Christmas has just come and gone and many of us took a bit of time to reflect on the coming of Jesus into the world. Christmas is so common place and the focus is not so much on Jesus anymore as it is "giving." We all go to church and sing the songs and then that is all the thinking we do, now onto the fun stuff. Yet, I listened to a sermon by David Platt a bit ago and he really helped to bring the focus back onto why we celebrate Christmas and it's not about the trees, decorations, giving, getting, or gaining 10 lbs in straight cookies. Our focus should be on Jesus and who He is.
Emanuel, God with us.
Think about that. Jesus is God on earth in flesh and blood. Even more crazy is the idea that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He was able to fully identify with us as human beings and be infinitely valuable so as to be able to bear the sin of the entire world. God is with sinful, evil, corrupted man. Not because we are anything special but because God is ultimately about God and that leads to love and grace for us.
In the words of David Platt, "What do you do with that? It just knocks you off your feet."
The us is the most crazy thing about Christmas. God with us.
Later in the sermon Platt gave an illustration that I thought was great when someone asks the question, Why? Why would God come to be with sinful man?
The illustration is this: Guys, when you prepare to marry your wife, do you go yourself or do you send some other guy to ask her to marry you? Of course you go yourself because it is your relationship with her. God did not send this messenger or that messenger, this prophet or that prophet, because in matters of love one must go himself.
"God has come for a sin stained world for sin stained men and women."
"He lived the life we could not live and died the death we deserved to die and then rose from the grave conquering the enemy we could not conquer."
This is the magnitude of what we should celebrate in the birth of Jesus Christ.
"In matters of love one must go himself." -David Platt
Recently my attention has been drawn to Penn State University and the appalling scandal that is developing. An ex-defensive coordinator is being charged with something like 40 counts of child molestation, involving 8 boys that we know of and possibly dozens more. This person is currently out on bail living 1000ft from an elementary school. He started a charity for at risk children and as it turns out it is those, already at-risk children, that this man has been preying on. It is sick and terrible.
The worst part is that there have been countless number of people who had a chance to stop this man from ruining the lives of these children and their families and they did NOTHING.
There have been eyewitnesses that reported this to his coach who in turn reported it to the athletic director who did nothing. This AD is currently being prosecuted, but this begs the question why did this eyewitness do nothing to stop the man and protect that child or at the very least dial 911? Why did this legendary coach who is known for his morals not follow up on this incident or call the cops himself? Why was this man allowed on campus as early as last week, when this person was being investigated as early as 1998? And why were the charges dropped the first time (I believe it was in 2002 or it was '07) and simply given this sorry excuse for a man a slap on the wrist?
All these questions are being asked right now and it seems that reporters are only scratching the surface of the heinous cover up which is nearly as heinous as the actions of the man, because they allowed this man to continue to do as he pleased and ruin more lives.
All of this is only a pointer to how far we as human beings have fallen since the garden and how far we continue to fall can only be imagined, but no one wants to do that so acts like this continue to happen because humanity is turning a blind eye to it.
So the next question that needs to be asked is, "how can humanity stop this downward tailspin of sin and horrors?" The only answer that is sufficient is that we need a savior. Creating our own solutions throughout history has only ever added to mutation and then new ways for sin. As humanity we have a way of mutating every good thing God has ever given to us, food, marriage, health, wealth, etc. We need to be saved from ourselves.
And that is where the gospel comes in. This world needs to know about Jesus Christ who died for the sin of you and me, not for His own for He had none. But the greatest thing is that He has risen and in doing so defeated sin and death and only asks for us to believe upon Him to be saved that we might be "sons of God."
This Penn State scandal is reminding me more than ever that I have this gospel and must take it to a world who needs it, whether that be across the ocean or next door.
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:14-15 )
All of humanity try's to cover up sin and offenses just like those involved at Penn State, but we as Christians are declared righteous and are being sanctified because of this gospel. Shall we not share the water of life to the world? It is the sick that need a physician and that is Jesus who has passed us the medicine to care for the world, let us not fail Him.
Author, missionary, man of God, martyr, pillar of faith? Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village Church in Texas, would claim that the apostle Paul was untouchable.
Untouchable? surely not. Lets think about that list Paul gives us in 2 Corinthians 11:22-29
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?
Does that sound untouchable to you, beaten, flogged, imprisoned, shipwrecked, adrift at sea, danger from everyone? Where is it I see untouchable as being a characteristic of the apostle Paul?
First, If you threaten to kill him Paul says, "to die is gain." (Phil. 1:21). Paul is ready to die, in fact he almost can't wait to die in order that he might be in the presence of his Lord and savior Jesus Christ. "...My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." (Phil. 1:23)
Then, we decide to let him live, and Paul says, "for to me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21).
Well then we will beat you. And Paul will reply, "I am ready and welcome suffering for the sake of Christ." (Phil. 1:29)
Alright Paul then we won't kill you and just throw you in jail. Paul's response is alright I'll convert all the guards and most of the prisoners.
Paul is indeed untouchable. Lets go back to the 2 Corinthians passage, because before he lists off all these troubles, he says, "for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Cor. 4:17). Isn't that crazy? Paul sees flogging, beatings, shipwrecks, and being stoned and left for dead, as being light afflictions.
Why does the apostle Paul seem so untouchable, so free? Because he is so filled up by the gospel of Christ. That is how we become free and untouchable like Paul, we constantly go back to the gospel.
It is when we are willing to die that we will be able to truly live.
I'm scared for the "American" church today. I see far to many nominal Christians who value the gifts of God over God himself. We are so mixed up in this day of the self. Our culture feeds you, and so we put God on the back burner, but this mustn't be. And I can be just as guilty of it as anyone else.
"Creation exists to call attention to the creator, not the creature." - John Piper
I heard a sermon a while back that pointed out two ways we can look at God, through a microscope or through a telescope.
