Good morning on this memorial day, where we celebrate those who risked their lives (and some gave their lives) so that we could enjoy freedom, and thus I could do silly things like write a blog post twice a week.
But today I would like to show appreciation for the more long-term sacrifice that is involved through military efforts. Yes, there are many who struggle even today with issues like PTSD, but that's not all I refer to.
What about all of those Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and have been met with long-term health effects due to this chemical agent used as part of the United States chemical warfare in Vietnam?
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange are eligible for benefits if they contract diseases such as AL Amyloidosis, Diabetes Mellitus Type 2, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Parkinson's Disease, Prostrate Cancer, Respiratory Cancers, and so on.
And of course, that is not the only chemical that can cause lasting effects. All this is to say our soldiers definitely deserve to be memorialized. Even those who survive may not be able to thrive in our world either psychologically or in terms of physical health. That is a huge sacrifice to make.
Showing posts with label sacrifice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sacrifice. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
The Lord will Fight for your Worship
Just in case you were wondering, you should trust God. Such we see admonished in the earlier verses of Isaiah 26. But as you would expect from a well-crafted biblical book, it doesn't repeat that same phrasing over and over again with no further exposition.
As Isaiah continues onward through his explanation of the topic, he reveals an interesting part of God's character. One that is very unique and very real in our lives to this day.
Specifically, look to verses 12-16,
So, it would seem from these verses that the Israelites worshiped false gods that were not the LORD. This the Lord responded to by destroying those gods so that even so much of their memory perished.
The Lord does not let His dominion and the worship that he rightfully deserves to head over to another being at any time. Instead, He determines that He will keep the loyalty of His people, even if that means destroying their other gods.
Seeing how the Lord is immutable and all, it seems obvious that He still acts in the same way today though the application may be a little bit different. Sometimes though, when the Lord begins to see our hearts being turned away to other things that are not Him, He will fight for our hearts by destroying our idols to being with.
But just because the Lord will fight for you, doesn't mean that you should make Him. On the contrary, like other elements of God's grace, I believe that this should only encourage you to try harder to live in a way pleasing to the One who would do so much for someone He doesn't need at all.
As Isaiah continues onward through his explanation of the topic, he reveals an interesting part of God's character. One that is very unique and very real in our lives to this day.
Specifically, look to verses 12-16,
"Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them."
So, it would seem from these verses that the Israelites worshiped false gods that were not the LORD. This the Lord responded to by destroying those gods so that even so much of their memory perished.
The Lord does not let His dominion and the worship that he rightfully deserves to head over to another being at any time. Instead, He determines that He will keep the loyalty of His people, even if that means destroying their other gods.
Seeing how the Lord is immutable and all, it seems obvious that He still acts in the same way today though the application may be a little bit different. Sometimes though, when the Lord begins to see our hearts being turned away to other things that are not Him, He will fight for our hearts by destroying our idols to being with.
But just because the Lord will fight for you, doesn't mean that you should make Him. On the contrary, like other elements of God's grace, I believe that this should only encourage you to try harder to live in a way pleasing to the One who would do so much for someone He doesn't need at all.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Hobbies, Hobbies, Hobbies,
The Christian life. It's one of absolute supreme pleasantness and beauty. One where we can all just sit back, pray to ask the Lord for guidance throughout the day, and be sure to attend church on Sunday, and we will have lived a successful Christian life. We don't radically need to change our lives; we just need to add another hobby on our list of life habits.
What a waste of a life! What a way to not live as a Christian. Let's try to actually attempt to sacrifice as needed to actually live for Him. Christianity is about having something to both live and die for. It's about having something so meaningful that you give up everything you possess. Christianity is not about having something so important that you dedicate a day out of every week and a portion out of every day.
Living a victorious Christian life is an all-encompassing goal that we must work at in everything.
So you would think at times when looking at least at the caricature of the church today. Though I must be careful to admit that there are obviously individuals and churches who are preaching the gospel in an accurate way, we must admit there is a consensus among individuals among the church that this seems to be the way we live.
Soren Kierkegaard explains this phenomena this way:
"So it is with our Christian worship services. We, too, have wings, we have imagination, intended to help us actually rise aloft. But we play, allow our imagination to amuse itself in an hour of Sunday daydreaming. In reality, however, we stay right where we are – and on Monday regard it as a proof that God’s grace gets us plump, fat, delicate. That is, we accumulate money, get to be a somebody in the world, beget children, become successful, and so forth. And those who actually get involved with God and who therefore suffer and have torments, troubles, and grief, of these we say: Here is proof that they do not have the grace of God."
What a waste of a life! What a way to not live as a Christian. Let's try to actually attempt to sacrifice as needed to actually live for Him. Christianity is about having something to both live and die for. It's about having something so meaningful that you give up everything you possess. Christianity is not about having something so important that you dedicate a day out of every week and a portion out of every day.
Living a victorious Christian life is an all-encompassing goal that we must work at in everything.
Friday, December 26, 2014
It's the Day After Christmas
It's the day after Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. For everyone all through the house is sitting a bit sleepy as they discover that they ate too many double chocolate chip cookies the day before. Or maybe that's just my house.
So, yes, obviously tells us of the incarnation of Christ with the discussion of the word becoming flesh, but it further highlights that which I tried to demonstrate last year - Christ's life didn't begin with His birth. That was not a beginning, but rather, "In the beginning was the Word."
That means that saying that Christ's life is sacrificial is not out of place at all. Because He agreed to be made in the likeness of man, He agreed to be "made flesh," despite the fact that He made the world. As one of the thousand Christmas songs so eloquently puts it, "He laid down His golden crown."
Of course, discussion of Him laying down His crown would be useless without explaining why He would decide to come to Earth as a lowly carpenter's son. He came because Someone who had no sin was needed to die for atonement of the sins of the world, so that man who believed may "become the sons of God."
Yet, despite the fact that the world was made by Him, the world received Him not. Throughout the entirety of His life, Jesus Christ, God Himself, was considered by many to be a raving lunatic. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."
But praise the Lord, that He still considered both sacrifices worth the price for the sake that "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God."
It was a wonderful Christmas for me, as family members crowded yonder small house to enjoy quality time with each other (and a light meal). Weirdly, I got 4 pieces of Doctor Who merchandise, which begs the question, am I really that obsessed?
Now, of course, it's also Boxing Day, but I don't know much about the culture of Canada, UK, and Australia as it pertains to Boxing Day, so I'll stick to the more obvious holiday around this date - Christmas!
I have decided that I am going to try to go as many Christmas posts as possible without going to one of the two classic Christmas passages. I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing this, but it's happening.
So, John 1:1-14 tells us a few special reminders for the virgin birth of Jesus Christ,
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. hat was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
So, yes, obviously tells us of the incarnation of Christ with the discussion of the word becoming flesh, but it further highlights that which I tried to demonstrate last year - Christ's life didn't begin with His birth. That was not a beginning, but rather, "In the beginning was the Word."
That means that saying that Christ's life is sacrificial is not out of place at all. Because He agreed to be made in the likeness of man, He agreed to be "made flesh," despite the fact that He made the world. As one of the thousand Christmas songs so eloquently puts it, "He laid down His golden crown."
