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Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 5:11

He Sustains Me!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 24, 2025

Paul, as well as the author of Hebrews, uses the analogy of a race when talking about the Christian life. It’s not a 50-yard dash; It’s not the 100-meter sprint or any other short-term effort. The Christian life is more like a marathon. It takes perseverance and an understanding of how to pace ourselves and sometimes even pit stops for water. Along the way, there will be hills and valleys, long stretches, and sharp turns. But the thing is, we’re not running it alone. God sends his sustaining grace to keep us on course and hold us true until the end. Paul told the Philippians (1:6), “God, who began a good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished…” Peter says (1 Peter 5:11), “My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that the grace of God is with you no matter what happens…”

Paul tells us (Romans 8:28) that God is the great choreographer of all life and all our circumstances. He “works all things together for good for those who love Him.” Every valley, mountain, crevice, and pasture in our lives is specifically designed by God to bring the best out in us and for us. This is God’s marvelous sustaining grace. John Piper wrote this short poem about sustaining Grace:

Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain.

He goes on to explain, “I stress this because to celebrate a grace that bars what is not bliss, and gives flight from all distress and does not order our pain would be biblically false and experientially unrealistic.” Through the long, boring stretches of life, God’s there. Through the ups and downs, God’s there. Through the sharp turns and rocky roads, God’s there. Not only is he there, but he has laid out the path, set the course, designed the trials, and ordered the events. Piper goes on to say, “Our experience and the Bible teach us that grace does not prevent pain, but orders and arranges and measures out our pain, and then in the darkness is there to sustain.” Piper then illustrates this by telling the story of a close friend. “For example, yesterday, Bob Ricker, the president of the Baptist General Conference, spoke of precious reminders of God’s sustaining grace. Not quite ten years ago, Bob and Dee’s daughter was in a serious automobile accident. She is alive today for one reason. In the car behind her was a doctor who happened to have an air tube in his pocket. By the time he got to her, she was already turning blue. He forced the tube into her throat and saved her life. At her wedding a few years later, Bob told her: those facial scars you have to live with—they are memorials of sustaining grace.”

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2 Timothy 2:1, Revelation 22:21

Strengthened by Grace

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 23, 2025

God’s sustaining grace is always with us. When things are going well, it’s there, and when things are going bad, it’s there. God is good all the time! All the time, God is good. But sometimes, it’s hard to see God’s sustaining grace at work when bad things happen. When someone dies before their time, when terrible things happen to innocent people, and when evil people hurt others, it’s often hard to find God’s sustaining grace at work during those times.

Salvation is by grace through faith. I’d argue that salvation is a term that fits both our life’s circumstances in the present as well as our eternal destiny. We are saved by grace through faith. It’s our faith that God puts to the test in order to make us stronger. That’s why he “tested” Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22 when he told him to offer his only son as a sacrifice on the altar. Abraham passed the test, and his faith has been an example of what it means to trust God in all the trials of life. He had learned through his life that he could trust God’s word. God said he’d have a son in his old age, and he did. God blessed him in numerous ways along life’s path, and he learned through all the ups and downs of life that God had his best interest foremost in mind, regardless of his circumstances or what God called him to do. He walked by faith. It was God’s grace that sustained him through it all.  But it not only sustained him. It made him stronger! Paul understood this principle well. He said in Philippians 4:13 that he could rejoice in God in every situation of life because he understood God’s promises.  Each beating, each imprisonment, each stoning, and each persecution of every kind made Paul’s faith stronger.  But the important thing to notice is that Paul realized that this strengthening was a result of God’s grace. When Timothy was going through tough times in his ministry, Paul wrote to him and said, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1).

Let me call to your attention the fact that the command “be strengthened,” or in some translations it says “be strong,” is a passive verb in the Greek text. Timothy is not the subject of the action but the recipient of it. Our strength through trials and pains and sufferings comes not from our own effort but from the reality of God’s grace at work in our lives. Bill Haynes put it this way, “Relying on God’s strength alone is something each of us must learn. The grace of God does not merely save us (although it does do that). It also continues to sustain us. It empowers our lives and gives us the ability to stand firm.” As Paul learned, through every thorn in the flesh and hardship of life, “God’s grace will prove sufficient.” Paul and other New Testament writers love to include in their salutation or benediction “grace to you” in various forms. Notice also that the Bible itself ends with Revelation 22:21. It says, “The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!”