What is the distinction between the two? Well through a microscope we make small things look bigger than they actually are, and a telescope makes something big look how it should, or as close to it as we can get.
Too many people are looking at God through a microscope. We take whatever He can give us and then go back to our own self-sufficiency because we understand how to live our lives better than God does. However, that is a wrong view of God, and that view will lead to destruction. We need to look through a telescope at God, we need to bring is greatness and glory into a bigger and better light.
David had it right and particularly in Psalms 8.
O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at 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,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Just here in verses 1-4, David is overwhelmed by God. David is looking through a telescope at God, he is seeing God as He is, powerful, glorious, immense, holy, etc. David was a king and yet he felt oh so small in the light of who God is. As should we.
I would ask you to read the Bible with me through a telescope not a microscope. Find God to be who He is and put Him in the rightful place in our lives, number one.
Proverbs 1:7 tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction (ESV).” It is of great importance that we have a healthy understanding of fear as it pertains to God. We talk of having a fear of God, but what does it mean to actually fear God? I believe that we focus so much on God’s grace, mercy, and love, that we miss out on the rest of God’s attributes: His holiness, omnipotence, justice, wrath, etc. We all acknowledge these attributes of God but do not like to emphasize them. However, it is very important that, when dealing with God, we do not emphasize any of His attributes over another. This is where I find the fear of God is not understood or studied very closely by us today. We want to worship and adore God not be frightened of Him. I agree that we do indeed need to worship and adore Him but that must include a right understanding and fearing of Him. And that fear means a reverent understanding as well as well as a very real terror.
There is a transcendent side and reverent side to God, God is awesome. When we are in His presence we are in utter awe of His majesty and power. We see this very clearly when we are face to face with God in nature. On top of a mountain, we are in awe of the great height and views, yet we are wary that there is a great danger locating ourselves in that place. Although it is beautiful it can just as quickly become terrible. Wild animals have the same effect. For example I am not afraid of a snake but I do have a healthy fear of a snake. The difference is that even though I do not take off running the other way when I see a snake I will avoid or approach cautiously because I “fear” the snake, I know what that snake could possibly do to me if I get too close or anger it. Fear is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7), so for me to not fear that snake would be for me to be ignorant of the dangers that snake possesses. God will not tolerate sin and if we cannot fearfully understand that we will say with Isaiah in His presence, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King…” (Isaiah 6:5). We revere, love, and glorify God, but before we run to Him we had better fear him.
The second aspect of fear, I think, is best described as abject terror. To be brought low in an intense fear. When the disciples were in the midst of a storm, they were fearful for their lives. Yet when Jesus calmed the storm they were even more terrified. There is an immense fear that is brought upon by one who is holy. We don’t understand it and we are afraid of it. When Jesus had done the miracle of the great catch of fish in Luke 5, Peter wasn’t even looking at the fish, he was bowing on the ground telling Jesus to get away from him (Luke 5:8). Peter realized he was sinful and Jesus was set apart, holy. Instead of making Peter run to Jesus he wanted nothing more than to get away from Him. The same thing happened with Moses when he went to see the burning bush. Acts 7:32 tells us that when God spoke, Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Isaiah, in Isaiah 6, called a curse of death upon himself after being in the presence of God. Paul Washer describes fear as when our “knees knock together, and teeth chatter.” The sinful cannot stand to be in close proximity with the holy, it terrifies us to a point of ruin and death.
Yes, God is graceful, merciful, loving, compassionate, and sympathetic, but He is also all powerful, wrathful, just, and awesome. And we should fearfully remember it before we do something foolish before Him. Philippians 2:12 tells us “therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” So quite literally Paul wants us to scare the Hell out of ourselves. There is nothing easy about salvation, praying the prayer won’t do. However; be comforted in the very next verse, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). God can be counted on to get us through salvation’s door, but for us to know Him we must fear Him.
Tremble if you ever feel any inclination to leave the Lord. - John Piper
How often do you stop and think about the creation of the world? If your like me you think about it almost weekly. It is a strange and wonderful thing. We like to think of a vast empty universe, but before creation there was not even the vast vacuum we call the universe, there was nothing when God created everything. God created the world ex nihilo, "out of nothing."
Borrowing heavily from RC Sproul's book "The Holiness of God" I will help you think about nothing, or not think about nothing. But what is nothing. can you think about it? as soon as you do, you are thinking about something. Where can we find it? Obviously nowhere. It doesn't exist, if it did then it would be something. Think about it again, you can't, because as Sproul says, nothing is not an it. We can only say nothing Isn't.
Sproul then tries to define nothing kind of comically saying,
Jonathan Edwards once said that nothing is what sleeping rocks dream about. that doesn't help much. My son offered me a better definition of nothing. When he was in junior high, i asked him when he came home from school, " What did you do today, Son?" The reply was the same everyday: "Nuthin'." So the best explanation of "nothing" is "that which my son used to do everyday in junior high."
Are you blown away by the thought of God creating this immense and awesome universe. Like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat, except God didn't have a rabbit, or even a hat.
Modern day atheists and scientists will say that the world was created by chance. But as Dr. Sproul so rightly points out chance is not anything, it can do nothing because it is nothing. They pull the rabbit out of the hat without a rabbit, a hat, or even the magician. That is much more miraculous.
The power needed to create something out of nothing is something we cannot understand, it transcends us, and it makes God look oh so glorious.
However, even more amazing is the fact that, "God created the world out of nothing, but He recreates us out of a corrupt mass." - Paul Washer
Father God, I'm prayin' to you for somebody, who knows you Lord but just hasn't, hasn't been seein' you in the right view lately, Hear me out...
Father, I'm prayin' for a friend
he and I are pretty close,
and out of all my friends
for this one I'm concerned the most.
He say he readin' daily
but he ain't really learnin'.
