His Timing Is Perfect

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may find grace for a well-timed help. (Hebrews 4:16, my literal translation)

I know this precious verse is usually translated, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” But that is a paraphrase — a true one — to show that God shows up just when we need him. But the literal focus is on how timely the help is.

All ministry is in the future — a moment away, or a month away, or a year, or a decade. We have ample time to fret about our inadequacy. When this happens, we must turn to prayer.

Prayer is the form of faith that connects us today with the grace that will make us adequate for tomorrow’s ministry. Timing really matters.

What if grace comes too early or comes too late? The traditional translation of Hebrews 4:16 does not make clear a very precious promise in this regard. We need a more literal rendering to see it. The promise is not merely that we find grace “to help in time of need,” but that the grace is well-timed by God.

The point is that prayer is the way to find future grace for a well-timed help. This grace of God always arrives from the “throne of grace” on time. The phrase “throne of grace” means that future grace comes from the King of the universe who sets the times by his own authority (Acts 1:7).

His timing is perfect, but it is rarely ours: “For a thousand years in [his] sight are but as yesterday when it is past” (Psalm 90:4). At the global level, he sets the times for nations to rise and fall (Acts 17:26). And at the personal level, “My times are in [his] hand” (Psalm 31:15).

When we wonder about the timing of future grace, we must think on the “throne of grace.” Nothing can hinder God’s plan to send grace when it will be best for us. Future grace is always well-timed.

John Piper 

Are you doubting your salvation?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A woman told the great evangelist Dwight L. Moody, “I’ve been saved twenty-five years, and I’ve never had one single doubt.” 

He responded, “Madam, I doubt you’ve been saved.”

That would be like a couple saying they’ve been married 50 years and never had an argument. I’d say, “I doubt you’ve been married.”

We all have doubts. You see, doubt is to your spirit what pain is to your body. It is a signal that something is wrong. And just as you seek to find a remedy for your pain, you should seek to find a remedy for your doubts. Jesus is your remedy. Get into His Word and know the assurance of your salvation. It’s not you, it’s Jesus that makes it possible.

ACTION POINT:

Are you doubting your salvation? Then run to Jesus. Soak yourself in these truths from God’s Word:

Romans 10:13,

Ephesians 2:1-10

Titus 3:5

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Grace And Truth

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. - John 1:16-18

4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,

5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing-as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf

8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. - Colossians 1:4-14

1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth,

2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.

4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father.

5 And now I ask you, dear lady-not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning-that we love one another.

6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.

9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,

11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. - 2 John 1:1-11

God’s Grace in Spiritual Gifts

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace. (1 Peter 4:10)

When we use our spiritual gifts, we are stewarding grace — not yesterday’s grace, but today’s, arriving in every moment of need. And this future grace is “varied grace.” It comes in many colors and shapes and sizes. This is one of the reasons spiritual gifts in the body are so diverse. The prism of God’s gifts in your life will refract shades of divine glory that would never come through my prism.

There are as many future graces as there are needs in the body of Christ — and more. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to receive and dispense the future grace of God to those needs.

But someone may ask, “Why do you take Peter to refer to future grace? Doesn’t a steward manage a household store that is already on hand?”

The main reason I take Peter to refer to future grace is because the next verse illustrates how this works, and the reference there is to ongoing supplies of future grace. He says, “Whoever serves, [let him serve] by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:11). The word is “supplies,” not “supplied.” As you serve, serve in the power of the ongoing supply of God’s grace to do what you need to do.

When you fulfill your spiritual gift to serve someone tomorrow, you will be serving “by the strength that God supplies” — and the supply will be tomorrow, not today. “As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25).

God goes on, day-by-day, moment-by-moment, supplying the “strength” in which we minister. He does this because the on-going, inexhaustible supplier of power gets the glory. “Whoever serves, [let him serve] by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

John Piper 

Why do you go through affliction?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God wants to build spiritual steel and rock-solid faith into you. And the way He will do this is through the fire of affliction. Why? To test you. The faith that can’t be tested, can’t be trusted.

The times I have grown the most were not when everything was going fine. The times when we go through sorrow, pressure, and trouble are the growing pains of our lives with Christ. Isn’t that true?  Someone wrote these lines,

“I walked a mile with pleasure, she chatted all the way.

But left me none the wiser, for all she had to say. 

I walked a mile with sorrow and not a word said she. 

But oh the things I learned from her, when sorrow walked with me.”

ACTION POINT:

Are you in the fire of affliction? Trust that He will see you through and make you stronger when the test is over.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power to Profess Christ

With great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4:33)

If our ministry is to witness to Christ tomorrow in some unsympathetic situation, the key will not be our brilliance; the key will be abundant future grace.

Of all people, the apostles seemed to need least help to give a compelling witness to the risen Christ. They had been with him for three years. They had seen him die. They had seen him alive after the crucifixion. In their witnessing arsenal they had “many proofs” (Acts 1:3). You might think that, of all people, their ministry of witnessing, in those early days, would sustain itself on the strength of the past glories that were still so fresh.

But that is not what the book of Acts tells us. The power to witness with faithfulness and effectiveness did not come mainly from memories of grace; it came from the new arrivals of “great grace.” “Great grace was upon them all.” That’s the way it was for the apostles, and that’s the way it will be for us in our ministry of witnessing.

Whatever added signs and wonders God may show to amplify our witness to Christ, they will come the same way they came for Stephen. “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Grace was arriving from God for all that Stephen needed — eventually all that he would need to die.

There is an extraordinary future grace and power that we may bank on in the crisis of special ministry need. It is a fresh act of power by which God “bore witness to the word of his grace” (Acts 14:3; see also Hebrews 2:4). The ever-arriving grace of power bears witness to the ever-given grace of truth.

John Piper 

Collusion or Collision?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Romans 8:16

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A farmer and his farmhand went duck hunting. The farmer said to his friend, “You’re always talking about fighting with the devil. I’m not a Christian, and I never have to fight with the devil.” 

The farmhand answered, “Boss, if you and I shot two ducks, one was wounded and one was dead, which one would you go after first?” 

The farmer said, “Well, I guess the wounded duck.” 

“That’s right. The devil knows you’re a dead duck.”

If the devil doesn’t bother you, it’s because he doesn’t have to bother you since you and he are traveling in the same direction. If you turned around, you’d have a collision with him. Right now, you are in collusion with him.

ACTION POINT:

Are you a child of God? Then praise Him that He has given you the power over Satan and placed you on the pathway to see Him face to face!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers