Grace vs Deserve - Changing our everyday words.

Last week I had a chat with a christian friend and the conversation was about a mutual christian friend. The conversation went something like this...


Friend: Have you spoken to Zack recently?
Me:   No I haven't had much contact with Him in a while. How is he doing?
Friend: He's good. He's got a new job and has a new house.
Me: Woah! Cool that's really nice for him
Friend: Yeah! He really deserves it after the tough time he's had.


This got me thinking about how we as Christians use everyday language amongst ourselves and with other believers. I really believe that slowly and surely, worldly language is creeping its way into our lives as christians and that we need to be careful about what we say. I certainly see this kind of language slipping into my own vocabulary. And its probably because I fail to pray to God to help me be careful when I speak. "Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips". - Psalm 141: 3


As much as my friend had good intentions when talking to me, they used an unhelpful term in their conversation with me. We, as christians, tend to use the word DESERVE in a way that suggests it is our due to receive good things. It gives the impression that we have worked so hard that it is only right we receive nice things for ourselves. This can be a dangerous view as it leads to legalism and self dependence instead of humility and God dependence. God dependence is foundational to our relationship with God. Peter (quoting Isaiah) says "The one who trusts in Him (Christ) will never be put to shame" - 1 Peter 2 v 6.


Instead of using the word deserve I think perhaps using the term "God has been GRACIOUS" would have been a more helpful way of putting it. Automatically you are recognising God being active in our lives. You are also recognising a key attribute of God - Grace. See how Paul puts it.


"For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. " -1 Corinthians 15 v 9 & 10


He pushes the grace of God three times in those two verses. If I did this more in my life I know that I would become a much more thankful person and much more appreciative to all God has given me. Our words our important both in the way we communicate to Christians and how they make us stand out when around non-christians. To Him and Him alone be the glory!


"May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." - Psalm 19 v 14

Act. Love. Walk.

Recently my good friend Lewis 'Wis' Holland decided to start writing a blog called Whom Have I In Heaven But You. I can remember talking to him about blogging and remember him saying "The only thing is you have to be disciplined enough to maintain it". I figured that I need to have more discipline in my life so...here it goes.

I love this verse in Micah 6. It is simple to understand. No big complicated words, no difficult terms to try and explain and yet it is supremely hard for these words to be converted into actions in our daily lives. At best we may be able to fool our church family every Sunday that we are acting justly and loving mercy but I know (and my close friends will know too), that in my own life, apart from those 4 hours on a Sunday that my actions are constantly unjust and unmerciful. The simple and hard fact is this displeases God as He has acted completely justly and been abundantly merciful towards me personally.

I didn't really understand what acting justly was actually all about until a few weeks ago. I was thinking that it was just doing what was right in the shallowest way possible. When justice is mentioned in Micah, it means it in the way that justice is rooted deeply in God's character. God is Justice just as James is Human (no puns please!). This should, NO must (!!) become my nature too!

Mercy... A word that we hear and see every day but do we love it? The best personal illustration I can think of is from my childhood. My sister and I didn't get on for a good few years. We would argue and quarrel loads!! If my sister hit or punched me, my mum and dad would make her apologise. I would then, of course, have to accept that apology. But I didn't love to show her mercy. I did it begrudgingly. How I want to be able to find joy and delight in showing mercy!!!

 Now to the hardest of all... Walking Humbly. This is often the way this sort of conversation goes with my friends or church family.

         Friend: James, how is your walk with God?

         James: Oh yeah it's great! Amazing thanks! He is so good I'm feeling so blessed

And now for what I am really saying.

         Friend: James, how is your walk with God?

          James: What a cheek! Asking me how my walk with God is! Its better than yours! Get lost and bother someone else. 

Maybe, just maybe I can fool people with what I say, but God is all knowing. He knows every thought that goes through my head before I have even thought it! I cannot escape from Him. If my attitude and response to others remains this way, then it is clear my walk with God is not humble at all. How great it would be if I had a constant desire and passion to walk and talk continuously with the God of my salvation. 

Song To Go With This Blog 

 Tim Hughes - We Must Go 

Your Kingdom Come!

Ok so here's another post where I don't have to do much. I know it's kind of cheating to post like this but what these guys have to say is so much better than anything I can come up with.


I've realised that in my praying, I'm praying loads for the people who I come into contact with to be saved and realise their need for the gospel. This, of course, is a great thing to pray for and important. However, very rarely am I praying for Jesus to come today...Now! I suppose my reason for not praying this is sometimes I think "Jesus come but can you wait until I finish my degree?". Perhaps for you it's "Jesus come but once I have a few years in this new job I've accepted" or "Jesus come but let me have a few more years enjoying my children going up".  Whatever the reason, and no matter how "good" the motive, it is wrong for us to pray this way. 


