Getting the Gift of Grace

This past Sunday was a church Fall Festival with the theme, “His grace falls on us.” Festivals are a fun time for people to get together and fellowship and for the kids and kids at heart to do some fun activities. Being a pastor now too I remember one of my former pastors saying when you get a big group of people together there is no better time than to preach truth. We had several youth who did awesome jobs of singing and then I had an opportunity to share about what grace is.

Since that was part of our theme I took the word grace and made it into an acronym; G.R.A.C. E. as a way to understand a bit more about what it means. The G stands for Gift; the grace of God cannot be earned and we will never deserve it. Grace is simply offered as a free gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 lets us know that “For by grace we have been saved when we believed and we can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

The R stands for repentance. This is the only thing that becomes our choice. We have to realize that we are a sinner and that there is none who are truly good and that we all need the grace of God and through repentance and “turning” from our own will and submitting to the will of God will we then receive the grace of God. In other words; no repentance, no grace. For those who do not choose God and submit to Him will not be covered by His grace.

When we have received Christ then we can trust in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you…and the power of Christ may rest upon you. This power is the A which equals the anointing of God. Once we have the anointing of God upon our lives we can be moved with what the C stands for and that is Compassion. The Bible teaches in Hebrews 4 that Jesus became our High Priest who was tempted in all ways, yet without sin, but that He in all ways understands our weaknesses. Therefore, we can come boldly before His throne of grace. When we have received the grace of God and experienced His compassion it will guide us in being moved with compassion towards others. Even those we may think in our minds that they don’t deserve it.

Even greater is what the E stands for and that is for “everyone.” God’s grace is for all people according to Titus 2:11-14. We are all one human race created by Him. We are all God’s creation, but we are not all God’s children until we do the R (repent). Through repentance is the process of being “born again” to becoming a child of God. So as this Fall season has started just be mindful of the grace of God. It is there ready to be taken if only we are ready to submit and change our ways through the process of repentance.

10-12-25 TRS

The Misplaced Being Found

I am sure I am not the only one who has ever “misplaced” something and spent lots of time looking for the item we label as lost. I had to for the purpose of this article and my own curiosity to know the difference between something being lost or something being misplaced. The online detailed breakdown for losing something is, “the owner loses possession without intending to do so and has no idea where the item is.” When something is misplaced is when “the owner deliberately puts the item down intending to retrieve it later, but forgets where the item has been placed.”

I had a specific folder that I had used before with information about a 3 day retreat for youth I have been involved with for the past 25 years. I had written in one of the manuals that I thought I had turned back into for someone else to use. It was going to be my turn to need the manual again and the main manual is white with a logo on the front. In my mind this is what I was looking for. I looked and looked and searched and searched with no luck of finding the folder.

Days, weeks, and even months went by and I had still not found the folder I was going to be needing soon. Then one night on my night stand I have several books and folders and I wasn’t looking for the manual I had “lost” but I picked up a plain red folder and just so happened opened it up and looked inside. It was the manual I had been looking for. What was lost or misplaced was now back in my possession. I was relieved yet a bit frustrated that what I had spent so much time looking for when it was just a couple feet from where I sleep every night.

It made me think of how God is always around us but if we are not truly seeking Him He won’t be found. Some may think God is a “certain way,” like me thinking the folder I was looking for was white with a logo, when actually it was a plain solid red folder. When I had finally stopped looking for what I thought it should be like then I found what I was really looking for.

It also reminded me of the story in 1 Kings where Elijah had an encounter with God. Elijah was told to look for God and he soon realized that God was not in the mighty wind, the earthquake, nor the fire, but in a still small voice. We often look for God in the big things they may happen in our life and miss Him in the times he is the closest in the small things going on in our everyday lives.

Take time to be still and recognize when God is possibly the closest to you. Just like the famous poem Footprints in the Sand, Jesus is often carrying us during the tough times of life when we think He is far from us. Jesus too is still looking for the lost. He knows all things, but He is like my red folder. He is close by, but it is not until we realize that we are the one lost that then we can be found.

