September 1
Eagles Wings
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never becomes faint or weary; there is no limit to his understanding. 29 He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. 30 Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, 31 but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:27b-31
Every time I go through a trial, I ask God for relief. I’m sure you do too. Many times when we pray for God’s help in a difficult situation, we feel like heaven is silent. It’s like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. “God, why aren’t you responding?”
That's the situation in Isaiah 40. Isaiah's countrymen are in misery (there's a foreign army attacking them). They're calling out to God, and He doesn't seem to be responding. "Am I hidden from you, Lord? Why are you not responding?" Isaiah replies (v. 28, my paraphrase), "Let me tell you about our God: He's eternal. There never was a time when He wasn't alive, around, and aware. And He's the Creator. He made everything, even the parts that seem to be falling apart right now. He's tireless. Don't think for a minute that He isn't responding because He's sitting in a corner, taking a rest. And He's omniscient, there is nothing He doesn't know, see, and understand."
“And you know what this Always-existing, Almighty, All-knowing, Never-tiring, Creator-of-everything does? He gives strength to people like you, who call to Him when you’re in trouble. Sixteen-year-olds can run long distances, but they eventually tire. Seventeen-year-olds can dance and jump with great agility, but they also trip from time to time. But people like you – people who trust God, find super strength whenever they call out to Him. Sometimes, He gives them so much strength, it's like they're flying over their terrible circumstances. At other times, He gives them extra strength so that it feels like they're running through the problem unhindered. At still other times, He gives them just enough strength to stay upright and put one foot in front of the other as they endure their trial day after day."
The God of all grace has three kinds of grace He employs when we’re hurting. Super- abundant grace energizes us to fly. Extraordinary grace empowers us to run. And sustaining grace enables us to endure.
Replay the pivotal verse for a minute: “…those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint” (v. 31). Normally when we talk about modes of transportation, we move from slowest to fastest. We’d expect Isaiah to say, “those who trust in the Lord walk, run, fly.” Not, “fly, run, walk.”
God is using this reversal of the expected order to tell us something about the way He works. Usually, when we're in trouble, we want God to remove the trouble miraculously.
We want super-abundant strength to make the problem go away. Isaiah is saying, "That's not the normal way God does things. He is more interested in helping us develop faith and character than He is in alleviating our ailment. Pain is one of the tools He uses to help us grow. When we're in a trial, we want instant relief. And sometimes God gives it. But not often." 1 Pet. 1:6-7 says, “…now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire.…”
Isaiah continues, “More often, when we call out in our pain, instead of super-abundant strength, God gives extraordinary empowerment. Instead of letting us fly over our problem, He empowers us to run through it with less effort than we’d expect.” (I believe that’s what I experienced when my sister died. I had only been a Christian a short while. God shielded me from the full force of the pain because of my young faith and young age.)
Isaiah 40:31 is saying, "Sometimes when we pray, we get super-abundant strength to soar over our situation. More often, we get extraordinary empowerment to run through
it. But, most often, when we pray, God uses the situation we are in to build faith and character by giving us grace to endure each day, so that we're able to walk and not faint in the midst of our sorrow."
Father, thank You for always hearing, always responding, and always doing what's best for me. Given the choice, I always want to fly over my problems. Thank You for giving me what I need more than what I want, to help me grow through every situation. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Every time I go through a trial, I ask God for relief. I’m sure you do too. Many times when we pray for God’s help in a difficult situation, we feel like heaven is silent. It’s like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. “God, why aren’t you responding?”
That's the situation in Isaiah 40. Isaiah's countrymen are in misery (there's a foreign army attacking them). They're calling out to God, and He doesn't seem to be responding. "Am I hidden from you, Lord? Why are you not responding?" Isaiah replies (v. 28, my paraphrase), "Let me tell you about our God: He's eternal. There never was a time when He wasn't alive, around, and aware. And He's the Creator. He made everything, even the parts that seem to be falling apart right now. He's tireless. Don't think for a minute that He isn't responding because He's sitting in a corner, taking a rest. And He's omniscient, there is nothing He doesn't know, see, and understand."
“And you know what this Always-existing, Almighty, All-knowing, Never-tiring, Creator-of-everything does? He gives strength to people like you, who call to Him when you’re in trouble. Sixteen-year-olds can run long distances, but they eventually tire. Seventeen-year-olds can dance and jump with great agility, but they also trip from time to time. But people like you – people who trust God, find super strength whenever they call out to Him. Sometimes, He gives them so much strength, it's like they're flying over their terrible circumstances. At other times, He gives them extra strength so that it feels like they're running through the problem unhindered. At still other times, He gives them just enough strength to stay upright and put one foot in front of the other as they endure their trial day after day."
The God of all grace has three kinds of grace He employs when we’re hurting. Super- abundant grace energizes us to fly. Extraordinary grace empowers us to run. And sustaining grace enables us to endure.
Replay the pivotal verse for a minute: “…those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint” (v. 31). Normally when we talk about modes of transportation, we move from slowest to fastest. We’d expect Isaiah to say, “those who trust in the Lord walk, run, fly.” Not, “fly, run, walk.”
God is using this reversal of the expected order to tell us something about the way He works. Usually, when we're in trouble, we want God to remove the trouble miraculously.
We want super-abundant strength to make the problem go away. Isaiah is saying, "That's not the normal way God does things. He is more interested in helping us develop faith and character than He is in alleviating our ailment. Pain is one of the tools He uses to help us grow. When we're in a trial, we want instant relief. And sometimes God gives it. But not often." 1 Pet. 1:6-7 says, “…now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire.…”
Isaiah continues, “More often, when we call out in our pain, instead of super-abundant strength, God gives extraordinary empowerment. Instead of letting us fly over our problem, He empowers us to run through it with less effort than we’d expect.” (I believe that’s what I experienced when my sister died. I had only been a Christian a short while. God shielded me from the full force of the pain because of my young faith and young age.)
Isaiah 40:31 is saying, "Sometimes when we pray, we get super-abundant strength to soar over our situation. More often, we get extraordinary empowerment to run through
it. But, most often, when we pray, God uses the situation we are in to build faith and character by giving us grace to endure each day, so that we're able to walk and not faint in the midst of our sorrow."
Father, thank You for always hearing, always responding, and always doing what's best for me. Given the choice, I always want to fly over my problems. Thank You for giving me what I need more than what I want, to help me grow through every situation. In Jesus' name, Amen!
September 2
Sustaining Grace
2 Corinthians 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Part of last week’s learning was that sometimes our suffering is a form of grace, coming because God is disciplining us as sons.
Fortunately, God also gives a second kind of grace during those times. It's called Sustaining Grace. Sustaining grace is what’s needed when life is coming at you like a 30-mile-an-hour medicine ball.
The Apostle Paul knew all about this. He called his medicine ball, “A thorn in the flesh.” “A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
Theologians debate what that “thorn in the flesh” might have been. Some think Paul had knee problems, a painful challenge for a man who walked over 9,000 miles on his missionary journeys. Others think he had an overactive thyroid, a condition leading to a racing heart rate, weight loss, anxiety, heat intolerance, and bulging eyes – an embarrassment for anyone trying to introduce themselves to a new group of people every few months. Still others think he had epilepsy, a less-than-endearing condition when you're trying to preach, and suddenly you fall to the ground shaking.
Whatever “the thorn” was, Paul asked God to remove it, and He didn’t. Instead of curing Paul, God gave him sustaining grace.
Once Paul realized that his thorn was never going to be removed, he embraced it, saying, “Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).
As Paul prayed, he heard the Lord say, "I'm not going to heal you of this, Paul. I'm going to walk with you in it. And sustain you through it, all the way to the grave." I experienced sustaining grace during the months following my sister’s death. She was seventeen. I was fourteen.
The day after her passing is a blur to me now, but I remember the first day I returned to school. A friend’s parents drove me. Just before I got out of the car, my friend’s mother asked, “How are you doing with the loss of your sister?”
I said, “I think I’m doing better than I should be.” I couldn’t put a name to it, but what I was experiencing was sustaining grace. I had become a Christian just ten months earlier. This was my first exposure to how God works with His children in pain.
Sustaining grace is like a supernatural Advil for the soul. You know what’s happening, but, like we learned yesterday from Isaiah 40, you’re able to run and not grow weary, or walk and not faint.
Pray this:
Lord, I believe that in every circumstance Your grace is, and always will be, sufficient for me. Thank You for sustaining me with grace all the days of my life. Sustain me in my circumstances today, and if possible, cause me to mount up on wings like an eagle, or barring that, enable me to say with Paul, “I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Part of last week’s learning was that sometimes our suffering is a form of grace, coming because God is disciplining us as sons.
Fortunately, God also gives a second kind of grace during those times. It's called Sustaining Grace. Sustaining grace is what’s needed when life is coming at you like a 30-mile-an-hour medicine ball.
