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Inexhaustible Grace

Inexhaustible Grace

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As I look back over nearly six decades of serving Jesus, the most overwhelming revelation that I carry is an awe at my Father’s inexhaustible grace. I am so fully aware of the numerous times when Father, in His holiness and power, was well within His rights to have cancelled me from the race. But He didn’t!

The Bible contains a myriad of stories of those who failed, yet God forgave them, restored them, and brought them back into His service. Some of those stories are truly amazing!

Father sees things so differently to you and me.

For us humans, including most Christians, mercy and forgiveness will only go so far. “Enough is enough!” When someone has repeatedly failed our expectations and has disappointed us by word or deed, indignation begins to settle in. Frustration leads to the point that makes further forgiving that person an elusive response.

Why is the human reaction so very different to the divine response?

Because we look through a different set of eyes, motivated by a different desire for behaviour and outcome.

For many, their need is to have their own offense appeased by seeing justice served. Surely a righteous God will make others pay for their sin in some way. After all, we have been offended! Potentially for the third time!

GOD’S GRACE IS NOT LIMITED!

So often our grace has limits. But Father’s inexhaustible grace doesn’t!

Matthew 18:21–22 (NKJV) “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” 

That is 490 times!

We so often look for behaviour that meets our standard. Perfection becomes a requirement even though we have never achieved it ourselves. We look for one dressed in pure white robes and a crown of purity on their heads; God simply looks for a broken heart in a loincloth!

Because of the atonement of Jesus, Father looks for one thing only.

1 John 1:9 (NKJV) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

He isn’t looking for sinless people who have been made to bear a just penalty. He is looking for people who will honestly confess their desperate repentance and return to Him.

GRACE IS CONNECTED TO REPENTANCE

Permit me a moment of teaching on this. The word “repentance” in the New Testament is the Greek word: “metanoia” which literally means: “a change of mind” or “a change in thinking”. In the context of other critical NT scriptures, it goes beyond just changing your opinion. It implies: “a deep, inner transformation of heart and mind, a turning away from sin and turning toward God, a commitment to a new way of living.”

What I want you to notice is that repentance is: “a turning away from sin and turning toward God, a commitment to a new way of living.” It is not the acknowledgement of arriving at the finishing post with glory. It is the moment when one makes “a commitment to a new way of living”.

We look for a satisfying progress towards perfection. God just looks for a sincere, authentic acknowledgement and turning. Sometimes that turning is highly evident by an emotional response that meets our criteria of “repentance”. Other times we see no tangible evidence of the change that we have decided is necessary. Maybe our Father sees something we don’t.

Psalm 51:17 (NKJV)“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.”

REMEMBER WHERE YOU HAVE COME FROM!

What is a key to living life free from self-righteous indignation? It is simply acknowledging the vastness of failure that we ourselves remember God forgiving us for. Maybe we need a refresher course in this!

Luke 7:47 (NKJV) “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

 This scripture does not refer to how much sin one has been forgiven, but rather, their consciousness of their gratitude to Jesus and embracing the unlovely. Their gratitude of grace empowers them to release it to others.

When we lose sight of the myriads of times Father has had to go “the extra mile” with ourselves, we find grace leaking out and indignation creeping in.

I am almost 78. It is my most fervent prayer that others will see His fatherhood in me. That means His infinite capacity to forgive repeatedly and lovingly work to restore, rather than condemn.

Does that mean I may face bitter disappointment at times? Yes. Will I sometimes see others abuse my extension of grace? Yes. But I would rather face disappointment 77 times 7 than even once hold an honestly broken heart in the chains of my own self-righteous requirement.

I am not speaking of the proud and defiant response that will not acknowledge their wrong. Definitely not! I am speaking of those, who in their own mind, have admitted they have done wrong and are endeavouring to embrace repentance. This would include those who are still struggling to see the full reality of their sin but are honestly desiring to do so. They are in process, and I want to aid that process, not close the door to it.

The wonderful thing about inexhaustible grace is that because it is a flowing forth of the Holy Spirit, it not only impacts the recipient but enriches the vessel through whom it flows.

My friends: live a rich and empowered life as HIS love flows through you in His forgiving, restorative, inexhaustible grace.

Having been loved MUCH, let us love MUCH!

