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Acts 17:24-25

An Unknown God

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 14, 2025

During my years as pastor of several different churches, I would hear someone tell me we “need someone to…” and then express a ministry that would be wonderful to add to the agenda of the church. My standard answer has been, “When can you start?” That seems to change the passion for the idea a lot. Yet, it’s easy to look around at our world and at people in our church and sense the many different kinds of needs that are out there. We all have needs! We can recognize the needs of others easily also because we know what it’s like to have an unmet need. Living in a world of perceived unmet needs arouses guilt in us for not meeting those needs. I’ve often used guilt as a means to motivate people to serve in the Church. But we really don’t want a “needs-based” ministry at any church. I don’t want to say we “need this…” or we “need that….” I don’t think God intends for us to serve him out of need!

Did you know that God doesn’t need us? Acts 17:24 and 25 say this, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” God doesn’t need us. He has angels by the millions to fulfill any desire he might have. He has rocks that will worship Him if we don’t. He has donkeys to instruct wayward sinners if we don’t (See Numbers 22). All nature is under His command.  He doesn’t need me to draw my sword to defend him in any way. He has legions of angels that will take up his cause whenever he calls them. He has resources beyond all this that we probably don’t even know of or could understand if we did. This truth that Paul so powerfully told to the Athenians who worshipped and served every kind of God imaginable was a truth that he attributed to “an unknown God.” I often feel that the God of all “grace” and “love” is still an “unknown” God to me as I wrestle with guilt over what I leave undone in my life. I know individuals locked into abusive relationships because someone “needs them.” Guilt drives them to continue to meet the perceived needs of others. Many see their service to God in a similar light.

While all the idols were dependent upon their worshippers, this so-called “unknown God” was a God who didn’t need anything or anybody. He was completely sufficient in and of Himself. This God doesn’t need us, but through the grace of this almighty God, He “wants us.” He does not want you in order to add you to his list of slaves. He’s looking for a bride. The Church is the bride of Christ, not the slave. He wants to pour out his love to us. We are children of God and heirs to the promises, not slaves serving under the legal system. God’s grace sets us free from a legalistic, guilt-motivated service to a love-based, passion-inspired service that brings to us the fulfillment and meaning in our lives that is missing. God has graciously blessed us with the gifts of service he has given us so that we can receive even more Grace from God! When we love and serve others from this motive, we are a blessing, and we receive an even greater blessing.

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Ephesians 1:3, Philippians 4:11, Philippians 4:1:, 2 Peter 1:2-3

I Need! I Need!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 13, 2025

In “What About Bob,” Bill Murray plays the neediest person in the world. He looks at his counselor, played by Richard Dreyfus, and cries, “I want… I want…. I need… I need….. give me… give me… give me!” It’s a funny line the way Murray says it and I’ve often used it in family situations as a joke or a rebuke of someone who said something that sounded like that! When I act needy, my family members will give me the line! There was a man like Bob in a church I attended years ago.  From the moment I walked in the door, he was in my face asking for advice. Often he would follow me around the foyer and even into the sanctuary up to my seat talking, telling me stories about his week. Every sentence he spoke ended with “and….” so that he could pick up on it when he came up with something else. Eventually, I notice he stops to catch his breath, and I guiltily make a flimsy excuse to get away. Often, I would see him lingering around my area, waiting to catch me again. Whenever I think of this guy, I think of Bill Murray’s “I need…. I need….give me….give me…!!” You might know someone just like that!

Every once in a while, I catch myself being Bill Murray! I don’t want to be that way, but sometimes I feel I “need something” also! I need to remember that I really don’t have any needs that have not been met or are not being met by God through Christ Jesus because of His ministering Grace to my life. Paul tells us in Ephesians (1:3), “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing…” Now, I know I have all my “spiritual” needs met, but I have other needs, and they are often unfulfilled. But God’s grace goes there also! Peter says, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…(2 Peter 1:2-3). Paul thanks the Philippians for their gift and tells them how helpful it was, but then he adds, “I’m not saying that because I need anything. I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me” (4:11).

