Every evangelist’s favorite verse seems to always be Romans 10:9:
“If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved.”
The other big verse used is the one in revelation at the end of the message to the church at Laodicea “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man…” you know the rest.
Now I am not against using these verses in evangelism, in fact I think that both of these verses have some very powerful truth contain in them, and both have tremendous messages of grace, and of pardon. The problem we run into is that we do not look at the historical context of either of these verses, especially Romans 10:9. I will be focusing on that passage in this post, and hopefully the Revelation passage in the next. Historical context is an odd thing, and people only seem to use it when it is convenient to the points they are trying to make, and they will quickly ignore it when it proves to be a thorn in the side of their argument or theology. The evangelical fundamentalist will often ignore the historical context of Romans 10:9 to make a new convert. This verse taken at face value makes salvation a terribly easy thing. If I say to someone “Jesus is Lord” and I believe it, well everything is AOK for me, right? Wrong. Understand that this letter of Paul to the Romans was written to a persecuted people. People who were risking their very lives any time they confessed the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To confess “Jesus is Lord” was no small thing in that day. You counted your life nothing and risked it all to make that precious confession. Today we are more worried about how we can do evangelism without losing any friends. Can you imagine in that day if your best friend got converted, and you were not, and you were out in the marked place with them and a guard walked by and said “Caesar is Lord!” and as everyone repeated it your friend stood silent. We would think, “Just say it man, your gonna get yourself killed, plus you are embarrassing me, why can you not just go along with it?” Then the guard comes up to your friend and says it again, at that point you would get real nervous, just hoping he wouldn’t say those pathetic (in the unconverted eyes) three words, but out of his mouth with trembling lips comes: “Jesus is Lord!.” That is it, the guard gives one more opportunity to say Caesar is Lord, and your friend says no! Jesus is Lord and it is all over, off to prison or executed on the spot.
Now what about us? We are afraid to be a little embarrassed, so we avoid confessing the name, that is unless we are in a place where that is normal like Church. Our entire lives should be a confession that Jesus is Lord, whether it causes us ridicule or not. If our confession that Jesus is Lord has never made us vulnerable or uncomfortable, then maybe our confession is not worthy of the confession explained in Romans 10:9.
((Just a thought, I really have to get going. Sorry about any typos))
12.06.2007
Release from Captivity
Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
We can glance over these verses and sure they sound nice, and we think that it is great that Jesus has released us from captivity but lets get on to the next thing. We would rather get on to some healing, exorcisms, raising the dead, and parables. Yes, we are thankful for the release, but let’s find out what else Jesus will say?
A preacher once said, “You do not usually rejoice at the sound of keys jingling, that is unless you are in a dungeon where you have been locked.” See it is about perspective. Often times hellfire preachers get such a bad wrap because they seem to heap condemnation upon condemnation upon the heads of their hearers and some of them should receive a bad wrap. You are not to condemn men and get pleasure and a rush of power and some sort of ego trip from it. However on the flip side nobody will ever hear the beauty of the jingling keys until they realize they are living in the dungeon. There is a place for that sort of hellfire preaching, and there is a place for that sort of writing. Sometimes as a preacher, or a writer you need to turn on a light so that people can see they are in a dungeon, and when they see what is around them it is terrible thing. We spend time preaching freedom to those who have no reality of the fact that they are in bondage. We present freedom, and they do not see freedom as a necessity, but as something they can add to their lives. In our quest for the biggest church with the most prolific ministries we forgo showing the people the dungeon in which they live. Instead we try to make the dungeon more bearable. There is a reason the Church in America is subpar, it is because the preaching is subpar. We do not preach release to the captives, and if we do they do not understand it, because they know not that they are in captivity.
What is this captivity? Sin. Do we not realize that Jesus died to set us free from sin? We better not preach sinless perfection, right? Well I agree, and I think sinfulness is in the very fabric of who we are, but everyone agrees to that. What people have a hard time agreeing with is when you tell them that you are free from sin. However that is just what Jesus came to do, free us from sin. If you are not free from sin, then you are not free at all, in fact you are lost. You are in captivity, bondage, and you have chosen to serve a hard master, one who is never satisfied. Freedom from sin is not perfection, but it is a hatred for sin and a longing for righteousness that occurs not only in your mind, but plays itself out in your life. Can a Christian fall into habitual sin? Yes, but he or she cannot and will not stay there, and while they are there they will be miserable. Why the misery, because they have tasted freedom, and have found themselves again in bondage. You see you cannot serve two masters, you will love one and hate the other, when we serve sin we are in bondage to it, and with our actions we hate God. Sin is so much more sinful than we often realize, and its bondage is so much more real than we give credit. We just want to say a little prayer ask Jesus to come in and get on with our life. Do you really want a comfortable captivity, instead of a pure freedom.
