No Condemnation

Paul declared in Romans 8:1-2, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death." What a blessed privilege to be FREE from the power and penalty of sin. Not perfect mind you; Not free to live however I want; but free from sin's control, and free to chose to do what is right, not because of who I am, but because of what He's done, not because of what I've done, but because of who He is. Grateful to be pardoned through Christ's great sacrifice and wanting others to know that pardon, peace, and purpose as well. Later Paul reminds everyone who is trusting Christ as Savior that "If God is for us, then who can be against us" (Ro.8:31)--the verse Ray Lewis quoted last night after the Ravens won the super bowl. Paul went on to remind us that nothing will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (8:38-39). Comforting words in a world where it is increasingly difficult to live our faith.

Who is this?

Ever been on a lake when the wind was blowing and the waves were choppy? The disciples--many seasoned fishermen--were freaked out by a severe storm (Mk.4). Jesus "rebuked the wind...and the wind died down and it became perfectly calm." That's amazing--"perfectly calm". The disciples response? "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him" (Mk.4:41). Jesus' exercise of divine authority is a comfort to me as I see a world in turmoil; wrong promoted as right and right vilified as wrong; the wicked seemingly prospering and the righteous suffering; so many chasing satisfaction in fame, fortune, and fancy stuff; class envy, greed, people proud of and rewarded for violating the law; politicians promoting their own selfish agenda under the guise of "concern for others"; and unrest throughout the world. I look to the one who is in charge, trust Him to lead the way forward, and pray that many others will turn to Him as well.

Created Free

One of the most significant marks of our being "in the image of God" is our ability to exercise our will and make choices. When we do these things in a way that is pleasing to God we reflect His character and bring Him Glory. When we are deprived of the ability to make these God-honoring free choices (by individuals, government, or other circumstances) then a major part of our God-likeness is unjustly suppressed. Freedom is a fundamental right from our creator that human beings will go to great lengths to preserve. That is why the writers of the Declaration of Independence stated that "Liberty" in an unalienable right received from our Creator. That's why those who founded the United States threw off the tyranny of the King. That's why Patrick Henry cried out, "Give me liberty or give me death." Everyone created in the image of God resonates with the deep call for freedom. I believe that a good deal of the discontent in America today centers around the fact that more and more people are sensing that their liberty is in jeopardy. Increasingly the freedom to choose what is pleasing to God is being taken from us. We are required to have health care or pay a "tax". When we pay for health care we are forced to pay for services and procedures that we may personally find offensive (i.e. for contraceptives). For a long time I wondered what the Biblical basis was for the founders declaring that liberty was an unalienable right. In a recent study of God's attributes (His will and freedom) which to some degree have been passed along to us made it clear that freedom of choice (not any choices, but those which are pleasing to Him, reflect His character and bring Him glory) is part of what it means to be an image bearer...to be made in the likeness of God. So indeed, liberty is an unalienable right and one which deep within our being we seek to defend. Tyranny attempts to suppress freedom and it is against such suppression those created in the image work to free themselves.

Accept the Gift

‎"There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside...there is none who does good... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Ro. 3:11,12,23. Bad news indeed, but the glorious good news is that God seeks after us so that we can be "justified as a gift by His grace...through faith apart from the works of the Law" (Ro.3:24,28). I'm so glad that God came after me and moved in me to accept His gift. That same gift of being declared right before God when we are in fact guilty, is available to all who by grace through faith accept Christ's sacrifice/death as the payment we deserve. When in repentance (turning from our sin) and faith (belief that Christ's death paid the debt I owe) we humble ourselves and turn to God through Christ, we are declared not guilty. Pauls says, that we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law. So many of us believe that if we just do enough of the right things God will accept us. WRONG! Doing nice things won't earn forgiveness. We are saved only by grace through faith in Christ--Ephesians 2:8-9. Why not accept the gift of salvation today? Romans 10:9-10 says, If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead we will be saved. For with the heart man believes resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation. So my friend, believe in your heart and confess with your mouth and be saved from sin, death, and eternity apart from God.

