The Grace Station Podcast Episode 3
Posted by Jason on January 11th, 2016
Welcome to Episode 3 of The Grace Station Podcast.
Click the play button to stream the audio from the site – or download the episode using the link below.
Download Link: The Grace Station Podcast Episode 3
In this episode, I discuss the first 6 verses in the book of Colossians. Topics include grace, truth, and our “hope laid up in heaven”.
One note: The new microphone is here – and I am still learning how to use it! Thank you for your patience as I work out sound levels.
You can subscribe to the podcast by adding this link to your podcast app: https://thegracestation.com/category/podcasts/feed/
To keep up-to-date with The Grace Station – follow the site via twitter.com/TheGraceStation and facebook.com/TheGraceStation
Blessings -Jason
The Grace Station Podcast Episode 2
Posted by Jason on January 7th, 2016
Welcome to Episode 2 of The Grace Station Podcast.
Click the play button to stream the audio from the site – or download the episode using the link below.
Download Link: The Grace Station Podcast Episode 2
In this episode, I discuss the first 4 verses in the book of Colossians. Topics include faith and love.
One note: The new microphone is on the way! I’m excited about this upgrade and look forward to even better sound quality.
You can subscribe to the podcast by adding this link to your podcast app: https://thegracestation.com/category/podcasts/feed/
To keep up-to-date with The Grace Station – follow the site via twitter.com/TheGraceStation and facebook.com/TheGraceStation
Blessings. -Jason
The Grace Station Podcast Episode 1
Posted by Jason on January 4th, 2016
Welcome to Episode 1 of The Grace Station Podcast.
Click the play button to stream the audio from the site – or download the episode using the link below.
Download Link: The Grace Station Podcast Episode 1
In this episode, I discuss the first few words of Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians. I focus on the importance of understanding the word saints – and our identity in Christ.
One note: The new microphone is on the way! I’m excited about this upgrade and look forward to even better sound quality.
You can subscribe to the podcast by adding this link to your podcast app: https://thegracestation.com/category/podcasts/feed/
To keep up-to-date with The Grace Station – follow the site via twitter.com/TheGraceStation and facebook.com/TheGraceStation
Blessings. -Jason
The Grace Station Podcast – Test Episode
Posted by Jason on January 2nd, 2016
Welcome to the test episode of The Grace Station Podcast.
Thank you for stopping by!
Please check out the episode and let me know what you think:
(The test episode is about 9 minutes long.)
You can also right-click and download the podcast from this link:
The Grace Station Test Episode
Please forgive the popping noises in this episode. The recording equipment for the first episode should be much improved. Also, the last 10 seconds of the podcast cut off, and I’m really not sure why! Like I said in the episode, this is a test, so we’ll work out the bugs along the way.
I have set up a feed for the podcast – and you should be able to add it to your favorite podcast app by Tuesday.
To keep up-to-date with The Grace Station – follow the site via twitter.com/TheGraceStation and facebook.com/TheGraceStation
I have set up a feed for the podcast – and you should be able to add it to your favorite podcast app by Tuesday.
To keep up-to-date with The Grace Station – follow the site via twitter.com/TheGraceStation and facebook.com/TheGraceStation
Radical. Grace.
Posted by Jason on December 18th, 2014
A few thoughts on the incarnation – God with us –
Grace is radical. It has to be.
Sin is a big deal. If you don’t believe me – just read the Bible. In it, you’ll see the “wages” of sin.
Death – physical and spiritual – death. Page after page.
So what does God do, to deal with sin?
He enters into our humanity – we call this the incarnation – and He becomes one of us.
He hangs out with us, talks with us, eats with us, cries with us, argues with us, celebrates with us – knows us.
Then He dies for us.
Without sin. Not one. Absolutely pure – and He dies for us.
Radical.
Rather than destroy us, he heals us. Rather than abandon us, he walks with us. Rather than punish us, he redeems us.
Radical.
He calls us to Himself. He provides our pardon. He grants us forgiveness. He establishes our future. He gives us true hope.
Radical.
When we are broken, He heals us. When we are confused, He comforts us. When we are foolish, He correct us.
When we were sinners, He saved us.
Radical.
Grace is radical – because it has to be. The law cannot save us. Religion cannot save us. Our own goodness cannot save us.
Jesus – alone – He can save us.
We trust Him. We love Him. We know Him. We worship Him. We serve Him.
His love transforms us – and we become His voice – sharing that love with the world.
Radical.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” – Matthew 1:21-23
Grace is radical – because it has to be. The law cannot save us. Religion cannot save us. Our own goodness cannot save us.
