ChristiansUnite Forums

Theology => Bible Study => Topic started by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 05:57:27 AM



Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 05:57:27 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional  


  Do you need a reminder of God's grace...?

Have you ever swam in the ocean and been so distracted with the waves that you forgot to keep your eyes on the shore? It doesn't take long before we can slowly drift down the beach without even realizing it, does it?

Legalism works the same way. It seeks to distract us from dependence and trust in Jesus to trusting in our performance. It comes at us at a hundred miles per hour, all day, everyday. It doesn't jerk you abruptly over into its clutches. Instead, legalism slowly, almost imperceptibly, pulls us under until one day we turn around and we've lost sight of the shore.

Each one of us on the Grace Walk team is susceptible to the same scheme of our enemy. No one is immune to the deception. That's why we are convinced that renewing our minds constantly on the truth of the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) is crucial to experiencing victory over the ongoing bombardment of legalism. We would like to share those reminders with you. Please visit us each month for what we hope are helpful reminders to you of God's amazing grace...  

 

Marriotts, Maps and God’s Presence

Where is that hotel? I asked myself with a sense of frustration that was becoming greater and greater. It was in Tampa last week and I was trying to find the place where I was to spend the night. I had gone on the Internet and gotten exact driving directions from where I was to where I was going to stay. The directions didn’t seem hard to follow when I first read them, but now I was wondering if they were even correct.


“I think I’m heading north,” I thought to myself. I’ve always been directionally challenged and have, in fact, sometimes told those who give me directions, “I don’t speak compass.” Left or right, I understand. Otherwise, it’s a gamble.


I drove down the road for a mile, then turned around and came back to where I had begun on that same road. I studied the printed directions again, carefully looking at street names and highway numbers. I looked along the roadside for a sign. “Yes, I’m on the right road,” I thought. “But where’s my turn???” This routine was repeated several times, each time with a growing sense of anxiety over finding my way through this maze.


Suddenly I glanced up, away from the road signs I had been carefully watching and I saw it. The hotel was right there – right in front of me. Courtyard By Marriott the sign affixed to the tall building read. Suddenly I felt foolish. I had driven past this building several times. There it was, in plain view, but I hadn’t seen it. I was too busy studying the written instructions and watching for signs to see the obvious.


That’s how many of us approach our spiritual lives. We read the Bible daily. We are careful about the road we travel. We’re intently focused on making the right turns, reading the signs, staying off the wrong road. After all, we want to see God’s presence in our lives. We don’t want to miss Him. So we become analytical, calculated, cautious, and, meanwhile, grow internally more and more tense by the minute.


Does this describe your spiritual journey? It certainly has characterized mine at times. Just like I stopped enjoying the beautiful Florida sun and the sights of spring because of my exaggerated focus on making the right turns, there have been times when I’ve missed intimacy with the Divine Lover who stands right before me. I’ve been so absorbed with my efforts to stay on the right road and make the right turns in life that I’ve failed to enjoy the journey.


What’s the answer? Relax. Trust that you will get to where God has you going. Stop being so tense about the journey and enjoy the “Sonlight” along the way. Remember, we have a Guide inside us who promised to abide with us always. So lighten up. Let the wind blow your hair, the sun shine down on your face and enjoy smelling the flowers. When you do, you’ll discover that what you’ve been looking for has been right there with you all the time.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”




(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 
 

 


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 06:01:27 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Holy Hugs

Jake is an eighteen year old whose life is a clear demonstration of divine grace. I heard him share his story this past weekend with his church family . He shared truths about the comfort of God during the trials of life, a topic about which circumstances have made him highly qualified to speak.


When Jake was born, it soon became apparent that his parents would not be able to care for him in the way all babies need. Because of this fact, his dad’s mother, a Christian, brought him into her home when he was an infant. He lives with her until this day.


“One day when I was about five,” he explained, “I learned that earlier that week my mother had taken her own mother’s life.” As Jake shared the horror he felt as a young child when he learned that his grandmother had been murdered by his own mother, many who listened wiped tears of compassion from their eyes.


“Years later,” he continued, “I opened a letter one day. It was from my mother, who is in prison. I soon learned that it had been addressed to my sister, not me.” The letter said, “you were conceived in love, but Jacob was not.” “You can imagine how that would make you feel,” he said.


Jake then described how he had first come to attend the church where he was speaking. He talked about how he had met Jesus Christ there and had come to understand His love. “All I had to do was accept His comfort and His love,” he explained. “Maybe you need God’s comfort in your own life,” he concluded. “He’s there, waiting for you to trust Him.”


A story this intense, told by an eighteen year old, touched the whole congregation. When the service was over, teary eyed people crowded around Jake. They each hugged him and spoke words of appreciation and affirmation to him. It was Love personified in the body of Christ, a Divine response through the corporate action of God’s church.


As my wife, Melanie, and I awaited our chance to speak to him, his grandmother jokingly commented, “I think he comes here for the hugs.” As we drove back home later, I commented to Melanie that Jake’s grandmother’s observation was a profound commentary on the church. “He comes here for the hugs” she had said.


What a tribute to God’s church in general and that church in particular! Is there any other place in the world where a boy who missed the parental hugs necessary to nurture life could find such an outpouring of love? The ministry of hugs – what an expression of Jesus in action!


I believe the Father’s heart can been seen in a hug. It may be that there is a supernatural exchange conveyed in a hug between two Christians that defies explanation. A holy hug brings God’s heart right out into the open.


When the Apostle Paul once preached until midnight in one church, a young man sitting on a window ledge fell asleep and fell out the window. Rushing out to where he lay below, the Bible says that “Paul threw himself on him and hugged him. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘He is still alive!’” (Acts 20:10, TEV). Hugging people back to health – that was Paul’s style. In Luke 15, when the prodigal son came home his dad “ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” A hug and kiss – that’s our Father’s heart.


I love the story of Jesus with His disciples in the upper room. John 13 describes the scenario where Jesus is sharing final thoughts with His disciples in the last hours before He was to go to the cross. Right in the middle of this chapter, there is a verse that seems to be almost an incidental notation. It says, “One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against Him, his head on His shoulder” (John 13:23). Why does the Bible tell the posture of one man who happened to be sitting in the room at the time?


It’s because the man described there is the one who wrote that verse. John loved to refer to himself as “the one who Jesus loved dearly.” It seems like he was making a point – “Jesus was talking to us all, but He was hugging me!” A hugging Jesus – that’s the One who loves you dearly too!


A hug – is anything more powerful, more spiritual, more Godlike? It became apparent to me this past Sunday as I watched Jake’s church that he won’t ever lack for hugs. His heavenly Father has seen to that. I watched his Abba hug him many times after that service, through the arms of others. I couldn’t resist hugging him myself, and not just because he is my nephew.


Do you want to do a Jesus thing? Find somebody who needs a hug and give it to them. That won’t be a hard task because the truth is that we all could use a hug. Some desperately need it. A hug is the heart of God in action toward others. Go ahead. Find somebody and hug them back to health. Your Father will be proud.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 06:05:11 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Steve McVey Resigns




Steve McVey, President and Founder of Grace Walk Ministries has offered his resignation, effective immediately. Steve is resigning from his position of trying to assume the role of God over his personal life as well as the ministry he leads. The job requirements to hold the position of God are omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. “I’m a slower learner at times,” McVey recently said, “but I’m finally beginning to realize that I’m just not equipped to be God. Trying to hold on to this role is wearing me out.”


McVey first attempted to assume the role of God as a young man when he came to believe that somehow he was responsible for his own destiny. “I thought it was my job to do my best and that if I just dedicated myself to try hard I could succeed. That’s what I believed for many years. Was I ever wrong.”


Irrefutable evidence has proven that there is only one Person who truly qualifies to assume the role of God, but history shows a long line of those who have attempted a hostile takeover of the position. Records indicate that the first to aspire for the role of Deity was named Lucifer. An ancient record of his attempt reveal his words: “I’ll set my throne over the stars of God . . . I’ll climb to the top . . . I’ll take over as King of the Universe” (Isaiah 14:13-14 The Message). Lucifer failed after a short-lived attempt to rally others around him in his effort to take control by force.


Despite Lucifer’s failed attempt, many others have sought the position in vain. McVey recounts his own experience: “Unlike Lucifer, I didn’t want the title. I only wanted the position – you know, being the one to have complete control over everything associated with my life.”


McVey began to realize that his efforts to become sovereign over his own affairs were destined to failure when his personal and professional plans constantly failed to materialize. “It was like Somebody else kept short-circuiting what I wanted and caused things to work out the way He wanted,” he said. “I finally realized that The True God was behind the scenes of my life, quietly causing things to turn out according to His plans despite all my efforts to be in control.”


Upon tendering His resignation, McVey affirmed that He plans to continue to lead Grace Walk Ministries. “I’ll keep going with Grace Walk,” he said, “but I’m not going to be responsible for its future anymore. I’ve given the title to the ministry to God. It’s up to Him to sustain and guide it. I’ll just do whatever He says.”


McVey also indicated his intentions of maintaining his role as husband to his wife of thirty one years and father to his four children. “I’ve tried to be God in my wife’s life too many times,” he said. “I think I’ll just keep loving her with all my heart, but let the Lord do the rest. And the same goes for my kids – I’ve worn myself out at times trying to be God in their lives. They’re His responsibility now. I’ve given them to Him and it’s up to Him which direction they go in life.”


McVey will continue to reside in Atlanta, Georgia. “Nothing will change that other people might notice,” he said, “but in reality, everything will change. I hope that by my being public about my resignation from trying to be God, others will be motivated to do the same.”



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries,
www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)






 


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 06:23:36 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Losing Your Religion



I lost my religion years ago and I’m doing so much better now. I’m not exaggerating to make a point. I really mean it. Sometimes people will say to me, “What do you mean when you say you lost your religion?” The answer is simple.


Understanding the true meaning of the word “religion” will help clarify my statement. The English word is taken from the Latin word relgio, originally meaning “obligation” or “bond.” It was probably derived from the verb religare , which means to “tie tight.” (Taken from The Dictionary of Word Origins, by John Ayto.)


The origin of the word “religion” explains its problem. Religion ties people up tight, obligating them to a particular set of standards and behavior. In time the word became associated with the obligation men had toward ancient gods.


In modern terminology, the word denotes the idea of performing certain actions with the goal in mind of gaining divine favor. Religion is a greenhouse for legalism because it focuses on duty and performance. It puts the duty on man to reach God by his actions. It puts a bond on people, consequently leaving them in bondage.


Authentic Christianity is different from religion in many ways. A recent comment made about boxing illustrates what I mean. Somebody said, “To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music, no choreography and the dancers hit each other.” His comparison between boxing and ballet illustrates the union that exists between authentic Christianity and legalistic religion. There is none.


Authentic Christianity is the grounded in the gospel . The word “gospel” means “good news.” What is the good news? It’s that we don’t have to try to reach God by our actions anymore, but that it is God’s actions that unite us to Him. It’s the good news that God has reached down to us in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s the good news that the cross and empty tomb were sufficient to cause God to tear up the score card on your life and to call the game over, with you as a winner.


All we need is to trust in the finished work of Christ. That’s it – nothing else. “What should we do that we might work the works of God?” the disciples once asked Jesus. The answer Jesus gave sounds strange to religious ears. He said, “This is the work of God – that you believe on Him who He has sent” (John 6:28-29). Believe – that’s it.


“Aren’t we to do certain things?” some might ask. The answer is that we will do certain things, not because we’re trying to score points with God, but because it’s a part of our spiritual DNA to produce godly works. Others may mistakenly think that we are behaving religiously, but we aren’t. We are simply acting like who we are – containers and conduits of divine life.


Religion will tie you down. Jesus Christ will set you free. Religion will obligate you to work for God, but Jesus will liberate you to serve because of love. Religion will leave you exhausted. Jesus will invigorate your spirit with divine life continuously.

Yes, I lost my religion. As a result, I’ve come to know Jesus intimately. I wouldn’t trade that knowledge for all the religion in the world. I still do many things that probably look religious to others, but that’s not the case. I’m just enjoying Jesus and doing what I want (which happens to coincide with what He wants).


Do you need to lose your religion? You’ll find yourself much better off when you find your life in Christ. Go ahead, do it. Say good-bye to the bondage of being tied up by religious duty and fall into the arms of Jesus Christ. You won’t be sorry.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 08:41:22 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional  








An Outlook or an Uplook?
by Steve McVey

 
_________________

 
“Your son may not live. He may be a paraplegic.” The words stunned me as the emergency room doctor spoke them to us in a somber tone. The year was 1995 and our oldest son, twenty at the time, had just fallen from scaffolding on a job site where he was working. Suddenly, life made no sense to me at all. My world became instantly dark at the very thought of the long term implications of this accident.

The doctor told us that Andrew would have to be transferred to another hospital which was better equipped to handle such an extensive injury. After following the ambulance across town to the larger hospital with tears streaming down our cheeks, we pulled into the parking space outside the emergency room.

I reached over and took Melanie’s hand. Through teary eyes and with a trembling voice I said, “We don’t know what the rest of this day holds for us. Andrew may not live. He may be crippled for life. Before we go in here, can we agree on one thing? No matter what happens in this hospital, God is God and God is good.”

Melanie nodded as she wiped tears from her own eyes. We got out of the car and walked into the hospital holding hands. A long journey was beginning.

Our son did survive that accident eight years ago and after three years of therapy, he was restored to complete health. Today he lives a normal life with little residual effects of the accident. We give God the glory for that.

How are we to survive, let alone triumph, when tragedy strikes our lives? What do we do when the outlook is bleak? The answer is, “Try the uplook.” When John wrote the words in Revelation 4, he was exiled on an island – a prisoner in isolation. Humanly, things looked bleak. But the Lord showed John that life can’t be properly understood from a human perspective, but must be seen from His perspective.

As long as God is on His throne, we have every reason to trust Him and know that, despite superficial evidence to the contrary, everything will ultimately work out for our highest good and His highest glory. This is a truth which has sustained saints through the ages.

When he lost his children, Job said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” “Job, how could you say such a thing?” He might answer, “Because I can see beyond the cemetery and I know there’s a throne fixed in heaven and Somebody is sitting on it!”

From a prison cell, Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord. I’ll say it again – rejoice!” “Paul,” we might say, “Those are strange words coming from somebody imprisoned for preaching. How do you keep such a perspective?” The Apostle might answer, “You see prison bars, but I can look beyond them and see a throne in heaven and Somebody is sitting on it!”

The list goes on and on throughout Scripture – those who looked beyond the temporal circumstances of life and saw a sovereign God sitting on a throne. Will you choose that perspective?

When the outlook is hopeless, try the uplook. Your Father loves you and is sovereign over every detail of your life. That fact is enough to sustain us in the darkest days of our lives.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)




Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 03:51:20 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


The Parable Of The Fake Church Building
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
I was recently visiting a town where I lived years ago when I drove past a church that had been there all these years. I remembered the church and was amazed as I looked at their new building. When I had lived in the town, the church was very small and wasn’t known for being a growing church. However, now, looking at this building, I was amazed. It was huge.

I was thinking to myself how something must have happened there to cause that church to really come alive in order to have that kind of growth. I slowed down as I drove past, and looked backward at the building. What I saw shocked me. I felt conflicting feelings that seemed both funny and sad to me at the same time.

The front of the building was a facade that had been added to the tiny building that had always been there. It was like they had built a long, high wall at the front of their church building that made it look like the building itself was awesome. But, in reality, it was the same tiny brick building that had always been there.

They wanted to give the illusion of growth, even though none had occurred. As I drove on, I thought about that church and began to realize how I have done the same thing many times in my own life. There have been countless times since I’ve been in ministry that I wanted to make things seem bigger than they really were. In fact, there have been times I even gave the illusion of growth in my personal life when it wasn’t true.

Why do we do things like that? It’s because we want the approval of men. The bottom line is that sometimes we feel like we need validation from other people. Without it, we question our true value. We wonder if we are as much as we should be. We want to look like we are somebody important. We relate to others with the unspoken question, “Do you think I’m really worth something?”

To the extent that we seek the praise of other people, we aren’t resting in the truth of our identity in Christ. I like the way the King James Version translates what Paul says about it – “We have been accepted in the Beloved.” In Jesus Christ, we are somebody special.

It doesn’t matter how well we perform or how we look to others. God adores us just like we are. We don’t have to appear flashy, highly successful or look like we are really moving forward with leaps and bounds. We can take down the facade and just be ourselves. After all, if God gives you the “thumbs up,” what else really matters?


To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6, King James Version




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 







(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 04, 2004, 04:11:43 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Don't Grow Up




Growing older isn’t really a choice we can make, given our options. However, growing older and growing up are two different matters altogether. When we were children or perhaps later, when we acted like irresponsible teens, we were all admonished at times to “grow up!” Those words of advice were probably well intended, but the more I’ve thought about it, I don’t think it’s such a good suggestion.


An argument could be made from Scripture that God’s desire is for us all to remain children at heart. When trying to explain the kingdom of heaven, Jesus once lifted a child onto his lap and said, “If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you have to become like this.” (See Matthew 18:1-3) We are to become childlike. That’s what Jesus plainly said.


To remain a child at heart, however, requires constant grace in a society which tries to force us into growing up. G.K. Chesterton once said, "I think God is the only child left in the universe, and all the rest of us have grown old and cynical because of sin..” Has this sinful world stolen away your childlikeness?


The desire of your Father’s heart is to free you from the shackles of an old heart and empower you to be young again. Like a child, your role is to trust Him completely, laugh heartily, live playfully, run intently, dream imaginatively and love unconditionally.


Life in this world is a warm-up for what comes later. One blip on the screen of eternity and our time on this planet is done. Why waste ourselves away with headaches and heartaches over things that won’t even matter to us a hundred years from now?


The call to childlikeness isn’t a lure to childishness. Of course we are to act responsibly, but not become bogged down in the muck of artificial maturity. In the midst of responsible living, the indwelling Christ will equip us to move ahead experiencing life through the heart of a child.


Our Father has everything under control. He has every detail of our lives worked out already. We don’t have to live like we are the captains of our own destiny, because we aren’t. Just relax. Your privilege is to join hands with your Father and enthusiastically run through the fields of grace He has planted for you in this world. He’ll see to it that you reach His intended destination for you.


Grow older if you must, but don’t grow up. Stay a child at heart. One day you’ll see that the things that worry you most now didn’t even matter in the eternal scheme of things. Live with eternity in view. Play – it will do your heart good and your Father will be pleased.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”







(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 05, 2004, 03:49:42 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


How To Stay Happily Married
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
Lord, send me a good looking girlfriend.” This was my constant prayer. Forget the war in Vietnam, racial tensions at home, or a hotel called Watergate. When I was sixteen years old, those things paled to insignificance compared to my desire for a girlfriend. My prayer took priority over everything else. After all, I’d never had a girlfriend and it wasn’t cool to be without one at sixteen.

One Sunday morning while I was sitting on the back row in Sunday School, the answer to my prayers walked in the door. It was a visitor I had never seen before, but as soon as I saw her I knew that this would be a great place to start my dating career. After church that day, despite my bumbling attempt at asking her out, she said yes.

The first date seemed to go well, so I decided to try again for a second date. Again she said yes. Then she said yes for a third date and a fourth. I dated that girl every week for three years. Then I married her. She was the only girl I ever dated. Melanie and I have now been married for 30 years in July. We have four children and three grandchildren.

The odds of two teens staying married, and happily married at that, are very unlikely. I’m no expert on the subject, but after nearly three decades of having both scaled the heights and plumbed the depths of marriage, I’m convinced that the key to a happy marriage can be identified in one word — Jesus.

On the day Melanie and I were married, knowing nothing about how to build a strong marriage, God prompted us to agree upon one thing. In a day before anyone had even heard the phrase, “prenuptial agreement,” we agreed on one tenet of marriage. It was the decision that Christ would be the Source of our relationship. On our wedding night, the very first thing we did when we arrived at the hotel where we would spend our honeymoon was to kneel together beside the bed in prayer. We gave our marriage to Jesus that night.

It wasn’t human wisdom that caused us to do such a thing. It was a God given understanding that we had better depend upon Him because all we knew about our marriage was that we loved each other. That act of unified agreement, that one decision, was the only prenuptial agreement with which we entered into marriage. But it was enough.

We have reached a place where the divorce rate inside the church has surpassed the number outside the church, evidence that we must be missing a big piece of the puzzle in experiencing the “happily ever after” for which we all hope. The Bible says that “Unless the Lord build a house, they labor in vain that build it.” What does that statement mean in practical terms?

Marriage might be compared to a house. It is important to have strong planks in building a house. All of our lives, Christians have been told about these planks. Believers already know the importance of praying together as a couple. We recognize the need for the primacy of God’s Word in our relationships. We understand the value of being a part of a church family. We have been taught how to do everything from budget our money to argue, all from a Christian perspective. These things aren’t new to anybody who has even casually been exposed to the church. Yet the divorces continue.

The problem in modern marriages may be discovered by examining the foundation of the house. Strong planks mean nothing unless they stand on a strong foundation. They will only stand until a strong wind comes along and blows them down. Couples can read the Bible, pray, go to church, study every method known to man for maintaining their marriage and still find themselves in divorce court. Don’t you know couples at church ended up divorced despite the fact that they were doing all the right things externally? Does this suggest that the planks of Christian behavior are unimportant? No! It simply points to the necessity of a proper foundation and religious disciplines aren’t it.

What is the foundation upon which an enduring and loving marriage must stand? It is nothing less than the life of Jesus Christ. Christian marriages aren’t about doing all the right things. That may describe a religious marriage, but an authentic Christian marriage is founded on an intimate union two people share with Jesus Christ. Marriages inside the church are failing because many have made a subtle shift from Jesus to religious activity. Many have a long inventory list to ensure they possess all the planks of spiritual disciplines, but have forgotten about the foundation of Christ Himself.

Church attendance alone is not enough. Neither is praying together, nor reading the Bible. Learning effective communication skills won’t hold a marriage together. There isn’t one Christian who doesn’t know the value of these things. They are important, but they simply aren’t enough when standing alone. They must rest upon the foundation of Christ’s life being expressed in and through marriage partners individually and together.

Grace in marriage is divine enablement by the life of Jesus Christ within us so that we can be all that God has called us to be and do all that He has called us to do. Understanding who we are in Christ is the key that unlocks the door to a successful marriage. We are each one with Him, thereby making us one with each other.

The planks can only be effectively put into place when our marriage is founded upon the Person of Jesus Christ. As we learn to abide in Him, He indeed builds our marriage, consecrating our relationship and causing it to be a precious, holy union through which the three of us experience an intimacy which is nothing less than divine. Anything else is simply empty religious ritual.



Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds a house, they labor in vain who build it.

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries,
www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 




Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 05, 2004, 04:46:34 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

When GOD Rolls By
by Steve McVey
 
_________________

 
My youngest son, David, lived in New York City at the time the Twin Towers were attacked. From his apartment in Jersey City, he could see the skyline of New York. On September 11, he watched the Towers fall from outside his apartment.

David had moved there to pursue a career in acting, a lifelong love of his. Prior to the attack on America, he had already been discouraged. Things just weren’t working out for him like he had hoped. He began to wonder what God was up to in his life.

Then came 9/11, which only added to the sense of discouragement that he was already feeling. Finally, came the grand finale of his hard times. He was walking down the street one day when a stranger, obviously strung out of drugs, shoved a gun in David’s face and robbed him.

He went outside the city and in a rural area, sat alone to pray. He prayed to his heavenly Father, “I sometimes don’t feel like you are anywhere around me anymore,” he said. “Show me that you are still with me.

No sooner had he prayed that than he heard an approaching sound and looked up to see what was interrupting his otherwise tranquil setting. It was a tractor-trailer truck, which rolled right past his line of sight. There, in huge letters, printed across the trailer were the letters – “GOD.”

Underneath, he noticed the smaller words which the initials represented – “Guaranteed On Delivery,” but that was irrelevant. He laughed at his own unbelief as he realized that at the very instant he had asked his heavenly Father to give evidence of His presence, GOD rolled right past him in letters too big to miss.

Do you see God in your daily life? Your heavenly Father is with you in the midst of your circumstances, whatever they may be. At times when it feels like He isn’t involved in your situation, look beyond the superficial evidences of this physical world and recognize that He is right in front of your face. He will never leave or forsake you.

Don’t allow the circumstances of your life to be what you use to determine how your Father feels about you. Circumstances can’t tell you that. If you want to know how He feels toward you, look beyond the temporal situations of life and see the cross.

At the cross, you will find an expression of His divine love for you. He loves you so much that He paid the highest price to ensure that you were His for all eternity. Sometimes He shouts His love in large letters. At others times, he gently whispers His love in the recesses of our hearts. In whatever ways He chooses to speak into your life, you can be assured that you are loved. He does care . . . and nothing is ever going to change that. Listen for Him to speak to you this week and you will hear the words, “I love you.”

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries,
www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 





Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 05, 2004, 05:25:33 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Living Peaceably Together
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
The newspaper report read, “James L. Ramey, 53, of Clyde, N.C., was charged with assault in November after a 15 minute brawl at the rural Full Gospel Holiness Church. The brawl began when one person wanted to occupy the back pew, which was occupied, as usual, by a church regular. The church minister's son suffered a bite to the neck that required 31 stitches.”

Getting along with people – it can sometimes be a challenge in life. Someone once described it in a poem:



To live above with saints we love,


Oh, that will be glory!


To live below with saints we know,


Well, that’s a different story!


While it is unlikely that you’ve ever been in a brawl at church, the chances are that there is at least one other Christian in your life with whom you tend to have problems. How can we get along with people with whom it is often hard to live peaceably? The Apostle Paul had a word on the matter than can help immeasurably. He wrote, “From now on, we know no one according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:16). Then in the next verse he said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.”

What does this have to do with getting along with people? It has to do with the way we choose to relate to other believers. To know somebody after the flesh is to decide their identity based on superficial, earthly things — such as their behavior, their position, – things like that.

Paul said that he chose not to know people within that context. Instead, he points to the fact that, in Christ, we are new creatures. When we choose by faith to look past the human flaws in other people and to see Jesus in them, it becomes much easier to “be at peace with them.” We can’t control how others act, but we can determine how we will respond to them.

When you find it difficult to get along with somebody, there are a few things you might do which could help you navigate through stressful moments.