The New Testament church, as well as being radically missional and out reaching to the lost, also eagerly anticipated and expected Jesus to come soon. How great would it be if we had this mindset? Some people may turn and say "That will just make you too heavenly minded to be of earthly use". My response is that once we realise the joy which is to come, we will become ever the more missional and urgent in our proclamation of the gospel so that more people will be with us in eternity enjoying and glorifying God in eternity. This is what a good preacher, Sam Storms has to say on Heaven using the works of Jonathan Edwards. It is long but it is worth it. Please watch it and I pray that as you do, it will spur you on with excitement for the coming Kingdom and with an urgency to proclaim Jesus to those around us.


Piper introduces Sam. Enjoy

Click Here For Sermon On Heaven - Joys Eternal Increase

Seeing Jesus In Every Book Of The Bible

Below is a short video. I'm sure this boy had it scripted for him but it's actually very good. It made me think, "How do I see Jesus in the Bible?". This is obvious in the New testament because Jesus had already appeared, died and risen. There are even points in the Old Testament where it is easier to see the whisper and shadow of the Messiah to come. For example, you can see Joseph son of Jacob as a shadow of Christ. Both born miraculously and both hated because of their greatness as well as many other parallels. However, what happens when I turn to Numbers or Esther, how does Jesus appear there? Well this short video will help but it begs the question, "When I study the bible, am I searching, digging, excavating to try and see my Saviour?"

God In Our Sundays

I think we've probably all had that occasion where we've been in a church meeting and God has clearly been present and dealing with people. Times when the overflow of people's thankful hearts break the usual pattern of our service, and a time of praise and gratitude to an amazing, gracious, and loving God bursts out like a Geyser erupts water.

We we're blessed enough last Sunday to have a time like this. After the preaching had finished and the last song had been sung, a true reverence and stillness filled the room. At the sound of silence my heart felt that people were pressing into God, they weren't ready for this time to stop. Following this, people started to pray out to God, thanking and praising Him for His forgiveness and for His love and mercy. Whilst some people were doing this, others quietly wept, convicted by sin yet overwhelmed by grace. It visually demonstrated Romans 5 v 20 "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more"

My experience from last Sunday has stuck with me throughout the whole week. God is phenomenally gracious when He visits us like that. However, it got me to thinking about how we prepare for corporate worship.

Let me make it clear right now that I don't believe there's this magic formula or some sort of special sequence of events that you have to go through to experience a particular time of blessing and closeness to God. I believe God is just adding goodness to His goodness when He allows this to happen. But it does beg the question, am I preparing as well as I can to meet with God on a Sunday? Usually, if I'm honest, the answer is a gigantic NO!

8:00 - Alarm goes off

8:30 - I actually get out of bed

9:00 - Washed and dressed

9:30 - Breakfast and Coffee finished

9:45 - Teeth brushed hair....well presentable(ish)

10:00 - Load car up for Church

10:15 - Arrive at Church

I have had such little regard for God in my preparation on a Sunday. I haven't talked with Him I haven't studied The Word, I haven't even prayed that He would visit us in a special way in church. So how can I expect Him to? I am truly convicted this week that if we, if I spent more time on a Sunday praying expectant prayers for God to make His presence felt in our service, that the only effects would be positive ones. At the very least I would have talked with my Dad, my King and my God and would have a closer relationship with Him. But it is conceivable that experiences and blessings like last Sunday could become more frequent if I turned to God and pleaded with Him for it. 

Please, join with me in this. Whatever church you're in, get up 20 minutes earlier, or have breakfast and coffee whilst praying, and pray for God to truly bless and reveal Himself in an amazing way in our services. Challenge me on a Sunday and ask me if I've done this.

Wouldn't it be great if people looked into our churches and said "that's the church where God is. I want what they have"?

My Philippians challenge.

Remember when you went to Sunday School or Kids Club in church and every week you would learn a verse? Well recently, I've been convicted of my lack of bible knowledge. I seem to only remember the really well known verses which is good in themselves but 10 years into my christian walk, I should really have a wider and deeper knowledge of God's word. When Hebrews says "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword", I always think of how I want to be able to wield this weapon for the cause of the gospel and for the glory of God.


In light of this I downloaded the Fighter Verses app for iPhone. It teaches you to memorize parts of the bible week by week and there are two options to do it. First way is the Fighter Verses Collection, this just gives you a verse or two a week to learn from any part of the bible. For example, this week is Revelation 21: 5-7. The other option is the Extended Memory Collection. This goes through big chunks of the bible by learning little bits every week. For example this year is the whole of Philippians and this week is Philippians 1:1-2. Both versions provide you with a fill in the blanks section and commentaries to help you. I've decided to attempt to do both, focussing on the Philippians section! But I need your help!!


Whether you're a Christian or not I want you to challenge me at random times to recite those verses which I am learning. Do it on the phone, over FaceBook or text (I promise not to teach) or face to face. If you want to join me then great, let me know and we can test each other! The app is downloadable for iPhone/iPad and Android. If you don't have any phones which support this, let me know and I'll e-mail you the reading plan.


Please pray for me in this. I really will need it. In advance...Thank You!