where we get the power to change…

we are looking at the fact that having pride brings conflict in our relationships.    it does.  in fact james here in chapter 4 shows that it brings great conflict in our relationship with GOD.  verse 6, (msg) says, it’s common knowledge that GOD goes against the willful proud.  HE is against you if you are selfish, if you are proud.

have you noticed that GOD has unique ways to pop our pride?  just about the time i think, “i’ve got it all together!  i don’t need Him”, HE puts me in my place.  there’s no way we’re going to win.

so if pride is the cause of arguments – and that’s the case james is making,  “ i‘m going to have to have my way when i want it, my time, my place” –  then what is the cure?

the second part of verse 6 and verse 10 says (msg), GOD gives grace to the willing humble...get serious, really serious. get down on your knees before the MASTER. 

what is grace?  grace is GOD’s power to change.  what would you like to change about yourself?  what is it you need grace in?  what do you want to change about your relationships, your marriage, your family? 

whatever you would like to change, you need grace.  you can’t change it on your own.  you need GOD’s power and that’s called grace.  grace is the power to change and there is only one way you get grace.  you willingly humble yourself.

GOD doesn’t give grace to people who are full of pride who think, “i can do it on my own.”  HE gives it when we come and ask, “GOD, i need YOUr help”, and that’s where we get the power to make the changes we’d like to see.

just a thought from the front porch…

not guilt or grief but grace…

dream managers see GOD’s hand at work.  they see GOD’s hand at work in life and in circumstances.  jacob dies. 

genesis 50.15-20 (niv), when joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead they said, “what if joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs that we did him?”

guilt again.  it’s a terrible thing.  when they threw joseph into that pit, who really went into the pit?  when they sold joseph into slavery, who really went into slavery?  guilt is a terrible thing. 

so they sent word to joseph saying, “your father left these instructions before he died.  ‘this is what you say to joseph, i ask you to forgive your brothers, the sins and wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.

it doesn’t even sound like jacob, does it?  sounds like one of those notes you used to write to teachers to get out of something.  they wrote one of those kinds of notes.

and now please forgive the sins of your servants.’”…when the message came to him, joseph wept.  his brothers came and threw themselves before him and said, “we’re your slaves.” 

and here’s one of the most dramatic moments in all the book of genesis.

joseph said to them, “don’t be afraid.  am i in the place of GOD? 

that’s somebody who sees GOD’s hand at work in their relationships, in their character, in their actions.  he recognized “i'm not in GOD’s place.  it’s not my place to judge, it’s GOD’s.

you intended it to harm me.  but GOD intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done the saving of many lives.” 

in genesis 50 you see joseph living, not with his solution but with GOD’s solution.  not guilt or grief like his brothers or his father.  you see him living with grace.  here at the pinnacle of his life, the pinnacle for an opportunity for revenge he instead takes the opportunity to sum up his faith. 

just a thought from the front porch…

a result of being rejected…

some may relate to what caused jacob to feel like he was unworthy or he wouldn’t get it.  you see, he had to find a way to get it for himself. 

remember, here’s a guy who grew up as the cook in the household while his older brother is the hunter.  here’s a man who grows up with his mother loving him and his father loving his older brother.  do you think that might have caused a few psychological problems?  possibly!  it certainly had to make him feel rejected. 

if you have ever been rejected by somebody that you love, you know what jacob must have felt like.  and one of the results of that was the feeling of unworthiness, a feeling of “i wonder if i can trust GOD to love me.” 

so jacob’s going to spend many, many years learning that GOD does love him.  because of what he went through as a child and as an adult he becomes an “i have to get it myself” kind of man.  he becomes the person of whenever GOD wants to offer him something he feels like “there’s got to be a catch in this.” 

do you ever feel this way about grace?  GOD wants to forgive me of every sin.  HE wants to take me to heaven for eternity.  and i’m just supposed to say, “i need you, your forgiveness.  i trust you.” 

but there are many of you in your honest moments who would say, “where’s the catch?  there’s got to be something more.  there’s got to be something more when we get to heaven.  there is a catch here somewhere.”  but there’s not!  it’s grace. 

so jacob flees to haran and as he flees he’s going to be hearing two voices on the way there.  and he’ll hear them for the next twenty years. 

he’ll hear the voice of his past saying to him, “you can’t.  you’re unworthy.  it won’t work.  you’ve got to get it yourself.”  then he’s going to begin to hear the voice of GOD saying, “i can.  i will.  maybe you’re not worthy but I can and I’m willing to work in your life.” 

