Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
Grace That Saves, Discipline That Transforms
A brush with flashing lights and a wave of relief can feel like mercy—but what if that relief teaches the wrong lesson? We open with a candid speeding story and move straight into a deeper truth: God’s grace fully forgives, yet never invites us to make peace with the very things that harm our souls. Using 1 John, Colossians 3, Romans 6, and Romans 12, we unpack why assurance in Christ is the bedrock of faith and why that same assurance propels us to make war on sin.
Expect an honest, hope-filled tone. We refuse shame and embrace responsibility. We talk about why God’s patience isn’t permission, how grace fuels growth, and what daily steps help you align your thoughts, desires, and choices with the life Jesus won for you. Whether you’re wrestling with a stubborn habit or simply hungry for a truer way to live, this five-minute guide gives you Scripture, clarity, and courage to take the next step.
If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a nudge of hope, and leave a quick review so others can find it. Let us know: what’s one habit you’re ready to put to death this week?
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right. Yesterday morning I was scheduled to have a meeting with one of our pastors. I was running a little bit late, so I embellished the speed limit just a little bit. Well, in all honesty, I was speeding. I came down a hill and around a curve, and sure enough, right there on the right hand side of the road, tucked in behind a little bit of a bush, was a policeman. I knew he had me, I'd been going too fast. I looked in my mirror and sure enough his headlights came on as he started his car, and then the flashing lights on the roof, they lit up. I slowed down, pulled into the right hand lane, and began to look for a place where I could pull over safely and wait for him. When to my absolute amazement, I looked in the mirror and saw that he wasn't chasing after me, he had actually pulled over the guy who was behind me. My immediate reaction was thank you, Jesus. I was so happy that I had not been pulled over. But then I caught myself, here I was celebrating the fact that I broke the law and didn't have to pay the penalty for it. And at that moment I realized something that sort of shook me up a little bit. I realized that there are too many times that we as Christians think that we get away with breaking God's law because he doesn't punish us immediately for it. Now let me be very clear before we talk too much more about this today, otherwise somebody out there is going to misunderstand what I am saying. Our sins are forgiven at the moment of our salvation, all the sins of our past, the present, and the future. The problem that I want to address is the fact that we know that our sins are already forgiven, and so sometimes we don't think it's a big deal for us to continue to have sin in our lives, because God has forgiven us anyway. Well, I've got to tell you this morning that it is a big deal. And it's exactly what the apostle John is talking about in John chapter one and verse eight. He says, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. So that question then is, what will your thoughts and actions be towards this ongoing sinning? Colossians chapter three, verse three says, You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. That's talking about the salvation that we enjoy and embrace in our walk with God. But then down in verse five he says, put to death therefore what is earthly in you sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire. So he tells us that the one trait of those whose sins have been fully paid for is that we actually need to, as John Piper puts it, make war on our sinning. And that is the mark of those whose sins are fully cancelled. We make war on our sinning. We put it to death. So how do we make war on our sinning? Well, it starts first and foremost with confessing it. John chapter one and verse nine reminds us that we have to confess our sins in order to make war on them. If we are not openly and honestly confessing our sins before the Lord, we're not doing battle against them. We're continuing to allow them to be part of our lives. So the confessing of our sin is an agreement with God that we have sinned, and it must be fought, and it must be overcome. I'm not saying if there's sin in our lives that we have lost our salvation. That's not what this is about at all. And the confession of sin is not the basis of our forgiveness for it. But it is an important trait that shows that we truly are in Christ, where our sins are all covered by his blood. Here is the most important portion of Scripture that talks about this. It's in Romans chapter six and verse one. Paul has been talking about grace, and then he says, Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not. Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that we were joined with Christ in his baptism? We joined him in his death, for we died and were buried with Christ by baptism, and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Yes, the life got Christ has for us is brand new, and he wants us to experience that newness and that fullness. Just one more scripture. I promise you this is the last one today. Romans chapter twelve and verse two, Paul says, Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Now notice who Paul says is responsible for making this change. It's us. He tells us that we are to be transformed by renewing our minds, and that means that we are opening ourselves up to the transformation power of God in every part of our life, and we continually put aside the things that we know are contrary to God and what he has for us, the very best that he has for us. So today, my friends, I hope that you are encouraged to know that God forgives us of all of our sin, and he is always there to help us to grow and become better and wiser. And even when we struggle with some of the ongoing sins in our lives, he's not against us, he is for us, but he will give us the victory over it all and make us wiser and stronger when we choose to follow his way and live by his plan for us in every area. I hope you have a great day, my friends. Thank you for being here today. Be blessed and be a blessing, and we will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for joining us today, and I invite you to join us every Monday to Friday, right here at Starting Right with Danny Mack.
