Category: Salvation

Which Fire?

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Let’s focus on two instances in the Bible where God speaks to us about a “fiery furnace.” Though both situations are ominous, they are infinitely different. One leads to a closer relationship with Jesus, and one leads to eternal damnation. A night and day difference is clear. The question is: of which fire will you be a part?

At one point in his book, Erasing Hell, Francis Chan contemplates the day-to-day implications of the reality of Hell. After discussing the conflict he undergoes while considering the destinies of passers-by, Mr. Chan explains about Hell,

    This is not just about doctrine; it’s about destinies. And if you’re reading this book and wrestling with what the Bible says about hell, you cannot let this be a mere academic exercise. You must let Jesus’ very real teaching on hell sober you up. You must let Jesus’ words reconfigure the way you live, the way you talk, and the way you see the world and the people around you. (p. 72)

Obviously, Francis Chan believes (as I do) that our Bible teaches a non-negotiable reality of a just God – Hell. Jesus once told the “Parable of the Weeds” to crowds of listeners. Later, the Lord took his disciples aside and explained the parable. Jesus made clear that the sower of the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, and the good seed represents true Christians. The weeds, however, are the sons of the devil. When the close of this world occurs, angels will gather in the “harvest.” Jesus soberly proclaimed in Matthew 13:40-42 (ESV), “Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Certainly, God is communicating through His Word a truth many would rather ignore. Nonetheless, it is apparent throughout Scripture that evildoers (without the redemption that comes through Jesus Christ) will be going to a place of misery. In the New Testament, we find Hell described as a place of fire, darkness, weeping, and unimaginable regret. In Matthew 25:41 (ESV), Jesus describes hell as a place of “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” In this context, Jesus explains that unrighteous people will go to this place of punishment; though it was originally designed as the final abode of the most wicked one.

Okay, so very sadly we discover that there is a fiery furnace to be endured by those who reject God’s salvation through Jesus and continue on in their sinfulness. This fiery furnace is one where pain is felt to a degree currently unknown to us. Crystal clear is the fact that this fire is one of which we do not want to be a part. We are given no hope in Scripture of assistance or comfort there.

Travel back to the Old Testament book of Daniel. Three young men – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – refuse to give in to the wicked decree of King Nebuchadnezzar, demanding that all people bow down to a golden idol he had built. These men decided to remain faithful to the one, true God. Knowing the punishment for disobedience was to be thrown into a fiery furnace; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego obeyed God still. Furious at their refusal to do his bidding, Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace overheated so that the flame of the fire killed even the men who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the furnace! Even so, the righteous young men were bound and thrown in.

Contrast what happens next to the description of Hell we have discussed already. In astonishment, King Nebuchadnezzar quickly rose and observed what was happening in the fire. In Daniel 3:24-25 (ESV) we read, “[King Nebuchadnezzar] declared to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’ He answered and said, ‘But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.'” Later, in verse 27 we discover, “The fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.”

Unbelievable! THIS fire did no harm to the lovers of the true God. In fact, Jesus Himself appeared in the fire with them! This was a furnace of testing – meant to refine and draw men closer to God – not to destroy them. We note particularly that the fire had no effect on their physical bodies, so that not a hair was singed, nor did even a faint smell of smoke arise. In this furnace, God is with us. This fire is not OUR end or THE end; it is part of the process of learning to trust Him. We come out of this one unharmed . . . and more confident in our God!

Of which fire do you want to be a part? The one of punishment and separation from God? Or the one of testing and drawing nearer to God? One continues on in hopelessness and suffering untold. The other is one in which Jesus walks with us and protects us. We come out to a glorious end! I think this fire is the one of which the prophet Isaiah spoke in 43:2-3 (NIV), “When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

If you choose the fire of testing and drawing nearer to God, you must choose Jesus. He is the only one who can cover your sin, because He took the payment for your wickedness at Calvary. Call on Him, and He will surely deliver you from Hell, and walk with you through the temporary, testing fires of this life.

Reference: Francis Chan, Erasing Hell (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2011)

What if the Sun Went Dark?

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We count on the rising of the sun. We take for granted that the moon will shine at night. We expect the stars to stay in place, twinkling through the darkness. Though humans may never ponder exactly why we hold these assumptions, the clear answer is the created order of our God. The Creator “gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night . . . the LORD of hosts is his name” (Jeremiah 31:35, ESV). Yes, He is the Lord of hosts! He is the Master of that which goes forth, including angelic beings and heavenly bodies.

