THE WATERFALL OF GRACE

Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,  Let me ask you a question which Jesus asked the Pharisees: “Which is easier, to say [to the paralytic], ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?” (Luke 5:23) In the context of ministering to a paralytic, saying “Your sins are forgiven” is probably easier. Why? Because you don’t need an outward manifestation to prove that his sins are forgiven. But when you tell him, “Rise up and walk,” he must rise up and walk, or you will look very foolish!  So that makes saying “Your sins are forgiven” easier than saying “Rise up and walk”. The truth is, what is seemingly more difficult for man in the natural is not so for God. With God, physical healing is clearly “easier” for Him than forgiveness of sins.  The latter is the “harder” and greater miracle because it required God to deliver up ...

PHILIPPIANS 3:14 KJV  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  What will really matter at the end of your life on earth? Will what you are giving attention to now still be important then? Or, will you be filled with regret for what you did -- or didn't do? Distractions abound. TV, phone calls, web sites, books, movies. It might be a good idea to stop and evaluate how you are investing your time.  1 CORINTHIANS 9:24 NIV  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Run to win. Win what? The true prize is to know God intimately and be His friend.  2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 NIV  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. One day, possibly soon, you will stand before God. Why not order your life now based on that "final reckoning?" A wise person would no...

Leviticus 2:11 11‘No grain offering which you bring to the Lord shall be made with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey in any offering to the Lord made by fire.  Imagine yourself walking past the prodigal son sitting in the pigpen. (Luke 15:11–24) You look at him and see him salivating for the pigs’ food. Believing that it is good to show kindness, you give him money to buy food for himself. That is human kindness which says, “I am a Christian. I should be kind, good and forgiving.” Such human sweetness or kindness may be likened to honey.  Interestingly, while we elevate it, God tells His people not to bring Him a grain offering with honey in it. The grain offering speaks of Jesus’ life on earth. Not mixing honey in the grain offering speaks of how the compassion and goodness we see in Jesus during His earthly ministry were all divine. There was no “honey” of human goodness that is tainted with human weakness. In retrospect, the worst thing one could d...

Luke 17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, People who have a grateful heart are always praising God.  You often hear them say, “God is good!” They know that God is the reason for every blessing they get. But there are those who look to God for blessings and when they get blessed, they just go on their merry way. Their hearts are captivated by the blessings instead of the One who has blessed them. Jesus had an encounter with both these types of people when He walked into a village one day. Ten lepers cried out to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13) Now, when you call out to Jesus for mercy, He always hears you. On another occasion, when two blind men cried out to Him, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” He took the time to give them their miracles. (Matthew 9:27–30) So these 10 lepers cried out to Him for mercy. He stopped, looked at them and said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And “a...

EPHESIANS 2:10 NLT  For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.  Outwardly, you may not appear to be much of a masterpiece. You may look like a piece of junk. But inwardly, and in reality, you are God's work of art -- and God does not make any junk. All that is outward and seen is only temporary -- like the cocoon the butterfly inhabits for only a short time.  So, while you should take care of your present body, don't be overly concerned about it. Most importantly, don't think of yourself as just the body you are now living in. You are a child of Almighty God, creator and ruler of the universe. Someone God is "raising" to be His companion for eternity. You are NOT insignificant. Admittedly, you are a work in progress. God still has more work to do with you -- but He is the artist, and He will finish His work. (Hint: as you submit to God, the easier it is for Him ...

JOHN 14:18   I will not leave you to face life all alone. I am coming to you.  Being alone -- with no help -- is a horrible feeling. One the devil would love for you to believe is your lot. You are NOT alone! Jesus promised! When you feel alone, desolate, and helpless -- remember the promises of Jesus.  HEBREWS 13:5 NIV  . . . God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Your feelings are not the true test of reality. God cannot lie. He is with you now, whether you feel like it, or whether it looks like it, or not. Since God is always with you, it would be rude to always ignore Him. So call on Him and discuss things with Him. Let God be your friend. That's His plan. It is also His plan for you to have and enjoy life in peace.  2 THESSALONIANS 3:16 NKJ  Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. Several times the Bible refers to God as the God of peace. But as English ...