and those two voices are going to clash.  it’s going to take him twenty years to sort out whose voice he should listen to.  but i hope it doesn’t take you that long.  but for some of you it has.  maybe today, maybe recently, you’re going to sort out which voice to listen to. 

just a thought from the front porch…

CHRISTianity 101…

romans 9.16 (lb), GOD’s blessings are not given just because somebody decides to have them. or work hard to get them. they are given because GOD takes pity on those HE wants to. notice, takes pity. another way to say that is “grace.” GOD does everything in your life simply because of HIS grace. HE wants to do it not because you deserve it.

what is grace? grace is GOD giving you what you need not what you deserve. grace is everything, every blessing that GOD is able to give you because of JESUS CHRIST. grace – GOD’s riches at CHRIST’s expense. JESUS CHRIST has paid for all the blessings in your life. it’s only in a relationship with GOD, through HIS SON JESUS that you can begin to have the blessings of GOD in your life.

so you may think “i’m waiting on GOD to bless me.” but the truth is you’re not waiting on HIM. HE’s waiting on you.

luke 4.19 (lb), GOD is ready to give blessings to all who come to HIM. key word here is ready. GOD says, I’m waiting on you. I want you to get blessable. and I want you to come to me so I can bless you.

GOD has already taken the first step so you can be blessed. romans 5.10 (lb), since we were brought back to GOD by the death of HIS SON [that’s JESUS] what blessings HE must have for us now that we are HIS friends and HE is living within us.

some of you probably don’t know what it’s all about so let me just pause here to explain CHRISTianity 101. if you want to know what the bible says in a nutshell this is it.

first, GOD made you. you didn’t make yourself. and HE made you to know HIM, to love HIM, to serve HIS purposes here on earth and then to live with HIM in eternity.

two, you have not done these thing. you have not known GOD. you have not loved GOD. and you have not served HIS purposes here on earth. in fact, in the morning you don’t get up and say, “GOD, what do you want me to do?” you get up and say, “what am i going to do today?” and when you get your check you don’t say, “GOD, how do YOU want me to spend this money?” you say, “how am i going to spend my money?” and same with your time. you say, “i’m going to do my own thing with my time.” the bible calls this sin and it says we’ve all done it. you’ve done it, i’ve done it. we’ve all done it. we’ve all gone our own way. i could go weeks, months – i could probably go years without thinking about GOD if i wanted to. i would just go on my merry way planning my life with my dreams and my ambitions and my goals without even considering the fact that GOD made me for HIS purposes. the bible says that’s wrong.

so point three, GOD sent JESUS CHRIST to come to earth to bring you back to HIMself. HE came and died on the cross so that all the things you’ve done wrong could be forgiven so you could come back to GOD.

just a thought from the front porch…

we are really blessed…

have you ever stopped to think about how really blessed we are? we often forget that most of the world is barely struggling to survive. let me just put this into perspective…

•  if you have food in your refrigerator, if you have clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of all the people in the world. you’re in the top 25%.
• if you have any money in the bank, you have some money in your wallet, and you have spare change in a dish someplace you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. you are richer than 92% of the people in the world. you are blessed.
• if you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are already ahead of five hundred million people who have experienced those things.
• if you can attend a worship service without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are more blessed than three billion people on this planet. what we will do this next sunday is illegal for three billion people somewhere in the world.

we just forget how blessed we are.

the bible says that everything you have in your life is a gift from GOD. you wouldn’t have it if it weren’t for the grace of GOD. in fact, without GOD’s blessing you’d have nothing in your life.

john 1.16 (tev), out of the fullness of HIS grace HE has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. everything you have in your life is a blessing from GOD. we think that we’ve earned it. we think that we deserved it. but GOD says, no, it’s all by GOD’s grace. it’s all because of GOD. “but i worked for what i got!” where did you get your ability to work? where did you get your intelligence? where did you get your health? where did you get your life? it’s all a gift of GOD. it’s all from HIM.

here is a list of some of GOD’s gracious blessings. just a short list. we’re saved by grace. we’re forgiven by grace. the bible says we’re strengthened by grace. we’re set free from problems and sins by grace. all of the talents you have were given to you. you didn’t choose them. they were just gift of grace that GOD gave you. you’re used by GOD’s grace. you’re transformed by grace. and we grow by grace.

