Only Christ

Where is our hope? What does Christ’s work on the cross really mean for us? Does any of it really matter now? Most Christians really don’t think about these questions at all, let alone in depth. Some don’t care, others are afraid of the answers or how the answers would confront modern culture. Yet these questions are fundamental for our life now and in eternity.

 

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

 

Only in Christ should we place our hope and trust. He is the only One eternal and all powerful, the only One completely trustworthy. He should be the One to light our way. He said He is the light. John 1:5 His truth shines in the darkness and reveals what is out there. It shows us where to go, how to live. He is our strength. Only He can give us what we need for this live, and He has already done it. We only need to seek Him. It is only right for us to sing His praises. He is the cornerstone we are built upon, the only cornerstone that provides a firm foundation. Ephesians 2:20 Only He and His truth can withstand the storms of life. We could never comprehend the full height, depth, or power of His love. Ephesians 3:18-19 His peace is beyond understanding. Philippians 4:6-7 Once we trust Him fully, our fears give way. When we stop trying to do life on our own, we find His strength and peace. He should be everything to us. We can stand unafraid because of His love for us.

 

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

 

Jesus is the only Son of God. He has all authority, power and kingship. Yet, He gave that all up to become a man, born as a helpless child, so that He could be a sacrifice for us. Philippians 2:7-8 He freely gives us His love and righteousness, things we could never accomplish or earn on our own. He died for us while we were still sinners, even enemies of God, but He did it anyway. Romans 5:9 How great a love! God’s wrath against all sin was laid on Him and fully satisfied and satiated. Isaiah 53:5 His death brought us life, here on earth and eternity. Prior to belief in His sacrifice we are spiritually dead. Romans 6:23 It is only faith in Him that can make us alive. We can live a full life because of His death.

 

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

 

If Christ had died and stayed dead as every other human, He would not have been God. But He was raised back to life on the third day to conquer death and prove His deity. Acts 2:32-33 He stands in Heaven victorious over sin and death. He paid the debt of sin that we owe so that we could gain His righteousness and live forever with Him. Once we give our lives to Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. We are free. Not free to live as we want, but free to choose obedience to Christ. Free to live a life free from sin. We are bought with His blood. How can we respond in any way but in grateful obedience and submission!

 

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

 

In Christ, we are no longer condemned by our sin. We have no guilt before God. The enemy tries to make us feel guilty and ashamed, but we are free to reject it and accept the love and forgiveness Christ purchased on the cross. Romans 8:1-2 We no longer need to fear death because Jesus conquered death. Once we die we will be in heaven and free from this life. Jesus is in complete control. He orchestrates our being, our every breath. Yes, we still have the freedom to choose what we do, but we are longer enslaved to sin and unable to make that choice. Nothing can remove us from His love. John 10:28, Romans 8:38-39 We have His power. We can and should live in that power because He died to give it to us.

 

Is your hope in Christ and what He has done for you? What does this mean for your life? How will it change the way that you live?

 

 

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com)

Warts: The Root of the Problem

Warts can be a big problem. They are very contagious and hard to get rid of, not to mention unsightly and even painful. As much as people don’t like them, the pain of getting rid of them may be more than some are willing to bear. I had some on my feet when I was 4 and they had to be burned off. I still remember the pain. Unfortunately, that pain is necessary to kill the root. If only the visible part of the wart is removed, it will come back. Like weeds, if the roots are allowed to remain, they will grow back.

 

Lent Week 6: A Life of Reconciliation

In our journey to the Resurrection, we have established that we are mortal, alive only by the grace and breath of God. We have sinned, resulting in eternal separation from God and daily suffering in this life. The fact of sin in our lives and in our world should cause us to grieve deeply.

 

Yet God had a plan from the beginning to redeem us. Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sin so that we only have to believe in Him, surrendering our lives to Him, taking our punishment on Himself. God is calling us to repent, to acknowledge our sin, turn away from it and toward Him. He has promised to forgive us if we ask and is calling us to return to Him.

