God Unplugged

2002-03-19T04:32:00.000-08:00

When people ask "are you saved?" what do they mean? Well usually they mean have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior? But is that the only salvation discussed in the Bible? In 1 Corinthians 1:18 Paul says "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." He's addressing believers as opposed to those who are just coming to an understanding that Jesus is who He said He was. But according to our language they would've already been saved. They would no longer be "being saved" The way it is described in the bible salvation isn't a one time event. It isn't something that is done and the quota is filled. God is constantly working out salvation for each of us. When someone asks "are you saved?" the real questions are "have you been saved? are you being saved? will you be saved?" Those are the three areas the bible addresses. Because of God's grace and our inheritance of that grace through a belief in Jesus Christ we can have confidence in answering all three of these in the affirmative.

We were saved from the penalty of sin. (Romans 6:23)
We are being saved from the power of sin. (1 Cor 15:56)
One day we will be saved from the presence of sin. (Rom 5:20-21)

"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:20-21)

2002-02-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

Deuteronomy 28:15-68 - Trouble Often Starts Out as Fun

If it takes 8-10 years before cigarettes' detrimental effects materialize but only a few months for those caused by the use of narcotics like crack, heroine and xctasy then why do people continue to use them? Are they really that stupid and reckless? Well, I don't know. I think it's more of a societal symptom than anything else. We are constantly driven by our own desires. Instant gratification is always the preferred meal of the day. We take what we want, when we want and resolve to consider the consequences at a later date. The tragedy is that when piloted by our own desires we are subject to change from day to day. This day I may want a 36" television tomorrow 36" won't be big enough, I'll have to have a 50" screen. But a daily diet of day to day desires is about as healthy as eating a different type of candy each day, depending on what you have a taste for. You'll soon see that those things we desire most are the things that kill us the best. Someone used the examples of a gun, a pack of cigarettes, and a sweet potato pie. We definitely would steer clear of the gun. That could kill you. The cigarettes can also kill you. They just do it slower. But who could turn down a delicious sweet potato pie?! "Surely that wouldn't kill you." Well you may not think so but there are more than a few surprises hidden in that pie. There's diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, all kinds of potentially fatal medical problems that a pie (or any other dessert used consistently over time) could bring about. Living by our desires is a dangerous way to live.

In Deuteronomy God devotes only a fourth of the time to blessings as He does to the penalties of our sins. Why would God be so mean and focused on cruelty? Well it's for our benefit. By doing this God shows that He understands us and our tendencies to let our eyes and desires guide our actions. This has been going on since the very beginning. God is well versed on our desires. While we enjoy now and pay later God wants us to view it from the correct perspective. He wants us to view the consequences of those actions. He wants us to weigh the costs and check the ingredients. He cares for us. The things we consider fun today will lead us through more than we can afford later in life. Do you really want to live like that?

The wages of sin is death - I'm glad I quit before payday.

2002-02-12T06:42:00.000-08:00

This blog is comprised of my personal conversations with God. It's really important to me that I start my day off in the Word to see whatever He wants to show me. I type them out so I don't forget so these posts are just cut & pasted from my daily journal. Oh yeah, and they're unedited so don't laugh at the typos.

2002-02-12T05:51:00.000-08:00

Numbers 32:1-42 - The Right or Wrong Choice

The tribes of Ruben, Gad and half the tribe of Mannaseh petitioned Moses to give them a strip of land outside of Canaan. It appears that they made the wrong decision by choosing a land outside of the land God promised to give and protect. Maybe it was because a lack of faith. Moses was dissappointed in their decision. We sometimes see others decisions as lack of faith in God. We believe them to not be choosing God's best.
Here we see that the tribes decision was not fueled by a lack of faith. In verse 17 they are willing to "cross over to fight". The original Hebrew is clear on this meaning. It means "hurrying before the Israelites". They were willing to be on the front lines understanding that this is the most dangerous position. It's not that they didn't trust in God because this language shows they definitely did. We must be mindful that it's not our opinion of others decisions that matters. God's opinionis the only one that counts for anything. Our concern can only be allowing them the same freedom God allows us to follow wherever He leads. Sometimes we choose to follow. Sometimes we choose to turn tail and run the other way but our advice must be "Trust in the Lord and follow where He leads". That's about as opinionated as we can be.