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1 Peter 5:9-10

Eternal Sustaining Grace

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 22, 2025

In the recent movie “The Grey,” Liam Neeson plays the lead character who leads a group of airplane crash survivors through the Alaskan wilderness. They are attacked and killed off one by one by wolves. When he’s the sole survivor, he screams into the sky at God, cursing and begging for God to do something to save him from his fate. An interesting observation is that the movie begins with his failed attempt to commit suicide. But now, life has become precious to him. Of course, there is no answer from heaven, thus leading to his rejection of the existence of a benevolent, sovereign God. He sets out to solve his own problem with his own strength, and the viewer is left to choose the ending of the movie for himself.

I’ve known many people like that and have read about many others. They ignore, doubt, or deny the existence of God until they find themselves in a situation where they need a miracle, and then they look to the heavens and cry out for one. But a greater difficulty for me is why people are willing to settle for deliverance from a temporal situation when God’s sustaining grace far exceeds the short years we spend on earth. I’m always astounded by those who demand God’s grace to save them from predicaments in this life while denying or doubting the eternal nature beyond this life. Salvation from situations that spare our lives here and now are merely salvations that will eventually be denied us all. Surely, everyone knows that the mortality rate for all mankind is still 100%! It is appointed for every person to die. We all walk through the valley of that shadow of death, and there is no escape for any of us.

Yes, we live in a world that is often filled with pain and suffering. But God has promised to see us through them all. It’s assumed by the writers of the New Testament that this salvation extends into eternity. Peter sees these episodes of suffering to be the instruments of Satan designed to rip our hearts away from God. They are permitted by God in order to strengthen our faith. That’s why he tells us (1 Peter 5:9-10) to “Resist him (the Devil) and stand firm in your faith.” Further, he reminds us that we are not alone in our suffering. He goes on to say we can find strength because we know “that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (we all die eventually). Then, he lets us know that God’s sustaining grace is at work even in the midst of trials that lead to death. He guarantees us that all this suffering is temporary and something better will take its place forever. He continues and says in verse 10, “And after you have suffered a little while, (how long? – a little while!) the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

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Psalm 55:22

Do You See God’s Grace?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 21, 2025

God does not promise that he will save us from every temporal trial and suffering of life. But He does promise to see us through them. Since death is part of everyone’s life, and since death is the ultimate suffering assigned to all people, we must clearly recognize that God’s unbreakable promise of Sustaining Grace through “all our trials” refers very specifically to our eternal existence. There will always be some trial, sickness, disease, or accident that will end our lives eventually. That’s undeniable.

But if we’re honest, and if we understand the sovereignty of God over the minute details of our lives, even the specific details of our sufferings, he has given all of us plenty of evidence of his sustaining grace even in the expanse of our short time on earth. Even if one only looks at the next breath, the next meal, and the next morning as evidence of God’s sustaining grace, it should be undeniable. Yet, I’d argue that any honestly soul searching individual can relate particular events in life through which God has sustained them in unexplainable ways. I’d argue that there is no such thing as coincidences in our lives. A coincidence is merely God’s way of remaining anonymous. Yet, many (if not most) people in our secular society would rather attribute such deliverances as accidental coincidences of nature. Think for a moment about such coincidences that have touched you in life. What do you consider to be the source? God will often move in our lives to get our attention. Sometimes, he moves through suffering, and sometimes, he moves through unexplained blessings. It’s beyond me how some will blame God for the suffering yet attribute their blessings to coincidence.

Psalm 55:22 tells us to “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you.” This was the favorite verse of an old hymn writer from many years ago. The brief description of his life was the subject of one of the “daily bread” devotionals some time ago. It said, “The hymn writer Georg Neumark was a dedicated Christian who was afflicted with blindness in his later years. This infirmity was just one more trial in a life already filled with heartache. While still a young man, he had been reduced to poverty and was down to his last penny. Yet his trust in God did not fail, for he found great strength in the promise, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.” He prayed earnestly for God’s help. The answer came in the form of an unexpected appointment as a tutor for the family of a rich judge. Relieved and delighted, he was prompted to compose one of his best-known hymns, “If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee,” to thank the Lord for His sustaining grace. Later, Johann Sebastian Bach saw such beauty in the hymn that he used it as the basis for a cantata, and Mendelssohn included it in his oratorio Saint Paul.”