Of course, discussion of Him laying down His crown would be useless without explaining why He would decide to come to Earth as a lowly carpenter's son. He came because Someone who had no sin was needed to die for atonement of the sins of the world, so that man who believed may "become the sons of God."
Yet, despite the fact that the world was made by Him, the world received Him not. Throughout the entirety of His life, Jesus Christ, God Himself, was considered by many to be a raving lunatic. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."
But praise the Lord, that He still considered both sacrifices worth the price for the sake that "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God."
Friday, November 21, 2014
The History of Humanity
God is awesome. We heard as much last week. We have probably had it also grounded in our very face that the Lord who sits on the throne is one who is just simply awesome in the ways that He interacts with man.
Yet today I again want to share with you a simple, yet very very true history lesson. So here goes nothing.
Once there was nothing in existence, save one being, whom we call God. He decided for some reason that despite His extreme lack of obligation or need for such a thing, to create a world. It was an ideal world, and He put his creatures like man into it.
Now let's just make one thing clear - from a purely logical standpoint, a Deist God just makes sense. After all, a God who is so great that He can literally just speak things into existence is probably too transcendent to even care about His creation. I see no reason why He shouldn't just create the world, and leave us all to our own devices.
But in the ideal world that God placed Adam and Eve, He didn't just leave them alone, but specifically made sure that they had whatever they needed to survive. He even went so far as to allow them an opportunity to have a relationship with Him.
And Adam and Eve took that great blessing that was given to them, and they defiled it, breaking the one commandment that God had given to them to keep.
At this point, God's actions also don't seem to make sense from a logical perspective (logic is so very human after all). He could have easily destroyed the earth right then and right there and start afresh (or not restart at all). But He didn't. He decided to give Adam and Eve a lighter punishment of simply banishment from the ideal world that they were living in.
At this point, a deistic God really starts to make sense. Why should God still be concerned about these people who denied the blessings He gave them in exchange for some fruit? Nonetheless, the Lord goes to great lengths to keep man in a relationship with Him, albeit a broken one.
Eventually selecting the Israelites as His people, He looks after and guides them, confronting their enemies, and giving them a way to worship Him as He deserves. As He continually blesses them, they continually defile those blessings. And yet He still continues to bless them.
Indeed He blesses them through their sin until the point that in the very last book of the Old Testament, He proclaims,
These are all the blessings God has bestowed on man prior to His actually coming to earth, and taking on the punishment for our sins, so that we can truly have a restored fellowship with Him.
Pretty amazing blessings, right? Well, how exactly are you responding to this blessing? Are you defiling it like humanity has done throughout history, or are you doing your best to serve the Lord in all the ways He deserves?
Yet today I again want to share with you a simple, yet very very true history lesson. So here goes nothing.
Once there was nothing in existence, save one being, whom we call God. He decided for some reason that despite His extreme lack of obligation or need for such a thing, to create a world. It was an ideal world, and He put his creatures like man into it.
Now let's just make one thing clear - from a purely logical standpoint, a Deist God just makes sense. After all, a God who is so great that He can literally just speak things into existence is probably too transcendent to even care about His creation. I see no reason why He shouldn't just create the world, and leave us all to our own devices.
But in the ideal world that God placed Adam and Eve, He didn't just leave them alone, but specifically made sure that they had whatever they needed to survive. He even went so far as to allow them an opportunity to have a relationship with Him.
And Adam and Eve took that great blessing that was given to them, and they defiled it, breaking the one commandment that God had given to them to keep.
At this point, God's actions also don't seem to make sense from a logical perspective (logic is so very human after all). He could have easily destroyed the earth right then and right there and start afresh (or not restart at all). But He didn't. He decided to give Adam and Eve a lighter punishment of simply banishment from the ideal world that they were living in.
At this point, a deistic God really starts to make sense. Why should God still be concerned about these people who denied the blessings He gave them in exchange for some fruit? Nonetheless, the Lord goes to great lengths to keep man in a relationship with Him, albeit a broken one.
Eventually selecting the Israelites as His people, He looks after and guides them, confronting their enemies, and giving them a way to worship Him as He deserves. As He continually blesses them, they continually defile those blessings. And yet He still continues to bless them.
Indeed He blesses them through their sin until the point that in the very last book of the Old Testament, He proclaims,
"I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts."
These are all the blessings God has bestowed on man prior to His actually coming to earth, and taking on the punishment for our sins, so that we can truly have a restored fellowship with Him.
Pretty amazing blessings, right? Well, how exactly are you responding to this blessing? Are you defiling it like humanity has done throughout history, or are you doing your best to serve the Lord in all the ways He deserves?
Friday, November 7, 2014
Ignorance is no Excuse
"Well, it's ok because I didn't know that was wrong!"
So the ancient Israelites were held accountable for sacrificing for sin that they did not know they were doing, or did not know was sin. That's all for today because I have a debate tournament.
Such goes the typical excuse for many horrendous things we do. I stole some money, I clearly was under the impression that private property didn't exist, and thus, I thought my actions were completely and entirely justified!
A quick look at the sacrificial system of the Old Testament (or maybe just a quick look at one passage of Scripture within the Old Testament that happens to be about sacrifices) reveals that ignorance does not excuse sin.
Leviticus 5:15-19, declares,
"If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering. And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord."
So the ancient Israelites were held accountable for sacrificing for sin that they did not know they were doing, or did not know was sin. That's all for today because I have a debate tournament.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Internet, Iron Man, and Indebtedness
I get to write this blog post from the comfort of my desk in my dorm room. That shouldn't excite me that much, but let's just say it took going to the Tech Help desk again to get that rolling. Let me tell you, I didn't think it was possible to go anywhere with inferior wi-fi to that of my house. I was wrong.
Still, it has given me a greater appreciation for the internet in general. Knowing that much work was put in place by the Technology personnel to fix the internet connection on my computer has given me an appreciation for how I should use this particular benefit appropriately, and not waste time playing with my lanyard in front of an open blog post. The internet was worked for, and so I must take the advantage of it.
But this magical bit of internet I have here from the comfort of my desk is limited in comparison to some of the other gifts that have been worked for on my behalf. You know, there are many things that happen in life that change us directly and just make us have to respond in a different way.
For this internet's purpose, it is a small change in my life. I desire to be more responsible and not waste time looking at social media (I'm on a fast as of writing this anyway; it will be over by the time I publish it though). But for other gifts, it can be more significant of a change.
Take, for instance, the great hero Tony Stark. In the movie Iron Man. Mr. Stark is fatally injured and should very well die. Through the surgery of one Yinsen, Tony's life has been saved. Stark and Yinsen plan a daring escape from their imprisonment (by the way, they've been imprisoned), and in the process, Yinsen dies. His last words to Tony are simple.
Tony's life has been spared twice by the man Yinsen, and the last words seem to have an effect on Tony. He understands that he is greatly blessed, and responds accordingly. In an important point of the film, he tells Pepper simply,
I know the deepness of what I'm about to say is going to blow your mind, but here goes anyway. Jesus gave Himself to give us a blessing far greater than Tony's. Instead of having a chance at happiness in temporal life, Jesus died to give us guaranteed happiness for all eternity.
Tony responded to his blessing with a changed outlook and different behavior choices to pass on a better world to those around him. We as Christians should respond to our blessings with a different focus in life, and a strong desire and great boldness to better people's eternal (and temporal) situations.
But do we? Are we truly living lives that express gratitude to God for saving us? Are we trying to serve Him in all that we do? Or does our every moment become occupied with thoughts of work, fashion, culture, or community?
Not one of those four things I mentioned are bad, but my goodness is there more in life! I think we've all heard this quite clearly a gazillion times, but just think a moment. When I got my internet fixed, I set to work on getting tasks I needed to do done. When Tony's life was saved, he wasted no time turning his life around.
But do we react the same in response to our great blessing of eternal life? That's really all I want to challenge you with today. Look at your response to the almighty God's most gracious gift. Is it living a life of gratitude or do your actions say you just don't care?
I leave you with a quotation from C.T. Stubb,
Still, it has given me a greater appreciation for the internet in general. Knowing that much work was put in place by the Technology personnel to fix the internet connection on my computer has given me an appreciation for how I should use this particular benefit appropriately, and not waste time playing with my lanyard in front of an open blog post. The internet was worked for, and so I must take the advantage of it.
But this magical bit of internet I have here from the comfort of my desk is limited in comparison to some of the other gifts that have been worked for on my behalf. You know, there are many things that happen in life that change us directly and just make us have to respond in a different way.
For this internet's purpose, it is a small change in my life. I desire to be more responsible and not waste time looking at social media (I'm on a fast as of writing this anyway; it will be over by the time I publish it though). But for other gifts, it can be more significant of a change.
Take, for instance, the great hero Tony Stark. In the movie Iron Man. Mr. Stark is fatally injured and should very well die. Through the surgery of one Yinsen, Tony's life has been saved. Stark and Yinsen plan a daring escape from their imprisonment (by the way, they've been imprisoned), and in the process, Yinsen dies. His last words to Tony are simple.
"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life."
Tony's life has been spared twice by the man Yinsen, and the last words seem to have an effect on Tony. He understands that he is greatly blessed, and responds accordingly. In an important point of the film, he tells Pepper simply,
"I shouldn't be alive... I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."
I know the deepness of what I'm about to say is going to blow your mind, but here goes anyway. Jesus gave Himself to give us a blessing far greater than Tony's. Instead of having a chance at happiness in temporal life, Jesus died to give us guaranteed happiness for all eternity.
Tony responded to his blessing with a changed outlook and different behavior choices to pass on a better world to those around him. We as Christians should respond to our blessings with a different focus in life, and a strong desire and great boldness to better people's eternal (and temporal) situations.
But do we? Are we truly living lives that express gratitude to God for saving us? Are we trying to serve Him in all that we do? Or does our every moment become occupied with thoughts of work, fashion, culture, or community?
Not one of those four things I mentioned are bad, but my goodness is there more in life! I think we've all heard this quite clearly a gazillion times, but just think a moment. When I got my internet fixed, I set to work on getting tasks I needed to do done. When Tony's life was saved, he wasted no time turning his life around.
But do we react the same in response to our great blessing of eternal life? That's really all I want to challenge you with today. Look at your response to the almighty God's most gracious gift. Is it living a life of gratitude or do your actions say you just don't care?
I leave you with a quotation from C.T. Stubb,
"If Jesus Christ be God, and He died for me, there is nothing too big for me to do for Him."
Monday, June 23, 2014
The Purpose of the Christian Life
When asked about the purpose of the Christian life, practically every elementary child growing up in the Christian church will shout, "The glory of God!"
Now that's all well and good. We definitely are called to glorify God in our walk with the Lord. Indeed, we get this very admonition in I Corinthians 10:31,
Now of course, we have just divorced this verse out its context a bit (its context is actually about extra-morality in case you were wondering). However, there is certainly truth to the statement found here in this verse that we are to glorify God. Indeed I Peter 4:11 explains further,
So there we have it, the purpose of the Christian life is to glorify God, that post was short and simple, I'll see you Friday!
Not so fast. It is one thing to say that we must glorify God, it is another thing entirely to have any sort of clue as to what that means.
A former Sunday School teacher of mine made it a point to not allow Sunday School answers in his class. What he meant by this were answers that we had been trained since youth were right, but that we just didn't understand. As regrettable as this is, I believe many Christians today are in this particular batch of understanding when they proclaim that their only purpose in life is to glorify God.
The common perception on how the glory of God is supposed to work, is we do things by the abilities God has blessed us with, and then voila! When we are starting to reap the benefits, we shout to the world, "Don't give me the credit! To God be the glory!"
But is that really all that is required to glorify the Lord in everything that we do? A few simple words after our accomplishments are made? Certainly there is absolutely nothing wrong with these words themselves (they could even come from a noble heart), but are they the only prerequisites necessary to bring God glory?
It seems to me that if this were the case, the Christian has life pretty easy. He can do whatever he wants and just be sure to give the necessary words of God's glory and then on the final day, hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
But we have so many other commandments given to us in Scriptures about loving our neighbour, about sharing the word of God with those around us, about not being judgmental towards other believers. We know that our purpose in life is not that easy to accomplish.
We could say that we have to obey God's commandments in addition to glorifying God. This is possible, but then we have to admit that we have two purposes in our life. That's not a problem at all, but I don't think the purposes are truly separate.
In the second chapter of the book of Malachi, the priests are being rebuked for not giving glory unto the name of the Lord. Verse 2 declares,
The reasons why they have failed to glorify God are truly actions of disobedience to the Lord. Could it really be that the glory of God is all about the works that we do?
This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Matthew 5:16,
Even in the aforementioned I Peter 4:11, where we hear a direct command to glorify the Lord, that glorification is tied to our actions and service of the Lord.
Glorifying God is not about the words we say when people start to credit us. Ultimately, bringing glory to God is an attitude of submission, service, and sacrifice. That then is the true duty of man - to respect and obey God at every turn.
As Ecclesiastes 12:13 says,
Now that's all well and good. We definitely are called to glorify God in our walk with the Lord. Indeed, we get this very admonition in I Corinthians 10:31,
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
Now of course, we have just divorced this verse out its context a bit (its context is actually about extra-morality in case you were wondering). However, there is certainly truth to the statement found here in this verse that we are to glorify God. Indeed I Peter 4:11 explains further,
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
So there we have it, the purpose of the Christian life is to glorify God, that post was short and simple, I'll see you Friday!
Not so fast. It is one thing to say that we must glorify God, it is another thing entirely to have any sort of clue as to what that means.
A former Sunday School teacher of mine made it a point to not allow Sunday School answers in his class. What he meant by this were answers that we had been trained since youth were right, but that we just didn't understand. As regrettable as this is, I believe many Christians today are in this particular batch of understanding when they proclaim that their only purpose in life is to glorify God.
The common perception on how the glory of God is supposed to work, is we do things by the abilities God has blessed us with, and then voila! When we are starting to reap the benefits, we shout to the world, "Don't give me the credit! To God be the glory!"
