Tripp starts it off with this statement:

I simply must not underestimate sin and I simply cannot overestimate grace.

It is easy to be blind to my own sin and be hyper-vigilant about someone else’s. It is easy to downplay my own sin but magnify another’s. There is a shield over my eyes. Blinders. A veil when it comes to my own sin. But it’s like I have a magnifying glass or a microscope on another’s. Not seeing my need for grace is a dangerous hole to fall into. Tripp pretty much lays it on the line:

Denying my need for grace and underestimating the power of what that grace can do never, ever leads to anything good…People who deny sin tend to not progressively conquer it, and people who devalue grace tend not to run to it for help.

Which one am I? Well…both at times. There are times I wear blinders on my eyes and see myself as better than I really am. I then see others as worse than they really are. It is easy to become self-righteous and not see myself as God sees me. It is at that point grace becomes a non-issue with me because I think I don’t need it.  You do but not me!

“Father, forgive me for my self-righteousness, for my failure to see my sin and myself as you see me. I NEED your grace! Help me to always see that and never get ‘right’ in my own eyes.”

This past weekend I’ve been reading a book by Laura Story-When God Doesn’t Fix-It. It’s the story of what happened when her husband of one year had a brain tumor that has resulted in long-term (lifetime at this juncture of the book) disability, particularly of his short term memory. It parallels what Tripp talk about in the devotion:

“Could it be that the ‘care’ that we often cry out for is not the care we really need?”

No one would want to experience what Laura and her husband have. She cried out for healing for him. But healing as she wanted was not to come. What she has learned is the principle Tripp talk about here: While we may not like God’s way of working, His ways are most effective. As with the Israelites, He brought trouble to bring their hearts back to Him, so He often does the same for us. While I may not like what He has done, is doing, or may do, He always has a purpose: to draw me to Him. This is especially true when it comes to sin. He doesn’t tolerate it so His desire is for me to be His alone. So His work in me is to turn me to Him.

“Father, as Laura has learned, so must I: Your work is not always what I want. It is always what you know is best. Draw me to you. Help me to see with your eyes, not my own, what it is you want me to learn.”

Here is the song Laura wrote which came out of her brokenness and learning: https://youtu.be/Cd6J6Wgnv4M

If you want a simple and plain and clear Gospel presentation read today’s devotion.  He begins with this:

The life we couldn’t live, he lived for us. The death we should have died, he died for us. The new life we need, he gives to us.

I like what he says. “If I don’t understand and accept the gravity of my condition and my inability to alter it, the Bible, and particularly the work of Christ, will make no sense to me at all.” After asking a bunch of “why?” questions he says a very simple thing: Here are the “why? questions:

• Why did God go to the history-shaping extent of sending his Son to earth?
• Why was it necessary for Jesus to live a completely perfect life for 33 years?
• Why was it important for him to walk in my shoes and experience the full range of temptations that I face?
• Why was it vital for him to suffer and die?
• Why did there absolutely have to be a resurrection?

Why?

The answers can be found by tracing a thread that runs throughout the Bible. God went to this radical extent because there was no other way.

No other way. There had to be a Savior because there was nothing I could do to save myself. Nor you. God sent His Son to do what we would not do. ‘Nuff said.

“Father, thank you for the gospel truth. I’m a sinner and I needed a Savior. You sent your Son to take care of what needed to be taken care of.  Words cannot thank you enough.”

The issue Tripp deals with is common to all. Me especially. It isn’t that I don’t want to grow in my faith. I do. I want each day to learn something new. But, in all honesty, I don’t. I can’t say it isn’t for lack of trying. Each day I have a Quiet Time. It consists of the following:

• Reading the daily thought from Our Daily Bread to get started.
• Reading from Tripp’s book A Shelter in the Time of Storm. It will take me all year to read through since I take one devotion a week (it has 52) and reread it each day to soak it in.
• Currently reading from John Piper’s Christmas devotional, The Dawning of Indestructible Joy. I will read it through 2 more times (November and December). and will read it alongside O Come Let Us Adore Him by Tripp come December.
• Reading a passage from the NT. I am currently in Revelation 2 so it looks like I will finish my read through of the NT by the end of the year.
• New Morning Mercies. This is my second time through it and I make an effort to journal each day with my thoughts here. I also send it to a select group of men every day.

So I make a concerted effort to grow my faith. But honestly, sometimes that all feels like a drag. That’s right…a drag. That is when I realize my QT has become more rote than revelatory (in a good way). But I keep doing it because the clouds will break and a new day will dawn. I rely on the truth of the Scripture which says God’s Word will not return void. I figure that even if I am not showing phenomenal growth, I am growing. It will come to light some day. God’s grace and truth will transform and will continue to transform my life even when I don’t feel it.

“Father, you have promised your Word will not return void. In all my reading, help me not to get ‘tired’ but to be revived. Help me to see new truths. The old hymn said, ‘Open my eyes that I may see/Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me/Place in my hand the wonderful key/That shall unclasp and set me free/Silently now I wait for Thee/Ready my God Thy will to see/Open my eyes, illumine me,Spirit Divine.’ I can only say ‘Amen’ to those words.”

Jo is retired. She wishes I was but knows I can’t. There are two reasons for that. One practical. One not so.

The practical one is easy. I can’t afford it. I was never taught good money management skills. Ever.  There were times I would try. I would read Larry Burkett’s material (when he was alive) and vow to be a better manager. But I never did get rid of the almighty credit card. Change came in late 2004/early 2005 when I heard of and read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. I finally got serious and cut up all my credit cards and stopped living on credit. I finally paid off our whopping credit card debt in 2009. I took other steps but as time has moved on, I have strayed from the discipline needed to stay debt free (except for the house). I was there once. I still don’t use a credit card but do have credit which I am committing to paying off early.  I’m not trying to downgrade Jo but I haven’t had much help in that department.

The other is I like working. I can take it easy only so long. I get stir crazy sitting around. I love what I do. I love being a pastor. I love preaching. I love studying. I love being with people. The only thing I would want more time to do is cycle, but I think Jo might have something to say about that! 🙂

All that to say that Tripp’s devotion struck a nerve. Why do I work? Is it all about me? Do I reduce it all down to my wants, my needs, and my feelings? But it does raise a question: am I unwilling to retire because my identity is wrapped up in being a pastor? If I wasn’t doing that what else would I do? Would I be fulfilled doing something else? Or nothing at all? It’s going to take me some time to figure that one out.

“Father, I thank you for work. I thank you for a job I love and have never wanted to do anything else. But I pray that my identity is not wrapped up in my work. My identity is in You. Let my work be for your glory and your grace.”

I am never alone. I am NEVER alone. I am N.E.V.E.R  alone! I could repeat that over and over. I should repeat that over and over. I think of Psalm 27:1- “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

I think of Matthew 28:20: “I will be with you till the end of the age.”

How about the words of Moses in Deut.31? “The Lord your God Himself will go before you. He will destroy these nations before you…Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave or forsake you.” (verses 3,6)

The promise God made then is still in effect today. He goes with me. That’s a game-changer for me. I’m not alone. I’m NEVER alone. God never leaves me to fend for myself. There’s an old saying, “Where God guides, God provides.” Most importantly: He gives Himself. It’s not a hand-off of a football to a running back and saying, “Here. Run with it.” No. I see it as more of a hand-off with Him running interference with me. Not for me. With me. He and I are joined together forever. FOREVER.

“Father, thank you that when you ask me to do something I am NEVER alone doing it. You go with me. I have nothing to fear.”

I think sometimes people make the life of a Christ-follower entirely too complicated. They make it a list of rules and regulations, of do’s and don’ts, of tradtions, dogmas, creeds, and liturgies (see Colossians 1). Grace is not that complicated! In fact, it is the exact opposite.

Tripp says, “Grace changes everything.” In fact, grace has made two things very sure:

1. It has made me sure God exists.
2. It has made me sure God rewards those who seek Him.

After reading Hebrews 11 again, I am sure of one thing: the reward He gives is so much more than what we think-money, fame, success. Grace becomes a closeness to Him. Grace becomes a satisfaction in Him. Grace becomes a settledness in Him. This is so different from the “name it claim it” garbage.

