The Shame of Christ

Jill scanned the restaurant and found her friends Tanya and Dawn sitting by the window.  With a wave and a smile she walked to their table.

"Jill!" Tanya greeted her with a smile. "It is so good to see you."

"Late as always" Dawn teased.

"Fashionable late by only five minutes.  I am getting better." Jill laughed

As Jill sat down a man who had been following behind her watched her closely and sat down nearby.  His eyes never seemed to leave her.  He didn't look at her with malice; in fact he seemed to be looking at her lovingly.

Tanya and Dawn noticed him and asked in a low voice, "Jill, who is that man that followed you in?"

Jill glanced over at him. "I don't know.  I never saw him before."

Tanya persisted, "You sure?  He seems pretty intense on watching you."

Jill shook her head.  "I told you, I do not know him."

Dawn looked Jill in the eyes questioningly.

"Dawn, I do not know him. OK? He is just some creepy stalker."

Dawn shook her head.  "No he is not.  I have known you since kindergarten and I know when your lying.  Now tell us the truth.  Who is he?

Jill hung her head with a sigh. "That's my finance."

"What?" They both said together in shock.

"It's true. You can see why I don't want to be seen with him.  His clothes are all bloody from being tortured.  They whipped his back with 39 lashes.  They beat him, slapped him, spat on him and even pulled his beard out.  They mocked him as a king and put a crown of thorns on his head.  Then they took him to a hilltop, stripped him and nailed him on a cross.  When he was dead they made sure by thrusting a spear through his side."

"Oh my God!" Dawn said in shock.

Jill continued, "No Dawn, he is my God and I am ashamed to be seen with him by my friends."

Tanya asked, "Why did they do all those terrible things to him?  What did he do to deserve all that?"

Jill shook her head.  "Nothing.  He was totally innocent.  He could have gotten out of all the torture and being executed, but he was silent."

Dawn couldn't take her eyes off the man. "Why?"

Jill's eyes started to tear up.  "I was the one who was condemned.  I was the criminal sentenced to death.  He took my place on the cross."

Dawn looked back at Jill with disgust.  "He took your place?  He was tortured and killed so that you would not be?  He took your whipping, your beating, your place on the cross and you are ashamed to be seen with him?"

Tanya stood up.  "It is plain to see that he loves you Jill.  He does all that and you no longer want anything to do with him?  What is wrong with you girl?"

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus laid down his life for us...." 1 John 3:16a

"Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the son of man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory..." Luke 9:26 

How Can We Know Jesus is Messiah?

The Bible is unique in that it tells us about History before it occurs and it has never been wrong.  Let's take the prophecies about Jesus' first coming back 2000 years ago. There are over 300 specific prophecies that detail his birth, his genealogy, his ministry and his death.

An example of the prophecies is Zechariah 11:12 which says that (1) 30 pieces of silver would be paid for Messiah and (2) that the money would be used to buy a potters field.  Other prophecies talk about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, He would be crucified, rejected by his own people, he would die with the wicked and be buried in a new tomb for the rich, and many other prophecies.

Let's be very conservative and say that the chance of any of those over 300 prophecies had a one in ten chance to be fulfilled by someone.  Of course, the odds are so much higher but for our purposes, we will be very lenient to the skeptics of the world.   This means that the odds of someone fulfilling 300 prophecies are 10 to the 300th power.

We could take a silver dollar, mark it and drop that silver dollar in a three-foot-deep pile of silver dollars that covered Texas.  Then have someone blindfolded go out and pick up one coin and it is the right coin, BUT those odds are way too small for what we are working with here.  We need a much larger area than Texas.

If we took an atom (instead of a silver coin) and marked it and then dropped it somewhere in the universe the odds of someone going out into the universe and picking out just the right atom is 10 to the 66th power. (scientist estimate there are 10 to the 66th power of atoms in the universe) The odds are still not great enough. 

We would have to have a universe that is 10 to the 234th power bigger than our present universe in order to match the odds of Jesus fulfilling 300 prophecies at only a 1 in 10 chance.

If you still don't think Jesus is The Messiah, who cleanses the sins those who believe in him, then the odds are so far against you that you would be a fool to not at least investigate who Jesus is.

