kingdom

“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power” (Ephesians 3:7). There is one thing you must understand about grace. Grace equals power. There is nothing like this power in the entire world. This power is so unique that it can raise a dead soul to life. It is a supernatural power. It’s a unique power. And it is that same power that sustains us through the difficulties of life. No matter what your hurt may be, whatever your suffering is, whatever grief is crushing you, God’s promise for the apostle Paul is yours today: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). No matter what you are facing, God’s grace is sufficient. How could we experience and explain the sufficiency of the grace of God if there were no thorns in our lives? How could we testify about […]

“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power” (Ephesians 3:7). The apostle Paul understood the daily power of God’s grace as he experienced his great thorn: Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10) Seeking the power of God is not only pleasing to God, but it enables us to do His work and live abundantly. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and […]

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Do you find yourself constantly troubled by your sin? Have you created lines in the sand, rules that you feel you must follow to be “good enough”? When we strive to earn God’s acceptance, we are depriving ourselves of the freedom and contentment that Christ has won for us. We are depriving ourselves of the true Gospel of grace, shackling ourselves with legalism and elevating our rules to the same importance as God’s commandments—whether our rules involve moralistic guidelines, worship etiquette, or additional conditions to salvation. No matter how well-intentioned our man-made rules may be, they are inferior to God’s commandments. When we follow our faulty human thinking instead of God’s perfect ways, we will find ourselves headed for discontentment. We can never live up to our own harsh standards. We fail every time, and when we do, we lose […]

“. . . just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). When Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), it was not Jesus’ imagination that the Father forsook Him, as some people teach. No, at that moment of separation, the sin of humanity rained on Jesus like a funnel cloud, so much so that Jesus experienced hell itself. This moment of desertion was the moment when our sin was heaped upon His holy, sinless body, and for the first time since before eternity, Jesus looked up into heaven and saw His Father as a judge. That is why He did not call Him Abba, He called Him Eloi—my God. He saw God the sovereign, God the judge, God the awesome one. From cover to cover, the Bible tells us that on the cross Jesus took upon Himself […]

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12). Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” This is an invitation for all who put their trust in Jesus Christ to experience the awesome power of God’s grace that flows from His very throne. Hebrews 4:16 is an invitation to come to the throne that was converted from a throne of judgment to a throne of grace. There, you will experience unbelievable and untold blessings from the hand of God. God the Son, who sits at the right hand of God, is our great High Priest. Our Great High Priest understands us. Our Great High Priest sympathizes with us. Our Great High Priest knows our weaknesses. As our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ waits for us every single […]

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). When we wield the Word of God as a lamp to our feet and a sword against sin, we become more and more able to delight in God’s presence. The Puritan John Owen once advised: “Be killing sin or [sin] will be killing you.” It’s true. If we’re not engaged in the battle against sin, we will become spiritually stagnant. So, how do we kill sin? The answer is not only found in the Word of God; it is the Word of God. In Ephesians, Paul described the armor of God and included this one offensive weapon: “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (6:17). By keeping God’s Word on our lips and in our hearts, we have a weapon at hand, ready to attack sin and gain ground in pursuit of righteousness. But the Word of God is […]

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it'” (Isaiah 30:21). In the middle of summer, it is difficult to resist the appeal of a soft drink commercial on television. No matter what brand it is, the beverage maker promises that drinking an ice-cold glass of his soda will quench our summer thirst. We all know that a cold drink on a hot day will not make our thirst disappear forever but will in fact suppress it for the moment. The common English usage of the word quench might confuse us when we read Scripture warning us not to quench the Spirit of God. The Greek word that is translated as “quench” means “to extinguish.” This word has a stronger meaning than “temporary suppression.” It means “to extinguish, snuff out, or put an end to.” A modern English translation says, “Don’t put out […]

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). When we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to transform our lives, we will discover increasing joy in the presence of God. Many years ago, I struggled with my weight. I would go on crash diets and would see amazing results, but those results were short-lived because what I really needed was a lifestyle change and the power of the Holy Spirit to work that change in me. When we try to resist the devil in our own strength, it might work for a little while. We’ll take one step forward, but we’ll soon find ourselves taking two steps back. The same is true when we try to overcome temptation through our own efforts, with our own determination. We need power that we simply don’t have on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. You may […]

“But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 94:22). To delight in the presence of God means that we have confidence in Him as our refuge, our Redeemer who defeated the powers of sin and darkness at the cross. The Bible declares that God is our refuge, our fortress, our rock—an image of security and safety (see 1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm 18:2; 42:9). But the only way to enter the protection of this invincible fortress is by knowing and resting in the Truth of who God is. Only when we have grasped the freedom that Christ secured for us on the cross can we have unshakable confidence in Jehovah-Nissi, “God our banner.” Only when God’s Word finds a home in our heart can we have true peace. It is not enough to read the Bible. We must “[l]et the message of Christ dwell in [us] richly” (Colossians 3:16). That means […]

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, . . .'” (Exodus 34:6). To delight in God’s presence, we must know Him—His character, attributes, and heart—as He has revealed to us in His Word. The reformer Martin Luther once wrote, “God is everywhere; however, He does not want us to reach out to Him everywhere. Only in His Word. Reach out for the Word and you will grasp Him aright. Otherwise, you are . . . setting yourself up for idolatry.” People are drawn to greatness, whether the grandeur of creation or the fame of the eloquent. But if we stop at the creation and do not look beyond this to the Creator, we will wind up worshiping false gods and miss out on the only majesty that will satisfy our souls—the one true God, who deserves our complete worship and submission. The […]

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). To delight in God’s presence, set your heart and your mind on Christ. Never take your eyes off of Him. If you want to fail miserably in delighting in God—keep your eyes on others. Chase their acceptance, emulate their successes, critique their weaknesses. When I was about 18 years old, the man who was then discipling me taught me this repeatedly. He said, “If you ever want to fail and fail miserably, keep your eyes on church leaders. The bigger they are, the greater your fall.” I have never forgotten that. No matter what direction you take, what temptation surrounds you, or what obstacles are in your path, the Bible gives clear instructions for success: Keep your focus on Jesus (see Hebrews 3:1; 12:2). Look to Him alone as your example, your guide, and your […]