Walking With Jesus

When Grace Seems Fair

‘From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17 NLT)

We all think we understand grace, but we don’t and won’t until we see Jesus face to face. Grace isn’t simply a kindness given or a favor bestowed, it’s a Person who shed His blood so we wouldn’t have to shed ours in a futile attempt to save ourselves from our sin. God was the same in the Old Testament as He is today, so, of course, He has extended His favor across the centuries. But on many levels, grace received a new definition when Jesus placed His sinless life in place of ours and took our sin upon Himself.

Grace before Christ’s sacrificial death is like a drink of cold water on a hot day, refreshing and helpful, but it doesn’t last. Martin Lloyd-Jones said it well when he wrote: “The Christian life starts with grace, continues with grace, and ends with grace. By the grace of God I am who I am. The gift of eternal life is a grace gift that wasn’t available until Jesus died to make it possible.

In every case grace is undeserved and unearned. We don’t receive grace because we want it or think we deserve it, we receive grace when we’ve quit asking and our face is buried in our hands in complete despair. Perhaps that’s why Bob Goff said: “Grace never seems fair until you need some.”

Bob Goff also made the observation: “Humble people make grace look easy.” Why would he say that? Largely because humility doesn’t expect accolades, they don’t live for the next “blessing” or the next “reward” from the Lord. They serve the Lord out of sacrificial hearts of love and devotion. Malachi O’Brien wrote: “None of us are as ‘important’ as we would like to think we are. Live to be forgotten and ferociously live to make Jesus famous.”

Loving and living for Jesus is a privilege and honor, not simply based on what He gives us, which is far more than we could ever in eternity give ourselves, but based on the opportunity we have to give of ourselves for a purpose that will long out live us. Being a Jesus follower isn’t about our importance, but His; not about what we have to give up or do without, but on what we’ve gained in knowing and loving Him.

When it seems our “grace” tank is running low, perhaps it’s time to realize that, as J.I. Packer said: “There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me.” When the Lord died for us, He didn’t base that decision on how good we were, or were going to be, we had and have no goodness of our own, but on how great our need would be.

If you ever get the misguided idea you don’t need grace, try figuring out a way to get to heaven without it. There is no Jesus without grace, no salvation without grace, no Holy Spirit without grace, no conviction without grace, no goodness, kindness, mercy, or any of the fruit of the Spirit without grace.

Grace is unearned and undeserved. We can’t buy, borrow, beg, or steal it. It’s a gift. A gift given by our loving, all-knowing, ever-present Father who knows us better than we will ever know ourselves and is kind in ways we cannot comprehend. When He extends His grace to you, don’t try to figure it out, just say, “Thank You, Father!”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

With Eternity in View

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 NLT)

*Please Note: Recently I’ve gotten responses to my articles to which I’ve been unable to respond. I get a response back that says “Address Not Found.” I want to be faithful to respond to EVERY inquiry, so, please be sure to give me an accurate email address. Thanks, Ed 😊

A lot of things we fret about wouldn’t be an issue if we saw them in light of eternity. I think of getting caught at a red light or being cut off in traffic. Why do we honor those incidents by giving them another thought? I used to get frustrated by the amount of hair my little Lola shed, until one day I took her to the Vet and wasn’t able to ever bring her home again. Suddenly her shedding didn’t matter.

My brother in Christ, Ray Majoran, wrote these beautiful and challenging words: “Let us hold loosely to the worries of tomorrow, trusting that Your faithfulness will meet us there (Matthew 6:34). Instead, fill us with the boldness to forgive freely, love deeply, and serve selflessly. May we plant seeds that bear eternal fruit, trusting that the unseen ripples of our obedience will echo into eternity (John 9:4). God of all time, help us prioritize the eternal over the fleeting. Shape our hearts to live as if this year is our last — intentional, purposeful, and undistracted. And as the sun sets on our days, may we be found faithful in Your light.” (See Glimpse of Infinity If Tomorrow Never Comes – 01-05-25)

A Piercing Light “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

When you rise from your bed each day, does the thought of the reality that this could be your last day on earth cross your mind? Yeh, kind of morbid, but that’s why I learned early in my walk with the Lord to keep short accounts with God. What does that mean? It means if you mess up, fess up! If you do, say, or think something that’s inappropriate and dishonoring to the Lord, confess it and turn from it immediately.

