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1 Peter 1:3-5

Not Fade Away!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 23, 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 in time, the glow would wear off. Time always wears away the glow! I look at my old scrapbooks and see what 50 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. The world around me has faded into such a fuzzy picture I need glasses to bring it all back into focus again. I’m not sure that I’ve ever glowed, but the “shine” of life gets dimmer with each passing year. In my favorite Easter verse, 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 as the symbol of 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, fade away. When dowsed with the water of life, we are refreshed and renewed to new life.  The Apostle John writes, “He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17

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Psalm 145:8

My Work Ethic VS God’s Grace

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 22, 2025

My Dad grew up in the depression years. In 1933, when he was 19, he joined FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps. A recent internet article says, “In his first 100 days in office, President Roosevelt approved several measures as part of his ‘New Deal,’ including the Emergency Conservation Work Act (ECW), better known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). With that action, he brought together the nation’s young men and the land in an effort to save them both. Roosevelt proposed to recruit thousands of unemployed young men, enlist them in a peacetime army, and send them to battle the erosion and destruction of the nation’s natural resources. The CCC, also known as Roosevelt’s Tree Army, was credited with renewing the nation’s decimated forests by planting an estimated three billion trees. This was crucial, especially in states affected by the Dust Bowl, where reforestation was necessary to break the wind, hold water in the soil, and hold the soil in place. So far-reaching was the CCC’s reforestation program that it was responsible for more than half the reforestation, public and private, accomplished in the nation’s history.

It was there that he learned all about the American work ethic. Sooner or later every one learns this very important lesson. We’ve summed it up in many American clichés: There’s no such thing as a free lunch, you get what you earn in life, you make your bed and you must sleep in it. The Bible’s version of this uses a farming metaphor: What you sow, you will reap. It’s sometimes called the Puritan work ethic because of early settlers in our land who had to tame a wilderness to make it livable. As Americans know that we only get what we are willing to work hard for. One of the highest values (at least of the former generations) has been sweat and hard work. My Dad lived by it, and I knew very early in life that the only way I’d ever win my father’s approval was through effort and hard work.

The only problem is that it has hindered my understanding of how God operates in the lives of His children. I’m still locked into the belief that He only values effort, sweat, and discipline. It’s only what I “DO” that pleases Him, or more often, it’s what I “DON’T DO” that displeases Him. Many of us are still driven by this work ethic in our efforts to gain God’s approval. But God doesn’t operate that way. We will never understand God until we understand Grace. The more we understand Grace, the more we understand God, and the more we’re going to be drawn to Him. The more we understand Grace, the more we’re going to love Him. Even the Old Testament Psalmist sang about this, “God is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love.” Psalm 145:8

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Isaiah 30:18

Earning God’s Love!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 21, 2025

Dad taught me how to work hard, and I always pleased him when I did. I learned to relate to him in that way. But God doesn’t operate on the basis of our learned work ethic. God operates on the basis of Grace. There have been many attempts to define Grace. I’m not certain any of them fully captures what it’s all about. Grace is like a multi-faceted jewel. It’s cut to catch and disperse light in many different directions. As we turn it, we see its grandeur from different angles. In general, Grace is God’s love channeled to us wherever we are and whenever we need it. Some have called Grace “God’s love in action.” Others have said it’s “God giving me what I need, not what I deserve.” Someone else said that Grace is the face that God wears when he looks at my failures. All of them are good. As we turn the gem of God’s Grace, we see very many different aspects of it.

We often get Grace and Mercy confused because they are mentioned together in several Bible passages, and we tend to take them as synonymous. But there is a difference between them. Most of you already know that mercy is when God doesn’t give us what we deserve, i.e., punishment. But Grace is when God gives us something wonderful that we don’t deserve. Yet, when you realize that what we deserve is Hell, but God gives us Heaven, then you might begin to get a grip on the depth of God’s love and begin to understand Grace. It’s not just not being punished; it’s receiving the grand prize!

