In response to David being a man after God’s own heart, I’ve heard people say, “Yea, but that was said before the Bathsheba incident.” I’ve heard people write off his witness after that period of failure in David’s life.  It is true that David failed…he failed big time, but I don’t believe that David’s heart really ever changed. I think he died with the same passion with which he lived.  I think he had a heart that desired to please and honor God even after the Bathsheba incident.

Consider this passage:

Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. 1 Kings 15:4-5 NIV  (Emphasis mine)

Do you see that?  After David’s life had ended, God’s word still records him as a man following after God’s own heart…except in the case of the fall with Bathsheba.

What’s my point?  How does that impact your life?

That one “except” in your life….that one moment…that one season…that period of indiscretion…does not disqualify you from being a man (or woman) after God’s own heart.  I know too many people who have disqualified themselves from God’s call on their life because of their past mistakes, but I’m not sure God has disqualified them.

Bottom line:  Your actions don’t determine your standing with God; your heart does. Actions indicate a heart’s direction, so if there is repetitive, unrepentant sin in your life, one would have to question your heart, but if your heart desires to be like Christ and give Him glory with your life, don’t beat yourself up for your exceptions.  Keep in mind, people can say about you whatever they choose to, but no one knows your heart (other than God) like you do.

Focus your life from this day forward on being like Christ and being found faithful.

Have you had a hard time letting go of your past and accepting God’s grace in your life?

What/Who is holding you back from doing so today?

For previous posts on David being a man after God’s own heart, click HERE and HERE.

I wrote a few weeks ago about the true story about Tiger Woods. (Read that story HERE.) The fact is that Tiger is human, just like you and me. I’ve been amazed (not really) since then at how many people are crucifying him instead of loving him through this time in his life. If media reports are true, obviously Tiger Woods has made some huge mistakes. The biggest disappointment may be the amount of potential, success and influence the man has had in the field of golf and overall culture.

Here’s where my thoughts lead, however:

Can God forgive Tiger Woods? Absolutely. (Probably easier than most of us can…)

Can Tiger Woods’ marriage be saved? Yes! (Thankfully I’ve seen this kind of miracle many times this year.)

Can God use this situation in a way that brings Him glory? Without question. (God has used my failures for His glory countless times.)

It always seems to me that when a celebrity is involved in scandal even Christians forget the frailty of man or the power of redemption for God.  We get so caught up in the gossip of the story, that we forget that all of us are nothing apart from God’s grace.   I’m personally praying Tiger Woods seeks wise counsel, changes his life direction, restores his family, and even returns to golf. I will miss watching his game. More than anything, however, I’m praying Tiger Woods falls on his knees before a holy God and receives mercy, grace and forgiveness. It is as available to him as it is to me (or you).  What an incredible testimony he can give if God writes the ending to this story!

What are your thoughts?

As I was compiling this post for this afternoon, a great post on the same subject by my friend Pete Wilson popped up on my Google Reader. Read his thoughts HERE.

I was wrong.

I had a right to be upset and my emotions appeared justified…

But there are two sides to every issue…

And I didn’t handle my reaction well…

It was a friend and I should not have responded the way I did…

I apologized….

He accepted my apology…

We are moving forward…

I am thankful for grace and the amazing way God continues to shape me…

Do you need to say “I’m sorry” to someone so you can move forward again with the relationship?

Yesterday I shared a message on a familiar story from Luke 15.  We use Truthcasting to archive our video messages. I’m thankful they no longer require you to login to view.  Watch yesterday’s message here.  Just a program note for those that were present for this message, we used the second service and there was a technical problem that kept us from using my opening illustration.

Grace Community Church was born September 11, 2005. Four years later, people from all over the world dropped by to share birthday wishes. We shared these at church on Sunday.
Enjoy!

Bear with me through a little Bible pilgrimage to illustrate a point about grace.

A man named Boaz displayed grace as the kinsman redeemer of a widow named Ruth.
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. (Ruth 4:13)

Boaz became the great-grandfather of a man named David.
Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. (Ruth 4:21-22)

David displayed grace to a man named Mephibosheth.
David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9:1)

Of course, the lineage continued to Jesus, the author of grace.
(Matthew 1:1-17)

I wonder if all those human examples of grace started here:
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab (Matthew 1:5)

Do you remember Rahab?
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. (Joshua 2:1)

Here is my conclusion:
Rahab, the prostitute, received grace from the Israelites. Boaz was raised in grace because he had a mother who knew it firsthand. David was a man of grace, because it was in his heritage.

Here is my challenge to me:
I have been given much grace in my life, from God and others.  If I pass it on to others will I establish a legacy of grace in the generations to follow me?

Here is my challenge to you:
What legacy of grace will you leave?

I danced at church yesterday.  I did not dance alone, Cheryl danced with me, but I did dance. Several people indicated they would never believe it until they saw it, so here is the proof.