The Apostle Paul knew all about this. He called his medicine ball, “A thorn in the flesh.” “A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:7-9).
Theologians debate what that “thorn in the flesh” might have been. Some think Paul had knee problems, a painful challenge for a man who walked over 9,000 miles on his missionary journeys. Others think he had an overactive thyroid, a condition leading to a racing heart rate, weight loss, anxiety, heat intolerance, and bulging eyes – an embarrassment for anyone trying to introduce themselves to a new group of people every few months. Still others think he had epilepsy, a less-than-endearing condition when you're trying to preach, and suddenly you fall to the ground shaking.
Whatever “the thorn” was, Paul asked God to remove it, and He didn’t. Instead of curing Paul, God gave him sustaining grace.
Once Paul realized that his thorn was never going to be removed, he embraced it, saying, “Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10).
As Paul prayed, he heard the Lord say, "I'm not going to heal you of this, Paul. I'm going to walk with you in it. And sustain you through it, all the way to the grave." I experienced sustaining grace during the months following my sister’s death. She was seventeen. I was fourteen.
The day after her passing is a blur to me now, but I remember the first day I returned to school. A friend’s parents drove me. Just before I got out of the car, my friend’s mother asked, “How are you doing with the loss of your sister?”
I said, “I think I’m doing better than I should be.” I couldn’t put a name to it, but what I was experiencing was sustaining grace. I had become a Christian just ten months earlier. This was my first exposure to how God works with His children in pain.
Sustaining grace is like a supernatural Advil for the soul. You know what’s happening, but, like we learned yesterday from Isaiah 40, you’re able to run and not grow weary, or walk and not faint.
Pray this:
Lord, I believe that in every circumstance Your grace is, and always will be, sufficient for me. Thank You for sustaining me with grace all the days of my life. Sustain me in my circumstances today, and if possible, cause me to mount up on wings like an eagle, or barring that, enable me to say with Paul, “I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” In Jesus’ name, Amen!
September 3
Insightful Grace
James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. James 1:5
Grace is a gift, given without regard for the merits of the recipient, but because of the generosity of the giver. One particular type of grace we haven’t talked about yet is
Insightful Grace.
In times when you don't know what to do, the Apostle James suggests that you ask God for wisdom. His promise is, "If you ask, it will be given."
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
After Paul pleaded three times for the Lord to take away his thorn in the flesh, (2 Cor. 12:8), God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). God was giving Paul the gift of insight into his situation. Knowing there was a purpose for his pain enabled Paul to persevere.
Prayer
I was leading a newly forming college ministry for my church in Santa Barbara. During my Quiet Time, I asked the Lord, "What else should I do to grow this college ministry?"
God whispered to me, "Send a bus up to Westmont on Sunday mornings."
Our church had a bus, used mostly for youth trips. On Sundays, it sat idle in the church parking lot. Nobody was using it. So I phoned Hans, a member of the church with a bus license, and asked, "Would you be willing to take the bus up to Westmont on Sundays?" He was!
My next call was to Westmont College. “If I sent a bus to your school to bring students to my church on Sunday, where should it pick them up?”
“Outside the cafeteria” was the reply.
“And is there a way you can advertise this for us?”
“Sure. We’ll put a notice in our weekly news.”
It was as simple as that. The next Sunday, forty Westmont students boarded the bus and became part of our church. God’s whisper to me was insightful grace for me, for those
students, and for our church.
The Bible
Sometimes God will whisper to you out of the blue. More often, He’ll whisper to you when you’re praying. And most often, He’ll come to you through reading Scripture. While reading a portion of the Bible, God will show you universal principles that you can apply in lots of situations. And sometimes He'll show you a specific principle that pertains to your current situation.
Memorizing Scripture will take you to an even higher level of insightful grace. Every verse you commit to memory is a mental anchor the Lord can use to direct your path.
Often when I'm in a situation that needs wisdom, a Scripture I've memorized pops into my head. Memorizing Scripture makes God's Word portable to you. Wherever you go, you carry snippets of divine revelation in your head.
Advice from Others
A third way God gives insightful grace is through the insights of others. This is one reason I like Life Groups so much. In group Bible study, you get to hear godly insights from other members of the body of Christ. Sometimes what other members of my Life Group observe from a Scripture is exactly what I need to hear to help me in my current situation.