John 15:5 5“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  In this verse, Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” He did not say, “I am the vine, try to be the branches.” In other words, He wants us to realize that we are already the branches. We do not have to struggle to become the branches. As His branches, we only have to abide or remain in Christ our vine.  How do we do that? We do that by simply being conscious every day of our position in Christ. Because we have received Christ, we are in Christ and are accepted in the Beloved. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 1:6) God accepts us because we are in the Beloved and He is in us. And that is how God sees us today when we come into His presence. What the devil wants to do then is to get you to focus on your condition instead of your position in Christ.  The condition you are facing could be financial lack or deteriorating ...

Matthew 6:33 33…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. God doesn’t want you grabbing the newspaper first thing in the morning and reading all the bad news in the world. He knows that if you do that, your heart will be full of cares, anxieties and even fears. This happened to a mother who read in the newspaper that children from China studying in our local schools were becoming top students. She wrote to the press, voicing her concerns about the stiff competition her child would face from these students, even for the top jobs in Singapore in the future. When you are reading the newspapers, magazines, medical journals, economic reports, watching movies or surfing the Internet all the time, then you are getting your “nourishment” from these sources instead of God’s Word.  Now, I am not against these things. But if you constantly feed only on earthly things which cannot satisfy, you will fill your heart and mind with ca...

Isaiah 53:5 …and by His stripes we are healed.  Under Roman law in Bible times, a criminal was either scourged for a lesser crime and then set free, or crucified straightaway if guilty of a greater crime. But Jesus was both scourged and crucified. Pontius Pilate had hoped that after scourging Jesus and presenting His bloodied body to the people, they would be satisfied and willing to let Him go. But the people were not and demanded His crucifixion instead.  Don’t think for a moment that the people had power to inflict such suffering on Jesus. It was all part of God’s plan and the scourging was necessary for only by His stripes are we healed. The Roman whip used for scourging was made of leather straps embedded with glass, bone and metal hooks. With just one strike, the instrument would have been wrapped around Jesus’ body, causing the glass, bones and hooks to cut deep into His flesh. And as the whip was pulled back, the hooks would have stripped His flesh off, exposing...

ROMANS 5:8 NKJ  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  There is no reason to say, "If God loves me, let Him prove it!" He already has.  God gave a demonstration proving He loves you at Calvary -- where Jesus died a cruel death on a cross. He died, in your place, suffering punishment you deserved, to set you free. By dying for you, God proved He loved you supremely. How could He love you more? Jesus showed that He loves you more than He loves Himself.  JOHN 15:13 NKJ 13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. Jesus gave His life for you. What more could He do?  1 JOHN 3:16a NKJ 16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. Many people have a distorted view of God. The true picture of God's nature is that He loves all the people of the world so much, He was willing to suffer for their freedom.  SAY THIS: God loves me -- and...

Luke 1:37  For nothing is impossible with God Let's look at two people from the Bible who did the impossible. But they did it anyway, because of God's involvement.  HEBREWS 11:11 NKJ  By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Sarah had a child when she was 91 years old. (Genesis 17:17-21) Physically, it was impossible. She had long since lost the ability to bear children. But she did what she could not do. Sarah achieved this impossibility because of God's promise, and because she believed God would keep His promise.  JUDGES 15:14-15 NKJ When he (Samson) came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting against him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands. 15 He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out hi...

MATTHEW 11:19 NKJ  "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, `Look, a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'. . . .  Jesus had trouble with the religious leaders of His day, because He was a friend of sinners. Jesus is the same today. He never changes. Jesus is your friend.  LUKE 19:7 NKJ  But when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." Religious people couldn't understand how Jesus could love a sinner -- they certainly did not. But Jesus did, and He still does. Notice what Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery.  JOHN 8:11 NKJ  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." Jesus does not condemn you for your sin. He understands. He came to earth and lived in a human body just as you do. Jesus knows the pressure you face. He knows the pain. And Jesus cares. He ...

