Ceaseless Strength of Condemnation


If the full pressure of all my sins were to bear down upon my worthless soul, I would never be able to rise again.  The strength of my bones would turn to vaporous dust.  The muscles that could move them, would become like gelatin mud.

My eyes would see nothing but blackness and horror.  And peace?  Peace would stand eternally far from me.  My mouth would lay open, gasping for life, but no life can enter in.  The weight bears down with endless pressure , the weight of all my sins.

If this is the case of one who is sure the Holy Lord will save him, what is the case of those who do not believe?

The hope of Christ lifts that incredible burden from me; as if a fallen slab of stone is stopped from crushing me flat.  It is held in place and poised above me by the magnificent strength of he who lives forever.  And the promise of he who cannot lie, will never let it fall.

Oh, come to Jesus!  Seek his beautiful face while the Day is upon you to choose!  For the day will soon come when all your sins will fall upon you with great intent.  You will be crushed!  There will be no one to help you!  And you will never rise again.

By His Grace

Unworthy


A car with a bad engine is unworthy of your money, unless you have the means to fix it.  And if your car behaves poorly, you begin to search for ways to repair it or to get another one.

If a road is closed because there is no bridge, only the true idiot continues undeterred.  The tiniest  modicum of wisdom forces people to find another route.

You can read the signs your car gives you, you can read the signs on the road.  How is it that so many do not read the signs of warning in their dilapidated soul?

The philosopher Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”.  Isn’t it true, the one who ignores signs of warning encourages a bad day.

Your life is broken.  If you don’t know that, you haven’t examined it very closely.  Even according to the man Plato, your life then is not worth living.  What’s your response to all this?

If a mechanic pulls up to a stop sign next to you and tells you he is willing to fix your falling car for free, wouldn’t he get your interest?  Well I’ve pulled up next to you in the body of this message.  I know the one who can fix your broken life.  His name is Jesus.

By His Grace

The Birth of Rebellion


The law of God has set forth life.  The list and its sayings toward application are not far removed from Man.  But who has the constitution to seek them out?

A child is born, and there is great rejoicing.  But I fail to find the strength to rejoice with them.  For in the essence of my soul I do not see the baby.  I see the man they will force him to become.

By the time he is two, the child has already been taught and onslaught of lies.  His questions are answered by those who do not understand or seek.  Innocence is shattered by the weapons of lies.  The house in which he is raised is not purged of sharp and deadly instruments.

What a horrible creature they mark me as; that I should be so callus as to be sad at the birth of a baby.

What then do I see as I look at the volume of Man?  I see the bloody hands that rip at Jesus.  I see the shouting horde that despised the beauty of God.  I see rebellion raised as king, while the King is raised toward death.  And the lovely law of God is cast aside.

Yet I will love them all, for He has loved even me.  I will testify to the beauty of eternal perfection, though my finger has nowhere to point, that I should show them concrete evidence. 

By faith I will believe and love them.  I will adore them as if they are Jerusalem, the blessing of God among the filth of Man. 

With great and excellent praise for the Living God, my Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem.  Knowing what would happen, he let his heart be filled with joy to accomplish the will of His Holy Father.  And didn’t the people join him in praise?  Yet so soon following, they would demand his demise.

They had meant it for evil, that they may be rid of the Holy Testimony.  But God had determined it for good; that eternal joy and life should be offered through the very one they so willing ripped apart.

I will love the wicked with the love of God.  I will gesture to His lovely laws.  I will let this sorrow remain and will not join them.  For the bodies of women continually produce more who will rebell.

Let there be joy and innocence.  But may we strive to retain it!  I look!  I strive to see!  I study the fabric of Man!  But where is truth beside the cradle?  Instead of a blazing lamp, they leave a gilded book of lies for the child to peruse.

Yes I will love them even as my Lord loved Jerusalem. 

“34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.   35 Look, your house is left to you desolate.”  (Luke 13)

By His Grace

Sayings Worthy of Acceptance


Sayings that are worthy of retention, contemplation, and sharing:

1.  Receiving the Gospel from a man makes the receiver twice blessed.  For you have kissed your sweet brother with an eternal joy, and you have the assurance of sharing that joy together for eternity.

2.  Christ Jesus is first in absolutely everything.  He is not some passing fanciful and ecstatic joy during a worship session.  He is first and comfort even in the most extreme and horrific circumstances.

