord God, You accomplished salvation because You were focused on the joy of eternity. You endured the cross because You loved me. When You call me to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, You have already shown a love that strong, that complete, for me.

God, I deserve worse, You gave me Your best. I now desire to live a life completely sacrificed to Your glory. May I never take advantage of Your love. I am grateful for Your mercy and grace, and committed to Your righteousness, Your holiness, Your goodness. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, that my heart will always belong to You.

Amen

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In God We Trust

Daily Reading

Jeremiah 7-9

Daily Thought

The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are delivered!”–only to go on doing all these abominations?’” (Jeremiah 7:1-2, 9-10). Jeremiah is speaking to Judah; the same may be said to us. “In God We Trust” is engraved on every coin, every piece of paper that bankrolls our rebellion against God laws. I do not know how we get away with it. I do not know that we will.

Judah did not. “Raise a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste” (Jeremiah 7:29, 34). Thus cries the weeping prophet, Jeremiah. Thus says the Lord. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

That is the bad news; here is the good news. God’s judgment is just, yet through judgment comes grace. The word that came to Jeremiah was not the last word, for God has the final Word and “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Our judgment would not be excused, it would be executed on a cross. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1Peter 2:24). God’s Word is true, for Judah, for us, forever. I deserve what I get, and instead Jesus took what was mine, and gave me what is his. I wear his righteousness because he bore my sin. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.

Daily Prayer

My Lord and God, I wear Your righteousness because You bore my sin. I am created in Your image, and I can do all things through You because it is from You and You alone that I have the power. In my sin, I diminish Your glory, but in Your Son, Your glory shines anew.

Thank You for this life, and all that is in it. God, whatever riches and pleasures and blessings come my way, may I lay them at Your feet. Your glory is my delight.

Amen

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Grapes Gone Bad

Daily Reading

Isaiah 5-8

Daily Thought

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

Isaiah speaks for God to a nation in judgment. He sings a song to Judah of a beautiful vineyard full of grapes gone bad. Past the point of pruning, it is time to uproot:

And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed. ~Isaiah 5:5-6

God gives six reasons why, six woes delivered by his prophet Isaiah, “Woe to those who…” (Isaiah 5:8, 11, 18, 20 21, 22). Having rejected their God, they live in a world turned downside up, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20). God’s prophet speaks the truth.

There is a seventh woe and it arises not from God, but from Isaiah upon himself. A vision of the holiness of God confronts Isaiah with his own sinfulness, and he cries: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). God’s prophet is humble, speaking not from self-righteousness, but of God’s righteousness.

Most importantly, God’s prophet knows grace. Isaiah’s unclean lips are touched by God, “one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:6-7).

Truth must be spoken with courage and clarity, and always by a heart humbled by a soul touched with the grace of God.

Daily Prayer

Righteous God, You are good and Your Words bring life. May I be one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. May I live in peace, in so far as I am able. But, if something is wrong, may I be a defender of right, a defender of justice. May I be one who speaks up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the broken and the poor and the needy.

Knowing Your goodness, experiencing Your grace, may I never wash my hands of what is right and just and good.

Amen