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1 Peter, Luke 12:33

Not Fade Away!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 20, 2025

According to 1 Peter 5:4, upon our arrival in heaven, the chief Shepherd will give to the undershepherds the “unfading crown of glory.” This phrase carries the idea that was illustrated by Moses’ “fading glory” when he returned from spending time with God on Mount Sinai. His face would shine brightly, but the glow would wear off in time. Time always wears away the glow! I look at my old scrapbooks and see what 75 years have done to my appearance. At 15, I had a full head of hair and a youthful vigor, and now I have a shining bald spot. And what’s left is thinning out and turning grey. My hearing isn’t as good as it was then.  According to my wife, my favorite word is “what?” The world around me has faded into such a fuzzy picture that I need glasses to bring it all back into focus again. I have to have my eyes checked every year. They seem to be getting worse. I’m not sure that I’ve ever glowed, but the “shine” of life gets dimmer with each passing year. In one of my favorite verses, 1 Peter 1:3-5, our inheritance in heaven is described as being “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”

The Greek word for “unfading” is the word for amaranth. It’s from the same root word as the “unfading crown of Glory” in 1 Peter 5. Amaranth is the name of a particular flower. According to Robertson’s “Word Pictures in the New Testament,” this Greek verb is derived from the name of a particular flower “…so called because it never withers and revives if moistened with water, and so used as a symbol of immortality.” Milton also used the amaranth to symbolize immortality in “Paradise Lost.” He suggests that the amaranth bloomed near the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Some flowers today are called “everlastings” because even when picked, they maintain their brilliant colors. The amaranth is one of those. It’s a beautiful, deep scarlet color.

Heaven is the place where nothing will fade, nothing will wear out, nothing will rot, and nothing will be destroyed. We have a home there! It’s waiting for us who have come to faith in Jesus and are trusting in His work of salvation accomplished on the cross. Our eternal home is so much different from our temporary residence in this world that Jesus emphasized the importance of living more for the coming reality than the present “fading away” reality. He tells us, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33). As we look forward to eternal life it becomes easier to loosen our grip on our possessions and money and to share what we have and to give when we can and to serve others as much as we can while on temporary assignment. This brings treasures that will not wear out or, like the amaranth, they will not fade away. Easter corrects our fading vision. The truth of Jesus’ resurrection adjusts our eyes to look at and see more clearly what is most important in life.

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1 Peter 1:3-5, John 14:1-3

I Have A Reservation

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 19, 2025

My favorite Easter passage is 1 Peter 1:3-5. It reads, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” I usually focus all my attention on that part of the passage. But it says,  “…to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.”An inheritance is something we get for being connected to a family. By virtue of our being adopted into God’s family by being born again, our names are written into His will. Three great words describe what this inheritance is like. First, it is incorruptible. This means it’s not subject to decay and growing old. It’s undefiled. That means it’s perfect, without blemish in every way. It won’t fade away. That means it’s permanent. The next part of the verse goes on to say that it is “reserved” for you. You can depend on it being there waiting for you when you get there. You have a place. Jesus once said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” He promised to take us to be with him in that place. According to Peter, we have a reservation.

A man named Joe McCutchen preaches the gospel each Wednesday night at a homeless shelter in Atlanta. A drug addict named Willy began attending and responding to the message. Seeing his progress, the Shelter had Willy placed in a Christian rehab program in Tampa. Willie opened his heart to God’s Love expressed on the cross of Calvary, and he was born again through newfound faith in Jesus Christ and began to recover. Some months later, Willy called Joe. “Joe, when I got here, they asked me about my addictions, and they helped me through withdrawals. They talked to me about God. When they found out I used to be a master chef, they called around and got me a job at the Ritz-Carlton. In my rehab program, I learned that I should do everything with all my heart like I was doing it for God. Now I’m head chef at the Ritz-Carlton. I want to come back to the homeless shelter some Wednesday and give my testimony.” “That’d be great, Willy,” said Joe. “And while you’re here, Judy and I would like for you to stay with us. No need to pay for a room.” There was a pause on the line, and then Willy said, “That’s unnecessary, Joe. When I come to Atlanta, there’s already a room waiting for me. I’ll be staying at the Ritz.”

You and I have a place reserved for us. It’s far grander, far more glorious, and far greater than the Ritz! I love the way the King James translators handled John 14:1-3. It reads, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” The Ritz might be the slums in comparison to what awaits us. Through our born-again faith in Jesus Christ and his resurrection, we have a reservation!

 

 

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1 Peter 1:3-5

Vivit! Vivit!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 18, 2025

My favorite Easter verse has always been 1 Peter 1:3-5. It begins, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”  Having the “living” hope of the resurrection changes our lives. Some people spend the days of their lives moping around. Things haven’t turned out how they had “hoped,” so they throw in the towel and give in to despair. Paul looked at the funerals of unbelievers and noticed that they were “lost and without hope in the world.” Even the rich and the famous in our world can’t find meaning and purpose in temporal things and often commit suicide. When the pills, the bottles, the money, and the power don’t bring what they had expected, they have nothing left to live for. Paul told the believers in Thessalonica that he did not want them to grieve like those around them who had no hope. Even though, like all mankind, they faced death, Paul wanted them to understand that it was not the end. Those who have died are simply sleeping for a time, and there will be a glorious reunion. That truth keeps the hopeful from the depths of despair. Without that hope, despair reigns supreme.