Precisely because the order of the heavens is so regular and very much taken for granted, the words of Matthew 24:29 (ESV) ring forebodingly in our ears, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Imagine it. Whether we take these words of Jesus literally, figuratively, or as a combination of the two, Christ means for us to know that He is going to shake things up in a way as never before. The natural ordinances on which we had depended will suddenly evaporate, as God Almighty displays His power for judgment, accountability, and newness. The Boss of the sun and stars will demand the heavenly bodies change their course and usher in a cataclysmic shift to a new order. As radically as Jesus Christ can make a person’s spirit new by the power of His blood, so will he radically recreate the cosmos.

Make no mistake about it; the beginning of the miraculous change is marked by fundamental, unexpected feats and by a judgment that will shock unbelievers at their core. Matthew 24:30 (ESV) goes on to instruct, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Notice the word “mourn.” People from every part of the earth will wail as they realize – once and for all – that Jesus changes everything. Sadly, unbelievers will then know that God will be recognized for who He is, whether willingly in the present, or by mandate in the future. All the world will ultimately realize what believers now know – Jesus is in charge!

On that day, the clouds of heaven will not float peacefully against a blue sky. Rather, the clouds will escort the very Son of Man to the earth He has created. With power and glory untold, Jesus will begin the necessary task of judging wrong and rewarding right. He will return to do what He has promised – deliver His people from a twisted existence to enjoy Him forever.

Are you ready for the essential, inexplicable change about to occur in the heavens? When you see Jesus, will you grieve because you have not responded to His forgiveness, or will you rejoice in that power and great glory which will materialize just as He promised?

The shakeup is coming. The next time you stand in the light of that old sun, or dream upon a star, or delight in the moon’s glow; think about the words of Jesus Christ. He means what He says.

Chokehold or Mercy?

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Who has wronged you? What is owed to you? How badly have you been mistreated? These are questions on which we can focus. However, the outcome of human bitterness is never beneficial. In fact, the results of refusing to forgive are absolutely damning when viewed in the light of divine perspective. As we ponder the teaching of Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:23-31, the choice is, “Chokehold or mercy?”

In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. This seems reasonable to us, as the human heart cries out for justice. The king confronted a servant who owed him $6 billion in today’s terms (obviously, a debt beyond imagination in New Testament times). Since the servant could not rightfully pay his debt, the king ordered him and his family to be sold as payment for what was owed. Surely feeling devastated by the impending slavery, the servant humbly fell to his knees and begged the king to have patience with him so he could feebly work on paying the debt, thereby insuring freedom for his family in the interim. There could be no rational way for this servant to pay his debt by laboring even his entire lifetime. Knowing both the hopeless nature of the servant’s proposed plan and the servant’s humble request, the king graciously forgave the debt – no strings attached. Jesus tells us the king did so out of compassion.

We gloriously observe the analogy so far. We are the servant faced with the miserable reality of incalculable debt to our King! We have sinned against Him continually in thought, word, and deed. Our hearts are bent against Him from the start. We owe holy God everything, for we have wronged our Creator in every way. Though we were made to magnify Him, we have instead stolen from God by detracting from His glory. He calls for payment from us, but when He sees us fall to our knees and ask for His mercy, everlasting compassion flows from His heart. Aware it is impossible for us to pay this divine debt, He handles the matter Himself . . . and sets us free! (Know that He handled the matter by sending His own, holy Son to die on the cross for our sin so that justice is satisfied.)

So far, the parable is wonderfully assuring. As we continue, a terrible reality comes to the forefront. The very servant who was forgiven by the gracious king is presented with a debt owed to him – a meager $12,000 (compared to the $6 billion he had owed). When the forgiven servant was confronted with the fellow owing him, the forgiven servant grabbed hold of his debtor and began to choke him! Unreal! How could one who had been forgiven so much be so quick to condemn his fellow servants? Though the king had great reason to angry at the large debt owed to him, he dealt in a dignified way with his debtor. Here, we see the forgiven servant deal in raw, vindictive emotion. A chokehold accompanied his demanding words.