Good News

After an intense day of ministry (Mark 1:14-34) Jesus rose early to spend time alone praying. When His disciples found Him they urged Him to return to the crowds and Jesus replied, " Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, in order that I may preach there also; for that is what I came out for" (1:38). Jesus stayed on mission--to proclaim primarily that restoration back into right relationship with God and forgiveness of sins is available to all who believe His death on the cross paid the penalty they owe. Jesus did a lot of wonderful things, said a lot of important things, but if we miss that He sacrificed His life to provide a way for us back into right relationship with God we miss the Good News. I don't know about you but as I listen to all that is happening in the world I could use a little good news. Great to know that God knew that what we really needed is a Savior. Not an economist, not a military strategist, not a politician, not an educator. But because our greatest problem is that we are bent on living for ourselves in rebellion against God, He sent His Son to provide a way for us to be forgiven and be restored back into right relationship with Him. This is the good news Jesus proclaimed---"repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" and what we are called to proclaim as well.

God is in this Place

Jacob met God while sleeping on a rock. he was not looking for God, but God found Jacob (Gen. 28). in fact, Jacob had been a scoundrel, but God is in the business of seeking out and saving such people. jacob's response, "Surely The Lord is in this place and I did not know it" (28:16) is a powerful reminder to everyone. For those running from God it is a reminder of how vain it is to think He is unaware. For every child of God--especially those struggling to understand their difficulty or those feeling lonely or whenever we feel empty or like God is silent and not working--there is such wonderful, powerful, and meaningful encouragement in knowing, "Surely The Lord is in this place and I did not know it." He is with us even when we are not cognizant of the fact. Good news indeed.

