I've been thinking a lot about the necessity, use, and effectiveness of words lately, as well as The Word. This article goes right along with that, expressing some of my thoughts much better than I can. As always, thank you, Andree Seu!
WORLD | Being persistent in persuading | Andrée Seu Peterson | May 7, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Without Excuse...
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world. -Psalm 19:1-4
The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. ...All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. -Psalm 98:2, 3b
The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. ...All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. -Psalm 98:2, 3b
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. -Romans 1:18-20
So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said:“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god. ’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring. ’. -Acts 17:26-28
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one. -Psalm 14:1-3
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. -Psalm 9:10
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” -John 12:32, 35-36
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light. -Psalm 36:9
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. -John 1:4-5
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. -John 1:9
Tired of the Gay Marriage Debate?
I strongly believe we are to be involved in the choices our government is making, that there is absolute right and wrong in moral issues, and that America is a long way down the slippery slope, perhaps even to the point of being "given over" as Romans 1 speaks to. But I think Barnabas says it well...often we can forget the second great commandment which is "like unto the first" - that we are to love our neighbor (EVERY neighbor) as ourselves. I, too, often question, do we genuinely show Christ's love, or has proving ourselves right become the more important thing? Lots of good points here...
Tired of the Gay Marriage Debate?
Saturday, March 23, 2013
How to Smile Again...
"Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more." -Psalm 39:13
Here's David, the Godly shepherd king, in such a dark place that he was all mixed up about Who God is. It's not by God's "looking away" that we can smile again. The truth is that "those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. (Psalm 34:5)
And...
"...then man prays to God and He accepts him; he sees His face with a shout of joy and He restores man to righteousness. (Job 33:26-...)
For a while David forgot.
Maybe this was one of the times when his good friend, Jonathan, strengthened him in The Lord. I have friends like that! Or maybe David did some very purposeful soul talk. He was good at that! (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5). Maybe truth shined through into the dark in some other way. However it happened, we know from many passages, including Psalm 27:4, that the man after God's own heart did not stay believing the lie. He sought hard to see the face of God!
Let us do the same! In times of darkness and in times of light.
"One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of The Lord and to inquire in His temple."
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Just Judge
"For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth....For what can be known about God is plain to them...and they are without excuse!" -Romans 1:18-20 (excerpts)
A. W. Tozer explains the wrath of God this way... Since God’s first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the polio that take the life of her child.
Any healthy human being hates injustice.
Suppose someone brutally attacks, violates and kills your sweet child. And suppose you absolutely know who the guilty person is. He is caught, brought before a judge, and the prosecuting attorney is able to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person is the guilty party. You are sitting in the courtroom grieving, observing the proceedings. The jury unanimously declares the offender guilty. It's time for sentencing. The judge looks at the criminal, a vile man who shows no remorse, and says, "I know you're guilty. You have destroyed a precious little girl, and you have permanently scarred her family. It's deplorable, for sure, but you know, I really don't care. You are free to go!" Your outrage would be hard to control! Even those other observers, less closely linked to the victim, would be utterly shocked and angry. This action would be completely unacceptable, and there would be cries for the judge to do what is right or give up his judgeship! The story would be all over the news, conservative or liberal. Bill O'Reilly would take up the cause!
Why do we expect less of God?
He is the perfect righteous Judge. His wrath must be poured out against unrighteousness, for it is that which destroys His precious creation. We are all guilty. We have all sinned and fallen short of the standard of perfection that is necessary in order for His creation to be healthy and whole. We are all doomed recipients of that thunderbolt of wrath.
But there is good news!
One day about 2000 years ago, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." -Luke 23:34. Nancy Leigh DeMoss, in The Quiet Place," puts it this way... "In the face of heinous rejection, injustice, and abuse, we hear the words that are even more powerful than human cruelty."
A prayer of forgiveness.
Who was that prayer for? That prayer was for Roman soldiers...It was for Pilate and Herod...It was for the wild, screaming mob...It was for His disciples...It was for the thousands on the Day of Pentecost...It was for you. And me. Charles Spurgeon writes, "I really like the word them because it's big enough for me to crawl inside!"
Nancy continues, "The only thing keeping us from experiencing the storm of God's righteous wrath is the fact that Jesus covered us with the shield of His grace on that day, that glorious day when He prayed, through pain made even more biting because of our treacherous sin, Father, forgive them. (Luke 23:34). And we are forgiven."
Christ knew the judgment had to fall. And it did. But it fell on Him, and Him alone. Jesus asks the Father to divert the judgment, and our Savior absorbs it Himself. I believe that shield of grace is the only thing that kept the whole earth from being destroyed on that fateful day in history. The Son holds up that shield still today, inviting "whosoever" under its protection.
The wrath of God continues to pour out against sin. His perfect justice demands it. But He is not only perfect justice, He is also perfect love. So He provides a shield against His wrath.
Yes, the wrath of God does continue to pour out against sin...
But not sinners...
Not sinners who seek refuge from God...
in God!
A. W. Tozer explains the wrath of God this way... Since God’s first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the polio that take the life of her child.
Any healthy human being hates injustice.
Suppose someone brutally attacks, violates and kills your sweet child. And suppose you absolutely know who the guilty person is. He is caught, brought before a judge, and the prosecuting attorney is able to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that this person is the guilty party. You are sitting in the courtroom grieving, observing the proceedings. The jury unanimously declares the offender guilty. It's time for sentencing. The judge looks at the criminal, a vile man who shows no remorse, and says, "I know you're guilty. You have destroyed a precious little girl, and you have permanently scarred her family. It's deplorable, for sure, but you know, I really don't care. You are free to go!" Your outrage would be hard to control! Even those other observers, less closely linked to the victim, would be utterly shocked and angry. This action would be completely unacceptable, and there would be cries for the judge to do what is right or give up his judgeship! The story would be all over the news, conservative or liberal. Bill O'Reilly would take up the cause!
Why do we expect less of God?
He is the perfect righteous Judge. His wrath must be poured out against unrighteousness, for it is that which destroys His precious creation. We are all guilty. We have all sinned and fallen short of the standard of perfection that is necessary in order for His creation to be healthy and whole. We are all doomed recipients of that thunderbolt of wrath.
But there is good news!
One day about 2000 years ago, Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." -Luke 23:34. Nancy Leigh DeMoss, in The Quiet Place," puts it this way... "In the face of heinous rejection, injustice, and abuse, we hear the words that are even more powerful than human cruelty."
A prayer of forgiveness.
Who was that prayer for? That prayer was for Roman soldiers...It was for Pilate and Herod...It was for the wild, screaming mob...It was for His disciples...It was for the thousands on the Day of Pentecost...It was for you. And me. Charles Spurgeon writes, "I really like the word them because it's big enough for me to crawl inside!"
Nancy continues, "The only thing keeping us from experiencing the storm of God's righteous wrath is the fact that Jesus covered us with the shield of His grace on that day, that glorious day when He prayed, through pain made even more biting because of our treacherous sin, Father, forgive them. (Luke 23:34). And we are forgiven."
Christ knew the judgment had to fall. And it did. But it fell on Him, and Him alone. Jesus asks the Father to divert the judgment, and our Savior absorbs it Himself. I believe that shield of grace is the only thing that kept the whole earth from being destroyed on that fateful day in history. The Son holds up that shield still today, inviting "whosoever" under its protection.
The wrath of God continues to pour out against sin. His perfect justice demands it. But He is not only perfect justice, He is also perfect love. So He provides a shield against His wrath.
Yes, the wrath of God does continue to pour out against sin...
But not sinners...
Not sinners who seek refuge from God...
in God!
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