But the world is full of iron-willed individuals who find various ways to cope with life’s pains, heartbreaks, and setbacks on their own. They trade what is eternal for what is temporal and fill their moments with pleasure, possessions, or positions of power or prestige. They live for the moment. They go for the gusto. “You only go around once in life,” the saying goes; you have to get it while you can. There are those who mope. There are those who cope, and then there are those who grope! They go through life seeking answers to life’s most profound questions: where did I come from? Where am I going? What am I here for? They experiment with every new fad that invades the culture: Transcendental meditation, Eastern Mysticism, Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, various forms of the occult, and some even grope through the horoscope section of the papers in search of purpose and meaning in life.

During one difficult period when things appeared incredibly bleak, the reformer Martin Luther was seen tracing two words on the table with his fingertip: “Vivit, vivit!” This is Latin for “He lives, He lives!” This truth brought Luther up from the dumps into a world filled with hope. Because Christ lives, we can live abundantly today. Jesus promised that he’d come to bring to us abundant life. But even more, we will live eternally. It will be a life in which our past sins have been forgiven, and in the glory of God’s Mercy and Grace, we will bask forever! So lift up your eyes, lift up your hearts, lift up your spirits, and focus your thoughts and hopes on the Lord of Life. Put a smile on your face and say, “Blessed be the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His abundant mercy, has caused me to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!”

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1 Peter 1:3-5

A Clean Slate!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
April 17, 2025

The phrase “clean slate” comes from the era of chalkboards. They were commonly made of slate, and what was on them could easily be erased so something new could be written. That’s what we celebrate at Easter. My favorite Easter verse in 1 Peter 1:3-5. It begins, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” There are several parts to this passage, but consider just the first part about God’s great mercy. We often read about his mercy when it is coupled with his grace.

I like what Warren Wiersbe says about Grace and Mercy. He distinguishes between the two when he says, “Grace is what God gives me that I don’t deserve; mercy is what God doesn’t give me that I do deserve.” The thing that we all deserve is death as an eternal consequence of sin. But instead of eternal death, what we do deserve, He gives us “eternal life,” which we do not deserve. Peter shouts out, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” It is an exclamation! Easter is our exclamation! David Jeremiah adds a little to the understanding of the difference between Grace and Mercy when he writes, “Mercy releases us from the penalty of our sin; grace gives us abundant blessings besides. And that is what God does for all who will accept His free gift of grace in Jesus Christ. Mercy cuts the bonds that bind us to our past; grace sends us into the future with resources for a better life. Mercy removes the filthy rags of our self-righteousness; grace clothes us with the white robes of the righteousness of Christ.”

Peter also tells us in this verse the means by which God gives us this living hope is a new birth. Everyone is familiar with the phrase from Jesus to Nicodemus; “You must be born again.” It’s a new start: a fresh perspective. It’s a life lived in the glow of a new paradigm of reality, the reality that changes the way we understand the universe, time, and space, as well as ourselves and others. One writer told the story of a painter in Paris.  The painter set up his easel, opened his paints, and started to paint a picture called “Life.” He noticed pigeons in the park, tulips blooming along the Champs-Elysees, and the bustle of people on the street. But he messed up his painting. His colors weren’t true, and his perspective was poor. Looking at his work with disfavor, he threw it away. He took another canvas and started “Life” all over again. Jesus allows us to do that through the new birth. Our old sins are buried in the deepest part of the sea, and we get a clean slate. But this only speaks about half of the Good News that Jesus brings.

What is missed by using “second-chance” language is the doctrine of imputed righteousness—that Jesus takes the sins of believers and credits them with his perfect righteousness. A second-chance gospel often neglects (and sometimes even negates) this crucial teaching. It rightly declares Christ’s sacrifice erases the guilt of sin but tacitly teaches the gospel leaves behind an empty spiritual ledger and a morally neutral heart. It promises fresh hope by saying, “God gives second chances,” but underneath carries the depressing message, “God forgives; now the rest is up to you.” As one website puts it, “This thinking waters down the authentic gospel in two ways. First, it insinuates man isn’t helpless regarding righteousness—he only needs a clean slate and a second chance. Second, it teaches Christ’s sacrifice isn’t truly effective—mankind still needs to ‘get things right via a vague number of reboots.” The work has been done! Jesus got it right for us. No matter how many chances we get, we’ll never get it right. Jesus got it right for us. Believe in Him.

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