You know this. I know this! Right? What’s the point? We already know this! I must ask myself then, why is it that I more often live in the dark shadows of the work ethic instead of the shining light of God’s grace? Why do I still find my motivation in thinking that it’s what I do that pleases or displeases God? We know that we are saved entirely by Grace, yet we still insist on operating under the assumption we can earn more of God’s acceptance by trying to become perfect. If I could just be a better person, I’d feel better about myself, and so would God. The truth is God could not feel better about you and me than He does right now! The truth is most of us spend much of our lives thinking that Grace is something that we must earn. We may not think it, but we live as if God is some unpleasable parent frowning at our failures and smiling at our successes. We are saved by Grace, but we often live as if we’re saved by works, and our relationship with God is dependent on our works. I’m convinced that this is the greatest hindrance to a healthy relationship with God. He wants to love us unconditionally. But instead of simply accepting God’s love, we want to show him how good we can be! I think that might break his heart. The Old Testament prophet said, “The Lord longs to be gracious to you.” Isa. 30:18

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Acts 15:11, Ephesians 2:8-9

The Free Gift!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 20, 2025

I’ve seen many of those credit card commercials where the cost of particular items was listed, and then something very nebulous like “a happy home – priceless.” The writers of those commercials are not giving anything away and they are indeed good salesman. They are telling us that the way to have a happy home is to have the things preceding them with price tags on them and use their credit card to get them. That’s pretty creative advertising. I’ve had several people tell me indirectly and even directly, that I’d make a good salesman. I’m not sure whether that’s an insult or a compliment, but regardless, I don’t think of myself as a salesman. I’ve never considered myself as a salesman primarily because I have nothing to sell. There is no price tag whatsoever on what God offers us, and I don’t want others to see any kind of price tag on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Salvation is absolutely free. I want to be a bearer of good news – “The Good News: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and rose again on the third day…” Truly, this is the only thing that’s perfectly “priceless.”

It can’t be bought with cash, checks, or credit cards. Money can’t buy it. All the good works in the world can’t earn it, and there is absolutely nothing in the world we can do to deserve it. You can’t inherit it. You can’t win it in a popularity contest. It’s not an award that’s handed out at a banquet. God does not barter with us! He will never bargain! If we’re going to do any business with God, it will be on His terms and on His terms alone. The best things in life aren’t things at all. The best things in life are indeed free, but the absolute best thing in life is absolutely free. Max Lucado put it this way: “He holds in His omnipotent hand the priceless, precious, eternal gift of salvation, and He bids you to take it without money and without price. The best things in life are free, are they not? The air we breathe is not sold by the cubic foot. The water which flows crystal clear from the mountain stream is free for the taking. Love is free, faith is free, and hope is free.”

It’s all a free gift! It’s all of Grace. One of our favorite hymns goes like this: Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin; how shall my tongue describe it, where shall its praise begin? Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free, for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost, by it, I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost; chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty, for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching the most defiled by its transforming power, making him God’s dear child, purchasing peace and heaven for all eternity—and the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Chorus: Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, deeper than the mighty rolling sea; higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain, all-sufficient grace for even me; broader than the scope of my transgressions, greater far than all my sin and shame; O magnify the precious name of Jesus, praise His name! The book of Acts asks a relevant question, “Don’t you believe that all are saved the same way, by the free gift of the Lord Jesus?” Acts 15:11 (LB)

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2 Samuel 9:1, Revelation 3:20

That’s Grace!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 19, 2025

We often think of grace as something in the New Testament only. The Bible says, “The law came through Moses, but grace came through Jesus Christ.” But the Old Testament is filled with stories illustrating God’s grace. In 2 Samuel 9 there is a the beautiful little story of Mephibosheth. He was Jonathan’s son and the grandson of King Saul. Jonathan and David were best friends, but Saul tried to kill David to keep him from becoming the King. He chased him all over the countryside in several attempts to eliminate him. David never retaliated. David and Jonathan made a promise that if either of them died, they would take care of each other’s families. When Saul and Jonathan were both killed in battle, and David was made King, all of Saul’s relatives went into hiding, knowing that David would eliminate all the remnants of Saul’s dynasty.