2002-02-12T05:49:00.000-08:00

Numbers 21:1-35 - A Little Faith Can Catch On

In Chapter 20 the Israelites, even Moses, were wavering in their belief. We even see Moses falter in this area. Here we see a different picture In the beginning of the chapter the Israelites are defeated by the Canaanite king of Arad. They plead with the Lord to give them a victory. It really didn't matter how large a victory. The Lord gave it to them. Then they wavered again (unbelievable right? we would never do that!). God gave them another opportunity with the bronze snake. Israel showed that it had a few believers (the ones who were bitten and lived) The ones without faith were not around to see the victories God had planned for Israel. From this point it began to catch on. God took the faithful and began to give them victory after victory. Even over king of the Ammorites. The victories grew larger and larger but they started with small victories and a little faith.

2002-02-12T05:47:00.000-08:00

Exodus 5:22 - Your honest prayer

Moses' prayer to God was an honest prayer. God called Moses to go to Egypt to free the Israelites. In those days the strength of your god was measured by the success of his people. The more successful the more powerful the god. The Israelites however were slaves! And God was the most powerful God of all. So in this case after being called Moses cries out in frustration 'why not yet?'

Sometimes this is how we feel towards God. There is nothing unnatural about it. Sometimes we're frustrated at God's timing and understanding His sovereignty we make our requests and sometimes complaints to Him. There is nothing wrong with that because by going to Him you're showing that you know who is in charge. We can't see His plan and He is not obligated to reveal it to us so of course we'll be frustrated from time to time. Our perspective is limited. Moses still came with respect and honesty before God. And we can see that He was clearly frustrated. Moses had acted as God directed and God still remained passive waiting for the appropriate time.

God answered Moses' prayer in chapter 6 and it began. The deliverance of Israel. When God moved it made history. Everybody, even today, knows about this. God will let the situation appear so hopeless and inescapable that when deliverance comes we must recognize by who's hand it comes and bow knowing that God is still on the throne and He hasn't missed a beat. If it didn't happen this way it would be all too easy to forget about God, who He is and how much power He really has. For all of our intellect, advances, and spirituality God is still the one with all power and He's still capable of doing anything He wants. Even though it looks hopeless that's when we can be most hopeful that we're closer to the time God is going to act.

2002-02-12T05:41:00.000-08:00

Exodus 28:1-30 - Self Esteem From God's Perspective

God's instruction to Aaron concerning the breastplate is especially significant. In the New Testament we are all priest. We all can enter into God's presence on behalf of others and ourselves. (1 Peter 2:9) In the Old Testament the Israelites didn't have that right. The priest did this. The priest were the only ones who could enter the temple. The high priest was the only one who could enter the holy of holies, carrying sacrificial blood, to make atonement for all of the sins. In the NT the high priest is Jesus. (Hebrews 10:10-14). He is the true high priest because He entered Heaven with His own blood as a sacrifice for everyone who would believe.

So in the OT Aaron is instructed to make a breastplate for the high priest and the construction illustrates a very important point. The breastplate had 12 different stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The name of the head of each tribe was carved on a stone and each was placed in the breastplate in three rows of four. This breastplate was hung, using gold chains, over the heart of the high preist. Likewise the ephod had 2 onyx stones each containing the names of 6 tribes of Israel. 12 altogether. These were fastened to the shoulders of the high priest. These were some of the garments the high priests put on before entering into the holy of holies. And God instructed Aaron to make it this way for a reason. They represent something important.

We live in a society today where low self-esteem is rampant. Images on television tell our daughters that they are insufficient because their breasts aren't big enough. Music videos tell our sons that they aren't valuable if they don't have a lot of money to spend on expensive alcohol, cars, and women who wear nothing but bikinis. Women don't want men who offer anything less than the ability to take care of them and their shopping habits and material needs. Men want nothing less than women who's bodily worth has depreciated to the point where they can give their bodies for practically nothing at all. We are constantly bombarded with images, ideals, and twisted morals that subtlely and sometimes overtly indicate that we are of less value than the next person. God sees things a bit differently. The ephod worn by the high priest, which is now Jesus, is symbolically carrying our weight. Actually carrying us into the presence of God. We are priests but the priests could not enter into the holy of holies. Only the high priest could do that. And Jesus carries us with Him when He goes as our representative before the throne of God (1 John 2:1). The breastplate exemplifies what God thinks about our worth. The names of the representatives from all the tribes are placed in a precious, unique stone. There were 12 altogether. They were made to be distinctly different from the rest and still distinctly valuable in it's own way. The NT says that we are "a peculiar people". Yes, we are different. Each and everyone of us has a different value in God's eyes but none less valuable than the next. These 12 stones were placed on the breastplate of the high priest of Israel. They were hung by gold cords over the heart of the priest. This is exactly where Jesus is keeping us. Over His heart! Jesus will always carry our names close to His heart as the high priest of God's chosen people.

