Category / Glimpses Of Grace

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses Of Grace; Blood On Our Hands

Below is a poem I wrote when I was circa 15 years old, living in the house in this picture in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Back in my early teens, I was just getting into music, and loved contemporary Christian music. I wrote the poem below, hoping someone would set it to some contemporary Christian music. I actually have a friend who is currently working on it now, 30 years later. I thought I would go ahead and share the lyrics to my poem.

Blood On Our Hands

There was a man, he really walked the earth

He was just like us, He had a natural birth

He had feelings He was a natural man

And we’ve all got His blood on our hands

He was a righteous man, never did wrong

The weak found refuge in Him, He was strong

There wasn’t a problem He didn’t understand

And we’ve all got His blood on our hands

The preacher stands proud as though he should

Trying to stand for all that’s good

He claims he stands for God’s commands

But he can’t deny the blood on his hands

The patriarchs and prophets of old

Were Godly men so we are told

It’s really hard for us to understand

These men walked with blood on their hands

Church is a place where good people go

They all feel righteous when there they show

They wonder when their friends will see the light

And follow them right out of the night

They tell everyone they’ve been set free

They say “you won’t find no sin in me”

When they all know if God’s grace didn’t show

The church would all stand on murderer’s row

With blood on their hands, with blood on their hands

The paupers and the kings in every land

Thos who are wise, those who can’t understand

Are no different, all have blood on their hands

So who dares to stand bold before the throne

Who dares to pick up and throw the first stone

So everyone is equal and even this time

No one’s greater here, we’re all partners in crime.

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses of Grace; Easy To Be Saved; Hard To Be Lost

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41 

Have you ever worried about your salvation? Does it sometimes seam hard to get to heaven? I have good news for you! Jesus is planning on you being saved and going to heaven with Him! In the verse above Jesus says hell is prepared for the devil and his angels and that does not include you! While hell is being prepared for the devil and his angels look what Jesus has prepared for you, “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:“ Matthew 25:34 

That is good news that Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven and not in hell! He is planning and expecting us to be in heaven with Him! Still some Bible verses at first glance make salvation seam hard to obtain. For example Matthew 7:14 says, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”   

Don’t get discouraged! Here is some good news from the Mount of Blessing, pages 139 & 140: “Yet do not therefore conclude that the upward path is the hard and the downward road the easy way. All along the road that leads to death there are pains and penalties, there are sorrows and disappointments, there are warnings not to go on. God’s love has made it hard for the headless and headstrong to destroy themselves. If we take Christ for our guide, He will lead us safely. The veriest sinner need not miss his way. Not one trembling seeker need fail of walking in pure and holy light. Though the path is so narrow, so holy that sin cannot be tolerated therein, yet access has been secured for all, and not one doubting, trembling soul need say, “God cares nought for me.”….. with Christ as our guide we shall not fail of reaching the desired haven at last. Christ Himself has trodden the rough way before us and has smoothed the path for our feet.” 

So is it hard to be saved or is it hard to be lost? The God who wants us saved is much stronger than the devil who wants us lost! Go ahead and plan on being saved in heaven with Jesus, He is expecting you to be there! 

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.” John 14:1-3  

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses of Grace; Oblivian

I am writing this morning from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, [so] shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.  Obadiah 1:16 

On the cross, Jesus loved you so much, that He faced going into total oblivion to save you. To save the wicked He must die the death of the wicked. He did not die the death that the righteous die, which has a hope of a resurrection, as the righteous still  die that death themselves.  Jesus calls the death with a hope of a resurrection “sleep.” See John 11:11-14. The death with no hope of a resurrection is called “death” indeed. See Hebrews 2:9.  In order for Jesus to save the wicked He must face the death of the wicked. 

When Jesus cried out, “My God My God, Why hast Thou Forsaken me” He was not asking why God had forsaken Him till Sunday morning. If that were the case Jesus would not have felt forsaken. He would have felt secure knowing the Father would resurrect Him on the first day of the week. You don’t forsake someone when you leave them for the weekend. You forsake them when you leave them forever.  

“Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.” {Desire of Ages, p 753} 

There was no sense of self preservation when Jesus went to the cross for you. Tonight, January 6, at 7pm we will be having a special agape feast and communion service, led by Pastor Brad Cassell, to celebrate this agape love at the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church. I would like to invite you if you are in the area. If not, here you can find a church in your area of the world to celebrate God’s great grace.

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses Of Grace; Jesus-The God-forsaken God

I am writing this morning from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  Mark 15:34 

John Huss sang hymns of praise while he was burning at the stake. If Huss could sing as he died for his faith, why wasn’t Jesus singing songs as He died too? Why was He instead crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The answer is because Jesus died a totally different death than Huss died. Huss died knowing he was accepted of the Father. Jesus died feeling forsaken by the Father so we could be accepted. Jesus had always called God his Father. “I and my Father are One.” In my Father’s house are many mansions.” I always do those things that please my Father.” But when Jesus was on the cross, He could not call God His Father, and He cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” 

Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. “With His stripes we are healed.”  {Desire of Ages, p 25}  

If you are in the Tampa Bay area, I would like to invite you to a special agape feast, and communion service Friday night, January 6, at 7pm, at the Tampa First-Seventh-day Adventist Church.  Pastor Brad Cassell will be leading us in this service.

Please click here to find a church to celebrate God’s agape love anywhere in the world.

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses Of Grace; Forgive Our Enemies

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. “With His stripes we are healed.”  {Desire of Ages 25} 

What I need to remember, is not only did Christ become sin for me, He also became sin for those who have hurt me. Not only was Christ treated the way I deserved to be treated, so that I can be treated the way He deserves to be treated, but He was also treated the way my enemy deserved to be treated, so I can now treat my enemy the way Christ deserves to be treated.