1. Pray a quick prayer for the person. Ask Jesus to express love to them through you. When we react to the bad mood of others with a negative response, we have allowed them to control us. Why let somebody else cause you to get in a bad mood? You can choose to express love to them and not allow the circumstance to rob you of your own joy.


2. Remember that people who are hard to get along with almost always have conflict going on within themselves. A sales clerk in a store once acted like a jerk to me. My first impulse was to react the same way (I can act like a jerk with the best of them), but instead I paused, looked at the lady and sincerely asked, “Are you having a bad day?” To my amazement, she began to pour out the details of her personal life that were causing trouble for her. I was so glad that I hadn’t acted on my first impulse. Her demeanor instantly softened when I asked that question. (The question I asked could be asked in an accusatory way and add to the problem.) It was one of those “God-moments” when He allowed me to see the importance of responding in love and not reacting impulsively.


3. Recognize the fact that the problem may be within you and not the other person. There have been times when I’ve found myself irritated several times by other people before it finally dawned on me – “They aren’t doing anything wrong. I’m just in a bad mood today!” Maybe the quality in another person that irritates you isn’t a bad quality. Maybe that person reminds you of somebody else that you’ve had trouble with in your past. Or maybe you’re just in a bad mood yourself.


When you find yourself feeling irritable toward somebody else, ask the Holy Spirit this question, “Lord, is it me?” You might be surprised to find out that the problem isn’t with the other person at all.

Paul determined to look beyond human characteristics and see Jesus in every Christian. Mother Teresa was once asked about her work with the lepers – “Do you imagine that it is Jesus ministering to them when you serve them?” “No,” she answered. “When I look at them, I see the face of Jesus.”

There’s the key – seeing Jesus in others. Look beyond the grouch and see Jesus in the face of your brother and sister in Christ. As much as it is possible, live at peace. That choice expresses the life of Christ.

And if anybody ever wants to take your seat in church, especially if it is on the back row – just give it to them!





If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

Romans 12:18




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries,"  www.gracewalk.org




(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Rearing Teenagers - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 05, 2004, 07:04:48 AM
Rearing Teenagers
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
Why was Isaac twelve years old when God called Abraham to sacrifice his son? Because if he had been a teenager, it wouldn’t have been a sacrifice. Rearing teens– my four children are all out of their teens now, but there were times during those years when I thought The Great Tribulation had come upon us. I identified with one pastor who said, “When my children were very young, I had a sermon I used to preach called, Five Sure Steps For Rearing Godly Children. Then they became teenagers and I changed the title to A Few Things You Can Try Which May or May Not Work!”


Do you have teenagers? The teen years are seven of the most exciting years of a person’s life. During the teen years, youth begin to assert their own independence in ways that they haven’t tried until now. It is during these years that they are forming their own sense of self-identity. When I was a teen, many left home to “find themselves.” That desire hasn’t changed for teens.


“Who am I?” is the predominate question on the mind of teenagers of every generation. It is a normal question and one that must be answered. How can parents help a teen establish a true understanding of his identity? Several things can help:


1. Separate behavior from identity.

Take lying as an example. Will a Christian teenager ever tell a lie? As surely as the sun will rise tomorrow. (If you believe otherwise, you’re in for a wild ride!) Suppose a parent catches the teen in a lie, how are we to handle it? There are a number of factors which will be involved in our response, but one key element is to separate our child’s behavior from their identity.


For instance, never call your child “a liar.” They are not liars, but only acting like one. One friend of mine taught his children from the time that they were young that Christians are “truth-tellers” and that it is inconsistent with who we are to tell lies. That’s a good idea.


Teens are crying out to know, “Who am I? Do I have value? Am I lovable?” Don’t undermine a person’s basic identity by striking a blow at who they are. Deal instead with the behavior. “You lied to me and that stands in contradiction to everything I know to be true about you!” is a better response than calling your child a liar.


2. Allow your teen to see the authenticity of your own relationship to Christ.


Going to church every week isn’t enough. If that is the extent of spiritual exposure teens see in their parents, they will come to confuse being a Christian with acting religious. Regularly talk about Jesus Christ and His relevance to your daily lives. Let your relationship to Him be a part of everything in your family.


The question teens asked in generations past is, “Is it true?” Today, the underlying question in the minds of youth is, “What difference does it make?” Allow your teen to see the difference that Jesus makes in your home and in your own life.


3. Look for teachable moments in the life of your teen.

There will be times when you find your teen very receptive to spiritual input. Watch for those moments. Some of the best times I have had with my children were incidental moments. When my daughter broke up with her boyfriend, we talked it through and then prayed together. When my son’s friend’s parents divorced, we prayed for him. When a good friend moved away, we prayed.


Anytime your teen becomes emotionally upset over problems, there is great potential to show the relevance of Jesus to the situation. To allow your teenagers to hear you pray for them is one of the best legacies you can leave them. Don’t try to force it. Just be open to the Holy Spirit showing you those teachable moments and then respond when he does.


There are many jokes about being a teenager and having teenagers, but the truth is that in some ways it is the best years of family life together. These are the days when you are readying your children to launch out into the world to fulfill the unique plan that God has for them. Trust the Lord during these few short years to guide you in rearing your teens. He has a great plan for your children and He will assume responsibility to see that His plan is fulfilled.


Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord – Ephesians 6:4


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org
 







(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: When We Are Treated Wrongly -GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 05, 2004, 04:45:42 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


When We Are Treated Wrongly
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
If you are a typical Christian, you are likely infected with a spiritual disease that is poisoning you on the inside. Many don’t even know they have the problem. Like a cancer, this malady will slowly destroy your spiritual health. It will short-circuit experiencing the fullness of victory in Christ faster than almost anything.

What is this disease? Unforgiveness. Failure to forgive those who have treated us wrongly is an epidemic in the modern church. It robs us of the joy that Jesus came to give us and causes us to become judgmental toward others. It creates an underlying negativity in our attitude that will affect every area of our lives.

What does it mean to forgive? Forgiveness is the deliberate choice to release a person from all obligation he has toward us as a result of any offense he has committed against us. Consider that definition and ask the Holy Spirit is there is any unforgiveness in you toward any other person.

Misunderstandings About Forgiveness

Many think that there is no need to forgive others because they have a misunderstanding about the meaning of forgiveness. Consider a few of the common faulty beliefs about forgiveness.

1. Time heals all wounds.

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. If you believe that just because you don’t feel the pain of a past offense anymore, it doesn’t need further attention, you’re hurting yourself. Hurts in our lives have an accumulative effect unless we forgive those who wrong us. It produces an underlying anger that will affect the way we relate to everything in life.

Frank Minirth and Paul Meier wrote in their book, Happiness Is A Choice:

Anger is hard to deal with unless an individual realizes it is there. If he becomes angry out of proportion to the actual event, it may be because the event reminded him of another period in his life when he felt inferior and inadequate. The current event reinforced those past feelings and insecurities. Perhaps 25% of his response was to the current situation, and the other 75% was his reaction to feelings that were long ago repressed.

Is your reaction to frustrating incidents in your life out of proportion to the incident itself? Unforgiveness may be the root cause. We live in an angry society. If you doubt that fact, watch the drivers in other cars during your drive to work tomorrow. Watch the evening news. Ours is an angry world. We have all been hurt at times. The only way to be freed from anger is to forgive.

2. To forgive somebody else, I must have feelings of forgiveness.

This is an error that can keep you imprisoned in unforgiveness. Forgiveness is a deliberate choice to release a person. It isn’t a feeling we have. It is a choice we make. Don’t believe the lie that it would be hypocritical to forgive just because you don’t feel it. Our feelings aren’t the basis for our actions as Christians. We live by faith, not feelings.

After we choose to forgive others, healing will gradually come to our feelings. If, however, we wait until we feel like forgiving, it may never happen. Don’t allow negative feelings to keep you from forgiving. Rise above your feelings and act in faith.


3. They don’t deserve to be forgiven.

Of course they don’t! If they deserved it, there would be no need for forgiveness. To forgive someone is to extend grace (undeserved favor) to them. We don’t forgive because others deserve it. We forgive them because we have been forgiven and because we want to be set free from the damaging effects of unforgiveness in our own lives.

The Bible says, “forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Did you deserve God’s forgiveness? He forgave us by His grace. That is how we forgive others. Not because they deserve it, but because we choose to show them grace.


Do you want to be set free from the burden of unforgiveness? Forgiveness is the gateway to freedom from underlying anger, resentment, bitterness, negativity. Never does a Christian more clearly express the indwelling life of Christ than when we forgive those who have wronged us. Don’t be held captive by misunderstandings about forgiveness. Choose, by faith, to release those who have hurt you and you will discover that, in the process, God is releasing you.

“Forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Ephesians 4:32
(This devotion on forgiveness will be continued next week.)

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”




(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 




Title: How to Forgive - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 06, 2004, 03:55:17 AM



How to Forgive
by Steve McVey
 
_________________

 
We don’t forgive other people because they need it. We forgive them because we need it. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door to freedom from the effect of past hurts in our lives.


When we hold onto unforgiveness toward other people, we aren’t hurting them. We are only hurting ourselves. Comedian Buddy Hackett once said, “I've had a few arguments with people, but I never carry a grudge. You know why? While you're carrying a grudge, they're out dancing."


We forgive people, not for their sake, but for ours. Your unforgiveness may not even affect them, but it will certainly affect you. Until you forgive a person who has wronged you, you allow them to continue to control you.


But what if they aren’t sorry? They don’t have to be sorry in order for you to forgive them. Forgiveness is the deliberate choice to release a person from all obligation they have toward us as a result of any offense they have committed against us. There is nothing in that definition that requires action on the part of the guilty party.


Forgiveness is a conscious choice you make. It is an act of the will, not the emotions. Forgiveness is the way out that God gives you to be freed from the past, to be freed from those who have hurt you. To refuse to forgive is to stay in a prison that will keep you from ever enjoying the full abundance of life Jesus wants you to know.


How are we to move forward in forgiving those who have wronged us? Several simple steps taken in faith can set us free.


1. Pray and ask the Lord to show you those who have hurt you. Write their names on a piece of paper. This may take a few days or even weeks. Don’t rush it. The Holy Spirit will show you those you need to forgive. If a name comes to mind, write it down even if you don’t think you need to forgive the person. After all, you did pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you the names. Don’t screen the list based on your own understanding.


2. Write a description of exactly what these people did to you. Be specific in your description. Don’t use vague generalities, but use detailed examples of how you have been offended by others. Unless you are specific, the act of forgiveness will be vague and not have the impact that you need in your life.


3. Describe exactly how you felt when the offense took place. The importance in identifying how you felt is to reattach the emotion to the incident. The reason for this is that it isn’t possible to fully forgive if we don’t recognize the extent of damage done to us. That’s why it is important to recognize how you felt at the time of the offense.

4. By faith, forgive those who have hurt you. Many have found it helpful to speak out loud, as if the person were in the room. Express your forgiveness to those who have hurt you, confessing that you are releasing them from any obligation for what they have done.


Perhaps the following can be helpful in facilitating the forgiveness you want to extend. Take your list of names and fill in the following:


“(Insert the name of the person who wronged you), I want to resolve a matter of unforgiveness toward you. You have wronged me, but I don’t want to be handicapped by this hurt for the rest of my life. What you did to me was (describe the exact incident). When you did that, it made me feel (describe how you felt, not what you thought at the time).

You were wrong and I was hurt by your actions. But, (insert the offender’s name), right now I forgive you. I release you from any obligation you have toward me because of what you have done. Just as Christ has forgiven me, I now forgive you.”



Now, pray and thank the Lord for the grace He gives you to forgive others. Ask Him to bring healing to your emotions and to fill you with a greater sense of His love for you. Complete this time by affirming that you have forgiven others at this very moment.


Will your feelings instantly change? Maybe not. But that’s okay. As you remind yourself of the truth that you have forgiven those who wronged you, your feelings will gradually change. You may still find that feelings of anger or resentment arise within you at times. That’s normal. When they do, remind yourself of the truth that you have forgiven. It doesn’t mean you didn’t forgive just because you may still have negative feelings at times. Simply acknowledge your feelings and then walk in the truth.


Forgiveness is a choice and you made that choice. Don’t allow the enemy to bring you back into the slavery of unforgiveness again. Through forgiveness you have been set free. So enjoy your freedom!


“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:36

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”




(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Do You Like Your Pastor? - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 07, 2004, 03:52:14 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



Do You Like Your Pastor?
by Steve McVey
 
_________________

 
“I don’t like you,” the church member said to me with absolutely no expression on her face. “Why?” I asked. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I haven’t liked you from the moment you arrived at our church.”


This was an actual conversation I had with a lady once when I was still a local church pastor. I’ve known a few people through the years who felt the freedom to express their lack of appreciation for me, both as their pastor and as a human being. That’s a tough spot for pastors because it leaves them with no recourse. How is a pastor to respond to that kind of statement? “I don’t like you either?” Or, “I’m so sorry. I’ll try to be more likeable?”


Do you like your pastor? One newsletter had some tongue-in-cheek suggestions for church members unhappy with their pastor: "Simply send a copy of this letter to six other churches who are tired of their ministers. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of the list. Add your name to the bottom of the list. In one week you will receive 16,436 ministers, and one of them should be a dandy. Have faith in this letter. One man broke the chain and got his old minister back."


Sometimes people don’t like their pastor because they have put unrealistic expectations on him and are frustrated because he doesn’t line up to them. Their perception of him is that his DNA is somehow different from there own. Are you under the impression that your pastor is some sort of super-saint who is wired differently from other human beings? He isn’t. At times he argues with his wife. He loses his temper with his children. He worries about his kids. Just as some at church don’t like him, he may not particularly like everybody there either. Is that right? Maybe not, but it’s human.


Regardless of appearances that might indicate otherwise, your pastor is a regular guy. Don’t think that what you see in the pulpit on Sunday is all there is to him. He doesn’t speak King James English at home. He may watch football or David Letterman or Everybody Loves Raymond. He might even know who was voted off Survivor last week.


Don’t impose a persona on him that demands perfection. He’s not a Super-Hero without flaws. If you’re looking for a perfect pastor, you aren’t going to find him – not in any church. When you see his weaknesses, pray for him.


Show grace to your pastor. You don’t know what may be going on in his own life at any given moment. He may be dealing with personal problems that you don’t know about. One pastor I knew took great criticism from people in his church for not being at his best at the same time he and his wife were caring for her brother, who was dying of the A.I.D.S. virus.


Consider the following inside look at the lives of pastors.

-- 90% of pastors work more than 46 hours a week.

-- 80% believed that pastoral ministry affected their families negatively.

-- 33% said that being in ministry was an outright hazard to their family.

-- 75% reported a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.

-- 50% felt unable to meet the needs of the job.

-- 90% felt they were inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands.

-- 70% say they have a lower self-esteem now than when they started out.

-- 40% reported a serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.

(Taken from Pastors At Risk, H. B. London, Jr. and Neil B. Wiseman, Victor Books.)


Pastors have emotional ups and downs, just like everybody else. Allow your pastor the freedom to deal with personal struggles. If he has consistently ministered to you, ask yourself how you can minister to him. Pastors sometimes burn out for the simply reason that they continuously give without ever receiving ministry from others.


Why not pray right now and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how you can minister to your pastor – then do it. Bless him with acts of kindness. Pray for him. Then watch how the Lord changes you both.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 




(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Change Your Underwear - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 07, 2004, 04:42:52 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Change Your Underwear
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
God plainly told Moses – “Here’s the kind of underwear that must be worn. Anything else and the penalty is death.” In Exodus 28:42-43, He spoke to Moses about the garments of the high priests saying,


You shall make for them linen breeches to cover their bare flesh; they shall reach from the loins even to the thighs. They shall be on Aaron and his sons when they enter the tent of meeting, or when the approach the altar to minister in the holy place, so that they do not incur guilt and die.


Why would it matter what kind of underwear the priests wore? It’s because of what it symbolizes. Old Testament matters often point to New Testament truths. If God’s instructions weren’t carried out exactly as He said, the type (illustration) would be lost. So what’s the importance of the priests wearing linen underwear? The answer revolves around two things:


1. The linen underwear points to a powerful message for living in Christ.

Underwear illustrating the grace walk? It seems almost irreverent to suggest such a thing. But the fact is that the underwear of the priest represents our true identity. Nobody sees your underwear but you. The very mention of your underwear is personal, intimate and private. The “breeches” refer to what you are in the secret place of your own life. A priest may appear to be fully dressed, but be naked underneath. Some people appear to be spiritually dressed, but God knows they are spiritually naked!

What does God see when He looks at you? Are you fully dressed or do you have everybody else fooled except God? God sees who you really are! Your true identity is determined by who you are at the deepest level of your life. If you are wearing the underwear of His holiness, that’s who you are regardless of how dirty your shirt and pants might be. On the other hand, if you aren’t wearing underwear, God knows you are naked regardless of how well starched your shirt might be and how sharp the crease in your pants is.

Another aspect of the underwear is that it covers a part of you which should never be publically exposed. The Bible word used to describe independent, self-sufficient living is flesh. The word “flesh” in the New Testament generally isn’t describing skin, but is a word used to describe the techniques a man lives by when he isn’t trusting Jesus Christ to animate his behavior.

At salvation, God clothes us with the holiness of Jesus Christ in order to cover our flesh. As a Christian, we have flesh, but it is to remain covered by the holiness of His indwelling Life. Romans 13:14 says, But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh. We all have flesh, but we don’t have to expose it! Nakedness is a condition which exists when our flesh is showing. Paul said, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

Do you see the powerful message of the priest’s underwear? God wants to change you at the deepest and most personal level of your being. He wants to give you His life to cover the nakedness of your sin so that you’ll never have to be ashamed again!

2. The linen underwear points to a particular method for living in Christ.

Note that the underwear the priests wore was made of linen. Why did God care what kind of material was used in making this underwear? Leviticus 16:4 said about the priest, He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash, and attired with the linen turban (these are the holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body and put them on.

The priests had to be bathed... made clean; then they were to wear these linen garments. Why linen? Ezekiel 44:18 answers: Linen turbans shall be on their heads, and linen undergarments shall be on their loins; they shall not gird themselves with anything which makes them sweat.

God’s plan is that those who serve Him should never sweat! Do we serve? Yes. Do we work with zeal? Of course. The grace walk is not a passive lifestyle, but it is a lifestyle in which we are never to work to the point of sweating because we aren’t depending on our own strength to serve. Instead we are trusting in the strength of Jesus Christ who indwells us..

All of our self-efforts to do things for Him are dead, meaningless works anyway! Exodus 28:42 teaches that if we minister in the holy place without wearing the underwear of His holiness, nothing will come of it except death. Ministry out of the flesh will always result in death. It may look good, but it is still dead.

Are you depending on your own self sufficiency or living from the strength of His life? Let God change your underwear today! Stop trying to manage your own life and allow Him to give you His holiness at the most intimate, personal level. He never intended that you should work to the point of exhaustion. That’s why the priests couldn’t wear anything that caused them to sweat.

We aren’t to sweat the Christian life. We simply rest in Christ and know that He has clothed us with everything we need to effectively serve Him.


This devotional is taken from Steve McVey’s teaching series, “The Garments Of Grace” and may be obtained from our web site at www.gracewalk.org or by calling 1-800-GRACE-11.

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed in its entirety, with no changes, and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 08, 2004, 04:17:53 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Keeping Our Eyes On The Captain
by Steve McVey
 
_________________

 
The boat was heeling over until water rushed over the rail. I braced myself to capsize at any second as the howling wind and rain beat into my face. Visions from the movie White Squall (one in which almost everybody drowned in a storm at sea) ran through my mind. I wasn’t nervous. I had passed that state ten minutes ago. I was afraid.

The incident happened a few years ago when Melanie and I were taking sailing lessons. We were in the middle of Sir Francis Drake Channel when our instructor pointed toward the horizon and said, “See that squall in the distance?” “Yes,” we answered, expecting him to tell us how we would sail around it.

“We’re going to sail right into the middle of it,” he said. “Take compass bearings, because you won’t be able to see land when we reach the middle of it.” I assumed he knew what he was doing. We soon learned that his purpose was to teach us how to maneuver the boat in adverse conditions so that we would be prepared in the event that someone ever fell overboard.

“There’s no better place to do a man-overboard drill than in a storm. That’s where people are most likely to fall overboard,” he explained. “That makes sense,” I thought. It only made sense until we sailed into the storm. I wasn’t prepared for its intensity.

He had thrown the life preserver overboard several times and we had rehearsed making a sudden stop, turning around to retrieve it, as we would do if it were a person in the water. Things had gone fairly smooth the first few times. But this last time was different. As I trimmed the sail to bring it closer to the center of the boat, Melanie began to turn the boat to make our tack.

Suddenly, in one quick instant, the wind caught the sail and the boat heeled over on its side so that the mast almost touched the water. That’s when the panic hit me. It was at that point that I braced myself to capsize. I didn’t know what mistake we had made, but I thought it was a big one.

Instantly, I turned to look at our instructor for help. As I looked toward him, I saw him standing there – calmly. He had one foot on the rail, where water was rushing over into the boat and the other on the deck of the boat. And in the midst of all this, there was an expression of perfect calm on his face.

I immediately thought to myself, “Things must be okay. He understands sailing better than us and he is perfectly calm.” I held on, the boat soon righted itself and everything was fine.

When the situation was all over, I remarked to our instructor, “You seemed calm through the whole ordeal. I was scared to death until I saw your expression. Then I assumed everything must be okay.”

“I knew the boat would turn up into the wind and everything would be alright,” he answered. “That’s why I wasn’t worried.”

I thought about what he said later and realized that life is like sailing the boat on that day. Sometimes, we’re going along with smooth sailing when suddenly we find ourselves in a storm. We may be doing our best to navigate through it when a gust of adversity blows into our lives and threatens to capsize everything we hold dear.

What do we do in those moments? We turn our attention to Jesus. We intentionally look into His face and when we do, we will see the same expression I saw on our instructors face that day at sea – one of complete peace.

Jesus isn’t worrying about the storms of this world because He already knows how it will all turn out in the end. After all, He is the one who controls the wind and the waves (see Mark 4:41). He has everything under control.

Are you going through a storm in your life? Keep your eyes on Jesus. He has His way in whirling winds and storms and the clouds are the dust of His feet. (Nahum 1:3) You aren’t going to drown. The captain of your salvation is in control of your destiny and He will see to it that you arrive safely at the destination He has planned for you. Don’t watch the waves. Watch Him and know that regardless of any evidence to the contrary, everything is going to be alright.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Kudzu Christians - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 08, 2004, 03:20:52 PM


GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional  


  Do you need a reminder of God's grace...?

Have you ever swam in the ocean and been so distracted with the waves that you forgot to keep your eyes on the shore? It doesn't take long before we can slowly drift down the beach without even realizing it, does it?

Legalism works the same way. It seeks to distract us from dependence and trust in Jesus to trusting in our performance. It comes at us at a hundred miles per hour, all day, everyday. It doesn't jerk you abruptly over into its clutches. Instead, legalism slowly, almost imperceptibly, pulls us under until one day we turn around and we've lost sight of the shore.

Each one of us on the Grace Walk team is susceptible to the same scheme of our enemy. No one is immune to the deception. That's why we are convinced that renewing our minds constantly on the truth of the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) is crucial to experiencing victory over the ongoing bombardment of legalism. We would like to share those reminders with you. Please visit us each month for what we hope are helpful reminders to you of God's amazing grace...
 


+++++++++++++++++++++++++


Kudzu Christiansby Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
“If we really are righteous, then why do we still sin? “ This was the question one man asked me after I had spoken about the believer’s righteousness in Jesus Christ. His question was a good one. Why do we still find ourselves committing sins at times if we have indeed been made righteous by the gift of God’s grace? (See Romans 4:5; 5:17,19; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 4:24; Philippians 1:11; 3:9)


It certainly isn’t because we still have an unrighteous nature. In Jesus Christ, we have received a new nature – His very nature! (See 2 Peter 1:3-4) The man we were “in Adam” was crucified with Jesus. (See Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20) However we haven’t yet been delivered from the presence of indwelling sin. Our spirits have been redeemed and our soul is being renewed. One day we will be delivered from the very presence of sin, but until we receive glorified bodies, we each possess the power of indwelling sin in our bodies. (See Romans 7:21-23) As we trust Christ at each moment, His life empowers us to walk in victory. However, when we fail to depend on Him, we yield ourselves to the power of sin.


It is possible to say no to sin! How was the power of sin in our lives broken? It is by the cross of Jesus Christ. Author J. Alistair Brown once shared a good example on the subject. He said:

Walking through a park one day, I passed a massive oak tree. A vine had grown up along its trunk. The vine started small – nothing to bother about. But over the years the vine had gotten taller and taller. By the time I passed, the entire lower half of the tree was covered by the vine's creepers. The mass of tiny feelers was so thick that the tree looked as though it had innumerable birds' nests in it.

Now the tree was in danger. This huge, solid oak was quite literally being taken over; the life was being squeezed from it. But the gardeners in that park had seen the danger. They had taken a saw and severed the trunk of the vine – one neat cut across the middle. The tangled mass of the vine's branches still clung to the oak, but the vine was now dead. That would gradually become plain as weeks passed and the creepers began to die and fall away from the tree. How easy it is for sin, which begins so small and seemingly insignificant, to grow until it has a strangling grip on our lives. And yet, Christ's death has cut the power of sin. Yes, the "creepers" of sin still cling and have some effect. But sin's power is severed by Christ, and gradually, sin's grip dries up and falls away.


In the southern United States, we have a vine that does the same thing to trees. It’s called Kudzu. Kudzu grows rampant and will eventually destroy healthy trees. That’s exactly what the flesh will do to the fruitful lives of victorious Christians. But it doesn’t have to be that way.


At the cross of Jesus Christ, the trunk (source) of sin in our lives was severed. The flesh patterns of our past may still cling to us, but there is no source of life to sustain them anymore. The cross of Jesus Christ destroyed the power of sin in your life by dealing a death blow to your old nature!

Do you want to walk in freedom over the flesh patterns of your past? Appropriate by faith that the cross was sufficient. Allow the life-giving power of Christ’s life to surge through you like nutrients from the ground passing through the roots into the tree to produce fruit.