It's funny how I overlooked detailed descriptions like this for years. Never understanding that if God goes through such great lengths to describe something it must mean something very important.

2002-02-12T05:40:00.000-08:00

Gen 18:16-23 - Abraham prays for God to spare the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah

Abraham's intercession was a good lesson for everyone. The first thing it teaches is that even though we may believe that our repeated requests bother God we see that God was more than willing to listen to them. Even when we read this passage for the first time we kinda get nervous for Abraham. Perhaps thinking something like "Be careful. He's gonna get mad." God never does with Abraham. The second thing we learn is that it is important to have an accurate view of God. Abraham assumed that God didn't care about the righteous in the cities and that He would destroy them with the wicked. Why would we assume that we care more about the righteous than God does. God shows that He too is concerned about them and He is not willing to let even one perish. There was only one found worthy among both cities and God let Lot escape and He also let His two daughters and wife go (until she looked back) even though they didn't deserve to. God is very much concerned about those we intercede for. Moreso than we could ever be. They belong to Him and He will care for them.

2002-02-12T05:39:00.000-08:00

Gen 12:1-9 - God's covenant with Abraham

God's promises to Abram was not conditional on his leaving Ur. Our obedience does not activate God's promises. It actually works the other way around. Here is one analogy:
God's power is similar to the electricity in our homes. He's there just waiting for us to activate all of that power. He really wants to act on our behalf but He won't unless we hit the proper switch to release the power. Unless we flip the switch, turn the knob, or press the right button God's power does not flow. He is the power and we activate it.

It kinda sounds strange when you look at it that way. In a weird way it may make sense but if God is really that powerful why is His power dependent upon our flipping the right switch? This is a better way to look at it:
We have faith in God. Our relationship is established through our faith in Him and He happens to be the source our power. Our faith also maintains that relationship. It is not our obedience that activates His promises. It is His promises that activate our obedience. Abram left Ur because of God's promises not the other way around. This is how it is in any case. We have faith in God because we believe who He says He is. We obey Him because we have faith in Him and His promises. It is His promises that cause us to obey. Because we have faith in Him it would be crazy, on our part, to ignore those things He tells us to do.

2002-02-12T05:36:00.000-08:00

Gen 9:9-17 - The Rainbow Problem

It's not that Satan isn't funny. He just has a twisted sense of humor. To us it's not funny because it's often so painful and to our detriment. It's like he's the guy always laughing at us not with us. I was thinking about the Noahic covenant. God broke traditional covenant etiquitte and instead of having an "if" clause in this covenant He simply made a promise. There was no "our end of the bargain" to keep up. We can just simply rest assurred that God will stand by this covenant. The covenant is "Never again. Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth". And to remind us of this grace extended by Him and His compassion and love for us we were given a sign. That sign was a rainbow. God worked within the laws of His created universe to create a beautiful sign. The way the raindrops work as a prism to break up the suns natural light into the individual colors that comprise white light amazed people for years. God meant it to be a reminder to us. Every time we saw a rainbow we could remember God's covenant still stands. It quietly speaks about our relationship with God and how He views that relationship with us. He's not a God of demands but of promises. God makes promises to us that do not always depend on our ability to carry out our end. He commits to things despite our less than stellar performance. We know that God will never fail us no matter how many times we let Him down. What a beautiful concept with a beautiful symbol to remind us.
Where does satan fit in?
We'll it's 2002 and that rainbow has become a symbol for something else. It has become the flag for homosexuality. Everywhere you drive you can see cars with rainbow bumper stickers plastered on the back of their cars. They may even have a slogan attatched to them. In this era where Christians, through their silence, are losing their societal voice sexual immorality runs rampant. The symbol of God's promise has been perverted and used out of context. Now when some people see rainbows the first thing they think of is a homosexual or a lesbian. The symbol for the Noahic covenant has stood for thousands of years and now satan is trying to remove the reminder from our hearts replacing it with a meaning that goes against God's relationship with us and focuses on our relationships with each other. God is cut out of the picture. See what I mean? Most people don't even notice. They just accept the new connotation. They're forgetting.

