God's Crockpot of Faith

Simple Tastes

I’m a dude with very simple tastes. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy going out to a nice restaurant from time to time with cloth napkins and servers who tuck their shirts in.

But there are few things better than the aroma of dinner slowly cooking in the crockpot all day long. The smell from the kitchen makes my heart soar and my stomach roar. I know the end result is going to be tender and delicious.

Time Is on Your Side

There’s just one catch with the good ol’ crock. I’ve gotta wait. When it comes to time, there’s no doubt microwaves, instapots, air fryers, and the good ol’ as-seen-on-TV bamboo steamer are the jam. 

But let’s face food facts, my friends. They may cook faster but they don’t cook better. If you want something scrumptious, think crockpot. That’s because the Rolling Stones are right. Time is on our side. 

Worth the Wait

And that’s the key technique in God’s recipe for disciple-making. Time. As the Almighty Creator of the universe, He can do what He wants, when He wants, and how He wants. 

But His tried and truth way of building faith in His followers takes time. Call it God’s Crockpot of Faith. It’s worth the wait. Every. Single. Time.

A Guy Named James

That’s exactly what a guy named James is talking about in the opening lines of a letter he wrote to believers back in the First Century. 

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

Instead of avoiding them, see tough times as a good thing. There’s nothing like them to grow your trust in God. But it’s gonna take a while. In the end, you’ll be glad you did. The Lord will use it to transform you into the person He created you to be.

The Kid Brother of Jesus

Before we dig in, I think it’s a good idea to know just who it is writing these words. Who in the Wide World of Sports has the gall to say all this? 

So glad you asked. James just happens to be the kid brother of Jesus. How do we know? First of all, a couple of Christ biographers tell us He had a brother by that name (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3). 

When Your Big Brother Is the Son of God

But the Lord’s human family thought their oldest Son was…umm…what’s the best way to put this? Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs (Mk 3:21).

It wasn’t until AFTER Jesus came strolling out of the cemetery that James finally believed that His big Brother is actually the sinless Son of God. Paul specifically lists him as seeing the risen Savior (1Cor 15:7).

A Top Dog at the Home Office

James quickly went from serious doubter to servant leader in the church at Jerusalem. Various writers of the New Testament consistently mention him as one of the top dogs at the home office (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal 1:19; 2:9, 12). 

As one of the folks at the front of the faith, James sat down and wrote what many to believe the very first document of what we call the New Testament. There’s a good chance he put his pen to paper not long after 40 AD. That’s less than ten years after the resurrection!

Tough Sledding for the First Followers

It was incredibly tough sledding for those first followers of Jesus. Remember, even the Apostle Paul was the Assassin Saul before the resurrected Christ ambushed him on the way to a black ops assignment to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9).

A quick read of Acts makes it clear the early believers faced all sorts of active resistance everywhere they went. Arrests, beatings, floggings, stonings, and even assassinations. And we complain when our latte is lukewarm.

What We Need

It’s easy to think these things are terrible and would cause a ton of the faithful to fall away. Think again. James says tough times are just what Jesus’ followers need to deepen their trust in Him.

It’s God’s crockpot of faith.

Right out of the Chute

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

Yup, there it is. Right out of the chute. Jesus’ little brother doesn’t pussyfoot around when it comes to pain. In the opening lines of his letter, he lets us know that trials and troubles are on the way. 

But back up the truck. “Count it all joy” (v2). Really?!? Come on, dude. Are you telling me I should throw a party complete with confetti and balloons when life takes a hard left turn?

Let’s Take a Quick Walk

Would you do me a solid? I think a quick walk through these words in the original Greek would be a huge help. Ready? Here we go. 

A Coach in Crunch Time

“Count it” (Gr. hegeomai/‘ηγεομα) is a verb which means to make a leadership decision after weighing all the facts. You’ve looked at the whole situation and have determined what to do…even when it’s hard. ESPECIALLY when it’s hard!

Think of a coach who’s called time out during crunch time. He calls tells his team what to do once he’s considered all the different options. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do…

The Whole Enchilada

Then there’s “all” (Gr. pas/πας). Depending on how you use it, it can mean full, supreme, every, each. The whole enchilada. As the saying goes, “all” means all and that’s all “all” means.

I went to public school and was no math major but counting it all isn’t exactly calculus. We need to take into account every single thing that happens in our lives. Nothing is left out. Count. It. ALL.

Joy versus Happiness

Which leads us to “joy” (Gr. chara/χαρα). BUT counting all these trials as joy does NOT mean we’re happy about it. 

This is probably as much about what it is NOT as what it is. While happiness and joy are similar, they aren’t the same thing.

What It Is and What It’s Not 

First, what joy it’s not. Happiness is based on happenings. It’s the feeling we get from what’s going down here and now. Because of that, happiness is like cotton candy. Shows up quickly and disappears just like that.

Now, what it is. Joy is that deeper, enduring sense that God wants His best for us and everything will be better because of Him. By trusting that He not only loves us but is in complete control of the whole deal, nothing can steal our joy. And I mean nothing.

Brothers and Sisters

At this point, James refers to his readers as “my brothers” (v2). Don’t worry. He’s not just talking to the guys. You can just as easily translate the original language here as “my brothers and sisters.”

Do you remember who Jim’s big Brother is? That’s right. None other than our Lord. Sure seems like the guy who probably shared a room with the Son of God wants us to realize we have the same relationship with our Savior.

Our Brother Jesus

What the WHAT?!? Jesus is OUR Big Brother? Yup. The resurrected Christ tells His team that they are His brothers (Mt 25:40).

In the Great Chapter 8 of Romans, Paul refers to Jesus as “the first born among many brothers” (Rom 8:32). And in Hebrews we read that He is not ashamed to call us His brothers (Heb 2:11).

The Best Big Brother 

He’s the best big brother we can ever imagine. He will NEVER pick on you. He’ll also protect you from any bully that tries to push you around. 

Editor’s note: As a big brother myself, I can promise you that my younger siblings didn’t get this sort of brotherly love from yours truly. 

Not If but When

Okay, back to God’s crockpot of faith. Jimmy tells the followers of Jesus to find the joy “when you meet trials of various kinds” (v2).

Did you notice that he said “when?” Not if. But when. This is the Greek hotan/‘οταν. It not only means every time something happens, but as soon as it does, you’re ready for it.

There’s both an immediacy and expectancy to it. It’s knowing what you’re going to do ahead of time! You’re not caught off guard. You may not know exactly what will happen, but you’re ready for something.

A Sudden Encounter

That’s kind of a big deal since we don’t know which, when, how, and what’s around the corner. I’m not crazy about translating the original language here as “meet.” It’s not exactly like bumping into an old buddy at Starbucks.

The Greek verb here is peripipto/περιπιπτω. It paints a picture of suddenly encountering something difficult or bad or abruptly come into a tough situation that you didn’t see coming.

An Ambush

It literally means “to fall into the middle of” with the idea of being surrounded with no way out. Think of an ambush. Being blindsided. 

It’s only used two other times in the entire New Testament. A quick flip over to those verses will show you what I mean.

Mugged and Run aground

In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus describes how a dude was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho when “he fell (Gr. peripipto/περιπιπτω) among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead (Lk 10:30).

When Paul was on his way to Rome, the ship he was on ran aground after “striking (Gr. peripipto/περιπιπτω) a reef” (Acts 27:41). 

Jumped by muggers. Slamming into a reef. Certainly things you didn’t put on your to-do list before leaving home this morning. 

The Divine Department of Quality Assurance

James certainly doesn’t put a limit on the kind of stuff that can catch us by surprise. It can be “various kinds of trials” (v2). In other words, it can be anything. Ready or not, here they come!