Father, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Holy Spirit, thank You for whispering when I need direction. I’m listening for Your voice today as I pray, and as I read and reflect on Your Scriptures. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Grace is a gift, given without regard for the merits of the recipient, but because of the generosity of the giver. One particular type of grace we haven’t talked about yet is
Insightful Grace.
In times when you don't know what to do, the Apostle James suggests that you ask God for wisdom. His promise is, "If you ask, it will be given."
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
After Paul pleaded three times for the Lord to take away his thorn in the flesh, (2 Cor. 12:8), God responded, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). God was giving Paul the gift of insight into his situation. Knowing there was a purpose for his pain enabled Paul to persevere.
Prayer
I was leading a newly forming college ministry for my church in Santa Barbara. During my Quiet Time, I asked the Lord, "What else should I do to grow this college ministry?"
God whispered to me, "Send a bus up to Westmont on Sunday mornings."
Our church had a bus, used mostly for youth trips. On Sundays, it sat idle in the church parking lot. Nobody was using it. So I phoned Hans, a member of the church with a bus license, and asked, "Would you be willing to take the bus up to Westmont on Sundays?" He was!
My next call was to Westmont College. “If I sent a bus to your school to bring students to my church on Sunday, where should it pick them up?”
“Outside the cafeteria” was the reply.
“And is there a way you can advertise this for us?”
“Sure. We’ll put a notice in our weekly news.”
It was as simple as that. The next Sunday, forty Westmont students boarded the bus and became part of our church. God’s whisper to me was insightful grace for me, for those
students, and for our church.
The Bible
Sometimes God will whisper to you out of the blue. More often, He’ll whisper to you when you’re praying. And most often, He’ll come to you through reading Scripture. While reading a portion of the Bible, God will show you universal principles that you can apply in lots of situations. And sometimes He'll show you a specific principle that pertains to your current situation.
Memorizing Scripture will take you to an even higher level of insightful grace. Every verse you commit to memory is a mental anchor the Lord can use to direct your path.
Often when I'm in a situation that needs wisdom, a Scripture I've memorized pops into my head. Memorizing Scripture makes God's Word portable to you. Wherever you go, you carry snippets of divine revelation in your head.
Advice from Others
A third way God gives insightful grace is through the insights of others. This is one reason I like Life Groups so much. In group Bible study, you get to hear godly insights from other members of the body of Christ. Sometimes what other members of my Life Group observe from a Scripture is exactly what I need to hear to help me in my current situation.
Father, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Holy Spirit, thank You for whispering when I need direction. I’m listening for Your voice today as I pray, and as I read and reflect on Your Scriptures. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
September 4
How to Multiply Grace
2 Peter 1:2
May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2
According to Scripture, there are two ways to increase the amount of grace in your life. One of them is good, but it is good to avoid.
According to Romans 5:20, one way to increase grace is to sin more. You read that right. “The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more…” (Rom. 5:20). This is the “to be avoided” way to multiply grace. Romans 6:1b says, “Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
The positive way to increase grace is to get to know Jesus more. The Apostle Peter’s benediction for us all is, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet. 1:2).
Getting to know Jesus more is personal and practical.
To know Him more personally, you interact with Him personally. People who know Jesus well start their day off with a two-way conversation with Him, often called a "Quiet Time." From ten minutes to two hours, they speak to Jesus through prayer and listen to Him by reading and studying His Word. People who are really intimate with Jesus talk and listen to Him constantly throughout the day. They treat Him as a companion in every task. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 encourages Christians to "pray without ceasing.” If you haven’t gotten to this point in your relationship with Jesus, you might set this as a goal.
There's an old song that goes, "Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before." The increased sweetness comes from increased awareness of Him, with you in every moment.
Full disclosure: The amount of grace you receive doesn't actually increase. It's already infinite, because He is infinite. The increase comes not in amount, but in appreciation and awareness.
When you invite Jesus into your life, you receive unmerited favor in all things, absolutely. He forgives all your sins, past, present, and future. He walks with you, guides you, empowers and provides for you absolutely every minute.
There’s a case to be made that a Christian who ignores Jesus, or is only vaguely aware of Him much of the time, receives less provision and blessing because they are less aware of Him. But when you start thinking about grace as a never-ending resource available all the time, everywhere, in limitless measure, it gets a bit mind-boggling to figure out how
you can possibly squeeze more of it out of a limitless source.
So, today I'll leave it to you to think about whether it's possible to multiply grace in your life or not, and just offer you this benediction: May grace and peace be multiplied to
you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (2 Pet. 1:2).