One of them was Mephibosheth. He was a paraplegic and had no means of running and hiding. Some argue that when the family was fleeing from the enemy army, the nurse dropped him in the midst of the panic, and that’s when his legs were broken. He managed somehow to get away. Sometime later, David asked if there were any of Saul’s family left alive after the battles, and they told him that there was only this one little crippled boy. David sent for him. I think of what fear Mephibosheth must have had when he was summoned before the King. I’m sure he was convinced that he was to be executed with the rest of Saul’s family. But instead, David took him into his own household and cared for him for the rest of his life. He sat with David’s family at meals, and he became as if he were one of David’s own sons.

Being born into the human race, I, too, was an enemy of God. I, too, will be summoned one day by God to stand before Him. I am crippled and broken in many different ways; emotionally, spiritually, and willfully. But God comes to us in the person of His beloved Son and tells us that he’s going to bring us into His own family. He’s going to set a place for us at His own table, and He’s going to adopt us as one of his own children. Like the father of the prodigal son, He wraps his robes of righteousness around us, gives us the ring of family authority, sits us at His table, and has a festive celebration on our behalf. I expect judgment and condemnation, but through Jesus Christ, I receive Grace. Jesus said that He did not come to condemn the world but to save it. He was talking about me and you! We read this invitation in the last book of the Bible, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

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John 1:16, Acts 4:33

Refreshing Grace!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 18, 2025

Grace is one of the most important concepts of Christianity. It’s not just the Grace of salvation I’m talking about. It’s the Grace that comes to us in a wide variety of ways every day of our lives. It’s an overflowing fountain of refreshment that never stops flowing. John tells us in the first chapter of his Gospel that “Jesus was full of Grace.” He goes on in Verse 16 to add, “From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another.” A look at some other translations may help us understand this. They say, “Grace upon grace,” “grace following grace,” or “grace heaped up upon grace.” What John is trying to tell us is that God’s grace just keeps flowing over and over. It’s the picture of waves of refreshing water in a sweltering desert wilderness that John’s image calls to mind. John is the one who speaks to us of “living water,” and Jesus is the one who offers it to those dying of thirst. Grace is the life refreshment in the deepest times of need.

Grace is such a marvelous thing. When Martin Luther was writing about this concept of “grace upon grace” he compared it to a spring of living water. He writes, “This spring is inexhaustible, it is full of grace and truth from God, it never loses anything, no matter how much we draw, but remains an infinite fountain of all grace and truth; the more you draw from it, the more abundantly it gives of the water that springs into eternal life. Just as the sun is not darkened by the whole world enjoying its light and could, indeed, light up ten worlds; just as 100,000 lights might be lit from one light and not detract from it; just as a learned man is able to make a thousand others learned, and the more he gives, the more he has—so is Christ, our Lord, an infinite source of all grace, so that if the whole world would draw enough grace and truth from it to make the world all angels, yet it would not lose a drop; the fountain always runs over, full of grace.”

C. S. Lewis captures the world before sin in his science fiction novel “Perelandra.” In this world, there is a golden canopy. Underneath the canopy is an emerald sea. Gold and Green make a beautiful combination. But then he adds floating upon the emerald sea are pink islands! The islands moved upon the sea, and a person had to develop his sea legs before he could walk on them. The Island was forested with incredible trees. He called them “Bubble Trees.” The bubbles hung like fruit from the trees, and when a person walked under the trees, the bubbles would burst, and the passers-by would be dowsed with indescribable refreshments. This pictures God’s Grace – indescribable refreshment!

