Law, Grace, and Truth

“For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17, NASB. I’ve been thinking about this statement a good bit. The Law given through Moses is juxtaposed against grace and truth. The law was “given”; grace and truth were “realized.” The law was written and imposed, but not […]

Zacchaeus

“Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a […]

The Inward Mentality of the Gift Culture

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? “But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and […]

Echo and Narcissus

The question arises, how do we persuade people to cross over to the beautiful land of grace? How do we persuade people of the greatness and liberty and power and true virtue of the life of freedom? How can we convince someone that it is enough to believe that we are God’s beloved pearl, the […]

Grace for the church

I have heard SO MANY terrible things about the church! Everyone I talk to, Christian, agnostic, and atheist, seems to think that it is the most flawed institution ever. I am certain that it is the root of all prejudice, hypocrisy, greed, heresy, small-minded ignorance, and petty fear. It is too inward, too materialistic, graceless, […]

The Grace Which Humbles Us

“And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3, NASB. […]

Discipline and Grace

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to […]

Let the boy win!

A certain young musician was gifted and enthusiastic. He came under the tutelage of a teacher who had a reputation as being very effective in guiding young musicians to great skill. The student practiced diligently week after week, and at each lesson the teacher pointed out many flaws in the student’s playing. Month after month, […]

Repentance Under Grace

Two guys were standing at the edge of a great canyon, a huge gaping gash in the earth. They stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down to the tiny ribbon of the great river flowing so far below. It was a bit dizzying and frightening to look over the edge into such a […]

Boldly to the throne of grace!

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15, 16, NKJV. This […]