...but I still remember. and as long as I do I won't keep quiet. The covenant hasn't changed.

2002-02-12T05:34:00.000-08:00

Gen 6:19-22 - The story of Noah's Ark

Noah's faithfulness is something to take note of. God told him to build an ark and told him exactly how it should be done. The earth had not known rain. Gen 2:6 tells us that the earth was watered by underground springs. Noah's faithfulness is considered great because he was ridiculed for doing what God told him for 120 years (v.3). 120 years!! Most times we can't take somebody saying "how do you know God said that" (satan's first argument). We cave on the first question. Noah was sure and he was obedient even when it didn't really make sense to him. For 120 years he and his sons built a massive ship, planted and harvested crops, and made preparation for what God said He was going to do. The determination is so crucial. 120 is a long time for us to keep anything up even if we believe it. Noah had so much faith in God he continued to labor even though the fruits could not be seen for a long time.

In v.9 Noah was considered righteous and blameless. This doesn't mean he was without sin. The bible doesn't imply that when it uses these terms. It refers to persons who sincerely desires to please God

2002-01-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

Still pondering the beginning. This one is going to take a while...

Gensis
Chapter 3
v. 8-19
The punishment for the original sin was not an arbitrary punishment by God but it was a result of the moral nature of the universe. It had to be punished and the punishment fit the crime. God intended for us to live one way and that way was in His will. If we chose to do that our lives would've been wonderful. There is no indication of pain or stress (based on the nature of the punishment). The punishment showed us that Eve would exhibit the desire for us to dominate over one another. This is the first instance of heirarchy in the human race. Work would now become difficult for men. What a wonderful concept it is to have to work but it not be "work". The word work is now viewed as toil. It is all a result of the first sin.

Satan's arguments are typical of how he acts today. He hasn't abandoned the method.
1) Question the existence of God's standard - "Did God really say?" (3:1)
2) Cast doubt on God's motives for establishing the standard - "God knows that when you eat....you will be like God"(v.5)
3) Deny the consequences of violating the standard - "You will not surely die" (v.4)
Memorize these argument types so you can detect when satan is at work. Used individually or in conjunction these three can do damage to your relationship with God.

Death has four aspects biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. When Adam and Eve sinned they exhibited signs of death on all 4 levels. Bioloically we still see the effects today. We are constantly being chased by death. From the moment we're born it slowly stalks us waiting for it's chance to pounce. Psychologically Adam and Eve experienced a new set of emotions. They were ashamed and guilty. These were new to them and they had no hope of defending against them. No guilt or grief counselors or support groups. They found themselves alone. This went directly against their purpose. God intended for them to be together and together with Him. Now they're alienated with these new emotions that they can't go to God to for help. The results of sin will create greater problems than you've had. Socially they blamed each other. Sin created a division and destroyed the harmony God desired. Another illustration of sins destructive force. And spiritually they were separated from God. The love He showed them now became something to hide from. God hadn't done anything to make them afraid of Him. He had acted to the contrary but their sin caused them to be terrified of the One who showed them nothing but love. What a huge effect sin has. It can divide to the core. It doesn't make any sense that they should've been scared God loved them!!! Sin is a deceitful monster that can have devastating effects.

God banishing Adam and Eve was an act of grace. If they would've eaten the fruit from the tree they would've lived forever and by doing so after they'd sinned they would've had to witness every atrocity that would be committed as a result of their actions. Wars, famine, murder. They would've witnessed them all and knew that it was all happening because of them. That's why Isaiah says:
"The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they must find rest as they lie in death" (Isa. 57:1-2)

2002-01-02T04:36:00.000-08:00

Pondering the creation...