Life is too short to allow our mind and heart to ponder non-essential, unprofitable things. My baby girl recently celebrated her 52nd birthday. I was thinking: “How can this be? We just brought her home from the hospital!” We so take this life for granted, believing we have tomorrow and next month and next year! That’s a lie from the enemy. We have this breath, but we’re not guaranteed the next.

When we live with eternity in view it magnifies our responsibility to invest every second of this life in His Kingdom. But how? By living expectantly, loving unreservedly, giving lavishly, praying earnestly, waiting patiently, and hoping longingly, especially for our lost loved ones to come to Jesus. We must not let opportunities to speak of Jesus pass us.

There are no “accidents.” If the Lord gives you voice with another human being, on the phone, electronically, or in person, treat them as though you were communicating with Jesus. “Yeh, but it’s someone from the company that tried to rip me off!” Or “It’s the person who cheated me in a business deal!” Or “They’re a Republican!” Or “They’re a Democrat!” We are often so petty and think such shallow thoughts. They’re human beings made in the image of their heavenly Father, JUST LIKE ME AND YOU! We must get over ourselves!

What if the Lord changed his mind about us every time we did or said something stupid? He always views us through the lens of eternity – what He designed us to be for Him; what we can mean to His eternal Kingdom when we get our heart and mind set on Him. We have to purposely and intentionally harness our thoughts and hold them captive to the glory of our Savior.

Eternity begins today for anyone privileged to open their eyes to the light of a new day. We who profess to know the Lord of heaven MUST be about our Father’s business of loving and serving those in our spheres of influence to the best of our ability under the Spirit’s directive. Their eternity and ours may depend on it.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

God of Infinite Light!

“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life…” (Philippians 2:14-16a NLT)

What does it mean to be a person of light? What characteristics or attributes qualify a person to be considered a person of light? Of course, the simple answer is, a person of light loves and lives like Jesus. But aren’t their differences in how some Jesus followers live? Is there a common factor that EVERY Jesus follower has or exhibits in and through their life?

Some of the “key” ingredients of the life of a Jesus follower are things like forgiveness, grace, faith, belief, being filled with God’s Spirit, and worship. There are more and over time the manifestations of God’s grace are revealed in and through the life of a believer, but foundationally, these are the elements that must be present, not only to HAVE salvation and new life in Christ, but also to GIVE evidence of the Lord’s presence living in and through us.

Shine On “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Light removes and replaces darkness. We who once walked in darkness have seen the light of Christ, have embraced it, been transformed by it, and now live in the newness of life only available to those who have experienced His light. What that doesn’t mean is we can now brag and hold it over everyone’s head that hasn’t yet come to Him.

What it DOES mean and what we CAN do is share the light of Christ with everyone in our spheres of influence. If you’re in an environment of total darkness and you have light, it’s a sin to not let it shine. When I was walking in darkness, I didn’t realize how lost I was or how far from light I was until I saw Him shining in and through a friend who gently and compassionately helped me to understand that I was lost and without hope until I opened my life to the light of Jesus’ love.

We don’t need to argue anyone into the light, we just need to let it shine in the ways we live and love. Genuinely born-again believers are different in good and positive ways. There’s no way NOT to be. We must by necessity be vessels of the Holy Spirit. He refuses to be hidden and will work His way out of anyone’s life in whom He lives.

Infinite means no end. God’s light will never end, will never be withdrawn or darkened by our or anyone else’s sin. Sin is darkness and to the extent we persist in habitual sin, to that extent we’ll dim the light of our Savior in our lives. Living in light means we give exposure to anything in our heart, mind, or life that represents anything that is dark, divisive, or demeans the Savior’s presence in our life.

