My wife blogged this inspirational piece

clipped from stockmanbrood.blogspot.com

Have you ever tried to touch a person behind glass? That sensory experience is lacking in warmth. The gentle touch of a person holding your hand can be so comforting. One of my favorites is the great big bear hug as long as it doesn’t suffocate you. That is a tremendous affectionate gift. We humans thrive on touch. Babies who lack it can die or grow up with challenging issues. So have you ever tried to touch a person behind glass?
She was to arrive soon. The weather was windy, stormy, and wet, very wet. I’d been praying for her safety. Then the phone call came. She couldn’t come and would I go in her stead. I said yes but my heart began pounding in my throat and I felt a cold sweat go over my being.
As I drove southwest, the desert tumbleweeds raced across my vision and the road. I began to worry. Could I do this by myself? My husband was unable to go with me and I was alone, but was I really? My little compact vehicle shivered in the wind.
The large imposing buildings came into my view. The intimidating towers and fences with circular wire intertwined above them, made me feel watched and entrapped. I began to make my way through the parking lot and into the first building. Then I began to have a silly thought about my underwire bra. Earlier there’d be a two-do about the wires. Wires are unacceptable. For a previous visit with others, a sports bra was necessary. This time I was prepared with the right equipment.
As I journeyed alone through the building and into the various sections, passing more buildings along with way, I noticed the starkness and severity of the place. The grounds were tidy, almost unnaturally so.The atmosphere was filled with silence and despair. There was no trash in evidence. The next building was my destination. I entered the waiting room and preceded passed the tables filled with visitors and residents.
In my vision, two glass windows came into view. In front of one, was a chair. I sat down and waited. Would he be disappointed to see me instead of her? Yet as he came through the door, a big grin filled his face. I apologized for my appearance instead of hers and began to jabber and asked questions. Even though we couldn’t hug, I began to feel that our minds and emotions were touching. My eyes welled up tears off & on. The hour passed and then another half. A signal was given. I was thankful for the extra half and hour.
I placed my hand against the glass as he did. Only a fraction of an inch separated our hands. Then it was time to go. I did not know how many years it would be until I touched him again.
After I left, I called her or did she call her me? Whatever, that doesn’t matter. What matters is as we spoke on the phone we both choked up but also laughed as she asked questions. Again spirits & minds touched.
All of us had been touched not physically but, mental, spiritually and emotionally. There was mysterious and yet wonderful satisfaction in that. I look forward to the actual physical touch with him. A great big bear hug that I don’t even care if I am unable to breathe for a time, as long as I get to have the physical touch next year. Then I will be satisfied all over and under.
At times my feelings of Jesus are the same as I try to touch Him through the glass; which is obscured at times, even shadowy and dark. Other times, I have a wonderful satisfaction in the spiritual sense that He has touched me and I touched Him. One day, I will finally be able to see Him face to face, body to body, & finally that long satisfying bear hug with my Friend, Savior, Brother, and Lord, Christ Jesus.

I Corinthians 12:13 “…for we see now through a dim window obscurely, but then face to face;…” (1890 Darby Bible)

Is penal atonement cosmic child abuse?

Penal substitution is viewed by many today as purporting a violent view of the atonement.Therefore it is also viewed as being detrimental to our perception of the character of God. There are those who would prefer to discard the penal substitution view of atonement and exchange it with a softer more winsome view. I would like to defend the penal substitution model as being the heart and center of biblical atonement. Therefore this model of atonement is the only way that God could rescue sinners and uphold his justice simultaneously. Here is what some are saying about the penal substitution view,

Weaver says,
“To then say that God the Father killed Jesus in order to pay the debt, and that the killing of Jesus is a model of divine child abuse may be a provocative image—but it flows from the logic of satisfaction atonement itself (….) Make no mistake about it. Satisfaction atonement in any form depends on divinely sanctioned violence that follows from the assumption that doing justice means punishment” The Nonviolent Atonement(202-203).

Green and Baker declare,
“Whatever meaning atonement might have, it would be a grave error to imagine that it focused on assuaging God’s anger or winning God’s merciful attention. [….] The Scriptures as a whole provide no ground for a portrait of an angry God needing to be appeased in atoning sacrifice” Recovering The Scandal Of The Cross: Atonement in
New Testament & Contemporary Contents (51).

I found within my reading that the authors who have a distaste for penal substitution, also had a desire to protect God from the accusation that God is actively punishes sin. For God to do so would make God out, not to be holy in their view, but a perpetrator of violence. It is purported by some that for God to be actively involved in punishing people is to open God up to the accusation of not practicing what God preaches, for instance turn the other cheek, (Sermon on the Mount). I do not see God’s active judgment upon sin as condoning violence in humanity, as the authors mentioned above do. God is the only one who is given the ultimate authority to judge, or has the right to take vengeance. The scripture asserts that God does not condone humanities violent acts. When God is angry at sin it will always be righteous anger and God’s judgment will be just and perfect. This is unlike human anger that is always unholy and tainted by prejudices. God never throws cosmic temper tantrums but all his attributes are in harmony with each other (like love & purity). God’s anger and judgment is always just and holy, unlike people who lose control and respond unjustly and without good sense.
God’s laws reflect the very character of who God is, what God loves what God hates they are a reflection of the nature of God. God’s law and the consequences for breaking the law are seen by many as something outside of God control, and are viewed as just the natural consequences due sin ( like gravity for instance). The law of God and the outpouring of God’ righteous wrath upon law breakers is an outward manifestation of the inward nature of God’s love for purity and good. To do away with God’s righteous anger and punishment of sin is to do away with God’s all consuming love for purity, justice, and holiness. God is a person with likes and dislikes not an impersonal force Therefore the very opposite reaction of one who loves righteousness will be to abhor evil and to be angered by it. Packer says,

“Would a God who did not react adversely to evil in this world be morally perfect? Surly not! But it is precisely this adverse reaction to evil, which is a necessary part of moral perfection, which the Bible has in view when it speaks of God’s wrath” Knowing God (151).