Jesus – alone – He can save us.
We trust Him. We love Him. We know Him. We worship Him. We serve Him.
His love transforms us – and we become His voice – sharing that love with the world.
Radical.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” – Matthew 1:21-23
Galatians 2:21 Dead In Vain?
Posted by Jason on September 17th, 2014
We could preach a thousand sermons on this verse and never exhaust the glory of its truth –
I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Galatians 2:21
In brief –
I shall not frustrate (set aside) grace (the teaching of it, the living in it, or the rejoicing about it)
for, it righteousness (right-standing, forgiveness, salvation)
come by the law (my obedience, my ability, my goodness as measured against another, my attention to detail, my religious affiliation)
then Christ is dead (crucified) in vain (for nothing, for no purpose, for no reason).
Bottom line – God had a perfect law – and a world filled with broken, imperfect people. So, he gave his perfect Son – that He might redeem and reconcile those people to Himself. He does so, not based on the goodness of those people – but based on the Goodness of that One Person, Jesus.
If we could have been made right with God by keeping any law – any form of it, any interpretation of it, any rabbinical application of it, any religious permutation of it – then Jesus would not have died. In fact, His death would have been foolish – because He would have done something for us that we could have done for ourselves.
He entered into our broken circumstances – and took upon Himself our sin, our separation, our guilt, our pride, our foolishness, our ignorance, our brokenness – and He died (for us… as us?)
This is grace. This is love-that-has-no-bounds. This is oceans of mercy and rivers of peace. This is awesome, period. This is God.
But… Why? So that we could then, post-salvation, having believed this truth, saddle ourselves with MORE law-keeping, more religion, more stuff-to-make-God-happy-so-He-won’t-get-me? Heaven forbid!
We are to live FREE – both from religion AND sin. We are to recognize, rightly, the harmful things in this world – but we do so with a “sound mind” – and not a “timid heart”. We walk as sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Christ. We have His heart – and He holds our future. We live by the Spirit – and we walk by the Spirit – heirs of eternity – forgiven, graced with mercy, alive… and well!
Family Bible Time – Ephesians 2:8 And Grace
Posted by Jason on August 6th, 2014
Today was the first day of school for our crew – which made it a perfect re-starting point for our Family Bible Time. We have 3 kids – ages 6 to 14 – so I have created some simple, easy-to-adapt, Bible lessons for our family. I thought I’d share them here, in hopes that they might be beneficial to others.
Before we began, I made sure each child had paper, a pencil, and a Bible. In addition, we had the computer on hand to look up words – and a couple of Bible commentaries for the older two. Our kids like to jot down a few notes – and the littlest one likes to draw while we talk.
We started our time together by asking our youngest daughter to read Ephesians 2:8.
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift. – Ephesians 2:8 HCSB
All three kids used the same version of the Bible, and the older 2 helped the youngest with the longer words.
We then circled the main words in the first part of the verse. Our pace is deliberate, because we are both studying and learning how to study each text.
They selected and circled: grace – saved – and faith
Awesome!
So, were were off. We used the computer and Blue Letter Bible look up the meaning of the word grace.
This was a great chance to teach the older two about how to use a concordance. By the way, grace is Strong’s G5485 – charis.
Side Note: I was able to discuss (briefly) the fact that the Bible was written in another language and has been translated into our modern languages. Often, during Family Bible Time, I’ll jot down notes, to remind myself to talk to the kids about a particular topic, on another day. That happened tonight two or three times.
Back to the study –
Our oldest daughter looked up Ephesians 2:8 in one of the commentaries and our son looked up grace in the Bible dictionary.
Our oldest read the commentary – slowly – and we discussed grace – and what it means. Likewise, my son read the definition from the dictionary. (During this time, our youngest, who is 6, was drawing a picture of Jesus and writing down the words grace, saved, and faith. More on that, in a bit.)
Eventually, we decided to write out a definition for grace, using the information we had gathered. Here’s what the kids came up with –
Grace – God’s beautiful love for us, that we do not have to earn, and cannot lose.
Pretty cool, I think. They really liked that one of the definitions for the word used the words beautiful and lovely, so they wanted a bit of that flavor in our definition.
Now, here’s the kicker. Our youngest, who had been listening, drawing, reading ahead, and acting a little disinterested, came up with this gem, just as we were finishing our discussion.