just a thought from the front porch…

a fresh experience of GOD's grace…

have you been burdened by this plague of perfectionism? do you have this continual feeling, this gnawing at your life that you just don't measure up and you should be doing better? “i should do this. i should do that... i must do this... i could do that... why don't i do that.... i should stop that...”

do you find yourself procrastinating because you're afraid to get started because it might not turn out perfect? you might fail and you might make a mistake. so you put it off and you're always waiting for better conditions. “one of these days, i'm going to get my act together... one of these days, i'm going to really live for GOD... one of these days, i'm going to start reading the bible... one of these days...” and you're waiting for perfect conditions and they never, never come.

are other people irritated and frustrated by demands that you make that even you yourself can't measure up to? when a CHRISTian holds up a standard and says that in order to be accepted by GOD, he has to meet that standard, what is he doing? he's frustrating the grace of GOD.

what we all need is a fresh experience of GOD's grace. that means that you realize that the way to enjoy GOD's approval is not the path of performance. it's not based on what i do. it's based on what JESUS CHRIST has already done. that's why JESUS CHRIST on the cross, HIS last words as HE stretched out HIS arms, was “it is finished.” HE didn't say, “it's not my dieing for you on the cross and you never making any more mistakes.” HE said “it is finished.” that separates CHRISTianity from every other major faith in the world because every other religion is based on one word: do. do this, do that. try to reach GOD by your own effort.

but CHRISTianity is based on the word “done”. it has already been accomplished. it's a free gift. you say, “it sounds too good to be true!” that's why people stumble over it. they just don't understand that GOD is not like a cruel, unreasonable parent who gets thrills about raising the standard just about the time you reach it.

it's true that all of us have fallen short of GOD's standard, but even still GOD loves us. you can't earn HIS love, because HE's already given it to you. all you do is accept it. we are imperfect people but we have a perfect SAVIOR in JESUS CHRIST. satan is paralyzing the potential of so many people. it's his subtle scheme to sabotage our service, to keep us from being effective because we think, “i've got areas that i'm weak in and i need to get those together before i start letting GOD use my life.” no. GOD says, “i am the GOD of jacob and i am the GOD of samson and i am the GOD of david.” everybody makes mistakes and the fact is, GOD wants to take your area of greatest weakness and turn it into a strength.

just a thought from the front porch…

accept HIS grace…

now to deal with the perfection problem in our lives we must accept the grace of GOD.

GOD is not some heavenly policeman who sets up there looking down at us saying, “sorry! that's not good enough. try again.” every time we just about make it over the bar, he raises it a little bit and we fall and then he laughs. that's not what GOD is like. that's a misconception.

it's no wonder many people avoid GOD. they don't understand grace. i've discovered that many people are much harder on themselves than GOD is. they make more demands on themselves than GOD does. they carry a burden that GOD never intended for them to bear.

john 3.17 (niv),  for GOD did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through HIM.

HE didn't come to scare us but to save us. HE didn't come to put us down but to lift us up. when somebody tells me i've blown it, that's not good news – it's not even news. but when somebody comes and points the way to make the change, then that's good news.

perfectionism depresses us. it causes us to be burdened by life because we go through life worried and burdened by the tyranny of the “oughts” – i ought to do this. i ought to do that. i ought to be doing more. i should be doing this. i should... i must...

and we pressure ourselves and we always resist pressure and start heading in the opposite direction. so first we accept GOD’s grace.

just a thought from the front porch…

the most important word in the bible…

how do you deal with perfectionism? what the cure?

there's only one cure for perfectionism. it's one word, the most important word in the bible: grace.

until you understand what grace is all about, you're going to battle the paralysis of perfectionism, trying to do better and still feeling like you come up short.

the root of perfectionism is a misunderstanding of what GOD's like. growing up, every one of us were conditioned by what psychologists call conditional love. when we were a good little girl/boy we were rewarded with love and affection. when we were bad, we were punished with rejection. so as a result we got quickly in our mind that we've got to earn acceptance. the problem is that we take it and transfer it to GOD. we think GOD is the same way that everybody else is. if i'm good, GOD accepts me. if i'm bad, GOD rejects me.

but the fact is, the bible says in romans 5.8 (kjv), while we were yet sinners, CHRIST died for us. the bible says that GOD loves you just as much on your bad days as HE does on your good days, because HIS love is not based on your performance. the path of performance is not the way to GOD. it's grace. that's the most important theme in the bible. grace.

GOD says, “i accept you because i've chosen to accept you, not because you deserve it but because you need it.” ephesians 2.8 (niv) says by grace you have been saved, through faith.

some people see GOD as a cruel, unreasonable parent. as a kid they could never please their parents and they've transferred that to GOD. they'd get a “c” and their parents would say, “you could get a ‘b’.” they'd get a “b” on their report card and their parents would say, “you could get an ‘a’.” finally they'd get an “a” and say, “is that good enough?” and their parents would say, i’ll tell you when it's good enough.” they had an unreasonable demand which could never be satisfied.

they think, “if my parents were that way, surely GOD must be that way.” we invent an unpleasable GOD who cannot be satisfied no matter what we do. that's the number one reason people avoid GOD and the number one reason CHRISTians get depressed. they do not understand what GOD is all about, that GOD does not base HIS acceptance on who they are and what they've done.

just a thought from the front porch…

HE isn't surprised when you fail…

what do you do when you fail? you remember everybody fails, you realize it’s not fatal, you recognize the benefits and you relax in GOD’s grace.

GOD isn’t surprised when you fail. HE knew it was going to happen. in fact, HE expects it and even if you do fail, GOD doesn’t stop loving you. that’s called grace. psalm 103.14 (tev), GOD knows what we’re made of. HE remembers that we are dust.

GOD knows how you’re wired up. HE knows you’re just a human being. HE knows your frailties. HE doesn’t expect you to be perfect. because HE knows what you’re made of. HE doesn’t stop loving you when you blow it and HE doesn’t stop loving you when you fail.

now this is a hard concept for some of you to get because you grew up in performance driven homes. many of you were taught that if you succeeded that meant, “i’m valuable. i’m worthwhile. i’m significant.” but when you failed that meant, “i’m worthless. i’m invaluable and not significant.” you were taught that your worth was based on your performance, that what you are was based on what you do.

and that is a lie! it’s not true. your value as a person has nothing to do with your performance. GOD says, “i love you – period!” GOD’s love for you isn’t dependent upon what you do. it’s dependent upon who HE is. it’s not based on your performance. it’s based on HIS character. GOD says you are worthwhile simply because HE made you and HE doesn’t make junk.

if you think you have to be perfect in order for GOD to love you, you have missed the central message of the bible. you’ve missed the whole thing if you think you have to work for GOD to smile at you. the point is, GOD says “i love you, unconditionally.”

just a thought from the front porch…

the heart of real forgiveness…

what is real forgiveness? for one real forgiveness is relinquishing my right to get even.

this is the heart of real forgiveness. you don’t seek revenge. the bible says it like this in romans 12.19 (tlb), never avenge yourselves. leave that to GOD. for HE has said that HE will repay those who deserve it.

you say, “if i give up my right to get even with somebody who’s hurt me, that’s unfair.” you’re right. it’s unfair. whoever said forgiveness is fair? was it fair for JESUS CHRIST to forgive everything you’ve ever done wrong and let you go scott free? was that fair? no. we always want justice for everybody else, and we all want forgiveness for ourselves. when it comes to somebody else, it’s not fair. but we don’t want GOD to be fair to us, though. we want GOD to be gracious to us. the bible says i relinquish my right to get even.

the truth is that life is not fair. and forgiveness is not fair. it’s called grace, and GOD has shown it to you. but the bible does say this. one day, GOD is going to have the last word. one day, GOD is going to settle the score. one day, GOD is going to right the wrong. one day, GOD is going to balance the ledger. so you let GOD settle the score. you forgive so there can be peace in your heart and you can get on with your life, and you leave the justice part to GOD. the starting point is to relinquish my right to get even.

if you don’t do this, you will fall into the trap of bitterness. we have talked about this so many times, but let’s review it again. resentment and bitterness are worthless tools. they’re worthless emotions. in fact, they are the most unhealthy emotions, doctors tell us. they will eat you alive like cancer. all the resentment you’ve got, all the bitterness toward people who have hurt you in your past, it isn’t going to change the past. no matter how much you resent it, it’s not going to change the past. all that resentment and all that bitterness and all those grudges you’ve held are not going to change the future. you cannot change your past with your resentment. all you can do is mess up today. and who do you mess up? you.

many times people hold resentment in their hearts and the other people are totally unaware of it. they’re going along their merry way, having fun, enjoying life, getting on with the future. and you’re the one who’s stuck in the past.