God the Eternal Son in His great mercy willingly came to earth on a rescue mission through the womb of a woman to seek and save that which was lost (rescue sinners) (Luke 19:10); (2 Cor 5:19). Sin could not be swept under the cosmic rug nor could it be overlooked without God appearing unrighteous or being looked upon as being a liar, Sin will be punished, God is a loving Father, but at the same time He is a Just Judge. God’s righteousness was called into question concerning why He allowed so many sins in the past to go unpunished. Was God righteous in letting so many sins in the Old Testament go unpunished like David and Bathsheba for instance? The answer to this question is found in these verses (Rom 3: 25-26).
God refrained from fully condemning sin from Adam to this day because He would demonstrate both His love and His hatred of sin through Christ the Eternal Son of God. Christ the Eternal Son willingly absorbed in His own body the wrath due our sins so that we could be reconciled to God. When we look at the cross we should see how terrible our rebellion against God is, and that sin cannot go unpunished. Those who refuse God’s infinite love displayed in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection will face God’s wrath in the future. The beauty of God’s grace shines brightly in the substituionary life, death, and resurrection of Christ for our sins. (John 3:17) For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him.

Conception: God kicked Mary from within her womb!

clipped from www.enjoyinggodministries.com Conception: God became a fertilized egg! An embryo. A fetus. God kicked Mary from within her womb! Birth: God entered the world as a baby, amid the stench of manure and cobwebs and prickly hay in a stable. Mary cradled the Creator in her arms. "I never imagined God would look like that," she says to herself. Envision the newborn Jesus with a misshaped head, wrinkled skin, and a red face. Just think: angels watched as Mary changed God's diapers! Tiny hands that would touch and heal the sick and yet be ripped by nails. Eyes (what color were they?). Tiny feet (where would they take him?) that likewise would be pierced by nails. She tickled his side (which would one day be lanced with a spear).

The Mystery of the Incarnation and Humanity of Jesus

clipped from www.enjoyinggodministries.com The Word became flesh / God became human / the invisible became visible / the untouchable became touchable / eternal life experienced temporal death / the transcendent one descended and drew near / the unlimited became limited / the infinite became finite / the immutable became mutable / the unbreakable became fragile /spirit became matter / eternity entered time / the independent became dependent / the almighty became weak / the loved became the hated / the exalted was humbled / glory was subjected to shame / fame turned into obscurity / from inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief / from a throne to a cross / from ruler to being ruled / from power to weakness.

Amazing Love

clipped from firstimportance.org And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. “The paradox is amazing. The Creator assumed the human frailty of his creatures. The Eternal One entered time. The all-powerful made himself vulnerable. The all-holy exposed himself to temptation. And in the end the immortal died.” - John Stott, The Incomparable Christ

Biblical worth of a woman; Worth Reafirmed

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Ravi Zacharias Against Atheistic Feminism

One speaker I have enjoyed much these last several months is Christian Philosopher Ravi Zacharias. Here at Penn State University in a Q&A he answers a young woman's question about the Bible's approach to women. Ravi responds with a concise picture of God's view of women in the Bible and confronts atheistic feminism.

Stop and look! There is good all around you.

We need to take some time to get away from our hectic schedules and the daily stress that fills our lives. We should take time to be aware of the gift of life and all the diverse beauty that is all around us. There are those who refuse to acknowledge the love of God because there is so much evil and pain in this life. But if God is the monster that some make him out to be why did he create a world full of color? Have you ever taken time during the fall season to thank God for the trees and their changing colors? This changing kaleidoscope of colors was created for your pleasure? God could have created us to eat only because of hunger, without the ability to enjoy the diverse tastes and numerous flavors of our foods. What about the gift of sex, have you ever thanked God for the enjoyment of sex? God could have created a world where sexual intercourse was only for procreation, and where the sexual act only caused pain and not pleasure. Think of the sense of touch and the God given ability to feel differing textures, this also is a gift. Have you ever thanked God for the ability to feel the warmth of a warm shower? Think of the many times when you came in from a very cold day and were able to sit by the fireplace and enjoy its comforting warmth. Think of the joy that comes from hearing a little child’s laughter, or your own ability to laugh. What would this world be like without the ability to cry? These are all wonderful gifts lavished on us by a God who loves all of humanity. The greatest of all gifts that God has given to us is the ability to love and to be loved, and the ability to be an instrument of comfort to those who are hurting. These are all gifts of God! Yes, in this world there is a mixture of evil and good, sorrow and joy, pain and pleasure, but as you can see even though we lack the ability to explain how God can be a God of love and yet allow evil to exist in this world; there is so much good in the midst of evil, that if we will open our eyes to it, it screams out to us every day that God loves us. Have you taken time to thank God this day for all the goodness he has abundantly bestowed upon you?

Do we work for eternal life or is it a gift?