Keeping up with the parable, may we ask ourselves, “Have we ever been there?” Have we felt justified in nastiness and brutality of the physical or verbal kind because of what a fellow human has done to us? Perhaps $12,000 was much to the forgiven servant . . . but it was not nearly as much as the very life and freedom that was given back to him! Perhaps the wrong we have suffered seems intolerable to us, but it is not. It is nothing compared to the sinfulness that has been forgiven us – and the very life from God with which it has been replaced!

The debtor in the chokehold begged the forgiven servant to have mercy, but none was granted. As the second servant lay in prison, the forgiven servant was called to give account to the king. Upon the servant’s arrival, the king pronounced him wicked, saying, “I forgave you all the debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Matthew 18:32b-33, ESV) Consequently, the unmerciful servant was thrown to jailers to pay all his debt. This certainly appears as a metaphor to eternal punishment for those who owe God and are not abiding by His way of forgiveness.

Jesus is quick to inform us that we, too, will be thrown to eternal punishment if we do not forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ . . . from the heart (Matthew 18:35). The phrase “from the heart” is critical, because when we have actually accepted and rightfully recognize the miracle of our king’s forgiveness, we will certainly forgive others from the depths of our being. We will not reach out to choke them, for the magnanimous grace of God now abides in us. When we are saved, Christ comes to live in us. With God in us, we have available all the mercy necessary to forgive as we have been forgiven. If we cannot have mercy, we cannot have the God of all mercy living in us. If we can forgive, it is because the Spirit of forgiveness is really in us.

Now we go back to the original question, “Chokehold or mercy?” The answer reveals our eternal destiny.

Inside-Out God

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God has a magnificent ability to turn things inside out. How often it appears that evil prevails, when all the while God stands in full control, ready to unravel a plan that sets righteousness at the forefront. Working at times in paradoxes, God tells us that we need to give up our life to Him in order to save it (Luke 9:24). He assures us that though we suffer earthly discomfort and loss for His sake, we gain eternal, heavenly reward (Matthew 5:11-12). Most prominently, it is the message of the cross that is the very power of God! (I Corinthians 1:18)

Having studied God’s paradoxical workings for many years, none seemed to crystallize the overall hope we have in Him more than the one I discovered months ago. In preparing to share a Christmas sermon with people of all ages, I came across the famous Luke 2:7 (ESV), “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” We recognize the well-known problem Mary and Joseph faced as they looked to rightly comfort their newborn child, our Savior. Ironically, Jesus Christ – the Creator of the Universe – found no place to rest in one tiny spot on the face of the earth He created!

Ponder for a moment . . . Jesus is the Everlasting God. He chose to put on flesh and blood to come and save us from our sin (Hebrews 2:14-15). He entered the womb of a woman, even though He is infinite. Despite the fact that everything, everyone, and every place derives from Him and ultimately depends on Him for existence, Jesus limited Himself in this way to freely come to us in human flesh. After growing in Mary’s womb for one or two months, Jesus would have been about as big as your pinky fingernail! God . . . that big for our sake!

He came to this universe, to this particular solar system, to this specific planet, to one continent, to a humble town in the Middle East, to one simple house of lodging, and . . . He could not find a place there! Unbelievable! His parents then lay His tiny body in an animal feeding trough, because there was no place for Him in the inn.

May I introduce you to the irony of all ironies? In Revelation 20:11 (NIV), the apostle John is speaking of the vision he was given of Jesus in the future, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.” Did you catch that phrase about the earth and heavens? There was no place for them! When Jesus Christ finally steps to the throne of His judgment at the end of time as we currently now it, His awesome holiness will force even the earth and sky to flee; and when they run, they can find no place to be!

Though Jesus found no suitable location the first time He came to this time-space continuum, He will overtake all locations when He comes back again! The first time, He came as a Servant to bear the penalty of our sin (I Corinthians 5:21). The second time, He will come to judge all of creation and make it right. As Romans 8:21-22 tells us, even this old earth knows it needs remade by its Creator; it needs set free from the curse of sin. As Romans 8:23 and Philippians 3:20-21 informs, we, too, are waiting for Jesus to remake our pitiful bodies into glorious ones.

Jesus Christ will utterly turn things inside out. He who was despised by those He came to save and rejected at the outset to the point of resting in a feeding trough because there was no place for Him . . . this same Jesus will overtake all places in order that He may prepare them for His redeemed. Remember John 14:2 (NASB, emphasis mine), “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”

If you have not repented of your sin and yielded your life to Jesus, take no comfort in a situation that makes it appear God has no place. No, friend, please understand He rightfully owns all places, and He is coming back to make that clear. If you do now walk with Your Savior, Jesus, take heart! He Who had no place, will take all places, and we shall walk with Him unhindered throughout the world He made!

