Start Here

Welcome! I am so glad you have stopped by!

Let’s chat for a minute before you dive into all the great content that we have at Intentional By Grace.

First, the most important thing – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is crucial that this point is not missed for it is the springboard for this entire website. It is of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Listen to these words that C.J. Mahaney wrote in his book Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing*:

Christ died for our sins. This…is the main thing. Nothing else—not even things that are biblical and honorable—are of equal or greater importance than this: God sent His Son to the cross to bear His wrath for sinners like you and me.

In essence, Jesus never failed. He never sinned. He never neglected a single thing. He never missed a single opportunity. He was never lazy or distracted or preoccupied with lesser things. Jesus Christ was never overwhelmed with his to-do list. In fact, He did everything perfectly. He stewarded everything perfectly. And He did this for you and me.

And because he lived the perfect life that I have failed to live and then bore the punishment that I deserved, I have peace with God and peace with others. All the sins I have committed are covered by the blood of Jesus. I am saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8). Oh what freedom, dear readers!

Therefore, with this truth in mind, it is important for you to know two things regarding this blog and its intent.

This is not a works-based acceptance before God blog.
I am not here to quarrel over opinions.

First, this is not a works-based blog. Yes, we will be talking about application of God’s Word, but I do not believe that by doing a single thing I have written or will write about will earn me favor in God’s sight. At the Cross, Jesus said, “It is Finished.” We cannot earn our salvation. We cannot work our way into Heaven.

More importantly, we cannot stand before God even in our best efforts without our mediator Jesus Christ pleading our case for us. There is absolutely nothing that you or I can add to what has already been finished by Christ on our behalf. We are righteous because Christ is righteous. We are forgiven and free to pursue holiness because we want to bring much glory to God. It’s not about us. It’s about Him (Romans 10:1-4).

Second, my dear friends, I am not here to quarrel over opinions (Romans 14:1). I’m not here to pass judgment (Romans 14:4). I simply want to encourage you in your walk with the Lord, specifically in regards to how we treat our bodies, spend our money, relate to our families, and use our time. I want to point you to scripture and to that day when we will all give an account for every thought, deed, and action (Romans 14:12).

In truth, good stewardship will look different for each one of us because God made each of us in a unique way with unique needs and even desires. God has given us variety in people and in giftings (1 Corinthians 12). I encourage you to pray about things that you read, and ask that you be fully convinced that how you are living is glorifying to God (Romans 14:5). If it looks different for you than what I have told you my family does, then to God be the glory!

Therefore, I do hope that through this blog I will encourage you to be intentional with how you live out this beautiful life God has given you. Not so you can get a better seat at God’s table (because you already have the best seat), but to show Christ to the world, making Him attractive to others and thus spreading the Gospel and bringing much glory to God. We will all make errors and will probably have colossal failures along the way; however, it is “for this end that Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:9).

Let’s be among the living. Let’s live radical lives for the Lord. And let’s have a little fun along the way!