 

But reconciliation is not a one-step, one-time occurrence. It is a process. We must daily live in that reconciliation, and be God’s hand extending that reconciliation to the world. We are to be reconciled to God and to others, but also to help others be reconciled to Him. We are to leave the death of sin and walk forward in the life of reconciliation. That includes saying no to sin and being obedient to God, but at the same time putting off the shame of our past so that we can walk in the newness and abundance of life in Christ. Sin is bad and we should treat it as such, but we should not allow what has happened to keep us bound. We need to ask God to forgive us but then walk forward accepting that forgiveness. We should not hold onto what God has forgotten.

 

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

Take some time to consider your life. Have you been reconciled to God? Are you walking in that reconciliation daily, putting off sin and shame and moving forward in redemption? What can you practically do to walk in reconciliation and help others find reconciliation with God?

Lent week 5: God's Plan to Save

As we’ve seen over the last four weeks, sin is a problem for all of humanity and has been almost since the beginning of creation. As humans there is nothing we can do about it, for we are made from dust. Sin is a problem for us and for the world and the cause of all suffering, a problem that should make us grieve, yet God is calling us to return to Him. He had a plan to fix the problem of sin from the beginning.

 

Genesis 3:15 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

And I will make enemies
Of you and the woman,
And of your offspring and her Descendant;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise Him on the heel.

John 3:16 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

John 14:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Romans 6:22-23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

 

We have suffered as a result of sin and it should cause us to grieve, but praise God we do not have to remain in mourning over sin! There is an answer to our sin, and life on the other side! We no longer have to remain slaves to sin, dead in our transgressions.

 

Even before the first sin was committed God made a plan to redeem His people and reverse the effects of sin. He made a way to save us from the great debt we would owe. He sent Jesus to live a perfect life, to take our sin on Himself and pay the debt that we owe. We can turn to Him, to His sacrifice, and accept the life He gives, exchanging His for ours. Take some time to consider the provision God has made for new life in Him. What does this inspire you to think, say and feel?

Call to Return: Lent week 4

The last couple weeks in our journey to the Resurrection we have looked at sin, ours and mankind’s. Sin is what separates us from God; He cannot tolerate it nor bear it in His presence. It caused spiritual death in the garden, and continues to cause spiritual death in our lives. The sin in our own lives, if left unchecked, spreads death and decay into the rest of our lives, and the sin of our society and country brings death and decay to everyone.

 

That is why Jesus came to die, to pay the debt of our sin so that we can gain His righteousness and be accepted by God. It is only through believing in His sacrifice that we can be saved from the eternal death and destruction caused by sin. And it is only through His power and deliverance that we can say no to sin and yes to God. That is the only way we can leave sin behind and have the true, abundant life of God. God loves us too much to leave us in sin. He accepts us as we are, but we cannot be in His presence while in sin.

 

In order to have a relationship with Him we must put off sin and put on Christ. This does not mean that we will be perfect, but that our lives will be devoted to living for Him, that our desire is to please Him and not ourselves. We must repent of our sin in order to have that relationship. We have to acknowledge that what we do is wrong, confess it to God, ask Him to forgive us and then turn away from it and strive to live in obedience to Him, and when we fall back into sin we repeat the process. Hopefully as time goes on the times when we fall become less as we grow closer to God. We must not get caught in the idea that we have fallen too far to come back. God is calling us to return to Him every time we fall away. As you read the verses below, surrender your whole heart to God. Ask Him to show you any part of your heart and life that are not surrendered completely to Him.

 

Joel 2:12-18 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping, and mourning;
And tear your heart and not merely your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in mercy
And relenting of catastrophe.
Who knows, He might turn and relent,
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Resulting in a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God.
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Have the groom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,
Weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “Spare Your people, Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a disgrace,
With the nations jeering at them.
Why should those among the peoples say,
‘Where is their God?’”

Then the Lord will be zealous for His land,
And will have compassion for His people.

Marked: Lent week 3

Last week we considered our own sins that grieve us and God. Sin takes the life out of us and our relationships. It promises happiness and pleasure, but brings only pain and suffering. It also separates us from God and puts a barrier between us to the extent of hindering our prayers if we do not repent. Last week I had you write down on a piece of paper your own sin, those you were aware of and those God has revealed to you.

 

Ezekiel 9:4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.”