A Deep Greeting

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The New Testament book of Philippians is known as a letter of encouragement and joy. Ironically, the apostle Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned in Rome. He opens the book by addressing his listeners as “the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi” (Philippians 1:1, NASB).

Before we delve into the beautiful depths of that greeting, consider the memory Paul had of his founding of the church at Philippi. We read of Paul’s first visit there in Acts 16. After sharing the Gospel and casting an evil spirit out of a young girl, Paul and Silas were persecuted by the authorities and thrown into jail. (Yes, in doing the will of God we can find ourselves in challenging circumstances!) During their ordeal in prison, Paul and Silas chose to worship the God who is bigger than our trials. They sang and praised God after having been beaten with rods and placed in stocks. Our very real God chose to shake the foundation of the prison house and set His servants free. (And yes, God intervenes in the tangible circumstances of life!)

The city of Philippi, then, no doubt brought to the surface many emotions for Paul. he remembered severe and physical persecution on the heels of service to the Lord. He remembered, too, an irrepressible joy that pervaded the very place of pain in which he had resided. Paul surely smiled as he recalled singing to Jesus with a bruised back and restrained in a dark place. The smile arose from a heart that had come to understand the inexplicable joy that erupts when a person chooses to place his life in the protection of Jesus Christ. Chains or no chains – discomfort or comfort – Paul and Silas were shielded by the Savior who lives in their hearts. Defying what circumstantial evidence dictates, the Holy Spirit delivers protection incomprehensible. Trust bubbles over. Joy outruns pain.

Fast forward ten years to the early AD 60’s. Now Paul is imprisoned in Rome under the general persecution of Nero. As a prisoner, he is writing to the church of Philippi where he was ten years ago. Armed with the memory of God’s faithfulness in that Philippian jail a decade earlier, Paul greets his friends this way, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” A deep salutation it is! We Christians today need to claim it as our own. Though we do not live in Philippi, we are the saints in Christ Jesus who are in (insert your own town).

What exactly is a saint? The Greek word behind “saint” here is a word that could be alternately rendered “holy one.” We are saints because we are “set apart for God’s purposes” (the essential meaning of holy). In other words, we are different – and not simply for the sake of being different. We are peculiar because we have been forgiven and made new by the death and life of Christ Jesus. We operate counter to the dark ways of the world. We take the path largely untrod. Our very countenance is noticeably and beautifully strange to the unredeemed, as the light of Jesus Christ shines in us. We operate with different motivation, out of gratefulness and adoration for a merciful God. We are saints, and no one can make a saint but Jesus! Hence, Paul proclaims, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus.”

This point cannot be overemphasized. I am not holy because of what I do; I am set apart because of Him to Whom I belong! Since I am “in Christ Jesus,” I am different. I am in Him; He surrounds me with His presence. As a child in His arms, I rest. As a warrior with Him as my shield, I enter battle. Wherever I am, Christ Jesus is with me, encircling me with His power, and encompassing me with His faithful love.

Since I am “in Christ Jesus,” nothing can touch my life that does not first touch Him! Why were Paul and Silas okay in the Philippian jail? They were surrounded by Jesus! Paul knew nothing invaded His life without first passing through the plan and love of Jesus. Jesus knows our limits and knows the ways in which we need refined. If we are in Him, we have nothing to fear.

Notice, too, these are the “saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” Is God really with you in the home in which you live? On the road where you walk? In the office where you work? In the hospital where you recover? In the town in which you dwell? Yes! You are in Christ Jesus, and He is quite literally with you geographically. Christ surrounds you, and He also surrounds the place where you are. He is Lord of all locations! (Psalm 24:1)

We are safe no matter where we are or how we are. We are set apart for God’s purposes as we live in Christ Jesus. We must – like Paul – proceed forward in the high calling of God. Experiences and memories of imprisonment did not thwart Paul. Hard times did not dissuade him. As he sat imprisoned in Rome, he wrote those precious words to us, the saints in Christ Jesus who are in (insert town here).

Pondering Stephen Hawking’s Statements

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I am pondering the profoundly sad conclusions of Stephen Hawking, the brilliant physicist. Although God has given to him a valuable brain, Mr. Hawking has chosen to disregard his Creator and, therefore, His Creator’s unfathomable plan.