just a thought from the past…

love is a choice not a feeling...

the bible also says that love is a choice.

we choose to love, and we choose to not love. it’s a choice. the bible says in 1 corinthians 14.1 in the message paraphrase, go after a life of love as if your life depended on it because it does. go after means make a choice. decide. choose. we choose to love or to not love.

that destroys another myth that we have about love. we think love is uncontrollable. as if one day i'm just walking along and i'm instantly in love – no control over it. even the terminology we use is kind of accidental – i fell into love. like it’s a big ditch or something. i fell in love. “help! i’ve fallen in love, and i can’t get up!” as if i have no control over my choice to love or not love.

i can’t tell you how many times i’ve had men or women say to me, trying to justify a separation or divorce: i just don’t love him/her anymore. as if that's totally out of your control and now because you don’t love her that gives you the right to divorce her or leave her.

let’s be honest about this. love is a choice. you need to rephrase that: “i'm choosing not to love him any more.” because it is a choice, and you could choose to keep on loving even if they didn’t love you. that’s your choice. in fact, the truth is, acting in love when you don’t feel like it is actually a higher level of love than when you do feel like it.

it’s one thing to love when the flowers are in bloom and you’re on a honeymoon and things are going your way and you’ve got a lot of money to spend and things are going great. but the real test of love is when things are not going great in your life, when you’re out of money and when you’re sick and don’t feel good, the pressure is on and you’ve lost your job. you choose to love in spite of how you feel. that’s a higher level of love. loving in spite of your feelings. loving in spite of your emotions.

have any of you gotten up in the middle of the night with a kid that was sick? that’s love. have any of you ever been kind and patient with your mate when they were grumpy and grouchy? one guy was asked, “do you wake up grumpy in the morning?” he said, “no, i usually let her sleep.”

love is giving a person what they need, not what they deserve. that’s what GOD does. that’s how GOD loves you. GOD doesn’t give you what you deserve. if i got what i deserved from GOD, i wouldn’t even be here, and you wouldn’t even be alive either.

but GOD doesn’t give us what we deserve; HE gives us what we need. that’s called grace. that’s called love. love is giving to another person without any guarantee of getting anything back. if you’re doing it to get something back, that’s not love. love is committing to the well being of another person without any guarantees that they’re going to give back to you. that’s love. it’s a command, and it’s a choice. it is not a feeling.

just a thought from the front porch…

just pray and ask for it...

2 corinthians 9.8 (niv), GOD is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

do you need GOD’s sustaining grace to relieve your hurt? you're in over your head and you're about to go under. you're ready to throw in the towel. you're ready to give up. you've given up on a relationship, a job, a dream, whatever. and you have physical pain, emotional pain, or a pain in a relationship. GOD wants to say to you HIS grace will sustain you and help you do the things that are right. let him have your pain.

some of you are thinking back to that person who has hurt you many years ago and saying, "i can't do it. i don't know how to forgive that person. they hurt me too bad. i don't have the power to forgive that person. i can't just let him go." you're exactly right! that's why you need GOD's grace to help you do what you cannot do on your own.

some of you parents have been hurt by your children, some of you children have been hurt by your parents. you can't forgive them but GOD's grace will give you that power. receive it and offer it to that person.

GOD's sustaining grace is available to you right here and right now.

would you pray a simple prayer in your heart? would you say "dear GOD, i know i need you. who am i kidding? LORD i need your sustaining grace. i need the power to keep on keeping on. i'm tired, frustrated. i know what's the right thing to do but i feel like giving up. i need your sustaining grace. with your grace remove and renew the hurt in my life, and relieve it. FATHER, if you see fit to leave it there a short time longer, however long, give me the sustaining grace to see it through, to handle it. i ask this not because i deserve it but because of YOUR grace and who YOU are."

FATHER, i want to thank you for the good news of your grace – the gospel. i pray that today many people here would experience it in their heart and in their lives. i pray that today many are opening their heart to JESUS CHRIST and inviting HIM in as they say yes to you. thank you. in JESUS' name. amen.

just a thought from the front porch…

which grace do you need right now?