 

Now consider the sins of mankind; of your nation, society, community, the Church and the world. What grieves you? Take out the piece of paper I had you write your sins on and write these down on the other side. Confess and repent to God for the sins of yourself and the people. Pray the prayer of Daniel listed below.

 

Daniel 9:1-19 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, and said, “Oh, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, we have done wrong, and acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.

“Righteousness belongs to You, Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. Open shame belongs to us, Lord, to our kings, our leaders, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, because we have rebelled against Him; and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. Indeed, all Israel has violated Your Law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has gushed forth on us, along with the oath which is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him. So He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great disaster; for under the entire heaven there has not been done anything like what was done in Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our wrongdoing and giving attention to Your truth. So the Lord has kept the disaster in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

“And now, Lord, our God, You who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the wrongdoings of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an object of taunting to all those around us. So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for Your sake, Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. My God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our pleas before You based on any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion. Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

 

When you are done, set the paper on fire and let it burn in a metal dish. When it is in ashes, dip your finger in water, then in the ashes and draw a cross on your forehead or the back of your hand, marking your grief, and Jesus’ sacrifice, for sin. [This is traditionally done on Ash Wednesday, but I believe it is an important part of preparing for Easter and can be done any time we are penitent.]

 

Bloodguiltiness: Lent week 2

In our preparation for Resurrection Sunday last week we considered dust, what we have come from and what we will return to. Apart from God that is all we are. God breathed life into us. He sustains us. He gives us all we have and makes us all we are. Of ourselves, we are nothing.

 

But that life He gave us is not enough. He breathed life into mankind at creation, but we fell back into death through sin. Though alive physically, we all begin life dead spiritually. Sin separates us from God. It is only by His sacrifice on the cross that we can gain spiritual life. In 40 days, we will celebrate that sacrifice, Christ’s victory on the cross to defeat our sin and His resurrection to give us eternal life. Take some time to read Psalm 51.

 

Psalm 51 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings.
Wash me thoroughly from my guilt
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my wrongdoings,
And my sin is constantly before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in secret You will make wisdom known to me.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones You have broken rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.

Create in me a clean heart, God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach wrongdoers Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
Lord, open my lips,
So that my mouth may declare Your praise.
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

 

Ask God to draw your attention to sins which are preventing you from having the life of His fullness. Ask Him to reveal to you sins you may not be aware of.

 

Psalm 139:23-24 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

 

Take some time to write down what God has revealed to you, sins you have been ignoring, denying or even harboring. Be open to God’s revelation and prompting throughout the week. Keep them on a piece of paper in your Bible or some place safe until next week.

Why Is There Suffering?

Why do we suffer? Why am I going through this? Why is life so hard? Why do the innocent seem to pay for the crimes of the wicked? Why did God allow this to happen?... We have all asked at least one of these questions at some time, and for many it is the reason why faith in God is ultimately rejected. The idea that a loving, all-powerful God would allow such horrible tragedies is reprehensible to our way of thinking. Unfortunately, many stop at the questions and never get an answer.

 

Genesis 3:17-19 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

 

The ultimate reason there is suffering in the world is because of sin. Sin is disobedience: anything we do that is contrary to God’s ways or commands. In a sense, it is spiritual treason because it is choosing to follow God’s enemy, satan, rather than God.

 

God did not create sin. He created a perfect, beautiful world without death, disease, suffering, pain or anything bad. It was without fault, and mankind was blessed to live in that perfection as perfect beings in perfect union with God. But then mankind sinned. Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God and paid the consequences for it. Yet, those consequences did not affect them only, but all of humanity and all of creation as well. Sin literally cursed the very ground they walked on.

 

While sin is the cause of all suffering, there are three main categories of sin that cause us to suffer:

1. The first is our own sin. We do something wrong and suffer the consequences of it. When we lie or steal, we suffer the consequences of not being trusted (not to mention any legal ramifications that may arise.)
2. The second is others’ sin. We suffer because of the choices others make, especially in the family unit. Children suffer because of the choices of their parents and vice versa. Sometimes we suffer due to the choices of the government or those in authority. We are connected with others so in some way what we do affects them and what they do affects us.
3. The third is the result sin has on this world. God did not make the world to have storms, disease, cancer, genetic mutations, sickness or natural disasters. It was perfect, but sin corrupted it. Weeds and thorns grow among crops. Storms come to damage the earth. Genes mutate to cause problems and disabilities. Sickness, disease and cancer plague our bodies. These are signs that we live in a fallen world which is longing for God to redeem and restore it.