But is that really all that is required to glorify the Lord in everything that we do? A few simple words after our accomplishments are made? Certainly there is absolutely nothing wrong with these words themselves (they could even come from a noble heart), but are they the only prerequisites necessary to bring God glory?
It seems to me that if this were the case, the Christian has life pretty easy. He can do whatever he wants and just be sure to give the necessary words of God's glory and then on the final day, hear, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
But we have so many other commandments given to us in Scriptures about loving our neighbour, about sharing the word of God with those around us, about not being judgmental towards other believers. We know that our purpose in life is not that easy to accomplish.
We could say that we have to obey God's commandments in addition to glorifying God. This is possible, but then we have to admit that we have two purposes in our life. That's not a problem at all, but I don't think the purposes are truly separate.
In the second chapter of the book of Malachi, the priests are being rebuked for not giving glory unto the name of the Lord. Verse 2 declares,
"If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart."However, as the rest of the chapter tells the priests their specific abuses, we don't hear that they didn't tell the people, "to God be the glory" when people tried to congratulate them on their service to the Lord. Rather, we hear about how they broke the covenant, led people astray, and called evil good.
The reasons why they have failed to glorify God are truly actions of disobedience to the Lord. Could it really be that the glory of God is all about the works that we do?
This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Matthew 5:16,
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Even in the aforementioned I Peter 4:11, where we hear a direct command to glorify the Lord, that glorification is tied to our actions and service of the Lord.
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Glorifying God is not about the words we say when people start to credit us. Ultimately, bringing glory to God is an attitude of submission, service, and sacrifice. That then is the true duty of man - to respect and obey God at every turn.
As Ecclesiastes 12:13 says,
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."
Friday, June 13, 2014
Sacrifice vs "Sacrifice"
In the book of Malachi, the spiritual condition of post-exilic Israel is once more being discussed. By this time, the Temple has been rebuilt and sacrifices are continuing. However, all is not well with the worship and sacrifices that the Lord is receiving by the hands of the Israelites.
If you were to take the devotion that you present to the Lord, and present it instead to say, your father (it is Father's Day this Sunday after all), would he be pleased with your actions? Would he acknowledge that you had done well, or would he know you were just using him as a dumping post?
Better yet, whom do your actions show you respect more: your earthy authorities or your God? Whom do you spend more time pleasing: your earthly authorities or God? For whom do you sacrifice your interests: your earthly authorities or God?
If your answer is your earthly authorities, remember this, the solution is not to respect your earthly authorities less, it is to respect God more. He is a Father, where is His honour?
The Israelites are trying to find ways to get away with going through the motions of sacrificing without actually "sacrificing" anything. Providing lambs that are of no use to them whatsoever, they are using the Lord's Temple as a garbage bin.
If they were to pass this off to any man, he would not accept it. If they were to give it to their governor, he would not accept it. So instead they pass it off to God.
If they were to pass this off to any man, he would not accept it. If they were to give it to their governor, he would not accept it. So instead they pass it off to God.
But the Lord is not pleased with this type of "sacrifice." As he says in Malachi 1:6-8, as the great King of Israel and the Lord of all the earth, he deserves more than the governors of the land, not less.
"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts."
If you were to take the devotion that you present to the Lord, and present it instead to say, your father (it is Father's Day this Sunday after all), would he be pleased with your actions? Would he acknowledge that you had done well, or would he know you were just using him as a dumping post?
Better yet, whom do your actions show you respect more: your earthy authorities or your God? Whom do you spend more time pleasing: your earthly authorities or God? For whom do you sacrifice your interests: your earthly authorities or God?
If your answer is your earthly authorities, remember this, the solution is not to respect your earthly authorities less, it is to respect God more. He is a Father, where is His honour?
Monday, May 26, 2014
Official Kickoff to Summer! Oh Wait, that's Not Right
Don't worry, I'm not about to start a cliched rant against celebrating Memorial Day with grill-outs and forgetting the sacrifices that are made for us. I believe a substantial amount of time has been spent on this subject already, and if you don't understand it, there is nothing I could possibly say to cause you to comprehend that hasn't already been said much better than I could.
So we start this dialogue with the assumption that everyone already properly knows that today we are supposed to be remembering the sacrifice our military makes for our... for our...
Um... yeah, that part hasn't exactly been beaten like a dead horse like the rest of the narrative surrounding Memorial Day. At least not on Memorial Day. So why exactly do we consider this day special?
You see, a sacrifice in and of itself is not a reason for celebration. Sometimes, people's sacrifices come from such impure motivations or just to show off, that we dare not applaud them in any way.
This has been ingrained in our very psyche through literature, movies, and our very own upbringing;
In my own upbringing it was books. For example, in a book I much beloved as a child, The Bronze Bow, set in the time of Jesus, the narrative depicts a lot of sacrifice from Daniel bar Jamin for a number of different causes.
At the beginning, we learn that Daniel is an aspiring Blacksmith and is extremely talented. He has the capability to become a rather successful Blacksmith. But he gives all this up to look for revenge against the Roman Empire for the death of his father. In this quest, he sacrifices rather foolishly relationships with his mother and his sister and any attempt to find true friendship.
This quest is self-destroying. Eventually his mother is met with sickness and dies, and Daniel is forced to sacrifice his vengeance to care for his sister. But still this sacrifice is out of obligation and not out of love and is thus still invalid.
Daniel doesn't truly learn noble sacrifice until the end of the book when his every self is dedicated to the interests of others. All other sacrifices are purely selfish.
The answer to what makes a sacrifice truly noble is hinted at in that tale. Sacrifices are only truly sacrifices when they are directly for the benefit of others. The Bible states more directly.
And that is why the military is so special, and why we would celebrate this very occasion because in most instances, that is the mindset of a soldier. Sacrificing himself for the freedom and security of others.
So we start this dialogue with the assumption that everyone already properly knows that today we are supposed to be remembering the sacrifice our military makes for our... for our...
Um... yeah, that part hasn't exactly been beaten like a dead horse like the rest of the narrative surrounding Memorial Day. At least not on Memorial Day. So why exactly do we consider this day special?
You see, a sacrifice in and of itself is not a reason for celebration. Sometimes, people's sacrifices come from such impure motivations or just to show off, that we dare not applaud them in any way.
This has been ingrained in our very psyche through literature, movies, and our very own upbringing;
In my own upbringing it was books. For example, in a book I much beloved as a child, The Bronze Bow, set in the time of Jesus, the narrative depicts a lot of sacrifice from Daniel bar Jamin for a number of different causes.
At the beginning, we learn that Daniel is an aspiring Blacksmith and is extremely talented. He has the capability to become a rather successful Blacksmith. But he gives all this up to look for revenge against the Roman Empire for the death of his father. In this quest, he sacrifices rather foolishly relationships with his mother and his sister and any attempt to find true friendship.
This quest is self-destroying. Eventually his mother is met with sickness and dies, and Daniel is forced to sacrifice his vengeance to care for his sister. But still this sacrifice is out of obligation and not out of love and is thus still invalid.
Daniel doesn't truly learn noble sacrifice until the end of the book when his every self is dedicated to the interests of others. All other sacrifices are purely selfish.
