Of all People, Why would God Save Me?

Don't get me wrong, I am overjoyed that God saved me from Hell.  I know that my future is set and I will live forever with Him in Heaven, but why me?  I know myself. I know my past. I know my thoughts. I know that I am capable of great evil.  So why would God save me?  To me, that is one of the greatest mysteries of the Universe.

I have hurt many people in my life.  I have lied, cheated, stole, and been cruel and vile. I can show you a nice outside, while inside I have evil that lays waiting for a chance to come out.  How can a just God save such a sinner as I?  He knows me inside and out and yet He would send His son into this world to die for me?  It is a preposterous and foolish act on His part to spend the life of His son to save me.

Yet in 1 Corinthians 1:25a it says, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,..." I know I am foolish so I will trust that God is wise in what He did.  So why would Jesus die for such a man as I?  John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." and in Romans 5:8 it reads, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

God loves me even though my heart is full of filth and wickedness.  Jesus died not because I deserved it, but because of his love for me.  I still do not understand such love.  When someone hurts me, I get angry at the person and want revenge, but God loves and forgives because His love is far greater than mine.

How can anyone reject such love?  To reject it would be to deny that such a love exist.  I would be calling God a liar if I was to turn my back on His great love.  I do not deserve His love, but He does not deserve my rejection either.

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them."  John 3:36

The Black Dot

The teacher posted a picture at the front of the classroom.  "I want everyone to write what they see in this picture," He said to the class as they looked puzzled at the white sheet of paper with one single black dot on it.

It didn't take the class long to write out what they saw.  Some tried to get scientific about how the light was absorbed by the black dot.  Others spoke of its shape.  Everyone wrote something down and when all the papers were handed in the teacher quickly looked them over. 

"I see that everyone has written about the black dot in the center but no one wrote about the white area it is on.  The white paper is just as important as the black dot.  How could you ever see the dot if there was nothing to place it upon?"

Take your Bible and look at it.  God's words are written there on white paper.  It would be very difficult to have a bible with what God has to say to us without the paper.  The Scriptures cannot be communicated without a medium to bear it to the world.

The greatest medium for God's word is not paper, but lives.  Your life is the medium upon which God has chosen to bear His word to the world.  God's word is to be written on your heart so that your life and your words are witnesses of the work of God and His goodness.  

How many people read the Bible in the United States?  There is an average of 4.4 bibles in the homes of Americans.  57% of Americans read their Bibles 4 or fewer times a year.  Only 19%  of church-going Christians claim to read their Bibles every day.  Of course, that is 19% of people who go to church, and there are only 40% of Americans who claim to go to church weekly.

Most people in the United States, and even more in the rest of the world, do not read what God has said to them in the Scriptures.  There is only one solution to this lack of knowledge of what God says. You!

People see you all the time.  They notice you and judge your words and actions constantly.  In split seconds people decide if they like you or not.  Will they see Christ in your life?  Will they realize that you are a loving person, who accepts them (but not their sins) because of Christ living within your life?  Are you the sacred medium of God's word that God designed you to be?

"Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." 2 Timothy 4:2

Looking Back

The story of Lot and his family running away from the destruction of Sodom is a well-known story.  Sodom was an evil and corrupt city and God decided to destroy it.  Lot lived in Sodom and even was a judge at the city gates. Angels came to the city and told Lot what was to happen.  The only righteous people found in the city was Lot, his wife, and two daughters.  If there had been only 10 righteous, God would have spared the city.

Lot and his family ran from the city, but they had been told not to look back.  As they fleed, Lot's wife turned around and looked back at Sodom.  The word for 'looked back' in the Hebrew means to consider, show regard to.  She didn't just look back to see what was happening, but she was considering the loss of her past life.  She regarded Sodom as a great personal loss.  She enjoyed her life there with people who were rebellious against God.  Her heart still yearned for her former life and God turned her into a pillar of salt.

We live in a city of Sodom.  This world is our city of Sodom.  A city full sin, corruption and rebellion against God.  This world of sin calls us to come and join its debauchery.  Immoral sex is considered normal.  Lying is rampant and you can not trust anyone's word.  Violence is in the news every day.  Hate, racism, adultery, blasphemy, dishonor, cruelty, and every kind of evil is found in this world we call home.

Each of us is called out of this world by God and we are not to look back.  Our home is with Jesus Christ, and we are to start living a saintly, heavenly life now.  We are to look forward to our eternal lives with God.  A life free from the bondage of sin and full of the blessings of God.

Do not look upon anything in this world with eyes of envy or desire.  Do not grasp anything from here to hold and keep.  Keep your eyes on the future. This world is our past.  All that is here is worthless.  It will all rot, decay and pass away.

Jim Elliot knew this truth.  He gave all in this world and looked only to the future glory God had prepared for him.  He said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Joseph, The Shadow

There are many foreshadows of the Messiah found in Scriptures.  Shadows that came before him and revealed who the Messiah was.  Joseph was one of those shadows.

Joseph was the beloved son of his father.
Jesus was the beloved son of his father, God.

Joseph was sent on a mission to his brothers
Jesus was sent on a mission to his brothers, the nation of Israel.