"I am the LORD; that is my name!  I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.  See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." Isaiah 42:8-9

For more on this subject click HERE.

The Lesson of the Jews

The Jewish people have fought against God time and time again.  Then God would chastise and punish them, and the nation of the Jews would repent.  God forgave them time and time again, no matter how great was their rebellion and sin against Him.

In the times of Moses, they worshipped a golden calf, complained about the food and water, tried to usurp Moses as God's appointed leader and disobeyed God's laws.  After Moses, the Hebrews would off and on go back to worshipping idols and false gods.  They rebelled against God numerous times.  God would say do this or don't do that and they did the opposite of whatever He said.

You might think, "Well, I have disobeyed God and no one ever took my home, put me and my family into slave irons, and took me to Babylon.  I must not be as bad at they were."  That is not because your sin is not as evil, but because of God's mercy.  Your sins are just as bad as theirs was.

The Jews committed the sin of rebellion against the King of the Universe.  Any time you sin, no matter how small a sin you think it is, it is a rebellion against God; The Creator, The All-Powerful, The King of the Universe and Lord of your life.  Rebellion against your king is called treason! The penalty for treason is death!  "For the wages of sin is death...: Romans 6:23a

God forgave Israel time after time because of His mercy.  It didn't matter how small or big the sin was, because they were all acts of treason and deserving of death, and yet He forgave.  His mercy is far greater than any sin that they might have committed.  When the Jews turned from their wicked ways, God forgave.

Do you think you have sins that are so evil that God could never forgive?  Wrong!  Do you think God will never forgive you until after you become a better person?  Wrong!  Do you think you could ever go too far for God to reach?  Wrong!  If you think anything like this, then you do not understand how great the love of God is.  He is all-powerful in love, mercy, and forgiveness. 

Look to the Jews and see the patience and love of God.  A God so merciful that there is no end to how great a sin or how many sins He will forgive.  He only asks that we repent and turn to Him.

Photo Credit: Moses by Jeremy Nixon

The Two Natures

When you were born you had one nature, the nature of man.  The nature of man is corrupted and warped.  No one is perfect and if you look around the world it seems pretty obvious that mankind is far from perfect.  That does not mean man cannot do good deeds, but the good deeds will always be tainted by sin.

Jesus was a man of two natures.  He had the nature of man by way of his mother, Mary.  He also had the nature of God because Mary was a virgin and God implanted the life of Jesus within the womb of Mary.  Every day of Jesus' life he had the choice to follow the nature of man or the nature of God, and every day he chose to follow the nature of God.

When a person accepts Jesus as their Messiah to take away their sins, they are reborn.  This time their birth is a spiritual one.  Their spiritual nature and their natural nature are united together in the soul of that person.  Just as Jesus' nature was a union of man and God, so is the Christian's nature a unity of man and God. 

We have the same choice that Jesus had when he was on this earth.  Do we follow the nature given to us by man or the nature that God gave?  Since the nature of man is warped even at its best, we must always choose to follow the nature of God.  We must die to our human nature and live in the nature of God.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - This is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:1-2

Photo Credit: Two Face by Aasef Iqbal J

Hell is Real

Two days ago we talked about Heaven (click here) being real and what it is like.  Not only is Heaven real but so is Hell.  Hell is as real as the world you see around you right now.  I have heard people say, "I want to go to Hell.  That is where all my friends will be."  How foolish!

1. Who goes to Hell?  Everyone who chooses not to follow God.  If you think you can live without God, than God will allow you to live forever without Him.  The place you go is called Hell or the Lake of Fire.  The conditions of Hell exist because God is not there.

2. What is Hell like?  It is eternal Matthew 25:46 and all who are there are eternal as well. It is the blackest darkness anyone has ever seen. Jude 13 and you are eternally alone.  Hell is a firey furnace of torment. Matthew 3:42  and there is no rest Revelation 14:11

3. God did not create Hell for manknd but for Satan and the angels who followed him, but anyone who follows the evil of Satan instead of God will be thrown into Hell as well. Matthew 25:41

4. Because of His love, God does not desire any to go to Hell.  Because of His Justice He must punish those who go against His law. Psalm 99:4 Colossians 3:25

5. The way to avoid Hell God sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins.  He took the punishment so that we could live eternally with God and not eternally in Hell.  John 3:16 Romans 6:23

Churches do not talk about Hell very much, but Hell is real.  People need to understand what it is like and how God loves them so much He sent Jesus to die for them so that they can avoid Hell.  I post this today because I do not want you to find out first hand what Hell is like.