He been in church but say that he ain't moved by any sermon.
His face weak, he ain't prayed in a week,
he wake up and just weep with his face in the sink Lord,
you gotta help my man,
I'm prayin' for him daily,
he ain't sinned but it just seem as if he goin' crazy.
He say he feelin' trapped,
can't even head up the mall
cuz every lady's half-dressed temptin' him to lust and fall.
He keep the TV off,
videos just make him feel that he ain't really nothin' without money, girls and shiny wheels.
The other day he told me that he felt less a man
cuz he ain't have a five-year plan
or a piece of land
and man it's crazy cuz his family think so much of him,
plus he got a godly wife who always showin' love for him
but he's strugglin', even though he talk to me,
I tell him what to do but he don't listen when he oughta' be.
I'm scared for him
cuz there's people that look up to him,
he got some younger siblings who been changed by what he's done for them
but is it done for him, Lord don't let it be,
if he don't wanna talk to you then Father hear from me,
is it done for him, Lord don't let it be,
if he don't wanna talk to you then Father hear from me...
Yeah, I'm prayin' for you, yeah, I'm prayin' for you
Yeah, I'm prayin' for you, yeah, yeah, I'm prayin' for you...
God, his condition is worsen
since we were last converse'n
and I'm with him now and he ain't doin' well
and this I'm certain.
He say he tryna' trust you,
doesn't wanna disgust you
but he was in the mist of sinners and did not discuss you
and just today his anxiety's got the best of him,
he knows Christ but for hours refuse to rest in Him,
he's not the best of men
but Lord I know he really loves you
and I can't understand why lately he's not thinkin' of you.
People trust this dude,
you could crush this dude,
Father he needs more of you
I pray you touch this dude,
what can I say to him?
I'm determined to pray for him
Father empty and brake him
I pray you'll just have your way with him,
cuz there's a change in him and the effects are strong,
I pray you open up his heart before the next song
and when he gets home,
I pray he'll open up the sixty-six book love letter you wrote and soak it up
cuz he ain't hearin' you
and he ain't feelin' me
and God I know it's killin' You
because it's killin' me
and matter of fact there's somethin' else he's concealin' see,
the person that I've been prayin' about is really me.
This song by Lecrae has really stuck with me. I feel that I could pray quite a good portion of this prayer, and probably a lot of others could as well. I think this is important because it emphasizes our need for prayer, both for ourselves as well as others.
Hebrews 10:24-25 says, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." We need to be lifting up our brothers and sisters in Christ, and a major way we can do that is through prayer.
Likewise prayer for ourselves is also very important. Some of us are very proud, me for one, and and prayer can undercut pride. when we depend on God for everything then what are we proud of. as 1 Cor. 4:7 says what do we have that we weren't given by God, and if we have received it then why do we boast as if it was through our working and doing.
I have recently finished reading the book "God is the Gospel" by John Piper which was phenomenal and I would recommend anyone to read it. And This is just a video I liked and thought I'd share.
Excerpt from the book "God is the Gospel" by John Piper
The spiritual beauty of Christ is Christ in action- Christ loving, and Christ touching lepers, and Christ blessing children, and healing the crippled, and raising the dead, and commanding demons, and teaching with unrivaled authority, and silencing the skeptics, and rebuking his disciples, and predicting the details of his death, and setting his face like flint toward Jerusalem, and weeping over the city, and silent before his accusers, and meekly sovereign over Pilate (John 19:11), and crucified, and praying for his enemies, and forgiving a thief, and caring for his mother while in agony, and giving up his spirit in death, and rising from the dead- "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again." (John10:18). Such is the glory of Christ
Just my notes from today's sermon over Genesis 25:19-34, hope there at all helpful for anything. Some of these points may be helpful only if you listen to the sermon which can be found here: God chooses the least to become his victorious people
- It took 20 years of waiting before Isaac had a son
- Isaac and his family must trust in God alone for a son
- Gen. 25:21 we must not get the idea that this is only the first time Isaac prayed. He PERSISTED for twenty years in prayer
- God gives Rebekah this agonizing birth in order to drive Rebekah to himself.
- They are without son an Isaac prays and God answers and gets the glory, the pregnancy is painful Rebekah prays and God answers and again gets the glory
- The two men are different but not in their masculinity but in their roles
- Jacob was a Shepard of sorts as well as a business type man. (more traditional)
- Esau did not like the traditional roles in the family
- Moses is telling the Israelites this character detail so that Israel is reminded that the nation of Edom are the descendants of Esau.
- Moses links Jacobs name with grabbing Esau's heal which means to be a deceiver.
- Esau despised his birthright and was therefore unworthy to receive the promises of God, he saw being the seed of the woman as nothing of value
- But Jacob didn't deserve to be in the promises of God either so how did Jacob get to be in the seed of the woman
- Because of God's grace! There was nothing Jacob did that was worthy of God's promises (unmerited)
- God is continually choosing the lesser over the greater to bring about his purposes ie. Joseph, David, Solomon, eventually Jesus (born to a poor family, brought up in despised town) and Jesus chooses the 12 disciples ( fishermen, tax collector, etc)
- God saw us in our sin and wretchedness and God chose the least of these
- 1 Cor. 1:25-31
- John 16:33
- 1 John 4:3-4
- Rom. 8:33-35 37-39
- We believe the lie that we can overcome sin on our own. The reality is that left to ourselves we will continue to sin we will only do it privately.
- Stop being prideful and say I need help.
- God wants us to adorn ourselves to godliness
- It will be hard to believe the gospel over the lies of this world
- The question isn't are you an overcomer it is do you believe the gospel and if you do you are victorious
- The Gospel isn't merely for salvation it is also for sanctification.