We are in the middle of a family series and I was talking yesterday about marriage and specifically the need to commit ourselves to making marriage work.  My co-pastor Chad and his wife sang while Cheryl and I danced.  It was a visual picture of the leadership of the church admitting that marriage is tough, but our commitment to make it work is what can make a marriage strong.

You would have to listen to the whole message for it to make complete sense. You can do that HERE.  I also share a few tips to protect your marriage in this message.  For other thoughts on marriage, check out that category of this blog HERE.

I am thankful for a church that allows us freedom to express Biblical truth in creative ways.  What a joy to pastor at Grace Community Church.

What plan do you have to protect your marriage?

I am still somewhat numb over the news and buzz over the fall of Pastor Gary Lamb.  In my previous post I addressed some of these issues, but with the news continuing to dominate many of the blogs I read I decided to address the issue again.  Obviously this is a far more public failure because Gary blogged about it personally and the Internet and social media participation is much larger now than in the past.

I am especially bummed by some of the comments and views I am reading on other posts about this issue. Some people have decided that Pastor Lamb’s situation provides an opportunity to bash him and every church structured like his church.  (For an example, read the comments on Monday Morning Insight’s post about this issue.)  While this is well meaning for the most part, I frankly feel that when a situation like this occurs and gets such public attention that it provides opportunities we did not previously have to do something positive for the Kingdom.

Here are some Kingdom-building opportunities for the church to consider:

• It gives us the opportunity to show the world how the church treats people who are in sin.  Jesus showed us how He treats sinners in John 8.  We now have that same chance.  Sadly, based on the comments I see from pastors and others on various blog posts, I am not sure we are painting the same picture Jesus did.  And yet we wonder why hurting people do not look to the church as their first place of hope in hurting times.
• It gives us the opportunity to build or rebuild accountability into our lives and in the life of our church.  Every pastor and minister should be asking if this could happen to him or her with his or her current system, or lack thereof, of accountability.  As I said in my previous post, I know too many pastors who see nothing wrong with being alone with other staff members of the opposite sex.   Hello?
• It gives us the opportunity to check our own hearts and marriages individually.  If a married person does not seriously take a look at where their own marriage is after reading this story, I would question the sincerity of keeping their marriage strong.
• It gives us the opportunity to help at least two families rebuild their marriage. Is there a better way to model for married couples outside the church that are in distress that with God’s grace and strength a marriage can be restored than to witness it with one of our own?  I hope the restoration of these marriages gets as much attention as the failure in the marriages has received.
• It gives us the opportunity to demonstrate grace and restoration of a fallen soldier.  Regardless of one’s take on Pastor Gary Lamb’s qualification for the pastorate or his style of ministry, few can question the impact he has had on so many people’s lives or the passion he has displayed for Christ.  I cannot help but think that produces overall good for the body.  Granted we all need to be checked at times to make sure we are walking in complete truth, and that time is obviously now for Pastor Lamb, but how effective could he be if he is restored, mentored, and sent back out to invest that renewed passion for the Kingdom’s good?  (I believe the body of Christ was questioning the effectiveness of Paul at one point, yet God used his failures in powerful ways.)

Could this be one of those opportunities where God can work all things for good?  Could we place all the negative energies some have towards Gary Lamb  towards praying that God gets glory here and that lives are drawn to Him through this failure?

NOTE: In times like this we should certainly all get refocussed on truth.  To help with this, read the series of devotionals I am posting this week beginning with this one HERE.)

I love interacting with seminary students.  As they have their minds stretched, they continue to stretch me attempting to wrestle through doctrine with them.  That happened this weekend with a young man who attended our church prior to his call to ministry.  We were discussing the concept of grace and I was reminded of a passage that has stretched my thoughts over the years.

Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us…”

You can read these verses in context HERE.  Verse 12 goes on to say grace teaches us “to say no to ungodliness and to live self-controlled”.  The concept that grabs my attention, however, is that grace teaches.  Grace is a broader term than just a granting of salvation.  Grace is…well…amazing!

What concepts of God and His Word are blowing your mind these days?

The Obama’s have a new dog. The dog is a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, named Bo, given to Malia and Sasha Obama by the Edward Kennedy family.  (This picture is not the actual dog, but it is a Portuguse Water Dog.) Apparently the dog wasn’t working out at the previous owner’s home, so they thought to give it to the Obama family.  I’m happy for them, knowing the joy an animal can bring a household.  Read the full story HERE.

Having read this story for the first time on Easter Sunday, my initial thought was one of grace.  This dog will never fully understand the privilege of “growing up” in the White House.  Surely the “first dog” will receive pampering beyond what most pets ever experience.  The dog will have direct access to the most powerful family in the world.

It reminds me of the principle of Easter. Jesus gave away His life on the cross, and because of His favor upon us, we who believe are given a family seat in God’s family in spite of our sins. Christ bore the penalty for our sins and we are given direct access to the Throne of God and the Bible says we can call God our Abba (Daddy).

I wonder if we even come close to grasping what it means to be counted worthy of receiving His grace.   At least for today, however, I’m reminded that without Him I would be nothing.