Thursday, July 30, 2020
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
The Foolishness of trying harder to be better
We've been told it over and over again: Do better so that you'll be a better person. It's the main message taught in most churches. Change the way you behave so that you can become the person God wants you to be. It sure puts a lot on us, doesn't it?
That's not the gospel and it is not the message I teach. The word gospel means "good news" and nothing could be further from being good news than being told that you’re expected to muster up more self-effort to try harder to do better. If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably tried that approach many times and have seen that it just doesn’t work for long. The fact is that there’s only one way to live the life that belongs to you through Christ. We live it the same way we received it – by faith.
Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia about this very thing. The people in the Galatian church had trusted Christ when Paul taught them the gospel but after he left there, things jumped track. A new group had come into the church telling them that, while they were indeed on their way to heaven, they had a personal responsibility to keep certain religious rules in the meantime. Their part, said these legalists, began by being circumcised, as a first step to show their intention to keep a whole list of religious rules about to be imposed on them.
Paul wrote and actually called them “idiots” for falling for such foolishness. The God’s Word Translation renders it this way: “You stupid people of Galatia! Who put you under an evil spell? Wasn't Christ Jesus' crucifixion clearly described to you?” Harsh words, but it was a very important subject. The future of their grace walk was in jeopardy.
Paul was asking them, "Have you had some sort of spell cast on you? You became a Christian without doing a single thing, but now you think that what you do is an important part of growing in your life in Christ? Did you become a Christian by anything you did or didn't do? No? Then what makes you think that now you are a Christian, what you do has anything at all to do with receiving God's blessings? Does God work in and among you because of what you do or because you simply trust Him?"
Paul knew that, in this instance, direct and even harsh words were necessary. The gospel is the fantastic news that you and I have been made righteous because of what Christ has done, not because of what we do. In fact, there’s nothing for you to do - just believe it! For anybody to say that there is something you must do before or after starting to follow Jesus so that you can become more righteous is to water down the pure gospel of Jesus Christ and to insult what He accomplished at the cross. The righteousness of God is a gift, not a goal we have in life. (That's what the Bible says in Romans 5:17.)
To think that you can become more righteous by doing all "the right things" is to act like God’s grace doesn’t exist. Paul wrote, “"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly" (Galatians 2:21). He was saying that if righteousness can be gained by keeping religious rules there was no point in Jesus going to the cross. To suggest that religious-rules-keeping has anything to do with a grace walk is to nullify the grace of God.
When Paul realized the Galatians were about to get caught up in religious rules, here’s what he wrote them: “Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it” (Galatians 3:2-3, The Message)?
The next time you hear anybody saying that there is something you need to do to become a better, more righteous person, I hope an alarm goes off in your heart. That’s not grace. Not everybody who says they believe the Bible has this matter straight in their own minds. If they tell you that you should keep certain rules, they may be sincere but they are sincerely wrong! Legalism is very subtle at times. Remember that a diluted gospel is a polluted gospel, which is no gospel (good news) at all. Don't fall for a watered down gospel being taught by many today.
The gospel is the good news that you are 100% righteous because of what He has done, not because of anything you need to do. You don't have to do anything. Ironically, once you understand that fact, you will find that you want to do some things, but it won’t be because you’ve accepted guilty manipulation that has nothing to do with the true message of the gospel. It will be because you are motivated by the loving grace of God. That is the grace walk experience.
- Steve McVey
That's not the gospel and it is not the message I teach. The word gospel means "good news" and nothing could be further from being good news than being told that you’re expected to muster up more self-effort to try harder to do better. If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably tried that approach many times and have seen that it just doesn’t work for long. The fact is that there’s only one way to live the life that belongs to you through Christ. We live it the same way we received it – by faith.
Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia about this very thing. The people in the Galatian church had trusted Christ when Paul taught them the gospel but after he left there, things jumped track. A new group had come into the church telling them that, while they were indeed on their way to heaven, they had a personal responsibility to keep certain religious rules in the meantime. Their part, said these legalists, began by being circumcised, as a first step to show their intention to keep a whole list of religious rules about to be imposed on them.
Paul wrote and actually called them “idiots” for falling for such foolishness. The God’s Word Translation renders it this way: “You stupid people of Galatia! Who put you under an evil spell? Wasn't Christ Jesus' crucifixion clearly described to you?” Harsh words, but it was a very important subject. The future of their grace walk was in jeopardy.