The answer to what makes a sacrifice truly noble is hinted at in that tale. Sacrifices are only truly sacrifices when they are directly for the benefit of others. The Bible states more directly.
"No greater love hath any man than this, that he give up his life for a friend."
And that is why the military is so special, and why we would celebrate this very occasion because in most instances, that is the mindset of a soldier. Sacrificing himself for the freedom and security of others.
Friday, April 18, 2014
'Light' Afflictions: Compared to What?
2 Corinthians 4 is an intriguing chapter of Scripture. In it, Paul expresses that if we have the proper focus on eternity that we will have little difficulty battling through our struggles in this temporal world. It culminates in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18,
As I read this verse, I can't help but hear distressed Christians all over the world scream, "What are you talking about, Paul? You have no right to belittle my struggles! You don't know what I'm going through."
We hear this from those Christians who have been diagnosed with cancer, those who are being tortured and martyred for their beliefs, those whose loved ones have just died.
Hey, no one ever said the Christian life would be easy. Sure, these days we will occasionally hear a Pastor proclaim that Jesus is the solution to all your life problems, but sadly, those pastors are drastically mistaken. Jesus did not come down to this Earth to solve our temporal problems, but our eternal ones.
Today is Good Friday. It is the day that we celebrate what Jesus did for us on the cross. As previously mentioned on this blog, Jesus underwent complete torture before and during the crucifixion to the point where his entire body was screaming in pain.
But this physical torture is nothing at all compared to what Jesus truly went through on the cross. The words he screamed in Matthew 27:46 highlight torture much different and much more painful.
These words can be confusing at first. Why would Jesus feel forsaken by God the Father on the cross? There is a simple reason for it.
Jesus came into this world to be a substitute for our sins. Because the Lord's holiness requires punishment to be exacted somewhere, He was to face the penalty for our sins, so that His sacrifice would change the eternal destination of all those who would accept it as their own.
We all know this, of course, but sometimes in our analysis, we forget that the punishment for sin wouldn't have been paid by a physical death on the cross. The punishment for the sin of this world is separation from the Lord. That's why Jesus feels - no, is - forsaken by God the Father in this verse. R.C. Sproul explains,
Complete separation from the presence of the Lord would cause some agony indeed! Ultimately, we all know that Jesus was raised from the dead 3 days later, and is now on the right hand of the Father.
But for us, the separation would have been for all eternity. Eternity separated from the power and presence of God, from whom all good gifts come.
Well, that makes cancer, persecution, and our other afflictions seem pretty light indeed.
"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
As I read this verse, I can't help but hear distressed Christians all over the world scream, "What are you talking about, Paul? You have no right to belittle my struggles! You don't know what I'm going through."
We hear this from those Christians who have been diagnosed with cancer, those who are being tortured and martyred for their beliefs, those whose loved ones have just died.
Hey, no one ever said the Christian life would be easy. Sure, these days we will occasionally hear a Pastor proclaim that Jesus is the solution to all your life problems, but sadly, those pastors are drastically mistaken. Jesus did not come down to this Earth to solve our temporal problems, but our eternal ones.
Today is Good Friday. It is the day that we celebrate what Jesus did for us on the cross. As previously mentioned on this blog, Jesus underwent complete torture before and during the crucifixion to the point where his entire body was screaming in pain.
But this physical torture is nothing at all compared to what Jesus truly went through on the cross. The words he screamed in Matthew 27:46 highlight torture much different and much more painful.
"Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
These words can be confusing at first. Why would Jesus feel forsaken by God the Father on the cross? There is a simple reason for it.
Jesus came into this world to be a substitute for our sins. Because the Lord's holiness requires punishment to be exacted somewhere, He was to face the penalty for our sins, so that His sacrifice would change the eternal destination of all those who would accept it as their own.
We all know this, of course, but sometimes in our analysis, we forget that the punishment for sin wouldn't have been paid by a physical death on the cross. The punishment for the sin of this world is separation from the Lord. That's why Jesus feels - no, is - forsaken by God the Father in this verse. R.C. Sproul explains,
"Jesus didn't just feel forsaken on the cross; he was totally forsaken by God while he hung on the cross because that's exactly what the penalty for sin is. As the apostle Paul elaborates, sin cuts us off from the presence and benefits of God. Christ screamed, 'Why have I been forsaken?' It wasn't just a question; it was a cry of agony."
Complete separation from the presence of the Lord would cause some agony indeed! Ultimately, we all know that Jesus was raised from the dead 3 days later, and is now on the right hand of the Father.
But for us, the separation would have been for all eternity. Eternity separated from the power and presence of God, from whom all good gifts come.
Well, that makes cancer, persecution, and our other afflictions seem pretty light indeed.
Monday, March 3, 2014
In Case You Missed It...
Cue the confetti!! So, this is the fiftieth post on this little blog! I thought I would celebrate by giving a post of some of my best posts. (I swear this has nothing to do with how great this could be at promoting said blog to those who have not read it as a more approachable way of catching up...ok, fine, it has much to do with that.) But don't worry, I hope to make this post interesting for the committed reader as well.
I will examine five posts today. I wanted to include more, but that would make it less approachable to the new reader. Thus, I will not mention "The Story of Achan: Patience in the Lord," "Why Reading the Bible Makes Me More Libertarian," "Bastiat's Conundrum: Communication is Key to Engaging Society," or "Apologetics Series 7: Day of Rest/Reflection." These were some of the others in the running for today's best posts.
But before I do the countdown, I thought it would be beneficial to share a little bit about why this very blog exists in the first place.
I will examine five posts today. I wanted to include more, but that would make it less approachable to the new reader. Thus, I will not mention "The Story of Achan: Patience in the Lord," "Why Reading the Bible Makes Me More Libertarian," "Bastiat's Conundrum: Communication is Key to Engaging Society," or "Apologetics Series 7: Day of Rest/Reflection." These were some of the others in the running for today's best posts.
But before I do the countdown, I thought it would be beneficial to share a little bit about why this very blog exists in the first place.
The Beginning
As hopefully a lot of you know, this is not the first website I have run. I started out running a website called Human Scavengers, which highlighted the fact that certain companies were using aborted fetal cells in the manufacturing of their products. Due to no part of my efforts, this problem has largely become mute. But it doesn't matter that I was unsuccessful as long as the Lord found someone to be, right?
My first post, "When Government is the Answer" was originally written for the Human Scavengers website. Several members of my family informed me that I should start writing more blog posts for the site.
I thought about it and I saw the logic behind such a move. Without going to a college campus this year, I would not be getting much opportunity to write essays. I did not want to lose this skill set because of a lack of practice. Thus, I thought about writing more regularly on my Human Scavengers blog. However, there wasn't enough to say about this topic to keep a blog going. Thus, I started this blog with a broader purpose of teaching Biblical teachings about life, politics, and philosophy.
And that, my friends, is why we are here: to allow me to collect my thoughts and keep my writing in practice. I'm glad you've come along for the ride, and I hope you have enjoyed it.