Acts 17:27, “That they should seek the Lord, and perhaps they might feel their way toward Him and find Him; though He is not far from any one of us.”

~TRS

When You Feel Worthless

Insignificantly Significant

Something that is insignificant means to be unimportant, trivial, or of little consequence. It can also refer to small things, or things that are inadequate, or lacks distinction. It is quite amazing that the Creator of the Universe and time would choose to most often use the things, nations, or people who by human standards are insignificant. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:1-3, “And when I came to you, I came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, fear, and the awe of God.”

The plan of salvation was known before creation as it is referenced in Revelation 13:8, “The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world.” God made a way for all to come to know Him personally. He first chose an insignificant nation at the time who was smaller and weaker than others to ultimately show and model justice, love, and worship to the world. Israel was chosen for a specific purpose not to exclude other nations from God, but to be used as a means of extending God’s blessings and salvation to all people. Israel’s role and purpose was to provide the human line through which the Messiah would come. Again God chose to come through the “insignificant” to become the most significant, which is the quality of being worthy of attention and importance.

Jesus did not come into a “royal, well to do family.” He was born in a stable around animals to a working class family. He wasn’t raised by a Pharisee or Sadducee, the religious elite of the time. He was raised by a carpenter, not a king or a soldier. He was humble and walked or rode on a lowly donkey. Though He will be returning as a warrior-king riding a white horse to destroy one thing specifically that He created, which is time.

Time is significant. It is something that stops for no one. When God started the clock it continues to move forward until He stops it and it will be no more. There is no time in eternity. Though our own time is temporary on this earth. This again makes time very important. We can become either so busy that we don’t even savor the time we have, or be so lazy that time is wasted. We need to be thankful for the times we have had that are now in yesterdays and cherish what time we have in the moment, and have hope for the time we may be blessed with in the future. But, the most important and significant thing we can do in the time that we have is understand what the plan of salvation is that came through the most insignificant ways. Though it came about through insignificant ways it is very significant that there is no other way. As 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, “Now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation.”

Originally written for the Wayne Weekly June 2025

~TRS

Taking Responsibility

Take Responsibility; Pay the Price

In times past many would quote a definition from Webster, but now it is a simple thing to type in a word online and get many options to choose a definition from. I wanted a simple explanation of what many even from a kid should know about so I chose to use the definition from talkingtreebooks.com with a “simple definition for kids” for the word: responsibility, which means “you do the things you are supposed to do and accept the results of your actions.”

For many of us at various times in our lives I am sure we may have experienced a time when we did something that did not turn out quite the way we wanted it to and did not want to admit and/or accept the consequences of the actions that we chose to do. It is a parent/caregiver’s responsibility to teach their children about responsibility and to hold them accountable for their choices. Often people will make bad decisions based off of the negative life experiences they have tragically had to endure such as abuse, trauma, or being raised in a home of an addict, narcissist, or witnessing domestic violence. However, if a person then chooses to make negative decisions also and blame it on their own past there has to come a point that they take responsibility for their own current choices. Unless there is something drastically wrong with your mentality everyone has the capability to change.

Changing to become a “better person” is an option every single person has the ability to do. Our choices impact others, therefore we need to be held accountable and take responsibility if some form of harm befalls others from our decisions.

In the OT book of Joshua chapters 6 and 7 explains a situation when the children of Israel were told not to do something and that if that thing was done; specifically to take plunder of things accursed death would be a result. This lets us know that we typically know in advance what we should or should not do. We hopefully are taught from a young age not to commit crimes. Even if a child was raised in a home with thieves at some point in their life they are going to be told that is a crime and jail time will be a consequence. This lets one know that once truth about a matter is known it becomes a choice to continue in it or change.

In Joshua chapter 7 the man named Achan took those “accursed things” and hid them in his tent. When he was found out or “caught” he could have tried to lie his way out of it, but he at least even knowing the consequences he took responsibility and admitted it. He explained that he coveted the things; which basically is like having an itch you just feel you have to scratch. His choices not only impacted him, but his family and was a direct link to 36 others dying. When you make a choice once or especially if it is a continual choice you are making, know the time may come to pay the price.

~TRS 5-25-25

Coincidence? I Think Not.

People can choose to believe whatever they want to believe. However, just because you believe a certain thing does not make it so. I could believe that I am the ancient King Tut reincarnated and attempt to get others to believe it too, but that fact is there would be no truth in it and no facts to verify it. Some may say that most or all things good or bad happen for a reason and some may not believe that at all.

As I sit down to write this article for The Wayne Weekly, to meet my deadline for this coming week’s edition which also will become a part of my blog (timstocktonraysofhope.com) my mind has been racing of what to write about. My family at the encouragement of my wife wanted us as a family to read through the entire Bible this year. We were doing good keeping on track back on the “snow days” but as time moved forward and our lives being involved with other things in it did not always get priority. One day missed turned into 22 days missed.

A few weeks ago it was planned by us to attend church with my wife’s sister’s family in Bowling Green. On our drive down we decided to get as much “caught up” as we could with the Bible reading. With all the modern technology we can plug the phone into the vehicle’s speakers and have someone else “usually with an accent” read it to us.

We were in the Gospel of Luke after having completed Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Matthew, and most of Proverbs and some Psalms.

In the Gospel of Luke we heard tell of the great faith of the friends who had a sick friend they let down through the roof to where Jesus was. This was one of the times when Jesus claims His true divinity that He IS GOD.

He does this by telling the sick man that his sins are forgiven first before healing him. The “religious leaders” who heard this were distraught and “reasoned within themselves…who but GOD can forgive sins. Jesus “knowing their thoughts” (yes, He knows what we think) explained the reason He spoke that statement. This leaves only two options to believe; 1. You can believe like the religious leaders and think Jesus is crazy and blasphemous, or 2. You have to agree with Him and believe what He claims about Himself.

As we had listened to this true account of Christ being read on the way to a church that we had not visited for over a year the entire sermon was about this same story; even though the pastor read it from the Gospel of Mark. The definition of a coincidence is, “events that happen at the same or close in time by what some call chance or luck.”

If we had been “on time” reading our one year Bible plan or chose a different day to visit the church it “wouldn’t have worked out.” I choose to believe God “appointed” it to happen which led me to write this article which I believe will be a confirmation for someone else who reads it. As ol’ man Ripley would say, “Believe it, or not.”

~TRS 4/6/25

Come What May

Rays of Hope ~ Tim Stockton

Writing poetry has been something that I have enjoyed doing since the early 90s. I sat down tonight to write a column and was not sure at all what to write about. I typically keep a notebook next to my bed so that when I have an idea I will jot it down or most of the time will continue to keep writing until it is finished. I picked up the notebook and flipped through some pages and came to a poem dated November 16, 2024 entitled, “Come What May.”

This then made me think of what my family had just read in our nightly devotions from the book of Job. If you know anything about the Bible or not most may have heard of the suffering of Job who the Bible declares was a righteous man, yet he had great troubles, trials, and tribulations to the point that his wife basically told him to “curse God and die.” Then his best friends came to support him and console him but ended up basically telling him that he must have done something really bad in order to have all of this “bad stuff” keep happening to him. In a quick snapshot basically Job had been so blessed with riches, family, respect, wisdom, and integrity that Satan challenges God stating if God removed all of the blessings Job would curse God and not follow Him.