What exactly are these so-called “trials?” Well, the Greek word here (Gr. peripasmos/περιπασμος) is a little tricky. It can either mean a positive test or a negative temptation.

Whether it’s good or bad, it’s a period of testing in order to learn the quality of someone or something. Like a stress test. It’s straight from the Divine Department of Quality Assurance. 

Genuine Faith

Jesus’ younger brother lets us in on the reason we should not just joyfully expect hard times but welcome them into our lives. “For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (v3).

Jimbo uses a different word to describe this kind of “testing.” The Greek noun dokimion/δοκιμιον is all about a means of testing or proving the genuineness of something.

Tested by Fire

It only shows up one other time in the Bible. Over in Peter’s first letter, the apostle Jesus nicknamed Rocky makes a VERY similar statement to what we see here in James.

“In this your rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness (Gr. dokimion/δοκιμιον) of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1Pet 1:6-7).

The Real Deal?

The only way to know if our faith in Jesus is legit is by putting it under pressure. Is my trust in Him the real deal? It’s one thing to place my faith in Christ when life is good, the sky is blue, and I’m catching every green light along the way.

But what happens when the fecal matter hits the whirling machine? How does my trust in Jesus hold up then? How do I react when I’m blindsided by life, ambushed by health, or mugged by work? THAT’S when my faith is exposed.

A Pandemic Punch in the Gut

That’s where a lot of us are right now. I’m writing this as the world is months into the coronavirus pandemic that has punched the people of our planet in the gut. Millions sick. Hundreds of thousands dead. Thirty six million Americans unemployed.

COVID-19 is certainly testing my faith. God has blessed me and my family with health, and for that I am incredibly grateful. But I was furloughed a couple of weeks ago after 40 years with my company.

Wobbling Faith

Being without a job was nothing I saw coming just a couple of months ago. While I hate that it’s happened, each day I have to remind myself that He will never let me go no matter what happens.

I’ve wobbled a few times. And while I hope I don’t, I fully expect it to wobble again. And again. 

Faithfulness That Never Fails

The bad news is that our faith is going to crack and crumble at some point. But here’s the better news. God’s faithfulness NEVER fails. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2Tim 2:13).

His faithfulness never fails. He ALWAYS comes through when the chips are down. He ALWAYS passes the test with flying colors. 

Gutsy Waiting

But Jesus’ way of building our faith in His faithfulness is through “steadfastness” (Gr. hupomone/‘υπομονη). This is patient endurance, perseverance, and fortitude. I like to think of it as gutsy waiting. 

It’s actually a compound word that describes staying in place and remaining under something difficult. Steadfastness is brave and calm endurance while remaining right where you are.

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide

I love how the Message paraphrases this. “You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors” (v3 The Message). These tests expose us. They expose our trust in Jesus. There’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

When it all goes down, “let steadfastness have its full effect” (v4). Welcome to the hardest part. The longer we hang in there, the stronger our faith in God grows. 

For Faith That Lasts, It Won’t Be Fast

He doesn’t pop our trust into the microwave for a couple of minutes and get what we want. He drops it into His trusty Crockpot of Faith and get what we need. It’s gonna take time. 

Trust me. I would absolutely wish He could nuke my trust quickly. But He simply doesn’t work that way. For a faith that will last, it won’t be fast.

Full Effect

I recently heard Andy Stanley teach on this truth. He sums it up this way. “Lord, use this until you choose to remove this.” 

In other words, we must let God’s Crockpot of Faith have its full effect.

Achieving His Purpose

James says simmering in the Lord’s slow cooker is the only way “you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (v4).

Don’t take this the wrong way. You and I won’t reach perfection. Not on this side of eternity anyway. The meaning here is that we’ll be full developed and mature. 

Jimmy wants us to know that when it’s all said and done, God will have achieved His purpose for what He sent our way. His goal has been reached. 

Everything We Need

We’ll also be “complete” (v4). In other words, we’ll be whole. He’ll make sure that we have everything we needed to gain from the process. Nothing He hoped to accomplish in us will be missing.