Paul was asking them, "Have you had some sort of spell cast on you? You became a Christian without doing a single thing, but now you think that what you do is an important part of growing in your life in Christ? Did you become a Christian by anything you did or didn't do? No? Then what makes you think that now you are a Christian, what you do has anything at all to do with receiving God's blessings? Does God work in and among you because of what you do or because you simply trust Him?"
Paul knew that, in this instance, direct and even harsh words were necessary. The gospel is the fantastic news that you and I have been made righteous because of what Christ has done, not because of what we do. In fact, there’s nothing for you to do - just believe it! For anybody to say that there is something you must do before or after starting to follow Jesus so that you can become more righteous is to water down the pure gospel of Jesus Christ and to insult what He accomplished at the cross. The righteousness of God is a gift, not a goal we have in life. (That's what the Bible says in Romans 5:17.)
To think that you can become more righteous by doing all "the right things" is to act like God’s grace doesn’t exist. Paul wrote, “"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly" (Galatians 2:21). He was saying that if righteousness can be gained by keeping religious rules there was no point in Jesus going to the cross. To suggest that religious-rules-keeping has anything to do with a grace walk is to nullify the grace of God.
When Paul realized the Galatians were about to get caught up in religious rules, here’s what he wrote them: “Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it” (Galatians 3:2-3, The Message)?
The next time you hear anybody saying that there is something you need to do to become a better, more righteous person, I hope an alarm goes off in your heart. That’s not grace. Not everybody who says they believe the Bible has this matter straight in their own minds. If they tell you that you should keep certain rules, they may be sincere but they are sincerely wrong! Legalism is very subtle at times. Remember that a diluted gospel is a polluted gospel, which is no gospel (good news) at all. Don't fall for a watered down gospel being taught by many today.
The gospel is the good news that you are 100% righteous because of what He has done, not because of anything you need to do. You don't have to do anything. Ironically, once you understand that fact, you will find that you want to do some things, but it won’t be because you’ve accepted guilty manipulation that has nothing to do with the true message of the gospel. It will be because you are motivated by the loving grace of God. That is the grace walk experience.
- Steve McVey
Loved
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son … (John 3:16)
“So, what did you learn in Sunday school, Sweetie?” We were driving home from church and
my question was directed to my six-year-old daughter.
“We learned about the Ten Commandments.”
“Did you now? Tell me something—will God love you more if you keep the Ten Commandments?”
There was a long pause in the back seat. My daughter could smell a trap. “Er, yes?” she said hesitantly.
“No,” I replied. “God loves you when you’re good, and he loves you when you’re naughty. He loves you all the time. Just like me,” I added with a smile.
Like most parents, I love my kids regardless of their behaviour. If my little girl was to grow up and break all Ten Commandments, she would still be my little girl and I would love her dearly. Yet many think God is not as loving as we are. They have been taught that his love is filtered through an anger management problem. “Sure, God loves you, but he’s also mad at you. So you’d better watch yourself.” Just as it’s rare to hear sermons on the unmixed gospel, seldom do you hear the love of God preached without hooks and qualifications. It’s unconditional love—with conditions.
How is it that we think we love our kids more than God loves us?
“So, what did you learn in Sunday school, Sweetie?” We were driving home from church and
my question was directed to my six-year-old daughter.
“We learned about the Ten Commandments.”
“Did you now? Tell me something—will God love you more if you keep the Ten Commandments?”
There was a long pause in the back seat. My daughter could smell a trap. “Er, yes?” she said hesitantly.
“No,” I replied. “God loves you when you’re good, and he loves you when you’re naughty. He loves you all the time. Just like me,” I added with a smile.
Like most parents, I love my kids regardless of their behaviour. If my little girl was to grow up and break all Ten Commandments, she would still be my little girl and I would love her dearly. Yet many think God is not as loving as we are. They have been taught that his love is filtered through an anger management problem. “Sure, God loves you, but he’s also mad at you. So you’d better watch yourself.” Just as it’s rare to hear sermons on the unmixed gospel, seldom do you hear the love of God preached without hooks and qualifications. It’s unconditional love—with conditions.