If the cross is good enough to cover my enemy’s sin, it will also be good enough to cover my sin. If all the terrible things that happened to Jesus on the Christ are not enough to cover my enemy’s sin, then it won’t be enough to cover my sin either.  Forgiving my enemy is not saying what they did was okay. When I forgive my enemy, I am saying that I recognize Jesus’ sacrifice as a suitable payment for sin. When I refuse to forgive my enemy, I am insulting Jesus and telling Him His sacrifice meant nothing to me and is not a valid payment for sin.

If you are in the Tampa Bay area this Friday, January 6, at 7pm, I would like to personally invite you to an agape feast and communion service, at the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, where we will be celebrating God’s agape love.

If you are not in the Tampa Bay area, then please click here to discover God’s agape live near you, anywhere in the world.

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses Of Grace; The Only Right Worth Dying For

I am writing this morning from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

 

 

Then he turned to Jesus and said, “Lord I believe in you! Please remember me when you set up your kingdom. Jesus turned His head towards Him and said, “I promise you today, When I return with the glory of my Father, I will take you home with me to paradise.” Luke 23:42-43 CWB

As the son of God, Jesus had the right to wear a crown of gold, but He let man take it away and give him a crown of thorns instead. Jesus had the right to wear a royal robe, but Jesus let man take that too as He hung naked on the cross. Jesus had the right to live, but He let men take away His life. On the cross Jesus gave up all of his rights except one. When a lifelong sinner, turned to Jesus on the cross, Jesus would not give up the right to forgive sinners. On the cross the only power that Jesus exercised was the power to forgive sin. Wow! He didn’t ask for His crown of gold back. He didn’t ask for His clothes back. He didn’t ask for His life back. The only thing He asked was, “Father forgive them.”

That prayer of Christ for His enemies embraced the world. It took in every sinner that had lived or should live, from the beginning of the world to the end of time. Upon all rests the guilt of crucifying the Son of God. To all, forgiveness is freely offered. “Whosoever will” may have peace with God, and inherit eternal life. -Desire of Ages, P. 745

This Friday, January 6 at 7pm  we will be celebrating this agape love at the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, with Pastor Brad Cassell. There will be an agape feast and communion service. I would like to personally invite you to come and celebrate the wonderful love of Jesus if you are in the Tampa Bay area.

Click here to celebrate God’s amazing grace at a church near you.

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses Of Grace; Controversy Between Good And Evil

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.  Exodus 25:8

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God…  Isaiah 59:2

I have often heard that the Great Controversy between God and Satan is about whether we can keep God’s law, and that God is wanting to produce a people who perfectly obey His law before He comes.  However, in my own personal study of God’s Word, and the Spirit of Prophecy, while I find promises galore about God’s promises help us obey His law, I do not find that is what the Great Controversy is all about. What I find, is that the Great Controversy, or the Conflict of the Ages, is about whether or not God is love. As a matter of fact, if you have ever read the 5 volume Conflict of the Ages, Series from the Spirit of Prophecy, have you noticed that the first line of the first book is “God is love”, and that the very last line of the last book is “God is Love” ? That is what the conflict is all about!

Many are familiar with this passage from Christ Object Lessons page 69. , “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.”  While nothing changes about the truth of that statement, I believe we need to change how we apply that truth. Have you ever heard the phrase, “trophy bride?” That is when a man who wants to impress his peers, shows up at a party with his beautiful, perfectly proportioned, flawless complexioned wife, to show off for all to see. There may be no depth to their relationship but he likes to show her off to everyone.

Friends, I don’t believe God is looking for a trophy bride. I don’t believe He wants a perfect church to show off to the universe. I believe He wants a deep and meaningful relationship with His bride, the church. By God’s grace we can live victorious overcoming lives, but that is not what it is all about. God wants to remove sin, not so that He can show us off as some sort of trophy bride, but so that He can restore His relationship and dwell right inside us. While God dwelling right inside us will solve the sin problem, more importantly to Christ it restores the relationship. Meanwhile, with the relationship restored, the perfection of love is seen between God and His church, thus letting the world see that God is love, so they too can make an intelligent decision to have or not to have a relationship with God.

Jesus didn’t die for a trophy bride. He died to show us He really loves us and  is dying to restore our relationship with Him.

If you are in the Tampa Bay area, please come to the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, where you can meet and fall in love with God!

Find a caring church anywhere in the world by clicking here!

To subscribe to the daily “Glimpses of the Cross” devotionals just click on the top right of this page,  where it says “Subscibe to In Light of The Cross by e-mail.”

by In Light Of The Cross

Glimpses of Grace; Hope For The Hopeless

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Matthew 9:12

Its the sick who need a doctor. It is the sinner who needs a Savior, and it is the hopeless who need hope. Often we are inclined to help those in whom we see potential, or who at least show us some promise. If we think they can make it then we will help them. But isn’t it the hopeless who need hope? Isn’t it those who are lost who need a guide? This year, ask God to send all the hopeless people your way. Ask God to send your church all the rebel youth that nobody else wants at their church. Tell God to send them all over to your church! You’ll love and care for them and give them hope. Ask God to send you the winos, the drug addicts that nobdoy else wants to deal with. You will love them.

Jesus did not die to give hope to those with potential. No, He died to give hope to the hopeless!

 “Often He met those who had drifted under Satan’s control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. –The Desire of Ages, p. 91.”

If you are in need of hope, please contact us at the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church. God loves you and so do we!

Find a caring church anywhere in the world by clicking here!

To subscribe to the daily “Glimpses of the Cross” devotionals just click on the top right of this page,  where it says “Subscibe to In Light of The Cross by e-mail.”