I will it at that, I hope this all made sense, sometimes I run in circles.
((I hope to post soon on confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart, it has a lot to do with this))
We can glance over these verses and sure they sound nice, and we think that it is great that Jesus has released us from captivity but lets get on to the next thing. We would rather get on to some healing, exorcisms, raising the dead, and parables. Yes, we are thankful for the release, but let’s find out what else Jesus will say?
A preacher once said, “You do not usually rejoice at the sound of keys jingling, that is unless you are in a dungeon where you have been locked.” See it is about perspective. Often times hellfire preachers get such a bad wrap because they seem to heap condemnation upon condemnation upon the heads of their hearers and some of them should receive a bad wrap. You are not to condemn men and get pleasure and a rush of power and some sort of ego trip from it. However on the flip side nobody will ever hear the beauty of the jingling keys until they realize they are living in the dungeon. There is a place for that sort of hellfire preaching, and there is a place for that sort of writing. Sometimes as a preacher, or a writer you need to turn on a light so that people can see they are in a dungeon, and when they see what is around them it is terrible thing. We spend time preaching freedom to those who have no reality of the fact that they are in bondage. We present freedom, and they do not see freedom as a necessity, but as something they can add to their lives. In our quest for the biggest church with the most prolific ministries we forgo showing the people the dungeon in which they live. Instead we try to make the dungeon more bearable. There is a reason the Church in America is subpar, it is because the preaching is subpar. We do not preach release to the captives, and if we do they do not understand it, because they know not that they are in captivity.
What is this captivity? Sin. Do we not realize that Jesus died to set us free from sin? We better not preach sinless perfection, right? Well I agree, and I think sinfulness is in the very fabric of who we are, but everyone agrees to that. What people have a hard time agreeing with is when you tell them that you are free from sin. However that is just what Jesus came to do, free us from sin. If you are not free from sin, then you are not free at all, in fact you are lost. You are in captivity, bondage, and you have chosen to serve a hard master, one who is never satisfied. Freedom from sin is not perfection, but it is a hatred for sin and a longing for righteousness that occurs not only in your mind, but plays itself out in your life. Can a Christian fall into habitual sin? Yes, but he or she cannot and will not stay there, and while they are there they will be miserable. Why the misery, because they have tasted freedom, and have found themselves again in bondage. You see you cannot serve two masters, you will love one and hate the other, when we serve sin we are in bondage to it, and with our actions we hate God. Sin is so much more sinful than we often realize, and its bondage is so much more real than we give credit. We just want to say a little prayer ask Jesus to come in and get on with our life. Do you really want a comfortable captivity, instead of a pure freedom.
I will it at that, I hope this all made sense, sometimes I run in circles.
((I hope to post soon on confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart, it has a lot to do with this))
12.04.2007
He did not come to call the righteous
Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Look at these words of Jesus from Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” What a scandal! Do you realize that the Pharisees and the scribes had already set themselves apart for service to God? That these men had memorized the scriptures carried out the commandments, they had performed, or at least attempted to perform the temple worship as prescribed in the law. Then our Lord comes eats with sinners and tax collectors, and has the audacity to tell these scribes and Pharisees I have called these sinners to repentance, I have not come to call you!.” No wonder they wanted to kill Him. To give your whole life to serving God (at least as they understood it) and to have this fanatic come along and undo everything you ever did. Can you sense the tension the Pharisees must have felt as more and more people began to follow Jesus? It is one thing when some flash in the pan cult leader pops up and few people leave the fold to follow him, but this man, this Jesus comes on the scene and the masses are flocking to Him. The Pharisees tend to be the subject of ridicule to the Church today, and they were the subject of ridicule to Jesus as well, but I do not think the Church looks at the reality of what the Pharisees were. They were the self proclaimed bearers of truth, there whole lives were built on this premise, there occupation, reputation and purpose were built on performing the ordinances of God. Then one man undoes it all. He destroyed with His teachings everything they were, and because of Him they went from powerful to obsolete, can you sense why they may cry “Crucify Him.” Many people today are ready to crucify political leaders because of a few ideas they have, like a Hillary Clinton or a George Bush, but neither of them have pulled out the very foundations our lives are built upon. Jesus with His teachings effectively slaughtered the Pharisees and rendered them worse than dead.