Matthew 8:13 …as you have believed, so let it be done for you…  You may have heard some people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? If I can only see it or feel it, I may just believe that something is happening!” The woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way. For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures”. Then, something happened to her when “she heard about Jesus”. (Mark 5:27) She started believing that He could and would heal her to the extent that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” (Mark 5:28) Acting on her belief, she made her way to Jesus and touched His garment. Immediately, her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was healed of that affliction. Jesus, her true physician, also pronounced her healed. Beloved, God wants y...

Hebrews 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,  Do you know that we once owed God a huge debt? No, it was not a money debt, it was a sin debt. We owed God a sin debt which we could never pay. But God so loved us that He came up with a plan to pay the debt—He gave us His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus was without sin. So when He went to the cross as punishment for our sins, He paid for us a debt He did not owe.  My friend, the reality is that our sin debt has been more than paid in full. In fact, Jesus overpaid it! Jesus’ sacrifice was an overpayment because it was not just a good man, revered for his saintly qualities and good character, who died for us. It was the Son of the living God, the Creator of the universe, the perfect Man, who died for us! Because Jesus is God, His sacrifice is greater than the sacrifices of all good men—past, present and future—put together. His sacrifice ava...

Ephesians 1:6 He [God] made us accepted in the Beloved.  Studies have shown that in the heart of every child is a cry for his father’s approval. Something happens when a father says to his boy, “Daddy is so proud of you.” Or when a father says to his girl, “You will always be Daddy’s favorite girl.” You can catch such a similar special moment in the Bible when God the Father displayed His approval of His Son—“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) The Bible shows us that Jesus’ ministry began with the approval of the Father, even before He had performed any miracle. Now, you may think that God would naturally say that of Jesus, but not of us. My friend, the truth is that Jesus came for us and as us. He died for us and as us. He received the approval of the Father for us and as us. He came as our representative. And if that is not enough, God tells us in His Word that we are “accepted in the Beloved”! Why did God specifically say “accepted in t...

ROMANS 8:29 NLT For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters.  Don't despair over your current condition -- you have an amazing destiny! God's plan is to make you like Jesus Christ. Don't laugh! Remember that nothing is impossible with God. You WILL be like Jesus! Always remember that this tops God's agenda for you. You may be concentrating on some temporal project or need in your life. But God's focus is always on transforming you into the likeness of Jesus Christ. We can't expect becoming like Jesus to always be painless or without difficulty. After all, most of us have quite a few rough edges. But, if we understand what is going on in life, and we keep our eyes on God's goal, it will be easier.  2 CORINTHIANS 4:17-18 NLT  For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great gl...

1 Corinthians 2:16 ...we have the mind of Christ. “Oh dear, my memory is not as good as it used to be. I must be getting old.” Have you heard that before? Maybe you have even said it yourself a couple of times! But who says that as you grow older, you are supposed to forget things?  When the late Reverend Kenneth E Hagin was in his eighties, he was still healthy and strong. This amazing man of God would run around the platform as he preached. And those who have heard him preach would tell you that he had an amazing memory with which he could recall specific details such as the day of the week that a specific date fell on and even the time. Even at that age, the man’s memory was superb! He once shared how he had started to forget things when he was in his fifties. He had read a medical journal which said that every day millions of cells in our brains die. He didn’t realize it, but those words got into his spirit and he started to forget things. So he asked the Lord, “What ...

 MATTHEW 1:21-23 NIV  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."  Part of the wonderful good news of the New Testament is that God is not just a far-off God, but He is right with us. With us -- in many ways. With us as we face life -- right here to help us. Not far away, and out of touch with what we are facing. Not difficult to reach -- but only a prayer away. With us in understanding what it is like to live on earth and face the problems and difficulties we all face. With us in knowing what it is like to experience pain and loss. With us in knowing what it feels like to be rejected and despised and misunderstood. With us in knowing what it is like to be hungry and have no...