How is it that we think we love our kids more than God loves us?
- Paul Ellis
Friday, July 10, 2020
Food for thought
When Jesus came He found this world a cemetery — all were dead. To these dead men Jesus announced, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgment); but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (Jn. 5:24-25). It should be obvious to every enlightened mind that Jesus was not talking here about the resurrection of dead bodies out of the cemetery, for that would mean that not one dead person in the past two thousand years has heard the voice of the Son of God and lived! He spake of the resurrection of souls that were dead in trespasses and in sins, dead to God — unresponsive to spiritual things and the spiritual realm.
Yet there are millions of earnest believers who know that they have been made alive in Christ, but who would invent still another physical resurrection to take place at some future date which they term “the FIRST RESURRECTION!” “First” infers that there could not be any other before it. In his wonderful revelation of the powers and realities of the kingdom of God John saw thrones, and sitting on them he saw the “souls” of those to whom authority was given to act as judges. These were also the “souls” of them that were beheaded (died to SELF) because of the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands, and THEY LIVED and reigned with Christ a thousand years. And then he adds: “THIS is the first resurrection.”
Perhaps the indignation of some will be aroused because of this statement, but if you carefully scrutinize the statements above surrounding this “first resurrection,” you will be forced to agree that this passage is not even dealing with a first “bodily” resurrection at all, for John sees souls, not bodies. True, the term “souls” at times in scripture denotes “people” or “persons,” that is, the entire being, spirit, soul and body. An example of this is found in passages like Genesis 46:26-27 wherein we read, “All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; and the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.” But in this case you can substitute the term “people” for “souls” all through the passage. Try it and see! Now try the same method with our text. Here in Revelation 20:4 you cannot do so! The phrase is, “the souls of them…” The only word in that phrase for which you can substitute the word “people” is “them.” “The souls of the people that were beheaded…” You cannot grammatically substitute the word “people” for “souls.” So John is not seeing people, he is seeing peoples’ souls, and these souls had been made alive, caught up to the throne, and were now capable of judging and reigning with Christ for a thousand years — in the illumination and glory and power of the day of the Lord! Isn’t it wonderful!
The fact of the soul’s living and reigning with Christ in heavenly glory and power being called the first resurrection is not difficult to understand. Every child of God has a soul as well as a body. The soul first experiences God’s transforming love and power: it is raised first, here in this present life for the elect of the Lord, and the soul’s union with the spirit is the harbinger of that resurrection yet to come when even our vile body shall be changed that it may be fashioned like unto HIS GLORIOUS BODY! For some years now the Spirit has been speaking to many of God’s called and chosen elect that it is now time for a people to lay hold upon and apprehend even this bodily transformation — resurrection. And during this same time the Lord has been preparing us for just such a glory — transforming our souls, bringing forth souls that are adapted and equipped to express themselves through such a body of glory as mature sons of God — souls that have been fully saved, fully redeemed, fully quickened, fully purified, fully transformed, fully made overcomers, brought into union with the spirit, raised up out of the dust of the death realm and made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus! Oh, yes, I know something about that! This is not doctrine, theory, or conjecture, my beloved brother, sister, but a present and powerful and living reality that God is working in my life, and in your life! This is the power of the first resurrection! Any other kind of resurrection must take place at a later time, in another order, and as the result of this first one! That is the mystery.
The first resurrection is just one of many events revealed in the book of Revelation. This is not a book of outer world events but it contains the keys to inner spiritual events that will uncover Christ — Head and body. Revelation is really another “gospel” written in signs and symbols concerning the working of Christ in His people and which takes up where the four Gospels in our Bible leave off. Another interesting and significant teaching in connection with the first resurrection is the statement which immediately follows: “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:5). Who are, or what is, the “rest of the dead?” Can we not see that the “rest of the dead” can refer only to that part of each of us which has not yet been raised up into life — the mortal body. That is certainly the “rest” of the dead in my life! And there are two conditions which must be met for the body to be transformed. First, the soul must be fully redeemed, transformed, and raised up to live in His sight, for that is the first resurrection. Second, the body cannot be changed until “the thousand years are finished,” that is, until the day of the Lord in our life is consummated — until the day of the Lord in our life has fully and completely done its work in us! The body can only be changed when we have completely become new creatures in Christ Jesus by the release of our spirit and the resurrection of our soul that has been dead and wasted because of our old Adamic nature. We are being made alive as a new people, conformed to His image, because we have risen in newness of life and are seeking those things which are above where Christ sits at the right hand of God. This is the first resurrection!