If these verses aren’t clear enough, let me move on to Philippians 4:19. After Paul explains his contentment even while in prison, he goes on to say, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” The attitude of contentment should be ours as we trust our lives, past, present, and future, to God. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

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2 Peter 3:13

Growing in Grace!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 12, 2025

Someone once said that a diet of grace is a weak and insipid meal. What is needed is a large helping of “meat” which to them represented the exhortation to good works and witnessing. If I study the passage that talks about the difference between the “milk” and the “meat” in the 5th Chapter of Hebrews, I’d argue that it’s just the opposite. A works-based religion of “do this” and “don’t do that” is the milk, but the meat is the teaching about the grace of God. In the first two verses of Chapter Six, the writer concludes, “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.”

We don’t become better people or more mature Christians by following a legalistic mindset. We become mature Christians by opening our hearts and lives to the Grace of God and letting that truly transform us from within. Peter closes his 2nd Letter with an exhortation to all believers. He writes in 3:13, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.” Commenting on the distinction between growing through grace versus growing through works, one writer said, “It is performance-based legalism that is the true junk food which should carry a spiritual warning on its slick and attractive packages. The gospel of Jesus Christ is clear—all that we do, both evil and good, is worthless in God’s sight. The only eternal good in us is produced by God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. …Kick your religion to the curb! Repent of thinking you can please God on the basis of your deeds! Surrender to God’s grace, relinquish the mirage of control that you think you have, and trust in God—implicitly, without reservation.”

Notice Peter’s last phrase as He closes his 2nd Letter. He says, “To Him (Jesus) be the glory both now and forever.” Legalistic systems of performance always represent a focus on my effort or my deed and often result in praise to us, not to Christ. We still fall for the old lie that it’s our performance that pleases God. It’s very easy for me to preach salvation by grace through faith alone and then make a performance based acceptance system typical in the life of the church. When performance is the system practiced in a church family, confusion abounds, legalism flourishes, and the church ceases to be a means of true healing for the lost, hurting, and truly hungry in the world. Jesus is the bread of life and the living water!

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Acts 4:33, Galatians 5:25

Mega-Grace!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 11, 2025

The Greek word for “great” is mega! You know it as we use it to measure large or huge quantities like megatons. Luke tells us in Acts 4:33 that the Apostles had “mega-power” and “mega-grace.” He writes, “And with great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” The NIV uses the phrase “much grace.” When we think of the idea of sharing our faith with others, sharing our faith story with others, it is very often reduced to a “mega-work” rather than a “mega-grace” experience. We’re often exhorted to tell others that we are ambassadors for Christ, our mission is to make disciples, etc. Of course, these are true, but testifying to the love of God expressed through His Son Jesus should never be done from a guilt or compulsory motif. It becomes a work that is displeasing to God. God does not desire our sacrifices and services. He wants our hearts.

There is a radical difference between testifying to God’s love from a “grace” relationship with God and testifying to God’s love from a “works” relationship with God. One writer said this: When the concept of our relationship to God is service-oriented, we will relate to Him as a divine Employer who scrutinizes our activity to make sure it is up to standard. Our focus will be on our performance as we attempt to do the things we believe He requires. This mindset reflects a legalistic view of the Christian life, a view that’s erroneous. God doesn’t want us to focus on our service to Him. When grace rules our lives, we focus on Him. In doing so, we experience intimacy in such a way that service becomes a natural overflow of the love relationship we have with Him. When we focus on our performance, Christian service becomes perfunctory and lifeless. When we are obsessed with Him, our service is literally energized with divine life. It is only from this understanding that we truly worship God.

The appreciation of God’s love for us, as expressed on Calvary’s Cross, must remain the motivation behind our work and service. It must not be motivated out of guilt or performed as a compulsory task. Service is truly a joyful experience! Paul actually tells the Galatians that it’s a dance. He writes in 5:25, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” The mega-fruits of the spirit are nourished, watered, and fertilized by God’s mega-grace. As far as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control go there is no “law” regarding these things, they are the fruits that grow from God’s Spirit indwelling our lives. Our walk with the Spirit is a dance. The Spirit leads and we follow with all the love and joy imaginable. We only need allow him to lead.

