No, Not One

      Jesus Christ did not come to die for perfect people. None exist- only Him. He didn't come to die for good people. No one is good but God. He didn't come to die for people who have their bad days and good days but try really hard to do all the right things in the hopes that will outweigh their bad deeds. Plenty of people exist in this state and it's a self-defeating effort. He didn't come to die for people who are no saints but still way better than mass murderers and thieves. Plenty of people exist that play comparison games but in the end we all fall so woefully short of God's standard of absolute holiness and perfection.
      Of course, in a sense, yes- Jesus came to die for all these people because He died to save all people. But the images we project of ourselves are illusions to make us feel better about ourselves. We all need to view ourselves through the mirror God provides for us in The Bible. And no matter who you are or what you look like or what you've done, we're all the same.
      Jesus Christ came to die for sinners. He came to die for all human beings who have existed or ever will exist. He came to die for zombies who wander around like shambling masses with still a bit of sentience like Ted Sallis (aka The Man-Thing) who are deluded enough to think themselves masters of their own fate and living life large. We're still trying to build a tower to a Heaven of our own making that can be achieved if we just learn how to love each other more.
     The devil comes only to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus has come that we might have life more abundant. (John 10:10) We all need to see ourselves as God sees us- utterly helpless, totally depraved sinners who are perfectly content in our worship of hedonism and narcissism most of the time- except for those rare moments of honesty when we realize that everything crossed off on our bucket list is just a drop in the bucket and it never really satisfies. And deep down we know that we don't do right and can't do enough to please God. (As Sufjan Stevens once said of John Wayne Gacy, Jr. - "In my best behaviour, I am really just like him. Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid.") From the worst of humanity to the supposed best- we're all in the same boat and it ain't Noah's- it's Charon's. (That's the dude who took lost souls to Hades in Greek mythology.) We all deserve Hell because of our sin. We could never be perfect as God is in our strength. (Matthew 5:48) That's why God met the standard of perfection for us with Christ.
      Jesus Christ came to die for sinners and rise again. When we put our faith in Him and follow Him, we get transformed into new creatures who are fully alive with a purpose of living for God's glory in this life and a future of singing God's praises forever in the next. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all considering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting." (1 Timothy 1:15-16)
That's the beauty of The Gospel. Amen.