On the journey,

David

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When Your Heart Is Troubled

When Your Heart Is Troubled

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There are moments in life when your heart is troubled. An emotion rises – agitation, hurt, fear, or indignation – and we feel the inward surge to respond, to justify, to rebuke, or to attack. The initial emotion may not be sinful in itself, but it places us on dangerous ground. In that moment, we stand at a crossroads and choose: will we let emotion govern us, or will we let the Holy Spirit lead us?

David understood that moment well. He speaks to it in this scripture:

Psalm 4:4 (NKJV) Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.

The Hebrew meaning behind the phrase “be angry” does not point to explosive rage. It literally means you feel inwardly disturbed or agitated. It means your heart becomes troubled with emotions common to us all. Such feelings will shake you at times, even the righteous. But those emotions are not permission to react in a way which wound others or offends God.

So God gives the antidote in the very same verse: “…meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.”

Pause. Take a breath. Withdraw. Slow down.

Turn your heart to speak openly and honestly with your Father, who understands when your heart is troubled. Quiet your soul in His presence before you speak or act.

RESOLVING AGITATION IN YOUR HEART

It is remarkable how the apostle Paul picks up this verse and applies it directly to New Testament believers:

Ephesians 4:26-27 (NKJV) Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Paul understood David perfectly. His words echo the same thought. Yes, you will at times feel agitation. That is human. But you must not allow it to become sin. And you must bring it to a quiet conclusion quickly, before it intensifies and opens a door to the enemy.

Paul adds the warning to not give a place to the devil. Although a horrifying thought, the truth is that unresolved agitation becomes an invitation, a landing pad that welcomes Satan’s intrusion. I’m not talking of “possession”, I am talking about giving your adversary an advantage to encourage you to sin or manipulate you further. But stillness before God in an attitude of surrendered prayer denies that advantage and returns the heart to the control of the Holy Spirit.

ALIGNING WITH GOD’S HEART

David takes us one step further. After the insight into how to respond to our troubled heart, he shows us the right action that follows:

Psalm 4:5 (NKJV) Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

Once the soul has been calmed, once the inward storm has quieted, God calls us to make decisions that align with His heart. Not decisions born from panic. Not actions fueled by fear, resentment, or self-protection. But “the sacrifices of righteousness” – choices to honour God, even when they may cost us something.

And then comes the invitation: “…put your trust in the LORD.”

When you realign your heart with the Holy Spirit and the Father’s intention, you shift from allowing your humanity to govern you to letting His grace and enabling power lead you. You release the offense and forgive the person. With God’s help, you see differently. You boldly embrace tomorrow.

This is where the journey takes you: not into heaviness, not into pressure, but into restful assurance. Into the knowledge that the God who rescued your heart will also determine your steps. It is trust. It is a restored confidence. Not in the circumstances but in the One who is far greater than those circumstances.

My friend, you may be facing a situation today that has deeply shaken you. You may feel troubled. You may feel the tremble of uncertainty, the sting of injustice, or the pressure of responsibility. But all of this, fully surrendered to God’s grace, can be healed and turned into a point of empathy and identification with others travelling through similar circumstances. He redeems your pain and creates, from it, a cruse of oil.

Your Father does not condemn your emotion; He simply guides you through it, leads you beyond it, and transforms it into something beautiful.

Having a troubled heart is not the end of your story.  It is the beginning of a journey of grace. In the stillness you will find Him there, His Father’s heart extended, ready to embrace, ready to restore.

Memorial Stones

Memorial Stones

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Father gave me this word to bring to you:

‘Celebrate memories that will empower your future!’

Memories can either empower you or disempower you. They can either build your faith or destroy your faith. And the memories we carry into our future are the fruit of choice. That’s why it is vital to tomorrow’s success that we choose wisely which memories we starve and which memories we feed.

In Israel, God had his people erect memorial altars. These altars were to remind them, in days of challenge and overwhelming odds, that the God who had supernaturally intervened yesterday was still the God who could supernaturally intervene today and tomorrow. The same God who brought down the walls of Jericho.

Joshua 6:20

So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

This is one of the greatest miracles in the Bible! It’s a miracle that led to the Israelites going on to possess the land of promise. But it was so illogical, so unreasonable that it required such enormous trust, not only in God, but in that Joshua had heard from God!

Joshua 4:1-3

And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: “Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.'”

Joshua 4:6-7

That this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

The context of these memorial stones was a celebration of God’s divine intervention. A miraculous day which birthed a new era for God’s people finally possessing the land of promise. When the Israelites faith began to waver at Jericho, at the impossibility that God asked them to do, all they had to do was look at those memorial stones and know that ‘our God parted the river Jordan at flood time… these walls are coming down!’