In the beginning God caused everything to be. He never learned how to do it. He was never taught or learned it through trial and error. He simply did it. Through God's omniscience He already knew how to create a universe. If you're ever in doubt about this concept or lose the ability to marvel at God's craftmanship go to the aquarium or the zoo. Go to the botanical gardens or the arboretum. God's fingerprints are everywhere. They are unmistakeable and can not rationally be mistaken for chance. This universe we live in was designed by a divine designer not popped into existence by random chance. God is wonderful and so are we and the environment He has placed us in. That's why after every day God says "It is good". Man is another acheivement altogether. By God's own words the creation of man is "very good". We must be careful not to turn God's very good creation into a very perverted one. Honor His workmanship. Make Him proud.

The universe sprang into being at God's command. "He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm" (Ps. 33:9) God did this! And as we look around our beautiful planet that still holds many mysteries God's words still echo for us to hear. He is still speaking to us through His creation. Every unique snowflake, every budding flower and rock formation. The original purpose of the universe was to display God's glory. Since then sin has tainted it and even through all of that God's speech is a timeless echo that will continue to reverberate until the end of the earth. What a worship experience!

v. 26-27
Throughout the creation God spoke everything into existence until it was time to create man. God stooped down and used His own hands to create a creature that beared His likeness!! God crafted us. With the woman He didn't create her from the clay as He did Adam. This could've caused a confusion about who she was. She was not another creation made after Adam. She was a creation made from Adam. If Adam was made in God's image so was the woman. They both are. Just like every human on earth. How can we look at our brothers and sisters with contempt?! They are made by the same God who made us. Their sin doesn't make them less wonderfully and marvelously made. We are designed by the same designer. Their capacity to receive God's love through Jesus Christ is no different from ours. He can reach them like He reached us. We are supposed to love them like they are the same. In God's eyes our values are equal. So why do we treat each other like we're all of different value?

2001-12-06T05:21:00.000-08:00

Psalm 8 is a wonderful passage. I was reading yesterday when things were starting to get to me. I got a wonderfully fresh perspective on God. Omniscience is such a church word. I guess it would have to be because God is the only one who is omniscient. The only place you could hear it would be in church or in conversations that had anything to do with God. But I guess one of the drawbacks to this being strictly a church term is that the richness of the concept is kinda diluted, at least for me. It's far too easy to think "omniscience...that's what God is." and move on about my day. But in reading Psalm 8 I kinda understood it a little clearer. Omniscience put another way says that God knows everything about everything. There are people who spend their entire lives learning and studying phenomena and observing the world and our surroundings. Take astronomers. They study the solar system, space, and everything outside this planet. Pulsars, quasars, nebula. They're always learning more about things like this...always unraveling the mystery. Biologists are the same way. The human body is a amazingly, awesome, complex work of art. There is so much we've learned about these bodies we live in and so much still left unknown. We know our bodies "work" but the 'why' of it is still only partially answered. Why can't we cure viruses, why does cancer form (we know causes but nothing definitive)? There is so much money being put into the study of ourselves everyday. And still God knows everything about everything. He made it all. The laws that physically govern this universe, the deceitful beauty of Saturns rings and the Sun's solar flares. The graceful mechanics of the human body. He was there in the beginning and He made it all happen. He knows how it all works down to the most minute detail. Potters spend weeks and months honing their craft. When they first start they're not so good. They make a few failed attempts their first times out. They may have the clay spinning while they shape it and as soon as it starts to take shape something goes wrong and a minor fold or overexaggerated crease causes the wet, fragile clay to collapse into a spinning deformity. Eventually they get better and after a while they're creating complex molds. But when I think about God and how He created the universe I marvel at the fact that He just simply "knew". There were no bached attempts. As beautiful as I believe this place I call home to be, I bow at the revelation that God never learned how to make a universe. He just did it...and it's wonderful. God knows everything about everything.
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him..."(Psalm 8:3-4)

2001-11-30T04:55:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas season again. And again it's provoking a lot of thought. I was thinking about Joseph and Mary. What a marvelously unlikely couple to bring the Son of God into the world! Two people who are pledged to be married but haven't officially been married or had sex receive news that she is pregnant and will give birth to the Son of God. Wait, rewind that. They didn't receive the news. It was just told to Mary. Can you imagine Joseph's reaction?! His soon to be wife comes to him and says....

