Tag Archives: grace

December 27, 2012 · 8:09 AM

If 99.9% Were Good Enough

I was cleaning out old stuff in my cubicle yesterday to get prepared for the new year when I came across an attention getter I used to use. You may or may not have seen it, but I’ll share some of it anyway. It’s called “If 99.9% Were Good Enough”. I used it in class to help front line employees know that even small margins of errors can have huge impacts on the business. Here are a few of the more notable ones:

If 99.9% were good enough
– 12 babies would be given to the wrong parents each day
– 268,500 defective tires would be shipped this year
– 14,208 defective computers would be shipped this year
– 2,488,200 books would be shipped with the wrong cover
– 5,517,200 cases of soft drinks would be flat
– 18,323 pieces of mail would be mishandled in the next hour
– 107 incorrect medical procedures would be performed today

What if you could live right 99.9% of the time. Would that be good enough to get to Heaven? Romans 3:10 says that there is no one who is righteous, no, not one. Later on in verse 23, it says that all have sinned and fallen short. Apparently 99.9% isn’t good enough. We all fall short of righteous living. Does that mean that we shouldn’t try? Of course not. Titus 2:12 says that “we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God.”

Just because we are unable to live right doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. I was talking to a friend yesterday about an old group of friends I used to have. We called ourselves “Heathens Anonymous”. The concept was simple, but fun. Each of us are born with a sinful nature in us. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior it doesn’t mean that we all of a sudden live perfectly. That sinful (heathenistic) nature still lives in us. Just like an alcoholic becomes a recovering alcoholic, we become recovering heathen.

We still fall prey to our fleshly desires from time to time. We should try to refrain from our old way of living as much as possible. According to James our faith without works is dead. In Romans 4:5 it tells us to be careful though. We are not counted as righteous because of our works, but because of God who forgives us. It is His grace that covers our sins especially when our old sinful nature rears its head. Ephesians 2:8,9 says that we are saved by grace and not works so that no one can boast.

Wherever you find yourself from 99.9% down to 0.1% in living right, when you accept Jesus, His grace makes up the difference to get us to 100%! The older I get, the more appreciative I am of His grace. I rely on it, need it and trust in it. I’m not perfect. I’ll still be a recovering heathen as long as I live. There’s one thing I know though, His grace is sufficient to cover my mistakes and short comings. It’s sufficient enough for yours too.

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November 30, 2012 · 7:52 AM

The Check Please

I used to have a boss who would describe grace as God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense. I have a friend who call’s it unmerited favor. I believe it is more than not getting what you deserve, it’s getting something you don’t deserve. Since Adam and Eve we have gone against what God has commanded us. We have gone our own way, done things our own way and lived our own way. I’m not sure why He would still extend grace to us when we clearly don’t deserve it. But He does.

I have a friend who does an exercise in grace each Christmas. He and his family rent a hotel or cabin in some small town nearby when it gets close to Christmas. Everyone brings the money they were going to spend on Christmas presents for their kids and spouses. Once in the hotel, each person draws a card with a day of the week on it. On that day, that person picks the restaurant and whoever their server is gets the money they were going to spend on their family. They do it even if they get poor service.

They don’t make a big show either. He told me that they get such an amazing feeling by blessing others. It’s addicting. He said that now his kids can’t take it when it’s not their night to bless. So what the others do now is look around the restaurant and tell their sever, “I want to buy that families dinner.” Sometimes his kids end up paying for everyone in the restaurant and no one knows who did it.

When I think about it, that’s a lot like what God did for us. He came into this world unassuming. He came as a baby when we were expecting a king. He lived among us and did normal things. He then started blessing people who didn’t deserve it. He helped the poor. Then, when we weren’t expecting it, he did the ultimate act of Grace. He paid for our sins. We deserve to pay for the wrongs we’ve done, but when the check comes, it’s marked paid!

I’m so thankful that there is nothing I can do to ever deserve God’s grace. Just like when those customers get their check, they see what they deserve to pay, I know what I deserve to pay. I’m thankful each day that God sent His Son into this world to pay my check. I know at the end of each day, I should owe something for what I’ve done. As unworthy as I am, Jesus looks down and says, “I got it.”

Have you accepted that grace from Him for what you’ve done? If not, now is the perfect time. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, I know I don’t deserve your grace. My sins and faults are many. I know the debt I owe, but I accept your grace and your forgiveness to cover the check. Thank you for forgiveness. Amen.” If you were worthy of it, it wouldn’t be grace. God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense!

