Living By The Word

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) God does not abandon His children in times of hardship and trial, but faithfully goes with us through the storms of life. We must trust that our troubles are temporary and that God is using them to accomplish His will and bring about an ultimate benefit or blessing for which we will praise and thank Him. No matter what circumstances we must face in life, the followers of Jesus Christ can rest assured that one glorious day God's good work in us will be complete, we will be like our LORD, and we will spend eternity in His loving presence.

  I am richly blessed because of the presence, the peace, and the power of God in my life. The LORD is my strength, my safe haven, my salvation! From this gracious, faithful God alone all of my bountiful blessings flow, now and throughout all of eternity.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) Today, I pray for a pure heart that is repentant, humble, faithful, compassionate, loving, and Christ-centered. Heavenly Father, help me to guard my heart..."for out of it spring the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23) Give me a godly heart that embraces the truth of Your Word and reflects my love for and devotion to Jesus Christ and the guiding presence of Your Holy Spirit within me. In Jesus' most exalted name, I pray. Amen!

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13) As believers and children of God, we can be forever grateful for the faith that has given us access to God's grace, the hope of eternal life that is our assurance in Christ, and the love of God that flows through us into a world of hatred as the highest expression of our salvation.

  That's Grace (October 3, 2024) "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians" (Ephesians 2:8-10) Repentant sinners are not saved by good works; they are saved for good works that serve other people and glorify the gracious God of all creation. There is no more precious gift than the salvation that is offered to everyone by the grace of God alone. But the only way to receive God's all-sufficient grace is through faith in Jesus Christ, who died, was buried, and rose again that whosoever will might be saved! We should praise and thank God every day for the eternal salvation that is offered everyone and given as a priceless gift to believers exclusively on the basis of what Christ has done for for us, not because of anything we can do.

I am praising God for the miracle that He worked in my life exactly 27 years ago today. On October 1, 1997, dying of an incurable heart condition at age 46, I was blessed to receive the heart of a Greensboro, NC, teenager who had graciously become an organ donor. Today, at 73, I am living a full and active life still powered by my strong and healthy transplanted heart. I am a blessed man because of the grace of God and a caring 16-year old boy whose heart continues to enable another to live more than a quarter of a century after His tragic death. On this birthday of sorts, I am thankful, of course, for the new physical heart that I received on that day 27 autumn seasons ago. But I am most grateful for the new spiritual heart that God gave me when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and received His most wonderful gift of everlasting life. As the result of my salvation, I have the hope of someday meeting this young man in heaven and thanking him personally for extending my earthly life