2 corinthians 9.8 (niv), GOD is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

grace is the answer to all your needs. GOD says i will take care of all your needs by grace. the verse right before this one says GOD wants you to be gracious, generous, a giver. what you sow you reap. the more generous you are with others, the more you feel GOD's grace in your life.

the most important question i can ask you today is, which kind of grace do you need most in your life right now?

some of you need GOD's saving grace. you need to have your guilt removed. would you like everything you've ever done wrong to be completely forgiven and forgotten in eternal heaven? would you like to have a clear conscious? totally forgiven! it is available. you don't have to go any further. you've got GOD's gracious forgiveness on the basis of JESUS CHRIST.

if someone were to ask you, "if you were to die tonight and go to heaven and GOD asks you `why should i let you into heaven?' what would you say?" "i've been a nice guy... i went to church one sunday morning..."

maybe you've been operating under the wrong assumption for months or years... that you could earn your forgiveness, earn GOD's love, earn your way to heaven. you can't. you need to throw yourself on the grace of GOD and say, "GOD, i admit it. i could never earn my way to heaven. i've done too many things wrong to earn your forgiveness. but i want to accept your graciousness."

some of you need GOD's strengthening grace which reshapes your life. you're a CHRISTian but you've gotten off track. you're just not as close to GOD as you used to be. you have fallen away a little bit. you know that everything isn't all right. so as a result you're frustrated, defeated, under stress, there are tensions in your life. you know you're not living the way that is right. you think it's so hard to get back up to the place you used to be with GOD.

it is not hard at all. just say, "here i am, GOD." just turn around and say yes. your SPIRITual strength comes as a gift from GOD. HE'll bestow on you the power you need to make those changes.

for some of you, you need to get off the performance treadmill. you have subtlety, unconsciously, replaced your relationship with GOD for religious duties. go to church, read your bible, listen to CHRISTian radio, i do my thing and i'm bored and there is no joy. you need to get back to falling in love with the LORD again. focus on the relationship, not the rituals and rules.

just a thought from the front porch…

are you a gracious person?

once you've received grace, what do you do? the bible says that after you've humbled yourself and GOD pours HIS grace into your life HE wants you to be gracious to other people.

i peter 4 says GOD's given everybody a spiritual gift and ability by grace and HE wants you to use that to serve other people. in the phillips translation it says, GOD wants you to be a dispenser of grace.

and graciousness is in short supply in our society. most people are just flat out rude. graciousness is in short supply.

the reason why so few people are gracious is because they don't feel graced, forgiven. when you really understand how much GOD has done for you, and how much you've been forgiven and the fact you wouldn't even be alive today if it weren't for GOD, you wouldn't have your brain that gives you the ability to think, then you will be gracious.

so are you a gracious person? are you a gracious parent? do you parent by grace? do your kids get unconditional praise at home? or is everything based on performance? if they do a certain thing they get the strokes. if they don't do a certain thing then they don't the strokes. some of you have had kids and they're growing up and you just need to accept their uniqueness. some parents don't approve of their kids unless they have the same characteristics the parent does. then they'll like them. maybe GOD gave you some kids who, fortunately, aren't like you. be a gracious parent.

the other thing GOD wants you to do is to share HIS grace with other people. tell them. it's the best news in the world.

you don't have to live under a cloud of resentment and regret. you can be forgiven. if i had the cure for cancer i'd take every dime i had to let people know what it was. i have something better than a cure for cancer. the people that live right next door to you need to hear GOD's grace. share it with them this week. what a gracious GOD we have!

just a thought from the front porch…

what do you need?...

some of you say, "i'd love to have GOD's grace, to have a clear conscious, to start over." others need GOD's strengthening grace – things in your life you'd like to change, weaknesses, habits and you don't have the strength or power to make those changes. you need GOD's strengthening grace. some of you are saying "i've been holding on to a hurt. i've got pain in my life – physical, emotional, relational. how in the world do i get GOD's grace in my life?"

there is only one single thing you need to do to get GOD's grace in your life. the key to receiving GOD's grace, james 4.6 (nkjv), GOD resists the proud but HE gives grace to the humble.

the key to receiving GOD's grace in my life is i admit that i need it. that's it! i admit that i need GOD in my life. pride prevents GOD's grace.

as long as i'm self dependent – "i can handle it. i don't need anybody to tell me what it's all about." the self-made man worships his maker. "i don't need anybody else. i've got it under control." – as long as you've got that kind of attitude you don't have it under control and that's why you've still got the problem.

you need GOD's grace to see it through, to make the changes, to get the forgiveness. all you've got to do is admit it. "i'm not making it on my own!"

this is the value of confession. some of you have a bad habit you'd like to break. the first step to breaking a bad habit is tell GOD and somebody else. when you tell GOD, HE's not shocked; HE already knows. it's no big surprise to GOD. HE just wants you to admit it. then tell it to somebody else. if you've never confessed it to anybody, that's why you still have the problem.