Light demands decision! We MUST choose light or darkness, there’s no middle ground. To profess faith and still love our sin more than Jesus is to believe a lie and to continue to walk in darkness. We’re either walking away from sin and death or continuing to walk in it. Faith in Christ will launch us on a new path, but we must immediately make decisions to begin the journey of deliverance from the sin that so tightly holds us.

If you are caught in habitual sin – lust, drugs, alcohol, gossip, to name a few – please, find a believing friend today with whom you can be honest, then seek together the help you must have if you want to walk in Christ’s light.

And please don’t hear what I’m not saying. We will not be perfect in our behavior, thoughts, or attitudes until Jesus returns or we go home to Him in death. However, to the extent we allow ourselves to continue to wallow in habitual sin without effort on our part to put it behind us, to that extent our witness for Christ will be hindered.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Better Than Eden?

“Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He placed the man He had made.” (Genesis 2:8 NLT)

In your mind and heart, what is the best part of living on planet earth? Granted, you’ve never lived anywhere else, but can you imagine life being better someplace else? It’s not hard, is it? All the evil, fear, uncertainty, sickness, death. Sometimes I just want to be done with life on earth and be in heaven with my Savior.

Then I think of life in the Garden of Eden before sin and evil. What would there be not to like? Originally Adam was alone, but God remedied that when He made Eve. Adam’s responsibility was to tend the garden, but the idea of walking with God each day in the midst of perfection seems very appealing. Yet, Nancy Guthrie wrote: “The new creation will be everything we have always longed for. It’s going to be even better than Eden.” But how could that be?

We are social beings. God made us to thrive in partnership with others. Can you even begin to imagine how it will be when everyone is equally beautiful, intelligent, physically capable, talented, loving, kind, and on and on. We’re very different now and I can’t imagine we’ll not be “different” there, I’m just not sure how. But whatever “different” looks like then, we’ll embrace and celebrate it.

Think of our differences now, even as believers. Some are very detail oriented, while some seem to “fly by the seat of their pants.” Some are brilliant, insightful, good at thinking, reasoning, figuring things out, while others take it as it comes, not concerned about the future or what it might bring. Some of us are very “home” oriented, while others don’t want “the grass to grow under their feet.”

Will that change in heaven? Will we lose our sense of adventure; our longing to explore? I imagine the Lord sending us to planets lightyears away just so we can see what’s there. It seems reasonable that we’ll have different ways to interact with other species. In conversation with them, will we learn why elephants have such good memories or why bears have such a strong instinct to protect their young?

Will we learn from the eagle who dominants the sky or hear lectures from whales about the depths of the seas? Will the Lord give us insight into why certain things on earth held such fascination for us or why we seemed so endlessly attached to certain ways of doing things? Will we remember what it was like living with a sin nature and bask in the glory of being freed from it forever?

Whether heaven will be better than Eden isn’t an issue for me. All that concerns me now is that I live in submission to Jesus’ Lordship and will joyfully do so throughout eternity. Oneness with my Savior is what drives my life from day to day and I can’t imagine wanting it any other way in heaven.

Being able to see and understand things that are a mystery to us now will no doubt bring a smile to our face and joy to our heart, and the sometimes stillness of His voice will, hopefully, be amplified and clarified for perfect understanding and obedience.

One thing I’m certain won’t be in heaven is a passion for lost souls. All souls that are going to be found will be found and settled into their new surroundings. I’m not sure how, but my sense is, we will no longer need to grieve for our lost loved ones and friends. Somehow, in some way that we can’t comprehend now, the Lord will enable us to come to terms with their decision to remain lost. But to have to live with the thought that they could have been saved had we been more diligent in our praying for and reaching out to them wouldn’t be heaven, but hell. We must not allow that to happen. We must do all we can to reach them now while there’s still time.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

When We Declare War

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12 NLT)

Have you ever thought of yourself as a lighthouse? According to Jesus (see above) that’s what we become when we yield our life and allegiance to Him. And just as the purpose of a lighthouse is to warn those facing danger, God’s Spirit in us has equipped us to warn those in danger of hell.

Folks, as much as we don’t like to think or talk about it, hell is real and a great many of the people in our spheres of influence are headed there unless and until we warn them. And here’s the deal, we don’t have to raise a flag and begin to declare war against hell, when we surrender to Jesus, hell declares war against us.

