Bounty Without Labor

Romans 5:6-9

6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.


As many of you who know me or have graciously read what I have written you know that I am a traditionalist in nature. Thanksgiving time is a day of proper thanksgiving to the Lord first, remembering traditions and taking time to listen to old familiar stories. No football game - no problem, family first, not the TV. When I think of old times and the way Thanksgiving meals used to be, you may recall in your mind that title of the old song, "Over the River and Through The Woods." We can see that old white wooden house nestled in a meadow or on a hill. You see the fields that were sewn, harvested and now the hay in stacks. On the table you see all the fixings we think of, except these were not bought at a grocery store, nor did the pumpkin pie come out of a can, but all through hard work all year round we see the bounty of harvest. I think of the Pilgrim's and how much they labored, suffered and died for what they believed in. They truly enjoyed their hard work's bounty, it was one of very few bright spots in the New World.

Spiritually speaking, we have a bounty of thanksgiving to celebrate that was wrought by not only hard work but hard suffering. Our bounty of thanksgiving came as a pre-planned act of benevolence that could not be explained if the word "grace" did not exist. All that we are and even all the material blessings of bounty we enjoy stems from this singular and eternally profound offering of Jesus Christ for you and me.

The vast difference between our bounty in Christ and our bounty in the fruits of this earth is that we did absolutely no work to receive it. If you have ever been invited to a home where Thanksgiving dinner was prepared and you sit down to a beautifully set table, the first impression may be, "wow look at all the work that went into this," the second, "I am really blessed, I am invited as a guest to freely partake without personal expense." That table or whatever expression of unlabored kindness you may experience is what the Apostle Paul speaks of in the Romans passage.

Let us examine what is meant by a bounty without labor:

First, there is examination.
None of us like to go to the doctor. However, it is necessary, especially when we suspect something is wrong. There is another type of exam, and that is like an evaluation test to see where we place in a certain classification. This type of test is what we see ourselves in from verse 6. "When we were yet without strength..." What type of strength? The physical cannot be mentioned because it cannot apply. The spiritual strength cannot be measured because we simply don't have any to cope with our eternal needs. Christ saw that we have no strength to withstand and pay for our huge sin debt. Unlike the prison work farms, we cannot pay for our sins by labor. Simply we are stuck because of our weakness. So when God examines and evaluates the condition of the human race, He has two choices, 1. Let them die, 2. Let His Son die for them. He chose the latter. We failed our examination, but Christ passed the sin exam Who knew no sin himself but became sin for every man. Thus He came into the world and labored and died for us.

Second, there is classification. Verse 7 lists two types of people whom some would seem worthy perhaps, maybe, possibly, scarcely to be worth dying for, and we didn't make the list. The "righteous" man is not a man without sin in the context, but, a man who could be considered blameless of a certain accusation, thus, this man was righteous in this setting. Unfortunately Jesus told us that if we break one commandment of God's law, we are a violator of the whole law. So from that we know that no matter what the sin, what the case, eternally we are still condemned, it matters not how righteous we are in any one given situation.
Then we have a "good" man. This is a notch down from the righteous man. The good man is one who is generally known for not being a trouble maker or a reviler or rabble. We might call such a one as a good law biding citizen who keeps to himself and may even be involved in charitable acts. However again Jesus said that unless a person's good works exceed the works of the Pharisees and scribes, admission cannot be had into Heaven. Paul reminds us what is written in the Psalms that there is in Ps 53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. So even if one were to die for a "good" man, it would be a waste. So Jesus Christ laid the foundation for eternal destiny, that we might be made righteous through Him. We could not sew good works like seed to reap eternal life. Christ however can make you fit for Heaven simply by taking on the blood of His Son. The working came about as the Master walked the Earth teaching the people and providing an example of service that we could follow after. Laying all of this foundation that we might be righteous is a job that even Christ performs now as He represents the Christian before the bench of the Father while Satan tries his best to accuse us beyond what the blood of Christ covers, in vain.

Third, there is justification.
Romans 5:8-9 is a favored verse of us all. This verse ties it all together with the preceding verses. The first word may be well, in our perspective, be the most important. The word is "But." You see the whole descriptive examination and classification left us with the most grim of sentence we could ever receive. No criminals ever heard such a condemnation, no patient ever heard such a dark prognosis, nor anyone faced such a horrible future as the implied state every man finds himself in before 5:8. So in knowing all this, the word "but" is introduced. Oh the mercy, the pardon, the favor, the turning of wrath to love is all wrapped up in this word. God said in effect, "Yes its true the man doesn't measure up, he doesn't have holiness, he doesn't have my righteousness, but, but, but, he will after My Son is finished doing what I have commanded Him to do."
"God commendeth His love towards us." This phrase could be perhaps the greatest single string of words that has impacted man the most. Why? Because we got what we did NOT deserve in place of the fruits of our being. Depravity never had such a benefactor as Jesus Christ. It is of little wonder why Satan hates the believer. We whom Satan tried to encapsulate the whole human race into the same condemnation as he, has a way of escape that he never had, nor ever will. There is not one mention in all the Holy Writ, that God ever commended His love towards Satan or any of the fallen angels.
"while we were yet sinners."
You see, you cannot clean yourselves up to come to God. Christ died for us in our default eternal state. He didn't wait to see if man could do better. God knew man's sin disease was terminal and getting worse day by day. Jude tells us that exceeding joy is given when Christ will present us before the Father, why? Because, He cleaned us up! We didn't fit, measure up or anything, yet we were made clean through His blood in vs. 9, this is Justification. The definition is: "one declared righteous and put in the standing of a righteous person, that never had been righteous before."
"Christ died for us."
The one thing He never deserved, Christ got. He deserved a kingdom, which He will have. He deserved a praise from all creation, which he has and will have. He deserves glory and honor, which He has. Never though did He deserve a cross. No amount of understanding can be mounted to take in the colossal words of this part of the verse. Again there is great emphasis put on seemingly small words. The key word here is "died," but the greater object word is "us." Who is us, beyond the physical meaning of man? "Us" means the most despicable, defiled, rotten, garbage laden, blaspheming, hell bent, cursing, fornicating, slimy, dismal wretches there were in all the creation. For such, the antithesis of all these adjectives, died for us.

What a thanksgiving bounty! What a joyous shout we should give! Bounty that we did not work for and could not, became ours for the asking.

Our eternity, a endless frame, beyond this life is settled to those who freely receive it. No payment to make, its made.

Because of Christ's work, the smell of fire no longer lingers on us who believe.

Heavenly Father, There is no words to adequately express what bounty has been provided for us at Christ's expense. Help us at this time of Thanksgiving, to treasure, and to share that which is provided beyond measure. Thank you. For your Praise we give our thanks, Amen.

Blessings Beyond Words

Scripture Reading: Psalm 100



The more I grow as a Christian the more I realize that the words, "Thank You," are such weak ones to deliver to our Provider. This doesn't mean we stop giving thanks, but it seems God deserves so much more, some greater memorial of praise to Him. Some discourse of deeper and greater expressions of our gratitude that goes far beyond "thank you." Unfortunately, many times this mortal tongue is bound by its known vocabulary. However, we see that the offerings of our thanksgivings are far greater than the words we say when it genuinely comes from a heart that showcases true gratefulness and joy to God. The illustration here at the left is one I never have seen before of the Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving. But the image on the man's face (standing in prayer) so reads well his heart that should be the outpouring of our heart to God. There is many faces to be studied in this painting. Each face typifies an attitude common to mankind. There is one face though that is either curious or disturbing. Notice the man at the end of the table to the right. While everyone else bows in prayer, the man here is looking away. I haven't figured out if he is not having anything to do with the thanks offered to God, or, if he is curious to know what makes these other people give thanks like they are. Either way, it shows that some folks aren't acquainted with our God as we believers are.

Believer's have so much to be thankful for. This should be noted in three areas of the Psalm reading for today. I trust you are clicking on the link or opening your Bible to read these. Psalm 100 is the second Psalm I learned in Christian grade school. The verses have stuck with me ever since. The declarative statements in the latter part of this Psalm contain blessings that are ours and that no one can take away. Note these three areas that Christians ought to be extremely thankful beyond words for.

For the Lord is good. This may sound like something we have known and have a firm grasp on since Sunday School days. Its obvious, its review, its...........the key doctrine the Devil attacks when beating down the Christian's heart. When I reread this passage I sort of liken this last part of the Psalm to perhaps a father on his deathbed giving the last pearls of knowledge and wisdom he can impart to his children before he goes to meet God. These three elements are essential in his mind for the road left to trod by his offspring. THE LORD IS GOOD. We should be thankful that the God we serve has a heart of goodness towards us. God could have chosen to afflict us every day with torment and that for no purpose. He could have never made any room in His heart for you and me. God was under no obligation to send His only Son to die for us. God did not have to provide your turkey in the oven either. The blessings of God are manifold and countless. It is difficult though to see this when our lives are given so many months left to live by a doctor, or when your "secure" employment just got its termination notice, or when your child totally abandons the precepts and principles of God's Word for some other desire. None of these things are light things. They are real and they happen. But the Lord is good. Though God blesses us immensely, the complete expression of this thought will completely be understood in glory. When we finally see all that He has prepared for us and all that He kept us from in this world, then we shall fully know the meaning and find a greater voice of uttering our thanksgiving.

