I received a call from Sean Coakley last Tuesday. It seems that God had just blessed him and he wanted to share the testimony with Robin and me. He had been stranded at his aunt’s house (who happens to live about 300 miles away) for a few days –no gas money! He had gone to surprise them with a visit; only he was the one ending up being surprised.

While he was taking his cousin to her mother’s place of work he added up the money he had left in his pocket and the money that his aunt was going to give him only to find out that he was still $50 short. He said that he knew that he needed around $102 dollars to get back home. His aunt was giving him $40 and he had $12. While they were sitting there waiting for his aunt to get off work, her boss came in. Sean said the two looked at one another and shared pleasantries as he walked into his office.

A few minutes later the boss reappeared handing Sean $50! He told Sean that he was a Christian and that God had told him, “to give that young man fifty dollars.” Now, because that Christian was obedient, another Christian was blessed. Not only did Sean now have enough money to get home, but the incident also showed him that God was watching over him for his good. Sean told me that he had miscalculated the trip because of the high gas prices; he blamed himself for being stranded. And now he knows that even if we get ourselves into pickles; God is still there, still watching, still providing.

I was blessed by Sean’s call because I see that this incident is a microcosm of our situation today in the United States. Over the years the United States has slowly walked away from God. We have taken His blessing, but have not returned the favor. We have systematically removed him from our children’s lives. We have taken prayer out of the schools, the Ten Commandments off the walls and the mention of Jesus as God’s means of salvation. Because we have miscalculated the strength of God and have not considered the consequences of turning our backs to Him, our economy is suffering and (I believe) on a very dangerous precipice.

We need national repentance! We need a national day of fasting and a genuine seeking after God. We need to stop being so arrogant and humble ourselves under His mighty hand. Perhaps He will relent from sending judgment. Maybe He will send a blessing instead. God has spoken: “If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

I don’t wish for the United States to be “stranded” because of her miscalculation of the power of God. I don’t want her to be deceived –God cannot be mocked; she will reap what she has sown… And so, I want to be like that Christian boss, who was obedient and blessed Sean. I truly believe that if we all became obedient to God we will bless this great nation of ours. May the Lord have mercy on us.

The Lord bless you this week!
Pastor Jim

For this final installment on the Grace of God, I have tried to come up with a really absurd scenario for us to think about. Can you picture a man giving another man a fistful of one hundred dollar bills? When the latter receives the money he immediately throws it into the fire. The money is gone! The first man gives him another fistful of dollars and again, the man throws them into the fire. Or picture another man holding on to rolls of pennies and refusing the bills because he doesn’t want to let go of the pennies. Absurd? Unbelievable? What on earth are these men thinking? I know that you may be thinking, “Who on earth would be so foolish?”

In reality there is something more absurd and unbelievable than this. The prophets Isaiah and Jonah make mention of those who forfeit the grace of God. “Though grace is shown to the wicked they do not learn righteousness.” Is.26:10 and again, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:8

The Spirit of God is telling us, through these two men, that there are people who miss the grace of God and forfeit the blessing that could be theirs. No one in their right mind would refuse a fistful of free money and in the same way, no one in their right mind should refuse the free gift of God.

As Christians, we all have received this grace, which brings us unto salvation, and so therefore, it is really only Christians who are in there right mind.

I know what you are thinking, “Hey, I’ve seen some “Christians” who were definitely not in their right mind.” But we need to be careful here for as Paul says, “To one’s own master, a man stands or falls.”

Who are we to judge the grace shown to a man which Christ has apportioned? For example, should we who live in the land of plenty (the grace of God), who are surrounded by mountains of Bibles (the grace of God), with churches on every corner (the grace of God), and are free to express our faith (the grace of God) – should we judge those who haven’t the blessings of this grace.

Should we not think rather, “Since I am afforded all these blessings, I should all the more readily conform to the image of my Savior”?

I know that I am saved by the Blood of the Lamb, but I wonder if I still show evidence of the wickedness of my old nature? For all these graces have been shown to me yet I am still dissatisfied about my spirituality.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m just trying to get us to think here. I have plenty – do I bless God by learning to be generous? I have at least seven different Bible translations – am I student of that Word, searching those scriptures to point out the Living Christ to me? I am free to express my Christianity – do I hold on rather to the things of this world? I don’t want it to be said of me that I forfeited the grace of God or that I missed it all together. The grace of God has appeared to us all. May we spur one another on to holy living that none of us miss it. May the grace of God be with us all.
The Lord bless you this week!
Pastor Jim

In the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John, we see Jesus knowing full well that His time to go to the Cross was near. While the multitude was around Him, there were some Greeks who had asked Phillip to point Jesus out to them. When Phillip and Andrew brought these men to Jesus, He took the opportunity to teach the crowd. Notice, that even though Jesus knew that His time was near, He was still thinking about the people – that is the grace of God.