 

Hebrews 12:4-11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

 

Why does God allow us to suffer the consequences of our own sin?

Consequences are part of the natural course of life. Everything we do has consequences—good for good and bad for bad. We choose what we do so we must accept the consequences that come with our choices and actions. If there were no consequences, we would have no reason to do what is right or to avoid what is wrong. It teaches us how to behave.

 

For those who believe in God we also experience His discipline, like any loving parent disciplines their child. As these verses say, correction is painful in the moment, but if we are trained by it, it yields peace and righteousness.

 

We also choose our response to suffering and discipline. We can surrender to God and allow Him to use it to grow us and make us more holy like Him, or we can whine and wallow in self pity which will leave us bitter and unhappy without changing our circumstances at all.

 

Why do the innocent suffer?

Most rebel at the idea of suffering because they feel they do not deserve it. When children suffer at the hands of others it seems especially tragic because we view them as being innocent and undeserving. But are they really?

 

Romans 3:10,23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

as it is written,

There is none righteous, not even one;…

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Psalm 51:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.

 

Because of Adam’s sin, all are born and conceived in sin. We begin life with a sin nature. The idea that all people are basically good is neither biblical, nor accurate. Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius said that children are innocent, not because of their nature, but because of their limbs; withhold something from them and they would kill you if they could. Children do not have to be taught to lie, steal or be unkind. They do, however, have to be taught to share, to be obedient, and to be kind. Rather than innocence, it is more a matter of being unable to defend themselves against the choices of those around them. None of us are innocent before God, but we are, or can be, innocent with regard to earthly relationships and circumstances.*

 

Our view of being innocent or undeserving of punishment is distorted because our view of sin is distorted. If we saw sin as something completely abhorrent and vile, as treason against our holy and perfect God, we would not be surprised that we suffer so much, but instead wonder why we suffer so little. We deserve so much worse than we get because of our rebellion against the holy God. Yet God is merciful and gracious. He does not punish us as we deserve, but allows us to experience only what will bring us to Him in repentance. We deserve to die the moment we commit our first sin, but because God is gracious and merciful, we don’t. Instead, He allows us to experience consequences that teach us to not sin.

 

Romans 8:28 New American Standard Bible 1995

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

2 Corinthians 1:5-7 New American Standard Bible 1995

For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 New American Standard Bible 1995

For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

 

This does not mean that we deserve everything bad that happens to us. As His children, God wants us to enjoy good things. Instances of unjust suffering, abuse and loss are devastating and not part of God’s original plan for us.

 

God does not cause bad things to happen to us. He gives us free will to make our own choices, and to receive the consequences of those choices. He does not desire for us to suffer, but He also does not want us to sin. He does protect us from some things, but not from everything, allowing what will help us to grow if we trust in Him.

 

Why does God send people to hell?

He doesn’t. It is a choice we make ourselves. Heaven is spending eternity enveloped in God’s presence. Would anyone who hates God enjoy that? Why would He force someone who has rejected Him and wants nothing to do with Him, to then spend eternity with Him? He allows us to decide where we will spend eternity. We must accept the results of our choices. But that is not the end…

 

None of us deserve to go to Heaven. We get so much better than we deserve because of God’s grace and mercy. Grace is receiving a gift we don’t deserve, and mercy is not receiving the punishment we do deserve. God is just, all sin must be paid for, but we do not always foot the bill.

 

The greatest story of the innocent suffering unjustly is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He came to earth, lived a perfect, sinless life, and yet He took on the punishment for the sins of the world. He did not deserve to suffer in any way, yet He suffered cruelly. Why did He suffer? Because He loves us. Our sins, even just one, permanently separate us from God. He is holy and perfect and cannot be in the presence of sin, which means that we are eternally separated from Him. But He loves us so much that He made a way for us to be with Him through the sacrifice of His perfect Son. Jesus paid the debt we owe so that we could live with Him forever!