- We will have to struggle and fight to believe Gods promises
- “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24
The critical question for this generation- or for any generation- is this: if one could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict, or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven if Christ were not there
This is a question asked by John Piper among many others over the years, but I feel that many people neglect to ponder and wrestle with this question, or they are so well brought up that they know the "correct" answer but fail to truly believe it. And not to long ago I would have been among this group.
This question is at the heart of the gospel. Why is it that we believe the gospel, what do we gain. For some it is just a ticket out of hell, others eternal life, and others they want the paradise of heaven. But what many fail to see and others see it but don't believe it to be true is that Christ is the beginning, middle, and end of the gospel. We believe and trust in the gospel not for a free ticket to heaven but because we are allowed to be in the presence of almighty God
The basis of the song "My Hell" by the group Disciple is, as they say, "This was my hell living without you here, even heaven is hell if somehow you were not there...nothing ever will compare."
And that is the question do we really believe that, do you believe that heaven without Christ can compare evenly to the presence of the glory of God. And I pray that you are saying with me a resounding No!
Are we willing to say with Paul, "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8).
As I have read through this book there are positives and many negatives in this book.
The Good: I have found that Andy has a lot of good things to say about four very important topics, guilt, greed, anger, and jealousy. He had many good points on the effects of these forces in our lives as well as many good ways in which we can combat against these problems.
The Bad: I have also, however, been disappointed in the amount of Scripture used to back up his points. It seemed as though he only used scripture when it came up rather than showing his points which can be found in the application of scripture.
He goes on countless tangents removing the flow of his arguments. It seemed as if it took him a long time to get to making his points particularly in the beginning of the book making it hard to want to keep reading as it seemed he said the same or similar things for multiple chapters. He doesn't get around to defining the four emotions until chapter 6 and on.
The second half of the book was much better than the first half as he used more scripture and had good practical points but the dismally slow first half of the book as well as overall lack of supporting scripture discouraged me from giving this book a great review, as it is however, I think that there is better literature on this same subject than this book deals out.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. ACTS 10:1-5
Here in Acts 10 we see a man named Cornelius who feared God. Yet one thing was missing his salvation, for he did not know about Jesus and his work on the cross. Even though he worshiped God, he did not know the means by which he was to be saved.
The most interesting thing that was pointed out to me in this passage is that in order to save Cornelius he had to know and believe in Jesus Christ. And a angel was sent to him to give instruction for his salvation. But, isn't it interesting that the angel did not tell Cornelius about Jesus only about Peter who had answers for Cornelius.
Angels have not been given the task of proclamation of the gospel, we have. We are called to spread the name and fame of our savior. So, don't be content letting others do God's work, we are all called to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19).
God doesn't owe us anything, and yet he gave us everything. Let's not waste our lives living our own way but let us go to Jesus and give our lives for the glory of God. Jesus calls us to be fishers of men. How will we answer that call?
While listening to David Platt, Pastor of Brook Hills in Birmingham Alabama, on Abortion. He told a story of a little girl named Rachel who was born 24 weeks premature. This is her story.
Rachel is 2 months old but she is still 6 weeks away from being a full term baby. She was born prematurely at 24 weeks in the middle of her mothers second trimester. On the day of her birth Rachel weighed 1 pound 9 ounces but dropped to just under a pound soon after, she was so small she could rest in the palm of her daddy's hand. She was a tiny living human person.
Heroic measures were taken to save this child's life. Why? Because, we have a obligation to protect, to nurture, and care for other humans who would die without our help, especially little children. Rachel was a vulnerable and valuable human being.
But get this, if a doctor came into the hospital room and instead of caring for little Rachel, took the life of this little girl as she lay quietly nursing at her mothers breast. That would be homicide. however if this same little girl this very same Rachel had been inches away resting in her mothers womb she could be legally killed by abortion. That makes no sense. That is utterly ludicrous.
I totally recommend listening to the rest of this sermon called "The Child Yet Unborn"
This is an excerpt of C.S. Lewis's book "Mere Christianity" I just like this quote and thought I'd share it.
Christ says that He is 'humble and meek' and we believe Him; not noticing that, if He were merely a man, humility and meekness are the very last characteristics we could attribute to some of His sayings.
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to
This past Sunday I listened to a sermon on Genesis 23:1-20 which is all about Sarah's death, the wife of Abraham, and the land Abraham purchased to bury her on. Exciting stuff right? Well Thanks to my Pastor I found that this passage has great implications for us.
First of all it is important to note that Genesis was written by Moses to the nation of Israel and was probably being read to them as they were about to enter the promised land.
Another interesting thing about this passage is that Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose and age and death are recorded.
Abraham being a stranger in the land of the Hittites had no land of which to bury his wife and attempted to purchase a cave, however the Hittites wanted to force Abraham to buy a piece of actual land so he would be forced to pay taxes.
Abraham buys this land but for an exorbitant amount, much more than what it is worth. And in future all patriarchs are buried on this land.
So what is the significance of this chapter in the bible? I'm glad you asked as I have learned and as my pastor continues to point out as he is walking through genesis, the Bible is always pointing to Jesus and the gospel.
In the same way Abraham paid a exorbitant amount for a small bit of land so has God the father paid an exorbitant amount in Jesus Christ in order to redeem his people.
Also we see that Abraham was promised the promised land but he never was able to see control of all the land promised to him in his life time, but here we see a deposit that Abraham was given, to know that his descendants will take hold of all the Promised land. And that is also what the Israelites are realizing as this passage is being read to them, that they are now going to see the promise fulfilled that was given to Abraham.
In the same way Christ has redeemed us by the blood of Christ and is reconciling us to Himself, we are not yet perfect and will not see the finished work in our lifetime but we have been given a deposit of that promise of total reconciliation and redemption in the form of the Holy Spirit.
We must not lose heart that we don't have our inheritance yet. Just because we may not ever see the return of Christ that does not mean that we will not see and be part of the new heavens and new earth.