You may recognize old fleshly vines clinging to you that grew over a period of years, but as you trust Christ to express Himself as your very life, you will see those vines wither and lose their grip on you. Don’t be a Kudzu Christian, allowing the flesh to grow in your life. Keep your eyes on Jesus. By His grace, He will prune away the life-draining patterns that rob you of His life flowing without restriction in and through you. He will free you daily from sin’s power and will produce the fruit of the Spirit in your life.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Call Me “Doctor” - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 08, 2004, 07:34:07 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Call Me “Doctor”

by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
“Nobody” calls our pastor by his first name, the church secretary said to the mayor of the town in which the church was located. “His name is Doctor . . .” she added. This secretary’s pastor proudly shared this story with other pastors in a meeting I once attended. He spoke with pride about how she had blasted the mayor because he had the very nerve to call the pastor by his name. I couldn’t help but wonder if this mayor was a Christian and what he thought about that kind of foolishness.


Don’t misunderstand. If people want to show respect for their pastor, I’m all for it. But this guy demanded that others call him “Brother” or “Doctor” or “Pastor.” Yet I had heard this man refer to the Apostle Paul himself as simply “Paul.” I wondered if he fancied himself as ranking “higher up-line” that the old Apostle himself!


This kind of silliness goes on in legalistic churches all the time. (I’m embarrassed to admit that I bought into legalistic lunacy in my own ministry in years past.) Modern day Pharisees love admiration by others.


Jesus dealt with this same bunch during his earthly ministry. He often derided them for their ridiculous ways. While He showed great tenderness and compassion for the down-and-outers, Jesus took off the gloves when it came to Pharisees. He didn’t hesitate to point out the foolishness of some of the things they made Fundamental, which in reality didn’t even matter.


Consider some of the characteristics of legalistic religious leaders that Jesus pounced:

1. They hunger for power. In Matthew 23:2, He said that the Pharisees “have seated themselves in the chair of Moses” Modern day Pharisees like to sit in the important seat too. They posture themselves to communicate to others that they are the authority on everything. They will do whatever it takes to be in control. Nobody questions their decrees – after all, they speak for God!

2. They live by a double standard. In 23:3-4, the Lord said that they will tell you what you need to do and how you should live, but they don’t even do it themselves. They may preach against theaters, but rent the videos. They’ll preach against tobacco with fried chicken grease dripping off their own elbows. They may renounce laziness, then preach somebody else’s sermons rather than prepare. They lay the law down on others, but find loopholes for their own lives.

3. They are addicted to affirmation. Jesus said, “They do all their deeds to be noticed by men” (23:5-6). Pharisees wore the phylacteries and tassels on their garments to show their commitment to the law and the length of their prayers. The modern Pharisee likes to wear his “commitment” on his sleeve too. He won’t hesitate to tell you about all the sacrifices he makes because of his deep commitment. “I could be making a lot more money in the secular world,” I heard one pastor say, as if God were blessed to have this man on His team.

4. They are hung up on titles. Jesus said they love the place of honor, respectful greetings and religious titles. (23:6-10) The Pharisees insisted on being called “Rabbi” or “Teacher” or “Father.” They are full of themselves and want others to humble themselves before them in adoration. Today, they may insist on being called “Reverend” or “Doctor” or other titles. (There is nothing wrong with these titles or using them. The problem comes when a person insists on being addressed in these ways.)


Matthew 23 is filled with the attack of Jesus against religious behavior like this. Read the chapter for yourself and note the harsh words He had for this group. Jesus taught servant leadership as the model of authentic Christianity, not tyrant leadership.


Have you seen religious leaders like these? What should you do if you are in a church with leaders like the ones described in Matthew 23. The answer is: Run , don’t walk, to the nearest exit. There are churches in your town where the leaders are humble servants of Christ who love Him and love people. Don’t waste your time anymore in a toxic environment. The noxious fumes of arrogant legalism bring death. Why keep breathing it? Find a place where you can breathe clean air.


One disclaimer: God may lead you to stay in place like this as a grace missionary. If so, you’d better be prepared for persecution. The Pharisees attacked Jesus 2000 years ago and they still do when they see Him in you.


For church leaders not to understand grace is one thing. I don’t advocate leaving a church over that. I, myself, lived as a legalist with a right heart and wrong head for many years. God may want to use you in a church like that. But if you’re in a place where the leadership are bonafide Pharisees, who reek of religious arrogance, you might want to think about how you’re spending your time and energy. Some battles just aren’t worth it. Jesus didn’t try to persuade the Pharisees; He just renounced them and walked away.


Sound unloving? Ungracious? It’s not. The most gracious thing a medical doctor can do is call cancer by its name and then try to free the patient from it using whatever means are necessary. Legalism is a cancer. May God heal His church from this terrible disease!





Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Dead Pods and New Life - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 09, 2004, 08:42:59 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Dead Pods and New Life

by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
“That tree is going to look bad all season,” I commented to my wife, Melanie, a few weeks ago as we left the house. The tree is right outside our front door. I kept intending to prune it during the winter, but neglected the job all season. A few days ago, I noticed new, green growth on the tree. But the old, ugly, dead pods from last year were still clinging to the limbs.


Yesterday as we backed out of our driveway, I noticed the tree again. In a few short weeks, an amazing transformation had taken place. Most of the dead pods are gone now, lying on the ground beneath its limbs. New growth fills most of the tree, reaching out to the tips of the branches where blossoms will soon appear.


As I looked at the transformation that occurred, the thought came to me: That’s exactly what happens in the life of the Christian! When we trust Christ to save us, He places His divine life into us at that very moment. Although we have His new life, the old flesh patterns of our past life are still clinging to us. They are ugly and obviously dead. But they are there nonetheless.


However, as we begin to grow in grace, a transformation takes place in our lives. The life of Christ surging through us begins to fill us to such an extent that the old fleshly behavior begins to drop away. The ugly remnants of a season gone by are eliminated one by one as New Life fills us.


Jesus once said, “I am the vine and you are the branches” (John 15:5). As we abide in Him, we will discover that it isn’t necessary to try to prune our own life of the ugly things that still are holding on to us. We are simply to trust Him and, because we are rooted and grounded in the love of the Father, the remnants of the old life lose their grip and fall away. Ultimately, His life will fill the branches of our behavior.


As surely as the seasons change, our heavenly Father will finish the job He has started in us. We have been predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (see Romans 8:29) and nothing, not even dead pods from our old life, will stop His work in us. God always finishes what He starts. (Faithful is He who calls you; and He will also bring it to pass – 1 Thessalonians 5:24)


Do you see ugly things still in your life? Let your roots grow deep in His grace and watch the transformation. His grace really is sufficient!





Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Spiritual Awareness - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 10, 2004, 08:45:36 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional  


  Do you need a reminder of God's grace...?

Have you ever swam in the ocean and been so distracted with the waves that you forgot to keep your eyes on the shore? It doesn't take long before we can slowly drift down the beach without even realizing it, does it?

Legalism works the same way. It seeks to distract us from dependence and trust in Jesus to trusting in our performance. It comes at us at a hundred miles per hour, all day, everyday. It doesn't jerk you abruptly over into its clutches. Instead, legalism slowly, almost imperceptibly, pulls us under until one day we turn around and we've lost sight of the shore.

Each one of us on the Grace Walk team is susceptible to the same scheme of our enemy. No one is immune to the deception. That's why we are convinced that renewing our minds constantly on the truth of the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) is crucial to experiencing victory over the ongoing bombardment of legalism. We would like to share those reminders with you. Please visit us each month for what we hope are helpful reminders to you of God's amazing grace...  


+++++++++++++++++++++++++



Spiritual Awarenessby Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
My wife, Melanie, and I have loved the chance to occasionally vacation in the Carribean. At times I have stood in scenic spots overlooking the ocean, with my camera in hand. I’ve felt overwhelmed by the majestic beauty that surrounds me. Blue, crystal clear water stretches out to the horizon until it becomes impossible to tell where the water stops and the sky begins. White, powdery beaches reach as far in both directions as the eye can see. Picturesque palm trees lean forward with fronds reaching out to the water as if they too desperately want to feel the lapping waves. A gentle breeze that seems to promise to breathe youth into any person who will inhale its ocean fragrance. Do you have the sense of what I’m describing?


Now, imagine at those moments that I lift a fifteen dollar disposable camera to my face so that I can take a picture and capture the beauty that lies before and around me. I don’t want to lose this moment. I love it and I want to seize it on film. I want to pull the total impact of everything I’m experiencing at the moment through that camera’s lens and take it home with me on a 3x5 photograph. I want to go home, look at this picture and feel exactly what I’m feeling as I stand on the beach at that moment.


Do you think it will happen? Of course not. A snapshot could never do justice to the beauty. It’s only a minuscule representation of what I’ve seen, but it just can’t do it justice. It can only remind me of the beauty of the moment, it can’t duplicate it. The beauty is simply bigger than any camera can capture.


That’s how it is when we try to see the beauty of Jesus through a religious lens. He is the personification of God’s love – a love much too big to be contained by religion. Consequently He reveals Himself in religious and nonreligious ways. For instance, the Bible says that “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). Clouds aren’t religious. The blue sky isn’t religious. So God doesn’t only communicate through church-talk, but also through cloud-talk. These are only two of His many dialects.


Touched by a German poem written in 1050 about the love of God, Frederick Lehman wrote in my favorite hymn:


Could we with ink the oceans fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the oceans dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.


The means by which God declares His love and presence are without limit. Many ancient saints understood themselves to be living in a “God-bathed” world. If we want to deeply experience intimacy with Him, it helps immeasurably to view the world in the same way. Our Divine Lover reveals Himself in many ways. Jesus is whispering to you right now, every day, in a thousand ways and many of them aren’t religious. We need only to be watching and aware.



This devotional is an excerpt from Steve McVey’s book, The Godward Gaze, to be released in July by Harvest House Publishers. To be notified when the book is released, send us an email and we’ll contact you.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”







(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 




Title: Seduced By The Sea - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 10, 2004, 09:06:39 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Seduced By The Sea

by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
I love the sea. Something about it soothes me, having the ability to bring me tranquility in a way that nothing else can do. I’ve never been able to identify exactly what it is that touches me. I just know that some of the moments when I have felt most at peace with myself and the world have been while I stood ankle deep in the ocean feeling the contrast of my own frailty against its overpowering immensity.

I don’t fully understand my love affair with the water. I do know that it has deepened throughout my lifetime. I wonder about my sense of powerlessness over its seduction. The Psalmist said that "the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof." The Apostle Paul said it like this: "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse" (Romans 1:20). God speaks clearly through what He has created. Since two thirds of the earth’s surface is water, it seems logical that there must be much to learn about our Father through it.

My relationship to Christ is similar in many ways to my relationship with the water. I find Jesus to be irresistible. I am continually and compulsively drawn to Him. Two thousand years ago He said that He would draw men to Himself (John 12:32) and that is exactly what He has done with me by an internal pull which is infinitely greater than that of the ocean.

I can’t explain or defend it to the skeptic, but by His Spirit, He has seduced me to Himself in such a way that I can never be nor want to be free of Him. I can no more understand Him than I can know all the mysteries of the sea, but I am forever captivated by His charm and enthralled by His love for me.

I have determined to just rest in Him. My choice can’t be justified in the eyes of those who don’t believe, but I am past having to justify it. Some may say that there is no ocean where one can see through crystal clear water fifty feet to the bottom, but I’ve been there. I don’t have to prove it to anybody; I know it. I know what I know. Is it a waste for a man to spend his days choosing to simply live in the presence of God through Christ? Not to me?

Do you sense this same inner call toward Christ? That pull you experience isn’t generated from within yourself. It is there because God’s Spirit is pulling you toward Jesus. He is lovingly seducing you to Himself. Respond to His love.

Determine to spend your life basking in His presence, receiving His unconditional love and sharing in His life. Allow waves of agape to wash over you, taking away all your sins, your doubts, your insecurities, your fears. The love of the Father is real. The water is fine. Come on in.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”






(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Who's Your Daddy? - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 11, 2004, 03:54:36 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Who's Your Daddy?
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
Over 20 years ago, I experienced a thrill that still leaves a smile on my face today as I think about it. Melanie and I have four children, all grown now. The first three all said the word, “mama” before I was ever mentioned. Not so with our youngest. I will never forget the day when Amber said, “da-da.” It was a thrill that I won’t ever forget. She didn’t say “mama” first. She said, “da-da.”


I was lucky enough to have Melanie in the room with me when Amber said it. Otherwise, I’m sure that she would have insisted I was hearing what I wanted to hear. But the truth was that she said it. We both heard her.


Do you remember the first time your child called you by name? Mama or dada is often the first name used to address a parent by a small child. The words have a different connotation than “mother” or “father” – both which sound far more formal. Even the words “mom” or dad” tend to come later, after the child has grown a little. “Da-da.” It’s a baby’s word – a word that has thrilled many a new dad’s heart.


There is a word used in the Bible that is much like the word “da-da.” It is the word Abba. The word is from the language spoken by Jesus as a child. It isn’t the same word that would be translated as “father.” It’s a more intimate word, like a baby would use. It’s an affectionate word – very personal and intimate.


When Jesus spoke to His heavenly Father, He called Him “Abba.” (See Mark 14:36) Throughout His earthly life, that was the kind of relationship He had with God the Father. It was one of intimate, affectionate dependence. Jesus was His Father’s little boy, a Son “in whom [He] was well pleased.” The Father adores His Son. He always has . . . and always will.


Can you imagine having the same kind of relationship to God the Father which Jesus has? You don’t have to simply imagine it. You can know that kind of relationship to the Father. The Bible says that we have been adopted as God’s sons and now cry out, “Abba! Father!” (See Romans 8:15) In Galatians, Paul wrote that “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ (4:6)


God the Father isn’t a distant, emotionally reserved, “Father” who oversees your life with an authoritarian, harsh demeanor. He’s more like a doting daddy who laughs with delight over his little baby. Your Daddy is proud of you. At this very moment, He is watching you and thrilled that you belong to Him. I wouldn’t be surprised if He isn’t showing off pictures of you to everybody else in heaven. The point is that He adores you to the same degree that He adores Jesus.


Babies don’t always act the way Dads would like. Sometimes they have diaper problems. Sometimes they pitch temper tantrums. There are times when they just can’t be pleased. They act like babies. But their daddy never stops loving and adoring them. He isn’t thrilled with them because of how they behave. He’s thrilled because they belong to Him!


Who’s your Daddy? The Abba of Jesus Christ is your Abba. He loves you with a love that nothing will ever change. Your birth into His family was neither a surprise nor an accident. He chose to have you as His own child. He dotes over you with a pride and pleasure so big that it can only be contained by a God-sized heart.


So, relax. You don’t have to impress Him. You can just reach up with outstretched arms of faith and cry out, “Daddy!” and He will respond. He always does. He will forever hold you in His arms and eternally declare His love for you. If you listen carefully, you just might hear Him laugh with joy, saying, “Abba loves his little baby so much.”




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Life In An Aquarium - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 12, 2004, 04:29:09 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Life In An Aquarium

by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
Once when I was on vacation, I was sitting in a restaurant overlooking the beach. The water was a clear, blue and beautiful. I could see people snorkeling around a reef just off the shore line. I had been there myself earlier in the day. Beneath the surface of the sea were beautiful coral and colorful fish of every variety. It was the exact kind of place I would want to live if I were a fish!


Inside the restaurant where I was sitting, there was an aquarium near my table. It held 55 gallons of water and contained about a dozen tropical fish. There were a few shells in the bottom. There were several plastic plants sticking out of the gravel in the bottom of the tank. A few rocks had been placed to form a small cave for the fish to enter.


It wasn’t an unattractive aquarium. But as I looked at the aquarium beside me and then looked out the window at the beautiful crystal clear ocean, I couldn’t help but think about the difference. “I feel sorry for these fish,” I said to my wife, Melanie, as I nodded toward the aquarium.

“What?” she asked, looking up from her Cobb Salad.

“I feel sorry for these fish,” I repeated.

“Why do you feel sorry for them?” she asked with a puzzled expression.

“Because they live so close to that,” I answered, nodding toward the ocean. “But they have to live in this.”

“You think too much,” Melanie answered with a slight grin.


There they were – pitiful, little, beautiful fish trapped in a 55 gallon container with plastic plants and a fake cave while the ocean was a hundred yards away. It sort of reminds me of the lifestyle of many Christians.


Authentic Christianity is an ocean of grace. It is a place teeming with life – abundant life. It is filled with opportunities to explore new places and experience new things that those outside the sea of faith will never know.


Empty religion is like the aquarium at the restaurant. There are things there that sort of resemble real Christianity, but they are nothing more than plastic counterfeits. It is a man made product that is intended to duplicate the authentic, but never succeeds. We can travel its limits from one end to the other, but keep finding ourselves coming right back to the same old fake cave.


I wished I could take a net and scoop up those fish in the aquarium and release them into the ocean, where they were intended to live. That’s the same thing Jesus wished for me. So He did. He took me out of the religious fish bowl and immersed me into His grace. Since that day, I’ve never become tired of exploring all the wonders He has prepared for me.


Are you living in the aquarium? You don’t have to stay there. There’s a whole world of wonder to be known by those who are willing to receive His abundant life. Don’t settle for a religious life. Life is meant to be an adventure in which the Holy Spirit guides you into the depths of Jesus Christ.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at
www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Wounded Soldiers - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 13, 2004, 04:44:25 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Wounded Soldiers


by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
It was in the midst of the Iraqi War that a young American soldier made a foolish mistake that almost ended his life. It was a mistake that should never have happened. He should have known better. He had been taught the rules of engagement for battle. In Basic Training, his instructors had drilled him again and again on how to handle such circumstances as the one he was now facing in Iraq. He had even memorized the proper protocol from his manual, and could recite it without so much as a slight hesitation.


But in the heat of battle, all of his training seemed to go out the window. In a moment of carelessness, he acted the wrong way and was injured. It was a serious injury.


“You’re going home, son,” he was told by his superiors . “Your service to your country is appreciated. You risked your life here today and have paid a price. On behalf of your President and a proud country, thank you.”


When the young man returned back to his small home town, a celebration awaited him. The people were proud that their home-town boy had fought on the front line. He was called a hero, a brave soldier, and a true patriot. At his church on the Sunday after his return home, he received special recognition in a service where he was honored by the congregation. The local newspaper reporter was there and wrote an article that appeared in the paper the following day. “Young Hero Honored” the headline read.


A hero – a brave young man. That’s how they all saw him. Nobody disputed it. There was another young man from that same congregation. He had become a Christian in that church after years of addiction to alcohol and drugs. The transformation was amazing. The church nurtured him, loved him. It was in that church that he began to sense an inward stirring to go to seminary and prepare for lifelong service as a pastor.


During the years he had been in seminary, his church supported him financially and with their encouragement. They knew that he was being taught how to live the life of a pastor. He was learning how to offer spiritual guidance to others. They couldn’t have been more proud.


Then one day, a leader in the church received a telephone call from this young man. The news that followed was devastating. He began to pour out his story – of how he had been having marital problems. He told about how his grades had been slipping. He had been working a full forty hours a week at night while attending school full time.


Somehow in the midst of it all, he had allowed himself to slip back into his pre-Christ drinking patterns. Nobody knew about his relapse until a few nights before when he was stopped by the police and arrested for drunk driving. An article on page 2 in the local newspaper the next day read, “Local Seminarian Arrested.”

Within 24 hours, he was expelled from the seminary. Devastated by what had happened, he explained his decision to move back home with his family. “We will be moving in with my wife’s parents for a few weeks while we find a place to live,” he said. “I’ll plan to see you at church on Sunday.” When the church leader hung up the phone, he was stunned.

How do you imagine the events of the following weeks unfolding in this young man’s home church? How do you think he would be received when he came back to the church that week? What words would your church use to describe this young seminarian? Would it be the same words they would use to describe the soldier?



Food For Thought  

1. Both the soldier and the seminarian had been trained for handling front line battle situations.

2. They were both fighting for a noble cause.

3. They both knew how they should respond in circumstances where they were at risk.

4. They both failed because they didn’t practice what they had been taught.

5. They both came back home to their church.


Would you receive them both back home in the same way? What would you say to the soldier? To the seminarian? Do you believe that to call the young man who failed to live up to his place as a soldier a hero is inappropriate? Would this be likely to cause other soldiers to conclude that it really doesn’t matter if they live up to their training and position as soldiers? Would it encourage carelessness among the ranks? Would it give them a “license” to become poor soldiers?


There are many who have been on the front lines of spiritual service who were wounded – many of them have been injured due to their own foolishness. How are we to handle those who have deliberately made wrong choices?


The Bible offers a few examples. How did the father of the prodigal receive his son who had intentionally chosen the far country? How did Jesus respond to the woman caught in the very act of adultery? How do you handle those who have made wrong choices?


Are we to be “soft on sin?” Of course not. But we are to be soft on people. Those who have been wounded don’t need our scorn. They need our sympathy. Defeated soldiers have rehearsed their failure in their own minds a thousand times. They need love, not lectures. They need acceptance, not accusations.


Pray and ask the Lord to bring to mind a soldier you know who has been wounded in battle. Then pray for that person. Maybe it would be good to call them or visit them and let them know that you love them. Remember the only way a soldier ever gets hurt is if he was in the battle. Those who never move to the front lines won’t be hurt. Only those who face the enemy up close and personal run that risk.


Some may come home bloody and broken. But remember – they were in the fight. How they are received home may set the course for the rest of their lives.
 




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Rededication: A Subtle Form of Idolatry - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 13, 2004, 03:45:52 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Rededication: A Subtle Form of Idolatry

by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
For years I rededicated myself to live for Jesus Christ. By rededication, I mean that I promised God that if He would help me, I would try harder to live for Him. In my understanding at the time, living for Him meant that I would behave in a better way. I would read the Bible more consistently, pray more earnestly, witness more boldly, give more generously, avoid sin more vehemently, ad infinitum.

My understanding of what it meant to rededicate myself to Christ wasn’t uncommon. Many people view it the same way. When I was a local church pastor, I often used by sermons to challenge the congregation to rededicate themselves to Jesus. This week it would be a challenge to read the Bible more; next week it might be to pray more. Every week, my challenge to Christians revolved around behaving better. It was all about trying harder. And the people responded — in great numbers.

The reason for their response is because when we align ourselves with a legalistic paradigm that we use to judge our behavior, not one of us will get a perfect score. None of us are behaving at all times in all areas of life without room for progress. Judge yourself by law and you’ll come up short every time. The result will always be a sense of condemnation and guilt.

Jesus never once calls on us to rededicate ourselves. Instead he says that we should renounce our self efforts to do better and simply follow (enter into union) with Him. (See Matthew 16:24 – it says “deny” yourself, not “dedicate yourself.) Rededication generally focuses on bringing our behavior up to par.

Consequently, the focus of our lives becomes ourselves and how we behave. Most Christians are consumed with that endeavor. They constantly stare at themselves and their performance. They invest all their attention and energy on improving their actions. They may say they love Jesus, but based on the little attention they give to Him and the enormous attention and energy they spend on themselves and what they are doing or not doing, the truth becomes evident. They come first, not Christ. The evidence indicates that they are a god in their own mind.

Whatever we put before God is an idol. Consequently, when a Christian places his focus on himself and how he is acting more than He focuses on God Himself, he is guilty of idolatry. Remember that idolatry is placing anything before God. So to make our own demand for a higher religious performance the priority of life is a subtle form of idolatry.

Christianity isn’t about you and how well you behave. It’s about having an intimate love relationship with God through Christ. Where is your focus? Is it on you? On what you’re doing or not doing? Or is your attention and devotion squarely focused on Jesus Christ?

There is a real need for repentance in the modern church. It is the need to turn away from ourselves and our never-ending, never-satisfied demand for perfect behavior. It is the need for a turning-to Jesus Christ.

We must stop worshiping the false god of our own behavioral expectations. Stop worshiping our own self-efforts to improve. We must stop permitting our Christian experience to be about my efforts, my sins, my good works, my promises to do better. It’s not about me, me, me. Christianity is all Him, Him, Him!

May God grant the gift of repentance to His church so that we will quit worshiping ourselves at the Temple of Rededication. May we turn to Him and acknowledge that we never will be able to live up to our own self-righteous demands, so we are casting ourselves on His grace and love. Then, and only then, will we find that Christ and Christ alone is our Deliverer. He will free us from being held hostage in a prison of self-perfectionism. When we turn away from rededication and turn to Him, we will hear Him lovingly whisper, “I never intended for you to change yourself. I just want you to rest here in my arms. I’ll bring about the changes in your life. You just stay here and enjoy me.”



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 












(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Spiritual Virus Protection - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 14, 2004, 03:09:25 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Spiritual Virus Protection

by Steve McVey
 
_________________
 
I have a subscription to a Broadband ISP for my computer, so that I can use the Internet without tying up my phone line at home. One day recently, I accidently left home without logging off. When I came home at the end of the day, I discovered that my computer had been online all day. My first thought was concern about the many hackers who attempt to access computers these days.


I immediately went to my Firewall Protection program to see what, if anything, had happened during my absence. I was shocked to discover that during the time I had been gone from home, there had been 488 intrusion attempts on my computer. Most of the attempts were of the same type. It was an attempt to introduce a virus called the Backdoor/Subseven Virus, one that allows someone else to secretly gain complete access to your computer, as if they were sitting at your desk in control of your keyboard.


At first, a sense of horror came over me as I thought about someone being able to steal my banking information, personal letters and other data on my computer. Then I saw a statement that gave me an instant sigh of relief. On the status page of my firewall program, it said, “Norton Personal Firewall is protecting your system.” As I explored further, I learned that this program running in the background had protected my computer all day from what might have been a cyber-disaster for me. It had prevented all 488 attacks from being successful!


As I thought about what had happened, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and reminded me that He works in my life in the same way. As Christians, we are targets in the spiritual battle which exists in this world. There are countless times when we would be destroyed – were it not for one simple truth: The Holy Spirit dwells within us and protects us from being destroyed.


As we move about our daily routine, He faithfully works in the background guarding us against the evil intent of the Enemy. There is no way that we could anticipate and be prepared for the great number of attacks that would destroy us if it weren’t for His continuous protection. We could drive ourselves to exhaustion and debilitating anxiety if it were up to us to fight our own battles against the “intruders of this word,” which the Bible calls “powers and principalities, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).