This new life is not something that is going to happen some day, somewhere. This new life has already happened and is happening, first in our souls as we put on that precious mind which was in Christ Jesus. We have the life of the ages now because we have been resurrected into the kingdom of God. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13). We do not have to go to the grave to receive this resurrection and translation. Blessed be God! We are not waiting for our “rapture.” Nothing new must be added, and no specific prophetic events must occur before we have this translated life. Our death to Self, our beheading, the losing of our old Adamic head of the carnal mind, is but the gateway to a larger, fuller, heavenly life — the more abundant life of sonship to God. As we sign our death-warrant and consign to the grave the “old life,” it is only to find that we are recipients of a life infinitely more wonderful and glorious — as the firstfruits of His redemption. Marvelous truth! Glorious fact! How it enriches! What treasures of grace, what a reservoir of power, what radiance of glory — what a wealth of meaning! That is the matchless energy which works in the believer — THE POWER OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION!
Preston Eby
Yet there are millions of earnest believers who know that they have been made alive in Christ, but who would invent still another physical resurrection to take place at some future date which they term “the FIRST RESURRECTION!” “First” infers that there could not be any other before it. In his wonderful revelation of the powers and realities of the kingdom of God John saw thrones, and sitting on them he saw the “souls” of those to whom authority was given to act as judges. These were also the “souls” of them that were beheaded (died to SELF) because of the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands, and THEY LIVED and reigned with Christ a thousand years. And then he adds: “THIS is the first resurrection.”
Perhaps the indignation of some will be aroused because of this statement, but if you carefully scrutinize the statements above surrounding this “first resurrection,” you will be forced to agree that this passage is not even dealing with a first “bodily” resurrection at all, for John sees souls, not bodies. True, the term “souls” at times in scripture denotes “people” or “persons,” that is, the entire being, spirit, soul and body. An example of this is found in passages like Genesis 46:26-27 wherein we read, “All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were threescore and six; and the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.” But in this case you can substitute the term “people” for “souls” all through the passage. Try it and see! Now try the same method with our text. Here in Revelation 20:4 you cannot do so! The phrase is, “the souls of them…” The only word in that phrase for which you can substitute the word “people” is “them.” “The souls of the people that were beheaded…” You cannot grammatically substitute the word “people” for “souls.” So John is not seeing people, he is seeing peoples’ souls, and these souls had been made alive, caught up to the throne, and were now capable of judging and reigning with Christ for a thousand years — in the illumination and glory and power of the day of the Lord! Isn’t it wonderful!
The fact of the soul’s living and reigning with Christ in heavenly glory and power being called the first resurrection is not difficult to understand. Every child of God has a soul as well as a body. The soul first experiences God’s transforming love and power: it is raised first, here in this present life for the elect of the Lord, and the soul’s union with the spirit is the harbinger of that resurrection yet to come when even our vile body shall be changed that it may be fashioned like unto HIS GLORIOUS BODY! For some years now the Spirit has been speaking to many of God’s called and chosen elect that it is now time for a people to lay hold upon and apprehend even this bodily transformation — resurrection. And during this same time the Lord has been preparing us for just such a glory — transforming our souls, bringing forth souls that are adapted and equipped to express themselves through such a body of glory as mature sons of God — souls that have been fully saved, fully redeemed, fully quickened, fully purified, fully transformed, fully made overcomers, brought into union with the spirit, raised up out of the dust of the death realm and made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus! Oh, yes, I know something about that! This is not doctrine, theory, or conjecture, my beloved brother, sister, but a present and powerful and living reality that God is working in my life, and in your life! This is the power of the first resurrection! Any other kind of resurrection must take place at a later time, in another order, and as the result of this first one! That is the mystery.