As I do not own the book "Every Man's Battle" giving a great review for its study guide will be difficult. Yet as I have read through this guide I have been pleasantly surprised as it offers much more read then the normal guide. I found that i was nearly possible to be able to read through this guide without the book being totally necessary.
There were many Bible verses used stories told that brought the seriousness of this subject into full view. I felt that though I did not have the book and couldn't answer all questions in the guide the questions given were well thought out and thought provoking and heart probing questions.
I would however suggest that you get "Every Man's Battle" before reading through it's study guide "Every Single Man's Battle". I am unsure of how to properly rank this book so I'll leave it up to you.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Love Wins was kind of a big thing a couple months ago and I think that it had good and bad effects. For bad it was Rob Bell leading astray thousands of people but also for many it was a wake up call to get in your Bibles and really read the words of God for yourself.
In this video, Francis Chan brings up the problem of people who think "well I don't think God would...." Really? You are seriously fitting God into your box because it is not conceivable for you for God to have a much more developed sense of love, or mercy, or justice.
I think that we very easily agree with Chan on this subject, particularly in light of Rob Bell's book "Love Wins," and we are very indignant to see someone limit God because he/she can't fathom it. We become so angry and annoyed at the arrogance of some men.
But,
I think this is much more than just Rob Bell's problem. I think this is YOUR problem. As I reflect on this, I have realized this is also MY problem. We can so easily place our reasoning over the sound word of God and not even realize we do it. I know that I am not right 100% of the time, but most of the day my pride tells me I'm always right.
We lean so heavily on our experiences and our teaching from other fallen human beings rather than on the word of God and I think that more than we realize we say I don't think God would do this or that and therefore he wouldn't.
So, why is our reasoning so off? I think it is because we aren't putting the infallible word of God as the core for our beliefs but rather putting our own experiences and teachings as the base. We have built our house on the sand rather than the rock and we will be swept away if we don't change.
Get in the Holy Bible today and let it direct your life rather than you. Also, pray. Pray that God would grant you understanding of His words so that you can allow the Bible to be the rock you stand on. Pray that you would not cage God in your own ideas and emotions but allow Him to permeate your lives through Christ as He is the message of the Bible. And pray for others, we are all struggling together.
We all know of the "Great Commission" but I fear we have far to many people believing that it is for everyone else to do, we think, "Well that's not my calling." NO. It's everyone's calling, you just have to read the Bible. http://www.openbible.info/topics/making_disciples. I understand that not everyone is supposed to go overseas as missionaries, but we can't deny the fact that you are called to make disciples no matter where you are.
We can't be spectator Christians in this country anymore. But it's not about napkin evangelism either. making disciples is more than just having others pray a prayer, it is about teaching, growing, and instructing them in faith with Christ. There's too much at stake to be more proud about our reputation over Christ's.
When we are humble enough to place Christ where he should be in our lives then what we previously thought was important seems to fade away.
”But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find a way to say it and live for it and die for it. And…. you will not waste your life.” – John Piper
Listening to John Piper's sermon the other day on John 9. He hit on a topic that I think is very important to think about. The context is Jesus coming upon a blind man and healing him on the Sabbath. He is brought into the temple and questioned by the pharisees as they try to label Christ a sinner for healing on the Sabbath as well as kneading dough (or mud in this case).
Piper asks the question, "why would He (Jesus) want to do that (use mud to heal)?" and part of his answer is that, "He wants to show that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, or to show what the point of the Sabbath is. Rest... Healing... What else would you do on the Sabbath but make eyes see." I love the end of that quote but that is still the context of the part of the story that I want to point out.
As the blind beggar is questioned, for a second time in this instance, he says in response to the pharisees calling Jesus a sinner in John 9:25
He answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
This is amazing because as Piper points out this man has been blind since birth he has had no education his whole life needs to know only this, "Though I was blind, now I see." The pharisees are the most educated people in Israel and they are so blind compared to this man.
The next thing we see though is that the blind man is kicked out of the temple for later claiming Jesus as being from God, and this is huge because as Piper points out this kicking out of the temple was a kicking out of Judaism, this was life to this man.
The best part about this story is that even in the man's persecution for the name of Christ we see in John 9:35 that Jesus heard about this and sought out this man. Think about it, when we have no where else to turn, we need not turn anywhere, for Jesus seeks us out and finds us.
We have only to come into this world with the knowledge that "Though I was blind, now I see!"
Well I said that I would give a full review of the book "Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World" By C.J. Mahaney, and company, and here it is. The focus of this book In the first chapter to the last chapter is on the cross and the heart of your decisions.
The first chapter is called "Is this verse in your Bible?" and is all about 1 John 2:15 which says "Do not love the world or the things in the world..." C.J. Explains that this is a verse that we like to mentally or even physically at least cut out of our Bible. We are afraid of the effect this verse will have on our lives so we avoid it or change its meaning. C.J. makes the comment that "the greatest challenge facing American evangelicals is not persecution from the world, but seduction by the world." C.J. defines worldliness not as the earthy world because created it and it was good. Rather C.J. says
Worldliness, then, is a love for this fallen world. It's loving the values and pursuits of the world that stand opposed to God. More specifically , it is to gratify and exalt oneself to the exclusion of God. It rejects God's rules and replaces it with our own (like creating our own Bibles). It exalts our opinions above God's truth. It elevates our sinful desires for the things of this fallen world above God's commands and promises.
C.J. would say that worldliness isn't ultimately in the world but in our hearts. Our desires are what makes a good gift from God a worldly idol. He makes clear that the point of this book is not to be legalistic or allow you to ignore 1 John 2:15, but rather to bring the matter off the surface and get to the heart of the matter.