5. It Pleased The Lord
As I say in the post, this post is not for the faint of heart. It was definitely the most distressing and emotional post I have written for this post. My intention with the post was simple enough. I had found from the teachings of one of my Sunday School teachers (10th grade) that when you heard all that transpired on the cross, it was convicting. I knew this had convicted me, and I expected it would do the same to others. Thus, all I wanted to do was show the torture that occurred, and let God take care of the rest. Writing about the torture was still no easy task as you know, it's torture. Even when I read it now, tears threaten to release themselves. I need to remind myself of the contents of this post often as I go through my life.
4. Love Is Deeper than Chocolate
A much more mild depiction of the sacrifice Jesus made and what that means to us. This is a very simple and straightforward piece. In fact, it took two people commenting on how they liked it for me to understand that it actually held more power in it than I first thought. This truly has nothing to do with me.
You see, when I wrote this post, I was a little sad that I had decided to follow the mold of actually talking about a holiday in posts as the holiday came by. Thus, I started with a lot of odd jokes. I had no intention of using those jokes as a specific avenue of discussion of something deeper, but the Lord allowed me to write a transition that made everything seem so purposeful. It really is quite dramatic and makes for one interesting post with a nice hook and follow through.
You see, when I wrote this post, I was a little sad that I had decided to follow the mold of actually talking about a holiday in posts as the holiday came by. Thus, I started with a lot of odd jokes. I had no intention of using those jokes as a specific avenue of discussion of something deeper, but the Lord allowed me to write a transition that made everything seem so purposeful. It really is quite dramatic and makes for one interesting post with a nice hook and follow through.
3. Ignorance isn't Bliss, It's Carlisle
This is the pride and joy of my political posts. Some may have better analysis; others better communication, but this one expresses a topic that we all need to hear. It is a call to all Christians to stay informed on politics and educate themselves on what proper political philosophy is. If there is one post that illustrates what the purpose of my politics posts is in general, it is this one.
Did I mention it discusses Doctor Who? You know that makes it absolutely fantastic in and of itself. This truly was the hook that I would hope would bring more people into reading this post and then be trapped into feeling guilty for their apathy! Mwahahahaha!
More seriously, we as Christians need to be more interested in what goes on in the world because at any moment, we could lose our religious freedom. That would make witnessing opportunities more scarce. While it is certainly true that God could work through such a situation as well as any other, we cannot look to God to bail us out when we don't fulfill our obligations to be educated citizens of the populace and fight for the Lord in politics as much as we do in other areas of life.
Did I mention it discusses Doctor Who? You know that makes it absolutely fantastic in and of itself. This truly was the hook that I would hope would bring more people into reading this post and then be trapped into feeling guilty for their apathy! Mwahahahaha!
More seriously, we as Christians need to be more interested in what goes on in the world because at any moment, we could lose our religious freedom. That would make witnessing opportunities more scarce. While it is certainly true that God could work through such a situation as well as any other, we cannot look to God to bail us out when we don't fulfill our obligations to be educated citizens of the populace and fight for the Lord in politics as much as we do in other areas of life.
2. Micah and His Levite: Progression of Idolatry
The most recent post on this here list is also one of the best organized. Although I typically just write out what I wish to say as if I was in a middle of a conversation (my outlining skills therefore might be the ones I still lose despite this blog), this one had a more specific structure (some posts in the Apologetics series also required such structure).
This post explores a problem many people in the Christian walk have, including me myself. They decide they will serve the Lord with their own devices. The story of Micah from Judges 17-18 provides an intriguing study into how in order to serve God, we have to die to ourselves completely. Yes, it sounds generic, but trust me, it is worth your time.
This post explores a problem many people in the Christian walk have, including me myself. They decide they will serve the Lord with their own devices. The story of Micah from Judges 17-18 provides an intriguing study into how in order to serve God, we have to die to ourselves completely. Yes, it sounds generic, but trust me, it is worth your time.
1. Joseph, Levites, and Vows: God's Will for My Life
The top two blog posts do indeed both have the name, "Levite" in them. Thanks for noticing.
This is a complete coincidence, I can assure you.
The weakness of the title in general doesn't change the fact this was a difficult post to decide to write. Once the decision was made, it flowed relatively smoothly (except I kept getting ahead of myself).
This is the most important post I have ever written with information about my personal walk with the Lord taken from my Sermon Notes Journal, my Sermon Preparation Journal, and my Devotional Journal (I keep a lot of journals). Unlike most devotional posts, it doesn't leave you with some convicting message because it is about me answering to a conviction more than anything else. It really was a wonderful blessing to share what the Lord was doing in my life with my readers.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Doctrines of The Christian Faith 7: Day of Reflection: The Nature of the Image of God
Today is the seventh post of the Christian Doctrines series, and that means it is time to conclude our series by looking at what we have accomplished and rest, just as the Lord did after his 6 days of creation. Although these works can never even be a fourth as good as that which the Lord created, the model will continually be echoed throughout these series for as long as I write them.
So what have we accomplished in this series? Honestly, not as much as I wanted. A lot of the posts were either too simple or made too many points to be coherent. I even left out a few points because I discovered as I wrote the sixth post, I had left too much for it. As such, next week, an "Addendum" will be posted that will detail these few points in detail.
Nevertheless, I was still able to express the most important event in all of history bit-by-bit throughout this series - the story of man's sinfulness, God's holiness and mercy, and the sacrificial atonement for our sins. Today, I will tell this story once more, in a different way than I originally shared it. Today, we discuss the nature of the image of God.
Here we see the first time man is mentioned in the Bible. The Lord says that we should make man in our image. (Remember that the Lord is three persons in the outer "crust," but one all the same.) But what exactly is the "Image of God?"
In Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem defines the image of God as,
Although Grudem correctly identifies that the image of God transcends beyond any one attribute, I would like to highlight in this post the specific part of the image of God that refers to moral purity. Thus, throughout the rest of this post, I will be using the image of God synonymously with perfection or holiness.
Sin had to "enter into the world" through Adam because when Adam was first created he was as God, without sin.
Let us remember that God is so holy he cannot fellowship with those unholy. A substitutionary sacrifice was needed to allow sinful Israelites to commune with the Father. (I say to you today, one is still needed, but I am getting ahead of myself.) As Habakkuk 1:13 states,
This makes man's fall from the image of God all the more troublesome as it also means falling from God's presence.
We are now all corrupt vessels. We now all, as Romans 3:23 proclaims, "Fall short of the glory of God."
But the impact as mentioned above is greater than that. Eating of the fruit makes them unholy, and God's holiness prevents him from fellowshipping with anything unholy. This sin could forever separate Adam from God's presence. But the Lord is merciful. He provided a way for Adam and his descendants to atone for their sin by continually sacrificing perfect lambs without blemish.
The atonement was always temporary though until a different Lamb took the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world.
This action is enough to restore the image of God to man, but it doesn't just go to everyone. The lambs of the Old Testament had to be brought in by the person who wished to atone for his sin. It couldn't atone for his neighbour's sin, or his family's sin, but for his alone.
