Grace 809

Transcript

Today is Epistles Sunday. 1 Peter 1-3. I’m calling today’s episode “Not My Will.” 

In chapter 1,  Peter called the people to holy living. He told them not to slip back into their old ways of living to satisfy their own desires. “…their own desires…”

And then in chapter 2 when talking to slaves he said that they should submit to their masters with all respect. Not just when the master is kind, but when he is cruel.

And then dropping down again a few verses, Peter says, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering…”

The common thread here is that we are not to put our own desires or our own rights above all else. We are to remember that we are slaves of God, and put His desires and His agenda ahead of ours. 

Let me complete the thought, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”

When Peter says this, he does so as he remembers that horrible night and early morning when Jesus did suffer for me and for you. Peter was an eye witness to the horrible ordeal Jesus suffered. Jesus could have, at any time, called down a legion of angles to wipe out those who were beating him. He could have released Himself from the pain and the chains that held him. He could have insisted on His rights as the Sovereign of All that is!

But He didn’t. He suffered so that we could be saved from the wages of our sins. And we must follow His example. If God puts us in a position of suffering, then we must prayerfully submit to His will, knowing that He loves us and trusting that His will is right. 

Since I know how much He loves me, I do trust Him. And any suffering I have gone through in my life truly has brought me closer to Him. It is worth it.

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-2 NLT; Ch. 3 NCV

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Transcript

Today is  Saturday Acts 11-12. I’m calling today’s episode “Thunder.”

In verse one of chapter 12 we read that King Herod had arrested some of the Christians in order to persecute them. And in verse two we read that Herod had James, the brother of John put to death with the sword. 

That’s all that is said about James. The narrative moves quickly to the imprisonment of Peter, and how the Angel came to release him in the middle of the night before he was scheduled to be martyred.

But I want to talk a bit about James. Which James is this? The verse says this was James, the brother of John. He was one of the first three disciples that Jesus called at the beginning of His ministry. Jesus called James and John “Boanerges” — Sons of Thunder. 

I was curious about this nickname, so I did a little research. Why did Jesus call these brothers Sons of Thunder? I had a hunch that perhaps it was because they had commanding presence…perhaps with loud voices. I have a brother-in-law with a very loud, booming baritone speaking voice. When Mike speaks, everyone in the room hears him. I could imagine James and John perhaps being like that. 

We do know that Jesus always had a reason for everything He did, so let’s see if Scripture gives us a clue. It’s in Mark 3:17 that we learn that Jesus called them Boanerges, but that verse does not tell us why. 

A clue might be found in Luke 9:54. Jesus was traveling with His disciples, and they passed through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem. While in Samaria, they wanted to stop for the night but the Samaritan people didn’t want them there. Remember, Jews and Samaritans had a hatred for each other, so since Jesus and His disciples were on the way to Jerusalem, the Samaritans thought they were Jews. Which of course they were, technically.

So because of this trouble, James and John asked Jesus if He wanted them to call down fire from Heaven to destroy them. Of course Jesus didn’t let them, and He rebuked them at the idea. But their request does suggest that James and John might have been passionate at the least, and perhaps had short fuses to anger. Sons of Thunder. Seems to fit, don’t you think?

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 11 GNT; Ch. 12 NCV

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Dr. Holly Brand discusses how kids struggle with finding their identity.
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Pop culture is everywhere—shaping the way your kids see the world and often teaching lessons that go against God’s Word. Dr. Holly Brand explains why you as a parent play such a crucial role in helping your children develop a strong faith, discern truth from lies, and build godly character in the middle of today’s confusing culture. She’ll share how you can help your kids find their identity in Christ, work through doubts, and stand firm on God’s truth, even when life gets tough. Those small, intentional choices you make every day can have a lasting impact on your child’s heart and beliefs.
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No verse in the Bible promises the absence of struggle. Quite the contrary. Scripture is stained with tears, problems, injustices, immorality, and wars. Tough times come with life. But troubling times don’t have to take the life out of your life.

God gives us this invitation: “Pray it through.” It is what troubles you, fatigues you, shames you. It won’t have the last word. God will. Prayer slaps handcuffs on the culprit. Prayer marches the problem into the presence of God, the One who can solve it.

The prophet Elijah is remembered as an example of radical prayer. He is living proof that “when a believing person prays, great things happen” (James 5:16 NCV).

Read more Unbreakable Courage

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Transcript

Today is  Prophecy Friday. We are in the Minor Prophets, and Zephaniah is next in line  I do have an on this date in church history for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.”  