Chapter 2, by Craig Cabaniss, is all about media and its effects on our lives. "As followers of Christ, we cannot afford to take lightly the media's pervasive presence in our lives" -Craig Cabaniss. Craig comes at you, on this subject, straight to the heart. Why are you watching that? Is there a point to your watching or are you just watching? Craig wants us to be discerning in what we willing put in our minds. A point he makes which I find is very interesting and helpful is, as he describes it, living coram deo. Which means living "before the face of God." He doesn't say that we should all get rid of our TV's or laptops but that we watch discerningly with gratitude to God for creativity, beauty, and laughter. Craig points out that if we are more discerning in what we watch and where we go on the internet then we will have so much more time to spend in fellowship and community with others. As he puts it "there's a world of things to do with the TV turned off."
Chapter 3, by Bob Kauflin, is all about the music we listen too and subject ourselves too. Bob doesn't say that there is only one style off music that we should listen too because not one style can capture who God is. But he does stress the importance of being discerning with what we listen to. He says, "listening to music without discernment and godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world... If we're concerned about the seductive effect worldly lyrics can have on our souls, we won't be racing close to the edge of sin, seeing how much we can take in before it finally starts affecting us."
Chapter 4, by Dave Harvey, is about the stuff in our lives. The Bible tells us that we are not to covet which means desiring stuff too much or desiring too much stuff. Materialism pervades every heart, according to Dave, whether it is obvious or not. "covetousness chains the hearts to things that are passing away" -Dave Harvey. There are four chains that Dave goes into in depth. first is stuff makes me happy, then it is stuff makes me important, thirdly our stuff makes us secure, and finally stuff makes me rich. But Dave makes the point that when we die we will stand before God with nothing. We need to measure our riches with what Christ did on Calvary.
Chapter 5, by C.J. Mahaney, is about our clothes. This chapter is directed mainly at women, but C.J. again is not looking to put boundaries on the surface but rather looks to the heart of the matter. He says, "Any Biblical discussion about modesty begins by addressing the heart, not the hemline." C.J. defines immodesty as an act of drawing undue attention to yourself. It's pride, on display by what you wear. And thus, modesty is humility in how you dress. He asks a very good question, in my opinion, to the women of the church. Are your role models the godly women of Scripture, or the worldly women of our culture. C.J. also gives words to the fathers of women saying that an immodestly dressed woman means usually the father has failed to lead, care for, and protect her. C.J. in this chapter is trying to protect the men as well as the women and asks women to think of their brothers in Christ before the dress.
The final chapter, by Jeff Purswell, totally changes focus and rather than how to avoid being worldly he goes into how we are to love the world. Jeff starts by helping lay down a biblical worldview for living in the world and walks through creation, the fall, redemption, and consummation. Jeff then gives us three tasks of how we are to love the world. The first is to enjoy the world and going along with the theme of the whole book explains that "worldliness is not a matter of matter, but of the heart. the "world" we are forbidden to love (1 John 2:15) is not the earthy creation but the rebellious, independent, God-rejecting, mindset of those who inhabit this creation." Second, we are to engage the world. God placed man in the garden to work and keep it (Gen. 2:15). Jeff explains that a biblical worldview "gives us new eyes to see all of life: every sphere is charged with potential, every activity providing an opportunity to serve God, encounter God, obey God, enjoy God, testify to God, and bring glory to God." Finally, Jeff calls us to evangelize the world. "A biblical worldview can transform evangelism from a neglected Christian duty or mark of elite spirituality to an exhilarating privilege for every believer." Jeff ends the book by showing us the cross and how it defines us and the way we are to live in this world.
In my opinion this was a great book that is almost all practical while giving hundreds of scripture which helps to show how we are to avoid worldliness. I totally recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.
So, lately I have been going on walks around 10pm or 11pm, just when its dark. I love being alone thinking about God's glory and holiness. His creation just looks so different at night. It's a different kind of beauty. and I thought about how the night is a picture of the gospel. Think about it. Night is when we rest, we await the coming of the light of the morning, the light of the "son."
An even sweeter picture I thought of was how there is so much darkness in the night yet there are stars that shine God's glory into the darkness, we are these stars, we proclaim the glory of God through the darkness of this world. There are nights where it feels as if there are very few stars or no stars at all. In the same way I think we can feel as if it is us against the world, yet we have hope that there are millions of stars out there with us awaiting the coming of Christ. As the coming of the dawn, the glory of the Son is so great that the small fraction of that glory we were trying to reflect is completely swallowed up in His majesty. And its the dawn that we are so looking forward to. Darkness to be totally blotted out and His glory to fill our very being.
ISAIAH 6:1-3
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
I recently heard a sermon on Daniel 3 by Oral Roberts. It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego but more importantly Rev. Roberts emphasizes the fourth man in the furnace and then proceeds to show who he is in every book of the Bible which shows that indeed everywhere in the Bible points to Jesus and I thought this was really cool.
In Genesis He is the Seed of the Woman.
In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus He is our High Priest.
In Numbers He is the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night.
In Deuteronomy He is the Prophet like unto Moses.
about In Joshua He is the Captain of our Salvation.
In Judges He is our Judge and Lawgiver.
In Ruth He is our Kinsman Redeemer.
In I and II Samuel He is our Trusted Prophet.
In Kings and Chronicles He is our Reigning King.
In Ezra He is our Faithful Scribe.
In Nehemiah He is the Rebuilder of the Broken Down Walls of our human life.
In Esther He is our Mordecai.
In Job He is our Dayspring from on high and our Ever-Living Redemmer.
In Psalms He is the Lord our Shepard.
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes He is our Wisdom.
In the Song of Solomon He is our Lover and the Bridegroom.
In Isaiah He is the Prince of Peace.
In Jeremiah He is the Righteous Branch.
In Lamentations He is the Weeping Prophet.
In Ezekiel He is the Wonderful Four-Faced Man.
In Daniel He is the Fourth Man in the burning fiery furnace.
In Hosea He is the Faithful Husband, forever married to the backslider.
