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Category: Grace (Page 1 of 11)

His Glorious Riches

April 9, 2025 / / 0 Comments

The Stars lost a heart-breaker last night in a way no team has ever lost before. Dallas was leading the Canucks 3-0 heading into the third period and, after Vancouver scored two quick goals to pull to within one, the Stars scored two more, including an empty-netter with 2:20 to play, to go back up by three. With one minute left in the game, Dallas led 5-2. One minute later it was tied and headed to overtime. For the very first time in NHL history, a team trailed by three in the final minute and scored three goals to force overtime. It’s never happened before. It was stunning. I’ve never seen anything like it. And it hurt bad.

Dallas has lost three straight now for the first time all season and they had a third period lead in all three games. They’ve left a lot of points in the standings on the table the past week or so. Instead of being one or two points behind Winnipeg and tomorrow’s game against the Jets being for first place in the division and the number one seed in the Western Conference, it’s only for how far behind Winnipeg they’re going to finish. Whitney and I bought tickets for tomorrow’s game, hoping it would be for the division title and the top seed. But the Stars are four points down and reeling. Whit and I will see in person tomorrow how the team responds to the historically impossible meltdown. It all but guarantees a first round matchup with the Avalanche in a week-and-a-half, and nobody wanted that.

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The prayer at the end of Ephesians 3 is loaded with hefty theology. It’s packed with soaring adjectives and lofty descriptions of God’s eternal promises and our unshakable confidence. I’d like to focus today on one simple phrase at the beginning of the prayer that sometimes goes overlooked.

“Out of his glorious riches…”

The prayer asks God to strengthen us with power out of his glorious riches. The literal Greek words in the original text are “his wealth of glory.” It could be translated “glorious wealth” or “the riches of God’s glory.” One translation says, “God’s unlimited resources.” Either way, what it means is that God is never going to run out.

God is never going to run out of what he has for you. Do you think God’s going to run out?

He is never going to run out of love for you. It’s part of his glory, his nature. God is not going to run out of mercy or goodness or comfort or peace for you. Knowing that should give you strength. Having direct access to all of who God is and his glorious riches for you gives you power.

But he won’t keep forgiving me for the same thing over and over, not for this long.

Yes. He will. He won’t run out of forgiveness for you.

But God won’t take me back again. He won’t let me come back after what I’ve done.

Yes. He will. You can’t use up God’s goodness toward you, his desire to be in relationship with you. His love for you is without limit. Out of our God’s glorious riches, he strengthens you with power.

Peace,

Allan

The Hope of Grace

December 28, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Comfort yourselves.
It is not from yourselves that you should expect grace.
But on the contrary, it is in expecting nothing from yourselves.
That is where you receive the hope of grace.

~ Pascal

What’s in a Name?

August 12, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Shakespeare’s Juliet asked, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” A skunk, if we called it something else, would still stink. My first name gets misspelled all the time and my last name always gets mispronounced. No big deal, right? It’s just a name–it doesn’t have anything to do with who I am.

Well, sometimes a name is much more than just what you call somebody. Sometimes a name is everything.

“This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name… I will show the holiness of my great name… Then the nations will know that I am the Lord.'” ~Ezekiel 36:22-23

God’s name is not what he’s called; it’s who he is. Throughout the Scriptures, when God announces his name to his people, he says it is compassion and grace, loyalty and patience, love and faithfulness. God says, “This is my name. This is who I am. And this is why I am saving you.”

It’s got nothing to do with your good deeds or any merits you bring to the table. You and I are saved because of the eternal nature and character of our God. Who God is. His name. We are saved because God is loving and faithful and gracious. That’s his name.

And it absolutely means everything.

Peace,

Allan

Leading Lavishly

September 11, 2023 / / 0 Comments

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” ~1 John 3:1

Our God does not measure his love out to us. He doesn’t weigh it on scales or scoop it out with a spoon. He doesn’t give just enough of his love to get us by or just as much of his love as we might deserve. He floods us with his love. We have more of his love than we could ever ask for or imagine. That’s the one thing you can ask God to do that’s impossible: God, will you love me more? Nope. Can’t. Impossible. He lavishes us with his love. We are his children. That is what we are.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” ~Ephesians 1:7-8