But look at what the teaching that crushed them was:
“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
The clear gospel call is that sinners would come to repentance. The call is that the reprobate would be redeemed, the unclean would be cleansed, the depraved be made holy, and the lost be found. This gospel is not merely a story of forgiveness and the love of God, no it is far more than that. It is the very power of God unto salvation. It has been said before on this blog, the gospel is not a tool! It is the very power of God! It has been said that it takes far more power for God to redeem a man and make Him holy than it took for Him to create the universe, because the universe was a blank canvas for God, yet men are already laden with sin and defilement. The nothingness before the universe came into existence was pure, yet our recreation was from something already stained.
The call is to sinners! The reprobate and depraved, the unclean and the vile, to you and to me, these are the souls whom Jesus has called. This, though it was a great insult to the Pharisees, should be a reason for great rejoicing by us. The issue we fall into is that the Lord in His great mercy and love will begin the work of regeneration in us and we in some case become born again and become the very workmanship of God (see Ephesians 2). Then for whatever reason, be it pride, self reliance, the remnants of unbelief, or something else, we begin to think that we are the righteous. We in our own indolence forgo seeking hard after God, because we have forgotten who we are outside of Him. We see ourselves as righteous and because of that we lose the very calling of God. “I have not called the righteous…” We lose the call and then unbelief creeps in, we question all that we ever did, we doubt every work that God has ever done in us and we render everything meaningless. However if He has begun a good work He will complete it, and if we are ever in that spot of doubt and despair, cling to this: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinner to repentance.” It is so important for every believer when they begin to doubt to examine themselves. Why do you doubt? It is because at some point you found yourself to be righteous, and not long after that you fell. Why did you fall, because you were “righteous” in your own eyes because of some working that you had done. You fell because you no longer had the call of God, because Christ “did not come ot call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
(I am not sure if any of that made sense, I hope it does.)
Look at these words of Jesus from Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” What a scandal! Do you realize that the Pharisees and the scribes had already set themselves apart for service to God? That these men had memorized the scriptures carried out the commandments, they had performed, or at least attempted to perform the temple worship as prescribed in the law. Then our Lord comes eats with sinners and tax collectors, and has the audacity to tell these scribes and Pharisees I have called these sinners to repentance, I have not come to call you!.” No wonder they wanted to kill Him. To give your whole life to serving God (at least as they understood it) and to have this fanatic come along and undo everything you ever did. Can you sense the tension the Pharisees must have felt as more and more people began to follow Jesus? It is one thing when some flash in the pan cult leader pops up and few people leave the fold to follow him, but this man, this Jesus comes on the scene and the masses are flocking to Him. The Pharisees tend to be the subject of ridicule to the Church today, and they were the subject of ridicule to Jesus as well, but I do not think the Church looks at the reality of what the Pharisees were. They were the self proclaimed bearers of truth, there whole lives were built on this premise, there occupation, reputation and purpose were built on performing the ordinances of God. Then one man undoes it all. He destroyed with His teachings everything they were, and because of Him they went from powerful to obsolete, can you sense why they may cry “Crucify Him.” Many people today are ready to crucify political leaders because of a few ideas they have, like a Hillary Clinton or a George Bush, but neither of them have pulled out the very foundations our lives are built upon. Jesus with His teachings effectively slaughtered the Pharisees and rendered them worse than dead.
But look at what the teaching that crushed them was:
“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
The clear gospel call is that sinners would come to repentance. The call is that the reprobate would be redeemed, the unclean would be cleansed, the depraved be made holy, and the lost be found. This gospel is not merely a story of forgiveness and the love of God, no it is far more than that. It is the very power of God unto salvation. It has been said before on this blog, the gospel is not a tool! It is the very power of God! It has been said that it takes far more power for God to redeem a man and make Him holy than it took for Him to create the universe, because the universe was a blank canvas for God, yet men are already laden with sin and defilement. The nothingness before the universe came into existence was pure, yet our recreation was from something already stained.