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September 26, 2012 · 6:17 AM

You are a Temple of Grace

I was reading this morning in Scripture where Solomon completed the Temple and held a huge ceremony to dedicate it to God. HIs father David wanted to build the Temple but was unable to. He had prepared everything for Solomon to build and complete it. Once it was done, Solomon had a 7 day celebration and offered sacrifices to God. II Chronicles 7:1 says that when Solomon was finished praying the dedication prayer, the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple.

It got me to thinking about what Paul said about us in the New Testament. In I Corinthians 6:19, he asks, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you?” Jesus made a way for God to live inside each one of us. Just as the Temple was dedicated to God, so should our bodies.

We don’t have to wait to be completed though before God moves into our lives. Each one of us is a work in progress. There is no one who has attained perfection and has the perfect Temple for God to live in. We can only dedicate ourselves to living for Him by trusting in His grace. Paul said it like this in Philippians 3:12, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection.” Paul is a man who wrote most of the New Testament and yet he still recognized that he had far to go.

I’m in that same boat. I have a long way to go to reach perfection. I don’t ever mean to imply that I have, but I sure want to press towards it. I want to live in the grace of God and live as much like Christ as I can. I will struggle each day to be more like him. The good news is that the grace He gives covers a multitude of sins. It makes up the difference in where I am and where He wants me to be. I heard someone describe God’s grace by asking the question, “On a scale of 1 – 100, how good would you say you were? What God’s grace does is make up the difference between what you are and 100.”

If I was a 5, and asked God for forgiveness, His grace would be 95 in my life. That is the awesome thing about God. He doesn’t care if you are a 1 or a 99. His grace is the great equalizer. It will make up the difference and allow you to be who God wants you to be. You are probably like me and have lots of room between you and 100, but God will continue to work with you to get there. I’m constantly under construction by God so I rely on Philippians 1:6 that says, “I am certain that God who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

I’ll never be perfect until He comes or I go, but I have the hope of a faithful God who will continue to work in me and build me as His Temple. I trust in His grace and His faithfulness. One day I will arrive and be made perfect. As I am, I am a work in progress and all of my short comings are not measured by this world’s standards, they’re measured by His. Thank God for grace that makes up the difference. It keeps me wanting to continue building this Temple for Him.

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July 20, 2012 · 9:54 AM

Condemnation or compassion

If you have ever been around children then you know they typically have a problem with being tattletales. They are so worried about everyone else who is doing wrong and they feel the need to bring it to everyone’s attention. The funny thing is that they never tell on themselves.

I’m not sure that we ever really grow out of that. We constantly look for the bad in others and want to point it out. If it is someone of importance, then we really want to make sure everyone sees their sin. What I’ve learned is that Jesus didn’t subscribe to this way of thinking. When a crowd brought a woman caught in adultery and wanted Him to condemn her, His response was the opposite.

The example He set teaches us a few things.

1. Don’t be quick to condemn

The crowd of people paraded this woman through the city square and announced to everyone what she had done and what the punishment for her sin was. I’m sure it started with the person who caught her and as he took her through the streets a crowd gathered with him. They may or may not have known the woman, but they knew the crime and wanted to participate in her punishment.

Jesus didn’t get worked up over it. They demanded that He answer them if they were right in what her punishment should be. He just looked at the ground and began to draw. His thought out response was a lot better than the mob reaction we typically exhibit. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon, He simply compared the grace they wanted for their sins with the punishment they wanted to give to her for her sin.

2. Put down your rocks

When Jesus did respond to them, he said, “Let he who is without sin, throw the first stone at her.” His response should make each of us look at our own lives. We shouldn’t be so concerned that someone else isn’t getting it right. We should give the same amount of grace we expect from others.

Galatians 6:1 says that if someone sins, we should go and restore them. It’s hard for someone to accept your offer of restoration when you have a rock in your hand. We need to put down our rocks of criticism and go to them in gentleness as the scripture says. They know they’ve done wrong. God’s job is to convict. Ours is to help restore them and to provide a path to recovery.

3. Offer forgiveness

Jesus offered forgiveness time and time again to those who the Pharisees thought didn’t deserve it. He is our example of what we should be doing. Too many times I have been guilty of pronouncing judgement instead of offering forgiveness. I’ve realized that in my life Jesus has always pointed out my sin and offered forgiveness. Why should I act differently?

If we are serious about winning the lost, we need to be more effective in how we help people come to grips with their sin and need for a savior. I’ve found that building relationships with people and not being afraid to admit my sins or hide my scars from sins works well. Judgement turns people away while forgiveness draws them in.

If you find yourself in a mob and you have rocks of hateful words in your hands ready to be hurled, stop for a minute, draw in the sand and think through how Jesus would respond. How did he respond to you? How would you want to be treated if you were in their shoes? Allow God to do His work which is to convict and be prepared to do your part to show forgiveness and to bring restoration.

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