Later, in their future conquests, when confronted by the united armies of five kings, all they had to do was look at those memorial stones – ‘Our God parted the river Jordan at flood time… these five Kings are going down!’

My friends, make today a memorial!

THE PURPOSE OF MEMORIAL STONES

A memorial is for two purposes:

  1. A celebration of the past: gratitude and thanksgiving.
  2. A faith-building for the future: that infusion of courage when vitally needed!

The stones speak to us of memories.

Each one was taken from “the place where the priest’s feet stood firm”. In blind obedience to the word of the Lord, through Joshua, those priests stepped into a raging torrent of water at flood time… carrying the ark! Imagine the guys up front. It was an act of incredible courage. And it led to an amazing miracle. That’s what those stones of memory brought back into focus for decades and generations to come – they served a God of the miraculous!

REMEMBERING GOD’S GOODNESS

Which brings us to today, a memorial.

When you look back on years of Father’s faithfulness and grace, for many there has been occasions when awesome, supernatural things have happened. But there have also been times when in the midst of impossibility, it required a standing firm. Times when everything around you screamed “IMPOSSIBLE!” This is a time to remember Ephesians 6:13: “having done all, to stand!”

Thank God for the mountains, but they are only made possible by the valleys.

Honour God for the victories, but they are only made possible by the battle.

Praise God for the miracles, but they are only made possible by the challenge.

In those times when nothing makes sense – stand firm. Those times when the loudness of the opposition seems to drown out that inner voice of peace. Those seasons when the breakthrough seems to linger, and linger, and linger. Those days when you must smile and minister to others despite desperately needing someone to minister to you… “having done all, to stand!”

In the middle of Jordan, stand firm and see the miracle of God!

MIRACLES AND MEMORIALS

We should all be celebrating the miracles of His grace that have triumphed to bring us to this day – those incredible memorial stones. As an individual, as a family, as a business, as a ministry, we should develop a culture of gratitude and worship, constantly acknowledging our Father’s amazing interventions. If we do not celebrate yesterday, we will not anticipate tomorrow!

Which brings me to tomorrow! The reason the Israelites crossed that Jordan was to possess the land that God had promised them. And I want to declare over you, that you stand poised to possess the land of promise. A place that, for generations to come, there will be the witness and demonstration that Jesus is alive and that He has a heart for your community and a heart for the world.

Joshua had to encourage himself for the battle by remembering those memorial stones. In the same way, you need to record and remind yourselves of the miracles of yesterday, so that your faith might soar to new heights as you embrace the challenges of faith, tomorrow!

It honours our Father when we experience the mountains and valleys, war and peace, and yet keep our integrity intact. Oh, how that causes the angels to sing and the demons to cringe. Above all, it represents Jesus to this world, and it positions you in the spirit world to carry the authority of Christ into the days and years to come.

With much love,

David.

The Hard Decisions

The Hard Decisions

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There are times in our lives when we have to make some very difficult decisions. Sometimes, in obedience to a very clear word from the Lord, we have to make decisions that tug at our emotions and defy our logic.

The challenge in such times is to not to look at personalities and circumstances, or even the human evidences that present themselves. The very simple answer is that Father sees aspects of the future that we do not. He not only sees His intention for you but for each individual involved. It comes down to trust. There are times in all of our lives that we must simply trust the One who is directing our ways and to Whom we have given that unconditional right.

When our decisions (no matter how hard) are the fruit of obedience, there will always be an abundance of grace for each one affected by that decision. It has been truly wonderful for me to see the Grace-filled responses from people over decades now who have been confronted with the need for change that they could not at that time see the reason for. No bad attitudes, no reactions. Just a wonderful commitment to continue as true friends of Jesus and their brethren, trusting Fathers wisdom as He now writes a new chapter.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

The truth is, that no one can take a step of faith and obedience without that step leading to a season of increased fruitfulness. That, I know, will be the outcome for each of you now in that moment of decision. We already celebrate with you in the anticipation of that which Father will now do for you.

My friends, I trust that this will encourage you to trust and let go in the times of your difficult decisions.

One thing is totally predictable: Our Father is always motivated for our good and always working to a strategic plan to reveal His faithfulness to us. Let’s continue to trust Father in the midst of the hard decisions.