Grace is a myth-busting, paradigm-breaking, life-changing, perspective-realigning act of a good and loving Father. A God who put grace on a pedestal and said, “This is for you. Take it. Go after grace.”

“Father, thank you for grace. Thank you that you have removed the need to strive after rules and regulations; observe traditions; adhere to dogma; memorize creeds; perform. Grace takes all that away. Help me to live in the freedom of your grace.”

“The more I meditate on my problems, the bigger and more insurmountable they seem to be.”

I think it is a natural, i.e. human thing, to focus on what is right in front of me. If in front of me is a mountain, things seem insurmountable.  But I’ve learned to do something when I see a hill in front of me when cycling. As I approach it from a distance, the hill seems huge. It looks ominous. I see it from a distance and it’s easy to go, “Oh man.” That brings with it an “almost” feeling of defeat. But I keep telling myself as I get closer and as I start to climb these words: “The only people who have ever climbed this have all done it the same way-one pedal stroke at a time.” Because of my physical structure (height and weight) and age, I’m a slow climber. I will never set a land speed record climbing. But the way I see it- it isn’t how fast I climb that matters; it’s whether I complete the climb.

I can focus on the hill or I can focus on the crest. One pedal stroke at a time. It depends on my focus. Life is the same way. I can choose to focus on my problems, or I can choose to focus on the God who helps me through them. As the psalmist said, “…I meditate on all you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land…Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust…Teach me to do your will for you are my God!”

“And that is my prayer this morning, Father. I can’t add to more of what the psalmist said.  My prayer is to focus on You. Let me thoughts be captured by You, not my problems.”

As I read this devotion my mind went back to a song we sang during our worship yesterday:

“Forbid it Lord that I should boast

Save in the death of Christ my God

All the vain things that charm me most

I sacrifice them to His blood.”

Those words impacted me yesterday. As I read this devotion those words came flooding back. Paul said, “May I never boast except in the cross of Christ.” (Gal.6:14). I have NOTHING to boast about. NOTHING to brag about. NOTHING to hold up as a “marker” of religiosity. My righteousness is empty, dirty filthy rags (so Isaiah says). Tripp calls it the “grand delusion.”  Grand delusion = taking credit for what only grace can produce.

When will I learn? There is no reason to boast. There is nothing for which I can take credit. He deserves all the honor, praise, and worship. I say often, but not lightly right now: It is truly ALL ABOUT HIM.

“Father, it truly is about You. Today, let me start all over again living and breathing You. My daily need is for you to be Lord. My daily need is for You to take the lead in our relationship. I have nothing. I feel like Wyatt Earp at the end of Tombstone: “I have nothing to offer. I’m broke. But if you let me love you I’ll love you forever.” (Paraphrase). She answers, “That’s alright. My family is rich.” And that is what you say to me when I come in surrender. You tell me “I got this.” So I rely on the riches of your mercy and grace.”

Patience. Not one of my easiest (translated: strongest) virtues. I mean, I have patience…to a point. There are some things I’m very patient about. There are others I’m not. It is funny but I’m often more patient with God than I am with myself and other people. I have learned that God moves in His time and for His purpose. I can’t rush Him. I can’t threaten Him. I can’t blackmail Him. But I am often impatient with people…and myself.

But let’s talk about God’s patience. The main thrust is this: God’s patience is what gives time for His grace to do His work.

• God was patient in getting all things ready for the birth of His Son. “In the fullness of time…”
• God was patient with Israel. How many time were they faithless and drifted off, pursuing idols?
• Jesus was patient with His disciples. Did He ever get exasperated with them? Roll His eyes? Look up into heaven with a frustrated sigh? I don’t know. All I do know is He was extremely patient with them.
• And I know He is patient with me. Why He hasn’t wanted to quit on me astounds me. Why He has stuck around amazes me. And yet, He does.

“Father, I can’t find the words to say ‘Thank you.’ Your patience simply blows me away. help me to see daily your patience with me. Help me to have open eyes to see your work in me. And when I want to change or wonder why it isn’t happening quicker, help me to have patience.”