While Jesus' death is sufficient to take away all the sin of the world, one must accept it as payment. One must ask for this sacrifice be applied to their sin and for them to be forgiven. Then the image of God is restored, and we can fellowship with God eternally. As Romans 8:29 states,
So what have we accomplished in this series? Honestly, not as much as I wanted. A lot of the posts were either too simple or made too many points to be coherent. I even left out a few points because I discovered as I wrote the sixth post, I had left too much for it. As such, next week, an "Addendum" will be posted that will detail these few points in detail.
Nevertheless, I was still able to express the most important event in all of history bit-by-bit throughout this series - the story of man's sinfulness, God's holiness and mercy, and the sacrificial atonement for our sins. Today, I will tell this story once more, in a different way than I originally shared it. Today, we discuss the nature of the image of God.
Man Created In God's Image
In Genesis 1:26-27, we learn,
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Here we see the first time man is mentioned in the Bible. The Lord says that we should make man in our image. (Remember that the Lord is three persons in the outer "crust," but one all the same.) But what exactly is the "Image of God?"
In Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem defines the image of God as,
"The nature of man such that he is like God and represents God."
Although Grudem correctly identifies that the image of God transcends beyond any one attribute, I would like to highlight in this post the specific part of the image of God that refers to moral purity. Thus, throughout the rest of this post, I will be using the image of God synonymously with perfection or holiness.
Sin had to "enter into the world" through Adam because when Adam was first created he was as God, without sin.
Let us remember that God is so holy he cannot fellowship with those unholy. A substitutionary sacrifice was needed to allow sinful Israelites to commune with the Father. (I say to you today, one is still needed, but I am getting ahead of myself.) As Habakkuk 1:13 states,
"Thou are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity."
This makes man's fall from the image of God all the more troublesome as it also means falling from God's presence.
Man's Fall from God's Image
Prior to the fall, when man was still fully in the image of God, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, where God walked with them. Here, the Lord talked with Adam and Eve and told them they may eat of every tree of the field, except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
We all know what happens next. The Serpent comes, and Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit. With sin now in man's nature, he has distorted the initial image of God. He no longer can claim perfection. In fact, no man would ever be able to again. Romans 5:12 explains,
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
We are now all corrupt vessels. We now all, as Romans 3:23 proclaims, "Fall short of the glory of God."
But the impact as mentioned above is greater than that. Eating of the fruit makes them unholy, and God's holiness prevents him from fellowshipping with anything unholy. This sin could forever separate Adam from God's presence. But the Lord is merciful. He provided a way for Adam and his descendants to atone for their sin by continually sacrificing perfect lambs without blemish.
The atonement was always temporary though until a different Lamb took the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Jesus' Gift Allows Restoration of the Image
The image of God in shambles! But have no fear, the Lord will establish a permanent way of restoring fellowship with his creation.
It all happened when the Lord supernaturally was born on this earth to a virgin. There was nothing special about this girl, except that which was in her was of the Holy Ghost. A man, who was "Tempted like as we are, yet without sin." This man was Jesus Christ.
Jesus was God, and thus had the entire image of God. He was without blemish and was prepared to be the perfect sacrifice for the world. And he did sacrifice; He died on the cross and took away the sins of the world. As I Peter 2:24 tells us,
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
This action is enough to restore the image of God to man, but it doesn't just go to everyone. The lambs of the Old Testament had to be brought in by the person who wished to atone for his sin. It couldn't atone for his neighbour's sin, or his family's sin, but for his alone.
While Jesus' death is sufficient to take away all the sin of the world, one must accept it as payment. One must ask for this sacrifice be applied to their sin and for them to be forgiven. Then the image of God is restored, and we can fellowship with God eternally. As Romans 8:29 states,
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."
Friday, February 14, 2014
Love is Deeper than Chocolate
It's Valentine's Day, and you know what that means. Procrastinating men everywhere will be rushing through grocery stores looking for some satisfactory chocolates and flowers to show their dedication to their wives. (Because nothing says love more than chocolate right? Well, maybe bacon.) Knowing my procrastination skills, I can say that I will probably be one of them (but hey, I'm writing this post on Thursday at 3, that's an improvement).
In the meantime, all I can think of about Valentine's Day is the following:
Love is patient. Love is kind.
Love is slowly losing your mind.
BUT AT LEAST YOU'RE TOGETHER!!!
Of course, I'm just showing my cynical self. I am well aware that love isn't about chocolates, doesn't necessarily mean going insane, and isn't about some desire to be together all the time.
At its core, love is about sacrifice. It is about putting another's interest above your own. It is about caring despite how hard it is at the time. It is also about many other things I don't comprehend. What I do understand is that Jesus truly loved us. He sacrificed for our sins. He put his well-being aside. And he loved what truly is the unlovable.
Do you exhibit a similar love to God? Are you willing to put your interests and desires aside to serve the Lord? I saw a banner once in the youth auditorium of a church that read, "He died for me. The LEAST I can do is live for Him." (Emphasis added.) Although this banner makes it seem as if it would be easy to live for the Lord, it is correct in its assertion that it is reasonable indeed for us to live a life of sacrificial love for God. As Romans 12:1 says,
In the meantime, all I can think of about Valentine's Day is the following:
Love is patient. Love is kind.
Love is slowly losing your mind.
BUT AT LEAST YOU'RE TOGETHER!!!
Of course, I'm just showing my cynical self. I am well aware that love isn't about chocolates, doesn't necessarily mean going insane, and isn't about some desire to be together all the time.
At its core, love is about sacrifice. It is about putting another's interest above your own. It is about caring despite how hard it is at the time. It is also about many other things I don't comprehend. What I do understand is that Jesus truly loved us. He sacrificed for our sins. He put his well-being aside. And he loved what truly is the unlovable.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." ~ John 15:13
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." ~ I John 4:10
Do you exhibit a similar love to God? Are you willing to put your interests and desires aside to serve the Lord? I saw a banner once in the youth auditorium of a church that read, "He died for me. The LEAST I can do is live for Him." (Emphasis added.) Although this banner makes it seem as if it would be easy to live for the Lord, it is correct in its assertion that it is reasonable indeed for us to live a life of sacrificial love for God. As Romans 12:1 says,
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Doctrines of the Christian Faith 5: The Nature of the Atoning Sacrifice
A man in Israel has sinned. He requires atonement for his sins. Thus, he goes out to his flock of and finds his choicest sheep, one without blemish. He brings it to the priest. The man puts his hand on the sheep and in that instance, the sin from the man is transferred to the lamb. The priest will then slit the throat of the lamb, and sprinkle the blood of the dead lamb upon the altar. The man has now been cleansed of his sin, at least until he sins again.
Jesus became the substitutionary sacrifice that is able to atone for all sins. He was made sin for us, and then the Lord's wrath and punishment for sin was redirected onto him. Jesus went through torture and hell to provide a bridge between the holy God and sinful man.
The love demonstrated in this sacrifice is unheard of today. Think of the most wonderful person you're ever known, would you die for him? Maybe, but would you be willing to die for the annoying people that you've met? As seen in Romans 5:6-8, this is analogous to what the Lord is doing here.
