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.