Me: So, what do you think it means when it reads “by grace you are saved…”
Her: It means, He saves us, simply because He loves us! (followed by a fist pump)
Man, I love me some Family Bible Time. Blessings. -Jason
Final notes: Tonight’s Family Bible Time lasted, oh, 20 minutes or so. The kids enjoyed it – and asked great questions. I like focusing on one or two words (or ideas) at a time. There’s no need to overwhelm – we have all of eternity to figure this stuff out! 🙂
Thoughts On Galatians 1:3-5
Posted by Jason on February 19th, 2014
Check out Galatians 1:3-5
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (KJV)
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. (NLT)
Often, when I think about salvation, I think in terms of “sin and forgiveness”. I can understand, in a legal sense, the “transaction” of the cross – the righteous for the unrighteous.
Paul, here, is pointing out something else (something bigger?).
Jesus was on a rescue mission.
His purpose was the rescue of my soul, my life, my future – of me. And you.
Jesus and my sin met, on a cross, two thousand years ago. With unflinching determination and fixed purpose, in those three dark hours and during those three dark days, He dealt with my sin, in its totality.
He finished the work of redemption. Period. Then He arose.
Jesus is interested – in me. So He did the thing that I could not do – and by His own sacrifice – by His own power – and because of His great love – He rescued me.
This was the Father’s will – my rescue and His Son’s glory – forever.
Amen.
Thoughts on Colossians 2:9-10
Posted by Jason on February 18th, 2014
You have to love the KJV wording of these two awesome verses. Check it –
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power
I’m no Bible-translator, nor do I play one on the internet – but I do love to think about awesome truths when I see them.
Jesus Christ is fully-God. All that God is, Jesus is. He is THE revelation of God, about God, to us – in a body. The character, nature, heart, purpose, mind, and glory of God – the “whole fulness of deity” – lives in Jesus.
Wow.
Now, check this next part. We are “complete” in Him. We “have been filled” in Him. This Jesus, who is above all other powers and more perfect than any other authority – He has declared us, caused us to be, and made us by His death-conquering love, “complete”. He has released us from our sin, saved us from our death, and blessed us with His life. He is ours. We are His.
At a minimum, this verse is stating that we are, at present, in this moment, at this time, right now – complete in Jesus. There is nothing wanting, lacking, or missing.
That’s grace upon grace.
We can now stop searching for acceptance, based on our own performance, and simply live out of the acceptance, in Christ, that we already have. Jesus isn’t worried that He might, someday, become “less” like God – and we shouldn’t worry that we might, someday, become “less” accepted by God.
We should trust God, take Him at His word, and live out of the grace-life He has given us.
If you enjoyed this post, please use the social media buttons below to share with your friends and followers.
Also, if you shop at Amazon, please do so through the The Grace Station Amazon Page. When you do so, Amazon kicks a small amount my way (without charging you anything extra) which helps keep The Grace Station up and running. Thanks so much!
Be blessed.
Thoughts On Ephesians 3:8
Posted by Jason on February 16th, 2014
I have always been fascinated with Ephesians 3:8
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (KJV)
Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. (NLT)
Here’s Paul – PAUL – and He uses the phrase “less than the least of all saints” to describe… himself!
Let that sink in.
Paul wrote half of the New Testament. Paul carried the message of Jesus throughout the Roman empire. Paul was beaten, stoned, and left for dead. Paul went to prison. Paul was THE man.
Yet, Paul maintained a spirit of real humility.
How is this possible? When comparing himself to others, no doubt, Paul could have pulled the “do you know who I am?” card.
Instead, he imitated Christ, becoming of “no reputation” and chose to serve, rather than to be served.
Paul’s motivation – I think it was his sole (soul?) motivation?
It was grace.
He spent his life – preaching it, living it, giving it, sharing it – because He had received it!
No matter the situation, or the time in his life, or the reason for any particular letter, Paul always focused on the grace of God.
Sure, he had to write about other topics, settle a few disputes, correct a few errors – but he always circled around to the “main thing” – grace.
I love this verse. It’s so cool.
Paul, once a Pharisee, enamored with the law, steeped in tradition, and filled with hate – is saved by grace. Then God allows Paul the great privilege – to share that same grace – with the world!
Wow!
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
If you enjoyed this post, please use the social media buttons below to share with your friends and followers. Also, if you shop at Amazon, please do so through the The Grace Station Amazon Page
. When you do so, Amazon kicks a small amount my way (without charging you anything extra) and that helps me keep The Grace Station up and running. Thanks so much! Be blessed.
. When you do so, Amazon kicks a small amount my way (without charging you anything extra) and that helps me keep The Grace Station up and running. Thanks so much! Be blessed.