Secondly, His Mercy Is Everlasting. This would take longer to articulate in words than you have time to read or I have the description to write. A verse I am constantly reminded of is Lamentations 3:22, "It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." I often wonder how close I have come to being vaporized by God's Holiness in light of my sin. Thanks be to God that the precious blood of Jesus stands in our behalf, not as a license to continue in sin, but a payment for that sin that should condemn us. If we really grasped how black stained sinner's we are then our lips would never cease to thank and praise Him for His unfailing mercy. The mercy of kings and people have shown that there is a condition or a very thin limit to their "mercy" towards an offender. The thing that makes God's mercy so far more powerful and different than that offered by a man is unfailing, unsearchable love. Unredeemed man forgives in obligation to a standard or law. Christ has no sense of obligation, but a love that tears His heart to see us chained and condemned in sin. Friends the gulf between obligation and love are wider than the span of the universe itself. You and I are loved and therefore have His mercy. That is certainly worth all our thanks and praise, as feebly as this old tongue can say.

Lastly, His Truth Endures to All Generations. Again, I can't describe the perimeters of this fact. The key word is "endures." The truth of man lasts only as long as it suits man. Human truthfulness is in a constant state of change. Things that were once true are now replaced. Nothing in this world is fixed or stable. Suppose God emulated man in this point. One minute saved by grace, the next minute grace really wasn't enough! Can you imagine the total despair we would all be in! His Truth not only endures, but endures to ALL generations. Every people of every decade since time began have the same promise that God doesn't change. What He promises to one people of His love, salvation, grace, etc. He grants to all people. God is not in the business of playing favorites. It is true that He has chosen Israel for His own, but the offer of salvation is made manifest to both Jew and Gentile. There will be no segregation in Heaven. The same Lord is rich unto all who call on Him (Rom. 10:12). Imagine a society where the standards are righteous and nothing can corrupt them. No dependence on a political party, empty promises, failing motives, etc. This describes the effect of God's Truth. God's Truth totally enacted in the Millennial Kingdom, of which we as believers will all enjoy.

In conclusion, we haven't spent much time talking about the traditional thanksgiving list of blessings, like family around us, good food, warm homes, etc. All of this is most worthy of thanksgiving to God. But consider this. If the three points of this Psalm were absent from God's character, we would have little to celebrate. In deed all that we have in this life and in the life to come all hangs on these three points. If God were not good, we would live in mortal torment and be subject to divine affliction every day. If God were not merciful, we would all be in Hell right now. If God's truth was not everlasting our world and very lives would be in more chaos than we could imagine.

Ponder a moment in your heart the meaning of this Psalm in your life. As you sit down at the dinner table this week, look around and see the evidence of Psalm 100 all around you. We know that God desires true gratitude and thankfulness of the heart. Lip service alone He does not desire. Remember the older man in the picture. See his face, study his pose. Incorporate that in your heart of thankfulness. Words need to be spoken, but the outpouring of your heart is what God delights in. Read the Psalm at your table this Thanksgiving. Express your heart from it to your table guests and families. Show Christ's love for you in a tangible way. Blessings beyond words are ours everyday.

Heavenly Father, Provider of all the good things we have. Our words are so feeble compared to the magnitude of your blessings. All we have is by Your hand and we're so grateful. Help us to expound that gratitude in our hearts. May Your Name be praised for all Your works towards us. Help us not to be complacent in thanking You. Forgive our offenses, heal our hurts, and nurture us with Your peace. May we show it towards others as You have shown it to us. We praise Your Name High King of Heaven, Provider, Savior, and so wonderfully our Friend. Amen.

The Plentiful Harvest

Well its October! My favorite month of the year, mainly because it spells the end of summer, which because of the heat I greatly detest. Not just the changing seasons, the color of leaves, the cooler temperatures, the holidays forthcoming, etc. say as much as does the time of Harvest. God intended when He created the seasons for there to be a time of sowing and working, and then a time of reaping, or enjoying the product of your labors. Such time is called Harvest. The photo here was taken from a local farm produce market out a little ways from our church. There must have been thousands of pumpkins, mums, corn fodder bundles, you name it. As I was staring at the bounty of all these goods I am reminded that we here in America are living in the land of Plentiful Harvest.

If only the Pilgrims could see far into the future all of what God allowed and afforded us today! I wonder if they would be amazed and/or non-chalant about all this we have. I say this because though I believe they would be amazed, yet they knew when they survived the first hard winter in Massachusetts, that God was in control and there was no limit to what He can do and what He can bless a people with. Let's address three areas of "Pre-Thanksgiving" items in the areas of Harvest.

First, of course there is an earthly harvest. Praise God that He knows we cannot live on just bread alone, we need the Word of God, however He knows we need the bread too.

God sees fit to bless us here in America with more food and vegetables than we can take in. I believe this is all the result of our foundations upon honoring God at the inception of our country. Of course now we see our country's moral and spiritual state in a ragged unrepairable condition. Yet in all this we still reap the goodness of God. The Psalmist David said that he had never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging for food. How good it is to know that God will provide our daily needs and also those things we desire that aligns with His best for us.

Secondly, there is an inward bodily Harvest. Do you stop and take time to thank Him for every little detail in life? We should. That would take hours you may think. You would be right, but certainly He is worthy of it. Everything we have, own, eat, work at, accomplish, are rewarded for, everything right down to the air we breathe and the lungs to breathe it with is from God's hand. Know this, no matter what your view of God is (hopefully its positive) He is good to you because you are living and breathing, this is a privilege from Him so taken for granted today. We should take the time to thank Him for the growth of our bodies and strength of our muscles to dust the house, mow the lawn, vacuum the house, drive the car, type on the computer, cook the meals, make the beds, work at whatever you do. Our bodily harvest is the product of our hands work. Whenever you complete a project, that is your harvest. Our minds and intellect as well as our physical members all combined to reap that which you have worked at. This may be as simple as typing a report, or it could be as large as building a house, but all in all it is the harvest of reaping what God has allowed you to do by your labors.

Then there is most certainly a Spiritual Harvest. There is so much that can be said here. We harvest this type all the time. There are essentially two Spiritual Harvests. The most recognized are our daily triumphs, victories and of course, "fruit" that we see of our personal growth and the effects it has on others around you to whom you minister. The other Harvest is the one great day of reward as spoken of in Matthew 16:27. The question arises here, will there be a Harvest in you Spiritually? Are you planting a Spiritual Crop that will be harvested. So many believers all over the world are satisfied to be saved and then not produce any works to evidence such a salvation. This is dangerous for many points but certainly none other than the fact that Jesus said in Matthew 7:17-20 that by your fruits people will know whether or not you are indeed Redeemed. So how do we prepare for a bountiful Spiritual Harvest both now and in the future? Here are some ways.

• Read Your Bible---of the paramount importance is the act so simple. You cannot grow in God if you know nothing about Him as revealed to you in His Word


• Seek God in Prayer--how shall we relate to God our thoughts and needs as well as hear from Him if we do not talk to Him on a daily basis?


• Seek ways to share your Faith in Christ--The Gospel hid is worthless to those who need to hear it if we keep it shut up and never share it.


• Sacrifice your time to help the body of Christ--Christ gave totally of Himself, so He also desires that we do our part, sharing what we have, to nourish and encourage one another for His Glory.


• Give your resources for His use--this is different than giving time, but literally your money or possessions to help further God's work and provide for the real needs of His people.


• Make the most of your gifts in service to God--each of us has talents and abilities that others do not have. We do this not to puff ourselves up, but show the world there is something different in you and that is Christ. Put to use these talents to further the Gospel and thereby reach out to others in tangible ways


• Don't forsake the assembly of yourselves in the Church--you show that you love God by readily anticipating the day of meeting and worship to Him.

This is a small list of what can be done. No matter though the list of suggestions you read, you must understand we do not labor solely for our own reward...we do it for the furtherance of Christ's Kingdom and His Glory. However, God is not unjust to reward labor done for Him. We understand that we shall be rewarded but its not our most important goal.

The Harvest of the Spirit will not be fully realized until we get to Heaven. However, in this world we have the joy of seeing souls redeemed by God through our witness. We see needs met, hearts encouraged, families strengthened, missionaries sent, praises uttered, and hope conquering despair. These are but a shadow of the reward that awaits. If we do not sow these now, we shall not have anything to offer Christ from our Harvest and He will have nothing to reward us with in return.