John Piper said it well when he wrote: “We cannot know what prayer is for until we know that life is war.” In war there are casualties, and everyday tens of thousands of unsuspecting people enter eternity not prepared to die. Everyone is living for something, and everyone will die for something. It may be no more than an idea they have about themselves or someone else, but something is causing then to come to Christ or stay away.

When we by faith cast our lot with Jesus, we may not realize it, but we’re declaring war on hell. Corky Calhoun wrote: “Being a light on the hill is a declaration of war against depravity and darkness.” Every person we meet is sizing us up, trying to decide if we’re a friend or enemy, and, often, that decision is reserved until they know whether or not we follow Jesus.

To believe we can casually and “safely” follow Jesus is to misunderstand the clear teaching of Scripture. Jesus didn’t call us to safety, He called us to sacrifice, beginning with our own life. John Piper also wrote: “Prayer is not for the enhancement of our comforts but for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.” Our concern as a believer isn’t whether we’ll live or die, it’s to whose fame we will live or die, ours or the Lord Jesus?

The purpose of Scripture memorization is to prepare us for battle. If we don’t have it tucked securely away in our heart and mind, how will the Spirit access it to use in Christ’s defense? How can we use it to ponder and savor the sweet truths of our Savior? We think of prayer and reading, studying, and memorizing God’s Word as “disciplines” of the Christian Faith, when in reality they are our armor preparing us for battle, not with people, but with darkness and the unseen forces of evil.

Yes, of course, evil lurks hidden in the hearts of mankind, and there are times people can be very confrontational, but my experience has been, most people are open to a quiet, calm, courteous conversation about Jesus. Our goal isn’t to win them to our “brand” of Christianity, to our church, or to a certain belief, it’s to introduce them to a Person.

When I was in college I went to a neighboring town where there was a secular university. I went alone and the only question I asked was: “Would you have a few minutes to talk about Jesus?” Rarely did anyone say “no.” We want to muddy the waters with our ideas about a lot of things, but when we simply share the truth of who Jesus is and what He did, our “battles” can result in many victories.

Food for thought.

Blessings Ed 😊

For What Will You Die?

“But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Romans 1:18 NLT)

If we’re honest, there’s not much for which we’d be willing to trade our life. We say a lot of things we don’t mean under pressure or when frightened, but when our heads are clear and we’re thinking straight, as a rule, we’re number one in our heart and mind, and that for which we might choose to die had better be worth a lot.

Recently, in a Ron Hutchcraft devotional, Ron wrote of a mom who spoke before a crowd of 70 thousand people at a Billy Graham Crusade. This came shortly after the end of the first Gulf War, and Dr. Graham had asked her to read a letter she’d received from her son who had served.

He had died in a helicopter crash on the last day of the war. He had written a letter to his mother and given it to a good friend with instructions to mail it only if he was killed. Now she shared his letter with those in that stadium. His letter said, “Mom, if you’re reading this letter, it means I didn’t make it. But that’s OK, Mom. Because now, for the first time, I’m smarter than you are! Because Mom, I’ve seen heaven. I’ve seen Jesus!”

Knowing where you’re going when you die can make all the difference in terms of for whom or what you may be willing to die. Jesus died for sinful mankind, many of whom would never express appreciation, because most of them would never seek His forgiveness. Do you think Jesus ever regretted going to the Cross? In my mind and heart, I’m confident He never did. How can I be so sure? Because my conviction is had you or I been the only people to ever live who needed a Savior, He would have still died for us! That’s the love of God! Sacrificial, unlimited in its effort to reach those without hope of heaven.

Ron wrote in the article referenced above: “There’s something about us that gets all uptight about things that matter a little and largely complacent about things that break and even enrage the heart of God. We can really get up a head of steam about worship music, or liberals, or Christians who are ‘different,’ or the way the culture’s going downhill. But then we can be strangely unmoved by young girls who suddenly disappear into the snake pit of sexual slavery. Or children who cry every night for food that never comes. A woman living with a man she thought loved her, and tonight fearing for her life. Innocent kids, unspeakably twisted and scarred by someone who abuses them for their own gratification.”