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria. It is first mentioned all the way back in Genesis, chapter 10, and then it is not mentioned again until the book of Jonah. 

Nineveh was large, both in area and population. Because of its geographic location on the Tigris river, it was a bustling city of trade and commerce, one of the largest and most successful of all ancient cities.

But as we know, God was not a part of daily life. And as the capital of the Assyrian empire, they were guilty of great sins against God and His chosen people. As we heard in today’s reading, Zephaniah prophesies the destruction of Nineveh, but if you’ll remember, so did Nahum in several verses. 

Around 633 B.C. the Assyrian empire began to decay, as have all empires. In 612 B.C. they were attacked by the Medes and the Babylonians. At its defeat, it was burned to the ground. By 605 B.C. there was nothing left of the once great empire. The Medes and the Babylonians divided the spoils between them.

Nineveh is not mentioned again in the Old Testament. We don’t hear of it again until the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Archaeologists have found the remains of Nineveh. Among other things, they found a wall surrounding the city with a circumference of about eight miles. Today all the ruins are covered by dirt.

It is good to remember that even a great and powerful nation can be reduced to dust if it fails to honor the one true God. And if that is true of a nation, it is even more so true of an individual. No matter your wealth, no matter your power, no matter your talent, if you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, if He is not your Lord and Savior, you are without hope. 

Jesus came to set you free from the things that separate you from God. He is the only way to God. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” Jesus is not *a* way to God. He is *the* way to God. There is only one way. You may have heard that all roads lead to God. Really? That sounds nice, but it isn’t true. And it’s actually a silly statement. Tell you what. Right now, I am inviting you to spend the 4th of July at my house. I would be happy to invite you in with my family. We’re going to have a wonderful time together. The swimming pool will be open, the grill will be hot, the bever

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We’d prefer to fill a storehouse with a lifetime’s worth of courage, cash, and convictions. Yet God wants us to trust him day by day. Elijah’s word to the widow is God’s word to us: “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry” (1 Kings 17:14 NIV). Elijah spoke to her with faith; she responded in faith. She turned and obeyed.

In order to swim upstream in a downstream culture, we, like the widow, have to make a choice. Will we obey God? When you are weary, God is your strength. Lonely, God is your friend. Weak, God is your provider. Fortitude follows faithful obedience. Do what the widow did. Go to the kitchen, empty the jar of oil and flour, trust. The God who filled it today will fill it again tomorrow.

Read more Unbreakable Courage

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Transcript

Today is Poetry Thursday and we’ll read Ecclesiastes 3-4. I have an on this date in church history for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Two Are Better Than One.”

These chapters, while not entirely inspiring, seem to be a little less hopeless sounding than the first two, don’t you think? 

There’s a lot here to think about, but in our limited time, I’d like to focus for just a moment on chapter four.

Halfway through the chapter, Solomon talked about the man who works so hard he has no family, no son or even a brother. And he said that this is a bad and senseless thing. No disagreement there, right?

But then he talks about a better alternative. The next four verses explain that two are better than one, and three are even better. Like Solomon, in my older years I have learned that this is true.

My dad was very much a loner. A “self made man”. He worked literally seven days a week until he got too old to work. In all my childhood years, until I moved out of the house at the age of 21, he probably took no more than a total of a month off work for a very few short vacations. He did pretty well for himself, financially, though never rich. But for a guy who barely finished the eighth grade, he did well. 

When I was a boy, he taught me that friends would always let you down, and that it is better to keep people at arm’s length. Don’t let anyone in. Do things on your own. Don’t ask for help. Figure things out yourself. Be your own man.

It wasn’t until many, many years later that I found out just how poor that makes you, even if you have a lot of money. When my dad died, he had no friends at his funeral. No one but my mom, my sister and her three children, my wife, my kids and me to mourn him. 

My father-in-law was the exact opposite of my dad. He was giving, warm, caring, loving man. He worked almost until the day he died, not because he was trying to accumulate money, but because he barely made enough to pay the bills. He was an integral part of our church and was there whenever the doors were open. I can’t tell you all the jobs he had at church over the years. Suffice it to say that if he saw something that needed to be done, he did it. Everyone loved and respected Rip Collins. And when he died, there was not an empty seat in the church nor a dry eye in the house. Rip Collins died a rich man. And I have no doubt that when he met Jesus he heard a hearty, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

My father-in-law knew that it is better to be with people than go it

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