Grace Blog

Christ in his passion was mocked on several occasions and each time the mockery occupied a unique place in his experience. First he was mocked by Israel, next he was mocked by the pagan world, then by a descendant of Edom, a false brother, and finally by all these together. He was mocked by the Sanhedrin, by Pilate's soldiers, by Herod and then by them all as they stood before the cross....

In the midst of this gruesome abuse our Lord stood unflinchingly, leaving himself at the mercy of his enemies, he who by a word could have destroyed them. But he maintained the omnipotence of his silence.... In his bearing in the midst of vile abuse, the Saviour left us an example that we should follow in his steps. We cannot be faithful to Christ in this world and avoid reproach and contempt, and in this our bearing should correspond in some measure to that of the master when he was so defamed.

-- Frederick S. Leahy, The Cross He Bore (pp. 58-59)

No doubt everyone is aware that Easter Sunday is just a few days away. Because of God's grace many of us know Easter is about much more than chocolate bunnies and Reese's eggs (though Reese's eggs are hard to discount). The work Christ did (his life, death, burial, and resurrection) to make our redemption possible, is very likely to be on many of our minds as Sunday draws closer. In addition to re-reading the Gospel accounts of the Savior's willing death on the Cross and His triumphant resurrection from the grave, I would like to recommend a FREE resource that may aid in your understanding of what was taking place in those days. Right now chapter 9 from the book DOCTRINE is free online. This chapter is exceedingly helpful and faith-building as Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears go into detail about the reality that God had raised His Son on the third day! Christ's payment for our sins had been accepted! Reading this short chapter would be a significant encouragement to you heading into Sunday's Easter service.

There is another reason I am eager to commend this to you. DOCTRINE is such a helpful book that Dan & I have chosen it to be one of the main texts we will be working through during the INVEST Course starting this fall for the men & women of Grace Bible Church. This important chapter will allow you to catch a glimpse of what's coming this fall. I will be providing much more detail about the INVEST course in the coming months.
  

The Resurrection: God Saves, Chapter 9; DOCTRINE: What Christians Should Believe

Sunday is Easter! Many of us celebrate Easter in various ways. Some of us grew up with a “sunrise service.” I have great memories of Easter sunrise services on top of a mountain overlooking our church in the valley below. Some of us buy new outfits for Easter Sunday, complete with new shoes and a hat! Some of us give gifts to our children as a way to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Some of us have family or friends over for a big ham dinner, ending with an Easter egg hunt. Although Christians celebrate Easter in different ways, one thing is certain, we should celebrate! In fact, it should be our greatest holiday—even bigger than Christmas.

The resurrection of Christ is the culmination of our salvation. He conquered sin and death, proved to mankind that He is God, and secured our own resurrection by being the “first fruit” with promise of more to come. As I get older and begin to bury family and friends, I find my thoughts of the resurrection of Christ and my own promise of resurrection to be more and more on my mind. Is this what I really believe? Do I trust it to be true that I will live in a body again? I find myself wondering why fulfilling my dreams are so important—as if this present life is all I will get. Read 1 Corinthians 15 again today, and remind yourself along with me, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law—but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (1 Cor. 15:55-57).

Parenting is difficult- maybe the hardest task any of us will ever engage in. No step-by-step manual. No diagrams. No warnings for upcoming challenges. No way to gauge our progress. No crystal ball to tell us the future. If you're like me then you are often far more aware of your failures as a parent than you are of any grace for parenting. Sometimes we are left wondering how God can work in our children's lives when our efforts seem so ineffective. Below is some rich encouragement from the book "Give Them Grace" (Fitzpatrick & Thompson) that reminds us God is not limited even by our errors in parenting:

The disciples couldn't hinder the children from coming to him even though they tried.

When God calls our children to come to him, even if we haven't gotten it all right, even if we've trained little Pharisees or have a house full of prodigals, nothing is impossible for him. He can break through all our flawed methods and redeem all our frail errors.

The world tells us that their success depends upon our success. The world knows nothing of God's ability to use our failures as means to bless. "What is impossible with men is possible with God" (Luke 18:27).

So, even though we desire to be the ones who place our children in the lap of God's mercy and even though we stumble so badly trying to do so, Jesus is strong enough to pick each of us up and carry us all the way.

Parents, too, are weak but Jesus is strong. No one, not even you, can thwart his purpose to bless those who are his (Eph. 1:11).

Also, I'd like to take time to invite all Grace Bible Church parents, no matter the age of your children, to circle Sunday, May 6 on your calendar. That morning we will be specifically focusing on parenting children of all ages. After we hear from our our guest speaker, Matt Maka, that morning, we will have a working lunch Q & A so we can get some practical help for our parenting. Check out the information on this special Sunday by visiting, www.gracebiblelorton.com/givethemgrace.