In order to play the sweet songs of God's grace in our lives, we need to make sure that we have all of the biblical strings of grace tuned and in place. If we leave off one or two, we will inevitably be unable to play the beautiful melody of holiness in our lives in the way in which God has intended.
As believers, we need to evaluate our heart for idols, for those things we turn to for hope outside of Christ. We need to pray for discernment to see them for what they really are: weak and powerless substitutes. We need to remember who God is and what he has done, meditating on his holiness, righteousness, and goodness. Then we need to turn away from our false gods in repentance and turn back to the One True God, seeking to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
There are some who believe that God is more likely to hear and answer the prayers of mature Christians rather than immature Christians. This mentality appears in many different ways for many different people. For some, this becomes a source of pride because they feel that they have merited God’s ear in prayer. For others, this leads to cowering fear because they feel unworthy to approach the throne of grace through prayer. Although these are divergent responses, both groups of people see Christ primarily as their Judge and not as their High Priest and Intercessor.
Leading and managing church staff can be one of the most challenging and exhilarating aspects of pastoral ministry. Unfortunately, staff can develop relational tension with other staff or volunteers. They can become resentful or bitter toward the leadership of the church. Sometimes, they can even begin to work independently from the overall mission of the church and gather adherents to their “side,” stirring up division within the body.
Ralph Venning, in his work The Sinfulness of Sin describes sin in this way, “Sin is the dare of God’s justice, the jeer of his patience, the slight of his power, the contempt of his love, the upbraiding of his providence, the scoff of his promise, the reproach of his wisdom and the rape of his mercy.” May God grant us the grace to see sin for what it is, and yet to see the healing grace and mercy of God in Christ, who has paid the debt for even the “vilest of offenders.”
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