In Joel He is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and Fire.
In Amos He is our Burden-Bearer.
In Obadiah He is the Mighty to Save.
In Jonah He is our Great Foreign Missionary.
In Micah He is the Messenger of Beautiful Feet, of carrying the Gospel.
In Nahum He is the Avenger of God's Elect.
In Habakkuk He is God's Evangelist, crying, "Revive thy work in the midst of the years."
In Zephaniah He is the Savior.
In Haggai He is the Restorer of God's Lost Heritage.
In Zechariah He is the Fountain Opened in the House of David for sin and uncleanness.
And in Malachi He is the Sun of Righteousness, rising with healing in His wings.
In Matthew He is the Messiah.
In Mark He is the Wonder-worker.
In Luke He is the Son of Man.
In John He is the son of God.
In Acts He is the Holy spirit.
In Romans He is our Justifier.
In Corinthians He is the Gifs of the Spirit.
In Galatians He is the Redeemer from the curse of the law.
In Ephesians He is the Christ on Unreachable Riches.
In Philippians He is the God Who Supplies All Our Needs.
In Colossians He is the Godhead Bodily.
In ! and II Thessalonians He is our Soon-coming King.
In I and II Timothy He is our Mediator between God and Man.
In Titus He is our Faithful Pastor.
In Philemon He is a Friend that Sticketh Closer that a Brother.
In Hebrews He is the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant.
In James He is the Great Physician.
In I an II Peter He is the Chief Shepard who soon shall appear with a crown of unfading glory.
In I, II, and III John He is Everlasting Love.
In Jude He is the Lord Coming with Ten Thousands of his Saints.
And in revelation He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
As I have continued reading through, thinking, and chewing on the book "Worldliness" edited by C.J. Mahaney I have found a story that the author, Dave Harvey, points out is a story about what can happen if we are "set free from the chains of covetousness and materialism." I think that this is totally relevant to world we are living in today if not more so important in the world we are living in today.
January 5, 1976, was a day that neither I nor my wife will soon forget. It was the dead of winter in Dallas, Texas, and as the sun set the temperature plummeted to well below the freezing mark. I was in my third year of seminary studies and was up late reading.
"Fire!" The word rang out on that cold night with frightening urgency, bringing me out of my chair and into the parking lot of our apartment complex. There it was. Only three doors away a fire was raging.
My first reaction was to awaken Ann and get her to safety. By the time she had escaped and we had moved our car away from danger, the fire department arrived and cordoned off the entire complex. In doing so they shattered any hope I had of rushing back inside to save something of our possessions.
It was there in the parking lot at 11:00 p.m., in sub-freezing cold, that I learned an important lesson about myself. The flames did more than simply light up the cold Texas sky. They shone ablaze in my heart as well, dispelling the darkness of sin's deceit. While mournfully contemplating what would surely be the loss of all earthly possessions, it suddenly struck me how attached I had become to material things. My sinful dependence on earthly goods was exposed as I envisioned a future without clothes, without furniture, and worst of all, without theology books. I was shamed by the painful realization that my happiness was so closely tied up with what I owned.
I have been reading a book called "Worldliness" edited by C.J. Mahaney, and I highly recommend it from what I've read. The authors in this book are not trying to put up restrictions and thus become legalistic but they don't want Christians to think that anything is a "go" either and they come at this subject of "worldliness" from a very Biblical perspective. I will give an overall analysis of the book once I finish it, but so far I found a totally practical and applicable bunch of questions about discerning the benefits of what we are submitting ourselves to in media.
Questions posed by Craig Cabaniss
Time Questions
Am I skipping of delaying something important in order to watch this now?
What are my other social/entertainment options besides watching television or going out to see a movie?
How much time have I already spent on media today?
How much time have I spent surfing the Internet? How much time have I spent blogging or maintaining an online presence through social network sites?
In the last week, how much time have I spent on the spiritual disciplines, building relationships, or serving in my local church compared to time spent consuming media?
After investing the time to view this, will I look back on it as time well spent?
Heart Questions
Why do I want to watch this program or film? What do I find entertaining about it?
Am I seeking to escape from something I should be facing by watching this? Am I seeking comfort or relief that can only be found in God?
What sinful temptations will this program or film present?
Do I secretly want to view something in it that's sinful? Am I deceiving myself by saying, "I'll fast-forward through the bad parts"?
Similarly, am I telling myself, "I'll just visit this web site once, and I won't click on any of links I find there"?
Am I watching because I'm bored or lazy? If so,what does that reveal about my heart?
Am I watching simply because other are? Am I trying to be relevant or to fit in?
How has my online relationships impacted my face-to-face relationships? How has my online activity impacted my soul? For better or worse?
What motivates me to create and maintain a blog, Myspace, or Facebook presence? Am I attempting to impress others? Am I being prideful, slanderous, deceitful, or self-righteous?
Content Questions
What worldview or philosophy of life does this program or film present? What's the view of man's nature? What's the view of sin? Is sin identified as such? What's the view of God-ordained authority figures? and how do these views relate to God's view?
What does this program or film glamorize? What is valued or considered important?
Who are the heroes of the story? Why are they heroic?
Is sin shown as having negative consequences? Or is sin glorified or rewarded? Is sin presented in an appealing or seductive way?
What is humorous in this work? How are people made fun of? What is mocked?
Does violence appear as a natural part of the story, or is it used gratuitously to entertain?
What's the sexual content? Is there nudity? Sensual or seductive dress? are there images, language, or humor that are sexually impure?
Is sinful self-sufficiency honored? Are the heroic characters concerned for others or merely for themselves?
Does the program or film portray materialism as "the good life"?
Would seeing this help me better understand God's world? Would it help me understand my surrounding culture better without tempting me to sinful compromise?
Will I benefit in any way from viewing this program or visiting this web site?