Natural life itself is a free-gift given to us by God. We did not merit, nor earn it, nor did we deserve to be born into the natural world, but we were created by God’s choice. Spiritual life is also a gift of God's grace freely given to those who believe in Jesus. Now one of the ways we can tell the difference between a corpse and an individual that is alive is through the motion and workings of the body. Where there is human life there is movement, at the very least we will detect a heartbeat. Therefore, those who are spiritually alive (born again) have received from God a new heart with new affections whose strongest inclination is to love God and ones neighbor. This new hearts motion and bent leans towards a life of good works that desires to be pleasing to the Father who has adopted us. The Christian does not do good works to obtain eternal-life, but because we already possess eternal-life we do good works. The same principle applies to natural life, people work and move not to obtain life, but they do so because they already possess the gift of life. These distinctions are important to point out when discussing the subject of good works and how they relate to us as Christians. Bing good is not the way that a Christian obtains salvation (adoption into God's family).For a Christian Works are a sign of life a confirmation that we have already received forgiveness, and new life in Christ. The major difference between Christianity and other religions is, other religions require that you have to rescue yourself through obtaining more good works in this life than bad, and then you will receive the favor of God and paradise. But Christianity declares that you and I are totally helpless to rescue ourselves through our good deeds. therefore God sent His son from heaven to earth on a rescue mission to save those who are hopelessly lost and cannot save themselves. John 6:23 For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is not out to rain on your parade

God did not give His law to us in order to rain on our parade, or for the purpose of taking all the joy out of our lives. God’s law was given to deter us from the self-worship that results in broken relationships, shattered families, as well as dysfunctional communities. When Jesus was asked to explain what commandment was the greatest,
Jesus replied: 37" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt 22: 37- 40).

As you can see the commandments were given for the purpose of creating healthy loving relationships first with God and then with our neighbors’. Can you imagine with me what this world would be like if everyone everywhere throughout the world kept these two commands perfectly; earth would be a utopia, love would reign supreme, and the earth would be at peace? God did not give his commands to us to take the joy out of our lives, but to show us the way to a world without evil, a world of peace and genuine love. Now none of us loves perfectly in this world therefore we will continue to live at odds with our Creator if we reject Jesus the only Saviour. Neighbors will continue to fight neighbors, and nations will continue to be at war with nations. Therefore none of us can point the finger at others as if they are the problem for we have all been unloving and have added to the sin problem. Humanity will never come to a place where we will love again perfectly in this present fallen world because our relationship with the God of love has been broken through our self-centered obsession. Therefore if God were to allow one unloving self- worshipping person into His coming Kingdom of love, that one individual would carry within them the seed of rebellion that would infect the world once again with evil, war, and fractured relationships. God would not be a God of love and righteousness if he allowed those into His kingdom who would once again pollute His perfect world. So we need to stop accusing God of being unloving for banishing all rebels to hell, for if He were to allow one rebel in heaven, heaven would no longer be heaven. None of us would like to enter a world after we die and then live again that is ruled by selfishness and greed again, such as this one! We have already infected this planet with our unloving self-centered way therefore humanity will never be able to bring about a world were peace and love reign. But one of the titles given to Jesus is the title of “prince of peace”. He will return to this earth and establish a world at peace, a world where there is nothing that ever dies or ever grows old, a world vibrant with life and no decay or rust. This is the world that all peoples have been invited to be a part of, is a community of perfect love. We have been commanded by God to reject our unloving self-centered ways and to receive the pardon for our sin’s that God through the cross of Christ has won for us. If we do so, we will be forgiven all of our selfishness and will be reconciled back into a right relationship with God. This world community of love is the heritage of all the adopted sons and daughters of God their loving Father. Believe!

It does not matter who you think God is! Does it?

Since the rebellion of Adam and Eve, humanity has belittled and demeaned our creator by worshiping and loving god’s who are not God at all but are figments of our evil imagination. We proclaim to be worshiping God when in reality we have fashioned gods that look allot like us. These are gods we can live with because they are under our control and power. This is why there are so many conflicting views about who God is. There are multitudes of peddlers on every street corner who will sell you the god who best conforms to your ideas of him or her. Humanity perceives God to be like a wet lump of clay that we can form and mold into whatever image suits our fancy. Of course it is obvious that if God is whatever you or I perceive him or her to be then there is no God, and he is just a figment of mans ingenuity and imagination. Many people speak of god as if he is a magic potion or panacea. We often here this said, if your idea of god makes you happy and a better person then your religion is good for you, or my view of god may differ from yours but they both lead to the same end by making us happier and better people.

If the above logic is true then God is not a person that has attributes of love, hate, likes and dislikes, he is just a collection of diverse ideas that supposedly makes people feel and act better. There is another possibility to consider though, and that is that God does truly exist (He is not just an idea) and demands to be loved and served as He truly is, and that He is angry every day to be misrepresented and slandered by the people He created and whose hearts He keeps beating.

