What is meant by doing things in the ways of the flesh?  If you are looking for approval, acceptance, promotion, appreciation from your good works, or anything that motivates you other than because you love Jesus or because you love the people you may be serving, or because you love to give and have a generous spirit, then that is pure flesh.  The Scripture states, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love”         

We are talking here about God’s love expressing itself through us, with no other motivation.  Therefore, He gets all the glory and honor because it is His love we are giving away.  It is a complete renewal of the mind, a mindset coming to the realization that Christ is living His life in and through us. Whatever our motivation is other than this, is absolutely and totally the ways of the flesh.

The flesh will sing in the choir, teach Sunday School, preside at elder meetings, preach from the pulpit, go to Bible college, volunteer for the mission field, and a thousand other things. The flesh will seek to cause every Christian to live by their own strength instead of by the power and grace of the Lord Jesus, and to conclude that doing so is actually a good thing.

Now here this, God does not honor men and women for the ways of the flesh.  The Father in heaven delights in honoring His Son.  It is only the life of the Lord Jesus (His activity, clothed with you and displayed through you) that ultimately will find the approval of God.  The Word of God tells us, “Whatever you do, no matter what it is in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father through Him.”  (See Colossians 3:17)

You can try to steer clear of sin.  Try to avoid temptation.  Refuse to steal, lie, or use drugs or alcohol.  You can indeed try to be sinless.  But that is still you!  And you are still trying.  Jesus Christ was not holy because He focused His efforts on avoiding sin.  Instead, He refused to allow there to be any possible explanation for the quality of His life, other than God the Father living in and through Him. Jesus said:  “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?  The words I say to you are not just my own.  Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.” (John 14:10)

LIFE LESSON:  “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own: you were bought with a price.  Therefore honor God with your body…Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…It is no longer you who lives, but Christ who lives in you.”  So who do you want living the Christian life; more of you, or all of Jesus?  Remember the mystery revealed in Colossians 1:27:  “Christ lives in you, the hope of glory.”  So watch out for the ways of the flesh!

Alert!  We are excited to share with you, hot off the printing press the “Five Christian Life Alerts”.  They are 5 simple truths filled with knowledge to enhance your Christian life.  Wisdom is applied knowledge.  You’ve been alerted.

Thank you for your prayers and faithfulness to this ministry.

Growing in His Grace

Dear Friends in Christ:                                                                      

The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:1-5:  “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus”

Well, there it is. “Jesus is our good example.” We are to live our lives like He did.   

Mark Twain said, “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”  Perhaps the thing most annoying about a good example is its inability to accomplish the same achievement in our lives.  Now, a good example can motivate and inspire us but it cannot enable us.  Now, unless the person we admire, our good example,  can enter into our lives and live his life through us enabling us, what chance do we have? 

In verse 13 of the above text Paul reveals to the church that our good example does enter into our lives.  He writes: “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”  Now let’s think this through.

First God gave the Ten Commandments, followed by 603 additional laws.  Some individuals, at least in their own estimation, kept them.  They did not understand that we need a new life, not a list.  In the Gospels Jesus intentionally set a standard that the Jews could never achieve.  Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

(See Mathew 5:20)

It was not a challenge to try harder, but a challenge to give up.  He wanted all of us to see that a righteousness that would please God is unattainable.  He came along and raised the bar so high that all men would give up trying to jump over it.  Jesus said, “I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing.” Well, there it is!  Abide in Him, and all that He is and has is yours, just as the branch receives the full life of the Vine.  Don’t abide, and you will immediately be in the flesh.

LIFE LESSON:  When we are abiding, there is no one better than us.  At that moment we are an earthly vessel with a perfect life, His life, flowing in and through us.  Jesus, our good example is living His life through our bodies.  We are literally the body of Christ!  What was impossible with man is now possible with God.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

That’s it!  The mystery has been revealed.  “Christ lives in us, the hope of glory.”

(see Colossians 1:27)

ALERT!  We have a new discipling tool called “Five Christian Life Alerts”. It is loaded with insights and beautifully illustrated to richly bless and enhance one’s  Christian life.  So very exciting!  It is at the printers now and will be available next month.

We appreciate your continued prayer and financial support. Thank you. Praise be to God!

Growing in His Grace

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard.  She did not recognize them.  She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry.  Please come in and have something to eat.”

“Is the man of the house home? they asked.  “No, he’s out,” she said.  “Then we cannot come in,” they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.  “Go tell them I am home and invite them in,” he told her.  The woman went out and invited the men in.  “We don’t go into a house together,” they replied.  “Why is that?” she wanted to know. 

One of the old men explained, “His name is Wealth,” he said, pointing to one of his friends and then pointing to the other friend, he said, “He is Success and I am Love.”  Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”

The woman went in and told her husband what was said.  Her husband was overjoyed.  “How nice!” he said.  “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth.  Let him come and fill our home with wealth.”  His wife disagreed saying, “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?”

Their daughter was listening from the other corner of the house.  She jumped in with her own suggestion, “Would it not be better to invite Love, then our home will be filled with love.” 

“Let us heed our daughter’s advice,” said the husband to the wife.  “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”  The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love?  Please come in and be our guest.”

Love got up and started walking toward the house.  The other two got up and followed him.   Surprised, the lady turned to Wealth and Success and said, “I only invited Love, why are you coming in?”  The old men replied together, “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out.  But since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him.”

“If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy, and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

(I Corinthians 13:1-8)

LIFE LESSON:  As born again believers we are now the temple of the living God, containers of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  And since God is love, our house, too, is now filled with love and all that goes with it.  Love captures it all! We appreciate your continued prayer and financial support.  Thank you for your faithfulness. 

Our New Year’s resolution this year is “Let it be…Christ in me…in 2023.” 

Can we determine by the life we live whether or not God is pleased with us?  Example:  If our children are doing well and our business is good, then God must be pleased with us.  If our world is in relative peace and everything is going our way, then God is blessing us.  But if the opposite is our experience, then we conclude that God is not pleased with us.  We think He desires for us to do more trusting, to have more faith, to pray more, to have more Bible study time, more spiritual discipline, more consistency in our walk, and so forth.

Here’s a problem with that thinking.  We read in the scriptures that people of profound faith trusted God, and He delivered them from the lion’s den, unscathed.  But we also know from history that other people of profound faith trusted God, and the lions tore them to pieces.  Both trusted God; both demonstrated faith.  God delivered one, and let the other die a torturous death.  Was He pleased with the one and displeased with the other?

For those of us who live in the United States, we are privileged to dwell in the wealthiest, most advanced nation in the world at this time.  Does this mean that we are more pleasing to God than those who do not live in our nation?

What about those who pray for God to enlarge their business, their influence, their contact list, their car and home; and God blesses them with these tangible things?  But then…what about those who pray and trust and do not receive tangible evidences of God’s blessings?  Is God less pleased with them?  Absolutely not! 

Our heavenly Father’s love, blessing, and pleasure cannot be measured, determined, or observed by our circumstances.  Our significance, importance, acceptance, and standing with Christ Jesus cannot and must not be appraised circumstantially.

If we miss this point, not only will we subject ourselves to disappointment and disillusionment if circumstances don’t fall our way, but we will compromise our role in God’s story.  Life is not about us.  It’s all about Jesus.  The life we live is not about our story, but the part we play in His story.  He created the world, lived amongst us, and said He is the way, the truth and the life.  So you see history is all about His story. 

What then is God’s purpose and will for our Christian lives?  It is to allow Christ Jesus to live out His story in and through our bodies by faith.  We are literally the body of Christ.  Scripture clearly states this truth…“Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s spirit lives in you?”  This exciting reality we embrace by our faith! 

(See I Corinthians 3:16)

LIFE LESSON: “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake so that His life may be revealed in our mortal bodies.”  This is The Life We Live…By Faith.   The Apostle Peter calls it “participating in the divine nature.”

(See II Corinthians 4:11 and II Peter 1:4)

Let it be…Christ in me…in 2023.  Happy New Year!

We appreciate your partnership, prayers and financial support.  Thank you. Growing in His Grace

During the Christmas season in a candy store at the mall there sits a large barrel filled with candy treats. A little boy stands there with eyes as big as silver dollars focused on the contents of the barrel. The owner of the store tells him, “Go ahead son, grab a handful.” But the little boy just stands there staring at the barrel. The owner tells him it’s okay a second time and got the same response. Finally, he goes to the barrel and grabs a handful of the candy and tells the little boy to hold out his hands in which the owner drops the candy. He then asked the boy, “Why didn’t you grab a handful when I said you could.” The little boy replied, “Because your hands are bigger than mine.”

It all depends on whose hands are being used.

Examples: A basketball in our hands is worth about $40.00. A basketball in LeBron James’ hands is worth millions. A football in our hands is worth about $50.00, but in the hands of quarterback Tom Brady it is worth millions.

A staff in our hands will help our stability. A staff in Moses’ hands parted the Red Sea. A sling shot in our hands is a kid’s toy, but in David’s hands it slayed a giant. Two fish and five loaves of bread in our hands is a couple of fish sandwiches, however in Jesus’ hands five thousand were fed.

Nails in our hands might produce a bird house. Nails in the hands of our Lord Jesus makes salvation available for the entire world to receive.

It all depends on whose hands are being used.

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (See John 10:27-29)

LIFE LESSON: As you can see by now, it all depends on whose hands are being used. So put your worries, fears, hopes, dreams, families, relationships, and your very life in the hands of God. Once you are in His hands as a born again believer, nothing can ever separate you from the love of God. Our life in our hands is worth…less (on the other hand) our life in the hands of Jesus and the Father is priceless. Amen!

ARE YOU IN GOOD HANDS?

As we celebrate the Messiah’s birth this season let us lift up holy hands in worship, praise, and thanksgiving to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ our Savior in whose hands we trust!

From all of us at Growing in Grace Ministries have a blest Christmas and the best New Year ever. We praise and thank God every day for your prayers, partnership, and faithful support. Please keep this ministry in mind as you consider your yearend giving.

Growing in His Grace

One of the biggest problems in the church today is mixing the Old Testament of law and the New Testament of grace.  Some believe you are justified by grace alone through faith alone, while others believe you must keep the law to be justified.  Who is right and does it really matter if we believe differently?

While most Christians have no problem with agreeing that they have been saved by grace, they are nevertheless still subjecting themselves to the law.  They are depending on their obedience to the law to earn God’s blessing.  When they do well, in their own estimation, they expect to be blessed.  When they fail or fall short, they expect to be punished and suffer shame and guilt.  Such a system sounds very similar to the Old Testament. 

God wants us to be blessed on account of what His Son Jesus did for us, not what we do for Him.  Those trying to be justified by their law keeping, still have an Old Testament mentality even though they profess they are saved by grace.  They have reverted to the Old Testament that was based on works and obedience to the law rather than trusting in the New Testament that is based on grace through faith, not by works so that no one can boast.

The Christians who truly benefit the most from understanding God’s grace are those who have come to the end of themselves, to the end of their own efforts to live the Christian life.  They have tried over and over again until they have finally given up trying and admitted they cannot meet the law’s unyielding standard of perfection. 

It’s at that time they realize all of God’s standards and Jesus’ teachings were meant to be applied to the new life (His Life) He puts within all born again believers at salvation.  Jesus lives the Christian life through His body of believers.  That is the glorious mystery of our faith.  Christ lives in us, the hope of glory.

Living under both the Old Testament and the New Testament is problematic.  It will cause you to live in confusion, and God is not the author of confusion.  God has made the Old Testament obsolete (ready to be put aside).  Yes, we do learn from the Old Testament but we live by the New Testament.  We are now active participants in the divine nature and instruments of His righteousness.  Thank you, Jesus.

                                    (see Hebrews 8:13, II Peter 1:4, Romans 6:13)

LIFE LESSON:  You cannot live under both testaments.  It is time to stop the mixture and confusion.  Paul clearly states “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”  (Galatians 5:4)    Well, there it is!                  You choose!  You decide how you will live…by law or grace?  As for me and my house, we choose to live by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone.

ARE YOU LIVING UNDER BOTH TESTAMENTS…?

We appreciate and praise God every day for your prayers, partnership, and faithful financial support.

Growing in His Grace

For title clarification:  Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life…”  Jesus then said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 14:6, John 15:5)

Jesus said He is the “I am”.  The I am what?  Anything you need.  Do you need wisdom?  That’s Jesus.  Do you need righteousness?  That’s Jesus.  Holiness? That’s Jesus, too.  Scripture teaches: “He (Jesus) has become for us wisdom from God – that is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 1:30,31)

Have you ever prayed asking God to pour out all His blessings on you…when in

fact God has already blessed you with every spiritual blessing from above in Christ?  (Ephesians 1:3) The need is not that God should give us something that we don’t have.  The need is that we should know what we do already have.  Well, Amen! 

All the fullness of God, “the great I am”, is in Christ Jesus.  “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him.”, and if you are a born again believer, all the fullness of Jesus dwells in you right now. That is the mystery of our faith.  “Christ lives in you, the hope of glory.” …“You are complete in Christ.” 

(Colossians 1:19, 27, 2:10)

So you can stop praying for what you already have.  Just appropriate through prayer the sufficiency of Christ who is living in you…and you can do all things through Christ.

Just ask Him to do for you what only He can do.  Remember, He gives all men life and breath and everything else.  You don’t have to struggle or beg for what you think you need.  You already have it.  Just let Jesus be Jesus in and through you and watch what Jesus does. We call this way of praying CHRIST AS YOUR LIFE or ABIDING LIFE PRAYERS.  Jesus does it all and we get to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Oh, the wonderful life of a branch connected to the vine.

LIFE LESSON:  Prayer is how we feed the life of the Son of God within.  By feeding Him our Spirit Directed prayers and requestsand trusting Him to complete them in and through us, we will experience a very satisfying, stress free prayer life.  The Word of God is crystal clear! “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7)    Well, Amen again!

Thank You Jesus!                                                               

We appreciate and praise God every day for your prayers, partnership, and faithful  financial support.

You’re the best!

Growing in His Grace

Preaching the pure truth of  “by grace alone through faith alone”  makes everything of Jesus and nothing of man.  Grace alone takes control away from us and forces us to live in the place of constant faith.  Some people don’t like that.  Truth is God never intended for us to be in control.  Controlling things is His role, not ours.  (“He is the vine!”)

The book of Galatians exposes the most popular substitute for “by grace alone” living that we have in our churches today, it’s called legalism.  Millions of believers think they are spiritual because of what they do and what they don’t do, trying to be justified with the Lord by keeping the law.  Paul tells us in Galatians 5:4  “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

Paul shows us in this epistle how wrong we are…and how right we can be if only we would give up control.  When we give control to the Spirit of the Lord within, there will be freedom not bondage, cooperation not competition, glory to God not praise to man.  The world will see true Christianity, and the lost will come to know the Savior Jesus living His life in and through His body of believers, (“We are the branches”) and they will be drawn to Him by His grace.  “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.  Grace teaches us to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”  (Titus 2:11,12)

Now hear this…if you are a born again believer, you have been given the very nature of Jesus Christ.  You have been “created in righteousness”.  It isn’t up to you to improve yourself, but instead to recognize and appropriate the truth concerning your new identity. 

For years I believed that we should strive toward becoming more righteous by doing the things I believed were expected of us by God.  But the fact is there is nothing we can do to become more righteous.  It has all been taken care of by our Lord Jesus.  Our place is simply to receive His gift of grace and then rest in the reality of His indwelling life. 

(“Apart from Him, we can do nothing!”)  (II Peter 1:4, Eph 4:24, II Cor 5:21, John 15:5)

There is only one person who has ever lived the Christian life and there is only one who ever will.  His name is Jesus and He will live His life in and through His body of believers “by grace alone through faith alone”.

LIFE LESSON:  The Christian life is not a test…it is a rest!  Rest is Spirit directed activity.  The Spirit of the Lord does it all through us.  Remember “…the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  (John 1:17)  Therefore, with this being said:  Rest in the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Grace doesn’t get any better than that.  Amen!

GRACE TEACHES US TO SAY “NO” …

All glory, honor, and praise to our great teacher, Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ!

We thank and praise God every day for your prayers, faithfulness, and financial support as you partner with Growing in Grace Ministries (GIGM) for the glory of God.  

You’re the best!

Growing in His Grace

Do you ever get annoyed with the way we toss around the word “love” these days?   I mean, we just love so many things.  We love our cars, we love a cute pair of shoes, we love an ice cream sundae (who wouldn’t?), and we love our sports teams and so forth.  We throw the word around so much that it seems to have lost some of its luster or its ability to move us. 

But it’s not just the overuse of the word “love” that has minimized the impact.  We seem to give and retract our love all too quickly.  Take any of the above examples.  We love our cars until they get old or break down; our shoes until we see some newer ones; a hot fudge sundae until it lands on our hips or waistline; our sport teams, if and only if they win.  This is what we call conditional love.  It is clearly the most common variety and you get it most anywhere these days, at least for a while.

But such a love leaves us wanting more, doesn’t it?  We wish for something deeper and more profound.  We long for a love that will last, not just for a few days, weeks, months, or seasons, but for a lifetime.  We long for what we call unconditional love.  This kind of love is quite hard to find these days, even if we are looking; and the truth is we were made for love, not only to receive it, but also to give it.  The very core of our being was wired to crave love, to need a love that doesn’t depend upon on how we have performed or how we are acting at the moment.  As the song goes: What the world needs now… is love, sweet love…It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. 

 As born again believers, we are to give and to receive a love that won’t let go, a love that will last forever. 

But how do we do this?  How can we give unconditional love when others don’t act very lovable, especially when we may feel like we are the ones who ought to be loved?   In short, we love like Jesus loves…without conditions.  Scripture teaches that we are to let the Giver of love give His love through us.  Remember, Jesus died for us, to give His life to us, to live His life through us.  That is the gospel truth, and His life in us is a life of love, and this much we know for sure, Jesus’ love never fails.

LIFE LESSON: Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” (John 13:35) By receiving His love that comes without conditions, we simply become a channel, an instrument of God’s love to flow through us to those around us in need of this same love.  Jesus’ unconditional love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres and again never fails.  The Apostle John wrote: “My beloved friends, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”  (I John 4:7)

And all God’s people say Amen!

We appreciate your continued prayer and financial support.  Thank you for your faithfulness.

Growing in His Grace

All denominations say they have the way that is absolute and all of them explain that way, a different way. 

Here’s an interesting, thought-provoking question to really ponder: 

Has your denomination, your doctrine, your correct thinking, your emotional experiences, your intellectual pursuits, your methods, systems, and programs along with your endless self-examination set you free?  Free from self-centeredness, free from anger, free from frustration, free from old habits and slander, free from the desire to be somebody?

Have any of these pursuits brought any peace, joy, or rest?  Have they brought you a perfect and complete life?  Now think about it with me for a minute. They haven’t, have they?

There is only one way that is absolute (perfect and complete) and that is in and through the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  Scripture tells us that He is the Way, He is the Truth, and He is the Life. 

By the grace of God every man and woman on the face of the earth can experience this Way that is absolute. I do not mean that they can be Christ-like by trying to imitate the Way; I mean something much more exciting and real.

The perfect life is found in nothing less than Jesus Christ and His righteousness.  It is Christ in us the hope of glory.  Amen!  We all need a simple way to live that really works and this is it.  The Lord’s plan is that all believers in the body of Christ, both rich and poor can participate in experiencing the life of Christ within.  And it only happens when we as born again believers let Jesus live His life in and through us by faith.

LIFE LESSON:  Christ’s life in us expresses itself as Christ’s life in us, not as human life trying to be Christ-like.  This is the Way that is absolute, no question about it!  And this, God’s absolute Way, makesall the difference in the world. 

As the hymn goes:

Jesus does it all, all to Him we owe.
Sin has left a crimson stain;
He washed it white as snow.

All other discussion is nothing more than small talk.

We appreciate your continued prayer and financial support.  We need both to meet the ministry obligations.  Thank you for your faithfulness. 

Check out our landing page www.thegalatianroad.com.  Note that all our materials are now available worldwide and can be downloaded and printed for use.