All things Christ
When is the last time you read Exodus chapter 19 through 23? It speaks about the law that God gave to his people.
I know it is said that Christians are not under the law but that they are under the grace of God in Christ Jesus. But is it enough to be saved. In all good conscience can you simply receive and give nothing?
If we don’t read the account of God’s desire how can we know what gives him pleasure?
I’d like to say I am baffled. But I know that’s not true. I understand perfectly well.
What the modern Church means when they say, “I have given my life to Jesus”, is that they have given some of it but retain rights over the majority of their desires.
They like being a social chameleon. They think they can be a Christian and while they fit right into everything the world says is important. That’s no different than being a filthy drunk and loving the song “Believe” by Brooks & Dunn. Liking a popular song does not make you a Christian.
I am not confused. I am not baffled by their shell game. And I promise you, neither is the Lord Jesus.
Mark 8:38
(reluctant to do something through fear of embarrassment or humiliation)
Are you ready to get your brain full this morning?
I keep saying that we should “think eternity”. And I promise that the more you do, the more you will be ready on the spur of the moment to speak about Christ your Lord. More and more, you will replace the fear of evangelism with an excited desire.
Here’s the ticket for the ride of your life:
Absolutely everything in creation speaks to us of the Son of God. From a pencil and eraser to the depths of the sea. Every conversation people have. Every single thought that goes through our minds. Everything we love and everything we hate. Everything we use and everything we are willing to destroy.
If you make it a habit to think about it, the association between the common and the Holy will come to you in a split-second. The real plus here is that it takes almost no discipline at all. I guarantee you the Lord is willing to help us understand.
I wanted to post this this morning. But I wasn’t sure how it would be received. As the day passed however, it’s urgency hasn’t left my mind.
Most people, if they love to listen to the words of the Bible, enjoy the pleasantries that God has in store for us. But when we speak of the warnings God has delivered to us, we often find a deaf ear.
Revelation 21 speaks of the beautiful promise of eternal life in the Glorious City of God. It’s a passage one might find in a modern devotional. But I don’t remember ever reading the words that follow that passage in any devotional.
These are the words that follow the beautiful promise of joy:
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
They criticized the alcoholic.
Because he is compared to those who are not.
They criticize the violent.
Because he has compared to those who take care not to hurt.
They criticize the drug addict.
Because he is compared to those who are fully productive.
People do these things among themselves, admitting that there is a righteous life.
How is it then that the lovers of money are not compared to the rule of God and Jesus?
How is it that those who lust after the flesh are not counted as sinful minded, when compared to the Glory of Christ in God?
How is it that those who look down on others do not look up in regard to themselves?
I wrote this in 2012. By his Grace, my wanderings have brought me back to the spectacular. May The souls of my brothers find cool water here.
Picture borrowed from http://www.westhighlandbaptistchurch.com/
Jesus, my God and King. I stop here to lay a white stone on the top of my altar of life. As a child I started this altar with little balls of mud I rolled in my hands as I encountered the truth of Your Holy ways. Each little ball represented a firm truth that was only perceived, not yet learned to live out in my ways. But each one gave you Glory for Your perfect teachings.
Next came the smooth little pebbles I found on the edge of the River of Life which you took me to go see from time to time. You let me drink from the edge as was wise according to Your endless wisdom. Then you drove me back to where You found me to have advanced. In this You watched to see what I would do with what You had given.
Then You drove me to the edges of that vast desert of life among men. Walking out a half day’s journey, I received what you offered to prove my heart. Dryness, loneliness, stark reality appeared before me as a living image of the relationships between man and man, and God and man. Jagged rocks began to be placed on this altar of Glory to You.
You gave me strength I did have. You gave the strength of Sampson from time to time. And I placed immense boulders on the altar as You brought me to them in “The Way”. You did not let me go around them. Rather You bid me pick them up and stack them for Your Glory. Amazement and worship filled me as each bolder of trouble was removed and placed on this Holy testimony to Your eternal love.
And now I reach in my pocket and pull out a smooth white stone. With loving fingers I place it atop the great and growing pile of worship to You. Through prayer I let it go to see where it will rest. Little noises come to my ears as it finds its way to rest amid this pile of testimony. And I watch it disappear into the pile. As it became Yours, it now is hidden from sight. Only You know where it now lay. And all the more is Your Glory. For You will testify that it has been laid within the altar which can never be torn down.
Glory is Yours! For You see what we cannot. Even the understanding You give us finds its place in our heart. We perceive where You placed it. Yet, even as we perceive it the understanding disappears into the man You are causing us to become. Only You know where it lay. And on the day You cause us to appear before You, You will expose each response to what You have done. All Glory is Yours. And this will be so forever.
These words are Yours. They come from a servant You have blessed with life. I testify to man. But You see the testimony that even Your servant cannot perceive. Thus all Glory is Yours Forever; and that to the Glory of Your Father who Lives in unapproachable light! You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, are worthy of every possible good word. May all who call on Your Holy Name do so with a trembling soul. For You are given Immense Beauty from the God of all things. You are worthy! And Your worth is stamped with the approval of the Father of Life. Amen!
We: Live, Die, Face Judgment. Jesus or die twice.
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