"but if i admit this bad habit or hidden sin in my life that's pretty humbling." you've got it! bingo! the very key to getting GOD's power in your life to change that bad habit begins by admitting it to somebody and getting humility into your life that you need GOD.

some of you are possibly having severe marriage problems at home. husband wife, wife husband and you go to church on sunday with a big front. oh nothings wrong. we don't have any problems. i don't need to put down on my welcome card that we have a problem. no way am i going to admit i need help but it won't go away. it is there and it is getting worse. maybe your kids know about it but nobody else does and you are saying, we can handle it. but you aren't and it's getting worse. you know what i'm talking about don't you?

some of you are parents and you have rebellious children and it's killing you. maybe they're on drugs, maybe they've been in jail, or maybe they're pregnant, or maybe involved in sex and not pregnant and you're saying, "i don't want anybody to know what's going on in our family." and that's why you're dying inside until you say, "we have some problems in our family."

listen, everybody has some kind of problems. nobody has a perfect family. as you come and say, "i need help!" and share that in a small group or with a CHRISTian friend and talk to the LORD about it and be honest then you start having the healing of the hurt in your life. and GOD's grace flows.

just a thought from the front porch…

the only antidote for a hurtful memory...

what happens if i don't depend on GOD's grace when i’m in pain? what happens if i just rely on myself and try to work out the problem? "i can handle it on my own." what happens when i face a hurt or a problem, crisis or stress and i don't depend on GOD's grace?

hebrews 12.15 (phillips), be careful that none of you fails to respond to the grace of GOD for if he does there can spring up in him a bitter spirit which can poison the lives of many others.

when you try to handle a hurt on your own, you're going to get bitter. resentment is the result of trying to handle all of your problems in your own power. you become cynical, critical and you allow bitterness. you raise your hand to GOD in an angry fist and say, "why me?" you put on a black tie and have a pity party for yourself. "poor me! look at this problem in my life!" you're not relying on the grace of GOD.

before I retired as a pastor, i met hurting people all the time. you can take two people, put them in the same exact situation and one of them is devastated by it and they become resentful and poisoned by the attitude. the other has a sweet, sweet spirit.

how is it that you see some people that you know have problems that are overwhelming, are under increased pressure, unusual pain in their lives that is not even their own fault and they maintain a sweet, sweet spirit? how is that possible?

it's possible because those people are relying on the sustaining grace of GOD.

some of you have been hurt very deeply in the past and you still remember it and it hurts. just the very thought of that memory makes you tense. some of you ladies were hurt by your fathers or by a brother or a husband. some of you men have been hurt at work or in your home and when you think about that hurt it still kind of brings a tear to your eye.

how do you get rid of a hurtful memory like that? there is only one way. the only antidote to a painful memory is the grace of GOD. you receive GOD's grace into your life and then you offer it to that offending person and let them go. you don't hold on to hurt.

the person in your past that hurt you can no longer hurt you unless you let them. let them go! receive GOD's grace into your life and then be gracious and offer forgiveness to that person and let them go, for your own sake. it's the only antidote. grace can pull you through tough times.

just a thought from the front porch…

grace or guilt?...

ephesians 2.8-9 (tev), for it is by GOD's grace that you have been saved through faith. it is not the result of your own efforts, but GOD's gift, so that no one can boast about it

the point is that salvation is based on GOD's mercy not my merit. salvation is based on GOD's promise not my performance. he says, you don't earn it.

it's almost comical the way some people try to earn their salvation, to prove themselves worthy to GOD, try to earn his forgiveness.

some have what could be called salvation by sincerity. "it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere." the only problem with that is you can be sincerely wrong. i read about a pilot who sincerely flew into a mountain. i could pick up a glass of arsenic and drink it thinking it's milk. it will still kill me! you can be sincerely wrong.

then there is salvation by subtraction. you don't do this, don't do that, stop doing this and that... and maybe GOD will forgive your sins. don't smoke, cuss, or chew or run with girls that do. just don't do anything!

i've said many, many times that if all the CHRISTian life is is a bunch of "don'ts" anybody who lives in a rest home qualifies as a CHRISTian. you don't do much in those places. just set around and wait for your oatmeal.

then there is salvation by service. do good. be nice. take the LORD's supper. get baptized. help little old ladies across the street.