Does its content or artistry reflect truth, beauty, or goodness?
Online do I communicate graciously, patiently, and humbly? Do I use crude or arrogant speech? Is my speech consistent with the gospel, or does it reflect worldliness?
Again I found these questions to be very helpful to what we are watching in media as well as helping us to not waste our lives away in front of the television. But don't rely on this pick up the book to get explanations of how we are to live out 1 John 2:15 in our world today.
I am writing this now for my Grandpa. The most Godly man I have ever been privileged to meet, and I am related to him. Harold R. Green, my Grandpa, is currently dying of pancreatic cancer. I don't know how to explain the impact that my Grandpa has had in the Cedarville, Ohio region but I know that he has touched the lives of hundreds perhaps thousands of people.
He prays for my extended family every night specifically for each person in the family, which I believe was a major factor in how God called me into ministry. He did so many little things and was so funny and witty that you couldn't help but like him.
He would always have a bag of little rubber frogs that whenever he would give out to waiters and waitresses as well as many other people that he would meet and explain that the frog stood for Fully Rely On God and then would say or take it a step further and its Fully Rely On God's Son, frogs, he then will ask if he can pray for you.
My Grandpa raised a great family, definitely with quirks, but all of his children love the Lord they have taken what my Grandpa has taught them and transfered it to all the kids. There are not many families that can claim that all their kids are believers as well as all grandkids, and my Grandfather is at the center of it. his passion for the Lord touches all those that he comes near. I am so blessed to have him in my life.
As my father is there now to be with him in his last moments, he sent us an e-mail saying that as he and my Grandpa spoke about the end my Grandpa replied, "I am not afraid." And that is the kind of man my Grandfather is, a loving, teasing, passionate man that demands respect, and I cannot wait to embrace when we meet again in glory.
I pray that God will be glorified through his death even more than in life. Most of all I pray that I can model my Grandpa in my life for he has been the greatest model of Christ to me.
To: The greatest model of Christ in my life, Harold R. Green
Thank you for your awesome impact in my life and the love that you have shown me. I praise God for your life and the impact you've had in me personally.
Lately I have been reflecting on the attribute of God's holiness. I believe that this is His greatest and most defining attribute. His holiness reveals much about who God is. We who are sinful in every fiber of our being cannot stand to be in the presence of the holy. Especially when we think of ourselves as good people, to be shown how far this world has fallen drives us mad in our rebellion against God. When God sent His Son as a propitiation for our sin, as He walked a holy and righteous life, we couldn't stand His presence. His utter perfection drove us mad and deeper in our rebellion until we killed the Son of God.
The sin of our hearts may be the same in many cases but even in our society we understand that it is worse as the sin is against higher authorities. Tell a lie to a neighbor and they will be hurt and find you untrustworthy, but if you were to lie to a judge you can be placed in prison for life. But we are upset when we hear about how God would punish entire nations who are in constant rebellion against an infinitely holy God. It is God's grace and mercy that He hasn't wiped out this nation for our heinous sins. We have no right to judge a holy God, but for some reason this country believes that it knows better than God, and that is very dangerous ground.
In the Bible God's holiness is the only attribute of God that is declared to the third degree. You cannot find in the Bible
a description that says God is wrath, wrath, wrath or justice,
justice, justice or even love, love, love. No, God is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, and we
can't afford to miss this, for we are called to be holy as God is holy. Because
of the penalty that Christ paid on the cross we have received the
holiness of Christ, but we are also in a process of sanctification. And I
am learning that in this process we will realize again and again that we are
fallen and broken, and that should drive us to worship the God who saves. Yet,
for some reason in this country there are millions that profess Christ as Lord
but few live it out in their lives. We don't know radical living in this country. We think being radical is wearing a t-shirt, but until we are sold out for Christ and the glory of God because we understand His holiness which we have received by Christ by grace and mercy.
Your view of sin would change if He gave you a passion for the Holiness of God. You would no longer think in terms of sin as the damaging of man but as the dishonoring of God. You would no longer think of sin as the choice of pleasure but the loss of pleasure. You would think the righteousness of God is his unswerving allegiance to always be right by Himself that is to exalt what is infinitely worthy, namely His holiness and glory. - John Piper
Don't be content to play the Christian game. The holiness of God demands righteous living, and that is only possible through Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit.
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.' And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:1-4
As the days edge closer to Easter I have begun to think about those who crucified our savior. I think that many of us think if we were only there we would have stopped it, or I wouldn't have yelled "Crucify Him." Yet, to believe such is arrogance or ignorance. The apostle Peter denied Christ and he had been with Christ many places seeing and experiencing His glory. For example he was on the mountain top with Christ shining in glory with Moses and Elijah next to Him. If Peter who had seen the glory of Christ Himself and denied Christ in the time He was destined to suffer and die for Christ what then makes you think that you could have done different.
In the business world there are those that reach their peak and cannot go any higher in a company, but there a few that do not reach a peak they are great at what they do in every aspect, but those who are near the top but have peaked out are threatened by those that succeed in all they do, and the higher ups will do whatever it takes to keep those at lower levels.
How much more so when the perfect being of Christ came to Earth that the all the political powers were extremely threatened by Him. They wanted Him out of the way because He threatened there power and control. so they crucified Him. The sinful human cannot stand the presence of the holy, it is death to them. It is only in our salvation that we can love God, for we are now righteous by the blood of Christ, but to assume if you were there you wouldn't have cried "Crucify Him" with the rest is folly.
We are a fallen people and Christ is the resurrected lamb worthy of all praise and honor and glory. How is it that we don't give Him our all, for He deserves much more than that? It was MY sin upon His shoulders.
How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure How great the pain of searing loss, The Father turns His face away As wounds which mar the chosen One, Bring many sons to glory Behold the Man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished I will not boast in anything No gifts, no power, no wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom
