Faith. Unbroken.

I am an example (even if a poor one)

Tim Graves — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:57:57 -0600

Yet for this reason I found mercy...

This is the reason I have found mercy: that Christ could make an example of me. I am no one, I am worthless, I am undeserving. Yet Jesus loves me despite my sin and my guilt and my shame, despite all the stupid things I've done, despite all the stupid things I haven't done yet, but will. Jesus showed me mercy, to show the rest of the world this truth: if someone as shameful and undeserving as I can be saved, so can they, and so can you.

Never forget that you were saved for a cause; you were saved to bring the good news of the gospel to the world. You were saved to preach the message of salvation and redemption to every person who crosses your path, and every person whose path you cross. Jesus wants to make an example of you today... will you let Him?

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Jesus is Lord

Tim Graves — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 08:51:04 -0600

I am bringing no Bible verses before you today, simply a quick Biblical history lesson with a practical application for today. I will gladly point you to the relevant verses if you'd like, however. This is what I gleaned from the Men's Breakfast at my church this past Saturday.

Too often, we neglect the Law and its purpose. We say that we are saved by grace, and our salvation is free, and then advance no further. It is true, our salvation is free, but God demands obedience of us after salvation is accomplished. Remember the Israelites? God saved them from Egypt, and He placed no requirements on their salvation from slavery except believing in Him and following Moses whom He had sent. But after they were saved from Egypt, they didn't just walk straight into the Promised Land. No, before they could enter the Promised Land, God gave them the Law, and hinged their entrance into the Promised Land upon their obedience to it.

God saved the Israelites, free of charge, but would not lead them...

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God Will Provide

Tim Graves — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:43:13 -0600

Numerous times throughout the New Testament, Jesus proclaims that whoever lays down his life will find new life. In Genesis 22, this is what Abraham did before God. He laid down his future, his bloodline, his own son before God as an offering. And this is a shadowy forecasting of the death of Christ as well.

God will provide for Himself the lamb, because we are incapable of providing for ourselves. We cannot find a lamb perfect enough to satisfy God's wrath in judgment upon our sin, because His righteous judgment calls for OUR death as punishment. But we must still lay down our lives, because Christ our savior demands that much of us. All of our sin, our desires, our lusts, our wishes, our goals, our aspirations, our wives, our husbands, our children, our friends, our churches, everything. Lay it all down as an offering before Christ as a burnt offering. Lay down your life, and you will gain a new one through Jesus. He will return those things you offered that are worth...

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Humility in Prayer

Tim Graves — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:42:00 -0600

We all know that God calls us to pray to Him, to communicate with Him, and to listen to Him, right? But do we know the proper way to do that? God is our Creator, our Redeemer, our Saviour, and He rightfully demands our devotion and respect.

Abraham understood this:

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The Redemption From Sin

Tim Graves — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:08:49 -0600

God loves humanity so much that, despite all our sin and all our shame and our rebellion, He died on the cross for us. He died so that we could live with Him.That is what Jesus came to earth to do. He came down from Heaven and took on human flesh, to experience the trials and temptations of humanity, and he overcame sin in life. He lived the sinless life that no other man or woman could, because Jesus Christ was not only fully human, but fully God.

BUT, not only did He live perfectly for us, He took the punishment for sin for us. God declared that the punishment for sin was death, and that price had to be paid. Jesus paid that price, that all who would believe in Him would be spared. He was the ultimate blood sacrifice, the perfect, unblemished lamb. And He is the reason we no longer bring sacrifices to God, because Christ satisfied the Law in our place.

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Sin Established

Tim Graves — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:03:36 -0600

The third section of my study On the Nature of Sin will be delayed another day or two while I finish out the study and prayer on it. However, I felt that a short look at exactly how ingrained sin is within us before ending that series was needed.

We're all familiar with the story of Noah's Ark, I assume. Noah gained God's favor in a society filled with evil, unrepentant people, and God told him to build an ark for him and his family. Noah obeyed, and saved himself and his family and a pair of each kind of animal from global destruction. Then, after the flood, God established a covenant with him and his descendants, with the symbol of the rainbow as the proof of his decree, to never destroy the world by flood again. And that, generally, is where the story is ended. Such a happy, feel-good story about the power of faith and trust in God.

