Mountaintop Musings

When I arrived at church this past Sunday, there were some there whose faith and emotions had been terribly upended. They had found out about the couple who had lived in Lincoln that had many struggles which resulted in their lives being shortened by death this past weekend. I did not know this couple but my heart goes out to them and their families. I have had similar pain in my life and family. We were all very sad to hear of this, and prayed for the children, family and friends left behind to sort out the myriad of emotions and anguish that haunts a family and community after such things happen. I always go to the thoughts of, where were these people in terms of their relationship to Jesus. Had they ever personally received Him in to their lives by faith and been the recipients of the extravagant grace and freedom that Jesus brings in to a life? I do not know…God knows.

I do know that when we frail and sometimes confused humans receive the blinding grace of freedom and forgiveness that can only come from God, it will change us, help us, empower us and lead us out of the darkness into the glorious light of Jesus. The following is mostly an excerpt from Dr. Tony Evans’ devotional of June 11, 2018. I think it speaks powerfully in to our world this week.

“Did you know that grace gives you the ability to either override or to work through adverse circumstances in your life? We all face things that seem difficult to overcome: problems, pain, frustrations, and people. Sometimes, it looks like we are being overridden by that which appears to be out of our control. What grace does is it comes alongside of us either to override something or to take us through something that seems to be overwhelming. You take the law of gravity which holds us down, and you take the law of aerodynamics which lifts us up. It doesn’t cancel the law of gravity, but it does override it so that we can fly in an airplane even though the law of gravity is still working.

We have three enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil, and they are all trying to push us down and bring us to defeat. Enter grace. The Holy Spirit uses grace to add a new law to the way we function as followers of Jesus Christ. He lifts us above while not necessarily canceling the law of sin and death that wants to hold us down.

When you think about grace, think about its wings—its ability to lift us up and take us beyond what our experience is saying we have to live under and be controlled by. I wish I could say that to follow Christ means all your problems will disappear, but the reality is that some of your problems don’t even show up until you actually become a follower of Christ. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Grace is an overcoming empowerment that provides strength that comes in one of three ways. It is strength to be delivered from; strength to be moved through or it is strength to be changed in the midst of. Any of those three have the same result. Strength you didn’t have initially until Someone from heaven joined you on earth to help you lift the weight that appeared too heavy. Grace gives you the power to overcome.”

If you are feeling trapped, lonely, depressed, or at your end there are many in your community who want to help you. The people of God are here for you. Please call me or talk to your Pastor if you have one. Life is a struggle but there are real Jesus followers who will help you if given the chance. You really have everything to gain; unconditional love, freedom from sin, a church family that will love you. The Bible says “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:23). It also tells us that “God so loved the world (that is you), He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16. It also tell us in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord…is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to eternal life.” God knows you better than you know yourself; He will always be there for you.

(Dave & Lisa Carroll are area missionaries with InFaith, America’s oldest Christian home mission agency. Dave is also Pastor of Community Bible Church in Lincoln. You can contact Dave at 406.459.8935 or [email protected].)