LUKE 12:27 LB 27 "Look at the lilies! They don't toil and spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory was not robed as well as they are.  Many people would have you believe that God only supplies what we need -- nothing more. But they haven't considered the flowers! If you want to know God better, obey Jesus and look at the flowers. They were God's idea. Why did God make so many flowers? All the many different flowers are not necessary. Although flowers have some purposes, one kind of flower in one single color could have been made to meet all the needs. The fact is: so many different flowers are not needed. They are "extra," something far, far beyond merely what was needed. We could live without all the different flowers, but life is so much more beautiful with them.  Dear friend, God is not intent on you barely scraping by. He told you to ask and receive -- that your joy may be full (see John 16:24). God desires your joy to be full. But don'...

In the heated debate on gay rights and gay marriage...where are Christians to take their stand? Doesn't the Bible teach that homosexuality is a sin?  Indeed the teachings of both the Old and New Testament regard same sex relations as prohibited and outside the intention of the Creator. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah show God's wrath on a city deemed almost entirely homosexual. However it's not clear that was the reason for its destruction.  " here are two passages that refer to homosexual behavior that are set in larger narratives. That is, they are part of a story, not a legal or moral code. Each deals with the threat of homosexual rape. The more famous of the two comes from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah found in Genesis 19:1-11. Lot, Abraham's nephew, is staying in Sodom when he is visited by angels. Men from the city come and demand that they be allowed to have sex with Lot's guests. Lot refuses and when he is threatened by the townspeople the...

PHILIPPIANS 3:20 LB But our homeland is in heaven, where our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is; and we are looking forward to his return from there.  Heaven is a real place. In fact, Heaven is ultimate reality. There are real people there, involved in real activities. But most importantly, our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ and our Father God are there. Sometimes people talk of someone who has departed this life as "having gone to their reward." Heaven is not a reward. There will be rewards given out by God, but going to Heaven is not a reward. Heaven is a return to normal. That's right. Heaven is the way life was supposed to be. Heaven is normal. What we have been experiencing on this sin-infested planet is sub-normal. But part of the Good News is that Jesus will not leave this place, or us, sub-normal forever. One day, maybe soon, Jesus will return from Heaven and change things on Earth back to what God intended when He created this place.  Everythin...

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”  Perhaps you have heard people say of others: “Oh, if only you had seen my husband in the early years of our marriage. He had such an explosive temper that I used to seek shelter in my mother’s house!” “No one would have ever guessed that she had such a promiscuous past.” “As a young boy, he would always lie through his teeth and not even bat an eyelid!”  Man looks at you and remembers what you were like in the past. But when God looks at you through the new covenant, He declares, “I will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” He states it plainly in His Word as if to assure us: “When you come to Me, don’t think that I am thinking about your sins. Don’t think that every time I look at you, I am reminded of your sins. Not only am I not keeping a record, but I am also not mindful of your fa...

MATTHEW 4:10 NLT  "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.' "  Jesus spoke directly to the devil -- and so must you. Many Christians think they should pray about the devil and ask God to deliver them from his attacks. But the Bible is clear -- God has given the authority to believers to resist the devil. You must control the devil, or he will control you!  Unless you exercise the authority delegated to you by Jesus Christ, the devil will wreak havoc in your life, and everywhere he is allowed to. LUKE 10:19 NKJ 19 "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Praying to God to stop the devil's operations is no different than my son asking me to take out the trash, after I have told him to do it. God told us to resist the devil and he would flee. We must beli...

Hebrews 6:20 …Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Jesus is our High Priest forever.  This “forever” aspect changes the way we are blessed and how we receive our blessings from God. As our High Priest, Jesus represents us before God. Since His priesthood is after the order of Melchizedek, which is one of righteousness, His righteousness becomes our righteousness forever. This means that we are forever righteous in God’s eyes! And because He will never die, but continue as our High Priest forever, we have an everlasting righteousness, not merely a here-today-gone-tomorrow righteousness based on our works. No, we have a perpetual and everlasting righteousness because Jesus is our High Priest forever. This also means that blessings are perpetually on your head because the Bible says that blessings are on the head of the righteous (Proverbs 10:6), and you are righteous forever! Unlike the priesthood according to the Levitical ...