The call is to sinners! The reprobate and depraved, the unclean and the vile, to you and to me, these are the souls whom Jesus has called. This, though it was a great insult to the Pharisees, should be a reason for great rejoicing by us. The issue we fall into is that the Lord in His great mercy and love will begin the work of regeneration in us and we in some case become born again and become the very workmanship of God (see Ephesians 2). Then for whatever reason, be it pride, self reliance, the remnants of unbelief, or something else, we begin to think that we are the righteous. We in our own indolence forgo seeking hard after God, because we have forgotten who we are outside of Him. We see ourselves as righteous and because of that we lose the very calling of God. “I have not called the righteous…” We lose the call and then unbelief creeps in, we question all that we ever did, we doubt every work that God has ever done in us and we render everything meaningless. However if He has begun a good work He will complete it, and if we are ever in that spot of doubt and despair, cling to this: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinner to repentance.” It is so important for every believer when they begin to doubt to examine themselves. Why do you doubt? It is because at some point you found yourself to be righteous, and not long after that you fell. Why did you fall, because you were “righteous” in your own eyes because of some working that you had done. You fell because you no longer had the call of God, because Christ “did not come ot call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
(I am not sure if any of that made sense, I hope it does.)
11.29.2007
The Threshing Floor Continued
The simple truth of the complete cleaning of the threshing floor certainly is overwhelming, and should drive us to intercession and evanglism. Why should we care? Of course the eternal souls of our fellow man should be of infinite importance to us, but even more than that is the fact that Jesus deserves a barn full of wheat. He went to the cross and paid for just that. Do we not know that it is not man that deserves Christ, but Christ that deserves man? Maybe one of the main reasons that there will be much chaff on that day of threshing is us. Maybe we were so concerned with man and his soul that we never allowed the full force of God's power come to our soul. What I mean is this, maybe we simply evanglized to serve man, and feed the poor for the poor's sake, and served the church for the churches sake. Did we remember that it is all for Christ's sake? The threshing floor will be purged entirely! Is it not a shame that Christ will sweep away chaff that should have been wheat, He will throw chaff into the fire, but He paid for wheat!! What a shame that He will have to sweep so much chaff.
I will leave it at that. I hope to post again soon, and I actually hope to post something more uplifting, I tend to be very coarse on this blog, but the tenor of the Christian life is not one of constant brashness and struggling, but one of victory and joy. Yes, we are broken, but we have peace and joy as well. So keep posted.
I will leave it at that. I hope to post again soon, and I actually hope to post something more uplifting, I tend to be very coarse on this blog, but the tenor of the Christian life is not one of constant brashness and struggling, but one of victory and joy. Yes, we are broken, but we have peace and joy as well. So keep posted.
11.16.2007
The Threshing Floor
Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
If we believed the words of John the Baptist in this passage our lives certainly would be a bit different. Upon reading this passage the word 'throughly' should hit us square between the eyes and cause us to fall down an plead God's mercy upon our congregations, homes, schools, offices and so on. Do we not know that the threshing floor will be clean when the day of judgement is past. There will be no remnant missed, no residue of chaff left, and not a kernel of wheat missed. It will ALL either be gathered to the garner, or cast into unquenchable fire.
Is there any compassion in the hearts or today's professing christians when they look across a crowd, a classroom, a congregation, or a public venue? Do Christians today not remember these words of John the Bapist; "He will throughly purge His threshing floor," or do we sit back without ever considering the gravity of what is going on around us. Today we tend to live as though the threshing floor will never be throughly purged, instead we see it as being partially purged. It is more comfortable to believe that not every person you come in contact really has an eternity before them, it is just too overwhelming. However John the Baptist says NO, the threshing floor is to be "throughly" purged, without a scrap of chaff left.
((to be continued))
If we believed the words of John the Baptist in this passage our lives certainly would be a bit different. Upon reading this passage the word 'throughly' should hit us square between the eyes and cause us to fall down an plead God's mercy upon our congregations, homes, schools, offices and so on. Do we not know that the threshing floor will be clean when the day of judgement is past. There will be no remnant missed, no residue of chaff left, and not a kernel of wheat missed. It will ALL either be gathered to the garner, or cast into unquenchable fire.