Lord Jesus, if You have more grace available for me, I want it! Help me today to have eyes to see all the grace You are giving me, and how good You always are to me. And my deeper prayer is, Lord, use me to be a delivery system for Your grace to others today. Let Your grace flow through me to everyone I encounter. In Jesus' name, Amen!
According to Scripture, there are two ways to increase the amount of grace in your life. One of them is good, but it is good to avoid.
According to Romans 5:20, one way to increase grace is to sin more. You read that right. “The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more…” (Rom. 5:20). This is the “to be avoided” way to multiply grace. Romans 6:1b says, “Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
The positive way to increase grace is to get to know Jesus more. The Apostle Peter’s benediction for us all is, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Pet. 1:2).
Getting to know Jesus more is personal and practical.
To know Him more personally, you interact with Him personally. People who know Jesus well start their day off with a two-way conversation with Him, often called a "Quiet Time." From ten minutes to two hours, they speak to Jesus through prayer and listen to Him by reading and studying His Word. People who are really intimate with Jesus talk and listen to Him constantly throughout the day. They treat Him as a companion in every task. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 encourages Christians to "pray without ceasing.” If you haven’t gotten to this point in your relationship with Jesus, you might set this as a goal.
There's an old song that goes, "Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before." The increased sweetness comes from increased awareness of Him, with you in every moment.
Full disclosure: The amount of grace you receive doesn't actually increase. It's already infinite, because He is infinite. The increase comes not in amount, but in appreciation and awareness.
When you invite Jesus into your life, you receive unmerited favor in all things, absolutely. He forgives all your sins, past, present, and future. He walks with you, guides you, empowers and provides for you absolutely every minute.
There’s a case to be made that a Christian who ignores Jesus, or is only vaguely aware of Him much of the time, receives less provision and blessing because they are less aware of Him. But when you start thinking about grace as a never-ending resource available all the time, everywhere, in limitless measure, it gets a bit mind-boggling to figure out how
you can possibly squeeze more of it out of a limitless source.
So, today I'll leave it to you to think about whether it's possible to multiply grace in your life or not, and just offer you this benediction: May grace and peace be multiplied to
you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (2 Pet. 1:2).
Lord Jesus, if You have more grace available for me, I want it! Help me today to have eyes to see all the grace You are giving me, and how good You always are to me. And my deeper prayer is, Lord, use me to be a delivery system for Your grace to others today. Let Your grace flow through me to everyone I encounter. In Jesus' name, Amen!
September 5
Establishing Grace
Psalms 90:17
Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish for us the work of our hands— establish the work of our hands! Psalm 90:17
People think of Moses as the great leader and liberator of the people of Israel, but he was also a great writer. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. He also wrote Psalm 90, which is the oldest song in history.
Psalm 90 is about the eternal nature of God and the short-term nature of people. Moses was close to 120 years old when he wrote it, so he knew some things about longevity.
He’s Long
The psalm starts with the timelessness of God: “Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God” (Ps. 90:1-2).
We’re Short
Compare that to the fleetingness of humans: “You return mankind to the dust, saying, ‘Return, descendants of Adam'" (Ps. 90:3).
It returns to God’s timelessness: “For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night” (Ps. 90:4).
In the middle of the psalm (vs. 8-9), Moses reminds us that human life is not only short, it's marred by sin. Moses is saying that a short life, lived by a flawed person, can easily amount to zero accomplishments. Like lifting your thumb from a glass of water, once it's out, there's no evidence it was ever there in the first place.
The Establishment Clause
Moses doesn’t want his life, or the life of his people, to end like that. So he closes the prayer by asking the Lord to let “the work of our hands” be “established.” “Establish for us the work of our hands – establish the work of our hands!” (Ps. 90:17).
Another form of grace to add to your list is establishing grace. Establishing grace is grace that enables what you’ve done to have value, to count for good, and to last beyond
your lifetime.
As of this writing, New Song Church has been doing good work for thirty-three years. When Lori and I first started the church, we didn't think much about the future. We wanted to help a lot of people come to Christ, but we didn't think far enough to imagine people coming to Christ even after we're gone. Now, our desire is that God use New Song for generations to come. We're praying with Moses for Establishing Grace. As parents, you want God to “establish the work of your hands” in the lives of your children, and their children, and their children, and their children for as many generations as life lasts.
So here’s the question for today: Besides establishing a family legacy of multiple generations, what other good things do you want God to “establish” through the work of your hands, hopefully beyond your lifespan? Ask Him for this as you pray today.