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

John 3:16-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB) (emphasis added)

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

 

It is a common practice with livestock that when a mother loses her baby, the hide of her dead baby is cut off and tied over the back of an orphan in order to get her to adopt it. In this way, when the mother sniffs the orphan she smells her baby and allows it to nurse, accepting it as her own. In the same way, Christ, the only Son of God, died so that His righteous blood could cover us. Then, when God looks at us He sees His Son and accepts us. We just have to accept His sacrifice, allowing His blood to cover us and make us right with God. It does not happen to everyone automatically. We have to choose it.

 

What is your choice? Have you accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for your sins, surrendering your life to Him? If you have, praise God! Choose to see suffering as God’s tool to refine and mold you into His likeness, removing the sinful tendencies that are in you.

 

If you have not accepted Him, will you now? Repent of your sin and accept His sacrifice for it. Give your life to Him so that you can be righteous before God, He can make you holy and redeem your suffering.

 

 

 

 

*While we are born and conceived sinful humans, I do not believe that God would send to hell a baby or young child who is too young to understand the concept of salvation. I believe we choose where we go, and if a child is incapable of understanding or making that choice, it would not be just to condemn them. God is always perfectly just. He does not, cannot, do anything wrong or unjust. In 2 Samuel 12:22-23 David said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.’ But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” The Bible does not directly address this issue, but based on God’s character and the quote by David stating that he would see his infant child after it died, I believe that those unable to make that choice will not be held responsible for what they are incapable of understanding. At what age a child is able to understand is not definitive, I believe it is different for everyone and only God knows, but we can trust that He will do what is right and just.

To read about my own personal journey through suffering, click here.

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When Mole Hills Become Mountains

We are often told “don’t make mountains out of mole hills.” It is important to not make a big deal out of nothing, to not let the little things become the big things, but what happens when the little things pile up? What if the mole hills start to cause problems?

Is the Law for Us?

Many modern Christians reject the Old Testament as necessary scripture, saying we are no longer under the Law so we don’t need to obey it. They even go so far as to say that the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. What is true? If we are not saved by the Law, does it really apply to us? Do we need the Old Testament?

Battling Weeds

Last year, I battled a forest of thistles on our property. I wrote about the experience and how similar our spiritual lives are to gardens. Well, last week I waged war with the thistles again. I was discouraged at how many came back, even though I had cut down and/or sprayed the entire area. Thistles are one of those weeds that you have to work on year after year before they go away. It is the same with sin.

Crossing The Threshold

Temptation; that lucrative, tantalizing thing which is so bad, yet so desirable. Of course temptation is something we should avoid, most would agree with that in theory. But in practice, is it really that bad? When someone finds themselves facing something that is not necessarily bad in itself but will lead to worse, they know they should resist, but it is so alluring, so…tempting. That steamy picture of someone half dressed, a provocative text that is mysteriously suggestive, that delicious cake sitting uneaten on the table, that desire for just one more drink; the almost-but-not-quite wrong is so inviting, so seemingly desirable. Is it really that bad?

Are Your Eyes On Victory?

Where is your focus? In everyday life, what draws your attention, what keeps you going? When times are hard, where do you look for help, what gets you through it? Are your eyes on victory?

How can you focus on victory? First you have to define what victory is, or more importantly, where victory comes from. Victory, of course, is overcoming some obstacle, which can play out in many ways in life depending on the situation. But where does it come from?

Do You Need To Be Undragonned?

In C.S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Eustace is turned into a dragon for having greedy

dragonish thoughts. After he has a change of heart, he meets Aslan who will change him back into a human. But first he asks Eustace to “undress”, or take his dragon skin off. Three times, Eustace claws and scratches a layer of skin off, but he is still a dragon. Finally, Aslan undresses him. It hurt terribly, but it was the only way to be cured.

As fantasy as this is, it is something we all need spiritually.

What About Sin?

Many Christians in America prefer to avoid any talk about sin. Many pastors avoid teaching about sin in an effort to avoid losing members. As a result, many people don’t know what sin is, what it means, or what to do about it.