Just in case we missed his point, the author doubles down on the idea that there’s nothing God has missed when we come out of His Crockpot of Faith. We’ll be “lacking in nothing” (v4).

We won’t need a single, stinking thing that He wanted us to have. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Nill. The Big Goose Egg. 

Letting Us Simmer

It’s never easy when the various trials of life blindside us. But we should expect them. We need lean into them. Why? Because the Lord is up to something in our lives. 

We may wish He would just zap our trust in a microwave. Instead He lets us simmer in His Crockpot of Faith.

©2020

Jay Jennings

Timing Is Everything

Timing is everything.  A successful comedian knows the value of the right moment.  A great punch line delivered in the wrong rhythm gets no laughs.  Timing is everything.  

I might do something outstanding but if I do it at the wrong time, then it is a waste of time.  Timing is everything.  

But God’s timing is perfect.  Every time.  As the song says, He’s never early and He’s never late.  And that’s exactly what Paul tells us here at the beginning of chapter four.  

The apostle begins by fleshing out his inheritance analogy he has just dropped on the Galatians.  Jesus has broken down all the barriers between races, gender and social status so that everyone is eligible for adoption into God’s family (Gal 3:26-28).  

As a result of adoption into God’s family, we are now heirs to the royal estate that God promised to Abraham millennia ago (Gal 3:29; Gen 12:3).

Paul compares us as infants under the care of a nanny.  “The heir, as long as he is a child is no different from a slave, though he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father” (v1-2).  

We’re fully rightful heirs to the family fortune but we just don’t realize it yet.  This may be an inference to divine election.  We’re assured inclusion into God’s family through Jesus.  We just don’t realize it yet.  

In Roman culture, families would place their children under the care of household servants and slaves.  Paul alluded to that in Galatians 3:24.  

In verse two, he uses two other Greek terms that describe servants that the parents place over their young children to ensure their upbringing and safety.

The apostle tells us that this nanny arrangement has an end date, “until the date set by the father” (v2).  In ancient Roman, Greek and Jewish cultures, there was a particular moment set by the dad when a boy would step into manhood.  

For Jews, that’s the bar mitzvah.  The caregivers knew that they had a deadline to have the boy’s training complete.  They had an appointed day or a fixed time.  A date had been circled on the calendar.  Because timing is everything.

Paul draws the comparison to our status before coming to faith in Jesus.  “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world” (v3).  

What in the world are these “elementary principles of the world?”  He uses the very same phrase in verse nine.  He dusts off the same words when he writes to the folks in Colossae (Col 2:8, 20).  It simply means rudimentary elements.  

He may be talking about the elementary truths of natural religion, the elementary rules and regulations or even the elementary spirits (the spiritual forces behind the world).  According to MacArthur, it’s probably best understood as “the basic elements and rituals of human religion.”  

Man developed religion and myth to explain the unexplainable.  But since there is no divine revelation involved, it’s just a guess.  We need God to free us from the slavery of this futile teaching.

God sets us free at just the right time.  That’s because His timing is perfect.  “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son” (v4).  The Greek here uses the term πλερομα/pleroma.  It means a space or a hole that has been filled up.  

That particular hole in this case is time or χρονος/chronos.  God had prepared the entire universe for the arrival of His Son at this very specific moment in history.  

Everything was ready.  He didn’t show up early.  He didn’t arrive late.  He was right on time.  His timing is absolutely perfect.

Timing is everything.

And God’s timing is still spot on to this very day.  He’s right on time in my life as well.  I need to trust Him to be on time.  I might think I need Him to do something now.  I’m desperate for Him to move.  For Him to do something.  Yet, all I get are crickets when I call.  

That’s because His timing is perfect.  He knows just the right moment to move.  He knows just the right moment to act.  He knows just the right moment to step in.  He knows just the right moment to speak.  His timing is perfect.

Timing is everything.

