November 18, 2024 • 13 mins
Ever feel like you're stuck on a never-ending performance treadmill, striving for God's favor only to be met with shame when you fall short? Join me, James Long, as I reveal my own journey through this exhausting cycle and share the liberating truth that God's love isn't hinged on our erratic performance but firmly anchored in Christ's unchanging work. Inspired by the timeless wisdom of Jerry Bridges, we'll unravel the shackles of striving and discover four powerful truths about grace—it's not just a concept but embodied in Jesus, it empowers us to live righteously yet frees us from trying to earn our salvation, and most importantly, it transforms us without making excuses.
But understanding grace is just the beginning. Let's talk about gratitude as a potent response to such a divine gift. We'll explore how to genuinely honor this gift not with guilt, but with heartfelt appreciation, by spreading messages of grace and hope across platforms like blogs, YouTube, and Facebook. Introducing the I3A approach—issue, aim, adapt, and apply—as a tool for personal growth, we aim to equip you with practical steps for sharing insights and living out transformative grace. Our conversation wraps up with a sincere prayer for blessings, urging us to continually remember and share the Lord's incredible work in our lives. Don't miss the opportunity to have your life—and those around you—changed by God's amazing grace.
But understanding grace is just the beginning. Let's talk about gratitude as a potent response to such a divine gift. We'll explore how to genuinely honor this gift not with guilt, but with heartfelt appreciation, by spreading messages of grace and hope across platforms like blogs, YouTube, and Facebook. Introducing the I3A approach—issue, aim, adapt, and apply—as a tool for personal growth, we aim to equip you with practical steps for sharing insights and living out transformative grace. Our conversation wraps up with a sincere prayer for blessings, urging us to continually remember and share the Lord's incredible work in our lives. Don't miss the opportunity to have your life—and those around you—changed by God's amazing grace.
ABOUT JAMES AND LESSONS FOR LIFE
Are you longing to find answers to the deeper issues of life? Join Dr. James Long, Jr., a pastor, counselor, and university professor with over 30 years of experience. Hear James as he tackles some of life’s biggest questions and helps us find God’s solutions to life’s struggles. Learn the power of living by God’s grace and for His glory. Experience the joy of forgiveness and freedom found in Jesus Christ alone. If you are in search of freedom, you will love being part of this conversation. Subscribe, and enjoy the show!
Links
Website – https://jameslongjr.org/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/drjameslongjr
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/drjameslongjr/
Apple Podcast – https://jameslongjr.org/applepodcast
Google Podcast – https://jameslongjr.org/googlepodcast
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, it's James Long and welcome.
Okay, I'm gonna share this blogthat I just did this morning.
You should be able to see thison our blog site and on our
Facebook page.
It is based on a quote by oneof my favorite authors, jerry
Bridges, and he said this yourworst days are never so bad that
(00:22):
you're beyond the reach ofGod's grace, and your best days
are never so good that you'rebeyond the reach of God's grace.
And your best days are never sogood that you're beyond the
need of God's grace.
And I don't know about you, butI found this verse, or this
quote, so resonating with me.
I found for years I lived onwhat I would call a good day bad
day cycle.
(00:42):
Have you ever been there?
So what would happen is, if Ihad my devotions, if I wasn't
sinning in any overt way, if Imade really good or godly
decisions, I actually thoughtthat I had more of God's favor
and that he enjoyed me more.
And then I would look and Iwould have a bad day, maybe a
bad day where I was sharp withmy words, I missed my prayer
(01:05):
time, I was selfish in myattitudes and I felt as though I
had forfeited the love of God.
I wonder how many of you haveever felt that way.
What happens is that this toxicmindset leads to a cycle of
striving and shame, and so weare constantly striving.
And he actually talked about inhis book the Discipline of Grace
(01:28):
.
He talked about being on aperformance treadmill and that
flawed thinking got me thinkingthat my acceptance before God
was based on my performance.
So when my performance was good, god accepted me, and when my
performance was bad, god didn't.
And so on my worst days, I feltthat I was banished, banished
from God, like put into thedoghouse, and felt like he was
(01:51):
constantly disappointed in meand maybe you feel that way as
well.
And what it did was this thatGod was so disappointed in me
and so discouraged with me anddidn't actually love me
discouraged with me and didn'tactually love me.
And what Jesus became for mewhen I started to realize this,
it was because he was more ofthis gracious person than I ever
(02:12):
could ever imagine.
He understood my need, and Iunderstood my need now more and
more, and then I recognized thatit was God's law that demanded
perfect righteousness not arighteousness that I could ever
achieve and that I was standingnot in my righteousness, but in
the righteousness of Christ, andthat Jesus lived the life that
(02:33):
I could no longer live, and hedied the death that I deserved
See, when I could start tounderstand that it was all about
Jesus.
It was not about me that myrelationship with God was not
this up-and-down roller coaster.
It was not about me that myrelationship with God was not
this up and down roller coaster,was on the settled work of the
cross, the empty tomb, theresurrected Savior and the
ascended Savior.
(02:53):
That became such a hugefoundation for me and it led me
to these four life-transformingtruths.
One God's love is rooted inChrist, not my performance, not
our performance.
I need you to hear that.
That's why, in Romans 8.1, itcould say no, there is no
condemnation for those that arein Christ Jesus.
(03:14):
We are not condemned.
We're not under guilt.
We're not under condemnation.
We're not shackled any longer,ultimately, by sin.
Yes, we still sin, but we arefree from the condemning nature
of sin.
We're free from the wrath ofGod that was poured out on the
person and work of Christ on thecross.
So God's love is rooted for usnot in our performance or up and
(03:35):
down performance, but in Christ.
The second revelation is thisit's grace is not a concept, but
a person.
I think what I oftentimes didwas I tended to believe that
grace was all about what Ineeded to do, or it was just
this principle, and it was morethan that.
It's about a person.
(03:56):
Grace is found in the personalwork of Christ.
Look at this verse here in 2Corinthians, for you know that
the grace of our Lord JesusChrist, that though he was rich,
yet for your sake, he becamepoor so that you, by his poverty
, might become rich.
That's another thing about ourwebsite.
So I love this hyperlinkopportunity where you see a
(04:18):
verse and you could justhyperlink over to it and you can
read it right there as well.
So God's love is rooted inChrist, not our performance.
Second, grace is not a concept,but a person.
Third, grace frees us fromearning but empowers our effort.
This is important.
Grace frees us from earning butempowers our effort.
This is important.
Grace frees us from trying toearn our salvation.
(04:40):
I don't earn God's favor,because that was done for us in
Christ in Ephesians 2.
For by grace you've been savedthrough faith, and this, not of
your own doing, it is a gift ofGod.
So that is that God gives usgrace and he gives us the grace
to stand.
We don't earn that, but thatdoesn't mean that we stop our
pursuit.
(05:00):
It fuels our pursuit.
Jesus Christ gives us the power.
He lives in us.
In Galatians, chapter two, verse20.
It says I've been crucifiedwith Christ and I no longer live
.
But Christ lives in me and thelife I now live I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved meand gave his life for me.
Or here, in Philippians,chapter 2, it says Therefore, my
(05:20):
beloved, as you've alwaysobeyed, so now, not only in my
presence but much more in myabsence, work out your salvation
with fear and trembling, for itis God who works in you, both
to will and to work for his goodpleasure.
So God's grace frees us fromtrying to earn it by that up and
down performance, but itempowers us to live a righteous
(05:42):
life.
And then, fourth, god's gracetransforms, not excuses.
True grace doesn't lead tolaziness and it doesn't lead to
license the two extremeslaziness where you're doing
nothing, or license where you'redoing whatever you want without
thinking about God's standard.
What it does is it compels usto holiness.
(06:03):
And in 2 Corinthians 3, verse18, it says this.
It says we with unveiled faces.
Behold in the glass, here we go, unveiled faces beholding the
glory of the Lord aretransformed into the same image
from one degree of glory toanother.
