GRACE WALK - Weekly Devotional

[Brother Love]

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 ”







 

[Brother Love]

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...  


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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 ”




 

[Brother Love]

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 ”




 

[Brother Love]

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 ”







 

[Brother Love]

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 ”








 

[Brother Love]

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 ”







 

[Brother Love]

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 ”



 

[Brother Love]

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 ”



 

[Brother Love]

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 ”



 

[Brother Love]

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 ”
 

[Brother Love]

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 ”
 

[Brother Love]

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 ”





 

[Brother Love]

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 ”
 

[Brother Love]

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 ”
 

[Brother Love]

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 ”