As reported by Liz Goodwin on May 16, 2011, at “The Lookout,” a Yahoo News Blog, Stephen Hawking said, “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” Given all of his scientific musing, I cannot understand why Hawking does not recognize that computers are always the result of design, and so the metaphorical “computer brain” must also be the consummation of design. Humans contrive computers and build them of earth’s content, and the devices stand devoid of soul or consciousness. God created people and the universe out of nothing, and He deposits in His grand creatures, humans, a living soul. A computer shows similarities to a brain (although it is far less superior than the human organ) precisely because the CPU is designed by people whose minds are made in the image of God. God created human minds, and His creatures make computers. Hence, we trace God’s hand in the technology. Computers being the obvious result of intricate human planning, why cannot Hawking see that human brains must also be the result of intricate divine planning?

Of course there is not an afterlife for broken down computers . . . because there is no “now” life for computers. Mankind alone received at creation the “breath of life” from God. However, the “human computer,” as Hawking may like to refer to it, has life now. People (and their minds) were made to live. God has prepared for them an afterlife. Evidenced throughout history is man’s innate desire to live. Always, people have generally had a great aversion to death. Carlos Eire (2010) quotes Pierre Chaunu,

    The death of any human being is an outrage; it is the outrage par excellence, and all attempts to diminish this outrage are contemptible, no more than opium for the masses . . . Death is the unacceptable. The annihilation of one memory cannot be compensated for by the existence of the universe and the continuance of life. The death of Mozart, despite the preservation of his work, is an utterly evil thing. (p. 1)

Even the atheist philosopher, Bertrand Russell, admitted to a need for “safety” regarding annihilation. As Eire (2010) also quotes Russell, “Brief and powerless is Man’s life; on him and all his race the slow, sure doom falls pitiless and dark. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built” (p. 14). Eire then adds his own thought, “Safety in despair: if that is not a leap of faith, nothing else is” (p. 14).

We humans long for eternity because we were made by an eternal, transcendent God. The Bible declares, “[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV). Having been made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), we have a slight grasp on eternity – we sense it and we long for it. When we call on the God of the Bible for salvation, He grants to us eternal life. While we cannot yet know the experiential reality of that fact in its fullness, we begin to operate in a hope that “blows our mind.” One day, when we stand in the presence of our Creator, the perfect will come, and the partial will be done away (I Corinthians 13:10). We will begin to see clearly the amazing, true nature of eternity. For now, we trust the “imperishable seed” that has been planted in us through the Word of God (I Peter 1:23, NASB).

As far as heaven being a “fairy story for people afraid of the dark,” I am not so much scared into Heaven, as I crave what I know is the greater reality. Just because the idea of everlasting life in a perfect place seems too good to be true does not make it untrue. In this life we often say, “[This or that] is too good to be true” because this world is, in fact, a sinful mess. We find ourselves held within a realm of brokenness and incompletion because of sin. We must believe in and live for a home of righteousness that is infinitely greater than the present universe in its collective state of rebellion against God in order to realize what is actually “not too good to be true”! Ironically, genuine fear should come into the picture only when dealing in damning reality, not made-up tales. What should justly haunt humans is the very real existence of Hell, a place of complete separation from God and all that is right. Heaven is not a fairy tale, and Hell is to be feared.

When Stephen Hawking was asked what humans should do to lend meaning to their lives since we are all destined to power-down like computers, Hawking said, “We should seek the greatest value of our action.” This is the point that confuses me the most. If, as Hawking posits, nothing of our existence survives the death of the body, the value at its highest point evaporates. For, no matter what earthly good someone achieves – whether medical advances for the sick, accruement of great wealth for family, the provision of more entertainment for bored masses, the enhancement of personal rights, or any other earthly thing – all of this comes to naught quickly for both the one who acts and the one who receives. The paradigm of the atheistic person leaves no room for anything lasting in the case of any individual person. The “greatest value” of any action amounts to nothing in just moments, hours, days, or years.

On the other hand, the simplest of obedient acts for the sake of Jesus Christ and His kingdom leads to the proliferation of eternal things. When I deal in eternal investments – prayer, human conversations, study of the Bible, kindness to others, generosity reflecting God, teaching others of His Truth, etc. – I get a return on my action that is currently unimaginable to me. The greatest value is not any finite amount, but rather an infinite reality. Matthew 6:19-20, II Corinthians 4:16-18, and I Peter 1:4 are just a few of the places in God’s Word where the reality of eternal investment is made clear.