Thank God, we don’t have to worry. We can just go about our daily lives, resting in the confidence that the Spirit of the indwelling Christ is doing what only He can do. He is lovingly caring for our needs to ensure that we are kept safe from spiritual destruction. There is indeed a battle going on around us, but the battle is the Lord’s. Our part is to simply rest in Him, knowing that He has already conquered death and hell and that the victory is always ours in Christ.


A sovereign Father loves you passionately. A compassionate Son guards you jealously. And an omnipotent Spirit protects you continuously. There may be 488 attempted attacks against you in a day, but don’t worry. Divine Life runs through you, always operating in the background of your daily affairs to ensure that you won’t ever be fatally infected.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: In The House Of Lords - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 15, 2004, 06:17:11 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


In The House Of Lords


by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
During our recent ministry trip to England, Melanie and I had the opportunity to receive a private tour of the House of Parliament. We were thrilled to see private rooms not open to the public. It was a real privilege that we won’t forget.


One highlight of our visit to the House of Parliament was an opportunity given to us to sit in the House of Lords while they debated legislation. As we walked toward it, we went down what our guide called “the corridor of power.” We even saw the Lord Chancellor, complete with white wig, walking down the corridor on his way to the House of Lords in a procession of pomp and pageantry.


As we moved through the hallway, our guide pointed out something that I found fascinating. It was a spiritual truth built right into the architecture of that beautiful old building.


I was commenting on the beautiful, centuries old, art which hung on the walls when she commented, “Everybody notices the paintings and the busts of distinguished British leaders from our past which line the corridors. But look higher and see what is above.”


As we looked upward toward the high ceiling, I noticed intricate carvings and paintings hanging high, far above eye level. There, above the busts of England’s great leaders, were paintings of Christ as well as other intricate artwork reflecting the Christian’s faith. It was beautiful.


“Those are there as a reminder to us all that while human beings lead our country, God is the real Sovereign who is in charge of it all,” she noted. “People often only see what is at eye level, but above that is the evidence of the real Authority.”


“People only see what is at eye level, but above that is the evidence of the real Authority.” Those words bounced around in my mind the rest of the day.

In a world threatened by S.A.R.S. and A.I.D.S., by Al-Qaida and Bin Laden; in a place characterized by collapsing economies and inflating costs – we need to all “look higher and see what it above.” It is easy to become preoccupied with all the things that are at eye level, but the Christian has the opportunity to see the evidence of the real Authority by lifting our eyes toward our Heavenly Father, who alone controls our destiny.


Exiled on Patmos, John looked up and “saw a throne in heaven and One was sitting on it.” That One is your Abba. He is the omnipotent Father who always has your best interest at heart. He sits in The House Of Lords of the Universe and is, in fact, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.


Has your attention become fixed on the things that are at eye level? Try the upward look. The clouds in your life are the dust beneath His feet. (See Nahum 1:3) You don’t have to worry about what will happen tomorrow. The real Authority over all your tomorrows and has everything under His control. He is the real Sovereign who is in charge of it all.


Simply pray and yield yourself and everything associated with your life to Him. He will attend to every detail related to you. Among those in any House of Lords, there is no higher Lord.

The Lord of Lords loves you. So keep your eyes on Him and don’t worry about anything.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: 11,315 Days Left To Live? - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 15, 2004, 04:20:59 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


11,315 Days Left To Live?
by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
I remember when I turned 29 years old. As strange as it may sound, I felt like an old man. I was at a place where I had stressful responsibilities, four small children, a struggling church and a tiny paycheck. I remember thinking, “Is this all there will ever be to life?”


That was exactly 20 years ago today. Today is my birthday and the number isn’t 29, but now 49. All those small children from 20 years ago are grown. In fact, now three grandchildren regularly run and play through my house.


It’s amazing how quickly the days have passed. I’ve had high points and low points over the past two decades, but can honestly say that, since coming to understand my identity in Christ, life has never been better. There are two words in the original language of the Bible which are translated as “life.” One is the word bios. It’s where we get our word “biology.” It refers to physical life. The other is the word zoe. That word refers to a certain type of life. My Greek lexicon describes it as being “possessed by vitality, being real and genuinely devoted to God and blessed in this world with the hope of resurrection that will last forever.”


What kind of life do you embrace – bios or zoe? Jesus wants to give you a quality of life that transcends mere physical existence. He wants His life to be yours. He wants you to be animated by a divine life that gives vitality to your days in this world and stimulates an eager anticipation about eternity.


Are your days full of life (zoe) or is your life (bios) full of days? The Psalmist prayed, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (90:12). I know he didn’t mean to literally count them, but on my birthday I couldn’t resist. As of this moment, I’ve lived 17,520 days. If I were to live until I am 80 years old, I have 11,315 days left in this world.


When the Psalmist said to count our days, He was stressing the importance or recognizing that we are here in this world for a set time. What will you do with the days you have left? If we think of days like a commodity that is spent, how will you spend what you have?


May the Holy Spirit enable you and me to spend our days in intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ. A friend of mine died last night. He was only in his fifties. Who among us knows how long we have left in this world? May we each number our days and recognize that each one is a gift in which we may enjoy the divine life of Jesus Christ.


How much longer do you anticipate living? Count the days and then commit every one of them to Jesus Christ. Don’t settle for bios. Embrace zoe for whatever number of days you have left in this world.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 


Title: Slow Down - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 16, 2004, 07:15:02 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Slow Down


by Steve McVey
 
_________________

 
Hyperactivity is a curse on intimacy in our relationships. While people sometimes take pride in being a workaholic, it is, in fact, a sin because it reflects that the workaholic views life from the perspective that he is indispensable. Workaholics are deceived into believing that everything in life depends on them sacrificing themselves on the altar of constant activity.


Chuck Swindoll tells a story about a first grader who became curious because her father brought home a briefcase full of papers every evening. Her mother explained, "Daddy has so much to do that he can't finish it all at the office. That's why he has to bring work home at night." "Well then," asked the child innocently, "why don't they put him in a slower group?"


That’s what needs to happen to many workaholics. We need to move to a slower group. Jesus never rushed. Not once. In fact, on many occasions he separated Himself from the demands on his time and went off alone, to a solitary place.


Hyperactivity can be defined as a lifestyle driven by busyness and filled with more activity than God lead us to do. Not every good thing we do is a God thing. We must learn to discern which matters are to hold our time and attention and which ones to let pass. Otherwise, we forfeit intimacy with our Heavenly Father and with our families for the sake of results that won’t even matter at all in a hundred years.


Douglas MacArthur II, was the nephew of the famous WWII General. He served in the state department when John Foster Dulles was Secretary of State. One evening Mr. Dulles called MacArthur at his home. His wife answered the phone and explained that her husband was not there. Not recognizing who the caller was, she angrily complained, "MacArthur is where MacArthur always is, weekdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and nights--in that office!" Within minutes Dulles had MacArthur on the phone. He gave him this terse order: "Go home at once, boy. Your home front is crumbling.


Is your home front crumbling? Do you give the time and attention to your mate and your children that proves the love you profess for them? Time may be the best thing you can give to those you love.


Jesus once told His disciples, “Come apart and rest awhile.” (see Mark 6:31) In the hustle and bustle of your lifestyle, do you hear a faint voice extending this invitation to you? May the Holy Spirit enable each of us to see what is most important in our lives and adjust our schedules to align our time with the true order of importance.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 


Title: Helping Those Who Hurt - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 17, 2004, 12:06:06 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Helping Those Who Hurt

by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
Last month Mike Ferguson thought he was doing a good thing, but the policeman didn’t think so. Mike, a 36 year veteran ambulance driver was rushing a kidney from Leeds to Cambridge, England when he was pulled over for driving 104 mph. During his trip, he was stopped twice that night. When the Cambridgeshire police stopped him, he quickly proved to them that he was on an urgent and time-sensitive medical assignment that would save somebody’s life. They let him go on his way.


It didn’t happen that way in Lincolnshire. When he was stopped there, he was ticketed and the case was sent to the prosecutors even after he provided proof of the situation. The Guardian newspaper in London reported at press time that a date was being set for trial.


There is an underlying attitude in this kind of situation. Jesus faced it all the time. It’s the problem of caring so much about rules that we completely forget about people. It is a real danger in religious legalism.


The Pharisees once criticized Jesus for picking a few ears of corn on the Sabbath to give His hungry disciples. (See Matthew 12:1-2) Another time they spent the whole day watching Him to see who He might heal on the Sabbath day, just so that they could verbally attack Him for it. (See Mark 3:2) One poor man had been bed-ridden for 38 years, but when Jesus raised him up from his bed and told him to take it and go home, the Pharisees couldn’t say enough about how wrong Jesus was. (See John 5)


Modern day Pharisees have the same attitude. They are more interested in people’s actions than they are interested in their needs. I once knew of a church who wouldn’t help members in need unless they were consistent in church attendance. What legalistic insanity!


When people are hurting they need our love, not our judgment. Do you want to do “a Jesus-thing” this week? Find somebody who is hurting and help them. Don’t worry about whether or not they deserve help. If they don’t deserve it, that makes it all the better. What would happen in the modern church if we would err on the side of generosity and compassion instead of judgment?


Loving grace shines bright in undeserving situations. Don’t dole out the law. Share Divine love. Pharisees may criticize, but in the meantime others are being healed and given a chance to live.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Moving From Mercy To Grace - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 17, 2004, 08:19:32 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Moving From Mercy To Grace



by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
An article in Progress magazine reported that Billy Graham received a speeding ticket driving through a small town many years ago. He readily admitted his guilt, but was told by the police officer that he would have to appear in court.


Mr. Graham was asked by the judge, “Do you plead guilty or not guilty?” When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied that will be ten dollars – a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.


Suddenly the judge recognized the famous evangelist. “You have violated the law,” he said. The fine must be paid, but I’m going to pay it for you.” Then he took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and settled the case. After court, the judge took Mr. Graham out and bought him a steak dinner. “That,” said Billy Graham, “is how God treats repentant sinners.”


God’s mercy has been extended to us because He didn’t give us what we deserve for our sins. He paid the penalty at the cross. But He didn’t stop there. He extended His grace by giving us what we don’t deserve – Divine life.


Many churches focus their evangelistic efforts on sharing the news that salvation means having our sins forgiven. But the complete gospel is even better than that! In His grace, God forgives us, then gives us an abundant life in Jesus Christ. Salvation isn’t only getting a man into heaven, but getting heaven into him!


Jesus Christ wants you to enjoy the fullness of being a Christian. Don’t settle for simply receiving forgiveness and anticipating your arrival in heaven one day. Your heavenly Father is rich in mercy and has forgiven your sins. Then He took a quantum leap forward even beyond that. He has given you the life of Jesus Christ and has seated you at His right hand. (See Ephesians 2:4-6). You have received every blessing in Christ (see Ephesians 1:3) and have the capability of living a lifestyle that is flooded by His goodness every day. Rest in His mercy. Know, without a doubt, that your sins are forgiven. Then revel in His grace by enjoying the Spirit-led party that the we know as “the Christian life.”




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”




(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)



 


Title: Archie Bunker and Our Concept Of God - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 18, 2004, 04:12:15 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



Archie Bunker and Our Concept Of God




by Steve McVey
 
_________________

 
In the popular 1970's television series, All In The Family, there was an episode where Archie Bunker discovered he had accidently locked himself in his basement on a cold winter morning. His family members were all gone for the day and the only thing Archie could find to try to warm himself was an old bottle of scotch. As the day progressed and the contents of the bottle diminished more and more, an inebriated Archie found himself praying, asking God to help him get out of the basement before he froze to death.


Finally, late in the day, he heard a sound coming from upstairs. “Is that you, Lord?” he asked, now in a drunken stupor. “Mr. Bunker? Where are you?” the voiced answered. “I’m down here in the basement, Lord,” Archie replied.


What Archie didn’t know was that the voice was that of his black neighbor, who from outside the house, had heard Archie calling for help. This stranger had come into the house to help him in response to his cry.


Anybody who is familiar with the character, Archie Bunker, would probably choose the word “racist” as the first adjective to describe him. On this particular occasion, the last thing Archie was expecting to see was a black man come to the rescue. In his drunken frame of mind, he was looking for God.


“I’m coming to get you, Mr. Bunker,”the benevolent visitor assured him. “Thank you, Lord,” Archie answered. “Something fell across the door from the outside and locked me in. I’m ready for you to take me now, Lord.”


The door to the basement opened and the neighbor began to walk down the stairs where Archie was slumped over, face down. As the man reached the bottom of the stairs, Archie pushed himself up to take his hand and be carried away. Looking into the man’s black face, with an expression of shock and horror on his face, the drunken racist cried out, “Forgive me, Lord! I didn’t know!”


This scene from a television sitcom, although a comedy, raises a serious question. What if, when you see God face to face, He is nothing like you have imagined Him to be? All of us have formed our concept of who God is based on the input we have received. How accurate our concept of God is depends largely on whether or not that input was reliable or how properly we interpreted the information we received.


The key to becoming all that you are capable of being is to gaze into the face of God. That is the only thing the Bible ever plainly says will change us into the image of the Lord Himself.


It isn’t self-effort that will change our lives. If that worked, most of us would already have reached perfection because we have certainly tried . . . and failed. What does work in changing a person is a consistent Godward gaze into the beautiful face of a Divine Lover, who is more committed to us that we can imagine. Determine now to give up on self-effort and simply look to Him.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Being Lord of the Ring - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 19, 2004, 04:33:52 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional




Being Lord of the Ring



+++++++++++++++++++++++



When the movie Lord of The Rings: Return of the King opens, it begins with Smeagol and his cousin, Deagol, fishing together. Deagol is pulled into the lake by a big fish he snags and as he is pulled across the bottom he discovers “the ring.”


The attraction of the ring’s power instantly affects them both. “Give it to me,” Smeagol says, but his cousin won’t let go of it. Soon Smeagol’s insatiable thirst to possess the power the ring wields causes him to attack his cousin and choke him to death.


Standing over his beloved cousins body, he murmurs “My precious,” with an evil tone and sinister look on his face. As the scene unfolds, the viewers see the effect the ring has on Smeagol in the days ahead. His obsession with it’s power transforms him, driving him mad and turning him from a normal Hobbit of the Stoor strain into a grotesque form.


Alone in misery and living in a gloomy den under the Misty Mountains, he reflects on his plight, “It cursed us. It drove us away. We want the precious. We want to be so alone. But we forgot the taste of bread, the sound of trees, the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name.” However, in the depths of his depraved misery he groans in an insanely wicked voice, “My-y-y-y precious.”


The ring represents absolute power. When Smeagol gains possession of the ring it has a hideous metamorphic effect on him. He becomes evil and sneaky. He forgets the taste of bread, the sound of trees, the softness of the wind. He even forgets his name and becomes known as Gollum.


Although a fantasy tale, what happens to Smeagol isn’t so far removed from what happens to man in his desire to become God. “I will be like the Most High,” declares Lucifer before he is cast down from heaven. “You shall be like God” was the promise Satan would later make to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.


Since Eden, unregenerate man has had the insatiable desire to be Lord of the Ring, to be the one who has power over his own destiny and even that of others. To the extent that he seeks that power, he becomes increasingly transformed into a grotesque caricature of man as God created him.


His lust for power is his craving to be a god. It corrupts him completely, leaving him in total depravity. It leaves him miserable, yet still clutching the power for which he longs as he moans in his misery, “My-y-y-y precious.”


Jesus Christ came to free us from our plight. It is when we forfeit our right to own the ring that we find life, that we remember our name and once again eat from the tree of life. By his victory, we have been set free from the curse of the ring and find our world made right again. For the believer, the time of the dominion of sin has ended. The King is on His throne and He makes all things new.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Don’t Ask, Appropriate! - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 19, 2004, 05:40:31 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



Don’t Ask, Appropriate!


by Steve McVey
 
_________________


 
When I was a pastor of a local church, I would sometimes go into the worship service and say to my congregation, “Let’s all pray and ask the Lord to give us His blessings today.” Together we would ask, “Lord, pour out Your blessings. Give us Your blessings.” Every Sunday for several weeks I did that.

One Sunday morning I was sitting in my office thinking about the service. I thought about how I would go in and ask everyone to kneel and ask the Lord to give us His blessings. As I was thinking about that, the Holy Spirit spoke very clearly to me and He said to me, “Don’t do that. Stop doing that!” As I looked at my Bible in my lap, my eyes fell on Ephesians 1:3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” I had been asking the church to pray and ask God to give us something when God has already given us everything.

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 have. Paul didn’t pray for the church to receive more. He prayed that they would understand what they already had. In Ephesians 1:17-19 Paul prays, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”

Are you praying for God to give you more of Him? He has given us everything He has to give in Jesus Christ! What is it that you need? Jesus Christ is your Source. All you need is Him.

Do you need wisdom? That’s Him. Do you need righteousness? That’s Him. Holiness? That’s Him, too. Do you need sanctification, guidance, strength? It’s all Him.

What do you need today? His name is IAM. I AM what? Anything you need. All the fullness of I AM is in Jesus. “For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him” (Col.1:19). All the fullness of Jesus is in you.

Don’t pray for what you already have. Just appropriate the sufficiency of the Christ who is living in you. 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.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)



 


Title: When Hurricanes Come - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 20, 2004, 04:56:34 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


When Hurricanes Come


Remalia is a cab driver on the island of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands. I met her one day after sailing there with a group of friends. As she drove us around the island, giving us “the grand tour,” I began to talk to her about her personal life on the tiny island.


Anegada stands separated from the other islands in the BVI. It is only ten miles from one end to the other. Unlike it’s mountainous neighbors to the south, it’s highest point is only 28 feet above sea level.


As we drove the length of this flat spit of land in the middle of nowhere out in the ocean, I asked Remaila, “Have you ever been here during a hurricane?”


“Yeah, mon.” she answered. “Many times.”


“I would think that since the island is so flat, it would be destroyed by the water surge. You don’t leave the island when a hurricane comes?” I asked.


“No, this is my home,” she answered in a matter of fact way that suggested I should have perfectly understood.


“What do you do when you hear a hurricane is coming?” I persisted.


“We make our preparations, then entrust ourselves to God.” she answered.


Her words bounced around in my mind for the rest of the day. “We make our preparations, then entrust ourselves to God.” So that’s how one handles an impending hurricane.


Have you ever known in advance that some sort of hurricane was about to blow into your life? How did you handle it? With a tendency toward trying to be the “Lord of the Ring” in my own life, I have sometimes found myself trying to be the master of the wind myself.


We all tend to think that hurricanes must be avoided at all costs. We see the hurricanes of life as something evil, something that must be from the devil himself. But the Bible says that “the Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm” (Nahum 1:3). Amazingly, God can accomplish His own sovereign purposes in situations in our lives that threaten to be our total undoing.


When we suspect that a hurricane is coming, we want to run. We may renounce it as being from the enemy. We may see it as a threat to life as we know it. We often scurry around in a panic, hoping to either avoid it or at least ensure that we don’t lose anything if it hits.


Jesus, on the other hand, was in a storm one day while He and his friends were out on the water together. What was He doing while the wind howled? He slept. (See Luke 8:23) He had such confidence in His heavenly Father that storms didn’t threaten Him. He knew that His Father had everything under control.


What are we to do when we believe a hurricane is coming into our lives? We do what Remaila said. We make our preparations. We do so by making sure that everything in life is grounded in the love and sovereignty of the One we profess loves us too much to do us any harm. We give all that we are and all that we have to Him. We recognize that this world is temporary and choose not to allow ourselves to draw our identity from it. We hold a loose grip on everything and everybody, realizing that only God determines what we can hold on to throughout our lives.


Then we entrust ourselves to God. We affirm by faith (not feelings) that He is in control – that nothing can or will happen in our lives which is beyond the bounds of His authority or the scope of His love for us. We trust Him. It’s that simple. We don’t always understand. We just trust. We don’t always feel like He is loving us through our circumstances. We just trust.


We entrust ourselves to the love of One who promised to never leave or forsake us. We lash ourselves to Romans 8:28 and refuse to let go. The storms may rage. The winds may blow. The waves may surge. But we know that our security is in the love of the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.


Do you see clouds on the horizon of your own life? Don’t be afraid. The Bible says that those clouds are “the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). As storms approach, simply make your preparations and then entrust yourself to God.





Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Discipline And Grace - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 20, 2004, 05:22:18 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Discipline And  Grace


Last week was a mile-marker in my life. I finally had to give in and get contact lenses. I’ve known it was coming for some time now. It began when I started holding books further and further from my face as I read. Eventually, I realized I either had to grow longer arms or else stop reading, so I broke down and bought reading glasses at The Dollar Store. I wouldn’t use them in public when I spoke. I’d just lay my Bible and outline notes down on the pulpit and back away until I got far enough to read what I had. When I found myself practically standing with the choir in one church where I spoke, I knew it was time to do something.


So, I did what nearly all men in their forties end up doing – I went to the optometrist. There I learned that not only was my vision unclear up close, but it wasn’t so good for distance either. I thought of all the times my wife, Melanie, had “preached to me” with the tone of an angry prophet about how I would have been killed in the car if she hadn’t strongly urged me to stop just before I ran into the car at the red light in front of me. I had always thought she just found some sort of fleshly pride in thinking she was my mobile guardian angel. Now I knew she had probably been right all along.


The optometrist experimented with different prescription strengths until she found the one that fit me. It has only been a little more than a week now that I’ve been wearing contacts. It has been a good week. I’m noticing individual leaves on trees again. I’ve reduced the font size on my computer screen from 125% back to 100%. I’m even training myself not to hold the things I read as far from my head as possible.


I realize now that I should have gotten these contacts at least a year ago. Life has been harder than necessary because I was too proud or stubborn to give in to my age. The right lenses are allowing me to see life more clearly and enjoy it more fully.


That’s how it is in our spiritual lives. As human beings we tend to be short-sighted. We focus on the things right in our face and often have trouble gaining a clear perspective on things eternal. We’re caught up in our careers, church activities, family responsibilities, and countless other things that demand our constant attention. Gradually, we may lose sight of the most important element of life – our relationship to God through Christ.


It’s not that we forget God, but our vision of Him in our daily lives may become blurry. It’s possible to become so focused on those things which demand our time and energy that eventually we realize that we are neglecting the One whom, although never demanding, loves us more than anybody else ever will or ever could. As time passes, we may practically lose the ability to see the face of God anymore.


Your heavenly Father wants to reveal Himself to you every day, right where you live. He doesn’t want your relationship to Him to simply be a devotional or doctrinal matter. He wants to interact with you, passionately expressing His love to you. He longs for a practical and personal relationship with you.

How can we see the face of God in our daily lives? The answer rests in looking toward Him in faith. The ongoing relationship a Christian has with our heavenly Father isn’t based on works, but neither is it a passive lifestyle. As we walk with Him, the Holy Spirit develops within us, what Eugene Peterson calls in The Message, “the rhythms of grace.”


Do you hunger to know a deeper sense of intimacy with your Father? If so, there are some practical aspects of applied grace which can transform your life. These rhythms of grace, operating in our lives are biblical practices which, when motived by love and practiced in faith, help to create an environment in which we may experience a deeper sense of intimacy with God than we could otherwise know.


When a believer is walking in grace, he wants to do anything that might help facilitate spiritual growth or a deeper sense of intimacy with Christ. The Bible encourages one who loves the Lord to “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (See 1 Timothy 4:7). How does this discipline fit consistently alongside a lifestyle of grace?


Some people are turned off by the word “discipline.” It carries a negative connotation in their minds. Discipline is what one does to a misbehaving child. Discipline may conjure up mental images of gritting your teeth and resolving to do something that you know needs to be done, no matter how much you hate it. One may discipline himself to say no to cheesecake and yes to exercise. When you hear the word “discipline,” you may associate it with something that you ought to do as opposed to something that you want to do.


However, when we understand discipline within the context of grace, we realize that to speak of the disciplines of the Christian life is like talking about the disciplines of marriage. The disciplines of marriage? Let’s see – there is kissing, communication, sharing the same goals, rearing children together and many other aspects of married life that are important to a healthy marriage. But while these aspects of behavior in marriage don’t happen without effort, neither would they be considered discipline in the negative sense of the word. They are all part of the rhythms of marriage.


Don’t think of the rhythms of grace as something that you ought to do, a duty which must be fulfilled by sheer self-discipline. Instead, consider them as gifts from God given to draw you into a great awareness of His love for you. Take off the reading glasses of legalism and view spiritual disciplines through the lens of grace.


Disciplining ourselves for the purpose of godliness is the result of actions we take in response to an invitation from the Divine Lover. It is the rhythms of grace being expressed from a heart filled with love. These rhythms of grace are definitive acts of faith, motivated by a hunger to know Him more intimately.


Does walking in grace imply a state of passivity? Absolutely not! Is it a lifestyle of self-determination, of sheer will power? Not at all. To walk in grace is to move forward with the motivation of love and the impetus of faith, knowing that as we seek to know the Divine Lover more intimately, He is drawing us to Himself.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Christians and Death - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 21, 2004, 05:13:24 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



Christians and Death


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


I’ve had more friends and family die this year than any other year of my life. An uncle fell dead jogging. A cousin took his own life. Several friends died from cancer. Another from kidney failure. Some of them were relatively young.


A few days after hearing about yet another friend’s death, I commented to my wife, Melanie, “It used to be that it was our parent’s friends who died, now we are at the place in life where it is our own.” We talked about how we’re beginning to know a considerable number of people in heaven these days.


There’s something about the death of friends that reminds us of our own mortality. It almost seems to move us a step closer to death ourselves. The death of friends remind us that this world isn’t a permanent place, but a temporary stopover where we won’t spend much time.


Do you ever think about your own death? How do you feel about that? One pastor asked another, “What would happen to you if you died today?” The other replied, “I’d spend eternity in eternal bliss, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”


Physical death is really just a gateway. In a sense we don’t really die. We just move from one location to another. Christians possess the life of Jesus Christ and His life is eternal. We simply one day leave what C.S. Lewis called “The Shadow-Lands” and move into the direct light of his glory.


At the conclusion of Lewis’s story, The Last Battle, Aslan (the Christ figure) reminds the Pevensie children that, despite the pain of this world – the Shadow -Lands – the holidays have begun. “Your father and mother and all of you are – as you used to call it in the Shadow-Lands – dead. The term is over; the holidays have begun. The dream is ended; this is the morning.”... Author Barry Morrow wrote, “All of their life in this world and all their adventures in (the land of) Narnia had only been the cover and the title page; now at last they were beginning Chapter One and the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before.”