For this comes from the Lord,who is the Spirit, and what that
(06:25):
verse is basically saying isthat God is doing a
transformative work in your life, that the Holy Spirit comes in
you.
He transforms you by the wordto look more and more like
Christ, step by step, day by day.
That's what we'll callsanctification.
Sanctification is the processwhere we are made more holy.
Practically, justification isthe doctrine where God declares
(06:47):
you righteous, even though we'restill sinners.
He declares you righteous notbecause of your work, but
because of Christ's work that heapplies or credits to your
account.
And sanctification is a processby which we actually grow in
holiness.
So when Bridges was saying thatyour worst days are never so bad
that you're beyond the need ofGod's grace or the reach of
God's grace, and your best daysare never so good that you're
(07:09):
beyond the need of God's grace,what he was saying is that on
your worst day, you are neverbeyond the grace of God, because
God's grace is always amazing.
His grace is greater than allour sins.
But even on your best days,don't think that you're doing
this on your own.
You're never beyond the need ofGod's grace.
That was one of these powerfulquotes that have revolutionized
(07:35):
my walk in life.
So you'll see the rest of theblog post here.
I want you to know that God'slove is stronger than your worst
day and deeper than yourdarkest failures.
So just remind yourself of that.
Let that so deeply enrich yourlife.
Usually, with my blogs, I willgive you some reflection or
application questions, justquestions to think about, like
(07:58):
this one grace in your life.
How does the truth that God'slove is rooted in Christ, not
your performance, challenge orencourage you?
I really want you to take time.
Journals are really important.
I want you to take time to graba journal and to open it up and
to write in there.
Take time to prayerfully gothrough these kind of questions
(08:20):
the good day bad day mentality.
In what ways have you falleninto the good day bad day
mentality and how canunderstanding God's grace help
you break free from this mindset?
It's another one of thoseself-confronting ways,
self-reflecting ways, lettingthe Holy Spirit open your heart
as you open the Word and startto look at these areas.
(08:42):
Maybe they're areas that youneed to confess and ask God's
forgiveness for Seeing Christ asyour substitute.
Reflect on how Jesus' obedienceand sacrifice have changed your
relationship with God, and howdoes this truth impact the way
you approach your worst days.
What are the ways that justunderstanding what Christ has
done for you?
He is your substitute, he stoodin your place.
(09:05):
He took God's wrath for yoursins.
How does that transform yourlife?
His obedience becomes yourobedience.
That God actually looks at youand says you have a perfect
record in my eyes.
That's where justificationcomes in.
And it's not your perfectrecord.
It's your perfect recordthrough the person and work of
Christ.
Grace frees us from earning,but empowers our effort.
(09:26):
What is one area of your lifewhere you need to shift from
striving to resting in God'sgrace and pursuing holiness?
Thriving to resting in God'sgrace and pursuing holiness it's
another great question.
And then how about this one?
How does the transforming powerof grace motivate you to pursue
holiness, not out of guilt, butout of gratitude and love?
(09:48):
I was thinking about a personwho's a fire person and they go
into a burning building buildingand somebody is maybe dead or
unconscious and they can't getout on their own.
And so that person goes inthere and pulls them out of the
building.
And then what they do is theypump air into their lungs and
they pump into their chest, pumptheir chest, and this person
(10:10):
comes back to life.
And what is it that the persondoes?
The person that has beenrescued?
That person didn't make thechoice to come out of there, but
now the choice was made forthem, as the fireman went in
there and pulled them out of thefire and brought them back to
life.
And so what does the person dowho was rescued?
They are so thankful.
(10:31):
There's such gratitude.
They follow that person.
They say I'll do whatever youwant, I'll serve you.
I mean, they almost become partof the family because this
person has done this amazingthing.
And if that is just one humanbeing to another, what would it
be if the King of Kings and theLord of Lords has come here to
rescue you and me?
What can we do?
Out of, not of guilt, but outof gratitude and love for what
(10:53):
he has done for us?
He has given us this amazinggift and out of gratitude and
love for what he has done for us.
He has given us this amazinggift and what can we do to serve
him?