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Luke 6:32-36

Like Father, Like Son!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 10, 2025

I hate to admit it, but the older I get, the more I see my father when I look in the mirror. I’m 78; he passed away at 64, but he had a much tougher life than I’ve had. I can remember the way he yawned. I yawn like that. I remember the way he carried a handkerchief and would blow his nose with one hand because he was always busy with the other. I find myself doing that also. I hear my dad laugh when I laugh. He had a weird sense of humor. Some say I have one, too! My friend and my dad’s cousin, Mary Ellen, told me the last time I saw her, I reminded her of my dad. She lived next door to Dad as they grew up on 47th and Seward and knew him all her life. She said that she’d know just by looking at me that I was Chuck’s kid. The family resemblance was undeniable. Even though he wasn’t perfect, I still liked being told I was like my father in some ways.

As sons and daughters of our heavenly father, it’s not the physical appearance that identifies us as God’s offspring. It’s the way we live. The greatest characteristic that identifies us as children of God is that, like God, our relationships with others are characterized by mercy and grace. In Luke 6:35, Jesus tells us to “love our enemies.” You might remember that “love” in the Bible is often referring to “actions” rather than feelings. It is used that way in this passage. It’s how we treat others who have hurt us, offended us, or otherwise deserve some sort of retaliation. When we are gracious, we identify with God’s character. We do what God does. We treat others as God treats us. We are “like God” in a moral, family sense. That’s how we distinguish ourselves as God’s children. In the preceding passage of Luke, Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount.”

Grace and Mercy in our relationships with others is what marks us as children of God. Even the sinners of the world give back what they get in life, but only God’s children give good when they get something bad! Mercy and grace go together. Mercy is when you do not get the judgment that you deserve, and grace takes it a step further in that instead of getting retaliation, we do something good for another. In the passage following “love your enemies,” Jesus says, “… and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, 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).

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Hosea 13:6-7, Isaiah 30:18

God Waits For You!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 9, 2025

Mercy, forgiveness, and Grace are common themes that often run hand in hand through the stories in the Bible. Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son is one of them. The ungrateful, rebellious son takes the hard earned inheritance of his father and runs to the big city and wastes it. He ends up living in hunger and poverty alone as an alien in a foreign land. When he returns, he expects to be judged, but he gets mercy. He does not get what he deserves. Instead, he receives Grace. The father lavishes his love and wealth on his son again. The older brother still relates to his father out of “justice.” He argues how unfair it is the father throws a party for the rebellious son while the faithful one doesn’t get one. The father reminds his older son about the need to forgive and restore this wayward child to his rightful place in the family. I seem to have a positive disposition toward the older brother.  Don’t you? It’s just not fair that this rebel should be treated so well.  There is something within each of us that tends towards justice rather than mercy and grace.

I often wonder what the older brother was doing and thinking while his younger sibling was off living the good life in the big city. From his response upon his brother’s return, I think it would be fair to say that he wasn’t standing by the gate, longingly looking towards the city, praying for and waiting for the return of the prodigal, like we sense the father was. No he was more likely fretting over being left at home to do all the work. He may even have been jealous of his brother’s riotous living. Both the prodigal and his brother expected “justice,” not mercy. Jesus wants us to understand that this is the attitude God has towards sinners. But also, we understand that the attitude of the Father toward the prodigal is the attitude Jesus calls us to have for those who have harmed us, offended us, rebelled against us, or in any other way might deserve retaliation.

Isaiah 30:18 says that God “waits to be gracious to you.” But when we are alienated from God, we run and hide from Him because we believe he “waits” to be condemning of us, to bring us the judgment we deserve. We expect that attitude because we often carry that attitude as it relates to others. When the nation of Israel turned their back on God, Hosea said that this was the attitude they had. He writes in 13:6-7, “…but when they had grazed, they became full, they were filled, and their heart was lifted up; therefore they forgot me. So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard, I will lurk beside the way.” The word translated as “lurk” is the same Hebrew word in Isaiah 30:18 that is translated as “wait.” But the point is they viewed God as the God of judgment, not of mercy, love, and grace. He is waiting just to pounce on us like a lion. But like the father of the prodigal son, God is always waiting for us, not to judge, but to be gracious to us.