Is there any compassion in the hearts or today's professing christians when they look across a crowd, a classroom, a congregation, or a public venue? Do Christians today not remember these words of John the Bapist; "He will throughly purge His threshing floor," or do we sit back without ever considering the gravity of what is going on around us. Today we tend to live as though the threshing floor will never be throughly purged, instead we see it as being partially purged. It is more comfortable to believe that not every person you come in contact really has an eternity before them, it is just too overwhelming. However John the Baptist says NO, the threshing floor is to be "throughly" purged, without a scrap of chaff left.
((to be continued))
11.15.2007
More on Value
In the last post we established that we have value as human beings only in the fact that Christ has paid the ultimate price for us. Value is not determined by the usefulness of an object, or a person, it is however determined by the price someone is willing to pay. An antique clock that needs adjusted every 2 days is likely more valuable than your clock radio, even though your clock is always accurate, plays music, and so on. The antique is not so useful, but is valuable, the clock radio is very useful yet has little value. There is no correlation between usefulness and value. Again we as humans are incredibly valuable because of the price that was paid for us, not because of our usefulness. You ought to value every person you meet because you know your Older Brother spilt His blood as a payment for them.
Now here is the issue, Christ has paid the price for us regardless of our usefulness. We may accept that payment or reject that payment, to reject it is to render youself of no value in that day of judgement. That which has no value in the end ultimately is cast aside, or thrown away. Jesus speaks of Gehenna, the following is an excerpt from the lexicon from www.blueletterbible.com: (Strongs #G1067)
"Hell is the place of the future punishment call "Gehenna" or "Gehenna of fire". This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction."
So basically the reference to Hell is a trash dump. What goes into a trash dump? That which has absolutely no value. Who goes to hell? He or she who has no value. How can a person have no value? While they are alive it is impossible, because Christ's payment on their behalf is pending, but if that payment is never accepted, that value is never accredited to them and ultimately they go the way of all souls who have no value.
On the other hand by accepting His payment as payment in full He has then secured you from distruction because His work has given you value. Just as coupon by itself has no value, but when it is redeemed it has worth, so too is it with the redemption of a human soul.
Now we are not like the antique clock that has value for no good reason other than being antique. We have value because the Son of God purchased us, not some crazed collector. The Lord has purchased us, but goes a step further, and He determines to restore us. Not only does He purchase us because He loves us, but He purchases us to restore us to usefullness. We are more than a peice of junk He has redeemed, we are a person whom He has determined to fashion into His likeness. He desire to restore us to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ himself. If there is no sanctifying restoring work being performed by the Lord in your life, know this, you have not by faith and repentance truely accepted His payment on your life. You are still a pending transaction.
Please realize that if no noticable change in your dispostion or desires has ever occured because of the transforming work of Christ, then you have yet to truely believe.
Before anyone casts a stone, I do believe in the Sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation. This post tends to emphasize choice, or even free will to accept or reject payment, so do the scriptures. I as the publisher of this post recognize God's sovereign activity in our decisions. The paradox of sovereignty and free will is a philospical issue not a theological one, I simply except both to be true. To say there is no paradox is to be intentionally naive to much of scripture.
Now here is the issue, Christ has paid the price for us regardless of our usefulness. We may accept that payment or reject that payment, to reject it is to render youself of no value in that day of judgement. That which has no value in the end ultimately is cast aside, or thrown away. Jesus speaks of Gehenna, the following is an excerpt from the lexicon from www.blueletterbible.com: (Strongs #G1067)
"Hell is the place of the future punishment call "Gehenna" or "Gehenna of fire". This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction."
So basically the reference to Hell is a trash dump. What goes into a trash dump? That which has absolutely no value. Who goes to hell? He or she who has no value. How can a person have no value? While they are alive it is impossible, because Christ's payment on their behalf is pending, but if that payment is never accepted, that value is never accredited to them and ultimately they go the way of all souls who have no value.
On the other hand by accepting His payment as payment in full He has then secured you from distruction because His work has given you value. Just as coupon by itself has no value, but when it is redeemed it has worth, so too is it with the redemption of a human soul.