then there is salvation by comparison. "i don't need to become a CHRISTian because i'm better than..." the fact is you may be better than so and so, better than me, probably are. but GOD doesn't judge you according to me. i'm not the standard and neither is the other guy. the bible says GOD himself is the standard and we all fall short. that's the most basic thing in the CHRISTian life. but GOD's saving grace removes my guilt.

if you could save yourself the cross is a waste. there's no reason for JESUS CHRIST to die. if you could save yourself why did he put forth all the effort?

the most important decision you'll ever make is to receive GOD's saving grace. if you haven't done it, do it today. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt.

just a thought from the front porch…

what does grace mean?

see if you can finish these sentences:
there's no such thing as a free ___________.
if it sounds too good to be true it probably _____.
we make our money the old fashioned way; we ______ it.
GOD helps those who help _______________.

americans are pros at performance and we know nothing about grace. the american work ethic says, "you get what you pay for. you get what you deserve." that makes it very hard to relate to the fact that GOD is a gracious GOD. psalm 86.15 (niv), you, o LORD, are a compassionate and gracious GOD.

what does grace mean? what it means is that GOD gives me what i need, not what i deserve.

the bible says that it is GOD's nature to bless undeserving people. HE loves to do it. isaiah 30.18 (niv), the LORD longs to be gracious to you. it's his pleasure. he loves to be gracious. his grace is unconditional, unlimited and unending, the bible says.

now it is important to see that GOD's saving grace removes my guilt and that is so basic. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt. since no body is perfect we all have guilt, everybody makes mistakes. the bible says, all have sinned. we all have guilt feelings.

ephesians 1.7-8 (tev), by the sacrificial death of CHRIST we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. how great is the grace of GOD which HE gave to us in such large measure!

this is the most basic truth of CHRISTianity. JESUS CHRIST has already paid for your sins. all you have to do is accept it. there is no reason to go around with a bunch of guilt.

notice, he says, we are free. free from what? free from condemnation, free from guilt, free from worry, free from death. even if there were no heaven, it would be worth it to become a CHRISTian just to have a clear conscious. HE wipes it out. there is no reason to live in regret. there's no reason to live in guilt. that is such good news. GOD's saving grace removes my guilt.

now lf you've personally experienced that you know what real freedom is. JESUS said, i came to set you free. the saving grace removes the guilt in our lives and he forgives it.

just a thought from the front porch…

give them another chance…

in building up people we need to never give up on them.

1 corinthians 13.7 (phillips paraphrase), love knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope. it can outlast anything.

we all fail in life. one of the most important things you can do is teach people how to forgive themselves. even after we’ve felt GOD’s forgiveness we often don’t forgive ourselves. if you want to be a good parent, when your children fail, don’t rub it in, rub it out. if you want to be a good mate, if you want to be a good friend, when they fail, don’t rub it in, rub it out, give them another chance. give them the gospel of grace. your heavenly FATHER gives you chance after chance and GOD wants you to give your children and your mate and your friends that second and that third and that fourth chance.

in thinking about all of this and the relationships in your life you may feel a little guilty. you may feel like a failure. or you may feel worried. you may say, “what does it take to be a good parent? what does it take to be a good husband, a good wife? what does it take to be a good friend?”

let me say it as simply as i know how to say it: the secret is to become a GODly person. you become a great parent or a great partner or a great professional by being first a GODly person.

these things i’ve shared with you are from GOD’s word are how GOD treats you. your heavenly FATHER does these things with you. then HE wants you to turn around and do them with other people and the more GODly you become the more these will be built into your life.

psalm 103.13 (niv), as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear HIM.

who’s our model for parenting? it’s not dr. spock. and it’s not oprah. or anybody else. it’s GOD and HE has told us how we are to parent. HE’s given us these principles.

when you look at the life of JESUS, JESUS always brought out the best in people. HE took people who were at the lowest level in life and lifted them up and brought out the best in them. HE wants to do that in your life. HE can do that in your life. the more you give HIM of yourself the more HE can bring out the best in you. then HE wants you to bring out the best in other people. but it’s only possible with HIS power through you.

by nature, i don’t care about other people. by nature, i’m self-centered. by nature, i’m not interested in bringing out the best in others. i’m interested in me. and so are you. but when GOD comes into your life and begins to make changes all of a sudden you’re interested in helping other people become better too. it happens through CHRIST.

just a thought from the front porch…