And the last question I ask iswho in your life needs to hear
this message of God's grace andhow can you share this hope with
them?
This week One, you can pointthem to this blog.
You can share this blog rightthere with them.
(11:13):
I've also told you about ourYouTube channel, our Facebook
channel.
There are ways, maybe some ofthe verses that are here, maybe
it's just sharing with them thequote.
I honestly believe that Godworks in us, to work through us,
and if you remember the I3Aapproach we talked about, issue
aim, adapt and apply.
(11:34):
This apply section is not onlyabout sharing, you know,
stabilizing your life andsustaining the changes, but the
second piece of it is gettingsupport, getting accountability
in your life.
But the third piece is to sharewhat you've learned, and so I
would encourage you to do that.
Okay, and just once again, justtell you how thankful I am that
(11:55):
you're part of our community.
Thank you so much for joining us, and I pray that the Lord would
richly bless you.
So let me pray for you all.
So, Lord, bless and keep us,make your face to shine upon us
and be gracious to us.
Lift up your countenance uponus and grant us peace.
Remind us of all that you'vedone to work in us and through
us, bring glory, honor andmajesty to your name.
(12:17):
Through us, lord, in Jesus'name, we pray Amen.
So once again, so thankful thatyou're here with us.
Be blessed, take care everyone.
Hey everyone, it's James Long and welcome.
Okay, I'm gonna share this blogthat I just did this morning.
You should be able to see thison our blog site and on our
Facebook page.
It is based on a quote by oneof my favorite authors, jerry
Bridges, and he said this yourworst days are never so bad that
(00:22):
you're beyond the reach ofGod's grace, and your best days
are never so good that you'rebeyond the reach of God's grace.
And your best days are never sogood that you're beyond the
need of God's grace.
And I don't know about you, butI found this verse, or this
quote, so resonating with me.
I found for years I lived onwhat I would call a good day bad
day cycle.
(00:42):
Have you ever been there?
So what would happen is, if Ihad my devotions, if I wasn't
sinning in any overt way, if Imade really good or godly
decisions, I actually thoughtthat I had more of God's favor
and that he enjoyed me more.
And then I would look and Iwould have a bad day, maybe a
bad day where I was sharp withmy words, I missed my prayer
(01:05):
time, I was selfish in myattitudes and I felt as though I
had forfeited the love of God.
I wonder how many of you haveever felt that way.
What happens is that this toxicmindset leads to a cycle of
striving and shame, and so weare constantly striving.
And he actually talked about inhis book the Discipline of Grace
(01:28):
.
He talked about being on aperformance treadmill and that
flawed thinking got me thinkingthat my acceptance before God
was based on my performance.
So when my performance was good, god accepted me, and when my
performance was bad, god didn't.
And so on my worst days, I feltthat I was banished, banished
from God, like put into thedoghouse, and felt like he was
(01:51):
constantly disappointed in meand maybe you feel that way as
well.
And what it did was this thatGod was so disappointed in me
and so discouraged with me anddidn't actually love me
discouraged with me and didn'tactually love me.
And what Jesus became for mewhen I started to realize this,
it was because he was more ofthis gracious person than I ever
(02:12):
could ever imagine.
He understood my need, and Iunderstood my need now more and
more, and then I recognized thatit was God's law that demanded
perfect righteousness not arighteousness that I could ever
achieve and that I was standingnot in my righteousness, but in
the righteousness of Christ, andthat Jesus lived the life that
(02:33):
I could no longer live, and hedied the death that I deserved
See, when I could start tounderstand that it was all about
Jesus.
It was not about me that myrelationship with God was not
this up-and-down roller coaster.
It was not about me that myrelationship with God was not
this up and down roller coaster,was on the settled work of the
cross, the empty tomb, theresurrected Savior and the
ascended Savior.
(02:53):
That became such a hugefoundation for me and it led me
to these four life-transformingtruths.
One God's love is rooted inChrist, not my performance, not
our performance.
I need you to hear that.
That's why, in Romans 8.1, itcould say no, there is no
condemnation for those that arein Christ Jesus.