• (NLT) Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Heartache of Striving for Acceptence

Bob's parents went out of town for a few days and trusted Bob to care for the house while they were away. Bob in desperation to feed his addiction broke into his fathers coin collection sold it and pocketed the money.Bob reported to the police that when he came home from a date he had found the house broken into and the coin collection gone. All the clues pointed to the fact that Bob had been the real thief. After seeing that the evidence was stacked against him, Bob confessed to the police, and to his parents what he had done. Bob's parents were unaware that he was an addict and were undone by this revelation, for they had always tried to be good parents. Bob being under age at the time underwent drug rehab and eventually overcame his addiction. Bob's parents were heartbroken not because of the loss of the coin collection, but over the loss of their son's trust and the self-destructive path he was following. The father did all he could to reconcile his lost son back to him. Bob truly broke down in repentance and sorrow for the hurt and anguish that he had caused his parents. Though Bob's father and mother had completely forgiven their son, he could not grasp the fact that they could forgive him. Bob was continually striving to win back his parents approval by becoming the best student, athlete, and obedient son that parents could ever ask for. Bob never returned to the fun outgoing happy person of his childhood but seemed always focused on excellence in every area of his life to the point of obsession. Other parents used to compliment Bob's parents on raising such an outstanding student and excellent citizen, and athlete. They would declare "if only my kid could be more like your Bob and less like the irresponsible teenager that he is". The problem was that Bob's parents would do anything to see their son a little less perfect and allot more relaxed. They new that no matter how many times they had let Bob know how much they loved him and that they had forgiven the past, Bob was incapable of receiving it. This inability to receive their forgiveness and love caused them to cry many tears together and to look for new ways that might help him to embrace from the heart their forgiveness and love. Bob put himself through needless pain in striving to win his parents love and approval because it had already been given to him, he just needed to receive it. Many believers in Jesus could spare themselves hours and days of needless pain if they would quit their endless striving to win God's forgiveness,approval, and love. A life lived in moral perfection and obedience in order to gain God's love and approval will only grieve God's heart as it did the parents of Bob. There is a wall of separation placed between you and God. This wall has been erected not by God but by your unwillingness to embrace with your heart the love and forgiveness that God already has for you. God has received, forgiven and adopted you as His children, all of you who believe in Christ's life, death, and resurrection for your sins. Relax and enjoy God and life. You are God's kids, and God takes great pleasure in seeing His kids delight in Him and the life that He has given. (Romans 8:15) "So you have not received a spirit of fear that makes you fearful slaves. Instead you received God's Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, Abba, Father."

God loves all that is good

God's laws and the just judgments decreed upon lawbreakers reflect the very character of who God is to us. God's anger against evil and love for all that is just and pure is a spotlight that reveals the very character and nature of God to humanity. The law of God and the outpouring of God' righteous wrath upon law breakers is seen by many as unloving, but can you imagine what a God would be like whose nature was not to oppose evil but to reward it. God's anger and punishment of evil is an outward manifestation of the inward nature of God's love for all that is pure, just, and good. To do away with God's righteous anger and punishment of sin would be to do away with God's all consuming love for purity, justice, and holiness. God is a person with likes and dislikes not an impersonal force. Therefore the very opposite reaction of one who loves righteousness will be to abhor evil and to be angered by it. Packer says in his book Knowing God,

"Would a God who did not react adversely to evil in this world be morally perfect? Surly not! But it is precisely this adverse reaction to evil, which is a necessary part of moral perfection, which the Bible has in view when it speaks of God's wrath" (151).

 

The bible most clearly portrays that God is actively involved in punishing sinners and that our sin is what separates us from God. Therefore everyday when we see violence, broken relationships, and death we are beholding the consequence of humanity living under the judgment of God's curse upon a self-worshiping and self-centered world. The good news though is that is not the end of our story. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom 6:23).

Is God Evil?

I have a good friend who is convinced that there is no God because of all the atrocities that have taken place today and throughout history in the name of God. My friend is convinced that the world would be a better place with less war if there were no religious beliefs. He was raised in a part of the world where he saw religion used as a means of gaining power over the masses for their own evil gain. I was watching a televangelist not long ago that by the end of his sermon he had both old, middle aged, and kids running up to the altar throwing money at his feet. Of course he was purporting that God wants all people to be rich and if you give to his ministries God would then fulfill their greedy desires by making them wealthy. Then there are those who look at God as if He is a lucky rabbits foot and will always deliver them out of all their problems. There is little love for God or neighbor in these differing scenarios.

Can you imagine how angry and upset you would be if people were to rape, kill, and destroy, then claimed that you were the one who told them to commit these atrocities. Would you be upset if people used your good name to promote their greed, by appealing to the greed in others? There will be a day when all of us will have to give an account before God on what we did with this life. There is nothing that proves with more clarity that human beings are lost and sinful than the fact that they use the good name of God as an excuse to commit the most despicable of crimes. The Bible declares in (Romans 3:10) “just as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one, 3:11 there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. 3:12 All have turned away. God is good, holy, and pure, and we have all misrepresented God in some way. We were created in the image of God to reflect His beauty and goodness, but the reflection people see in us many times is one of self-centeredness and self worship. The fact that people commit horrible acts in the name of God says nothing bad about God, but it speaks volumes about the character of people. The Bible says “God is still true though every man be a liar” ( Rom 3:4).