©2012 

Jay Jennings

Prehistoric Grace

“who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2Tim 1:9).

Let’s turn back the clock. Back before there were laptops and smartphones. Back before America was a twinkle in our founding fathers’ eye. Back before the cross. Back before the dinosaurs. Back before Adam and Eve snuck their sinful snack. Let’s turn back the clock before there was even a clock. 

Did you realize that’s when God saved you? According to Paul, it was God “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (v9). Maybe you thought he saved you during Vacation Bible School when you were seven. Or maybe during the altar call at the bonfire on the last night of Christian youth camp. I’ve got news for you, it was WAY before that. So long before that you and I had absolutely nothing to do with it.  

Forget Jurassic Park. God rescued me with prehistoric grace.

Here in 2nd Timothy, Paul writes to his protege as the clock ticks down on the apostle’s life. The apostle sits on Death Row at the notorious Mamertine Prison in Rome. He fires off one final note as he walks the Green Mile (2Tim 4:6-7). Paul begs Tim to hit the road and come see him one final time before it’s too late (2Tim 1:4; 4:9, 21). In this last minute call for help, he reminds us of how God came to our rescue and called us long before we could ever answer. 

The prisoner/apostle tells Tim how it is God “who saved us and called us to a holy calling” (v9). “Saved” has become such a part of the Christianese lingo that we’ve lost so much of it’s original meaning. It’s the Greek verb sozo, which describes a rescue from danger or bringing someone out from certain death. When Peter tried waterskiing without a boat and began to sink, he yelled to our Savior, “Lord save (Gr. sozo) me!” (Mt 14:30). We desperately needed saving after our first parents believed the lie of a satanic snake and thought God was holding out on us (Gen 3:1-7). The result? God’s perfect creation is broken and we’re the ones who did it. The universe needs fixing and we need to be rescued. One look at the internet every morning reminds of that horrible truth.

While the crime scene tape was still up in Eden, God promised to send a Hero to help us. He would send One who would eventually crush Satan’s skull (Gen 3:15). The rest of Scripture tells the Big Story of our Big Savior. That’s entire point of Bible. God the Father would eventually send His very own Son to save our bacon. The Second Person of the Trinity would leave the luxury of the heavenly palace and make the ultimate dumpster dive into the deep end of our sin. It’s the greatest search and rescue mission the universe has ever seen. Who saved us? God saved us.

Our Creator didn’t just drag us onto the bank and walk away. He wasn’t done with us. He also “called us to a holy calling” (v9). Seems straight from the Department of Redundancy Department, doesn’t it? A closer look at what Paul has to say reveals a very powerful and personal invitation to a very important assignment. God has “called” you and me. The original text uses a word (Gr. kaleo) which means to invite, summon individually, or select for a specific task or new relationship. God’s call isn’t some random invitation. This is no piece of metaphysical junk mail randomly addressed to “occupant.” 

Jesus personally asks us to join Him in His one-of-a-kind work. “A holy calling” (v8). You might think Paul is just talking about priests, nuns, bishops, preachers, and pastors. You know, professional Christ followers. Did you realize there’s really no secular/sacred divide when it comes to work? As believers, you and I are just as much on the receiving end of God’s holy calling as anyone wearing a collar, habit, pointy hat, or blow-dried mullet.

In other words, God has a job for us to do no matter what kind of job we have. We’re to be shiners of His light and spreaders of His salt whatever we do and wherever we go. We’re ALL called. Every single follower of Christ. You. Me. Us. Them. We’re all ministers. Paul’s buddy Pete likes to tell every believer, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called (Gr. kaleo) you out of darkness and into His marvelous light” (1Pet 2:9). No seminary degree required. Kinda changes your approach to work, doesn’t it?