The first resurrection is just one of many events revealed in the book of Revelation. This is not a book of outer world events but it contains the keys to inner spiritual events that will uncover Christ — Head and body. Revelation is really another “gospel” written in signs and symbols concerning the working of Christ in His people and which takes up where the four Gospels in our Bible leave off. Another interesting and significant teaching in connection with the first resurrection is the statement which immediately follows: “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished” (Rev. 20:5). Who are, or what is, the “rest of the dead?” Can we not see that the “rest of the dead” can refer only to that part of each of us which has not yet been raised up into life — the mortal body. That is certainly the “rest” of the dead in my life! And there are two conditions which must be met for the body to be transformed. First, the soul must be fully redeemed, transformed, and raised up to live in His sight, for that is the first resurrection. Second, the body cannot be changed until “the thousand years are finished,” that is, until the day of the Lord in our life is consummated — until the day of the Lord in our life has fully and completely done its work in us! The body can only be changed when we have completely become new creatures in Christ Jesus by the release of our spirit and the resurrection of our soul that has been dead and wasted because of our old Adamic nature. We are being made alive as a new people, conformed to His image, because we have risen in newness of life and are seeking those things which are above where Christ sits at the right hand of God. This is the first resurrection!
This new life is not something that is going to happen some day, somewhere. This new life has already happened and is happening, first in our souls as we put on that precious mind which was in Christ Jesus. We have the life of the ages now because we have been resurrected into the kingdom of God. “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13). We do not have to go to the grave to receive this resurrection and translation. Blessed be God! We are not waiting for our “rapture.” Nothing new must be added, and no specific prophetic events must occur before we have this translated life. Our death to Self, our beheading, the losing of our old Adamic head of the carnal mind, is but the gateway to a larger, fuller, heavenly life — the more abundant life of sonship to God. As we sign our death-warrant and consign to the grave the “old life,” it is only to find that we are recipients of a life infinitely more wonderful and glorious — as the firstfruits of His redemption. Marvelous truth! Glorious fact! How it enriches! What treasures of grace, what a reservoir of power, what radiance of glory — what a wealth of meaning! That is the matchless energy which works in the believer — THE POWER OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION!
Preston Eby
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
How to effortlessly stop misbehaving
“That Crepe Myrtle tree is going to look bad all season,” I commented to my wife, Melanie, one day as we left home. The tree was right outside our front door. I kept intending to prune it during the winter, but neglected the job all season. A few days earlier I noticed the beginning of new, green growth on the tree. But the old, ugly, dead pods from last year were still clinging to the limbs.
A few weeks later as we backed out of our driveway, I noticed the tree again. In a few short weeks, an amazing transformation had taken place. Most of the dead pods were gone, lying on the ground beneath its limbs. New growth now filled most of the tree, reaching out to the tips of the branches where blossoms would soon appear.
As I looked at the transformation that occurred, the thought came to me: That’s exactly what happens in our lives! We have Christ's life, but at times the old wrong behavioral patterns are still clinging to us. They are ugly and obviously dead but they are there nonetheless.
What are we to do when we see ugly remnants of a past season of our lives still hanging on? The most common legalistic approach would involve putting forth serious effort to rid ourselves of those ugly deeds that won’t let go. Many have been made to believe that the problem is simply that they aren’t trying hard enough or trusting hard enough. Or, worse yet, they’re taught that it’s up to them to prune away all the dead growth they still see. That kind of teaching is far removed from the grace of God.
Depending on your religious tradition, you may have been told to read your Bible more; to pray more; to memorize Scripture; to fast; to verbally renounce the sins; to cast out devils; to fast; to see a Christian counselor. The only answer empty religion can offer is yet another prescription for moral behavior modification. The problem is that it never works. Only Jesus Christ works.
As we yield ourselves to Him and focus our attention on Him and not on our sins, His life rises up in us and changes everything. We don't have to struggle to change our misbehavior. What religious determination can’t do, He can do. When our effort fails, His life can prevail!
Have you found that to be true in your life? Grace offers good news when we find ourselves in the place where we know there is nothing left for us to successfully do to get rid of the things that need to go. As you grow in grace, a transformation takes place in your life. The life of Christ surging through you will begin to fill you to such an extent that the old behavior will begin to drop away. The ugly remnants of a season gone by will be eliminated one by one as New Life fills you. You don’t have to prune it away. Instead, just look to Christ and trust Him to transform your lifestyle!
Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” That verse offers real hope. As we trust in Him, we will discover that it isn’t necessary to try to prune our own life of the ugly things that still are holding on to us. Legalistic religion will tell you that it is up to you to do away with the dead deeds of your lifestyle, but the reality is that you don’t have the ability to do that. He will do it for you.
Simply depend on Him and you’ll experience a real expression of grace. You will be overjoyed to see that when you truly know you are rooted and grounded in the love of the Father, the remnants of the old life will lose their grip and fall away. Ultimately, His life will fill the branches of your behavior. And it will have happened without a struggle on your part.
As surely as the seasons change, our heavenly Father will finish the job He has started in you. You have been predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Romans 8:29 says, “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him” (MSG).
Nothing, not even dead pods from a nasty old lifestyle, will stop His work in you. God always finishes what He starts. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 say, Faithful is He who calls you; and He will also bring it to pass.
Do you see ugly things still in your life? Let your roots grow deep in His grace and watch the transformation. His grace really is sufficient! New life will replace dead pods from yesterday’s bad behavior. You will experience the grace walk as you trust Him, not try harder.
- Steve McVey
A few weeks later as we backed out of our driveway, I noticed the tree again. In a few short weeks, an amazing transformation had taken place. Most of the dead pods were gone, lying on the ground beneath its limbs. New growth now filled most of the tree, reaching out to the tips of the branches where blossoms would soon appear.
As I looked at the transformation that occurred, the thought came to me: That’s exactly what happens in our lives! We have Christ's life, but at times the old wrong behavioral patterns are still clinging to us. They are ugly and obviously dead but they are there nonetheless.
What are we to do when we see ugly remnants of a past season of our lives still hanging on? The most common legalistic approach would involve putting forth serious effort to rid ourselves of those ugly deeds that won’t let go. Many have been made to believe that the problem is simply that they aren’t trying hard enough or trusting hard enough. Or, worse yet, they’re taught that it’s up to them to prune away all the dead growth they still see. That kind of teaching is far removed from the grace of God.
Depending on your religious tradition, you may have been told to read your Bible more; to pray more; to memorize Scripture; to fast; to verbally renounce the sins; to cast out devils; to fast; to see a Christian counselor. The only answer empty religion can offer is yet another prescription for moral behavior modification. The problem is that it never works. Only Jesus Christ works.
As we yield ourselves to Him and focus our attention on Him and not on our sins, His life rises up in us and changes everything. We don't have to struggle to change our misbehavior. What religious determination can’t do, He can do. When our effort fails, His life can prevail!
Have you found that to be true in your life? Grace offers good news when we find ourselves in the place where we know there is nothing left for us to successfully do to get rid of the things that need to go. As you grow in grace, a transformation takes place in your life. The life of Christ surging through you will begin to fill you to such an extent that the old behavior will begin to drop away. The ugly remnants of a season gone by will be eliminated one by one as New Life fills you. You don’t have to prune it away. Instead, just look to Christ and trust Him to transform your lifestyle!
Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” That verse offers real hope. As we trust in Him, we will discover that it isn’t necessary to try to prune our own life of the ugly things that still are holding on to us. Legalistic religion will tell you that it is up to you to do away with the dead deeds of your lifestyle, but the reality is that you don’t have the ability to do that. He will do it for you.
Simply depend on Him and you’ll experience a real expression of grace. You will be overjoyed to see that when you truly know you are rooted and grounded in the love of the Father, the remnants of the old life will lose their grip and fall away. Ultimately, His life will fill the branches of your behavior. And it will have happened without a struggle on your part.
As surely as the seasons change, our heavenly Father will finish the job He has started in you. You have been predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Romans 8:29 says, “God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him” (MSG).
Nothing, not even dead pods from a nasty old lifestyle, will stop His work in you. God always finishes what He starts. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 say, Faithful is He who calls you; and He will also bring it to pass.
Do you see ugly things still in your life? Let your roots grow deep in His grace and watch the transformation. His grace really is sufficient! New life will replace dead pods from yesterday’s bad behavior. You will experience the grace walk as you trust Him, not try harder.
- Steve McVey
Monday, July 6, 2020
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Don Moen | Be Magnified // (Psalm 107:3-31)
"The Lord heard their prayer, calmed the storm and they were glad."
Our faith and confidence in Him need never be shaken. Lord, we pray that You will come and be big, be glorified, be magnified over this situation!
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