Creator heaven and earth not a cosmic accident:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1, NASB95). These first words of the Bible along with the succeeding verses of Genesis through chapter three are of vital importance to humanity, both individually as well as socially. Those who believe in the creation story as found in Genesis will deduce from this belief, that the creation has intrinsic value. This belief that the creation, as well as humanity, has purpose and meaning because of God’s design, is priceless. Those who truly believe in the Genesis creation account will treat both people as well as creation with honor and respect, as unto the Lord. The giving of God his due allegiance and the treating of people with respect and honor is of the utmost importance. The foundation for these values are found within the creation account as told in Genesis. Those who do not believe that creation came into existence by a God who loves his creation become enslaved to a creation that has no meaning or value, and this results in the devaluing of human life, to be of no more value than animals. We become a slave to our passions because there is nothing that exists beyond our short lifespan, and we will not be held accountable by a creator for our actions because he is non-existent. This view enslaves us to a life of selfishness and self-centeredness. Ultimately with the exception of God’s gracious intervention our natural self-centeredness would destroy the planet. I am not purporting that there are not some atheists that are far superior both morally and ethnically than many who wear the label of Christian, because there are, remember (there is genuine gold as well as fool’s gold). This is why our societies are unraveling, and why we see so much evil in the world today because of our disregard for our creator. Those societies who deny the creation story of Genesis 1.1 along with the Creator will always move in the direction of self-destruction and escalating chaos. The reason for this is we were created to worship God, and our rejection of him is a rejection of his rule and reign over us. This rejection of God’s rule leads us to believe that there is no right or wrong and we are free to follow the dictates of our desires wherever they may lead. Therefore, the only restraint over human anarchy is the law of government, though it too is in the process of erosion through its rejection of the Creator, God of Genesis. A generation that grows up believing that humans are just a cosmic accident, descendants of apes, is a people without hope, and will live for this moment of pleasure. Since there is no sovereign ruler of creation and we are just another animal on this planet we become what we believe we are and begin to act accordingly ( like animals ). We see the results of this all around us every day as we watch the news. If humanity is just a cosmic accident without any history of value or purpose, then we are just another animal, and human life has no more value or meaning than any other species on this planet. Since so many today believe that we are just a human animal, a decedent of apes, consequently we are seeing the devaluing of human life through, an increase in crime, sexual exploitation, and the disregard for human life. The creator of heaven and earth loves us despite our ignoring Him as a society and He has provided a remedy that cost Him dearly. Speak more on that next time.

The sick need a doctor

As a doctor must inform a patient of their sickness in order to direct them to the one medicine that can save them, Jesus also proclaimed to the people their spiritual sickness. Jesus says in, (Luke 5:31-32), "Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent." If you are unwilling to admit that you are a sinner, you will never seek to be rescued from the coming judgment due your sins. No one will seek Jesus to save them from their sins if they are unwilling to admit they have sin. This failure to admit that you are a sinner will always prevent you from coming to Jesus to rescue you from your sins. The one who proclaims their innocence before God shuts the door on ever receiving God's mercy and grace as offered through Jesus. As an individual with a fatal disease refuses the diagnosis of the doctor and thereby is unwilling to receive the offered remedy, likewise the individual who refuses to believe they have sinned will refuse God's remedy for sin (John 1:29) "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world". As a doctor must point out the bad news to the patient before they can give them the good news about the remedy, so I have done my best to declare humanities spiritual disease (The bad news), which is clearly stated in, (Rom 3:10) "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". I want to share with you what I believe to be the best news anyone can ever here if received.

God the Father sent God the eternal Son on a rescue mission "to seek and save the lost"
(Luke 19:10).God the eternal Son entered the hostile territory of this world through the womb of a virgin. Jesus mission is to rescue sinners from God's just anger against evil. Thereby clothing Himself in a human body Jesus became one with us. Jesus did so in order to proclaim God's love for sinners by becoming a part of our world community, and then by fulfilling the terms that would bring us peace with God. The terms that would bring to us peace are, Jesus was born by a virgin, and He lived, and died on a cross for my sins and your sins. Christ's resurrection from the tomb proved that God the Father received Christ's payment in full for our sins, and therefore we are released from any further obligation to pay. If you will humble yourself admit that you are a sinner and believe this good news God will forgive all of your rebellion against Him, adopt you into His family, and give to you eternal life. 18 Christ himself suffered for sins once.

(1Peter 3:18) He was not guilty, but he suffered for those who are guilty to bring you to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. (The New Century Version)

(Rom 3:23) The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NCV)

 

 

 

 

What is the matter with us?

None will doubt me when I say that humanity is in trouble and that we need someone or something to rescue this world from self- destruction. All you have to do is turn on the news and you will see a world that is full of wars and hate. Look at the broken relationships and infighting going on within our families, neighborhoods’ and jobs. Something is terribly wrong with the human race and it does not take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. Christ-followers will proclaim that the root of the problem is that humanity has been, alienated from God first, and therefore alienated from one another because of self-will and sin. There are 6.68 billion little gods, people, living on planet earth at present time and we all want our own way. As you can see when you get that many little gods together who are jockeying for the supreme position of the god king, the result is a volatile tinder box. This fighting for the supreme position above other little gods results in a terrible collision among the differing personalities. There are many people who claim they have not sinned and that sin against God is not the root problem of our world.I want to ask you a question! Have you ever wanted your own way over that of Gods, or if you don’t believe in God, have you ever wanted your own way over others? In seeking after your own way at the expense and hurt of others have you ever added to the conflict and alienation in this world? If you can say yes to this, then you have played a part in the on-going conflict in this world. Also if you answered yes to the question above, then in Christian terminology you have sinned against God and neighbor. Jesus said " We are to love God with all our mind, with all our strength, and our neighbor as our self", Is there anyone who can say they have always done this? If not you are a sinner!

The heartache of a broken relationship II

The first step that must be taken by the guilty party when striving to reconcile a broken relationship is to go to them admitting you are wrong and ask for forgiveness. Now this is a real problem for most of us because we are naturally full of pride, and we hate to admit that we are wrong. No one likes eating humble pie! We will look for any way out that we can find. We will justify ourselves with reasons such as, what I did really was not that bad therefore they should get over it. We will search for all the ways they have done us wrong and come to the delusion (conclusion )their wrongs against us far outweigh the wrong we have done them. When we are unwilling to take full responsibility for the wrong we have committed relationships will continue to be broken and the former closeness never restored. You have to admit that much of the heartache we experience in this life is caused by relationships that remain broken because people are too proud to confess their wrong.