Photo Credit: Pain by Fabrizio Lonzini

Adolf Hitler: The Wolf

Throughout history, there have been men who have tried to destroy the Jews.  Adolf Hitler was one of the worse.  He killed 6 million Jews or 2 out of every 3 Jews in Europe. 

In John 10:12 Jesus talks about the wolf attacking the sheep and scattering them.  The sheep are God's people.  The Jewish nation is God's flock.  They had rejected Christ so they had no shepherd and for 2000 years they were abused, robbed, scattered and killed.  The wolf was out to destroy them.

The Name Adolf means 'wolf'.  His friends called him 'Wolf''.  Adolf Hitler was a wolf who sought out and destroyed as many Jews as he could.  When supplies were needed to be sent to the armies, Adolf put a greater priority on trains taking Jews to Death Camps.

The name of his military headquarters was Wolfsschanze which means wolf's lair and another one called Wolfsschluct which means wolf's gorge.  A Nazi guarilla group was called the Werewolves. A group of German Submarines was called a wolf pack.  The wolf became a Nazi theme under Adolf (Wolf) Hitler. The symbol in the picture above was the Wolfangel and was used by the SS and other groups including the Werewolves.

The wolf of World War 2 is no more, but there are other wolves in the world who seek to steal, kill and destroy God's people.  The Jews and the Christians are both in danger of the wolves of this world.  There is only one hope and this is found in Jesus Christ.  He is the good shepherd who cares for his sheep.  Stay close to the shepherd.  Trust Him to be watching over you and protecting you.  He even gave His life for us, His sheep.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." 
John 10:10-11  

What is Heaven like?

Heaven is a real place.  Cartoons and movies will portray it as somewhere in the clouds with people all in white robes and men with white beards, but that is not at all what Heaven is like.  There are no chubby little cherubs, everyone sitting on a cloud with harps, or Peter sitting at the gate deciding who gets in.

Heaven is even more real than this world is.  It is not some ethereal, mystical place with ghostly figures floating through the air.  Let's look at what you will find in Heaven.

1. It is full of mansions.  There is no bad side of town in Heaven.  Everyone will have their own mansion designed and built by the greatest carpenter who ever lived, Jesus Christ. John 14:2-3

2. Heaven is where the godly shall live.  Those who accepted Jesus Christ as Savior shall call it home and all who live in Heaven will be perfect and never do anything wicked again. There is no crime in Heaven.  Jeremiah 3:17 and Hebrews 12:22-23

3. There will be no confusion or arguments about what to believe or who is the one true God.  Revelation 7:9-10

4. There is no sorrow or pain.  There is no hunger or thirst. There will only be pure joy and contentment.  Revelation 7:15-17

5. The throne of God in Heaven is going to be a very loud place.  Revelation 4:5 talks about there being lightnings, thunderings, and voices raised up.

6. Riches in this world will be so ordinary as to become construction materials.  Gates will be made from single giant pearls.  The roads will be pure gold.  Building foundations will be precious gems. Revelation 21:19-21

7. Heaven is illuminated by the Glory of God.  There is no need for a sun or moon for God Himself will be the light and there will be no night.  Revelation 21:23-25

8. The Tree of Life is in Heaven.  It bears 12 kinds of fruit and its leaves are for healing the nations. Revelation 22:2

9. In Heaven we shall have glorified bodies just like the resurrected body of Jesus.  A body that is incorruptible.  A body that will never grow old, grow weak, get sick, or die.  A perfect body that will last forever.  1 Corinthians 15:40-49

10. God sits on His throne in Heaven.  You could have items 1-9 but without God living in Heaven, it would all be just another place with nothing really special.  What makes Heaven, Heaven is the presence of God.  What makes Hell, Hell is the absence of God.  Isaiah 66:1

What makes your life a Heaven or a Hell is the presence or absence of God.

Photo by Robert Lukeman on Unsplash