Yes, Jesus Loves Me

      I had a great time at Level Ground at Brushy Creek Baptist Church tonight. (The one in Taylors, not Easley. ;-) We had a bit of mix-up with that but it worked out. Lol) One line in one of the songs hit me- "O Lord, You know the hearts of men. And still You let them live.") (from "Psalm 46 (Lord of Hosts)" by Shane & Shane) 
      This brought to mind two Bible verses immediately- John 2:23-25 and Matthew 5:43-48. In the first one from John, it explains that Jesus knows what's in the hearts of men. And the heart is full of deceit and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9) Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow of The Almighty knows! And He knows it for everyone. And yet, knowing all of our thoughts and intentions of the heart and deeds- despite all our evil- Jesus loves us anyway. He proved it by dying for us while we were yet sinners- and He rose again. (See Romans 5:1-8 and 10:8-13)
       As the Matthew 5 passage notes, God makes His sun rise (I like how the verse reminds us that the sun belongs to God- that's His basketball to slam dunk through Saturn's hoops any time He wants to do so! :-))- and He makes it rise on the evil and the good. He sends His rain on the just and the unjust. He is incredibly unfair to all of humanity! I say this because if He were truly fair in one sense, we'd all be in Hell now. God had every legal right to do that at our first infraction. The problem is deeper than just our evil deeds though. We're born into it because of the curse of sin that Great Great Great Great (etc. etc. etc.) Grandpa and Grandma Adam and Eve unleashed on the world through their sin. 
       Thankfully, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to take the punishment for sin for us so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God didn't His Son to condemn the world (as I said before- if He had we'd all be in Hell now) but rather to save the world! In that sense, God is totally unfair, but so incredibly good, loving and gracious because in the midst of His righteous justice and judgment, He remembers His mercy and knows that we are but dust. And His salvation is so undeserved but so wonderful and freeing because we find all our needs met in Him!
       That's the incredibly good news of The Gospel! By faith in Jesus, when we ask Him to save us and we follow Him, He does just that and cleanses us from sin and declares us righteous instead. This isn't because of anything we've done- it's all because of what He's done.
Even for those who don't believe Him, He still lets them keep breathing and enjoy some of His blessings in this life. The fact that unbelievers haven't dropped dead yet- the fact that God sends sun and rain on them too and even allows them to prosper for a time on earth- that is a grace in itself. (See Psalms 73 for a reminder of their final fate though.)
        Knowing the utter depravity I still struggle with in my own heart though- the filthy thoughts and images that I allow to run around at times, the mean words I say at times, the shirking of duty that comes at times, the jealousy, the unrighteous anger, the worries, fears and doubts that run counter to the Truth I know and believe that crop up at times, the selfishness that surfaces, the lies that come out at times, the idols that crowd God out at times and so many other things that displeased God- it's amazing to think that He still loves me with an eternal love! (Jeremiah 31:3)
I may be an abomination, but I'm still God's pride and joy. (Borrowed that line from Phillip Yancey's "What's So Amazing About Grace?")
      A dear friend recently reminded me of this truth, I heard it and sang it again at church on Sunday (along with a great reminder in the sermon!) and I heard it again tonight in song- and it's still sometimes one of the hardest and most profound truths to allow to seep in, even for Christians. Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me- for The Bible tells me so. :-)
       He doesn't love me because of what I have done or haven't done. He loves me for who I am- His creation. Even though I've been His aberrant creation, He still loves me. And He loves so much He died and rose to pay for my sins so that I would never have to be separated from Him in Hell. Instead, I have an eternal love relationship with my Father and I will one day join Him in Heaven forever! I've been sealed by the Holy Spirit and I know He has saved me, is saving me and will save me- no matter what my feelings say. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world and even when my heart condemns me, the One who is greater than my heart and knows everything tells me that there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (1 John 3:16-24 and Romans 8:1)
      Thank You for loving me, God. I love You because You first loved me. (1 John 4:7-21) Help me to love You with all I have and love my neighbours as myself.
I am drenched in Your love and I praise You for it. Help others to know Your love too.
Thank You also for those You have used and continue to use to help me be free from legalistic efforts and keep resting in Your arms through Your finished work. Help me to be more like You and less like myself.

The "Good Ol' Days" and The Glorious Day

       Don't ask, "Why were the old days better than today?" It's not good to ask such things.... (see Ecclesiastes 7:10-18 and chapter 12).... As Acts 17:24-28 tells us, God set men and women in history at exactly when and where He wanted them to be for His purposes.... (which doesn't mean that God won't move you at some point too though ;-))- But part of finding our identity in Jesus as His follower means being happy with who God made us to be- boy or girl, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, African descent, Indian descent, Caucasian, mixed, etc., Spanish, Trinidadian, American, German, Swiss, South African, Ukrainian, Argentinan, Brazilian, Eritrean, Japanese, Chinese, Australian, Indian, Senegalese, Antarctican, etc.- whatever the social class- whatever other label we put on each other....... God made us above all those things in His image (Genesis 1:26-31). And when we're in Christ, none of those things matter anyway! (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-4, John 13:34-35, Galatians 3:25-29) And as Colossians 3:11 says, "Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."
    We are all infinitely important and infinitely loved by God. (Jeremiah 31:3) And we are all valuable in His kingdom, where the elder learns to serve the younger and the younger cares for the elder- where each thinks of others as better than themselves and each seeks to love each other truly and forgive from the heart...
     No, these aren't the "good ol' days"- but as I like to say, the only good ol' days this planet has ever seen were Genesis 1-2. We won't have any more truly good ol' days until Revelation 21-22 come to pass. But Jesus makes the in-between time more abundant when we follow Him, as John 10:10 says. :-) And during our faith journey with Him, He shapes us to be more and more like Him in character and empowers us with spiritual gifts to bring a touch of The Divine to a fallen world so badly needing of redemption. To be sure, the final Redemption culminates with the coming of The Lord- but until then, we're like the Planeteers with our power rings, sent forth to bring God's restoration to the world through our love and good deeds and sharing of the Greatest Love of all shown to us on the cross and in the empty tomb (Romans 5:8). And way better than Captain Planet, and the Avengers who "have a Hulk"- we have Someone Real Who can do something about our situation (Hebrews 11:1-6)- we have a Savior- Jesus Christ- Whom we eagerly await to come back from Heaven! We have The One Who alone bears the title of King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We have The One God Who holds all things together and by Him all things exist!
    Like DC Talk said, "God is doing a nu thang"- through His followers- His agents of change upon the earth. (Habakkuk 1:5) And as Jesus said in Acts 1:8 (in essence)- The Power is yours! :-) (So use His gifts and be His witness in all the world.)