My kids used to watch a show where the brother was presented with an obstacle of sorts, but his motto would always be, “Challenge accepted!” I am not saying this is what God said to the devil; but in essence He did. He gave the devil permission to cause all of the bad, traumatic, grief-causing events to take place in his life. The way it reads basically all in a matter of very short time he lost his wealth, all his children died at one time in a storm that destroyed the house they were in. Then eventually Job’s own body was impacted with what is described like boils and sores, that covered his entire body, causing immense pain and discomfort. He also was under great emotional and mental health distress with the death of all his children and possessions. Job did get discouraged and at times seemed to wonder where God was in all of this.

However, “come what may” Job would never curse or blame God for what had happened, but he did get to a place he did not understand why he was having to go through all that he had. Nevertheless, he never turned to the point he lost his faith in God. Back to the poem some of the verses say, “Even when times get rough, believing I am never enough. Walking through valleys, eyes blinded to truly never see, yet…Come what may, being filled with doubt. I know His light will lead me out. Come what may. I will trust in the Lord. Come what may. I will seek out His way. Come what may.”

~TRS 2-3-25

Awakening Your Faith

I was once told by a former Sunday School teacher that when something happens in “threes” it may be wise to take heed to what’s going on. This past week I heard 3 different people at 3 different times talking about the time the disciples had followed Jesus onto a boat, but a great storm arose. It wasn’t just a small storm with some thunder and lightning. It was a very scary time in which the disciples believed they may face an untimely death. The word perish means to “suffer death, typically in a violent or sudden way. As the disciples feared for their lives as the water was crashing over into the boat they finally found Jesus asleep in the boat.

They awoke Him crying out that they are perishing, yet He was the one trying to wake them up to a new level of faith. Jesus said unto them, “Why are you so afraid, and have such little faith?” At this point Jesus had not yet calmed the storm. This means the thunder was still clapping and the lightning was lighting up the sky. The winds were blowing fiercely and waves were still crashing down inside the ship.

Jesus was still laying down when He had asked them about their little faith. “…Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the sea; and there was a great calm” Matthew 8:26. By this time in the disciples following Jesus they had heard Him preach and teach. They had seen Him heal all manner of illnesses and cast out demons, and when they were now at a point in their lives having to face a storm they knew where to go in order for Him to save them.

At the time they possibly had no idea what Christ was going to do in order to save them, because they all were astonished and marveled being amazed that even the wind and the sea obeyed His command. This was to give them a glimpse that He was from the beginning of the earth and more specifically on the second and third days was the one who created the heavens and the sea. If He had spoken them into existence then of course He could tell them to stop.

Through facing storms in our own lives we can hopefully hear the Spirit telling us to “wake up your faith.” See that Christ can keep us safe even in the midst of the storm. We can learn from the disciples to follow Him and learn from the wind and the sea to obey Him.

Our faith and obedience will help us weather any storms of life we may face.

~TRS 1/19/25

The GIFT of Giving

One can look up the definition of gift and it will explain that a gift is something that is given without any expectation of payment. Recently I was able to share that to understand the depths of what a gift is we just have to remember the acronym, G.I.F.T.

As in the definition of a gift it has to be “Given, Intentionally, Free-willing,” with some “Feeling, Thought, and Time” put into it. The greatest gift ever given was from the Creator of the universe, nature, and all things which are all gifts to enjoy as well, but still the greatest is the One who fulfilled hundreds of prophecies, the Messiah.

A recent headline in the news is that the Bible has picked up in sales in the past few months and since 2020 with people looking for purpose. The Bible has been a number one selling book of all times because within it one, if they are willing to find it, will find their purpose between it’s pages. This is not only a gift for yourselves, but others in your life.

John 3:16 is a verse within the Bible that most have heard about even if they have never read it for themselves. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Within this verse it lets us know that God “gave.” To give us His Son is a gift that was intentional, because He has the feeling of Love for us. He also put thought and time into the gift.

He knew that from the beginning that Jesus would be given to a broken world as it states in Revelation 13:8 that Jesus is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This means that God foreknew that once He created the people, in the garden, in the world, that was in the universe He spoke into existence was tempted they would fall into sin and need a Savior.