(03:14):
We are not condemned.
We're not under guilt.
We're not under condemnation.
We're not shackled any longer,ultimately, by sin.
Yes, we still sin, but we arefree from the condemning nature
of sin.
We're free from the wrath ofGod that was poured out on the
person and work of Christ on thecross.
So God's love is rooted for usnot in our performance or up and
(03:35):
down performance, but in Christ.
The second revelation is thisit's grace is not a concept, but
a person.
I think what I oftentimes didwas I tended to believe that
grace was all about what Ineeded to do, or it was just
this principle, and it was morethan that.
It's about a person.
(03:56):
Grace is found in the personalwork of Christ.
Look at this verse here in 2Corinthians, for you know that
the grace of our Lord JesusChrist, that though he was rich,
yet for your sake, he becamepoor so that you, by his poverty
, might become rich.
That's another thing about ourwebsite.
So I love this hyperlinkopportunity where you see a
(04:18):
verse and you could justhyperlink over to it and you can
read it right there as well.
So God's love is rooted inChrist, not our performance.
Second, grace is not a concept,but a person.
Third, grace frees us fromearning but empowers our effort.
This is important.
Grace frees us from earning butempowers our effort.
This is important.
Grace frees us from trying toearn our salvation.
(04:40):
I don't earn God's favor,because that was done for us in
Christ in Ephesians 2.
For by grace you've been savedthrough faith, and this, not of
your own doing, it is a gift ofGod.
So that is that God gives usgrace and he gives us the grace
to stand.
We don't earn that, but thatdoesn't mean that we stop our
pursuit.
(05:00):
It fuels our pursuit.
Jesus Christ gives us the power.
He lives in us.
In Galatians, chapter two, verse20.
It says I've been crucifiedwith Christ and I no longer live
.
But Christ lives in me and thelife I now live I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved meand gave his life for me.
Or here, in Philippians,chapter 2, it says Therefore, my
(05:20):
beloved, as you've alwaysobeyed, so now, not only in my
presence but much more in myabsence, work out your salvation
with fear and trembling, for itis God who works in you, both
to will and to work for his goodpleasure.
So God's grace frees us fromtrying to earn it by that up and
down performance, but itempowers us to live a righteous
(05:42):
life.
And then, fourth, god's gracetransforms, not excuses.
True grace doesn't lead tolaziness and it doesn't lead to
license the two extremeslaziness where you're doing
nothing, or license where you'redoing whatever you want without
thinking about God's standard.
What it does is it compels usto holiness.
(06:03):
And in 2 Corinthians 3, verse18, it says this.
It says we with unveiled faces.
Behold in the glass, here we go, unveiled faces beholding the
glory of the Lord aretransformed into the same image
from one degree of glory toanother.
For this comes from the Lord,who is the Spirit, and what that
(06:25):
verse is basically saying isthat God is doing a
transformative work in your life, that the Holy Spirit comes in
you.
He transforms you by the wordto look more and more like
Christ, step by step, day by day.
That's what we'll callsanctification.
Sanctification is the processwhere we are made more holy.
Practically, justification isthe doctrine where God declares
(06:47):
you righteous, even though we'restill sinners.
He declares you righteous notbecause of your work, but
because of Christ's work that heapplies or credits to your
account.
And sanctification is a processby which we actually grow in
holiness.
So when Bridges was saying thatyour worst days are never so bad
that you're beyond the need ofGod's grace or the reach of
God's grace, and your best daysare never so good that you're
(07:09):
beyond the need of God's grace,what he was saying is that on
your worst day, you are neverbeyond the grace of God, because
God's grace is always amazing.
His grace is greater than allour sins.
But even on your best days,don't think that you're doing
this on your own.
You're never beyond the need ofGod's grace.
That was one of these powerfulquotes that have revolutionized
(07:35):
my walk in life.
So you'll see the rest of theblog post here.
I want you to know that God'slove is stronger than your worst
day and deeper than yourdarkest failures.
So just remind yourself of that.
Let that so deeply enrich yourlife.