Jesus’ heart was troubled and He questioned out loud, “Now, my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

The trial that Jesus was entering into would be the greatest trial that any man would ever have to face. No matter what takes place in our lives, nothing we could ever go through would even begin to compare to what He was about to experience. Even if all the trials of our lives would be compiled together and mounted up before us, they still would not be worth comparing to what Jesus knew He was about to face.

Can you imagine what it would be like to know that in just a few days you would be crucified? Please remember, Jesus lived wholly unto God and never sinned even one time. He knew no sin and because of that He had a perfectly intimate relationship with His Father. There was no sin whatsoever to hide the face of God from Jesus’ life.

Jesus knew the Father perfectly and God knew Jesus perfectly. I do not mean to be redundant but I want to emphasize that Jesus’ relationship with God, the Father, was the most important thing in His life –this is also the evidence of the grace of God. Now the time had come when this relationship would be put in jeopardy. If Jesus had sought to be delivered from this agony, then self would have ruled the will and sin would have entered in. Sin did not dominate! He would go to the Cross – He, who knew no sin, would become a sin offering.
Jesus knew that He was going to take our sin unto Himself and that would ultimately bring about what He never wanted – separation and a broken relationship from God. It was a no win situation for Jesus, yet, He knew that this is what His Father wanted. He would go to the Cross!

He would glorify the name of His Father! He would (by the grace of God) serve God, even if it meant becoming obedient to death. And so, He humbled Himself (again, it takes the grace of God to humble oneself) and offered up His body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

As the hour drew near, we find Jesus seeking God’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane. His soul was overwhelmed, even to the point of death. His friends had let Him down and He was alone with His pain and sorrow. Yet, He wasn’t alone – for His Father was with Him.

This should teach us all, praise God! No matter how alone we feel – our Father is with us! No matter how hard the struggle, the grace of God enables us to endure it! And because He was forsaken – we shall never be! This little study can be summed up as such: God has given us all grace so that we may become more like Jesus Christ, who made every attempt to glorify God with His life.


The Lord bless you this week!
Pastor Jim

For the sake of brevity, let me say that the grace of God manifested in our lives today, is given for one purpose, to bring our character in agreement with the character of Jesus Christ. This should be our desire, motivation and goal.

If we are thinking that God’s grace is given so that we might prosper financially, be praised by men, escape tribulation, be restored to health or anything of the like, we will have missed the sole purpose of God grace in our lives.

It is true that the grace of God brings these things about in our lives, but we may miss God’s intention if we do not realize His purpose.

Paul tells us that all things work for the good to them who love God who are the called according to His purpose. Then he tells us exactly what that purpose is –to be conformed into the image of His Son. Rom.8:28,29 Paul also tells us that the grace of God, that brings salvation, has appeared to all men.

It (grace) teaches us to say, “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11,12

Let’s say that we have two men who find themselves in identical situations. They both have good jobs, good families and healthy bodies. The only difference is that one man is a true Christian while the other is not. If Paul is right about all things working for our good (and he is ) then no matter what circumstances come into the life of the Christian, we can know that God intended them for the good of that Christian.

Jesus said that God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous; meaning, that life happens to all of us, whether we are believers or unbelievers. So, what advantage does the grace of God give to the believer?

Let’s go back to the two gentlemen and put them in a hypothetical situation and see if we can observe the grace of God. Both men are at their jobs when they each receive news of a tragic car accident involving their families.

Now, any Christian who would say that God brought about these accidents for the good of these men, should put their Bible on a shelf and commit themselves to the nearest asylum. I do not believe that Paul would have us to use Romans 8:28 for the encouragement of those who are going through a fierce trial. Certainly there is a time for everything, and some of those times require silence.

Let’s get back to the two men. The accident has left their families clinging to their lives. While the unbeliever reacts in an angry way, the believer begins seeking God. While the unbeliever questions and blames God, the believer is already seeking direction and counsel. Like Job, the believer doesn’t charge God with any wrong doing. He is seeking God’s help to comfort the rest of the family, such as his wife’s parents. The unbeliever becomes more and more absorbed in his grief and anger.

The one man turns to God the other turns to the bottle. One man wants to glorify God, the other wants the world to recompense his loss. The one man becomes despondent while the other forces himself to believe that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. One man cannot look beyond his present circumstances while the other knows that God’s Word will be a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path.

Please do not misunderstand me. Both men are good loving husbands who care for their families deeply. They provided for them, protected them and did what was right for them. But when this life dishes out its garbage, it changes men and their outlooks.

If we believe that God’s grace is given for our happiness, prosperity, health and well-being then in situations of this magnitude we would be prone to believe that He has really fouled up.
But if we know that God’s grace is given so that we may be drawn out of the philosophies of this world, to become a holy people unto Him and ultimately glorify His Name, then we can know that His grace will be given to us freely in our time of need.

Next week I will show how the grace of God was evident in the life of Jesus Christ.

The Lord bless you this week!
Pastor Jim