When we truly believe that we are guiltless and somebody accuses us falsely of some wrong, it makes us very angry and justifiably so. This is why so many people reject Christianity because the starting point of the message is that Jesus came "to call sinners to repentance not the righteous"

also Jesus said "that he came to seek and save that which is lost". Right away people are offended by the message before you have a chance to get out of the starting gate. Many in all sincerity will proclaim their innocence before God, and may point to some homeless person on the street declaring "they may be lost but not me". God cannot rescue (save), people who are not lost, nor can forgive the sins of sinless people. John said in his gospel when he saw Jesus coming, "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" John (1:29). Jesus is not for you if you have no sins. Jesus cannot rescue you if you are not lost.

But the good news of the gospel for those who will receive it, and admit their sin and lostness is "behold the lamb of God who take away the sins of the world". Jesus will take your sins away; God will forgive all of your rebellion, and will restore you to a right relationship with God who is now your Father. Behold Jesus; He died for all of your sins past, present, and future. He was resurrected as the proof the debt you owed for all your sin was paid in full. You are forgiven and accepted as God's son or daughter through your trusting in Christ alone as your savior. Those of you who will not admit your sin and look to Jesus to for rescue you from God's just anger; I pray that God will open your eyes. May you behold the beauty of Christ, and the great sacrifice He endured on the cross so that you were given the opportunity to be reconciled to God.

The hearache of a broken relationship

Have you ever experienced a broken relationship as a result of truly wronging someone? You have tried various ways to be reconciled to this individual, but nothing you do will repair the damage done .You are receiving your just due! They are just, in breaking off any relationship with you. Admittedly they are unwilling to give you grace and mercy but as far as the law goes they are being just.

Humanity has experienced a broken relationship with God, but in this case many will not admit that they have offended God. In fact many deny God’s existence. Everywhere we look we see the effects upon a world whose relationship with God has been severed. God has judged our sin in this life by handing us over to sin as we please, and by letting us reap the consequences thereof.

All the evil that you see in this world the wars, racial strife, as well as selfishness, and many more to numerous to count are a result of our broken relationship with God. Many of you reading this will say compared to most people I am guiltless. The problem with that statement is that we all have sinned and added to the impact that sin has on the world, as well as our neighbors’ and friends. None of us have “loved God with all our heart and our neighbor as our self” which is the greatest commandment (Matt 22:37-39). We are just as responsible before God for our sin and the negative impact it has in this world, as well as any other person created in God’s image.

God in His great mercy came to earth on a rescue mission and that mission was to seek and save that which was lost (rescue sinners). Jesus who is God the eternal son entered the womb of a woman and entered our world. Our God is not a god who says I feel your pain from a distance in heaven but came to earth and actually felt my pain and your pain. I will have more to say about this in my next blog.

NLT (2 Cor 5:19)

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others.

It does not matter who you think God is! Does it?

Since the rebellion of Adam and Eve, humanity has belittled and demeaned our creator by worshiping and loving god’s who are not God at all but are figments of our evil imagination. We proclaim to be worshiping God when in reality we have fashioned gods that look allot like us. These are gods we can live with because they are under our control and power. This is why there are so many conflicting views about who God is. There are multitudes of peddlers on every street corner who will sell you the god who best conforms to your ideas of him or her. Humanity perceives God to be like a wet lump of clay that we can form and mold into whatever image suits our fancy. Of course it is obvious that if God is whatever you or I perceive him or her to be then there is no God, and he is just a figment of mans ingenuity and imagination. Many people speak of god as if he is a magic potion or panacea. We often here this said, if your idea of god makes you happy and a better person then your religion is good for you, or my view of god may differ from yours but they both lead to the same end by making us happier and better people.

If the above logic is true then God is not a person that has attributes of love, hate, likes and dislikes, he is just a collection of diverse ideas that supposedly makes people feel and act better. There is another possibility to consider though, and that is that God does truly exist (He is not just an idea) and demands to be loved and served as He truly is, and that He is angry every day to be misrepresented and slandered by the people He created and whose hearts He keeps beating.

• (NLT) Romans 6:23
  

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Please feel free to post comments. Your ideas are welcome both agreements and disagreements.

Sacrificial service towards God done out of lifeless duty is odious to God. People love being religious because it causes them to boast in their achievements and to feel superior in comparison to other people. Religion can also take the place of a club; let us say like the Lions club. However, those who have truly come to know the grace of God find their most precious delight and treasure to be Him.The Bible declares that those who are recipients of God’s grace have a strong and intense love for God. Those who have been born of God will have times of intense longings and desires for God; along with a desire to please Him, as well as His people. The following scriptures point this out. One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. (Ps. 27:4). “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.” (Ps. 42:1). “God, you are my God; I shall seek you earnestly; my soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory.” (Ps. 63:1-2). “How lovely are your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God.” (Ps. 84:1-3). “My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.” (Ps. 130:6). “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” (Phil. 3:8). You can see by these scriptures that genuine intense longing for God and a desire to become more intimately acquainted with him is the normal response of those who have been known of God.

1. . Natural life itself is a free-gift given to us by God. We did not merit, nor earn it, nor deserve to be born into the natural world, but were created by God’s sovereign choice. Spiritual life is also a gift of God's grace freely given to us. Now one of the ways we can tell the difference between a corpse and an individual that is alive is through the motion and workings of the body. Where there is human life there is movement, at the very least we detect a heartbeat. Therefore, those who are spiritually alive have received from God a new heart with new affections whose strongest inclination is to love God and ones neighbor. This new hearts motion and bent leans towards a life of good works that desires to be pleasing to the Father who has adopted them. The Christian does not work to obtain eternal-life, but because they already possess eternal-life, they work. The same principle applies to natural life, people work and move not to obtain life, but they do so because they already possess the gift of life. These distinctions are important to point out when discussing the subject of good works. Works are a sign of life, if something is alive it will move even if minutely.
2. New affections of love for God follow conversion and if they do not the individual was probably never born-again. We as Christians have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works”. “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also, who practices righteousness is born of Him” (I John 2:29). “The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (I John 3:8). “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (I John 4:7-8). “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” (I John 5:1). As you can see from these scriptures that those who have truly been born again have a love for God that is genuine, and along with that love they have a new bent that desires to walk in a manner pleasing to Him. The hardest thing for a preacher to do is to know how in love to expose the counterfeit sheep so that they awaken to see their need for salvation, and yet in doing so bring comfort and not condemnation to the sheep whose conscious are easily bruised and suffer from numerous doubts. Lord, help us to be faithful shepherds to both groups of people.
3. A continual dispassionate and affectionless Christianity is not biblical Christianity but a counterfeit. For an individual to serve consistently God out of affectionless duty reveals that there is something drastically wrong with their profession of faith. If day after day my wife was to serve me as a husband obediently doing all that a good wife should do, but it was done just out of a sense of duty and not out of love for my person. I would find no pleasure or delight in our relationship. It is the same with God. God would ask us the same question that he asked Peter three times on the beach “Peter do you love me? The greatest commandment that Christ gave to us is to “love God with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33).

One thing we must never mix together is salvation and sanctification:

Salvation is a gift of God’s grace for all who believe that cannot be earned or merited. Sanctification means to become more like Christ and to grow in maturity as a Christ follower. Sanctification has nothing to do with salvation. We are not saved because of are Christ-likeness or our spiritual maturity but only because of God’s gift that comes through receiving Christ alone (Romans 6:23). Once we have believed in Christ and are eternally saved through Christ alone we begin to walk in sanctification (Christ likeness). How well we walk and mature in Christ does not impact in any way our future place in heaven or the fact that we are God’s adopted kids

Growing up in Christ and becoming Christ-like has everything to do with our impact for Christ in this world and the fruit we bear. Also our obedience to God in this life affects our intimacy with God and how we are disciplined by Him. If we are rebellious children He does discipline us accordingly for our good. We will reap what we sow in this life. If we are disobedient we will reap the consequences of our actions good or bad. But even those sons and daughters that walk in disobedience and are continually getting in trouble remain God’s kids and will be with Him in heaven. Their rewards and the fruit they produce in this life will impact their rewards in heaven and in this world, but this has nothing to do with their place in heaven that remains forever secure.
What I have said above does not mean that when we see bad things happen in life to fellow believers that they are always a result of their disobedience to God. There are many who walk uprightly before God in this life and experienced many trials an tribulations according to God’s over all design and good pleasure. A good example of those who walked uprightly before God yet experienced extreme hardship is Job, Apostle Paul, and Jesus Christ. So we need to be extremely careful as brothers and sisters in Christ how judge one-another, as it says in, (Hebrews 12:6) For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” We as Christ followers will all experience the rod of God’s correction for our good and a proof of our adoption.

Stone to Flesh

Stone to Flesh

Therefore, someone who is born of God has a new nature and the bent of this new nature is to walk in holiness and love for God and humanity. Though we have not been perfected in love and good works as Christ-followers, we do have a deep longing in our hearts to be so. That day when we will be perfected is soon to be ours as the Apostle John says, “We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). So to me this is the answer to the conundrum I had faced. We are saved by a gift of God’s grace that cannot be purchased, and because God’s Holy Spirit indwells us the new bent of our hearts is to love God and our neighbor’s, and our love is displayed through a life-style of good works. As the children of God we have been given a new nature like our Fathers, we have become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Therefore, God by the power of His Spirit gives to His children the gift of perseverance in righteousness, and a love for God and our neighbors; that protects His secure kids from the fatal spirit of antinomian ism (Excuse for license to sin).

This Knowing that God is with us gives us the strength not to sin and the power to overcome sin. God’s children when they have the assurance that they are secure in Christ; are by this knowledge freed from the bondage of religion, and then they begin to serve God from pure motives; not to gain His love or to gain heaven through their merit, but because they are loved by Him, they have hearts full of joy and gratitude. For they know heaven is their home, their sins have all been forgiven, and that they have been adopted by the Father. Knowing these things produces hearts that will work hard for the Father not motivated by the fear of judgment, but because they love God and want to bring Him pleasure. 1 John 5: 11- 12,

11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

A genuine question asked by many about the truth of the eternal security of the believer:

If works of the law do not save me, why work? If I am not saved by obeying God, why obey? Some would say that, if I am secure and get to go to heaven no matter how I live, why should I go to church and strive to be a good moral person that loves my neighbors? I can go out now live for my own selfish lusts and still make it to heaven, I have Jesus, and He is my fire insurance. If an individual thinks this, when they hear about the security of the believer it only exposes the motive of their heart. They do not really love God but are only going to Church and being religious because they believe in heaven and hell, and they are afraid they might end up in hell. Or because they are like a religious Pharisee who is full of pride and loves the esteem of people more than God; and for them religion has become a form of social respectability and worldly gain.