Harvest time is a time of plenty. As we see the Earth settle in its time of reaping, take time to review how thankful we need to be in our own reaping of the creation, the body, and the spirit. If you have not spent much time in God's Harvest fields (as we all could spend more) then refocus your priorities to include the Lord's work, as His Work so wondrously included you.

Father in Heaven, Giver of all that is good from Your Hand. Help us to be more thankful at the reaping of the Harvest you have for us. Thank you that you're not a tyrant who cares nothing for those under You, but you sacrificed Your own Son for our sakes. We are the one's undeserving, help us to remember this and in gratitude serve You and help others to not only come to You as Lord and Savior, but to help reap a bountiful harvest in the fields of life. One day this world for each of us will end, work will be no longer done, help us Father to serve faithfully so one day we may reap bountifully. Thank you Father. In your Holy Name. Amen.

Give and Take Prayers, Part 2 of 2

Last time we were reading together, we were discussing how a majority of our prayers are more request or "taking" oriented. That is OK given the proper attitude. However, in our personal prayer times we should remember the giving as well.

In fact, if we were to do anything better in our prayers it should be this attitude and action of Giving. What do we mean by giving? Giving to God? Giving what to God?

Isn't it interesting that we fall so short of seeing God as a genuine person with feelings. We rightfully think of Him as a Sovereign Being with Omnipotence and judgement at His disposal, but we seldom see the nature of His loving heart. He desires we give back to Him. You see the painting here in the article, it is called simply "Grace." This painting (a copy) has hung in my Grandma's house for as long as I can remember. So simple it is in its imagery, yet how profound in its message. The subject of the painting is simply doing what God delights in the most. Giving thanks. All the elements are present: the person, the Word of God, the daily bread, the soup, the utensils for eating, the table, but most importantly the attitude. It is most true that we as Christians can and should give back to God our money, our service, our talents and skills, our lives, but in all that He is more delighted when we give Him our heart of gratitude. When we pray, our hearts should be set on thanking Him for all things. When we do so we are expressing our complete dependence on Him and we are grateful that He so mighty should favor us wonderfully the lowly.

My dad's side of the family at the dinner table, usually at Christmas, would call on me to "return thanks." I always thought that an odd saying, but you know when we pray that is what we do. We return our thankfulness and point it to the ear of the Almighty. As He has allowed others to be thankful for kind deeds we have shown them, so to shall we not all return our thanks for the immense blessings He has given us.

Simply put,

Everything that we are, everything that we have, every possession, every dollar, every skill, every morsel of food, every talent, every good memory, every joy, every hope, every ounce of bodily strength, every idea of mental capacity, every blessing in any form has all passed from His hand to our being. How dare we not acknowledge the Source as the Source has acknowledged us?

Perhaps the Psalmist David is the one most credited for offering praise and Thanksgivings the most to God. But it was the Apostle Paul who reminded us in 2 Corinthians 9:11 that we are Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. In the fourth chapter of this same book Paul speaks of His afflictions with thankfulness to God because it was being used for the sakes of his readers and to redound to the Glory of God.

We have Jesus Christ, need any other excuse in the heart for being downcast be created? I forget, you do too, when things are tough and are more than what we consider to be our fair share of suffering doled out to us, we should remember Christ and His sacrifice on Calvary. What Calvary gives the believer is the supreme guarantee among many things that we are not always going to face illness, pain, loss, hurt, hardship, despair, loneliness, disease, wrongdoing, unprecedented and undeserved torture, etc. that One Day, most assuredly, because we place our trust in Jesus Christ and what He did at Calvary, all the former things Shall be passed away and Eternity holds no fear or trepidation for the saints. All of what we experience shall be swallowed up with death in everlasting hope and glory. Shall we praise God and give Him thanks?

Nothing can be named or spoken that can give God more joy than to hear the true heartfelt thankfulness given from His children's lips. Let's make more of our daily prayer time a simple time of giving.

Father, Thank You, for Jesus Christ our Savior and Hope. Thank you God for supplying all our needs as Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:19. Thank you for us having something to eat today and for our senses and our breathing this earthly air as it is a sign that you love us and are looking out for us. We have so much to give you thanks and praise for, help us not to be slack or vainly ritualistic in our offerings to you. Thank you Father for all the hope we have and the home awaiting us with all the saints for the unending expanse of Eternity. In thy name we praise, Amen.

If this posting has been a blessing to you, forward it to a friend. Images used are for non profit use on this blog only.