Usually, with my blogs, I willgive you some reflection or
application questions, justquestions to think about, like
(07:58):
this one grace in your life.
How does the truth that God'slove is rooted in Christ, not
your performance, challenge orencourage you?
I really want you to take time.
Journals are really important.
I want you to take time to graba journal and to open it up and
to write in there.
Take time to prayerfully gothrough these kind of questions
(08:20):
the good day bad day mentality.
In what ways have you falleninto the good day bad day
mentality and how canunderstanding God's grace help
you break free from this mindset?
It's another one of thoseself-confronting ways,
self-reflecting ways, lettingthe Holy Spirit open your heart
as you open the Word and startto look at these areas.
(08:42):
Maybe they're areas that youneed to confess and ask God's
forgiveness for Seeing Christ asyour substitute.
Reflect on how Jesus' obedienceand sacrifice have changed your
relationship with God, and howdoes this truth impact the way
you approach your worst days.
What are the ways that justunderstanding what Christ has
done for you?
He is your substitute, he stoodin your place.
(09:05):
He took God's wrath for yoursins.
How does that transform yourlife?
His obedience becomes yourobedience.
That God actually looks at youand says you have a perfect
record in my eyes.
That's where justificationcomes in.
And it's not your perfectrecord.
It's your perfect recordthrough the person and work of
Christ.
Grace frees us from earning,but empowers our effort.
(09:26):
What is one area of your lifewhere you need to shift from
striving to resting in God'sgrace and pursuing holiness?
Thriving to resting in God'sgrace and pursuing holiness it's
another great question.
And then how about this one?
How does the transforming powerof grace motivate you to pursue
holiness, not out of guilt, butout of gratitude and love?
(09:48):
I was thinking about a personwho's a fire person and they go
into a burning building buildingand somebody is maybe dead or
unconscious and they can't getout on their own.
And so that person goes inthere and pulls them out of the
building.
And then what they do is theypump air into their lungs and
they pump into their chest, pumptheir chest, and this person
(10:10):
comes back to life.
And what is it that the persondoes?
The person that has beenrescued?
That person didn't make thechoice to come out of there, but
now the choice was made forthem, as the fireman went in
there and pulled them out of thefire and brought them back to
life.
And so what does the person dowho was rescued?
They are so thankful.
(10:31):
There's such gratitude.
They follow that person.
They say I'll do whatever youwant, I'll serve you.
I mean, they almost become partof the family because this
person has done this amazingthing.
And if that is just one humanbeing to another, what would it
be if the King of Kings and theLord of Lords has come here to
rescue you and me?
What can we do?
Out of, not of guilt, but outof gratitude and love for what
(10:53):
he has done for us?
He has given us this amazinggift and out of gratitude and
love for what he has done for us.
He has given us this amazinggift and what can we do to serve
him?
And the last question I ask iswho in your life needs to hear
this message of God's grace andhow can you share this hope with
them?
This week One, you can pointthem to this blog.
You can share this blog rightthere with them.
(11:13):
I've also told you about ourYouTube channel, our Facebook
channel.
There are ways, maybe some ofthe verses that are here, maybe
it's just sharing with them thequote.
I honestly believe that Godworks in us, to work through us,
and if you remember the I3Aapproach we talked about, issue
aim, adapt and apply.
(11:34):
This apply section is not onlyabout sharing, you know,
stabilizing your life andsustaining the changes, but the
second piece of it is gettingsupport, getting accountability
in your life.
But the third piece is to sharewhat you've learned, and so I
would encourage you to do that.
Okay, and just once again, justtell you how thankful I am that
(11:55):
you're part of our community.
Thank you so much for joining us, and I pray that the Lord would
richly bless you.
So let me pray for you all.
So, Lord, bless and keep us,make your face to shine upon us
and be gracious to us.
Lift up your countenance uponus and grant us peace.
Remind us of all that you'vedone to work in us and through
us, bring glory, honor andmajesty to your name.
(12:17):
Through us, lord, in Jesus'name, we pray Amen.
So once again, so thankful thatyou're here with us.
Be blessed, take care everyone.
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