The God Vacuum

Just today I was again praying for the families of the victims who lost their lives in the tragic massacre that took place last week in Newtown, Connecticut. The hearts of so many in the nation are deeply saddened and disturbed by such a senseless tragedy. We need to keep the families of those who lost loved ones in our prayers. What I'm going to express here is in no way intended to diminish the importance of remembering the real victims in this horrific act of violence. I was reading a few days ago in Romans chapter 1 and in verse 21 we read that "even though they knew God, they did not Honor Him as God...their foolish heart was darkened." The consequence of their idolatry and rebellion was that "God gave them over to degrading passions" (vss.26-27) and "just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper" (vs.28). Verses 29-31 list those "things that are not proper" including murder. In America both privately and publicly there has been a tremendous effort to expunge God from life. Privately more and more people are turning away from God. The church has become more like the world in it's preaching and practices than different from the world. We have expelled God from schools and have sought to eradicate His influence by removing the 10 commandments from public buildings and banning nativity scenes from public lands. In Arkansas a church cancelled a showing of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" intended for school children when a parent complained that the students would be traveling to the church to attend the play. Every year at Christmas there are debates over whether or not it is appropriate for public officials, businesses, etc. to say "Merry Christmas" or to use the less controversial and more PC statement "Happy Holidays." From the White House to the School House the term "Holiday Tree" is being used. I always wonder "what Holy Day" the tree commemorates? Can't be New Years for that is not a Holy Day. Must be Christmas. So why can't we say Christmas Tree? I still do. My point is that in America today even though we know God we do NOT honor Him as God. With the tragedy in Newtown even those who normally keep God out of the conversation (unless of course they refer to Him in some derogatory or defaming way with vulgarities) are found saying, "the victims and their families are in our prayers". There has been an openness to talk about God, about faith, about prayer since the tragedy that resembles the response of the nation following 9/11/2001. "We know God" in the sense that we know He exists (no atheists in a fox hole sort of thing) but we do not HONOR HIM as God. In tragic times the response of the elites who normally ignore God is to treat God like a genie in a bottle. When times are tough we rub the bottle in order to make our wish hoping that the God we have eliminated from our life will pop up and serve our utilitarian and self-absorbed purposes. How wonderful of us to treat God like our personal slave. We've missed that last part of Malachi 1 where God speaks through the prophet to the pretending people of God to tell them, " I AM A GREAT KING says the Lord of Hosts." The GREAT KING has been locked out of most of our lives, most of our public activities, and when the going gets tough we want to treat him like a bell hop. We should not be surprised to see a rise in "the things which are not proper" (Ro.1:28) like greed, envy, murder, malice, arrogance, etc.in our society. So when I see a tragedy like what happened in Newtown I see in the horrific act and in the response further evidence of a society with a God Vacuum...a people who have lost their moral compass, abandoned God, and who persist on "worshipping with their lips while their heart is far from him." The perpetrator of the horrific act was of "depraved mind", fallen, sinful, not controlled by God, but by Satan. The reaction by some politicians has been equally depraved in my opinion. Consider the knee-jerk reaction to push for stricter gun control. It seems pretty simple to me. The mother of this young man was negligent to let her son who was mentally unstable even near firearms. That is not the fault of the firearms, but of the mother and the son who should never have been allowed to handle them. Those pushing for gun control after this emotionally charged tragedy appear sanctimoniously to have the interest of the innocent victims in view. When I heard who was leading the charge in the quest for increased gun control I paused. Seriously, the women who are advocating for gun control to "protect innocent victims from violent acts" are the same women who are the most vocal proponents of murdering unborn children while they are still in the womb. These are the legislators who run for office as proponents of "a woman's right to choose." So they advocate that the government pay for abortions, for abortifacients, for abortion services. Think about this for a minute. The same women who are outraged that the second amendment is still upheld because of their concern over protecting innocent victims is the same group that vehemently, vocally, and venomously defends the need for abortions--that is the murder of millions of innocent children while still in the womb. So I ask, why are they so adamant about gun control to protect the innocent outside the womb,while they lobby for murdering innocent children inside the womb? Their concern, I would submit, has little to do with concern for the innocent victims or else they would be equally as disturbed over abortion as they are over what happened in Newtown. Consider for a moment that the second amendment is designed to provide protection for those who are under assault, to allow people to hunt and provide for their family, to provide recreation for gun users, to guard against tyranny. Now let me suggest that the real assault weapons that should be banned are those wielded by abortion doctors, and women who use abortifacients. These devices/drugs have one and only one express purpose and use--to take the life of an unborn, unsuspecting, and innocent child. The "weapons of abortion" cannot be used by the victims to defend themselves, they are not necessary to fend off tyranny, they are not for recreation (yeas I know that can be debated, but a life is in the balance), nor can these weapons be used to gather food to feed a family. Let me put things into perspective. There were 28 innocent lives taken at Newtown. There are 1.6million abortions per year in the U.S. That is over 4,000/day. That means the horror of Newtown is repeated over 200 times every single day in the U.S. Where is the outrage? Where is sorrow? Where is the outcry to stop this senseless taking of innocent human life? There is none. Just the opposite. The mantra is that murdering inside the womb is a "woman's right" So why was it not the mad man's right to shoot 28 people in Newtown. Of course this is a ludicrous thought. Murder is wrong...period. But we live in a nation with a God Vacuum where "doing what is not proper" is normal. So one man takes a number of innocent lives and that is tragic, horrific, heart-wrenching and WRONG. And everyday 200 times as many innocent unborn lives are taken and the general public pays for it, condones it, celebrates it as a step forward for women, and I say IT IS WRONG...terribly wrong. Where God is absent justice is twisted--In America we advocate stripping away people's second amendment rights in a futile attempt to prevent a tragedy that is a matter of human hearts turned away from God, but diligently defend the murder of millions of unborn children because that respects a "woman's right to choose." This is twisted indeed, but the answer is in seeing people's hearts changed, seeing people turn from sin, trust God, and live fully surrendered to the Lordship of Christ in their lives. But that is hard to legislate and offends our arrogant belief that we can control our own destiny. Such is life when God is absent. 2 Chronicles 7:14 comes to mind. In the meantime, I would advocate banning the assault weapons of abortion.