Mary: Joe, honey, I have something to tell you.
Joseph: Sure, what is it sweetheart?
Mary: I'm pregnant.
Joseph: What?!?! How could you be pregnant?! I know I didn't do it! We're supposed to be getting married. How could you do this?? Pregnant by whom?
Mary: The Holy Spirit. The angel told me.

Here is the part where normal people would start the cursing. lol This type of thing has never, EVER happened before. Everybody knows when you get pregnant there must be a man and a woman. She's saying she's pregnant but she hasn't had sex with anybody. Maybe it's just the 21st century in me speaking but that sounds like a bunch of ~~bull$#!t~~. The "Holy Spirit"!?! Yeah, right. So now he's upset that she's pregnant. The chastity thing was really big for them back then so to him his wife is "broken" because no one will believe that she didn't have sex with another man. Joseph has to decide if he's going to believe this seemingly impossible story or not and what he is going to do. What an awful position to be in for both of them. And to top it all off, neither of them did anything wrong to deserve this. This is actually a blessing it's just that they can't see it yet. Joseph has lost his wife and Mary has lost her husband over this deal. "Way to go God." It's funny. God knew what He was doing just like He does today and still this is sometimes my attitude during a time when my blessing is developing. I can't see it so my mind immediately makes the bad assumption that "God doesn't know what He's doing."

So what does Joseph do?
"Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." (Matt. 1:19)
This is the action of a practical and caring man. His wife to be is now pregnant, not by him, so he can't possibly marry her (think with your first century brain not your 21st century one). But he didn't want her to suffer the public humiliation (plus they stoned adulterous women around this time). So he planned to keep the pain a secret and handle it privately. Joseph was a good man!
Then we see the Lord intervene and tell Joseph, in a dream, that what Mary said was true. When Joseph woke up he decided to take Mary as his wife. But they didn't consumate the marriage until after she had the child. (that's big for another reason that I won't deal with now)

Then we know the story from there. Jesus was born at a stable because there were no vacancies in any inns. Placed in a trough with hay. Here is where the savior of the entire world began the journey. The unlikely mother, the father, Joe the carpenter and a stable. Inside a town that was no bigger than a couple city blocks. If Jesus was this great king, the son of God, God incarnate why didn't he come through a wealthy family? Why didn't he live His life in luxury until it was time to finish the assignment? If He did we could say "I understand that. It makes sense. Sure he's the Son of God, He's the richest man in the province." Instead we are asked to believe "This man is the Son of God?! That's carpenter Joe's boy from Bethlehem. It doesn't make any sense." Absolutely right. It doesn't make any sense. But for us that is the only way we will notice God. If it made sense we would chalk it up to 'reason' and have no cause to consider God had anything to do with it. But this highly unlikely event happening to these highly unlikely people in a highly unlikely place at exactly the time it was prophesied forces us to say "Ok God, you've got my attention. I'm interested in seeing how you're gonna turn this one around." And now we're in the perfect position to listen.
There's a song originally by a group called 4Him (now on Fred Hammond's Christmas). It goes...

Why me, I'm just a simple man of trade?
Why Him, with all the rulers of the world?
Why here, inside a stable filled with hay?
Why her, she's just an ordinary girl?
Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say...
But this is such a strange way to save the world.

...and God has my full attention. What about yours?

2001-11-28T05:38:00.000-08:00

"If God is so good why would He even allow hell to exist? God isn't like that. He wants everybody to live with Him in love. It doesn't make sense for a loving God to punish anyone. I mean...He's God. It's His say in how we end up and He loves us too much to punish us."

Sound familiar?

I read a bunch of Christian posts in forums that sounded just like this. Logically this would make sense. It sounds like pretty solid reasoning and it also has a tint of hope in it that suggest that no matter how you live God is love and He wouldn't dare punish someone with an eternal sentence of hell. The truth is that God is a God of love (2 Cor 13:11) but if He was just that He wouldn't be much of a God would He? He would be the most single faceted God I've ever heard of. People are more complex than this why would we assume that God isn't. We can't. It's a bad assumption. So let's see what else God is.

