Someone reminded me this week that an oft-quoted cliché among Christians is, “God gives us grace for whatever we need.” But, my friend asked, what does that really mean? How does God give us grace? What does that grace practically look like? Paul addresses a similar idea in Romans 5:2 when he identifies one of […]
Read More We have the grace we needWednesdays with Watson is a weekly reading taken from my favorite Puritan writer, Thomas Watson. This week’s selection is from The Christian on the Mount. Grace is precious in itself; 2 Peter 1:1 speaks of precious faith. Grace is precious in its origin; it comes from above (James 3:17). Grace is precious in its nature; […]
Read More Meditate upon the excellency of graceGrace and peace. Two nouns, both very common. They are common in the culture of the world and they are even more common in biblical and church culture. They are one-syllable words with relatively simple and concise meanings. Grace is undeserved favor and peace is the absence of conflict and the presence of blessing. And […]
Read More Grace and peaceA number of years ago I cleaned out and rearranged my bookshelves and in the process found a number of empty binders that I was no longer using. Seeing this accumulation of treasures, my then 6-year-old daughter asked me for them so she could “play school.” [Now she teaches English at a middle school in […]
Read More How gracious is God’s grace?There are a great many conceptions and misconceptions of what Heaven will be like. One aspect of Heaven that is often overlooked is the eternal unfolding of God’s plan of redemption to the redeemed: “and [He] raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that […]
Read More In Heaven……the strength to live tomorrow will be given tomorrow, not today. And it will be given. Our task today is not to have the strength needed for tomorrow’s burdens. Our task today is to live by the mercies given for today, and to believe that there will be new mercies for tomorrow. Today’s mercies do […]
Read More We need strength and it will be given“While I was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple. Those who regard vain idols Forsake their faithfulness, But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the Lord.” (Jonah 2:7-9; NASB) The […]
Read More Grace – it’s all mine!Sin and Death…and Grace 1 John 5:16-17 August 17, 2014 I was listening to a couple of interviews of some pastors and counselors recently and the interviewer asked two different panels a question that I have asked others a great many times: “what do you think is the greatest need or problem in the church […]
Read More Sermon: Sin and Death…and GraceLast summer I read the story of Louis Zamperini in Laura Hillenbrand’s book, Unbroken. “Read” is not the correct word. “Inhaled” would be better. “Devoured.” I couldn’t put it down. We were on vacation and my wife asked me one morning what I wanted to do that day and I responded something like, “It doesn’t […]
Read More Louis ZamperiniFrom Jon Bloom: Have you ever noticed how hard it is to find an example of what we would call a “healthy family” in the Bible? It’s a lot easier to find families with a lot of sin and a lot of pain than to find families with a lot of harmony. For example, here’s […]
Read More Messed Up Family?When you go to bed at 11 p.m., you don’t expect to see three of your best friends five hours later. When you get up to go to the bathroom at 3:20 a.m., you don’t expect to be welcoming total strangers into your home ten minutes later. When you go to the bathroom in the […]
Read More God’s grace and the ERMichael Horton: My conscience does not render a positive verdict in God’s courtroom when I look inside myself. The only reason I can sleep well at night is that even though my heart is filled with corruption and even though I am not doing my best to please him, I have in heaven at the […]
Read More The only reason I can sleep well at nightBill Mounce tells the story of the man he calls, “the most amazing translator I have ever met:” Having been on the ESV and now on the NIV translation committee, I have met some amazing translators, men and women who love the Lord and his word. But without diminishing my friends in any way, I […]
Read More An amazing story of God’s grace“Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16; NASB) It has been 150 years since Victor Hugo wrote the classic tale of law and grace, Les Miserables, yet it is a story as much […]
Read More The throne of graceToo many people presume that God is too loving to condemn them — or anyone — to Hell. Yet Scripture asserts that God’s judgment is sure. It will come and it cannot be avoided. Consider Peter’s logic in 2 Peter 2:4-10: If [a better translation is “since”] God condemned the fallen angels to Hell (v. […]
Read More God’s judgment is sure…and His grace is great
Words of Grace 