Lord, my life here on earth won't be very long compared to eternity, but there are a few things I want to ask You to make last from my efforts here. [List those efforts now, and tell Him how you’d like His grace to “establish” them for years to come.] In Jesus’ name, Amen!
People think of Moses as the great leader and liberator of the people of Israel, but he was also a great writer. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. He also wrote Psalm 90, which is the oldest song in history.
Psalm 90 is about the eternal nature of God and the short-term nature of people. Moses was close to 120 years old when he wrote it, so he knew some things about longevity.
He’s Long
The psalm starts with the timelessness of God: “Lord, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God” (Ps. 90:1-2).
We’re Short
Compare that to the fleetingness of humans: “You return mankind to the dust, saying, ‘Return, descendants of Adam'" (Ps. 90:3).
It returns to God’s timelessness: “For in your sight a thousand years are like yesterday that passes by, like a few hours of the night” (Ps. 90:4).
In the middle of the psalm (vs. 8-9), Moses reminds us that human life is not only short, it's marred by sin. Moses is saying that a short life, lived by a flawed person, can easily amount to zero accomplishments. Like lifting your thumb from a glass of water, once it's out, there's no evidence it was ever there in the first place.
The Establishment Clause
Moses doesn’t want his life, or the life of his people, to end like that. So he closes the prayer by asking the Lord to let “the work of our hands” be “established.” “Establish for us the work of our hands – establish the work of our hands!” (Ps. 90:17).
Another form of grace to add to your list is establishing grace. Establishing grace is grace that enables what you’ve done to have value, to count for good, and to last beyond
your lifetime.
As of this writing, New Song Church has been doing good work for thirty-three years. When Lori and I first started the church, we didn't think much about the future. We wanted to help a lot of people come to Christ, but we didn't think far enough to imagine people coming to Christ even after we're gone. Now, our desire is that God use New Song for generations to come. We're praying with Moses for Establishing Grace. As parents, you want God to “establish the work of your hands” in the lives of your children, and their children, and their children, and their children for as many generations as life lasts.
So here’s the question for today: Besides establishing a family legacy of multiple generations, what other good things do you want God to “establish” through the work of your hands, hopefully beyond your lifespan? Ask Him for this as you pray today.
Lord, my life here on earth won't be very long compared to eternity, but there are a few things I want to ask You to make last from my efforts here. [List those efforts now, and tell Him how you’d like His grace to “establish” them for years to come.] In Jesus’ name, Amen!
September 6
The Goodness of God
Romans 11:33-36
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? 35 And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33-36
I didn't want you to conclude this week's readings without a reminder of how good and gracious God is. Throughout the week we’ve been learning about several forms of His grace:
Sustaining Grace (2 Cor. 12:9); Superabundant, Extraordinary, and Enduring Grace (Is. 40:31); Insightful Grace (Jas. 1:5); Multiplying Grace (2 Pet. 1:2); and Establishing Grace (Ps.
90:17) are being poured out on your everyday!
Read the header passage above, slowly, and think about all the manifestations of grace mentioned there. Which of these graces is most precious to you at this moment?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Which of this week’s readings encouraged you the most, and why?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Are you experiencing Sustaining Grace these days? If so, record your thoughts about it to remind your future self how you're feeling, and what you're experiencing in this
season: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Choose a verse to memorize from 2 Cor. 12:9, Isa. 40:31, Jas. 1:5, 2 Pet. 2:1 and Ps. 90:17.
Start by writing it out word-perfect here: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I didn't want you to conclude this week's readings without a reminder of how good and gracious God is. Throughout the week we’ve been learning about several forms of His grace:
Sustaining Grace (2 Cor. 12:9); Superabundant, Extraordinary, and Enduring Grace (Is. 40:31); Insightful Grace (Jas. 1:5); Multiplying Grace (2 Pet. 1:2); and Establishing Grace (Ps.
90:17) are being poured out on your everyday!
Read the header passage above, slowly, and think about all the manifestations of grace mentioned there. Which of these graces is most precious to you at this moment?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Which of this week’s readings encouraged you the most, and why?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Are you experiencing Sustaining Grace these days? If so, record your thoughts about it to remind your future self how you're feeling, and what you're experiencing in this
season: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Choose a verse to memorize from 2 Cor. 12:9, Isa. 40:31, Jas. 1:5, 2 Pet. 2:1 and Ps. 90:17.
Start by writing it out word-perfect here: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________