Walking on Air

           Things are all up in the air. And of course, we usually say this phrase with uncertainty and dismay- and the dismay comes generally because of the uncertainty of a potentially bad situation. We like to have that control and certainty- it's very hard sometimes to live in uncertainty- particularly since we know the prince of the power of the air that we once trembled under still works to seek us woe. (Ephesians 2:2) But the prince of darkness grim- we tremble not for him. One little word will fell him. Instead, we look to The Lord who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and rules over all. And when we leave things up in the air, it's an act of trust because we know it's really in The Lord's hands. And it's in the air that we meet The Lord by faith. (1 Thessalonians 4:11) So while we don't want to put on airs, we do want to air not on the side of caution, but air on the side of reckless abandon in the Creator of air and everything else. I keep trusting Him from here and now all the way through when I cross the air Jordan- and beyond. :-) (At which time, believe it or not, I'm walking on air!)

Both Hands

I'm guessing motorcycle riders don't have too many texting and driving accidents...

I was behind a motorcycle the other day and it just struck me that they can't really hold a phone in one hand and hold the handlebars. They need to be fully committed to the one thing.

In the same way, we cannot serve both God and Mammon. No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Remember Lot's wife!

(Matthew 6:24, Luke 9:62, Luke 17:32)

The other question I wonder about is- "What do motorcycle drivers do when it's raining and that's their only transportation? " Of course, the answer is simply that they get wet.
That's part of the commitment. What happens when things get rough in following Christ, with persecutions and sufferings and fatigue? We hold on and endure. (Matthew 10:22)
Thankfully, we don't have to do this in our own strength- Jesus is holding us as we rest in Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) And He helps us hold on to the end of the ride. And just as Isaiah 66 talks about, we hold to the hope of the new Heaven and Earth God will make (see verses 22-23) and, because we no longer kick the pricks (Acts 9:5 KJV) but instead get oil for our wicks (Matthew 25), we look forward to one day forever get our kicks in book 66. (Revelation 21-22)

