Everything that shouldn't be...

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Is. 53:4-6

Just yesterday I had to discipline one of my boys...and I had to do something that I hate doing doing. I had to spank him. It absolutely kills me to have to spank any of my boys...I rarely have to spank at all... not that my boys are perfect, but usually they correct themselves or show that they have learned a life lesson when we sit down and talk it out. But this was not one of those moments. He had locked his brother in a closet and turned out the light... and then proceeded to say some hurtful things to his younger brother. Needless to say my little guy freaked out... and came downstairs to share his broken heart. So I did what I didn't want to do...I grabbed a belt and I spanked one of my sons.

It absolutely broke my heart to have to spank my son. I love him very much! But I know it was the right thing to do and it was needful for his maturity and for his process of learning right from wrong. I share that story because this morning ...by the providence of God I read Isaiah 53: 4-6 in my devotion time. Listen to these words and meditate on them...Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down....he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

As I read these verses this morning I am completely broken. These verses describe everything that shouldn't be! I mean it was my fault for the condition of my life, not Christ's. It was my choice not His. It was my sin, my rebellion, my pride, my lust, my selfishness that has fatally wounded my soul! And yet the bible describes everything Christ went through for me. Everything that shouldn't be! What an absolute insane love God has for me. I can only imagine what God was thinking and feeling as he watched his son take the beating and torture of the cross for the sins of mankind...for me and my sins. All the while the very ones whom he was trying to rescue, restore and heal... mocked him they cheered "Crucify Him..."... "Look everybody its the King of the Jews" ... "Hey Jesus if your really God...why don't you save your self." I mean God poured out His wrath and His judgment on his own son, and yet no one even stopped to take notice. How could God not just go nuts on everybody and wipe out mankind? If that was me having to beat my own son and see him tortured for something he didn't do ...I think I would lose my mind! AND YET ... the bible says ...God did all that he did for one reason... to rescue us, heal us, restore us and to show us the extent of His love!

Rom. 8:32 "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? "

Oh God I pray today that I would live in view of your mercy and grace! God forgive me for allowing sin to stay in my life, forgive me for dismissing the cross as I daily choose to sin against you! Jesus that should have been me! EVERYTHING I WAS YOU BECAME SO THAT EVERYTHING YOU ARE I CAN BECOME!


Romans 7:24-25 "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"


Not Ashamed...Bill

"How much more..."

"...How can we who died to sin still live in it..."

Romans 6:2

As I sit here this morning and think about the incredible sacrifice & act of love God has given me through Jesus Christ, I am struck with this thought ... if Christ was willing to go to the extent that He did just to declare his love to me and for me... if he willingly chose to love me at my worst...then what extent must I be willing to go to in order that I might declare my love and affection for Him? As I read Romans 5 ... there is a statement that struck me over and over again... "much more then...". The entire chapter of Romans 5 really descibes our God as a "how much more " kind of God.

That word literally means, "to surpass a particular point on a scale, to go to a greater degree." I am so grateful that my God does not measure out his grace and love for me. I praise God that he did not give me just enough grace to pay for my sin, but rather he gives me more than I could ever need so that I might live my life free from the power of sin!!! You see Christ exchanged His life for my death! His righteousness for my unrighteousness. But that was not enough for Him... he gave me "much more grace" so that I might live in victory over sin.

"...But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. " v17

So what should be the response of my life in view of God's extravagant grace ... ALL OF ME!

"...For the love of Christ compels us...and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him ..." 2Cor. 5:14-15

Father may the deepest desire of my heart be that all of me would be consumed by All of You! Thank you for being a "much more" kind of God.

Not Ashamed...Bill

A love without limits...

"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Rom. 5:8

This week I am meditating on what God's grace really means for my life. I mean I talk about Gods grace all the time with people who are hurting & far from God...I often will say "Gods' grace is enough for you...it doesn't matter how far you are from him or where your at...or even what you have done...His grace can reach you no matter what!" While that is absolutely true....I have to tell you that I often struggle with remembering that same truth in my own life. I still struggle from time to time with fully accepting and embracing Gods' grace. Not because God withholds it from me...no it's actually just the opposite ...its because He lasciviouses it all over my life day by day.

This morning as I woke up ... I found myself very hesitant to draw close to God because I felt like I really let him down. I felt so unworthy. I just wanted to run and hide! I don't know about you but sometimes I feel like I sabotage my own spiritual life by willfully making sinful decisions that I know will hinder my intimacy with Him. I end up not doing what I know I should ...and I end up doing the very thing I know I shouldn't do. (***read Romans 7) When this occurs I find myself asking Jesus, how can you still love me?" "Don't you know what I've done...don't you see what I'm struggling with?" And then it happens ... He quietly and with much tenderness takes me back to the cross and reminds me that WHO HE IS and HOW MUCH HE LOVES ME is not tied to what I do or don't do? Its called GRACE! And I can honestly tell you that God's grace was new for me this morning when I read Romasn 5:8! "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

This word "shows" = to come into existence, to take form.

In essence what this word means for you & I this morning is this...God said, "How can I convince them that I love them? How can I show these people the depth of my love ... How can my infinite and indescribable love take form? I know ... I will love them right where they're at! And I won't just love them at the cross but I will continue to love them no matter what they do! The verb tense of this word "shows" literally means that what God did back at the cross for you & I will never stop! His grace will never cease...it will never run dry! There will never be a time where He gives up on you...and where he gives up on me...there will never be a time where HIS GRACE LETS GO!!!! He says My grace is enough for you! My love is without limits!

You see the reality is this...if God chose to love me and pour out His grace to me when I was far from Him...just as I was...how much more will He pour out His grace today! You see the same grace God gave me at the cross is the same grace He gives to me today! How often I forget that truth. Thank You Lord Jesus that your love for me is not tied to what I do or don't do but rather it is tied to the very person of Christ! ..."where sin increased, grace increased all the more, ..." Romans 5:20


Not Ashamed...Bill