While every follower of Jesus actually works for God, He doesn’t save us “because of our works” (v9). Think you’re up to saving yourself? All you have to do is follow everyone of God’s rules, laws, and commands. If you’re keeping score at home, there are 613 in the Old Testament. Add to those another 1,050 commandments in the New. And make sure you maintain 100% obedience. According to Jesus’ kid brother James, whoever “fails in one point has become accountable for all of it” (James 2:10). Raise your hand if you’ve got a perfect score. Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? I didn’t think so.

So what’s the point of God’s commands if they’re not a to-do list for self-salvation? Think of His law as a diagnostic tool like an MRI or X-Ray. These amazing medical machines can’t cure you, but they certainly can tell the doctor what’s wrong. Paul tells believers in Rome, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:20). The law of God diagnoses our sin sickness. Our prognosis is terminal. 

There’s only one cure. What God’s law diagnoses, God’s Gospel heals. Or in Paul’s words, we’re only saved “because of His own purpose and grace” (v9). The word we translate as “purpose” (Gr. prothesis) literally describes something put in place prior or set down before everything else. It’s the idea of a publicly announced plan or something placed in full view for everyone to see. Think of a mission statement you see on a lobby wall in a business. God saves us because it’s His publicly announced mission. It’s His purpose. It’s His plan. You gotta love it when a plan comes together!

He comes to our rescue as a result of His “grace” (v9). Here’s yet another word we throw around the church that it loses it’s oomph. Grace is God’s totally undeserved and overflowing goodness to us. Remember, we’re rebels against His kingdom who deserve punishment (Eph 2:1-2, 12; Col 1:21). But while we were still shaking our fists in rebellion, Jesus came to save us (Rom 5:6, 8, 10). God isn’t some Scrooge when it to His grace. He loves to “show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:7-9). I need to stop bragging about what I’ve done and start celebrating at what He’s done!

God cooked up this crazy plan of saving us by His grace a long time ago. So long ago that there was even any time. This happened when “He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (v9). Just in case you missed His jaw-dropping generosity the first time, here it is again. The Great Giver lavishes it on us (v9). He gives us His Son (Jn 3:16). His Son gives us His life (1Jn 3:16). The Father and Son give us the Spirit (Jn 14:15-31). And because He gives, we’re to give. Stop being so stingy. With your time. With your talents. With your treasures. He gave them to us so we could give them away. We’re blessed to be a blessing.

Jesus did for us what we could never ever do for ourselves. While we’re complete failures at God’s rule-following, He’s a total Rock Star. In His most famous sermon of all-time, Christ announced He didn’t come as some sort of cosmic loophole to the law, but to do what we couldn’t. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mt 5:17). Paul says it this way. God is BOTH the “Just and the Justifier” (Rom 3:26).

What does this mean? I can’t save myself. I would have a better chance of trying to jump to the moon (and I’ve got the vertical leap of a hippo!). But when I place my trust in Jesus, everything changes. He lives the perfect life I can’t. He dies the death for my sin I should have died. He rises to the new life I don’t deserve. That’s what God “gave us in Christ Jesus” (v9).

This all went down “before the ages began” (v9). Paul’s original phrase here (Gr. pro chronon aionion) gets translated several different ways:

“Before the world began” (KJV, NKJV).

“Long before the world began” (NLT).

“Before the beginning of time” (NIV).

“From all eternity” (NASB).

“Before times eternal” (BBE).

“Before the times of the ages” (YLT).

In other words, this all happened before God invented the measurement of time and started the clock. If you’re wondering, that’s a long time ago. A VERY long time ago! This is prehistoric grace!!

This isn’t the only place where the Bible talks about how God got to work saving us before the clock starting ticking. A few years back, Paul wrote to his Ephesian friends about God’s prehistoric grace. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4, emphasis added). He didn’t just choose us B.C. but B.T. And by B.T., I mean “before time.” You see, when your the Eternal Creator and the Inventor of time, you can do this kind of thing.

What He started before He started the clock, He promises to finish before time runs out. “God knew what He was doing from the beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun” (Rom 8:29-30 The Message).

Forget Jurassic Park. God rescued me with prehistoric grace.