We too often think violent, angry, emotion filled thoughts, wishing to see such people suffer for their sins. God sees those who are lost without His Son; those for whom He has opened a way for forgiveness and new life. We want to believe our sin is somehow “not so bad,” but it was bad enough to nail the innocent Son of God to a cross and IT DOESN’T GET ANY WORSE THAN THAT!

OUR sin isn’t any less vile in the sight of God than anyone else’s. We’re all sinners in need of a Savior; a Savior whose mercy has opened the way for ANYONE willing to confess their sin and seek forgiveness to be forgiven. And here’s the truth – someone’s going to die for your sin and mine. It will either be us or Jesus. He leaves the choice to us.

You have to decide for yourself the price you’re willing to pay for your sin. Jesus is clear in His Word that if you bring your sin to Him, He’ll forgive you, but it will cost you your life! Are you willing to give your life in gratitude for all Jesus did for you on the Cross? I am!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Exalting Jesus

“He (Jesus) has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, but He has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what He has seen and heard, but how few believe what He tells them? Anyone who accepts His testimony can affirm that God is true. For He is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives Him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves His Son and has put everything into His hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.” (John 3:31-36 NLT)

These powerful, impactful words from John the Baptist about Jesus resonated with my spirit this morning as I read them, though I’ve read them many times before, but why? John the Baptist is a very unique man. How so? The Bible says of him: “…for he (John the Baptist) will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before His birth.”

And I’m sensing some of you still thinking, “Ho hum! I already knew this.” Yes, of course you do, just like I did, but here’s how the Lord spoke to me this morning regarding these oft read words. These words were given to John just as Jesus’ ministry was beginning, likely not long after John had baptized Jesus. Yes, they were cousins and would have likely had conversations about their ministries even before either of their ministries began.

It’s also very likely John had heard his mom and dad speak of God’s miraculous workings in their own lives and how Elizabeth had had the privilege of a visit from Mary when she was only days pregnant with Jesus. How John “jumped for joy” within his mother’s womb when he heard Mary’s greeting. But the fact of John’s infilling with the Holy Spirit is unique.

While this obviously speaks to the issue of when life is present in the womb following conception, it shouts to me the power of the Holy Spirit to teach us and reveal things to us at every stage of our development. The words John was sharing about Jesus in the verses above may have been revealed to him in a conversation with Jesus, but my sense is they weren’t. My sense is the Holy Spirit revealed these words exalting Jesus to John, and here’s the application – the same way He reveals the truth of Jesus to us!

No one comes to Jesus on the basis of human reasoning or intellect alone. As Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, new birth is an act of God, a spiritual, not a human transaction, as we’re well aware. But what we too often forget is we don’t simply read and learn the words of the Bible, the words of Scripture fill, empower, equip, and enable us to speak in the authority of God Himself – through the ministry of the Holy Spirit! The same Holy Spirit who filled John long before the Spirit was given to other Jesus followers.

John’s words didn’t originate with Him, they were the very words of God, spoken through John. THAT is the reason they were so impactful and meaningful. And THAT is the reason it’s so necessary and vitally important that we not only READ the words of Holy Scripture, but we must LISTEN intently!

In much the same way as the Holy Spirit spoke these words of life into and through John, He can and will speak words of life into our lives that we in turn can share with others. And don’t lose sight of the fact that though John’s words are familiar to us, they weren’t familiar to anyone else. Yes, he may have shared that Jesus was the Messiah with his disciples, many of whom then followed Jesus, but these weren’t words he would have heard or read anywhere but from God directly, remembering, of course, that Jesus IS God!

That, my friend, is a miracle of the new birth. People who are born of God hear God’s voice! Are you listening?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Heart of Prayer

“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” (Matthew 21:22 NLT)

What do you want most? What is your greatest desire? What is it, if it was yours, would cause you to feel content, complete, whole, like you needed nothing more?

