The Word of God

April 4

Read Hebrews 4:12

My son just had a birthday. There are two times a year that I dread. Christmas and his birthday. Why? Invariably, he receives a gift from his mother or some other well meaning individual that requires some assembly. This birthday, it was a lego set. THANK GOD FOR MY NEPHEW CHARLIE! The instructions were useless. Unless you have a degree in art interpretation, the drawings caused more confusion than help. Needless to say, I (Charlie!) persevered and he enjoys the toy completely.
My life is sometimes like that lego set. I don’t know about you, but there are times when I think someone needs to have a doctorate in all areas to untie the knots that I have gotten into. How does the church line up with my family, how does my family line up with my job, how does my wife fit into the picture are all questions that are asked from time to time in this journey called life. How do we fit everything together to make some sort of sense to us and to those around us?
The best owner’s manual ever created is the bible. That instruction packet for the lego set went into the trash because it didn’t provide the proper answer. The psychologist, psychiatrist, the counselor and anyone else that is supposedly trained in the area of human confusion fall way short in accomplishing what I oftentimes need fixed. My marriage will not be fixed with a do-it-yourself guide found at Home Depot. My family will not be united by the five-language instruction packet at the local Wal-Mart. What I and my family need is a good dosage of “What saith the Lord.”
I challenge you today to reenter the world of scripture. Treat the Word the way it was meant to be treated, as the bread of life. The Bible is the manna in the wilderness to feed you and nourish and guide you. When you love the Word, you will be consumed by it. When you are consumed by it, you will begin to apply it. When you apply the instructions in the Owner’s manual, you will find the puzzle pieces of your life begin to take form and a great picture of art will be the product.

“No one ever became, or can become truly eloquent without being a reader of the Bible, and an admirer of the purity and sublimity of its language.”
- Fisher Ames

April 5

Read Ephesians 2:5-8

The number five in Scripture stands for grace. On this fifth day of the month, I feel like talking a little bit about grace.
Grace is a gift of God that has no parameters to bind it. It is a gift that allows the light of truth to squeeze between the cracks of darkness and illuminate your life. Grace calls you by name when all of society fails to recognize your talents. Grace covers you with His blood when the stains of this world mark your life with grief. Grace is the twinkle of the star in the vast expanse of the universe reaching all the way to where you are, just to let you know that he is in control.
Grace is the warm embrace of a loved one in the midst of the cold season of your life. Grace is the thank you card received in the mail when you thought no one realized you were even alive. Grace is the laugh of your child in the middle of a tension packed afternoon. Grace is the ability to smile when all you feel is a frown. Grace is a dance when all you feel is down. Grace sees beyond your faults and reveals your strengths. Grace is the ability to do what God desires even when your natural mind cannot comprehend it.
Grace is free. Grace costs everything. You cannot earn grace, but He paid the price for grace at Calvary. Grace is what saves us. Grace is what keeps us. Grace delivers us. Grace sustains us. Grace provides for us.
Grace. Isn’t it amazing?

“There are things God does for me daily, and it throws me into brain lock, because I know in my heart I don't deserve that kind of grace. I don't deserve that break.”
- Willie Aames

April 6

Read Lamentations 3:20-27

I was born on August 10, 1970. For my golden birthday on August 10, 1980, I received a brand new ten speed bike. After all of my cousin’s “hand-me-downs” through the years, I finally had a bike all my own. It was silver with a black line down the cross bar. It had a normal seat and handle bars unlike the yellow and purple banana seat and high handle bars of my cousin’s bike that I had been riding. It was going to be a great way to get where I was going. I remember the joy it gave me when I took it up on the street for the first time, and realized how easy it was to gain momentum with the different speeds. I thought I was so cool.
There is something about receiving new things. I love the smell of a new car. I love the excitement of entering your home for the first time. I love the feel of new golf clubs. I love getting great gifts like that ten speed bike. When I received the gift of a “yes” answer to my question, “Will you marry me”, I was walking on cloud nine. Yes, there is something about getting great things in life. The most important things in life, however, are not things.
I am glad the Bible says that I can receive mercy new every morning. Mercy is that entity that releases you from the debt you owed because someone else paid the price. Christ paid the price at Calvary, and that payment is new everyday. No matter what today is like, tomorrow’s mercy is new. No matter what thoughts have plagued your mind, the payment is new at the dawning of the sun. No matter the turmoil you are in now, when the sun breaks the eastern horizon, His mercy is brand new.
There is no “hand-me-down” mercy. For each one of us, His mercy is new and fresh and available. I do not remember what actually happened to that awesome ten speed bike, but after almost 27 years, I imagine that it has corrupted into rust dust. It was two months earlier in that year, June 16, 1980, that I received the gift of the Holy Ghost. I remember how awesome that felt. I knew that it wasn’t a “hand-me-down” either, and I DO know where that gift is because it is renewed everyday within my soul.
Have you received your mercy for the day yet?

“I am a most noteworthy sinner, but I have cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely. I have found the sweetest consolation since I made it my whole purpose to enjoy His marvellous Presence.”
- Christopher Columbus