Love and Justice

God's love and justice are not irreconcilable. The truth is that God hates sin and all humans are sinful. God's justice demands that his wrath and judgement come down on sin. This is a very scary thing. In fact, while talking about God's judgement, one Biblical author said "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31). God is angry at sin and his wrath is coming. This is a reality that is not popular in our world, but it is nonetheless true.

However, God also loves us and wants a relationship with us. He is not a malicious God. God does not like it when people reject him and suffer his wrath. God says in Ezekiel 18:23 "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" God doesn't want people to turn from him and die. He wants people to have life. That's why Jesus came on cross and died for our sin. Because Jesus lived a sinless life and died on the cross, he was able to divert God's fury, wrath, and judgement from sinners onto himself.

That's the reason people need to believe and follow Jesus. Anyone who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior is no longer guilty. They have the righteousness of Jesus; this doesn't mean they don't sin, but that their sin is forgiven and God has given them new life so they can fight sin and become pure. However, anyone who rejects Jesus and does not follow him faces the reality of God's wrath and judgement.

This is the gospel: "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous (Jesus) for the unrighteous (you and me), to bring you to God." (1 Peter 3:18)

The most important decision people make in their life, even if they neglect to make it, is whether or not they will worship Jesus.

The Biggest Lie in the World

If you obey God, you won't be as happy.

Leave a Legacy

I recently attended the memorial service for a Christian man who had died six days previous. Even though I never knew the man, I was inspired by the service. I had spend the last week with his children and grandchildren. The memorial service was a testament to the immense impact this man had on his family. Almost his entire family are committed Christians who live gospel-led lives and practice the teachings of Christ. This man had led his family well. His children honored him and loved the Lord. By his life, this man had left a noble legacy of character. I was inspired. As Christians, we should pursue a legacy that honors Christ. We should live in such a way that at our funerals, our children praise God and honor us. There was no mention of this man's financial status, material possessions, or career advancement. The focus was his love for Jesus, his love for his wife, and his love for his family. Today's culture fosters an immediate-fortune mentality. More weight than is healthy is placed on worldly treasures. We are taught that financial gain and personal advancement are the end goals in life. A high salary and a multi-syllable title are more worthy of our efforts than healthy marriages and strong families. We rarely think long-range. We don't often consider what will be left in our absence until it's too late to make a real difference. I would suggest that we start playing with the end game in mind. Live in the present, but do it with the future in sight. Lasting impacts and noble legacies are not accidents. They are results of intentional living and, for the Christian, Spirit-led action. As Christians, let's live with divine perspective, with heaven in mind. Let's consider what will be said at our funeral and, more importantly, what Christ will say to us when we stand before him. Let's leave behind us a legacy of faith, hope, and love. Let's inspire our children to emulate us. My goal is to live in such a way that if someone who doesn't know me comes to my funeral, he will leave inspired to live for Christ and then blog about it.

A Blameless Bride

I recently attended a wedding of a friend. It was an extremely beautiful wedding that clearly reflected the gospel. As I turned to see the bride walking down the aisle I was blown away. She was breathtaking. Her face was shining with excitement for her husband. She had an aura that was exuding deep love. I watched as she approached the altar, the groom waiting eagerly to accept his bride. Weddings are so beautiful, especially in light of Ephesians 5:25-27 where we are told that Christ sacrificed himself for his bride, the church. He washed her and cleansed her so that she could be presented radiant, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Christ gave himself up for his church, of which we (Christians) are a part. We have been made a beautiful bride, walking down the aisle excited for her husband. As a Christian, I have committed my life to following Jesus Christ. He is my king. Because of the price I was bought at and because of my commitment to him, God has every right to be jealous for me; a husband has a right to be jealous for his wife. One of many great things about God is his fierce jealously for us. God's heart is jealous for me, and I am his. Why would a bride, pure and clean, throw herself into the arms of another man? Why would I, forgiven and redeemed, defile myself and insult God by worshiping another "god"? Why did the Israelites build the golden calf? They were bored and impatient (Exodus 32:1). How moronic! How blind can some people be? They were there when the ten plagues happened, they saw the Red Sea parted, they ate food that fell from the sky. The Israelites had experienced firsthand God's total faithfulness, yet they couldn't remain faithful themselves. Oh God! How I don't want to be like them! Let us never forget his love for us, let us never forget his faithfulness to us, let us never forget his pursuit of us, let us never forget Jesus.

My Life

I spent one week this summer in Idaho with my family. We visited an old historic town from the 1800's. It was interesting to see all the antiques and artifacts. We visited the cemetery, and many of the graves looked like this. They were beat up and ignored. The name on this grave, and about 90% of all the other graves in the cemetery is "Unknown." It struck me that this person had been dead for at least one hundred years, probably close to two hundred. No one knows who he (or she) was. Nobody knows what his occupation was, if he had a family, anything. I started wondering if this person had any significance in life at all. Was the world any different because he had come and gone? What gives a human life significance? God knew this person. This person was made in the image of God. He had significance because he was created by the creator of the universe. Every person on earth has some meaning and significance because of who God is and who he created us to be. Life has meaning because we were created by God and for God. A proper response to that would be a life of worship. That means my whole life would be something that honors God and honors who he made me to be. When I pass, and hundreds of years are gone by, I would hope the world is a better place because I lived in a way that showed the love of my creator to the people around me.

An Issue Of The Heart

In Luke 6:43-45 and Mark 7:18-23 we learn that what we say and how we act are results of what is in our hearts. It seems to make sense and it's easy enough to comprehend. But the more I look at my relationship with Christ, I find that I get hung up on sin management, just trying to please God by sinning as little as possible. I try to mask what's in my heart by just trying to stop whatever sin might be coming out. Lately I feel like God has been showing me that my heart is the issue, not my sin. Sin is the result of my sinful heart. Luckily there is hope, when I accepted Jesus as my savior, God sent his Holy Spirit into my heart. The Spirit calls out "Abba, Father." Because of this Spirit, God accepts me as his son and he is helping me clean up my heart. I am prompted to pray what David prayed in Psalm 51:10, "Create in me a pure heart, O God." When God sent Jesus to die on the cross, he didn't do it just so we would all behave like good little children. He did it so that we might realize his deep love and come to repentance. He did it so we would be able to fall totally and completely in love with him, so that we would love him with all our heart.

The First Post

Just thought I'd give blogging a shot. The content will consist of a mixture of thoughts, tales of adventure, and musings. Please make sure to keep your hands and feet inside at all times. Thank you.