This shows He was intentional and thought about how to bring the “Ultimate Gift” to the earth in order for us to have an opportunity to receive it. Just like any gift that is given to us we have a choice of whether to accept it or not. You may have heard about this gift and know it is there waiting for you to open, but it will be your choice of when this gift is opened in your own life.

It is only repentance that opens this gift. A gift that can never be repaid. Our gift back to God is giving of our will to Him which also has to be intentional with love. For the greatest thing we can do is to love the Lord God with all our heart, mind, and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves. Receiving this gift will change the way we feel and the way we think and the more time we put into this “GIFT” the more giving we will be.

~TRS 12/22/24

Taking Control To Stop Identity Theft

Rays of Hope ~ Tim Stockton

A continuation from the last article that can also be read from the blog timstocktonraysofhope.com is about how it is God who defines us and gives us our identity. Living in the present people have to be aware of the fact there are dishonest, crooked, and manipulative people who are out to steal as many identities that they can. The very first identity theft came soon after the beginning and the original two people had their true identities stolen by the “father of lies and deception.”

When sin came into the world it changed the human relationship to God from that point on. From even before that point God knew and made a plan to bring restoration. In a somewhat comical, yet serious explanation Jase Robertson, from the Duck Dynasty family in a YouTube short from Truthimus.com states, “We can know the entire Bible in 60 seconds. From Genesis to Malachi it tells that Jesus is coming to earth in human form because we humans are flawed. The four gospels tell of when Jesus; God in human form came to the earth. Then Acts through Revelation lets us know that Jesus is coming back.”

Revelation 13:8 states that Jesus is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth.” This means God knew what the human race would do to need salvation even before He created them, yet He did anyway and therefore made a plan on how to bring salvation to all those who choose to believe.

As explained in the Defined study from the Kendrick brothers, “God’s love for us, His desire for a relationship with us, and our identity as His image bearers never changed.” God is always calling us closer but we have to have “ears to hear.” The deceiver is still out to “steal, kill, and destroy” any and all opportunities that are given to accept and know Truth. Jesus explained in the parable of the sower about how the same seed (the Word of God) was sown on the different types of soil and how if it doesn’t take root the enemy will “snatch it away.”

We do all we can to protect our identity from being stolen like hiding our pin numbers, using passwords, securing our devices, and using privacy controls. Likewise, we need to do all we can to protect our true identities God designed within us and become the Light bearers that we were always meant to be.

11-17-24 ~ TRS

Living On Purpose

Have you ever thought about if you could have been born in another time and place, when and where would it be? If you put too much thought into it though you will realize that if “you” could be in another time and place you wouldn’t be you. It took all the ancestors from the parental bloodlines of your parents to make you who you are. So, if we were born at different times and places we wouldn’t be the persons we are today.

I recently have been doing a study and then turning it into a preaching series as well based on a book written by the Kendrick brothers called, “Defined; who God says you are.” The first lesson is to focus on how we each are uniquely created and that God knows each one of us from the moment of conception when He gives life to us.

We are created in His image as it is recorded in Genesis 1:27, “He created them in the image of God; He created them male and female.” Many believe that God has been from the beginning, because He created time and made the beginning. Psalm 139 lets us know that God has been there since our own individual beginnings as well. “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You. When I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed and in Your book they all were written…How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! (Ps 139:13-17).

To be fearfully made is to be made with respect and reverence. To be wonderfully made is to be made in a way that it inspires delight and is seen as extremely good. When something is made with skill it is being created with a purpose. This is how the Creator has masterfully sculpted each person. For Him to have “precious” thoughts about us means that He sees us as valuable.

Too often many will discount their beginnings and not realize the value of their life. We were created with intention and purpose; on purpose to become a light bearer of the One in whose image we are created, yet with our own uniqueness in that no two people have ever been, nor will be completely alike.

Take time to thank God for your beginning and seek to live for Him on purpose.

~TRS 10-27-24