"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)
"God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day." (Psalm 7:11)

Let's just deal with these two. "He is the Rock" (referring to foundational rock) "his works are perfect and all his ways are just". In order for God to be just there must be a right and wrong. Because God is just He will reward the right and punish the wrong. If He didn't this scripture would be a lie about God. But in His justice we have the comfort and the contract that He is a "faithful God who does no wrong". If a punishment is given it's not because of God's unjustness but because, in addition to the love that is a characteristic of Him, He administers judgement because it is also part of His nature. It is not up to us to seperate those things that God is in order to construct a perception of Him that helps us sleep better at night.

The second assumption made in this type of thinking is also just as bad. Let's, for the sake of argument, say that God is love and that's it and that He won't punish us to hell. What's wrong with this picture is the fact that we assume that we're good enough to deserve Heaven. We're good enough to live in the presence of God for all eternity. He's God and we're His children so we're entitled to life with Him. The truth is no one is entitled to eternal life at all. We only have it by His grace. It was Adam and Eve's decision to seperate from God and it was our decision that we didn't want to have anything to do with Him. It was His decision to send Jesus, in the form of a man, to serve in the place we couldn't. We could never be the sacrifice to save ourselves. You don't sacrifice a blemished life to save a blemished life. Only an unblemished sacrifice is enough. So it was God's grace that paid what we could not. How is it that we "deserve" eternal life?

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)
"Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you." (Psalm 143:2)

It's a big mistake to assume we get a free ticket into paradise. And I still have no idea what that assumption is based on. We don't deserve it but because He is God we can have it. He's reached out His hand on so many occasions (in the garden, during the exodus, on the cross, in our lives). Time after time He's extended an opportunity for us to be a part of Him and more often than we can afford we turn it down. "No thanks God, I'm okay." When do we open our eyes and see who He really is. Not just a loving God but a just God, a vengeful God, a God who knows the sincerity of our hearts and the extent of our righteousness. When do we take advantage of this opportunity He has given specifically to us?

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)

In our minds this is too high a price to pay so we turn away as if this was just a helpful suggestion and not the promise of the One true God. And if we take Him up on this promise of grace we will obtain what was out of our grasp. There will be a day when God surveys the body of people He created and will separate those who love Him from those who wanted to live their life without Him. When the matter of eternal life arises their justice will be "Ok you've voluntarily lived your life without me. That was your choice. So I won't force you to live with me in eternal life either. That wouldn't be fair to you."

God is watching you. What are you showing Him?

2001-11-19T04:29:00.000-08:00

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Cor. 10:13)

--Many times it is said, often as a point of encouragement, that God will not put on us more than we can bear. This however is not necessarily supported by scripture. It is definitely an encouraging statement and it has even encouraged me from time to time. In 1 Cor. 10:13 it speaks of God not letting more than we can bear come upon us but this passage is strictly speaking about temptation. Temptation is different from problems and other circumstances. It is also very specific. Nowhere else in scripture does it boast the claim that God won't "put more on us" than we can bear.
--But based on God's Word we are encouraged by the display of others strong in the faith that we can actually bear a lot. Take Job for example. Job didn't believe that he could bear losing everything in one day. His family, his possessions, his character, everything was taken from him on the worst day of his life. He pleaded and pleaded with God. But he beared up under it. God lifted His hand of protection and allowed satan to traipse on Job's life with the one limit of not killing him and satan did an excellent job. Job, however, beared satan's best. As bad as it got and as much as he didn't want to live anymore Job survived. His posture during this period was an example for all of us. He prayed. He prayed for others. He bore his calamity well.
--Often times we would opt not to bear those things that God very much desires for us to do. We would rather not deal with them and in taking this attitude we fight against the very God who is trying to teach us to handle it. He's trying to make us stronger and build our faith. Sometimes we can't bear it, as in the case with the Israelites exodus from Egypt and the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace. In those times we must have faith that God will intervene. God has and exercises liberty when He is trying to get us to grow up in our faith. We don't dictate to Him how we want to grow. He gently and sometimes sternly prunes us according to His will. Sometimes we get more than we can bear and we fail to successfully navigate it when we choose to bear it without Him. Other times we only think we can't bear it (Gen 4:11-15) and we wish we didn't have to. Sometimes we pray for Him to remove it but God has other plans. It is up to us to be open to His sovereignty. He knows how much we can bear and He uses that knowledge to mature us through whatever means He deems necessary.

2001-09-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

So much to discuss. Where do I start?.....