Monthly Archives: July 2015

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should live in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Grace is wonderful. God is a Giver. He smiles when He fashions a sunrise, a new baby, a redeemed life, the love of family and friends. God does love to give. Thank God for grace!

But do we have a role in receiving grace? I say yes, not in the sense that we earn anything, but in the sense that we make ourselves available to God. God doesn’t take hold of a closed fist. We must open our hands to receive, and that requires a little willingness and work. We were created for good works, and as we engage in these works we place ourselves more deeply in the stream of God’s Providence.

We are to always keep asking, seeking, knocking, and striving, but God does the directing and the building. In this holy union, life becomes sweet and meaningful.

Years ago I ran across a poem called “Bike Secrets” (author unknown) that summarizes God’s work in our lives, and our work for Him. I hope it sets a good tone for you at the beginning of this week.

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of things I did wrong
so as to know if I merited heaven or hell when I die.
He was out there, sort of like a President.
I recognized his picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t know him.

But later when I met Christ
It seemed as though life was rather like a bike ride,
But it was a tandem bike and I noticed that Christ was in the back
Helping me to peddle.

I don’t know just when it was that He suggested we change places
but life has never been the same since.
When I had control, I know the way,
but it was rather boring and predictable.

I always took the shortest distance between two points.
But when Christ took the lead, He knew delightful long-cuts up mountains
And through rocky places at break-neck speeds.
It was all I could do to hang on.

And even though it looked like madness, He said,
“Just peddle!”
I was worried and anxious and so I said, “Where are you taking me?”
He laughed and didn’t answer.

That’s when I learned that I was going to have to trust Him.
I soon forgot my boring life in every one of our adventures together,
And when I got scared, He simply leaned back, touched my hand and said,
“Just peddle!”

He took me to people with gifts that I needed;
Gifts of healing, acceptance and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey and off we were again.
He would say, “Give the gifts away. They are baggage, too much weight.”

So I did, to people we met.
And I found that in giving, I received.
And the journey continued and our burden was light.
I did not trust him at first to take control of my life.

I thought he would wreck it. But He knows bike secrets.
He knows how to take sharp corners, and how to clear rocks,
And He can do things I never would have done if I were in control.
And I am learning to shut up and peddle in the strangest places.

I am beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face
With my delightful companion, Jesus Christ.
And when I’m not sure I can do it anymore,
He leans back, smiles and says: Just peddle!

Keep peddling,

Dr. Terry Ellis
July 26, 2015

“Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

We find various forms of “do not be anxious” sprinkled throughout the Bible. Jesus even devoted a great deal of the Sermon on the Mount to the crippling effects of anxiety and His solution to it (Matt. 6:25-34). In the passage for today’s Gracewaves Paul again reminded us to “be anxious for nothing,” and he provided some guidance for fulfilling this imperative.

He wrote: “let your requests be made known to God” (4:6). You need to embrace this call to pray about everything. God invites you to bring your burdens to Him. He is not wearied by them. He will not chide you for them. He understands them. He invites our total dependence on Him.

One of the prophecies concerning Jesus was the He would be a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Because of what Jesus faced here on earth, God knows what you are facing each day. He is not surprised or disappointed by your prayers about your burdens. Let them be known.

Next, we find a hidden gem in the scripture. We are to pray and ask “with thanksgiving.” This overlooked quality of a rich life of prayer is infinitely important. Thanksgiving means that we are surveying our lives to see what God has already done. As we review His multiple blessings and express gratitude for them, we realize that anxiety about life is not our sole experience. Awareness of loss or fear of loss has perhaps been exaggerated and overwhelmed the reality of God’s provision in so many areas of your life. Through the lenses of thanksgiving the anxiety often dissipates like a nightmare at dawn. It was never real.

“Letting your requests be made known to God with thanksgiving” provides a very important spiritual balance in your life. You begin to realize that God has taken care of you each day. He has provided resources you would never imagine. You have survived and grown through experiences you thought would have crippled you forever.

Then you rediscover a sublime truth: as God has acted in the past, He will act in the present and the future. God has a great track record. Enjoy God today. Trust Him with tomorrow.

At this point, “the peace of God that passes all human understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7). God has restored your balance. He has brought you in tune with the rhythms of His grace.

So go ahead and pray about everything, with thanksgiving. And be at peace.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis
July 19, 2015

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1.

This verse, and this section of Ecclesiastes, is one of the more familiar in Bible. Even the Byrds knew it (Turn, Turn, Turn). The beauty of Hebrew poetry is clear, and the rhythms of a time for this and a time for that offer a strange comfort.

I say strange because if you look at the different “times” some make a great deal of sense, such as “a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted.” In other words, planting and harvesting are clearly a part of the cycle of life. Clear enough.

But what about “a time to kill?” (v. 3) Or “a time to hate?” (v. 8). These strike us a little differently. How could hate ever be an appropriate emotion? Is killing woven into the order of our lives the same way the harvest is? I hope you see the problem.

One very unsatisfactory solution to this minor dilemma is to regard the author as supporting a deterministic view of life. God has ordained everything that happens. Thus a birth is in the heavenly calendar. And so is a death. And so is gathering up stones. And killing, and war, and mourning, and dancing, etc.

Many people find a great comfort in the idea that everything happens according to a preordained plan. I do not. To be fair and impartial, I would have to say that the writer of Ecclesiastes did have this in mind, but the book is bereft of the optimism Jesus made clear by His life and teachings. In other words, there is much more to be said, and that is why we have the rest of the Bible.

Yes God does ordain certain seasons of life. We do have a time to be born and time to die, but the Bible clearly teaches that we have a choice as to how we approach each day between those two crucial points. I believe in a mighty providence, but I believe equally in a mighty freedom to choose. I’m not at all sure about the limits of fate. I am vastly certain of the possibilities of choice.

When, through the eyes of Christ, I look at this familiar section of scripture I see a truth both comforting and challenging. We all have seasons of life when struggle, sadness, and even death touch us very closely. We have bad days. But those will pass. They are but a season.

Look over your past. You have come through some seasons which have bordered on terrifying. Ahead of that particular season you would have claimed to never be able to survive such an event. But you have. From that darkness you emerged in another season, a brighter season. Remember that sequence and be grateful. Even Good Friday has an Easter Sunday. That is comforting.

Now here is the challenge: the season of blessing and ease you may be enjoying right now will also pass. The rhythm of life is an endless succession of good and bad, a mixture of both, an inevitable beginning and ending, over and over.

I suppose the real challenge, therefore, is bringing the certainty of faith into the uncertainty of life. Our task is not to vainly pursue uninterrupted pleasure, for that is simply beyond the reach of even the wealthy and wise king of Israel (as in Ecclesiastes) or Bill Gates. We cannot buy our way into bliss.

But we can exercise what Frankl called “the last of all human freedoms,” and that is the ability to choose how we will respond to the varying seasons of life. We can choose to not be dragged down by guilt and regrets over the past, for grace takes away those burdens and replaces them with gratitude. And we can choose not to be cowed by fear for the future, for grace can replace that with hope.

We can choose to live in the present season, this very moment, with awareness of God’s presence, assurance of His limitless blessings, and complete trust that He will make all things right in His time and in His way.

This week, I choose to take pleasure in all my seasons. They may come quickly and pass just as quickly. I do not know. I simply know I do not face any of them alone.

Grace,

Dr. Terry Ellis
July 5, 2015