Dear Redeeming Grace, Last week as we looked at Lamentations 3 we were encouraged that in our misery we can find true hope when we remember God's mercy. There was a helpful illustration from the fine art world that has stuck with us this week -- "the optimal viewing distance." Just as a painting needs to be seen in its totality for it to be appreciated, so we must look o...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, What a joy it was to celebrate Jesus' resurrection together last weekend. Dave encouraged us in ways we can respond to the risen Christ, and one of those ways is to experience joy in Him. As we thought about Mary going to the tomb on that Sunday, we marveled that it was when Jesus simply called her name that she recognized him. Because she belonged ...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, If you've been around Redeeming Grace for any length of time, you know we love the gospel. Like the old hymn says, "I love to tell the story..." And the story of the gospel is what we reflect on over these next three days. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look to Jesus. We run the race of the Christian life by keeping before our eyes the realities of the go...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, There are some verses of scripture that give such hope and encouragement, that we would be wise to memorize and hold them close. I think the verse Dave read for our benediction last week is one of those. Since a week can be a long way away, here's the verse: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all thin...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, We hope this week has found you running to God in your need. As Jason reminded us last week in his message Putting on Prayer, we have been given a breathtaking invitation to not only draw near, but also receive mercy and find grace in our needs. As we closed our service on Sunday we took time to reflect and ask the Lord to bring to mind areas where ...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, In times of difficulty, a good question to ask is "In what or whom am I trusting right now?" Psalm 9:10 says this: "And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you." There are a couple helpful observations we can make from this verse and think about in our own lives. First, we start with t...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, A few years back, at our annual youth camp, I was introduced to a helpful book called Praying the Bible. Donald Whitney, the author, walked us through the process of reading a passage of a Psalm, then responding in prayer using some of the very words or truths from the passage. He gives the following example of this practice from Psalm 23: "You read...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, During Dave's message on Joy last Sunday, he mentioned Proverbs 10:28 which says this: "The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." I'd like to focus this week on the first part of that truth: the hope of the righteous brings joy. First, this proverb speaks to believers in Jesus Christ. It is us who have bee...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, Through these weeks of prolonged attacks on Ukraine, perhaps you've wondered about practical ways to help in addition to fervently praying. Recently the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches, Mark Prater, informed us of one way we can help on the ground in Ukraine. Through partnership in Sovereign Grace, relationships are formed. One such r...
Keep ReadingDear Redeeming Grace, In the opening prayer of "The Valley of Vision", a collection of Puritan prayers, the writer prays this: "Let me learn by paradoxthat the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high...." As we thought last week about putting on the gospel value of humility, I think this prayer gets at the pursuit of humility. Ultimately, our desire is to b...
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