Now we are not like the antique clock that has value for no good reason other than being antique. We have value because the Son of God purchased us, not some crazed collector. The Lord has purchased us, but goes a step further, and He determines to restore us. Not only does He purchase us because He loves us, but He purchases us to restore us to usefullness. We are more than a peice of junk He has redeemed, we are a person whom He has determined to fashion into His likeness. He desire to restore us to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ himself. If there is no sanctifying restoring work being performed by the Lord in your life, know this, you have not by faith and repentance truely accepted His payment on your life. You are still a pending transaction.
Please realize that if no noticable change in your dispostion or desires has ever occured because of the transforming work of Christ, then you have yet to truely believe.
Before anyone casts a stone, I do believe in the Sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation. This post tends to emphasize choice, or even free will to accept or reject payment, so do the scriptures. I as the publisher of this post recognize God's sovereign activity in our decisions. The paradox of sovereignty and free will is a philospical issue not a theological one, I simply except both to be true. To say there is no paradox is to be intentionally naive to much of scripture.
11.13.2007
Why are you valued?
Well first off it has been a long time since I have posted, and for that I am sorry. Hopefully I will be getting back at it a little bit more. The Lord has blessed my family and I richly, and His hand is clearly in the Youth Ministry which I have been blessed to oversee. There is much I could say about the volunteers He has supplied, the provisions He has given, and the many ways He is at work, both in the ministries which Kristin and I are involved in, and in our personal lives. What seemed seemed like such a big leap for Kristin and I, now seems a simple step after seeing the Lord provide every need we have. On to the blog... Why is a Picasso painting worth so much? Is it because Picasso himself painted it? Is it because of the skills Picasso had? Or a Hank Aaron rookie baseball card, why is it so valueable? Is it because he was so great? Is it because the card is so rare? What about the house I live in, is its value determined by its size? The decor? The neighborhood? Where does something receive its value? If there were another economic depression of the same magnitude of the great depression would a Hank Aaron card lose its value? Certainly it would when people need money for bread. Would a Picasso sell for as much? Certainly not when people could not afford clothing. Would my home retain its value? Of course not. Now does the change in economy affect the rareness of baseball card, the appearance of a painting, or the layout of a home? No, those things remain constant but the value may change drastically. What then determines the value of something? My home is a lower middle class home that would sell for around $110,000 in Toledo Ohio, in West Virginia it may sell for $70,000, and in California it may sell for $500,000. Why is it worth more or less? The value of an object is not determined the attributes of the object. The value of an object is determined by how much someone will pay for that object. There are many impressionist painters with greater skill than Picasso who have gone unnoticed in the history of art. The value of their paintings though superior in quality are less, because people are not willing to pay as much for them. So what is the point? Your value is not, and never will be based on your skills, your sacrafice, your performance, or anything else about you. All your value rests soley in the price that was paid for you. You are worth very little outside of the payment that Christ paid on your behalf. The purchase price of your soul was so high, therein lies your value. This is important to see, as soon as you can grasp this you will feel the weight of your unworthiness fall off of your shoulders. He has given you value by paying such a high price for you. There is no room for depression in the Christian life, there is no room for feeling worthless, or unwanted, or rejected in this life. The price was paid for you! The unthinkable thing would be to choose to reject His payment on your behalf and remain of no value. To attempt to stand before the Lord on that day believing yourself to be valuable because you are you, and you are special. Forget it, your value lies only in Christ, the value of your family, your congregation, your friends, is only in the fact that Christ died for them, that He paid the price. He paid that price, and He in the words of Paris Reidhead, "He Deserves the Rewards of His Suffering" in other words He paid for you in full. He paid the price for you in full. A sobering question is this: Has He received what He paid for? That is all for tonight. |
10.20.2007
A Quick Update
Effective Sept 25, I will no longer be employed as an engineer, instead I will be the director of youth ministries at our local church. Please pray for my family, my church, and I as we make this transition.
I have much I desire to write upon and hopefully I will have time soon. A few topics I have in mind are as follows-
Forgoing the American Dream to Pursue the Heavenly Vision
Two worlds colliding in one man on that tree
Blinde Prosperity
to name a few.
I have much I desire to write upon and hopefully I will have time soon. A few topics I have in mind are as follows-
Forgoing the American Dream to Pursue the Heavenly Vision
Two worlds colliding in one man on that tree
Blinde Prosperity
to name a few.
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