A new house? Car? Education? Healing? Citizenship? A spouse? A child? A Grandchild? The perfect job? To own your own company? To travel the world? To fly to the moon? To ___________! Jesus said in the verse above, “You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Call me crazy, but I think Jesus meant exactly what He said. I believe it so much I’m asking Him for what I want more than anything else; that which, when I have it, will satisfy me, not only in time, but throughout all eternity. Yep, you guessed it: Jesus! He’s what I most want! To have Him is the answer to every other prayer we will ever pray.

So, since I have Jesus, do I no longer have any need to eat, drink, pray, and do all the other things Jesus followers do in the course of our day? Of course I do, but Jesus is the answer to every prayer. Do I need food? Check! Shelter? Check! Transportation? Check! Healing or anything else on my list? Check! If He doesn’t provide it, I don’t need it. HE IS my sufficiency.

Paul understood this as evidenced by what he wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:8: “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” When I was scratching out an existence and didn’t have a penny to share, the Lord wasn’t foremost in my thoughts – I was. It was all about me! What I needed, wanted, had to have!

In this season, as the Lord has enabled me to right the proverbial “ship” of my life, I have more than I need, and plenty left to share. Why? Not because I have a lot of money. I’ve never made very much money. It’s because I’ve learned to live below my means and trust God for what I don’t have. But it’s also because my “want list” is very short – Jesus!

He’s who I long for day and night. He’s on my mind when I’m awake and in my thoughts as I get up in the night. Sometimes weird dreams awaken me, and I ask Him where they came from and to please not allow them to turn my thoughts from Him. David Mathis had it right when he wrote: “The heart of prayer is not getting things from God but getting God.”

If you’re struggling to make ends meet, working long, hard hours, believing there’s just not enough hours in the day, will you please pause long enough to ask the Lord to give you more of Himself. Does that sound silly? “What’s He gonna do, get me a new job with fewer hours? Get me a raise so I don’t have to work as long or as hard?”

Maybe! Or He might just make a new you that learns to trust Him with every detail of your life so work comes easier and is actually more relaxing because the outcome isn’t dependent upon you, but Him working in and through you.

The heart of prayer isn’t us spending our day on our knees, it’s us spending our day in His holy presence, whatever we’re doing. He never leaves us, we just have to train our mind and heart to never leave Him. That’s when we reach the heart of what prayer is and why it’s so vital to EVERY believer.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Cross

“’He saved others,’ they scoffed, ‘but He can’t save Himself! So He is the King of the Israel, is He? Let Him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in Him. He trusted God, so let God rescue Him now if He wants Him! For He said, “I am the Son of God.”’” (Matthew 27:41-43 NLT)

Close your eyes and envision the Cross. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? What is everything in you crying out for you to do?

As I understand it, there are only two legitimate responses to the Cross of Christ: embrace it or run from it. We kneel at the Savior’s feet in worship and submission to who He is and what He did for us, or we ignore Him and seek to find our own way. In my mind there are no other options.

“Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com” Compassion over Celebration

Listen to the idiocy of those who mocked Him. “’He saved others,’ they scoffed, ‘but He can’t save Himself!’” He’s the only human being who has ever lived or ever will live who didn’t need saving, yet there He died because He knew if He didn’t, we would have no hope of heaven. No one EVER suffered more than Jesus, not only from the agony and torture of the cross itself, but from the weight of our sin whose burden would have been unbearable. Thus, no one can understand our suffering with more compassion than He.

Paul David Tripp reminds us: “The cross guarantees that even in your darkest moment God will never turn in disgust and walk away. There is no rebellion, no weakness, no foolishness, no evil of heart that the cross can’t defeat and grace can’t transform.” The Cross answers a lot of questions many of us fear to ask. Questions like: “Have I strayed too far?” “Have I waited too long?” “Is my pain too deep?” “Is my heartache ever going to stop?” “If only I’d __________!” And a thousand more!

The heart of God was literally displayed on the Cross. The love that drove Him there, the determination of Spirit that kept Him there, there’s nothing in the human vocabulary to describe what lengths, breadths, heights, and depths God was willing to go to prove His commitment and devotion to us. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US! PERIOD! END OF STORY!

There’s nothing we could ever do that would prevent Him from receiving our repentant, contrite heart, when bowed in humble submission to His loving kindness, seeking His forgiveness and restoration. Even as I write these words, I think of those who are responsible for the enslavement and trafficking of children; those who torture and murder them for their vile and satanic pleasure.

In my flesh I’d like to see them tortured and defiled and made to suffer for their sins, but even as those thoughts arise the Lord assures me – they will, if they don’t repent and turn away from their wickedness. “BUT SOMEBODY HAS TO PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID!” my raging heart cries!

“Somebody already has!” comes the quiet, reassuring voice of my Savior. “That’s what I accomplished on the Cross! So, whosoever will may come!”

As the Lord senses my still troubled heart He reminds me: “You and that person you so abhor aren’t so different you know! Just different circumstances and different opportunities. Had you been in their shoes you may well have done exactly what they did.” Then the clincher: “Is your sin less vile than there’s?”

Until we come to terms with the fact that ANYONE is capable of ANYTHING given the right set of circumstances; that we, you and I, are capable of being the vilest of the vile, we’ll not grasp the value and efficacy of the Cross!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed

Are You for Real?

“Large crowds followed Him wherever He went – people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.” (Matthew 4:25 NLT)

One of the things that non-believers dislike and criticize the most about Christians is our tendency to “label” people. They also hate that we struggle with agreement on so many topics, one of which is a heartbreaker for me. And that is who is a “real” Christian.

Having written a lot about this subject, today I’d like to clarify a few things to better explain my position on who is a Jesus follower and who isn’t, in the sense, who is going to heaven because of their relationship with Him and who only thinks they’re going to heaven, but have no relationship with the Lord?

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

My heart is for those who may believe they are a Jesus follower, but who in fact are not. I realize there are those who are trying to “scam” their Christian Family by pretending to be something they are not, but they know their game going in. They are hypocrites and they know it, they just enjoy trying to fool anyone they can. I’m not sure what anyone hopes to gain by doing that, but that’s between them and the Lord.

My concern is for those who just haven’t learned any better. They haven’t yet had an encounter with the living God and have settled instead for something far inferior. Perhaps their frame of reference is those who are hypocrites, but these fragile ones haven’t yet learned they are “faking” and are following them believing they are genuine. These folks have pure hearts and pure intentions and believe, based on their experience that they are genuinely “born again,” and, honestly, they may be.

But unless and until they get connected with someone who genuinely walks with the Lord, whose total dependence is based on their faith in the living Christ and isn’t seeking to make a mockery of it, they may not ever realize how lost they still are.

I think of the mobs of people (see verse above) who followed Jesus. Multiplied thousands of them, yet only 120 gathered in the upper room to await the coming Holy Spirit. Then on the day of Pentecost immediately upon hearing the Truth of the resurrected Jesus three thousand yielded their allegiance to Jesus and the Church was born.

THOSE are the ones for whom I pray! The ones who have a genuine desire to know the living Christ, but because of the “crowds” they’ve never fully seen or realized who He is and what they need to do about it. My sense is not many are in evangelical churches, but in Denominational settings where learning about Jesus is more structured and “factual,” but doesn’t touch their heart or help them understand how to be saved.

They’re good, “religiously compliant” people, but, like the Pharisees, Sadducees, and religious Teachers of Jesus’ day, they’ve never truly yielded their lives to the Lordship of Jesus. They like to be in religious settings and they’re truly nice people to hang with, but they have no understanding as to what’s involved in walking in intimacy with the living God.

I hate labels and I hate the things Satan uses to divide God’s people. My heart is to share a simple Gospel message that helps anyone who sincerely wants to seek the Jesus of the Bible and learn to walk humbly and faithfully with Him, FIND Him, KNOW Him, LOVE Him, and FOLLOW Him!

If you’re not certain that when you close your eyes in death, you’re going to open them in the presence of your Savior, PLEASE let me know so I can guide you in how to know with certainty. Email me directly at walkingwithjesus09@gmail.com.

Blessings, Ed 😊