Joseph was despised, rejected and plotted against.
Jesus was despised, rejected and plotted against to have him killed.

Joseph was falsely accused and though innocent, was arrested, thrown into prison and suffered because of the sins of others.
Jesus was falsely accused and though innocent, was arrested and suffered punishment for the sins of the world.

Joseph was raised up from the prison and seated in glory on the throne of the Egyptian Kingdom.
Jesus was raised up from the dead and seated upon the throne of glory.

Joseph was the redeemer of Egypt and responsible for saving the entire nation from death.
Jesus is the Redeemer of all people and is the savior of the world from eternal death.

From Genisis to Revelation, Jesus Christ is found.

Photo Credit: Cross shadow by Marjorie Turner

The Blessing and Cursing of Israel

There is a law in this world that is as sure as the Law of Gravity.  Those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed.  This law has held true throughout history because it is a promise of God.

Four thousand years ago God spoke to Abraham, a man of faith who left his family and country behind so that he could follow the leading of God.  God promised Abraham, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse...." Genesis 12:3a

Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Rome where the greatest kingdoms on earth, but they could not escape the promise God gave to Abraham.  Egypt at one time was the worlds greatest empire, but they oppressed the children of Abraham.  The Hebrews were slaves to the Egyptians until they were led out of Egypt by Moses.  It was at this time that Egypt, the most powerful nation of its time, collapsed to never rise again to be a world power.

Great Britain had become a refuge for the Jews of the world.  They were not persecuted as they were in many other countries of Europe.  They were able to prosper, while in other countries they were limited in what occupations they could have and their property could be legally stolen.  Great Britain had colonies all over the world.  It was the most expansive empire in all of world history.  Then the British reversed their position on the Jews people. They turned their backs on the Jews who were fleeing the Holocaust.  Suddenly this great empire collapsed to virtually nothing.

The country that came to the aid of the Jews was The United States of America.  They welcomed the Jews and became their greatest refuge and protector.  Because of them blessing the Children of Abraham, The United States became the greatest world power of its time.

When God speaks, it is surer than any laws or facts that we can know.   Take any promise found in His Word and believe it with all of your heart. You can trust it with your life.

Photo Credit: Nordhausen 5 by Louise Palanker

The Cornerstone of Life

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus and the twelve disciples sat down for the Passover Seder.  They ate together and talked about what would happen soon.  Following tradition, at the end of the meal, they would end by singing songs. 

The songs they would sing were from the Psalms and the last of these which were sung was Psalm 118.  In the psalm is found these words, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;" Psalm 118:22

Jesus was that cornerstone.  He was despised and rejected.  His own people abhorred him so much that they had him executed on the cross.  That one man was so hated that they ended his life in the most painful and humiliating way they knew.  He hung naked for hours nailed to a cross for every to see.  They spat on him, mocked him and laughed at his shame. 

Today people still reject him.  People make jokes about him and laugh at the thought of Jesus being God.  Images of him are spat upon, urinated on, destroyed and burned in effigy.  The hate for Jesus has not diminished but has spread.  We are no different today than the Jews of Jesus' time.

Yet he is the cornerstone of all the world.  A cornerstone is the foundational block around which a building is built. It is used as a guide to make a building square and true.  The cornerstone was essential to making a strong building that would last.

If we are to have a strong life full of what is true, we need to have Jesus as the cornerstone of our lives.  Kings and queens recognized him as the cornerstone and have bowed down to him as lord of their lives.  Men and women throughout history have recognized how essential Christ is and have followed him.  Those who rejected Jesus and ignored the love he holds out to everyone will spend eternity in the fires of Hell.

Jesus must become our cornerstone.  All we do, say and see today must be built upon the foundational cornerstone of Jesus Christ.

Photo Credit: Beth Israel Menorah Institute Euterpe Cornerstone by Infrogmation of New Orleans

When Darkness Falls

In Scripture, darkness is a symbol of evil and the light is a symbol of goodness and of God.  When the evil in the world occurs, darkness is prevailing and bringing hate, destruction, and death.

Darkness can not drive out the light.  If you have a sunny day outside, you can not take a flashlight-like device which shines darkness and shine it to make things disappear into a patch of night.  Darkness is not something you can create by adding anything.  You can only make darkness by taking away the light.

The heart of man is the same.  Everyone's heart has darkness in it.  We have all sinned.  We all have done evil. We all have deceitful hearts which want their own way.  Some are darker than others but we all possess that darkness to some degree.

There is only one cure for the darkness in our hearts and that is the light of God.  Everywhere there is evil, the only permanent cure is found in Jesus Christ who said in John 8:12 "...I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Every dark act of every individual in the world starts with the heart.  Lust dwells in the heart of man. Hate dwells in the heart of man.  Every kind of evil dwells in the heart of man.  "For out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Matthew 15:19

You can take away guns, take people to court and even put them behind bars but the darkness will still abide in their hearts.  The only way to cure the evil actions of people is to cure their heart by driving out the darkness of evil.  Only Jesus Christ can change a heart.  Only Jesus is the cure because only he is the light of the world.

Until we all recognize Jesus as the light of the world, we will always have the darkness of evil in the world.

Photo Credit: When Darkness Falls by Ghetu Daniel