Our Father lavishes us with his grace. We sing about it. God’s amazing grace. Matchless grace. God’s grace that reaches even me! God’s forgiveness is over the top. It’s not that you’re forgiven of some of your sins or most of your sins or all the little sins or every sin except that one sin. It’s not that you’re forgiven is you do this one thing or keep this set of rules or follow this particular creed. In Jesus Christ, every single one of your sins — all of ’em; name em! — are all gone forever! God’s forgiveness is total and complete! Your sins are removed from you as far as the east is from the west! They are all hurled to the bottom of the sea, never to be dredged up again! God doesn’t put your sins up on the top shelf in the corner of a dark closet just so he can pull them out again and hold them against you at the worst possible time. God’s grace is lavish and complete.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” ~John 10:10

This is not an incidental or isolated remark from our Lord. This comes right between “I am the gate” and “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus is our doorway to salvation and the shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. And in the middle is the key contrast between his purpose and mission and that of the thieves and robbers: They come to take, Jesus comes to give. They seek destruction, Jesus seeks abundance.

From the fullness of his grace we have all  received one blessing after another. God gives the Spirit without limit. The water he gives will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Rivers of living water for all to drink. You will bear much fruit and your joy will be made complete. You will  do greater works than me. The Gospels are full of Jesus’ lavish life-giving abundance. If we wrote them all down, all the books in the world wouldn’t hold them!

The apostle Peter says we shepherd like our Chief Shepherd. We treat those in our flocks the same way Jesus does. With lavish love. With limitless grace. With inexhaustible forgiveness. With unmerited favor. We give everybody in our church life to the full.

Peace,

Allan

Grace First

August 30, 2022 / / 20 Comments

Our Lord doesn’t gives instructions or commandments to his people before he saves his people. God always rescues first, then lays out the conditions second. God saves, then his people obey. God speaks, then his people respond. God reaches out in mercy and grace, then his people rejoice and give him praise. That’s the way it works. God acts in kindness toward his people, then his people act in kindness to one another.

God creates man, gives him a loving and equal partner, puts them in charge of everything in the beautiful garden, provides for their every need, and then gives them instructions regarding the trees.

God rescues Noah, he saves Noah’s whole family through the un-creation of the flood, and then he establishes the covenant with its commands.

God delivers Israel from Egyptian bondage, he walks them through the Red Sea on dry ground, he destroys all their enemies, and then he gives them the Law on Mount Sinai.

It’s always grace first, then law second.

Jesus first heals the leper, then he says, “Now go offer the gift.” Jesus cleanses the demon-possessed man, then he says, “Now go tell your family how much the Lord has done for you, how he has had mercy on you.” Jesus rescues an adulterous woman from her executioners, he saves her, and then he says, “Go and leave your life of sin.”

It’s a formula. It’s a pattern. It’s a rule for the way things are. It’s the divine order.

The Christmas trees don’t go up in Walmart until after Halloween. The kids don’t spill red Kool-Aid until after you’ve got new carpet. Jerry Jones doesn’t sign a player until after that player’s committed a felony. And our gracious heavenly Father doesn’t give rules and commands until after he saves us.

It’s just the opposite of Santa Claus. If you’re good, Santa gives you a great gift. With God in Christ, we’re good because we’ve been given such a great gift.

Peace,

Allan

God’s Not Finished Yet

June 22, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The little kids’ T-shirt is right: “Be patient, God’s not finished with me yet.”

We could/should all wear those shirts. All of us. Everybody. We should repeat the phrase to ourselves and declare it out loud to anyone who is listening. Be patient, God’s not finished with me yet. He’s not. Be patient with your church, God’s not finished with it yet. Be patient with your elders, your preacher, your small group leader, the people in your Bible class – God’s not finished with them yet.

The Bible says we are in a continual process of being transformed. We are being transformed into Christ’s image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord. It’s an on-going act upon us, something being done to us. We are being transformed. And we know this. God is patiently working to transform us into the image-of-God people he saved us and called us to be. So we can afford to be patient with each other because we know we’re not done yet.

I can’t walk into the kitchen and pull Carrie-Anne’s lasagna out of the oven and criticize it because it’s watery or flat if it’s only been cooking for three minutes. How can I criticize it if it’s not done yet? How can I make any judgment? We don’t put baseball players in the Hall of Fame after just one season. A graduate from medical school isn’t doing open heart surgery the next morning. Lance Armstrong didn’t win the Tour de France the first time he rode a bike – he had training wheels!

How can I ever judge you? It’s not like God is finished with you. He’s still very much at work. How can we fuss at each other or get frustrated with people in our churches? God is still changing you. He is still changing me. We are always becoming who we are meant to be. But certainly none of us has arrived.

So, let’s cut each other some slack.

Peace,

Allan

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