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1 Peter 1:6, 1 Peter 4:7

All Sufficient Grace!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 17, 2025

The Greek word “poikilos” is an adjective used twice by Peter in his first letter to the Christians. It is translated as “multifaceted” or “multicolored” and is used, as adjectives are, to describe something. In his first use of the word, 1 Peter 1:6, Peter describes the kinds of sufferings or trials that believers may have to endure. They are “multifaceted.” Some translations just use the word “various,” like the ESV. It says, “In this, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.” The NIV uses “all kinds of trials” in its translation. The word is descriptive of the kinds of trials that face all believers in every generation. We have many different kinds of trials in life. We have physical trials. Our bodies get sick, and we often get hurt. We have emotional struggles in relationships and we hurt and offend each other in this life. We have spiritual battles that we all fight and sometimes lose. We have trials on the job, with our finances, with health and the list could go on and on. The fact is, as Peter tells us, we have “many different kinds of trials.”

The second time poikilos is used by Peter is in chapter 4 and verse 10. It, too, is an adjective modifying a noun. But this time, instead of modifying the noun “trials,” it modifies the noun “grace.” There are many kinds of trials, and there are many kinds of graces (if you will!). I hope you grasp the wonderful parallel. For every kind of trial you and I might face in life, God has a particular kind of grace specifically given for that trial. The multifaceted trials of life are counteracted by the multifaceted grace of God.

Paul once prayed deeply for a “thorn in the flesh” to be removed from him. As a matter of fact, 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 tells us, “I prayed to the lord three times for it to be removed. And God said to me, ‘My Grace is sufficient for you.’” When we go through various trials, they sometimes become all we can see in our lives. We are consumed by them. We lay awake at night and worry about them and fret over them. But God instructs Paul to take his focus off his various trials and put them on God’s multifaceted Grace. God’s grace will get us through it all. Peter said it was only for “a little while,” and Paul recognized that it was these very trials that God would use to make him stronger. God shows us his multifaceted graces in many different ways. That’s part of His eternal plan. Paul says, “… in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7

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Romans 6:23, 1 John 5:13, Romans 11:29

The Gift of God!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
March 16, 2025

When I was a child, I’d wrestle with my best friend sometimes, who would give me something and then want to take it back. When I first heard the term “Indian giver” I had enough experience to know what that meant. The term is probably not used anymore, or at least I don’t hear it like I did when I was growing up. Yet it’s still in the dictionary, and Merriam-Webster defines it as “a person who gives something to another and then takes it back or expects an equivalent in return.” It had its origin, according to Webster, around 1848. I always thought that Indians were the ones who would give and then want to take back, but it’s most likely referring to the treaties America made with the various Indian tribes, giving them certain land and then deciding to take the land back. (I’m not sure of any of this!)

You might not know that the word for “grace” and the word for “gift” are from the same Greek root word. When Paul tells the Ephesians that “you are saved by grace,” he means that it is a free gift. Paul tells the Romans in Romans 6:23, “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I’ve spoken to people who have accepted Jesus into their lives but still struggle with doubts. They are searching for assurance of their salvation. How can I know for certain that I’m saved? I always use the same verse when I speak to people about assurance. It’s 1 John 5:13, which says, “I’ve written these things to you who believe in Jesus Christ so that you will know for certain that you have everlasting life.”

The Bible teaches that every believer is eternally secure. However, it’s possible to be saved but still struggle with assurance of that salvation. J. V. McGee differentiates between eternal security and assurance. He writes, “…they are two sides of the same subject. It’s like two sides of a door. Eternal security is the exterior—that’s the outside of the door. Assurance is the inside of the door, and that’s internal. Eternal security is objective—it depends on that which is on the outside of us. It doesn’t depend on anything inside of us. Assurance depends on the inside. It is subjective. Eternal security is not an experience at all. Assurance is experienced. And eternal security is theological, while assurance is psychological.” Assurance is experienced when we take God totally at His Word. He will never renege on His promises. The objective truth of the Bible becomes the subjective experience of the believer, and we learn to rest comfortably in God’s promises. God is not an Indian Giver, so to speak. Paull tells us, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29

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