Look On Up

         I just had an observation today. It's not meant as an indictment against anyone who enjoys watching television and movies, etc. (particularly since this is coming from someone who LOVES watching a ton of [albeit usually older ;-)] television shows and movies). It just is funny to me how branded properties become verbs over time- as in the way that one can now apparently "Google" something (and/or "Wikipedia" something- though one does not seem to too often "Yahoo" or "Bing" something, much less "Encyclopedia Brittanica" something or "various reputable print book, magazine and professional journal sources" something). [1 Thessalonians 5:21-22....but that's a separate post in itself.] And particularly the way that one apparently can now "Netflix" something. This reference works if one actually has Netflix access and/or is aware of how it works.
        Since I currently do not have television access whatsoever, I can definitely say that I haven't missed it. Yes, there are a very select few things I might like to watch- but nothing I can't do without. I was wondering though, why Netflix releases an entire season's worth of shows on one day. I suppose there is some convenience to that and it doesn't necessarily follow that one will or should or must watch them all in one day. (Though some may enjoy such marathons- again, I understand that and I've done some limited television marathons myself.) I guess I'm just saying that I find it a bit disturbing when people speak of terms like "binge watching". It seems there are very few things we should binge on- if anything, why not binge on God's Word and His creation?
Let me reiterate that I say all this as one who struggles with this myself- I'm not perfect or always good at this either. There is a certain pleasure and comfort in getting lost in such bouts of entertainment. But I want to make sure that I'm not so tied to the things of the world that I lose sight of the things of God.
"The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the Giver of all good things."- Rich Mullins in "If I Stand".
          May my heart always be attuned to the only Giver of all good things' heart- and seek Him above anything else. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions- or in the abundance of his time watching televisions. (Luke 12:13-21) Let's be rich toward God always first- before laying up any treasure for ourselves on earth....some treasure is okay- but as I like to misquote .38 Special- "Hold on loosely to earthly gold- if you cling too tightly- you're gonna lose your soul. First, baby- seek kingdom of Jesus- and all that you need will be given." :-)
Teach me to count the days aright, Lord, so that I may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalms 90:12)
Before I get lost again in the impermanence of the finite, let me remember the infinite and work for that imperishable crown....May my tongue stick like peanut butter to the roof of my mouth if I forget Jerusalem and don't make her my highest joy....The joy of The Lord is my strength. I as your spiritual Gomer to Your spiritual Hosea- keep drawing me back from my whoredoms and let me feast once more on your flesh and blood, as a spiritual cannibal vampire might (even though I know that's a contradiction in terms ;-)). Thank You for Your love and sacrifice and New Life that grants me real life and life more abundant.
Help me and us all to keep looking to You above all- make You our highest joy- and Look on Up. :-)

Relient K | Look On Up (Official Audio Stream)

"Look On Up" from Relient K Get it today: https://rk.lnk.to/look…

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Satisfaction

        "Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief." (Proverbs 14:13) Sometimes we mask our need for God with so many things- and we can even seem happy and joyous, but the ache for more in our hearts is always there. I see this sometimes especially as a fan of books and comics...it's fine to enjoy a hobby, but I never want to be so sucked into fantasy for escape that I forget the true life which is only in Christ. Lord Jesus, forgive me for ever trying to find satisfaction in anything but You. It's all such a futile effort. "I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind." (Ecclesiastes 1:14)
         I feel so saddened and sorry for those who look to fill a void that can only be filled with The Divine and try to fit anything else in there. God has placed "eternity in our hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We were made for eternity. The perishable must put on the imperishable. (1 Corinthians 15:49-58) We're like Marty McFly trapped in 1955 and needing God to send a bolt of lightning to help get us back to our real life in 1985. "For as lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:27) That day will come in God's time. Until then and until the day we die (whichever comes first), we have the offer of real life from Jesus. He's come to give us life abundant. (John 10:10) He paid for all our sins in the supreme act of love. 
        Just as we cheer brave soldiers who die for their countries so that others might live, how much more should we cheer and praise God, Who has died for His creation so that we might live? I owed a debt I couldn't pay and He paid a debt He didn't owe. I owe Him a life debt infinitely more than Chewbacca owes Han Solo. Christ died not for the righteous, but wretched sinners like me and everyone else. And He rose again. (Romans 5:8) And because of my faith in Him, I know I will rise with Him too. 
         "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4) Holy Spirit, guide me to do just that. Better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalms 84:10) May my tongue stick like peanut butter to the roof of my mouth if I don't make New Jerusalem and its Lord my highest joy! (Psalms 137:6) Father God, please make this true in my life and use me to show others the Way to the Highest Joy- You alone. Let us not chase after the wind, but after the One who moves like the wind. May we always remember our Creator and fear Him and keep His commandments- which can only be done through relationship with Jesus. (Ecclesiastes 12:1 and 11-14) As Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, neither are the eyes of man. (Proverbs 27:20) We never rest satisfied until we rest in You. (Proverbs 19:23)