Here we see that not only was Jesus without blemish, but he also had a transfer of sins onto him, and died as a substitutionary sacrifice, just as the lamb in the Old Testament. It's no wonder that John the Baptist proclaimed in John 1:29,
However, there are two primary differences between the lamb of the Old Testament and the Lamb of God. The first is the permanence of the solution. In the Old Testament, the lamb was insufficient to solve for all past transgression and all future transgressions. Thus, every time an Israelite sinned, he required a new sacrifice. However, Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all. No new sacrifice would ever be needed.
The second difference is the permanence of the death. When the Old Testament lambs were killed, they stayed dead. They didn't have any zombie action going on. Now Jesus did not have any zombie action either, but three days after he died, he rose again. As I Corinthians 15:3-6 states,
Indeed, Christ died for our sins and was resurrected to be a living Saviour. He is not the Saviour of the whole world, just over those in the world who will accept him. As the great hymn He Lives proclaims,
This substitutionary sacrifice is the same that we see in Jesus' life. We have seen in our last two posts in this series, that we, like this Israelite have sinned and need atonement, and that Jesus like this lamb was without blemish.
We all remember that the punishment for sin was death, or a separation from the Lord God the Father. We know that the Lord has such a wrath for this sin that he must punish it. His holiness demands it. Yet we know that despite our filth, the Lord desires us to be blessed and to be with him and not undergo the punishment.
That's where the Lamb comes in. Jesus the Lamb of God came down and made the substitutionary sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains,
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
Jesus became the substitutionary sacrifice that is able to atone for all sins. He was made sin for us, and then the Lord's wrath and punishment for sin was redirected onto him. Jesus went through torture and hell to provide a bridge between the holy God and sinful man.
The love demonstrated in this sacrifice is unheard of today. Think of the most wonderful person you're ever known, would you die for him? Maybe, but would you be willing to die for the annoying people that you've met? As seen in Romans 5:6-8, this is analogous to what the Lord is doing here.
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Here we see that not only was Jesus without blemish, but he also had a transfer of sins onto him, and died as a substitutionary sacrifice, just as the lamb in the Old Testament. It's no wonder that John the Baptist proclaimed in John 1:29,
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
However, there are two primary differences between the lamb of the Old Testament and the Lamb of God. The first is the permanence of the solution. In the Old Testament, the lamb was insufficient to solve for all past transgression and all future transgressions. Thus, every time an Israelite sinned, he required a new sacrifice. However, Jesus' sacrifice was once and for all. No new sacrifice would ever be needed.
The second difference is the permanence of the death. When the Old Testament lambs were killed, they stayed dead. They didn't have any zombie action going on. Now Jesus did not have any zombie action either, but three days after he died, he rose again. As I Corinthians 15:3-6 states,
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas (Peter), then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
Indeed, Christ died for our sins and was resurrected to be a living Saviour. He is not the Saviour of the whole world, just over those in the world who will accept him. As the great hymn He Lives proclaims,
"I serve a risen Savior
He’s in the world today.
I know that He is living,
Whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy;
I hear His voice of cheer;
And just the time I need Him
He’s always near.
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart."
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Readers!
If you are reading this right now, it might mean you are locked in your room waiting for your Christmas festivities to be ready. I feel your pain. I shall try to make you forget it.
On Christmas morning, we all like to read the Christmas story. Call me crazy, but my favorite Christmas passage comes from Philippians 2. I told you to call me crazy. Bear with me though, I do have a point.
Philippians 2 describes Jesus coming to Earth from his perspective, and really points out that his sacrifice for our sins started way before the cross.
Philippians 2:6-11 states,
Just a thought for you this morning. Jesus gave up his throne to live as a servant and ultimately die for your sins. Are you willing to do the same?
Philippians 2:5,
If you are reading this right now, it might mean you are locked in your room waiting for your Christmas festivities to be ready. I feel your pain. I shall try to make you forget it.
On Christmas morning, we all like to read the Christmas story. Call me crazy, but my favorite Christmas passage comes from Philippians 2. I told you to call me crazy. Bear with me though, I do have a point.
Philippians 2 describes Jesus coming to Earth from his perspective, and really points out that his sacrifice for our sins started way before the cross.
Philippians 2:6-11 states,
"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Just a thought for you this morning. Jesus gave up his throne to live as a servant and ultimately die for your sins. Are you willing to do the same?
Philippians 2:5,
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
Friday, November 22, 2013
It Pleased the Lord
When we think about the suffering that Jesus took upon the cross, it's hard not to sit and cry. (Indeed I have procrastinated writing this post for as long as I possibly could in order to put off the emotional upheaval). It was both physical and emotional agony.
Prior to even being nailed upon the cross, Jesus underwent a severe flogging. They took a whip and hit him 39 times. It is said that this whip would cut into skin, leaving the muscles exposed, and then just to top things off, it would cut the muscle itself. One can barely imagine the pain and blood loss that would occur under this type of torture.
But Jesus was still alive. He was then forced to carry his cross up Calvary, meanwhile being yelled at and hit no doubt, until he had no strength left in his body. They nailed through his hands and put him on the cross. It is said that more people die from suffocation on the cross than anything else. There He was, the author of all time, the Creator of the universe, and the source of life on a cross with no feeling, but pain, struggling to stay alive. And he proclaims there for all to hear,
He was condemned for doing no wrong, undergoing such torture that he felt he was forsaken, and yet Isaiah 53:10 proclaims,
Why, Lord, why? Why would you ever feel that putting this torture on your Son, on You Yourself, would ever be pleasing? What could have compelled you to such a thought?
Looking at the context of Isaiah 53 (I strongly recommend you take the time to read the whole chapter), we find our answer. You of course, already know it. You're taught it all the time. He did it for the world,
Jesus didn't just die for us, he underwent torture. Yet we aren't willing to do anything for him. How is that we are so selfish when we are human nothings, while the Creator of the universe, the all-powerful being, made the ultimate sacrifice for us?
Prior to even being nailed upon the cross, Jesus underwent a severe flogging. They took a whip and hit him 39 times. It is said that this whip would cut into skin, leaving the muscles exposed, and then just to top things off, it would cut the muscle itself. One can barely imagine the pain and blood loss that would occur under this type of torture.
But Jesus was still alive. He was then forced to carry his cross up Calvary, meanwhile being yelled at and hit no doubt, until he had no strength left in his body. They nailed through his hands and put him on the cross. It is said that more people die from suffocation on the cross than anything else. There He was, the author of all time, the Creator of the universe, and the source of life on a cross with no feeling, but pain, struggling to stay alive. And he proclaims there for all to hear,
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" -Matthew 27:46
He was condemned for doing no wrong, undergoing such torture that he felt he was forsaken, and yet Isaiah 53:10 proclaims,
"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief."
Why, Lord, why? Why would you ever feel that putting this torture on your Son, on You Yourself, would ever be pleasing? What could have compelled you to such a thought?
Looking at the context of Isaiah 53 (I strongly recommend you take the time to read the whole chapter), we find our answer. You of course, already know it. You're taught it all the time. He did it for the world,
"3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed... 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities."
Jesus didn't just die for us, he underwent torture. Yet we aren't willing to do anything for him. How is that we are so selfish when we are human nothings, while the Creator of the universe, the all-powerful being, made the ultimate sacrifice for us?
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