3.  Rejection of the Gospel does nothing to eternity.  You were dead before you heard it, and you remain dead as you reject it.  The dead are no loss to the Living God.  Pride makes you think you’re something.  Frankly, you’re just not that important.

4.  A Gospel of extortion is no gospel at all.  God does not desire a people who are under duress to serve Him.  The Gospel is free of manipulation.  It does not demand acceptance.  It is a declarative call for free will.  As we love Jesus we will obey.

5.  God is not isolated from anything.  Only the perception of man can isolate one thing from another.  The concept of “Object Permanence” is taught in pediatrics.  Hide a baby’s fingers and watch his face turn to anxiety. 

God owns eternity, for eternity is of God.  Equally, God owns this wicked place of testing.  For every sin is a distortion of eternity.  Just because the hand of God is unseen, doesn’t mean it’s gone

6.  Every man knows he lives a lie.  Ignoring the truth of Christ Jesus does nothing to fix a lie.  Receiving the fullness of the Gospel of Christ, this is the fix. 

7.  Nostalgia brings no permanent joy.  Soon enough, you will be nostalgia for others.

8.  Everything in this world points to Christ Jesus.  For nothing is created here that was not created by him.  And our misuse of his creation does not nullify his signature.

9.  Fear is no excuse for remaining ungodly.  For Christ did not fear to do the will of His Holy Father in heaven.  Fear has to do with unbelief.  As if the one who fears, calls the Holy Son a liar.  What kind of reception should the fearful receive on that Great Day of Judgement?

10.  There is a difference between weakness of flesh and rebellion of soul.  God is able to distinguish between the two.  The one he will comfort and encourage toward boldness.  The other he will dismiss without regret.  The wisdom of God among men gives discernment.

11.  Death brings an eternal seal to every man; what we had become in life, to that we are sealed forever.  It is of the father of lies to speak anything differently.

12.  Let the acceptable threshold of Christianity remain elevated.  The expectation is godliness.  How then shall we set the bar at 0?  Not one man but Christ can reach 100%.  Yet surely there is a number in between, which we can grasp with an iron grip.

There are hundreds more worthwhile sayings.  But these are enough to keep us busy for the remainder of our life.

By His Grace

A Righteous Rebellion


In the utter darkness of this world, this man will not remove his cloak to toss it over the Light of God.  Though I perceive the wickedness of men with clarity, I will raise up the Lantern of hope.

I refuse to be ashamed.  I refuse to hide the Gospel of Christ Jesus.  I refuse to lower the Lantern.  I refuse to fear as I walk among the angry dead.  And I refuse to obey Man; “Take this filthy name away from us!  We have no desire to hear it spoken again.  If you continue, so will we.  The punishment of obscurity is in our hand to deliver.”

I will not cease to speak the only hope you have.  There is no hope among you but the message of Christ Jesus, the Holy Son of God!  In Him alone, is the forgiveness of your sins.  In Him alone, is the majestic power to raise you from the dead. 

From the living grave of rebellion you gnash your teeth at his Holy name.  Therefore proof lives among you that you need his eternal sacrifice.

I do not write this as a declaration of war.  I do not stand defiantly against you.  Though I defy your order to cease, I do so that you may learn to live.

I will not hide the Light of Life.  I will ascend to whatever prominent place among you I can.  And I will speak and live among you that you may know there is hope.

The declaration of war is impressed upon your heart from the day you are born.  And how gladly and easily you obey the rebellious one.  You are bent toward sin like the trees along the coastline.  But God is able to straighten your crooked trunk. 

He will cause you to chase the Sun like a sunflower.  Malleable bark will cover your stiff frame.  He will cause righteousness to blossom on your limbs.  Instead of the fruit of rebellion, you will produce the fruit of Godly love.

God will come and eat the fruit of righteousness you will offer.  He will promise you, on oath, a portion in his Garden of Eden.  He will walk among you with pleasure instead of eternal threats.  And joy will be yours forever.

You call his name filthy because you do not know him.  You are blind and ignorant to the definition of love.  And for this reason I will hold high the Gospel of Christ Jesus.

By His Grace

Missing Acquaintance


Where did you go, my tiresome burdensome friend?  Have you gone to pester some other hapless heart? 

Did you not notice me packing in the night?  I could not find you as I put my things where they belong.

I do not long for your accompaniment.  Nor do I desire your council.  But I had more room on my shelves than expected.  By accounting,  I found you missing.

What a pleasant surprise

Is this foretold sunrise. 

The place where you have died,

My old friend, “Fear of Demise”.

By His Grace