On the day a Christian leaves this human body, we will experience what Dallas Willard calls, “our birthday into God’s full world.” This world is transient, but one day we will move into a world that surpasses anything we can imagine. A child inside his mother’s womb might want to stay there if he knew he was about to be “ejected” from his mother’s body. Little could he know the wonder and beauty of what was awaiting him on the outside of his small world. Thus it is in the life of the Christian about to be born into God’s new world.


I read in the paper this morning that Johnny Cash died last night. He was 71 and had been sick for a while. John Ritter also fell dead yesterday from an undetected heart problem. He was only 54. One day it will be my obituary you read, or else I’ll read yours.


Whichever one of us goes first, let’s remember this fact – Christians don’t die. We just go home and start the next chapter of the Divine Love Story which will never end. Earth introduces the characters. Heaven is the heart of the story.





Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”

 








(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Christians and Candybars - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 22, 2004, 05:54:39 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



Christians and Candybars





“Because I longed for eternal life, I went to bed with harlots and drank for nights on end.”

- Albert Camus




The very act of sin is a cry to experience life to the fullest. Every person is born with an insatiable thirst for transcendence, the opportunity to experience something that takes us outside ourselves to a place where we are so enthralled that every fiber of our being feels fully alive. Mankind longs to know what it is to become one with something bigger than ourselves. The best we can do alone is to manufacture a mundane monotony that we intrinsically know is a pale substitute for the Life for which we search.



In an effort to escape the land of Mundane Monotony, we listen to the sultry sirens that seduce us into sin. We mistakenly believe that there is something out there that can scratch the nagging itch in our souls, only to discover after sinning that we weren’t itching there at all. Apart from divine intervention, a person will spend a lifetime trying to satisfy a yearning that refuses to be squelched by artificial means.



James said that Christians sin when we are drawn away by our desires. (James 1:14) Drawn away from what or whom? Temptation is the lure to be carried away from Jesus Christ. Sin happens when we allow ourselves to turn from Him and to something else in order to try to find life elsewhere.



The Christian finds when we sin that it never accomplishes what we really want. Sin can gratify, but never satisfy. It’s like eating a candy bar when you haven’t had a meal all day. It gives you an instant rush of gratification. You feel suddenly energized and it seems like you’ve made the right choice . . . for a short time.



Then the rush disappears and, just like the blood sugar level suddenly and drastically drops after eating the candy bar, you find yourself feeling weaker and more depleted than you did before you made the choice to choose an empty snack over a satisfying meal. You’re left once again feeling fatigued and unfulfilled. You know you need something more substantive and sustaining. It isn’t uncommon at that time to feel a sense of self condemnation for having chosen to try to satisfy our hunger with such an unhealthy snack.



Albert Camus acknowledged that he searched for life in harlots and drunkenness. Where do you seek to find Life when you are drawn way from Jesus? What cheap substitutes have you allowed to take His place? It doesn’t have to be something as garish as harlots and drunkenness.


Whether it is cheap wine or church work, anything we look to other than Jesus to satisfy our hunger becomes a sin to us. Christ alone will satisfy your hunger. Only He will offer the transcendent pleasure of being fully alive. Don’t be drawn away from Him. He loves you and offers you life to the fullest. Anything else is empty calories.






Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Re:GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 22, 2004, 08:56:34 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Hearing God's Voice



In his book, Without Feathers, Woody Allen offers an essay which spoofs the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac. As Allen tells the story, Abraham is reporting to Sarah and Isaac about how God has instructed him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. While this description contains elements of humor, it isn’t so far removed from the way some Christians think that God must speak to them.


And Abraham awoke in the middle of the night and said to his only son, Isaac, “I have had a dream where the voice of the Lord sayeth that I must sacrifice my only son, so put your pants on.” And Isaac trembled and said, “So what did you say? I mean when He brought this whole thing up?” “What am I going to say?” Abraham said. “I’m standing there at two a.m. in my underwear with the Creator of the Universe. Should I argue?” “Well, did he say why he wants me sacrificed?” Isaac asked his father. But Abraham said, “The faithful do not question. Now let’s go because I have a heavy day tomorrow.” And Sarah . . . said, “How doth thou know it was the Lord?” . . . And Abraham answered, “Because I know it was the Lord. It was a deep, resonant voice, well modulated, and nobody in the desert can get a rumble in it like that.”


Hearing the Divine Lover’s voice necessitates learning to recognize when He speaks. Don’t wait for a deep, resonant voice, and well modulated. The Lord may speak, expressing His love to you in unexpected ways and at unexpected times.


Look within yourself to the indwelling Christ. Jesus isn’t a distant deity to whom you must reach outside yourself. Instead, look inward where He is patiently waiting, longing for the two of you to stare deeply into each other’s eyes and express a greater love than the world can ever know.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Poison Soup - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 25, 2004, 03:58:12 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Poison Soup



One day when Elisha instructed one of the sons of the prophets to prepare a meal, he went out into the field and gathered wild gourds from a wild vine and cooked it in the stew. The prophets poured the stew out for all the people to eat when someone discovered, “There is death in the pot!” God’s prophets were serving poison and eating out of the same pot.


That’s what I did for many years. I took the liberating gospel of God’s grace and mixed the wild gourds of religious performance in the same pot with it. The gourds came from a wild vine out in the field. Grace doesn’t grow in a wild field. It is cultivated only in the garden of grace planted and nurtured by God Himself. The idea of religious performance is a wild plant which poisons the grace of God and causes it to cease to be edible, although I did eat and serve it to my church for many years. The tragedy of this kind of poison is that it won’t kill you, but will be just toxic enough to keep you sick for the rest of your life.


The underlying foundation of all religion is performance, whether it’s a tribal dance around a campfire to satisfy the fire god or a dead religious activity performed week after week by an evangelical Christian with the intent of impressing his God. It’s all religious performance and God isn’t impressed by our performance. What impresses Him is faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). He couldn’t care less about religious ritual void of life. God is in the business of Life. Nothing else interests Him. When it is all said and done, God will either raise dead things or else ultimately separate Himself from them as far as He can get. He is interested in living relationships, not dead religion.


The announcement of the gospel of grace includes the good news that God wants to deliver us from religion. He has extended His grace for the purpose of rescuing us from a lifestyle of futile, feeble efforts to make ourselves acceptable to Him. The essence of religion is man’s attempt to somehow convince himself that he has jumped through enough hoops for God to give him the approving nod. It’s the way we try to validate our own self worth through asinine acts of self righteousness which in reality, separate us from the very goal we seek to achieve. It is poison because it kills any opportunity one will ever have to experience genuine intimacy with God. Religion is a prostitute having fifty dollar sex with a man and telling him it’s love when all the while, deep in his heart, the man knows better. Religion offers false hope that somehow there is something we can do to impress God enough to cause Him to accept us on the basis of our actions. Religion is what rushes in to fill the vacuum created by the absence of personal intimacy with God.


Do my words sound too strong? If so I would encourage you to go back and read Paul’s treatment of legalism in the book of Galatians. My words pale in comparison to his tirade against those who preached circumcision. I deliberately use hard language here because religion is robbing people of Life! Keep in mind that it was religious people who hated Jesus the most. Our identity isn’t in religion, but in our relationship to Him.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Are You Dying to Find Rest? - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 26, 2004, 04:54:04 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



Are You Dying to Find Rest?




For many years the concept of rest was so foreign to me that I couldn’t comprehend it. I didn’t know rest was a gift from God. I thought it was a sin. The invitation of Jesus to those who would follow Him is amazing — “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).


For most of my life, I sincerely believed that the only time we would find rest was when we died and went to heaven. There was a verse I used to read at funeral services to give comfort to bereaved families. I would share Hebrews 4:10 with them: “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”


When I shared this verse, I would tenderly point out that our beloved friend who had died “has now entered into God’s rest and ceased from his own labors.” I talked about how heaven is a place where there are no more struggles. It is a place where we simply rest in Christ and enjoy Him forever. Entering into His rest and ceasing from our own works. It sounded like dying and going to heaven to me.


Then one day I read the next verse in the passage — “Let us be therefore diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall down through following the example of disobedience.” What? Be diligent to enter that rest? Now I was in trouble. I had always taught that rest means dying. Now here I was being confronted with the verse that says to be diligent to enter that rest or else I would be disobedient to God. I knew I had better go back and reexamine that verse again and hope that my interpretation had been wrong or else I was in serious trouble! I didn’t know that I had already died with Christ and was able to cease from my own works, living instead out of His finished work.


The idea of being called by Christ to a place of rest often contradicts the default setting of contemporary Christian thought. We live in a society where people go on vacation with their cell phones, Palm Pilots and laptop computers. To rest in Christ is a concept which often requires a radical paradigm shift for many people.


To rest in Christ, trusting Him to express His life through us, sounds lazy and negligent after having lived in the wilderness of legalism for such a long time. Many mistakenly think of rest as some sort of passivity, which it is not. Resting in Christ simply means trusting Him to be our Life-Source, depending upon Him to empower our actions with His strength and direction.





Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Re:GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: nChrist on October 26, 2004, 09:17:55 PM
Quote
Brother Love Said:

God’s mercy has been extended to us because He didn’t give us what we deserve for our sins. He paid the penalty at the cross. But He didn’t stop there. He extended His grace by giving us what we don’t deserve – Divine life.

Brother,

AMEN!

I give thanks that I experience HIS Grace, Love, and mercy every day of my life. This old world would be a very depressing place without HIS TREASURES.

Love In Christ,
Tom


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 27, 2004, 05:29:25 AM
Quote
Brother Love Said:

God’s mercy has been extended to us because He didn’t give us what we deserve for our sins. He paid the penalty at the cross. But He didn’t stop there. He extended His grace by giving us what we don’t deserve – Divine life.

Brother,

AMEN!

I give thanks that I experience HIS Grace, Love, and mercy every day of my life. This old world would be a very depressing place without HIS TREASURES.

Love In Christ,
Tom

"TWO"Thumbs UP Brother, AMEN!!!


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Why God?? - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 27, 2004, 05:58:04 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Why God??


Sometimes God makes no sense to me. I simply can’t understand why He allows certain things to happen in our lives. Recently, two friends experienced a horrible tragedy. This couple was driving down the Interstate when the driver of another car on the opposite side of the Interstate fell asleep, crossed the median and slammed head on into their car. The wife (Roxanne) was instantly killed and Greg was seriously injured.


I have prayed often for these friends, but to be honest, I have wondered, “why?” Why would God allow a young couple with two children to experience such a horrible event? Why didn’t He alter the course of their trip by ten seconds, thus saving her life? Why would He allow their two children to face such a horror? Why would the parents of this godly lady be required to endure the worst nightmare of any parent — the death of their own child? Why?


At times, I have stood with Job when he said, “If only I could go to His (God’s) dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what He would answer me” (Job 23:3-5). I was thinking to myself one evening, “It just doesn’t make sense.”


The next day I was talking to Greg’s dad. Greg had been in a coma for weeks, but had recently awakened. When he regained coherence, his dad had the solemn responsibility of telling him that his wife had died. He told me how that, with tears in his eyes, he told his son that his wife had not survived. “How did he respond?” I asked. I expected to hear the worst, but the answer was nothing like I expected.


Upon hearing that his wife had died, Greg looked downward. Tears began to flow down his cheeks and with a quivering voice, he answered, “God is sovereign and He doesn’t have to ask me.” God is sovereign! How could a man say such a thing at a time like that? Nobody can fake it at those kind of moments. That kind of answer isn’t natural; it’s supernatural. There can only be one explanation for such an answer — grace. God’s grace is divine enablement experienced only by the life of Christ within us.


Job said that if he could find where God lived, he would ask for an answer. When I heard what Greg had said, I realized that God was speaking from where He lives today — inside Greg. (He lives inside all believers. See 1 Corinthians 3:16). God spoke through him. Jesus expressed Himself as Greg’s faith, strength and comfort in that moment.


Will he grieve the loss of his wife? Of course. Yet He will not sorrow as others which have no hope. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:13) Jesus will continue to be his life as he passes through this dark valley. I saw Jesus dressed up in Greg and He stunned me with His beauty.


Do people see Jesus in me? Do they see Jesus in you? That’s what the grace walk is all about. It’s Christ being Himself in us and through us in every situation of life. Otherwise, it’s all just religious babble. We each will certainly face difficult circumstances at one time or another, but to know Christ as our Life will sustain us through anything.


That truth is the message I want to spend my lifetime both living and sharing with others. I pray for you as you live this Life too. May He empower you in every situation as you live a supernatural life of grace. Be encouraged today — God is sovereign over every detail of your life .





Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Hurricanes And Jugglers - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 28, 2004, 04:02:55 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Hurricanes And Jugglers




A few weeks ago I was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where I was speaking in a local church. My friend Tim and I had shared the pulpit during the weekend and were scheduled to fly home on Monday morning.

At the end of the last church service, the pastor stood in front of the congregation and announced that he had just received a telephone call informing him that a hurricane was making its way toward Puerto Vallarta very quickly. We were told that it would arrive between eleven and twelve the next morning.

When we left church, we saw the preparations frantically being made for the hurricane. People were boarding up windows at home. Businesses were taping their glass windows and doors in an effort to keep them from being blown apart. We heard on the radio that authorities were already evacuating people from some areas of the city. We even learned that, at some point, the roads leading out of the city would be closed in order to prevent people from trying to leave and being hurt in the process.

Our adrenaline began to pump as we discussed what we would do. We decided to go to the airport and either try to get a flight out of town or else rent a car and begin driving inland while there was still time.

As we made our way toward the airport, the road was jammed with traffic. We inched along until we came to a stop at a red light. When we stopped, I looked on the side of the road beside my window and saw a young man walk out into the street. I never would have expected to see him do what he did next. He began to juggle. He had picked up five or six balls from the sidewalk beside him and started juggling right out in the middle of the road.

It isn’t uncommon to see street entertainers who work for tips in places like Vallarta. But this seemed downright strange to me. Didn’t he know about the coming hurricane? Didn’t he sense the tension in the air as people were scurrying around trying to prepare? Was he crazy?

Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. I don’t know. I do know that, as I thought about the incident later, my thoughts turned to Jesus when He was in a similar situation. He too was in a storm while out in a boat with His disciples.

They were all worried sick about the situation, except Jesus. He was asleep beneath deck. Finally, one awakened Jesus and frantically asked, “Don’t you care that we are about to perish?” I can imagine Jesus smiling, calmly patting the fearful disciple on the shoulder, then looking at the billowing waves and gently saying, “Peace, be still!” (See Mark 4:39). Then He looked back at the disciple, smiled and asked, “What are you so afraid of? Where’s your faith?”

Storms will arise in life. Sometimes they even become hurricanes. What are we to do? Should we just keep on juggling all the things in our lives as if nothing threatening is happening? Should we drop everything and run?

I suppose different situations require different responses. But one thing is sure – we are to trust Jesus at all times. He is in the boat with us and, as long as that is true, we have no reason to be afraid. Are you being threatened by circumstances right now? Don’t be afraid. Jesus is in your situation with you and He will see to it that you reach the destination He has planned for you.

Give your boat (life) and everything in it to Him and He will show you what to do next. He loves you and has guaranteed that you will be safely delivered home.


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Who Am I? - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on October 29, 2004, 04:45:39 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Who Am I?



When NASA was created in 1958, it was President Eisenhower who decided how the astronauts would be chosen. All would have to be miliary pilots, younger than 40 and under 5'11" (a space capsule couldn’t take anyone larger than that), in perfect shape and an expert jet pilot with more than 1500 hours of flying time.


NASA found 110 men who met these standards. Of these, 56 were picked to travel to Washington for interviews. When they arrived they were given a test to determine their eligibility. One of the questions on the test was: “Give twenty answers to the question, ‘Who am I?”


Years later, astronaut John Glen recalled, “The first few answers to that one were easy. I am a man, I am a Marine, I am a flier, I am a husband, I am an officer. When you got down to the end, it was not so easy to figure out just who you were.”


When I read an article with the information in the preceding paragraphs, I thought about how true his statement is for most people. When they get down to the end, to the bottom of it all, they don’t find it easy to figure out who they are. People tend to define themselves by what they do, not by who they actually are.


All over the world, people ask the same question once they have learned another person’s name and still wants to know more about him. “What do you do?” The answer to that question is often used to determine the value of another human being. If you answer, “I’m a brain surgeon,” you will be perceived in one way. If you answer, “I’m your garbage collector,” the inquirer might have a different opinion of you.


What is your answer to the question, “Who am I?” The Bible has the answer to that question. If you are a Christian, the Scripture says:



You are the temple of God and therefore are holy. (See 1 Cor. 3:16-17)


You are a divine work of art. (See Ephesians 2:10)


You are righteous. (See Romans 5:19)


You are one with Jesus Christ. (See 1 Cor. 6:17)

These are only a few of the ways that the Bible describes the Christian. Will you pause right now and affirm the truth of who you really are? The world doesn’t define you. You aren’t who people think you are. You may not even be who you think you are. You are who God says you are. He created you and He alone can define who you are as a person.


By faith, affirm what He says about you even if your feelings or actions don’t align themselves with His declaration of your identity. God made you to be who you are. Believe what He says about your identity and then live each day from that anchoring truth.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Propaganda Villages - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on November 01, 2004, 05:52:40 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



Propaganda Villages




Last week I was riding back from the DMZ between South and North Korea during a ministry trip there. The demilitarized zone is the most fortified boundary on the planet. For over 50 years it has been one of the most tense places on the earth. A minefield separates two people, who share the same language and race. It is the exact spot where an evil man who literally thinks he is God is in an ongoing standoff with, not only South Korea, but with the rest of the world.


As we drove alongside the barbed wire fence along the river’s edge, put there to keep out invading North Korean spies, we could look across the river and see North Korea. Our guide pointed out the difference between the mountain range in North Korea and the one beside it just across the river on the South Korean side. “Note that there are no trees on the mountainside in North Korea,” she pointed out. “The North Koreans have stripped the mountain, having to use the wood for cooking and heating.” The poverty in North Korea is horrendous. People are starving to death there every day.


A satellite image of Korea at night shows South Korea well lit, but darkness covers North Korea. They don’t even have the most basic utilities. Their leaders live in luxury while the people there suffer unspeakable horror.


At one point, our guide pointed out a village in the distance. “Can you see those skyscrapers?” she asked. “They aren’t real buildings. They are only facades, intended to suggest that North Korea lives the quality of life known in South Korea.”

On the horizon were what looked like tall buildings, but they were only there for show. “It is called a ‘propaganda village’” our guide said. The people in North Korea live in deep poverty, but their communist leaders want to project otherwise to the rest of the world.


It was a sad sight to see. I had already read about the horrors of life for the North Korean people under the rule of a cruel and wicked despot. I couldn’t help but think about how the plight of North Koreans is similar to that of those trapped in dead religion.


Empty religion gives the illusion of life, but in reality it is nothing but a facade. There is no love or life behind it. All that matters is looking good. Religion insists that we make a good impression, but doesn’t offer anything. Like the North Korean propaganda villages, dead religion projects abundance, but behind the facade is a spiritual hunger that it can never satisfy.


On one side of the river between North and South Korea is wealth, on the other is destitution. On one side is freedom and on the other is slavery. To see the contrast is sobering.

As you pray today, please pray for those trapped in dead religion and know no way out. And while you’re at it, pray for the people of North Korea. They are good people who are being held prisoners by an evil dictator.
 



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at  www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”

 










(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Withdrawal From Flesh Sermons - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on November 02, 2004, 05:00:59 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Withdrawal From Flesh Sermons



I was speaking one night in a church around the theme, “God’s Great Gift of Salvation.” I was to spend the weekend there teaching through the book of Ephesians. The particular passage from which I taught talked about how that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and how He has sovereignly bestowed redemption and revelation upon us. The text is one of those times when the Apostle Paul scaled the heights of heaven in describing God’s grace. It is a majestic passage. I taught the text in an expositional way. I dissected what the Bible says, examining the key words in the verse. I used relevant illustrations of what the text taught. I spoke with enthusiasm about the glorious grace of God. The people were responsive as I spoke.


After the service, I was having coffee with a few of the members when someone commented about the message: “That was good, but what we need in our church is something practical.” “Are you aware that I’m teaching verse by verse through the book of Ephesians?” I asked. “Yes,” he answered. “Did I teach what the passage said?” I continued. “Yes,” he answered, “but maybe it would be good to show us more practical application of truths like that.”


I felt frustrated by his remark. I was only in the first chapter of Ephesians. The passage I had taught was doctrinal, not practical. The Bible (Ephesians included) is filled with practical instruction. But it also contains passages which are primarily doctrinal in nature. I wasn’t sure how to respond to his criticism. I wanted to respond graciously, but I wasn’t sure how to tell him that I thought he was wrong.


Later, after I had forgotten about the incident, I was reading the Bible in Numbers 11. God had given His people manna (an Old Testament type which pictures Jesus) to fill their hunger and meet their need. Then I came to Numbers 11:4 where the King James Bible says that the people “fell a lusting” and said, “Who shall give us flesh to eat?” Suddenly I thought about the man’s comment who had spoken to me from church.


“Who shall give us flesh to eat?” Yes, that’s it. Sometimes people are at a place where the manna (Jesus) isn’t enough. They “fall a lusting” and they want flesh. That’s the trouble with legalism – it is never satisfied unless there is an ingredient telling me what I can do or must do. To simply celebrate what Jesus has done? That becomes tasteless very quickly to one addicted to the taste of flesh.


Practical preaching is important, without a doubt. But the insatiable appetite to be told what to do every time we come to the Bible is wrong. Yes, the Bible speaks about behavior – in places. But sometimes we need to forget about what we are to do or not do and simply celebrate and worship Him for what He has done. That can be very practical.


Don’t fall under the deception of thinking that you must be told what to do every time you hear a sermon, under the illusion that you are being “practical.” Maybe those of us who preach the Bible need to just share pure, undiluted grace with the church until Christians are broken from their addiction to flesh and learn that Jesus really is enough. Let’s do it, pastors. Let them cry for flesh, but have the courage to give them only grace.





Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Your Daddy Isn't Mad at You - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on November 03, 2004, 06:24:55 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Your Daddy Isn't Mad at You



Betsy came to me crying one day. As we began to discuss her problem, she explained that she had committed adultery three times in her life. The last time she had been caught, her husband had divorced her. She had been single again for little over a year. “I know that the Bible says God has forgiven me for all my sins, but I cannot overcome the guilt I feel,” she explained. “Every time I date somebody, if I believe he is a sincerely good man, I find myself thinking that I can’t allow myself to become serious with him because he deserves someone better than me.”


Although Betsy knew that God had forgiven her, she had not forgiven herself. Consequently she was wallowing in the misery of self-condemnation. Many Christians struggle with nagging guilt over their sins. They know intellectually that they have been forgiven, but the truth hasn’t reached their emotions. They underestimate the gentle grace of God. Brennan Manning wrote:


If Jesus appeared at your dining room table tonight with knowledge of everything you are and are not, total comprehension of your life story and every skeleton hidden in your closet; if He laid out the real state of your present discipleship with the hidden agenda, the mixed motives, and the dark desires buried in your psyche, you would feel His acceptance and forgiveness.

It’s true — Jesus isn’t mad at you! I used to think that He must be angry, after all, I would sometimes keep committing the same sin over and over again. Wouldn’t my repeated failure eventually wear out His patience? The answer is an emphatic — no! Remember that God saw every sin you would ever commit as He looked at your spot on the time line of life. He placed all of them into Christ and forgave them all. Don’t believe that your failures can bankrupt God’s grace. You can’t out-sin the grace of God!



“Won’t teaching people that God’s grace has pardoned all of their sins encourage them to commit sins?” many have asked. Absolutely not. To the contrary, the grace of God will teach us to deny ungodliness and to live holy lives (See Titus 2:11). A legalist is afraid of this kind of excessive grace because he has never experienced the freedom to know what sins he might commit if given the chance. The concern that unmeasured grace will lead people to sin isn’t new. Paul faced the same kind of questions in his day. In Romans 6:1-3, after having addressed the matter of justification by grace through faith, he poses the question he knows is on everybody’s mind:


What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

Why won’t the believer who knows that all of his sins for a lifetime have been forgiven go out and live a lifestyle of constant sins? It is because he died to the sin-life and no longer has the desire for it anymore. This doesn’t mean he won’t sometimes sin, but when he does lapse into sin it will change nothing in his relationship to God. He will soon discover that he doesn’t want to live there.



As I shared the truth of God’s complete forgiveness with Betsy, I saw her begin to change in the months ahead. I saw her recently and she told me, “Steve, I am free! What a relief to know that all of my sins have been removed by the cross. For the first time in years, I am really enjoying my relationship with Christ because I don’t feel condemned by Him.”



Are you living under the weight of self-condemnation for past sins in your own life? God has forgiven you. Are your standards higher than His? An unwillingness to forgive ourselves implies that we believe the cross of Christ was not sufficient. Release your guilt by choosing to believe that you are forgiven! God knew every sin you would ever commit throughout your whole lifetime on the day He saved you, yet He still saved you.



Condemnation in the believers life never comes from God (See Romans 8:1). Don’t align yourself with the lies of the enemy that you stand guilty. Your guilt has been removed by the cross, and not only the guilt you had before you became a Christian either. Your guilt for a lifetime is gone! Christians stand completely justified before God.



You are guiltless and free! It’s no wonder Jesus called our life in Him the abundant life. Stop worrying about your past. It no longer exists because of the cross. Now, abide in Jesus and “live it up!”




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries,
www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: King of Kings - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on November 08, 2004, 04:19:39 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


King of Kings


In The Chronicles of Narnia , C. S. Lewis wrote in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe about an occasion when Susan and Lucy ask Mr. and Mrs. Beaver to describe Aslan, the Christ-figure in the story. They ask if Aslan is a man. Mr. Beaver replies:


Aslan a man? Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the woods and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion."


"Ooh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."


"That you will, dearie, and make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."


"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.


"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."


Two thousand years ago The Lion of the Tribe of Judah came roaring into our small world devouring the grip that sin held on those He loved. With one swipe, He destroyed the power of Satan over your life like a lion crushes a field mouse with one slap of his paw. The authority of hell over you was demolished in a single moment. The power of the world, the flesh and the devil over the life of a believer today is no more than the final whimper of a scared rabbit who is held firmly in the great jaws of the king of the jungle.


The power of our King is awesome. Demons run like roaches in bright light at His presence. Hell quakes in fear at the very mention of His name. He is not only King. He is King of Kings. Others may be called Lord, but He is Lord of Lords. There is no greater authority; no greater power; no greater Force with which one must reckon. One day every creature in the universe will fall before Him in humble submission and awe. He will forever be the Sovereign-Of-The-Universe because He is the Son of "the great Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea."


The only thing that equals His power and authority is His love for you. You are His child. Sin stalked you as a vicious predator which would have totally destroyed you. But the Lion Of The Tribe Of Judah took note of you, His elect cub, and He came tearing out of heaven with a vengeance to defend you. That's what Christmas is all about – the roaring, relentless love of the Great King of the Jungle who came to your rescue through a stable and a cross.


Terrorists threaten and scare some. The DOW Jones average causes others to be afraid. Anthrax? Nuclear warheads in the hands of madmen? They are all field mice to our King. Is our King safe? Oh, no! He is far too powerful to ever be described that way. But He is good – very good to those He loves. Bow before Him. His power would make any sane person tremble with awe, but His love makes Him irresistible. Rest in His shadow and be assured nothing will ever touch you there.


May God bless you and your family with a very Merry Christmas as you rest in the knowledge that the Lion Of The Tribe Of Judah is watching over you every day of your lives.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: Good News Of Great Joy - GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on November 08, 2004, 04:46:07 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Good News Of Great Joy



One day Jesus left heaven. He stood from the right hand of the throne of His heavenly Father and laid aside the robes of glory. Laying down the privileges of divinity, He clothed Himself in the garments of humanity and walked through the door which divided eternity from time.


He stepped through the doorway into a fallen world. From majesty to a manger He came. He opened his baby eyes and saw dirty faced shepherds and stinking barnyard animals. And on that night, God smiled. Angels sang. And those whom He came to seek unconsciously sighed a collective sigh of relief deep within their spirits. The account for their sins was finally going to be settled. “Paid In Full!” this baby would one day cry out.


Christmas is the celebration of the day that God came bursting through the door of eternity, bounding into time in the person of Jesus Christ, filled with enthusiasm and on a mission that refused to be deterred. His goal: to do what was necessary to tear down the barrier that separated you from Him (sin) and to bring you into a miraculous union with Himself that will never be undone.


It’s no wonder the angel called the incarnation good news of great joy! That’s the definition of the gospel – “good news that makes the heart of men merry so that they skip and jump and leap for joy.” It’s Christmas – you can jump for joy!


You are one with God through Christ. Your source of life will eternally be Him! His attitude toward you will never change. His love for you will never diminish. He has plans for you that will unfold throughout all eternity. Be happy – the God of the universe loves you!


Your sins have been dealt with by Jesus. They have been put away and God will never bring them up again. Put away your guilt – after all, God did. Shed your guilty conscious. Laugh again. You’re forgiven!


Your future is as secure as the throne of God. He has a plan for you and it’s a good one – a big one – a divine one. Be excited – the end of your story is better than you can imagine!


Good news of great joy – that’s what Christmas is all about to Christians. Terrorism, economic woes, sickness, loneliness, fears, guilt – they all are absorbed into the wonder of His birth. Relax, Jesus has come. Everything will be okay now.


In the midst of our frenzied holiday season, pause now for a moment and reflect on this Jesus who loved you enough to come here to rescue you from the world, from your sins and from yourself. He loves you. He loves you more than you could ever conceive.


Jesus Christ loves you. Feel His arms around you. Hear His voice as He gently whispers into the depths of your being, “It was worth it all. You’re Mine. You are Mine! I love you so much.”


On behalf of all of the Grace Walk Ministries team, merry Christmas.

Steve McVey




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: New Beginnings
Post by: Brother Love on November 10, 2004, 04:27:03 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

New Beginnings


Embedded in the very heart of the message of grace is the promise of the possibility of a fresh start. The book of Lamentations leaves no doubt that the Abba of every Christian is One whose mercy and grace offers the opportunity to start over again and again. God’s prophet promised, “The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never ceases, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Last year is history. The coming year now stands before us like a blank page, waiting for the Author of our salvation to write into time the storyline He has already completed in eternity. Whatever regrets, whatever failures, whatever sins that may come to your mind – anything and everything you regret about yesterday is gone. A new year awaits you. Look to your heavenly Father and anticipate with eagerness the next chapter entitled “2004.”

Your sins have been forgiven. Your mistakes have been forgotten. Your guilt has been discharged. Your failures have vanished into the pages of history. Don’t look backward. Forget those things which are behind and press forward to the treasure of your calling in Christ Jesus.

2004 – Prodigal sons, you can come home now! Wilderness-living Christians, the door to Canaan stands wide open! Guilt-ridden saints, all is forgotten! Move out of the past. Today is a new day. You stand on the boundary line of a new year. Laugh, sing, dance! Your Father has plans for you.


Rush into the new year with your eyes and your heart set on Him. He can’t wait to show you what He has prepared because of His love for you. Whether you find the year ahead to be a gift wrapped in bright or dark wrapping, this year will be a gift to you from Him. Open it in faith and see for yourself that His lovingkindness never ceases and His compassion never fails.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2003,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Self Condemnation
Post by: Brother Love on November 11, 2004, 03:46:58 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Self Condemnation


It’s a strange thing to see the affinity that Christians often have for self condemnation. An attitude of self condemnation is nothing less than an assault on the finished work of Christ by seeking to punish ourselves for our own sins. To punish ourselves by self loathing is to imply that when Jesus declared, “It is finished,” He was wrong. “There is still something left for me to do – detest myself,” this attitude of unbelief insists.


Self condemnation is a sacrament to the Christian legalist. It is one way that he seeks to atone for his sins. His rationale may be conscious or unconscious, but it suggests that if he is sorry enough; if he feels badly enough; if he executes enough emotional self-flagellation, and offers up the sacrifice of genuine self contempt, then God will forgive him.


While his demeanor appears to be one of contrition, in reality his attitude demonstrates the worst kind of pride, which is both gaudy and despicable. He actually thinks that there is something he can do to bring on forgiveness. His self centered, pay your own way with the currency of guilt attitude, is an affront to the finished work of Jesus Christ.


He talks a talk that sounds like a godly man to many, but his licentious loathing of himself betrays a brazen and adulterous affair with the law. He may have died to the law so that he could be joined to Jesus Christ, (see Romans 7:4) but his insistence on wallowing in the bed of self judgement with the law suggests a religious hedonism that brings him great pleasure in the darkest places of his flesh.


Jesus came to “put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” says the Bible. If He didn’t succeed at that, then our hopes are all in vain. If He did succeed, then any attempt to add another word to what the cross has spoken by allowing ourselves to accept self condemnation is an attempt to dilute, and thus negate, its power.


Have you sinned against God by allowing yourself to entertain self condemnation about your sins, past or present? Not only is it unnecessary, but it is a sin itself. Renounce your sin and run into the loving arms of your heavenly Father, giving up both your sins and your self condemnation to Him. Lay it all at His feet and allow Him to simply love you. Judgement day for you is finished. It was over at the cross when Jesus declared it to be so. God has nothing to say to you now other than words of love and acceptance. Don’t struggle against Him, but simply accept the truth.


There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. You’re free from judgment. Embrace His forgiveness, rest in His acceptance, and get on with life In Jesus Christ.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”




(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Life on Mars
Post by: Brother Love on November 12, 2004, 04:13:37 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Life on Mars


Amidst cheers and tears of joy from NASA scientists, the robotic rover, Spirit, rolled off its platform and onto the surface of Mars this past week. Scientists planned for it to remain in one spot for three or four days as it began preliminary analysis on the soil and pebbles on the planet’s surface. Many hope that evidence will be discovered to prove that there was at one time an ocean on Mars. Water, they say, may well point to some form of Martian life in the past.


The search for life outside this planet – it fascinates me as much as anybody else. At the same time, I find it interesting to see the widespread obsession with space. Why are humans so interested in exploring the universe in search of life? I think the answer to that question rests on a spiritual foundation.


When Adam sinned in the garden of Eden, life as man knew it vanished. Until he sinned, man had possessed zoe. The word is the one Jesus used in John 10:10 when He said that He came to give an abundant “life.” It is a kind of life that is filled with adventure, purpose, fulfillment and an overall sense of well being.


At the fall of man, the zoe kind of life vanished from the earth. From that point forward, mankind was only left with bios, as in “biology.” Man traded an enthralling, blessed life for empty, biological life. Since that day, he has been searching to find what he lost.


We desperately want to find life outside ourselves. In fact, we are driven by that desire. Intuitively we know that there must be more to life than to simply breathe for eighty years and then stop. Something in us understands that there has to be some kind of life bigger than ourselves. We do indeed sense a faint cry from another world, calling us to a life unlike any we could ever know within the confines of pale human experience. We sense that there must be something supernatural out there somewhere. And so the search continues . . .


I don’t want to be misunderstood. I’m not against the space program. I’m simply pointing out the desperate desire men have to find life. Christians are in a good place when it comes to evangelism because we understand that what was forfeited in the garden of Eden can be found in Jesus Christ. He is the life for which men seek.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Re:GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Shammu on November 12, 2004, 11:47:26 AM
AMEN!! on your last post B.L.

Loved this part.
Quote
I don’t want to be misunderstood. I’m not against the space program. I’m simply pointing out the desperate desire men have to find life. Christians are in a good place when it comes to evangelism because we understand that what was forfeited in the garden of Eden can be found in Jesus Christ. He is the life for which men seek.
;D


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on November 12, 2004, 01:52:04 PM
AMEN!! on your last post B.L.

Loved this part.
Quote
I don’t want to be misunderstood. I’m not against the space program. I’m simply pointing out the desperate desire men have to find life. Christians are in a good place when it comes to evangelism because we understand that what was forfeited in the garden of Eden can be found in Jesus Christ. He is the life for which men seek.[/b]
[/color] ;D


Same here Bro :)


<:)))><


Title: Re:GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Shammu on November 13, 2004, 01:01:16 PM
Lets see if this works, if it does everyone need to look at their last 50 posts. And post your messages in them.

My fingers are crossed, this works.


Title: Re:GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Talmadge on November 13, 2004, 01:29:30 PM
I got so very much out of the book Grace Walk. I wrote to the editor not long ago and did let him know how much I had recieved from reading it . May God's love truely shine through with this man's writing.

 :D


Title: GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: Brother Love on November 15, 2004, 11:59:51 AM
I got so very much out of the book Grace Walk. I wrote to the editor not long ago and did let him know how much I had recieved from reading it . May God's love truely shine through with this man's writing.

 :D


Thanks Talmadge, I agree


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


Title: What's In A Name
Post by: Brother Love on November 15, 2004, 12:04:11 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


What's In A Name



I was watching the biography channel early this morning when a program featured the life story of Saddam Hussein. It was interesting to learn the meaning of the name Saddam. The word means “the one who confronts.” The commentator observed how Saddam has lived up to his name throughout his lifetime.


Hussein’s mother tried to kill him while he was still in her womb by slamming her stomach against the wall. She even tried to end her own life so that he would be destroyed. She saw her unborn baby as an unwanted intruder into her life.


Throughout history, a person’s name has had significance and is often a predictor of their behavior. Jacob’s name meant “one who deceives” and he certainly lived up to that name until he wrestled with “the angel of the Lord” and literally came to brokenness. At that point, his name was changed to “Israel,” meaning “a prince with God.”


When Christ entered the world, it was said that “His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” His given name – Jesus. It was important to God.


When Jesus announced the ministry which would be entrusted to Peter, he changed his name right on the spot. “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona,” Jesus said. “I also say to you that you are Peter . . .” (Matthew 16:17-18)


What was the name placed on you early in life? I don’t mean your given name at birth. I’m referring to the name you assumed through the life-messages you received from your family, your peers, those in authority over you. The name may have been spoken or unspoken, but you knew it was a reference to you.


Some people bear the name “Unwanted” or “Unloveable.” Others secretly carry a name associated with shame. Some have come to believe deep down that their name is Ugly or Unimportant. One man I knew even called his wife “Chunky,” – a reference to her weight. He seemed to think it was cute, but I thought it was cruel and wondered how his wife had come to let him get away with such behavior.


Think about the formative years of your life. Based on the life messages you received by how others related to you, what was your unspoken name?


The gospel of grace brings good news about our name. You may not be who you have been taught you are. God calls you by His own pet names for you – names like “Apple Of My Eye, Beloved, My child, My Friend, My Bride.” Search the Bible and you will never find God calling you by a negative name, not even once.


He adores you. With that truth in mind, why not pause right now and pray. Ask the Lord this question, “What pet name will you call me today?” Then see what comes into your mind. You may be thrilled as the Holy Spirit reveals to you how much you are loved and how special you are to God.


He has a special name for you. Own it and then live up to it.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Loving the Unloveable
Post by: Brother Love on November 16, 2004, 04:32:02 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Loving the Unloveable



A Boston-Globe article reported this past December that New Hampshire's state drug abuse and prevention program was turned down for a $17 million grant for one reason alone. The Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said that the state’s application for the grant was typed with smaller margins than permitted. The state of New Hampshire wasn’t given a second chance. The decision of the Administration was final. Sorry folks, no help available for drug addicts in New Hampshire. The margins weren’t right.


When I read about this incident on the Internet, it reminded me of some of the victims of legalism I’ve met along the way. The law doesn’t care about people. Rules are the only thing that matter to the legalist.


There was the pastor who told me about how one night his wife never came home from work while they were in seminary. He laid awake worrying and praying all night. He had already called the police the next morning when his wife finally called. She informed him that she had been having an affair with somebody at work and had spent the night with that man. She called to tell her seminary-student-husband that she was leaving him.


The young man went to school that morning broken hearted. Due to what had happened, he arrived late. He spoke to the professor of the class he had missed and asked permission to make up the test which had been given that day in class. Despite the fact that he shared the painful details of the night before, his professor told him that to give him a chance to make up the test would be against the rules. He advised this broken hearted student that he needed to speak to the academic dean to get special permission.


When he spoke to the academic dean, he was told that he would immediately be expelled from school because he wouldn’t be allowed to continue his preparation for the pastorate if he was divorced. After all, if he couldn’t hold a marriage together, how could he lead a church? Not so much as an encouraging word was offered.


I’m reminded of another friend – Frank. His wife’s brother was diagnosed with AIDs. Frank and Betty lovingly brought her brother into their home to care for him. Frank was a pastor. His church couldn’t handle it. After all, it was the man’s misbehavior that had brought on the AIDs disease to start with.


Even in my own family, I once asked a staff member in a church we attended years ago if he would have someone in the young adult department of the church reach out to my son who had suffered a serious, life-threatening accident. “Is he in a small group?” I was asked. “No,” I responded. “That’s what he needs to do,” I was told. “He needs to get into a small group.” Our small groups are set up to minister to each other.” My son never got the contact. I guess membership in the small group really was important in that church.


Rules, procedures, regulations – that’s what the law is all about.

But that’s not what Jesus is about. He’s about people. His focus is relationships, not rules. What matters to Him is love, not laws.


I think Jesus would have wept over the young pastor whose wife left him. I believe that Jesus is proud of Frank and Betty for how they cared for her brother. I believe Jesus loved my son in his need even when the church wouldn’t give him the time of day.


I believe Jesus cares about drug addicts and homosexuals, about divorcees and outcasts. I think Jesus passionately loves the ones that repulse the rule-keeping, self-righteous pharisees. I’m glad Jesus isn’t like some people who go to church every Sunday.


Do you want Jesus to live through you? Then love somebody that others don’t tend to love. Reach out to the one who has nothing to offer in return. Love them unconditionally. Love them generously. Love them passionately. When you do so, your Father will smile with pleasure – because you’ll be acting just like His Son.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 


Title: Let's Do Less For God
Post by: Brother Love on November 18, 2004, 05:16:21 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Let's Do Less For God


 
 

Let’s do less for God. I believe we would be much more content and He would be pleased by our making that decision. Before you call me a heretic, consider this fact: God never asks us to do anything for Him. He doesn’t need us to do anything for Him. The Bible says that “He is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives life and breath to all things” (Acts 17:25) God doesn’t need anything. And even if He did, He wouldn’t let us know about it. “If I were hungry, I wouldn’t tell you,” He says in Psalms 50:12. Our call as believers isn’t to do something for God, but rather is a call to God Himself.


The essence of the Christian life isn’t doing things for Him. It’s all about knowing Him. Jesus defined the meaning of salvation when He prayed to His Father, “This is eternal life, that they many know You and the One whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Christianity is knowing Him. We are called to be the bride of Christ, not His maid.


Does this mean that Christian service is somehow unimportant? Of course not! However, service is to be the overflow of the intimate relationship we enjoy with Him. It comes naturally (or more accurately, supernaturally ) for us to serve Christ when we love Him. The early disciples didn’t evangelize for God. They said, “We cannot [help] but speak the things we have seen and heard” (Acts 4"20). Service is to the life of one who is in love with Jesus as planting is to a farmer or sailing is to a sailor. The activity flows from our identity.


We aren’t to do things for God. We are to rest in Him and allow Him to do it Himself through us. “Faithful is He who calls you, who will also do it ” says the Bible. Dead religion demands that we do more. Grace calls us to rest in His life and love and trust Him to do through us whatever He wants. We are simply the vessel through which He operates. Let’s do less for God and watch Him do more through us.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 
 
 

 


Title: The Passion of the Christ
Post by: Brother Love on December 01, 2004, 01:58:57 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

The Passion of the Christ



In the recent interview Mel Gibson did with Diane Sawyer about his film, The Passion of the Christ, he revealed that he was only onscreen in the movie one time – actually only a part of him was in the scene. At the point in the story when Jesus is being nailed to the cross, it was Gibson’s left arm and hand seen driving the nail into the hand of Christ.


When asked why he chose to assume that role in the film, Mel Gibson indicated that it was because he saw himself as first in the line of culpability for the crucifixion of Christ. He openly acknowledged his own guilt and blame for the death of Jesus. “Who did kill Christ?” Sawyer asked. “We all did,” Gibson responded as Sawyer blankly stared at him as if he were speaking a Martian language.


The story of the passion of Christ – it is the crux of the gospel. The suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of history. The events of three days that occurred two millennia ago will forever be the focal point of time and eternity. Throughout the ages to come, the angels’ words will reverberate, filling every corner of the universe: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” In response, every created thing in existence will cry out, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever!” (See Revelation 5:12-13)


Gibson’s confession that he sees himself as first in the line of those guilty for the death of Jesus is a confession which fits us all. Left to ourselves, we are all born without a trace of hope that we might find favor with Almighty God. But the cross changes that. Embedded in the cross of Jesus Christ is a call – it is an invitation to come back home; to return to the Father’s house. It is a call to enter into union with divine life and be transformed into somebody new. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17)


Some people hear the call. Others never will. Jesus said that nobody could ever come to God unless God Himself (through the Holy Spirit) draws them to Him. Do you sense a pull toward Christ? That inner pull you sense is the voice of God gently and lovingly inviting you to come to Him.


Some people put the gospels alongside “other histories” of the time of Jesus. They look at the cross, but don’t see. They simply can’t hear the loving invitation that pours out of Calvary’s hill. To them, it’s only an ancient story.


As you watch the film – as you think about the cross – listen. It’s not simply a historical story being retold. It is an eternal story shouting out a present-day invitation to those who are able to hear. You may hear a message other’s won’t hear. You may see something others don’t see. If so, be glad. Be very glad. Because that same Christ who died that brutal death is reaching out to you in love. Reach up, responding in faith, and He will pick you up. He will give you new life and will begin to carry you toward home.


If you have been forwarded this devotional article by a friend who is a Christian, be assured it is because they value your friendship. Maybe this article can be the basis of discussion between you two about the cross of Jesus Christ and its relevance today.


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”




2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  


Title: Religion’s Rubber Checks
Post by: Brother Love on December 02, 2004, 03:54:22 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Religion’s Rubber Checks


It was the very beginning of Grace Walk Ministries. I had been on television for the past hour hosting a “Christian talk show,” as a guest host when someone from the station came to me during a break. They gave me a telephone number and said, “This man just called. He said he saw you on the air and wants to talk to you about making a large donation to your ministry. Give him a call when you’re off the air.”


My mind raced as I wondered about who the man was and why he would call me with such an offer, since we had never met. The program ended and I tentatively dialed the number. When he answered, I introduced myself. “ Oh yes! Dr. McVey! My name is (John Doe) and I want to talk to you as soon as possible. I’ve recently received a large sum of money from a law settlement and have been praying about how to disburse it. I’ve seen you on TV before, but tonight I realized that your ministry should receive a part of this money.”


We arranged to meet in the lobby of the hotel where I was staying. When I met the man, he was friendly and obviously enthused about my ministry. He explained how he was giving a part of the money to Grace Walk, part of it to Focus on the Family and part to the Billy Graham Association. He explained how he had won an injury lawsuit and felt that he should give fifty thousand dollars to each of these ministries. Fifty thousand dollars? my mind excitedly asked. That would cover every expense necessary to get Grace Walk Ministries going and even leave money to develop conference materials, tapes, . . . in my mind I began to spend the money.


We talked for about a half hour. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his checkbook. I watched in disbelief, barely about to contain myself as he wrote a check payable to Grace Walk Ministries, in the amount of $50,000. He handed me the check. At that time, that was a larger check than I’d ever seen in my life. I profusely thanked him and he left.


I slept little that night. My mind raced as I thought about the miracle I had just seen. I couldn’t wait to fly home the next day and deposit the check and tell my family about what had happened and call the printer to tell him to go ahead with the job I hadn’t been able to afford until now and by needed office equipment and . . . The list of how the money could be used raced through my mind.


The next morning, for “some reason” I thought about calling the bank where the man’s account was held before leaving Pittsburgh to return to Atlanta. I found the number in the telephone book and dialed the number. After several recorded voice prompts, I reached an automated voice asking for the account number on the check I wanted to verify. I nervously pressed in the number on the check. “Please enter the amount of the check,” the prompt continued. 5-0-0-0-0 I excitedly pressed. “We’re sorry, but there are no sufficient funds for this check.” the cold, computer voice responded.


My heart began to sink. Nervously I tried again, this time using the number 40,000 dollars. “We’re sorry, but there are no sufficient funds for this check,” the voice answered again. I tired again – 30,000. Same response. 20,000? No. 10,000? Sorry. 1,000? I finally worked my way down to discover that the check would have only been good if it had been written for less than a hundred dollars.


Did this guy knowingly write me a bad check? I thought. Maybe he has to transfer some funds and hasn’t had a chance to do it yet. I immediately decided that I would call him and ask about it because I couldn’t stand the prolonged suspense of waiting. I dialed the number I had used the first time I called and he immediately answered.


As calmly as I could speak, I explained to him what had happened. What? he answered in disbelief. I wrote that check to you in faith! My Father owns everything and if that bank doesn’t realize that, then this world is in worse shape than even I have known!


“So you don’t have money in the bank to cover the check?” I asked. Money in the bank? I told you – my Father owns everything! That means that I own everything, he answered. Those people are in serious trouble if they don’t even recognize God’s authority!


I quickly thanked him and hung up. Later I thought that I should have felt sorry for the man at that moment. But I didn’t. I only felt sorry for me. My hopes had been dashed as quickly as they had been raised. It was a rubber check and there was no hope that it would ever be any good.


That man’s check reminds me of the promises of empty legalistic religion. Dead religion makes great promises about how it can change your life. It offers great hope that things can be different, that it can meet all your needs. But in reality, it is bankrupt. It attempts to draw from an empty account.


An authentic relationship with Jesus Christ is the answer to our needs. Only He can satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. Does your life seem empty? Don’t try to get your needs met from religious activity. Only Jesus can satisfy your hunger. Look to Him. He’ll never give you a rubber check. He always keeps His promises. In Him, you are rich.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  

 


Title: The Cure for Inconsistency
Post by: Brother Love on December 02, 2004, 02:24:39 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

The Cure for Inconsistency



“The one consistency of my Christian experience is inconsistency. The desire to be consistent in the Christian walk is inherent to the new nature of the believer. However, my own vulnerability toward spiritual failure is inescapable.”


These words were written in my spiritual journal early in 1990. I read them now and feel sorry for that sincere pastor. My heart was in the right place, but my head was filled with legalism. My journal continues:


“The holy desire for consistent consecration gives way under the weight of the old nature. The flame of spiritual desire flickers with determination against the cold winds of carnality until finally a damp blast snuffs it out. In the days that follow, my soul sits enveloped by darkness.


In the midst of all the negative emotions, there is a restlessness, a yearning to be restored to fellowship with God. The desire to confess and be restored is real, but voices whisper from the darkness, pointing out the frequency of my failure and the folly of forgiveness for one who is so given to inconsistency.”


Do you want to know what my failure was that prompted this journal entry? Sounds like it might have been adultery, or stealing money from the church, or even killing a church member (a thought that had crossed my mind a few times during my years as a pastor). No, the failure was none of those. My sin? I hadn’t been doing my daily Bible reading. So I saw myself as a sorry excuse for a Christian and a hypocrite as a pastor.


I review those words written almost fifteen years ago and I want to shout back to myself in the past, “Steve! Relax! Your Father isn’t upset with you! Stop setting a standard higher for yourself than Almighty God sets for you. Jesus is the standard and you have Him! The issue isn’t about how well you perform or don’t perform. The bottom line is this: YOUR FATHER LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY!


Steve, that sense of broken fellowship in your mind is your deal, not God’s. His lovingkindness is everlasting. Nothing will change that, not even neglecting to read your Bible. That old nature you think squelches your holy desire? That isn’t your old nature! The old nature is dead. It’s only your flesh and the power of indwelling sin “messing with your mind.” Affirm the truth! Christ is your life, no matter what you do or don’t do.”


Thankfully, the man I was in those days was coming to brokenness. He would eventually learn that his Christian walk didn’t revolve around how well he did certain things. The Christian life revolves around Jesus. Nothing else – just Jesus.


Are you stuck in the place I was during those days? If so, relax. The Christian life isn’t about you. It never has been. It’s about Jesus. He will accomplish in you what He wants to do in the way He wants to do it and when He wants to do it. So quit trying to be God. The uniform doesn’t fit you well. God loves you just like you are. He loves you so much that He may let you struggle until there’s no energy left in you to struggle. Then you’ll be in a position to hear Him lovingly say, “I never asked you to knock yourself out for Me. I only asked you to receive my love. Now, rest here in My arms.”


Ironically, it was when I learned to give up and simply rest in His arms that I began to want to read my Bible and do all the other things associated with a Christian lifestyle. It’s not a matter of self discipline that wins the battle with inconsistency. Consistency happens miraculously by His grace. You can’t make it happen. So just rest in His arms and enjoy your grace walk.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


 


Title: Dead To Sin
Post by: Brother Love on December 03, 2004, 04:59:22 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Dead To Sin



“Would you like to come to the party on Friday night?” the teen was asked. Knowing that drugs would flow at this particular party, the young Christian girl answered, “I won’t be able to be there.” “Why not?” her friend persisted. “Because I’m dead,” the Christian simply answered.


We’re dead. That’s what the Bible teaches. Romans 6:6 says that the old self you were in Adam died with Jesus Christ. Colossians 3:3 says that we died with Him. That has everything to do with the freedom we can now enjoy over sin.


When Corrie Ten Boom was imprisoned with her sister, Betsy, in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, the Lord spoke to Betsy one day and told her that by the new year they would both be free. Free from the cruel tyranny of the guards that tormented them daily.


By the time the new year came, Betsy had died. Was she free from the power of the guards? Of course she was. That’s what happened to you. Sin controlled you before you knew Christ, but because you died with Him, it has no power over you anymore.


Paul wrote in Romans 6:14 that “sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” By God’s grace, you have been set free from sin’s authority through your own death. You died with Jesus Christ. Consider yourself to be dead to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ. That’s what the Bible says about the matter.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)



Title: The Hidden Voice
Post by: Brother Love on December 03, 2004, 07:42:06 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional



The Hidden Voice


Jimmy Buffet ministered to me last week. I’m not kidding, it’s true. While I was already familiar with and enjoyed some of his songs, I’ve never even owned a Jimmy Buffet album. On a trip with some friends who had brought along one of his albums, they played a song and – bang! – it hit me right between the eyes as a message from Jesus.

The lyrics are from his song “Barometer Soup” and say:

Follow in my wake, You’ve not that much at stake,
For I have plowed the seas, And smoothed the troubled waters.
Come along, let’s have some fun, The hard work has been done,
We’ll barrel roll into the sun – just for starters.



I know some will reject the idea that God could speak to me through a Jimmy Buffet song. After all, “it’s secular music” they may protest. But I don’t’ care. I know what I know and I know that I heard the voice of Jesus in the message of that song. The Bible says that the earth is the Lord’s and all that’s in it. (Psalm 24:1) I guess that includes C.D.s recorded by Jimmy Buffet.


I like the verse in John 11:51 where the Bible tells us something Caiphas said about one man dying for the whole nation of Israel. The verse says: “He didn’t say this of his own accord, but as Chief Priest that year, he unwittingly prophesied that Jesus was about to die sacrificially for the nation.” He unwittingly said something motivated by God. Imagine that.


Can God move through the talents, abilities, words and actions of people today and cause them to unwittingly say or do something that might have deeper meaning to Christians than they even know or intend? I believe that He can and does.


Dead religion tries to put God in a box and allow us to only meet Him there. But God won’t fit in the box. His life and love come bursting out all over the universe to those who have eyes to see. I love seeing and hearing Him in unexpected places. It’s a thrill when He hides His voice from the world and allows His chosen ones to hear Him in unsuspecting places where the world doesn’t even recognize it’s Him.


I like “Christian music” as much as the next guy, but I’d encourage you to expand your borders and look and listen — really look and listen. You might be surprised at where you hear your Savior’s voice.

I need to run now. I hear Jimmy calling.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: All Things New
Post by: Brother Love on December 06, 2004, 03:56:39 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


All Things New



Our family sawThe Passion this past weekend and, like everybody who has seen it, were deeply moved by the graphic portrayal of the sacrifice made by Christ at the cross. The cross of Jesus Christ is the crux of time and eternity.


While the whole movie was stirring, one line touched me deeply. The scene was where Jesus was carrying his cross down the Via Dolorosa while the taunting soldiers and jeering crowd surrounded Him. Mary, His mother, watched from a distance as Jesus fell under the heavy load of the cross.


As she watched Him fall, Mary’s thoughts returned to a time when Jesus was a little boy and had fallen, scrapping His knee. She had run to Him, and picked Him up, saying, “I”m here.” Now, as He fell on the way to the cross, her maternal love and instinct took over as she ran to his side. “I’m here,” Mary said, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jesus lifted His head, looked at His mother and said, “Mother, I make all things new.”


“I make all things new.” What a great description of the essence of the meaning of the cross. The cross of Jesus is the source of so many new things between man and God. These new things are all a part of the New Covenant (Testament) that was inaugurated by the shedding of His blood.

Consider a few of the things that Jesus made new by his death:


~ A New Identity – Now we aren’t sinners who are trying to gain God’s favor by behaving in the right way. We are saints who are, at every moment, in good standing with God because of the cross. We may still sin at times, but God never condemns us. (Romans 8:1) He loves us unconditionally because of the sacrifice of Christ for our sins. As a Christian, you are God’s child and nothing will ever change that fact.


~ A New Way To Live – The cross has delivered us from the demands of religion. It is interesting to note that the main reason why the religious leaders wanted to crucify Him was because He wasn’t religious enough to satisfy them. Religion demands that we do particular things in order to satisfy God. The grace of God expressed by the cross declares that God doesn’t require us to live a life of religion, but rather live in relationship with Him. God isn’t interested in you becoming more religious. He’s just interested in you.


~ A New Hope – The hope offered by the cross is that Easter will follow . . . and it did. The death of Jesus is half the story. His resurrection is the final scene of this eternal drama. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead gives us a new hope. It offers the hope of life, both for now and eternity. The very reason for Jesus Christ coming to this earth was to give us life (see John 10:10). An abundant life is the birthright of every person who trusts in Him. Do you have life?


The Passion of Christ is a biblical love story. Jesus loved you so much that He determined He would rather die than live without you – so He did. Receive His life. Live out of that life each day. As you do, you will increasingly learn that He really did make all things new.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


 


Title: Forgiving Those Who Hurt Us
Post by: Brother Love on December 07, 2004, 04:44:50 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Forgiving Those Who Hurt Us

I watched Tammy Faye Messner on Larry King this past week. Say what you will about her past or present lifestyle, she hit the nail on the head when Larry asked her about her relationship to those who hurt her during the PTL ordeal. She explained that the way she has moved beyond those horrific days has been through forgiveness. “Forgiveness is the best gift you can give yourself,” she said.


She compared the bondage of unforgiveness with the ancient practice of forcing a murderer to carry his victim on his back while his body decomposes. In the end, the victim would cause the death of the murderer due to disease. “Maybe you’re carrying somebody on your back,” Tammy Faye exhorted viewers. “If so, put them down!”


Forgiveness is the deliberate choice to release a person from any obligation they have toward you as a result of any offense they have committed against you. Unforgiveness is like a cancer that slowly eats away at you. It usually doesn’t hurt your offender, only you.


Buddy Hackett once said, “I've had a few arguments with people, but I never carry a grudge. You know why? While you're carrying a grudge, they're out dancing.” He’s right. To refuse to forgive is to allow the hurt which was done to you continue to control and debilitate you. The other person goes right on with their life while you sentence yourself to prison.


Is there someone you need to forgive? C.S. Lewis said, "We all agree that forgiveness is a beautiful idea until we have to practice it." How does one practice forgiveness? It is a choice. You don’t forgive people because you feel like it. Forgiveness doesn’t come from the emotions, but from the will. To say that we can’t forgive somebody is to believe a lie. You can forgive anybody.


What is our reason for forgiving others? It’s the fact that we ourselves have been forgiven for so much. Only a Pharisee will fail to recognize that fact. General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, "I never forgive and I never forget." To which Wesley replied, "Then, Sir, I hope you never sin.” The truth is that we have all sinned and, if God has forgiven us, we can forgive others.


The Apostle Paul wrote,"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). We can forgive because we have been forgiven.


“But they don’t deserve to be forgiven!” you may protest. Of course they don’t. Forgiveness is an act of grace. If they deserved it, it wouldn’t be forgiveness. It would be justice.


“But they aren’t sorry!” some may insist. So what? They don’t have to be sorry for us to forgive. Forgiveness initiates with our choice, not another person’s regret about their actions.


“But I don’t want them in my life!” somebody might argue. Don’t mistakenly think that just because you forgive someone, you must now make them your best friend. To truly forgive and yet decide that the relationship doesn’t need to continue are two decisions that can be totally compatible with each other.


There are many excuses we can give for refusing to forgive those who have hurt us, but here is no good reason. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you hold unforgiveness in your heart toward anybody. If you do, forgive! It is a key to freedom. I’ve met many who regretted that they allowed bitterness to effectively destroy them, but I’ve never met anybody who said they were sorry that they chose to forgive.


The Bible says to “forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you” (Colossians 3:13, The Message). Will you do it?



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 


Title: Golfing In Grace
Post by: Brother Love on December 08, 2004, 06:23:15 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Golfing In Grace

Other men often ask me if I play golf. I’m never quite sure about how to answer that question. Can one really be said to play golf if he consistently shoots one hundred, and doesn’t even count his bad shots? Is it still considered playing golf if you need to take a compass with you so that you can find your way out of the woods back into the fairway at almost every hole?

I’ve almost wondered if the Apostle Paul was a golfer when we wrote in Romans 7:15, “I don’t understand myself at all. I’m not doing the things I want to do, but keep doing the things I hate.” A serious examination of the verse proves his statement had nothing to do with golf, but at first glance one might wonder. I’ve expressed that same sentiment on the golf course many times.

Strangely enough, I hated golf when I first began to play. It was embarrassing to play with men who were required to wait while I was in the woods searching for my ball, or fishing it out of the water hazard. Before I learned to take so many balls in my bag, I felt badly when it became necessary for them to give me a ball from their bag at practically every hole so that I could finish the game.

I determined that I was going to play golf well. So I tried hard. I would square off, address the ball, say a short prayer, and swing – I’d swing with all my might. My plan was to make the green in two strokes, if not one.

However my golf ball, obviously possessed by an evil spirit, would react the same way every time. It would slice and immediately find the nearest entrance into the woods. Sometimes my club would barely hit the top of the ball on the tee, causing it to fall off the tee and gently roll twenty or thirty feet in front of me. Meanwhile, my playing partner would have knocked his ball out of sight. I felt like he must be thinking I was a little girl, wearing laced underwear and everything. No mancould possible play golf that terribly.

My blood pressure would shoot straight up and I would find myself at times wondering if there really is a God. I felt like a pastor friend, who said that he is so bad at golf that he eventually gave it up and started preaching against it as a sin. But, I would determine to try harder on the next hole. I resolved to hit with greater force– to hit straighter, more accurate. But the next hole would produce the same results.

One day, on the back nine, an epiphany came to me. I was standing on a tee box, waiting for my playing partner to hit his perfect shot. I began to look around at the surrounding scenery on this hole. The natural landscape around me was beautiful. Have you been on a golf course? They are some of the prettiest places you’ll ever see in life.

As I moved through the back nine holes, I found myself not thinking about my game so much as I was enjoying the beauty that surrounded me. I was lulled away from the thought of my score and caught up in the beauty of the course. My score was already so high that I knew I would once again be in triple digits, so I decided to forget my score and just enjoy the beautiful spring day. So I did.

When I came home that day, for the first time, I was relaxed and in a good mood. I hadn’t played a perfect game, but I had enjoyed a perfect day. Ever since that time, I don’t go to the golf course to play a good game of golf. I go to enjoy the companionship of the friends who endure my game and to enjoy the beauty of it all.

My golf game and my Christian life are a lot alike. When I try hard to live the Christian life, I always find myself off the fairway where life is intended to be played. I find myself in the woods of sin (defined biblically as “missing the mark”), discouragement, frustration. However, if I just relax and realize that I don’t have to have a perfect score in my Christian walk, I really enjoy life. Some people view golf as a sport. I view it as a game.

Some think the Christian life is a test. The Bible teaches it is a rest. (See Matthew 11:28) As you move down the fairway of life, take the lesson I’ve learned about the Christian life on the golf course. Don’t try so hard. Just relax and enjoy the game. Don’t miss the Life by trying to succeed at life. Christ sometimes gets lost in what many call “Christianity.”

Jesus isn’t upset when you don’t shoot par. He just wants you to enjoy spending your day with Him. He wants to show you the beauty that surrounds you as the two of you move through life’s course together. Don’t try to hit the ball so hard. Just relax and swing a natural, slower swing. It’s not up to you to hit straight or far by sheer strength. Let the club do the work it was created to do. And don’t keep your own score anymore, because Jesus doesn’t. Just relax, and enjoy the game.

Although it’s January, it’s a little warmer outside today. I think I may call a friend and go play golf. I can predict my score already, but who cares? I just want to play the game and enjoy the company of my friend for another day.
 


Please send us any comments that you have on this devotional or how the team at Grace Walk ministries might improve the website - Thanks for visiting!


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  


Title: Ozzy Osbourne And Peace
Post by: Brother Love on December 09, 2004, 04:10:00 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Ozzy Osbourne And Peace

 
A few weeks ago, Barbara Walters hosted a television special called, The Ten Most Fascinating People of 2002. One of the people she interviewed was Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy’s wife, Sharon, has recently been going through chemotherapy treatments for colon cancer.


Ozzy broke down in tears as he discussed that great trial of their lives. Within the context of their discussion of that crisis, as well as other issues of his life, Barbara Walters asked Osbourne, “Do you have peace?” Without hesitation, he answered, “No, I don’t. I would give anything to have peace.”

I couldn’t help but be touched by both his demeanor and his honest response to her question. I’ve never been a fan of Ozzy Osbourne and, in fact, forbade my children from listening to him when they were small. I find his music repulsive, sometimes even evil. However, as I watched this program I saw beyond the music and got a glimpse of the man. What I saw was a man just like you and me – a man who, at the deepest level of his being, wants one thing more than anything else. He wants peace.

Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most famous rock singers who has ever recorded a song. Crowds throng him when he goes out in public. He has more money than most of us can dream of ever having. He lives in a luxurious home on the beach. By the world’s standards, he has it all. But he lacks one thing – peace.

Do you have peace? Early Christians used the words “grace and peace” as a common greeting when they saw each other. The Apostle Paul began most of his epistles with this common salutation. The word grace (charis) was a Greek greeting that communicated the idea of receiving unexpected and undeserved benefits in a person’s life. “Peace” (shalom) is the Hebrew word which denotes an overall sense of well being in life.

God wants us to know His peace, but the gateway to peace is His grace. God’s grace comes to us in the person of Jesus Christ. As we trust Him to be our very life, we will experience what Paul called, “the peace of God that passes all understanding.” We will discover the reality of the Bible’s promise that “[Jesus] Himself is our peace.”

Are you facing trials in your own life? The source of peace in any circumstance is Jesus Christ. Ozzy said that he would give anything to have peace. However, the truth of the matter is that we don’t have to give anything to possess it. God has already given everything necessary for us to know peace when He gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sin.

Don’t restlessly struggle in your circumstances. Trust Jesus Christ and find peace that surpasses all understanding. Pray right now, casting yourself and your circumstances completely onto Jesus. He will be your peace. And while you’re praying, pray for Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Like us, they’re hungry for God’s peace too.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”[/b]

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  


Title: Re:GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional
Post by: 2nd Timothy on December 09, 2004, 08:52:08 AM
Great story!

This caught my eye, believe it or not, because back in my rock days (far from the Lord) I almost auditioned for Ozzy when he was looking for a guitarist.   My mom was mortified when I told her I was thinking about it...lol   I never did thanfully, but now when I look back at that, I too wonder about Ozzy and his family's eternity.   Our God can do anything, and I pray that God would send someone into their lives to share the good news of the Lords grace and peace with them.  What a living testimony that could turn out to be!

Grace and Peace!


Title: Ozzy Osbourne And Peace
Post by: Brother Love on December 09, 2004, 04:23:17 PM
Great story!

This caught my eye, believe it or not, because back in my rock days (far from the Lord) I almost auditioned for Ozzy when he was looking for a guitarist.   My mom was mortified when I told her I was thinking about it...lol   I never did thanfully, but now when I look back at that, I too wonder about Ozzy and his family's eternity.   Our God can do anything, and I pray that God would send someone into their lives to share the good news of the Lords grace and peace with them.  What a living testimony that could turn out to be!

Grace and Peace!

Thanks 2T :)


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.    


Title: Disapointment
Post by: Brother Love on December 10, 2004, 03:41:45 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

Disapointment

 
Dr. Lenore Campbell wrote, “Early in my career as a doctor I went to see a patient who was coming out of anesthesia. Far off church chimes sounded and the patient murmured, ‘I must be in heaven.’ Then she saw me. ‘No, I can't be,’ she said. ‘There's Dr. Campbell.’"


Disappointment – we’ve all had to deal with it at times, haven’t we? Even people who have been known as successes in life have faced disappointment. Alexander the Great conquered Persia, but broke down and wept because his troops were too exhausted to push on to India. John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the U.S. wrote in his diary: "My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations, and in ceaseless rejected prayers that something would be the result of my existence beneficial to my species." Robert Louis Stevenson wrote words that continue to delight and enrich our lives, and yet what did he write for his epitaph? "Here lies one who meant well, who tried a little, and failed much."


Everybody faces disappointment, but how are Christians to deal with it? The answer boils down to trust in Jesus Christ. That means not just professing our trust, but practicing it. When we know that He is Life, the sting of disappointment finds a healing salve in the truth of His Word.


I have found a particular verse in the Bible to be a good antidote to disappointment in my circumstances. It is found in Philippians 1:6, where Paul wrote: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” This verse is a reminder that the flow of our lives isn’t up to us, but rests on the shoulders of God Himself. This verse promises that He started His work in you and He will be the one to sustain it. At the risk of oversimplifying the matter, “God’s going to do what God’s going to do.”


We get into trouble when we think that our agenda has to be fulfilled in life. It isn’t up to us to fulfill our plans. That’s God’s business. Our role is simply to trust Him in every circumstance.


Are there disappointments you face in your own life today? Place them into the hands of a sovereign God who loves you and already has the details of life worked out for you. It’s okay to feel disappointment. That’s normal, but don’t be dominated by it. Instead, acknowledge your feelings to the Lord and then lay your expectations at His feet. Then move forward, being assured that He has your best interest at heart and will work out all things for your ultimate good and His highest glory.


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      


Title: The Grace to Shut Up
Post by: Brother Love on December 11, 2004, 07:57:28 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


The Grace to Shut Up
 



 
“I just say whatever is on my mind,” a person who was expressing an opinion in an animated way recently said to me. I didn’t respond to the comment, but couldn’t help but think about the Bible verse that says, “A fool uttereth his whole mind, but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards” (Proverbs 29:11, KJV).


When I was young man I felt an internal mandate to not only express my opinion, but also to convince others that mine was the right way to see a matter. I’m not sure if it’s simply a matter of maturing with age or maturing in grace, or maybe a combination of the two, but I don’t feel the need to always make others agree with me anymore. To the contrary, I find myself often saying nothing at times when my thoughts may be in direct contradiction to what somebody may be expressing to me.


The Bible makes it clear that there is a virtue in learning when and how to be quiet. James wrote that we should be quick to hear, but slow to speak. (See James 4:19) Paul wrote to “let your speech be always with grace” (Colossians 4:6). Another time he taught that we should study to be quiet and mind our own business. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:11)


Highly opinionated babblers can be trying at times. I know because I used to be one. Maybe I still am at times, I’m not sure. I do know that I’m a verbal processor who tends to sort through things by talking about them. I recognize that I need grace to enable me to shut-up sometimes.


When I see opinionated, non-stop talkers like the one I mentioned in the first paragraph, I occasionally ask myself, “Do I still act like that at times?” That’s certainly not what I want.


Do you say too much, too often? If so, pray for God’s grace to flow through your actions in such a way as to cause you to know when to say nothing and then enable you to do it. Sometimes grace never looks better than when it enable us to simply shut-up.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 
 

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      


Title: What Do You See?
Post by: Brother Love on December 13, 2004, 04:02:48 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

What Do You See?



God seems to enjoy “show and tell.” He often will point to specific things in our daily lives and use them as an object lesson to communicate a truth to us. It happened in the Bible on numerous occasions.


God once asked Jeremiah, “What do you see?” The prophet answered, “I see a boiling pot.” God answered, “And that’s how evil is going to boil over on the inhabitants of the land” (Jeremiah 1:11). Another time, God said to him, “What do you see?” “I see figs,” Jeremiah answered, “good figs, very good, and bad figs, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness” (24:3). God went on to tell His prophet that those figs represented the way that He was going to work in the circumstances of His people.


Do you remember the time that God took Jeremiah to “the potter’s house” and spoke to him through the potter’s wheel? (See Jeremiah 18) Then there was the time that the Lord asked Amos what he saw when he was looking at a plumb line. (See Amos 7:8) The Lord went on to show Amos His plans through what he saw. And then there was Zechariah. The Lord showed him a lamp stand and went on to explain how it showed that it is “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:2-6).


What do you see as you move through your day? You probably have experienced your Father speaking to you through the Bible many times, but have you heard Him speak to you through the day to day activities of your life? The world is His pulpit and He will speak to you in many ways, if your heart and eyes are open.


May our eyes be opened to see Him in the details of our work days, in the specifics of our leisure time, in all the circumstances of our lives. Without a doubt, your Father has some things He wants to show you and teach you. What do you see? May He open our eyes and ears so that we don’t miss a thing He wants to show us!



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      
 


Title: Do you need a reminder of God's grace...?
Post by: Brother Love on December 14, 2004, 04:03:12 AM
Do you need a reminder of God's grace...?

Have you ever swam in the ocean and been so distracted with the waves that you forgot to keep your eyes on the shore? It doesn't take long before we can slowly drift down the beach without even realizing it, does it?

Legalism works the same way. It seeks to distract us from dependence and trust in Jesus to trusting in our performance. It comes at us at a hundred miles per hour, all day, everyday. It doesn't jerk you abruptly over into its clutches. Instead, legalism slowly, almost imperceptibly, pulls us under until one day we turn around and we've lost sight of the shore.

Each one of us on the Grace Walk team is susceptible to the same scheme of our enemy. No one is immune to the deception. That's why we are convinced that renewing our minds constantly on the truth of the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) is crucial to experiencing victory over the ongoing bombardment of legalism. We would like to share those reminders with you. Please visit us each month for what we hope are helpful reminders to you of God's amazing grace...
 

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      


Title: The Barnabas Touch
Post by: Brother Love on December 14, 2004, 04:14:17 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


The Barnabas Touch


 
I don’t think I would have enjoyed having the Apostle Paul for a friend. Does that sound wrong in some way? I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s true. Paul seemed to be the kind of guy who was too intense for me. Don’t misunderstand me. I believe that Paul is probably the most influential Christian who has ever set foot on planet earth. I look forward to meeting him one day in heaven.


But to have lived with him down here? I’m just not sure. Thank God for the Apostle Paul type Christians in the church today. They’re the prophetic, strong, on-mission types who get a lot done and motivate others to do the same.


But as far as somebody I’d want to hang around with goes, I’d pick Barnabas instead. When Paul first became a Christian, those in the early church had their doubts about the reality of his conversion and wanted to keep their distance from him. It was Barnabas who brought him in and convinced them to accept him. (See Acts 9:27)


Once Paul and Barnabas went on a mission trip with young John Mark. (See Acts 12) After awhile John Mark decided that he was ready to go home, so he did. Later, when Paul and Barnabas were going to return to the places they had visited, John Mark wanted to go. The Apostle Paul wouldn’t hear of it. After all, the boy had abandoned them earlier.


Barnabas, on the other hand, had a different viewpoint. He apparently felt that everybody deserves another chance and insisted that John go with them. Paul and Barnabas couldn’t agree on the matter, so they separated. Paul took off in one direction with Silas and Barnabas in the other with John Mark. (See Acts 15:39)


The name “Barnabas” means “the son of comfort.” He lived up to his name, demonstrating a comforting, encouraging way toward John Mark. My guess is that John never forgot how Barnabas treated him. I suspect that by his tenderness, Barnabas made a friend for life in that situation.


Sometimes Christians think that we all need to be like the Apostle Paul – strong, determined, trail-blazers in expanding the kingdom. The church does need folks like that, but don’t minimize the powerful effect of the Barnabas type Christians in the church.


You might start churches, like Paul did, or you might touch somebody who turned aside like Barnabas did. Don’t fall into the error of thinking that you have to act outside your basic personality and temperament type. God can use you with the personality you have right now, without changing anything about that aspect of your makeup.


Do you relate to Paul’s approach to life? Then go for it. But don’t be too harsh on those who are more comfortable with the Barnabas approach. The Pauls of the church may reach cities, but the Barnabases will impact lives too, one person at a time.



Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”
 


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      


Title: On Turning Fifty
Post by: Brother Love on December 15, 2004, 04:02:09 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


On Turning Fifty


Forgive my self-indulgent, personal musing this week. This week is a major mile-marker in my life. My birthday is July 7th and I turn fifty years old. I hated turning thirty. I felt like youth had disappeared and I had received a life-long sentence to be served in the adult world.


Forty didn’t bother me. It was that year that I left the local church pastorate. I began traveling then, speaking in different churches as I continue to do now.


This week, fifty arrives and I’m honestly excited. I’ve been doing much study on the number 50 in the Bible and it’s all good. The fiftieth year was a Year of Jubilee among the people of Israel. It was a Sabbath of Sabbaths, a special year among special years. During that year, those in bondage were set free. (See Leviticus 25:10, 41:54) Is was considered a “year of liberty.” (See Ezekiel 46:17) It was proclaimed by trumpets. (See Leviticus 25:9, Psalm 89:15) Debts were forgiven. (See Leviticus 25:28) Families were restored. (See Leviticus 25:10)


Every 50 years God’s covenant people were to remember where they came from and how they got to where they were. They were to commemorate the past, celebrate the present and anticipate the future. That’s what I want to do this week.


In reality, the Year of Jubilee is personified in the person of Christ. Spiritually speaking, every year is a fiftieth year. That’s what Isaiah was alluding to when he wrote, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring Good News to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the Favorable Year of the Lord and the Day of Vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn” (Isaiah 61:1-2).


In Christ, the Favorable Year of the Lord is every year. But for now, I’ll focus on this year and claim it as my own personal Year of Jubilee. Maybe I’ve overrun the bounds of sound biblical interpretation and application, but that’s okay. It’s a big birthday and I don’t think my Father minds. How about you? Your age may not be fifty, but you can join this party too. Join me in the celebration?


The Year Of Jubilee

This is the season of Jubilee

Singing and dancing for you and me

Thanking and praising because we're free

Oh this is the year of Jubilee


Put your hands together

Everybody praise the Lord

Put your hands together

Sing and shout and praise the Lord


Everything that was stolen shall be returned unto me

Mother, father, sister, brother they will all go free

Everything that was stole shall be returned unto me

Singing dancing praising shouting increase and victory


This is the season of Jubilee


Words and Music by Tom Bynum

Performed by: Ron Kenoly

© 1998 Integrity's Praise! Music

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”



(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      
 


Title: Join the Party!
Post by: Brother Love on December 16, 2004, 04:14:01 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Join the Party!


Everybody likes a party! Parties are usually associated with the celebration of life in some way. A New Years party celebrates the start of a new year of life. A birthday party celebrates the length of ones life. An anniversary party celebrates the years of life a couple has enjoyed together. A graduation party celebrates the start of a new life. Parties are about living. Nobody likes a dead party, but everybody enjoys being around "the life of the party."

One of the most commonly used words in the New Testament referring to the relationship that exists between Christians has the connotation of a party. It is the word "koinonia", usually translated in the 1611 KJV as "fellowship." An accurate twentieth century translation could be the word party! God has sent his Son to pay the cost and sent the Holy Spirit to invite us to join the trinity in a supernatural party which will last for all eternity. Forever we will celebrate His life! Is your life characterized by an aura of celebrative joy? Jesus clearly said that He wants His joy to fill our lives (John 15:11). He said that on the night before He was crucified.

Several elements often characterize parties. Every party is filled with socializing. Singing, music and laughter usually set the mood of a party. It would seem really strange to attend a party where these things weren't prevalent. Acts 2:46 says the early church were enjoying meals together in each others homes with gladness. The believer should exemplify the spirit of gladness in this world. There are far too many whiners in the modern church. I'm not talking about sincere Christians sharing legitimate burdens. I'm talking about perpetual belly-achers who have a "woe is me" mentality every time you see them. Away with moaning and complaining. The tomb is empty, remember? We won!

Remember Jeremiah the weeping prophet? How's this song for the modern church whiners?

Jeremiah was a prophet, He is a good friend of mine, I don't remember a single word he said, But he sure taught me how to whine!

Away with whining forever! As those who share in the very nature of Christ (2 Peter 1:4), we should instead:

Celebrate! Celebrate! Dance to the music of His grace!

(If you weren't a teen in the late sixties and early seventies, you won't know the tune, but you can still understand the message).

Another element sometimes found in worldly parties is drunkenness. It's the world's effort at trying to experience joy in life. On the day of Pentecost the observers of the early Christians "were mocking and saying, 'They are full of sweet wine' (Acts 2:13)". They were drunk all right , but not on wine. They were totally intoxicated with the life of Christ being expressed through them by the power of the Holy Spirit. They were "under the influence" of Christ's life and couldn't keep quite about Him. The reason that the evangelism of the early church was so effective is that these folks were celebrating the life they experienced in Jesus with unbridled, uninhibited joy! They understood that Christ is Life. That's the reason for saints of every age to celebrate! With that truth firmly in mind, let's party!


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      


Title: The Key to Victory: Trusting vs. Trying
Post by: Brother Love on December 16, 2004, 02:56:34 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

The Key to Victory: Trusting vs. Trying
 
If Jesus promised victory, why are so many Christians experiencing defeat in their own lives?  In his book, Victory in Christ, Charles Trumball expresses the sad circumstances  of many people:

"There were great fluctuations in my spiritual life, in my conscious closeness of fellowship with God.  Sometimes I would be on the heights spiritually; sometimes I would be in the depths.  A strong, arousing conviction, a stirring, searching address from some consecrated, victorious Christian leader of men; a searching Spirit filled book, or the obligation to do a difficult piece of Christian service myself, with the preparation in prayer that it involved, would lift me up; and I would stay up - for a while - and God would seem very close and my spiritual life deep.  But it wouldn't last.  Sometimes by some single failure before temptation, sometimes by a gradual downhill process, my best experiences would be lost, and I would find myself back on the lower levels.  And a lower level is a perilous place for a Christian to be, as the Devil showed me over and over again."

The cycle Trumbull described may be typical, but it isn't the kind of Christian life described in the New Testament.  The problem for many believers is that they try instead of trust.  We live in a culture that commends effort.  From childhood each of us learned that we shouldn't give up.  Don't be a quitter.  Keep trying until you accomplish your goal.  One company even advertised a motto which said, "We try harder!"  In the natural world, trying harder is commendable and often effective.  Yet God's ways really aren't our ways.  Sometimes they seem to be opposite from ours.  In the spiritual world, trying harder is detrimental.  That's right.  Trying will defeat you every time, regardless of how sincere you might be.

No Christian has a problem with the previous paragraph as it relates to salvation.  If an unsaved person were to suggest to you that he is trying hard to become a Christian, what would you tell him?  You would probably make it clear to him that a person is not saved by trying, but becomes a child of God by trusting.  You would tell him that there is absolutely nothing he can do to gain salvation.  It has all already been done.  Salvation is a gift to be received, not a reward for hard work.

Yet many Christians who understand that trying is detrimental to becoming a Christian somehow think that it is essential to walking in victory after salvation.  Not so!  1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "but thanks be unto God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."  The Bible clearly says here that victory is a gift that comes through Jesus.  If we have the Lord Jesus Christ, victory is already ours!

Do you get the picture?  We don't experience victory by fighting, instead we enjoy it by faith!  As we abide in Christ and allow Him to live His life through us we live in victory.  1 John 5:4 says, "And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith."  The key to victory is to simply allow Christ to live through us.  The Bible calls it "walking in the Spirit."  Many people try to stop sinning in order to walk in the Spirit, but Galatians 5:16 says, "Walk in the Spirit and [then] you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

Victory is a Person and His name is Jesus!  It isn't necessary to walk in defeat.  The victory was won at the cross and became ours the moment we received Christ!
 
 

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.      


Title: Living by "Christian" Values
Post by: Brother Love on December 17, 2004, 04:08:35 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Living by "Christian" Values
 
There is a great deal of discussion and debate today about "Christian values."  The term is used to describe the spiritual/moral principles around which believers build their life.  On the surface it would seem that defending Christian values is a noble cause.  Yet the Bible never teaches that our life should be built around a particular value system.  Paul never said "For to me to live is to live like Christ."  However many Christians would suggest that to imitate the life of Christ is a worthy goal.  Paul did say, "For me to live is Christ."  His lifestyle was not an imitation of the life of Jesus.  Christianity is not an imitation of Christ's life.  It is an expression of His life.

When a person focuses on imitating Christ, he will be obsessed with doing right and avoiding wrong.  Obviously a Christian should do right and avoid wrong.  But many in the modern church may be putting the cart before the horse.  The Bible never suggests that we are to behave a certain way in order to become righteous.  Any effort to achieve righteousness by our behavior will only lead to self righteousness.

When a person receives Christ, he is given the very nature of Jesus.  Peter said that we have become "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3).  A Christian does not gradually become righteous -- he has been given the gift of righteousness in the person of Christ!  2 Corinthians 5:21 says that God "made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  You may behave more righteously than you do right now, but you will never be made more righteous than you are today.  Every Christian has the nature of Christ.  How can we get holier than that?

When our focus is only on behavior, we are living a legalistic, performance based kind of "Christian" life.  God's prescription is that our focus should be on Jesus.  Abiding in Him will allow us to live in victory.  Our lifestyle is not built on values, Christian or otherwise.  Our life is Christ!  As we abide in Him, His righteousness is expressed through our lifestyle.  Apart from him, even our "good" deeds are nothing more than empty religion.  Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing."  We can preach, pray, teach, witness, give, and do a hundred other things, but they all add up to zero in God's eyes if we aren't abiding in Christ.  Don't get caught up in living by values.  Live by His life.  An imitation of Christ is empty religion.  An expression of Christ is real Christianity.  An imitation is never as good as the real thing.  Don't settle for a cheap substitute.  Abide in Him!


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)
 
2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.    

 


Title: We Must!
Post by: Brother Love on December 18, 2004, 08:08:27 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


We Must!

"What must a person do to be a good Christian? " Randomly ask a hundred Christians this question and their answers will bear much similarity. There are foundational tenets that most believers would contend must mark the lifestyle of Christians in order to be able to legitimately call ourselves good Christians. None would argue that we must do these things to be saved, but that we must do them if we are to be the right kind of follower of Jesus Christ.
Prayer — Few believers would argue that at the very least, we must be faithful in prayer. How often must one pray? The Bible says that we are to "pray without ceasing." Would less than an hour a day qualify as constant prayer? Consider the needs of your family and friends. What about the needs of the world? The needs are great. How much time do you spend praying every day? Don’t you think that we must pray if God is going to move in our circumstances?

Bible Study — Who wouldn’t acknowledge that the Bible is God’s revelation for us? God speaks through His written Word. Is it unreasonable that He should expect that we must spend time every day in the Word? A daily devotional time in God’s Word would seem to be a must for sincere Christians. Do you agree? Are you spending time reading the Bible every day of your life? How much time do you give to the Word of God? Do you hurriedly read a short passage just so you can know you have done your duty or do you sincerely commit yourself to the discipline of ongoing Bible study?

Church Participation — While many have forsaken the church, most Christians would agree that to be a good Christian, one must attend church faithfully. It is commonly recognized that we must come together with God’s people if we are to call ourselves good Christians. Attending church isn’t an option, it’s a must.

We must pray. We must read the Bible. We must attend church. How has what I’ve written struck you thus far? Do you feel edified? Encouraged? Uplifted and motivated to do better? I doubt it. You probably feel beaten down, judged, condemned. That’s how I meant for you to feel. I have intentionally used the word must fifteen times in order to show the effect of living by the law. The Law demands that we must perform certain requirements to be acceptable to God. Whenever we evaluate ourselves by the law, we will always feel condemned. The role of the law is to minister death and condemnation. (See 2 Corinthians 3;6b-9) The law judges us for failing in our duties. Grace, on the other hand, gives birth to a desire to behave in a way that honors Christ.

There is certainly nothing wrong with prayer, Bible study or church participation. In fact, these things are the normal way of life for the believer who is trusting Christ. They are each a gift from God to us — a gift from Him to us. However, the enemy has turned things around and caused many Christians to think that these actions are our gift to Him. Consequently we have taken what God intended to be a real pleasure and, by our legalistic perspective, have turned it into a religious performance.

Once these grace gifts have been baptized into the stagnant waters of dead religion, they lose all life. They no longer have legitimate meaning, neither to the believer nor God. They have become dead works. Bible study no longer is a joy; it’s a job. Prayer no longer is a dialogue with our Heavenly Father; it has become a devotional. Church attendance becomes nothing more than a weary responsibility when God intended for it to be a time when He and His bride make love to each other through the medium of worship.

Do you believe that you must pray? That you must study your Bible? That you must attend church? That is the perspective of a bonafide legalist — one who tries to gain God’s blessings or advance spiritually by what He does. Must has nothing to do with it. The gospel offers the good news that Christians don’t have to do anything to be acceptable to God. Nothing. Christ has already done everything to cause God to accept us completely.

We don’t have to commit ourselves to the disciplines of religion. Jesus didn’t come to help us be religious. Far from it — He came to deliver us from religion. He came to bring us into a relationship with God through Himself. Those who were most offended by Jesus were the religionists of His day. He didn’t live up to what they thought He ought to be. He just wasn’t a good churchman, by their standards. To them, Jesus had no convictions. He appeared to compromise the purity and integrity of their values by doing things like healing people on the Sabbath, by eating with the crooks (Publicans) and party-animals (sinners) of His day. Jesus was a friend of the hookers and homeless. He didn’t separate Himself far enough from the riffraff, as every good churchman knew one should do. Consequently, He lost His testimony with the Pharisees, an incidental matter which didn’t seem to bother Him at all. Jesus cared more about relationships than reputation. He still does.

Are you living under the burden of must? There’s good news — you don’t have to anymore. Jesus has set us free from the curse of the law. Part of that curse is that you can never satisfy the law’s demands, regardless of how much you do and how well you do it. When is enough, enough? Even if we begin to live up to the list of duties which we see ourselves failing now, the law will simply present a new list to us. You can never become a good Christian by what you do.

The truth is that we are already good Christians, and it’s not because of what we do or don’t do. It’s because of Jesus who lives inside us. He is our goodness. Do you want to be a good Christian? Then, for goodness sake, stop trying to be so religious. It nauseates God, and probably doesn’t make the people around you feel too good either. Don’t worry about being religious. Just be yourself. Let Jesus be Jesus in you and through you.

We must? No, we’ve been set free from the misery of "musts." Christ is our very Life. When one comes to know and believe that fact, the only question left to answer is: What do you want to do? Don’t be afraid to let go of "must" and move into "trust." Let Jesus live through you. He won’t be passive or lazy. He will activate you to do what He wants to do through you. It won’t be laws, but love that motivates you. Forget rules; it’s all about relationship. Nothing else can ever motivate us to consistency, but love never fails.

Love,


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

 
2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


Title: Oh no! I'm sunk now...
Post by: Brother Love on December 18, 2004, 05:33:28 PM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Oh no!   I'm sunk now...

 

I remember the day I learned to swim, as a child. It was in a Sunday School class party and everybody there seemed to know how to swim, except me. My teacher, noticing that I was in the shallow end of the pool, asked, "Steve, can't you swim?" "No," I answered embarrassingly. "Do you want me to teach you?" he asked. I agreed and he began his instruction. "The first thing you need to know," he said, "is that you don't have to be afraid of sinking and drowning. If you relax, your body will float. Just try lying on your back and relaxing in the water." I laid back in the water, attempting to do what he had told me. However, every time I laid back and felt my head sinking into the water, at the moment the water filled my ears, I would lift my head. Then I would begin to sink. "Don't lift your head," my teacher encouraged me. "Just relax and let your ears go underwater. You won't sink." Again I would try to take his advice, but when I felt the water rising above my ears toward my face, I would rise up and again begin to sink.

Finally he came over toward me and said, "Lie back in my arms and I will hold you on top of the water so that you cannot sink." I began to lie back and, true to his word, I felt his arms underneath me, holding me up. As he held me there and I felt the support of his arms, I began to relax a little. After a short time, I was comfortable. Finally, he said to me, "Okay, now I'm going to move my arms from your back so that you won't feel me touching you, but they will still be beneath you, so that I will catch you if you start to sink. Do you trust me?" he asked. I expressed that I did trust him and he did exactly what he said. For the first time in my life, I floated on the water. I felt no fear because I knew that underneath me were his arms. I knew that I had his guarantee that he would not let me sink.

There is a biblical promise which is connected to our spiritual rest which points us toward the arms of God. When Moses announced God's blessing on the tribes of Israel by promising to bring them into His place of rest, He told them that "the eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27). Christians are in Christ, and, says the Bible, underneath are the everlasting arms.

There have been times in my life when decisions I made caused me to say to myself, "Oh no, I'm sunk now." My assessment always proved to be wrong. Whether I felt it or not, underneath me were God's everlasting arms keeping me from sinking. The same is true of your life. You are where you are today because God has upheld you by His arms. The arms of God provide a lifetime guarantee that He will take care of the details of our lives, ensuring that we won't make choices which cause us to sink to a place where He doesn't want us to be. You can relax and enjoy the living water because God has you in His arms!  


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”


(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


Title: Grace Eye For The Legalistic Guy
Post by: Brother Love on December 21, 2004, 03:52:38 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Grace Eye For The Legalistic Guy


Meet Pastor Joe. He’s a flaming legalist who is need of a complete makeover. His wardrobe consists of religious rags that he bought somewhere years ago while he was still in seminary. The sad thing is that he thinks they’re still stylish. Somebody needs to tell him that the Old Covenant clothes are out. That cutting edge Apostle named Paul put it like this: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14). Pastor Joe needs to come into the New Covenant and try on grace for size.


His closet is filled with worn out suits of self-sufficiency that don’t fit him anymore. But he still tries to squeeze into them nonetheless. He knows that they aren’t comfortable to wear, but doesn’t realize there is a better wardrobe available to those who have discovered that they can get their clothes from Abba’s closet. There, any Christian can find tailor-made garments of grace that fit every occasion. And the best part of it all is that there’s no price to pay. All the grace garments have already been paid for and are available at no cost to the recipient.


A big problem with Pastor Joe’s wardrobe is that he has influence over others whom he has caused to dress the same way. Can you remember the time in American history when men all went to work wearing “leisure suits?” This is even worse. It would be laughable if it weren’t so tragic.


I love you, Pastor Joe. I love you enough to be honest with you about your wardrobe. You need a makeover – in a bad way. Believe me when I say that I’m not judging you. I dressed the same way you do for most of my life, but I’ve found a better way. That’s why I’m motivated to share some faith-fashion tips with you that somebody shared with me at a time when I badly needed them.


I hope you aren’t offended by my analogy and the comparison I use. Truthfully, I used the words “flaming legalist” just to get your attention. It’s not intended to be an insult. I suppose that it’s my way of attempting to lighten my approach to a sensitive subject by trying to use a little humor to make a serious point. There’s just not an easy way to tell a man that how he is dressed isn’t working for him – or for those around him. “You’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny” is seldom well received by anybody of any age.


But the truth is that there are some things that you need to take off and others that you need to put on. This makeover strategy didn’t start with me. The Apostle Paul once found a group of Christians still wearing the old, out of style clothes of the Old Covenant and he plainly told them to take off some things and put on others. (Read Ephesians 2:22-24, Colossians 3:8-14.)


Many pastors only have one suit and that’s the one they always wear. Worse yet, they usually peddle to their congregations. I know because for years I was a leading distributor of this brand name.

The Rags of Religious Ritual

For years I encouraged members of my church to “do the right things.” “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” was one of my favorite verses. In fact, I’d beat them over the head with it. “God knows your level of faithfulness!” I would pronounce in my best “Isaiah-woe-is-you-if-you-don’t-get-it-right” tone of voice.


My emphasis was on how people ought to look in terms of their outward behavior. “Don’t be a spiritual slacker” was the underlying theme I applied to myself and my congregation. While I would never have said it directly, I implied that if you do all the right things, the rest will sort itself out. Read your Bible, pray, come to church, give your money, witness to your neighbor, etc. Those are the foundations of Christian living, I believed.

The Garment of Grace

If you’ve read my first book, Grace Walk, you know how God finally stripped me spiritually naked after I moved to Atlanta. Once I found myself standing there before Him in my birthday suit, I was ready to put on whatever He had in His closet for me.


As things turned out, He covered me with the garment of grace. I’ve worn it all these years since. It fits so well! It is comfortable, functional and enjoyable to wear! I wouldn’t go back to the old wardrobe for anything.


Not only do I wear this Bible brand now, but I’m also a distributor of this line. With that in mind, here’s what I want to offer you.


I don’t usually do this kind of thing, but if you’d like to try on this grace garment for size, I’d like to give you a free gift. If you are a pastor of a local church, I’d like to give you a free copy of my book, Grace Walk. There’s no catch. I just want you to have it.


Email me at the address below, and send me your address and I’ll send you the book right away. I’ll pay the shipping too. Why would I do this? It’s because I know you’ll love the makeover that the Holy Spirit will do on you. I have been thrilled since He did the work in me that you’ll read about in Grace Walk.

Try the garment of grace on for size. You won’t be disappointed!
 
To receive your free copy of Grace Walk, please send your request to: PastorsFreeBook@gracewalk.org Note: This offer is only for church pastors. Others may purchase the book by calling 1-800-472-2311.

Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.

This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: ““Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  



 


Title: God Is For Me
Post by: Brother Love on December 21, 2004, 04:15:23 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


God Is For Me


“God is for me.” Can you make that statement with a deep sense of certainty? He is, you know. When things are going the way you want, God is for you. When life seems to be falling apart, God is for you. When the Philistines chased David down in Gath, he wrote, “This I know, that God is for me” (Psalm 56:9). What a time to make a declaration like that!

Many of us have found ourselves in a place similar to David’s situation at times. Life is closing in . . . the enemy seems to have us cornered and there appears to be no way out. Pleasant circumstances disappear before our eyes and the world turns dark.

At times like that, we may be tempted to cry out, “Why is God against me?” Not David. He assured himself with the truth, “God is for me.” He didn’t say, “This I feel, that God is for me.” There are many times in life that we don’t feel like God is for us. No, he said, “This I know, that God is for me.

Will you affirm this truth in your own life? God really is for you. Nothing can ever change His mind or heart toward you. If you are His child, His lovingkindness toward you will last forever. (Read Psalm 136 sometime!)

Circumstances may be suffocating you at times, but God is for you! Negative feelings may seem to be strangling you, but God is for you! Life may not make sense at a given moment, but God is for you! Trust Him. When you feel like you’re drowning in an ocean of problems, cling to your Heavenly Father. He will prove Himself strong in your life by assuring you of His love.

Your circumstances may or may not turn out like you want, but He will hold you in His loving and sovereign arms and gently whisper His love to you again and again. Sit in quietness for a moment and listen to his loving voice assure you of that fact until, like the Psalmist, you may say, “This is know, God is for me!”




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)


2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  
 


Title: Cling to Jesus
Post by: Brother Love on December 21, 2004, 04:21:29 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Cling to Jesus



When you have a serious decision to make and aren’t sure which option to choose, cling to Jesus. When you go to church every week, but don’t seem to get anything out of it at all, cling to Jesus. When your bills are coming in faster than your paychecks do, cling to Jesus. When your children make decisions that contradict everything you’ve taught them their whole lives, cling to Jesus. When the doctor gives the diagnosis you most feared to hear, cling to Jesus. When you aren’t sure which church is teaching truth and which is teaching error, cling to Jesus. When grace is a subject you believe, but wonder how to move it from your head to your experience, cling to Jesus. When your heart has grown cold and you haven’t felt God’s presence in a very long time, cling to Jesus. When a friend betrays you in a way you never would have expected, cling to Jesus.


Cling to Jesus. He will guide you through His Spirit. He will nurture you by His love. He will provide for you through His generosity. He will comfort you through His tender compassion. He will heal you by His stripes. He will reveal truth to you through His Word. He will transform you by His power. He will touch you by His presence. He will sustain you by His faithfulness.


Cling to Jesus. He holds you in His arms at this very moment and will never let you go. You have been bought with a price and will display the glory of His grace throughout eternity. Cling to Jesus and know this for sure – He will eternally cling to you.




Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”

(http://www.sirinet.net/~blkidps/bljpg2.jpg)

2 Tim 2:15  Study to show thyself approved unto God, a  workman  that needeth  not  to  be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  
 


Title: Christ Our Anchor
Post by: Brother Love on December 21, 2004, 08:30:07 AM
GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional


Christ Our Anchor


 
A few years ago Melanie and I were sailing alone when we came to a small island where we wanted to spend the night. Normally we would pick up a mooring ball, where we would tie off our boat to secure it for the night. These mooring balls are set in concrete which are securely anchored at the bottom of the ocean. When a boat is tied off to one of them, nothing can move it.


It was late enough in the day that we couldn’t find a mooring ball because too many other boats had arrived ahead of us. Because of the hour I was hesitant to start out for another place to spend the night, so we decided to set anchor where we were. In the few years we had been sailing, we hadn’t gained confidence that we were able to successfully set the anchor so that it would hold firmly. We had been taught how to do so when we took our certification classes, but still lacked confidence.


My fears caused me to imagine what would happen if the anchor pulled loose during the middle of the night. We could drift and bump into other boats around us. I wasn’t worried so much about doing damage to ours or another boat as much as I didn’t want to look like I didn’t know what I was doing (which wasn’t totally without truth). Another possibility was that we might drift from where we were to the water’s edge and find ourselves on the nearby reef.


We set the anchor. Then for awhile I sat in one spot on deck, lining up a point on the boat with an object on land to make sure that we weren’t drifting. Everything appeared to be okay, but I still wasn’t easy about it. We took our dinghy ashore to have dinner, but throughout the whole meal I kept watching our boat to make sure she was still in the same place.


That night when we went below to sleep, I jerked awake almost every time I felt any movement on the boat that seemed unusual. I even got up and went up on deck four or five times during the night and checked the anchor to make sure it was still secure. It was a long night with brief moments of sleep.


When the sun came up the next day, I checked the anchor again. It hadn’t moved at all. Everything had been fine. My fears and apprehension had been unfounded.


I thought about that experience later and began to see how much that experience reflected my attitude in life at times. There we were, in a beautiful Carribean setting, but I didn’t really enjoy it that evening or night. I can’t even remember what I ate at the restaurant where we had dinner. I don’t remember the sunset that evening. I didn’t enjoy the gentle sway of the boat in the water, rocking me to sleep. I was too worried, focused on what might happen if the anchor didn’t hold.


Hebrews 6:19 teaches that our hope in Christ is an “anchor for the soul” to those who believe in Him. Despite that promise, there have been times in my life when I couldn’t fully enjoy being where God had put me because of fears – fears of drifting out of His will, fears about dangers I thought I could see on the horizon, fears about looking like I didn’t know what I was doing. Fear robs us of the joy of the journey known as “the Christian life.” It causes us to believe that our own safety is up to us, not God. It will make us act like we are the ones who must be in control.


Jesus Christ is the anchor of your soul. Don’t needlessly fret about the details of life. You belong to God and there is nothing that can force you to crash on the rocks. You are secure because He is secure. Trust Christ in every circumstance. Then relax. Enjoy the sunset. Savor the flavor of life. Rest, knowing that “in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.”


Steve McVey is the President of Grace Walk Ministries, a discipleship ministry located in Atlanta, GA. If you have been sent this devotional by a friend and want to know more about Grace Walk Ministries, visit our web site at www.gracewalk.org.


This devotional may be duplicated if printed with no changes in its entirety and with the following acknowledgment: “Copyright, 2004,used by permission. Steve McVey, Grace Walk Ministries, www.gracewalk.org ”