Why can’t I fall from grace and lose my salvation? The answer is, “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:5), “and though you have not seen Him you love Him” (1 Peter 1:8), “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him”(1 John 5:1). A person who is born of God loves God because “God first loved us.” This is a Characteristic of one who is a genuine Christian; to love God We do not love God with a perfect love, but a love that is genuine and sincere. Also as one who truly loves God, we will strive to walk in obedience with Him, though imperfectly in this life (1John 1:2). Therefore, the fruit of one truly born of God will be obedience that comes from a heart of love. Though we may fall down many times as Christ followers, we will get up and continue on the path of righteousness. God’s spirit within us will pick us up and help us overcome and persevere in faith even if that faith becomes a little flame. . 1 John 5: 11- 12,

11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Therefore, Salvation is not a matter of us keeping the law or not keeping the law, but the question that must be answered is have we been born again. Are we a new creation, this is what counts with God. So it is not a matter of us cleaning the outside of our plate and bringing it to God, but God comes into us Tabernacling with us, and His spirit in us cleans up the plate (our heart). “Therefore if any man is in Christ he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 517); “ your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” when we are born again God’s Spirit indwells us, and were the Spirit of God dwells lives are forever transformed. For the God that is holy cannot take up residence within someone without there being a changed life, and God receives all the glory and honor for the person’s transformation.

No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1John 3:9). So those who are born of God will not practice sin as a lifestyle without coming to a place of repentance, for if they are born of God His seed (Spirit) will lead them back to righteousness, because they have been indwelt by God. We know that this verse is not talking about living a completely sinless life because John says in (1 John 1:10) “If we say that we have no sin we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

John 3:17,though not as well known as verse sixteen is nevertheless an incredible promise it states in verse,17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

The world was condemned already and lost without hope, but God sent his Son to earth on a rescue mission to save those who had no hope of rescue.The guilty condemned individual that believes in Jesus is ,forever rescued from the condemnation, that leads to everlasting banishment from the kingdom of God .(Rom 8:1)states, Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for the law of the spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death.

For God’s adopted kids there will be no eternal punishment due them on judgment day Christ was punished in place of us on the cross, and we walked away forever forgiven(1 Peter 3:18).

There is no greater news found in all of the earth than the gospel (good news). The gospel offers forgiveness for all of our sins, reconciliation with God, and life unending in heaven, through faith alone in Christ alone through His life, death, and resurrection alone ( John 11:25).

Prat 2 on The Asurance of Salvation

Look at kids who are raised by loving responsible parents. They are raised in the steady confidence that they are secure in their parents love. These children for the most part grow up to be mature responsible adults. Those who are raised in family’s were they are made to feel that they are never secure in their parents love will be for the most part kids that grow up to be immature and stunted adults (Rom 8:15).

This example above holds true for the Christ follower as well. Therefore, it is vital to your Christian growth that you come to understand that you are eternally secure in the Lord, and that you are assured of your salvation.Read these versus (Romans 5:1-2) Notice this verse says "We have peace with God" As AW Tozer says,"We have peace with God but not with the world, the flesh, and the devil." Having the assurance that God is at peace with us and that He is for us gives us the courage and strength to fight the daily battles and trials of life. If you try to fight these daily battles without the assurance that God is with you, you are doomed to a christian life of failure and discouragement. Knowing that God is with us alone give us the ability to be over-comers against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Peace and Joy

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God (italics mine) through our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is at peace with us because Jesus has forever rescued us from the just consequence due our self-exalting God belittling sins. We as Christ followers have peace with God because of Christ life, death, and resurrection alone, though there are times we may not feel like It. Theses times of doubt do not take away from it being a fact . There are times when I do not feel married or old enough to be a grandparent either but I am.

We must trust in what God has promised us more than our unstable emotions. This is what the Bible promises to those who have trusted in Christ alone to rescue them from the just penalty due to their sins.

1 John 5: 11- 12 says, And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Notice that this verse says we have eternal life, if the life God gives us is eternal this means we can never lose it, also this verse declares that we will never perish for something to never perish means that it will never cease to exist.

Security or Insecurity

How can there be peace or rest for Christians that are convinced of the possibility that they may commit some future sin and thereby forfeit their place in heaven (lose their salvation)? If there is a genuine belief in heaven and hell, and some may end up in hell what good news do we have to offer this world, the possibility of salvation! This belief is not much different from all other world religions that make salvation dependent on good works and offer the possibility of salvation not the assurance of salvation that God through Christ alone offers us. I do not understand how those who believe this could ever rest who fear that one day they may be excluded from heaven because of committing a mortal sin. How can this gospel be good news and bring peace to the heart? I think maybe why some Christians may hold to this belief and not live in fear is because hell is not that real to them.

The word gospel in the Bible means good news. Christ followers have good news to proclaim to the world not bad news. It would not be good news to proclaim to the world a gospel that promises to forgive all their sins, reconcile them to God, promises them heaven, but then add by the way, you could in the future lose all of this.God’s promise to the Christian is security not insecurity. As a Christ follower we are not walking on a tightrope by which if we stumble to many times; God will let go as we fall into the flames below.This kind of thinking causes many to serve God out of a wrong motivation based on fear or duty. Service that brings God pleasure is motivated from hearts overflowing with love and gratitude for His undeserved kindness and everlasting mercy.