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Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 2:11-14, Matthew 11:28-30

Grace And Good Works

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 8, 2025

When Paul wrote to His young disciple, Titus, he told him that God’s grace trains us to live godly lives and makes us “zealous” for good works (Titus 2:11-14). Doing good things won’t make a person right with God. It is by “grace” we are all saved, as Paul instructs the Ephesians in Chapter 2:8-9. But the Grace of God that has appeared once and for all in the person of Jesus Christ is a tremendous motivation for living a life that’s pleasing to God by using our gifts to serve others. Verse 10 of Ephesians chapter 2 also connects God’s grace with living lives of service to others. Verses 8 and 9 say, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast.” But we should keep reading, for the next verse completes God’s purpose for his creation: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

We Christians are the creative work of Christ’s marvelous grace. Knute Larson writes in one of his commentaries, “We are new creations formed and shaped by Christ’s death and resurrection. Good works, deeds born from the goodness of God’s Spirit, characterize those who belong to God. Christians should never have to be cajoled into service, nor should they follow God’s commands as a duty. We should be zealous, eager, and passionate to please the Father by extending his goodness to others.” The places of good works and God’s favor have reversed themselves in Christ. Under a dispensation of law, we are to do good deeds so we can receive God’s favor. But under grace, it would be stated that we do good deeds because we’ve already received God’s favor.

Grace motivates us to give grace to others in the form of good deeds. M.R. DeHaan understands Jesus’ call in Matthew 11:28-29 to be a call to unbelievers and believers. The first part, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” is the part for non-believers. It’s a call to rest your salvation in the hands of Jesus and trust in Him. The second part, “Take My yoke upon You,” is for believers. DeHaan adds, “Now that you are saved get busy and go to work, and you will find an additional rest and peace, over and above the “rest” of salvation.” He goes on, “Failure to distinguish to whom the Scripture is addressed results in confusion, and as a result, we have preachers urging people to work, give up things, sell all they have to give to the poor, as conditions of salvation, which is a denial of salvation by grace. Salvation for the sinner is by doing nothing but receiving the grace of God. And then good works follow.” Many preachers are putting the horse before the cart and proclaiming that salvation is earned by the good works we do. This is a perversion of the gospel. Good works are not the horse that draws the cart of salvation. The horsepower behind good works is salvation itself. Paul said, “It’s by grace you are saved through faith. It’s not of works.”

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1 Peter 4:10, Zechariah 3:10

Pay it Forward!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 7, 2025

The movie “Pay it Forward” captured the idea that when you get grace or receive some unexpected blessing from another, you should pass it on to others in some way. In the movie, Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) takes up his seventh-grade teacher’s challenge to make the world better. Trevor proposes a chain letter of good deeds. He will do good deeds for three people and then instruct each recipient to “pay it forward” by doing good deeds for three other people who are instructed to pay it forward, and so on.

Some time ago, Kathy and I took Jean, Kathy’s mother,  to Pizza Hut after church for lunch. We always see others from CBC when we go there. When we finished, I went to the counter to pay for our dinner and was told that someone had already paid my bill! This made my day! Not that I needed the money or was even worried about the expense, but that someone stepped out to do something gracious for me and my family. So, the next time I was at Pizza Hut, I did the same thing. I saw a family from the church and paid for their meal. The mom said something to the effect, “Thank you, we’ll be sure to pay it forward.” Grace should always motivate more grace. In Christ, the old familiar saying, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” falls apart!

Now, we can’t all buy each other’s lunches all the time, but we can always pass on the grace we receive to others in various ways. We are especially called to pass on God’s grace to us to others in the form of using our gifts to serve. In 1 Peter 4:10, believers are instructed to pass on the grace of God to others around them. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…” This utopian world that is visualized in the movie is prophesied by Zechariah several thousand years ago. He’s talking about how things will be upon the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth at the “Day of the Lord.” When the Messiah sets up the kingdom everyone will be blessed with much prosperity, each having their own crops and fields and fruit trees. But even better than that, Zechariah 3:10 says, “In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.” I believe Zechariah goes on to explain that this will never happen until the grace of God settles upon the whole land and moves in the hearts of His people. In Chapter 4, he writes, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

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