But the story doesn't end there:

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The Consequences of Sin

Tim Graves — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:48:05 -0600

God told Adam and Eve that on the day they ate of the forbidden fruit, they would surely die. And die they did, though not in the immediate physical manner that most of modern society expects. Physical death is a long process, it starts from the moment we are conceived in the wombs of our mothers. The effects of spiritual death, however, are much more quickly seen.

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The Origins of Sin

Tim Graves — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 21:31:21 -0600

Today, I tackle Part One of my three-part study on the nature of sin. The first topic in this study is, as the title mentions, the origins and cause of sin. Sin affects all of us, and is a constant struggle for humanity, but many within the world do not comprehend the gravity of the situation. They don't understand that they need a savior, because they don't understand what sin is.

When God created this world and everything in it, humanity included, everything existed in a state of perfection. Sin and sickness and death and pain did not exist. Adam served God by tending to His creation, and Eve was created to serve as a helper and companion to Adam in the service of God. But Satan rebelled against God, and appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent, tempting her with promises of being like God if she would disobey Him, and she took the bait. The sad part, however, is that from the reading of the text, it would appear that Adam was right there beside her, and did NOTHING to prevent his...

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Necromancy, or Resurrection of Sinful Flesh

Tim Graves — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 22:12:35 -0600

Today, I sinned. And for a little while, I blew it off. It's no big deal, I said. I had repented of my sin and moved on to pursuing Christ in my studies. Yet still there remained a small voice, barely perceptible, calling my name. You see, this isn't the first time I've sinned. And though it certainly won't be the last, it is not the fact that I sin that God is specifically trying to address... it is the fact that I continually keep falling right back into the same sin I failed in yesterday, and the day before, and the week before, and the month before.

What that recurring sin is doesn't really matter, but it is an unfortunate side-effect of being human that we are sinful creatures. It is in our very nature as a consequence of the choice of Adam and Eve to rebel against their God and Creator. However, while God recognizes that we are sinners, and extended His hand to save us through the redemptive sacrifice of His Son, we are called to sin no more. That does NOT mean that sinning...

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Spiritual Endurance

Tim Graves — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:58:04 -0600

I am going through a number of trials in my life at present: economic, medical, and relational. And I'm absolutely certain I'm not alone in this. Trials come in all shapes and sizes, to people of all walks of life, both saved and unsaved. For the unsaved, the trials are God nudging people to the brink to realize they can't pass the test on their own. For those of us who are saved, however, the trials are to help us remember that same realization, and to prepare us for greater intimacy with Him. View full post

What Good is the Law?

Tim Graves — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:49:36 -0600

There are those within the modern professing-Christian community who would discard the Law of the Old Testament as outdated and no longer applicable to modern Christianity or society. In fact, there are probably more who disregard the Law than those who place proper value in the decrees of God. While we are correct in saying that we, as redeemed Christians, are no longer bound by the Law, it still serves a purpose. We as Christians have been given a new commandment, which is the entirety of the law, to love your neighbor as yourself, as Christ loves you.

However, unredeemed humanity, while also bound to that commandment, is still subject to the Law, because they have not accepted Christ, who is the release from the Law which God has allowed. So what does the Bible have to say about the Law of God?

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Self-righteousness

Tim Graves — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:15:46 -0600

If you spend any time at all using the popular Bible webapp at YouVersion and the community notes feature it offers, you have likely seen many interesting notes left by other readers. If you're like me, and like to go delving through other peoples' public offerings, you've likely seen many new and insightful perspectives, and a great many more disturbing concepts. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that such a public tool falls prey to the blasphemous and/or ignorant uses of those who know not what they preach. I noticed a number of alarming notes in the Genesis creation account, of course, but I found this topic even more intriguing, and accessible to those without scientific background. View full post

The Qualifications of a Pastor

Tim Graves — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:38:11 -0600

The Bible lays out clear guidelines concerning the qualifications of a pastor. These guidelines can be found in both 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Take a look at the leadership of your church. Does the person you call ‘pastor’ meet these criteria? If not, perhaps you should be searching for a new church, or bringing the matter before your church’s board or governing council.

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Justification

Tim Graves — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:14:26 -0600

Justification by faith, not works. We believe in Jesus Christ so that we may be justified through our faith in Him and His power, not through works of “righteousness” according to the Law, carried out within our own power. No one will be justified by works of the law, because the law of God is perfect and without loopholes, and completely contrary to our sinful human nature. View full post