Stephen Hawking has great knowledge of math and science. Sadly, he has suppressed the truth. I say this standing on the authority of the Word of God. Romans 1:18 makes clear that those who reject God and His Gospel are those who actively “suppress” or “hold back” the Truth. Truth is in front of us, revealed generally, through all God has made (Romans 1:20); and it is available especially to all who cry out for it, as Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). He stands ready with His Word to answer those who will quit pushing back, with tired arms, the obvious Truth. I pray even Stephen Hawking responds to His Holy Creator and is made new by Jesus and fit for Heaven – the place that is not too good to be true (II Corinthians 5:17 and Revelation 21:1-5).

Reference: Carlos Eire, A Very Brief History of Eternity (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010)

Swordtails and God’s Sleeve

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When I was in middle school, I had an aquarium full of tropical fish. One of my favorite types of fish was the orange swordtail. The difficult part of adoring these particular creatures is that their young are born live, and the adult fish eat them. In order to protect the precious little baby fish, I would have to separate the fry in a rectangular net on one corner of the tank. Catching the tiny, agile babies is not easy.

The fact is that I had to get personally involved in the protection of the new swordtails. When one of the females was pregnant, I knew I had to get off the school bus quickly and run into the house to check on the situation each afternoon. I certainly could not design an eye-catching poster to hold up in front of the aquarium that warned, “Swim behind the castle little fish . . . swim!” Fish cannot read. It was pointless to kneel down in front of the tank and yell loudly, “Hide behind the plant . . . hurry!” Fish cannot hear us. The only way to help the swordtail babies was for me to roll up my sleeve and dip my arm into the sometimes algae-ridden water full of slimy fish and all their waste. Yes, if I was to save the fry, I had to invade their world.

Similarly, God crashed into our world to save us. When we were overcome by our sin and had no way to escape the curse, our God entered this space/time continuum. We are helpless without His personal intervention. He rolled up His sleeves, and entered a world of pain, sorrow, and mess to rescue us by His own hand. He put on human flesh and endured all the discomfort and longing earthly life brings. Then – in one particular season of time – He suffered more spiritual, emotional, and physical pain than we could ever imagine, as He willingly took on the sin of the world at the Cross. With His own body – with His own being – He saved us.

The great prophet Isaiah asked, “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1, NASB) What poignant words! What critical consideration! All of life boils down to this . . . do we believe the message of the God who revealed His own arm in the mission of saving us? This question is paramount, for its answer differentiates biblical Christianity from all other religions and worldviews. Whereas the various religions of the world involve the work of humans to one degree or another in their salvation, true Christianity says that God saves – and the rolling up of our own sleeves is useless. His holy, strong arm is the one that redeems us from the pit of sin and hopelessness.

I can see the devil and the powers of Hell shaking in their boots as God Almighty begins to roll up His sleeve! Jesus, the God-Man, comes to redeem His people! As the tiny swordtails were placed safely in the net by my own hand, so we are drawn out of the kingdom of darkness and placed safely in the kingdom of God by God’s own hand.

The question is, “Do you believe this message?” The Hebrew word for believe in Isaiah 53:1 is the root from which we get the widely used term, “Amen.” Belief means that we truly agree. We stake our very life on it. We hear the message and we say, “So be it!” It is right! The arm of our strong and gracious Jesus has been revealed! When He rolls up His sleeve, I am safe!

Why Doesn’t God Do Something?

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I had the recent privilege of sitting with a young lady after I had preached the Word of God at a women’s event. The woman was crying, and she told me she was angry. After having endured the drug overdose death of a friend and having witnessed the neglect and disability of children, she wanted to know, “Why doesn’t God do something?” She added, “Why does God not hear the cries of people?”

We sat for some time as I listened and shared. Our productive time ended in sincere prayer and led me to think through more thoroughly the Bible’s clues to what God is doing; because, my friends, He is doing something, and He will do something. Our human inability to see and understand it all does not negate the reality of a supernatural God’s working.

First, God sees what happens. “The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understand all their works, ” declares Psalm 33:13-15 (NASB). God is fully aware of the good and bad deeds of all people. He is cognizant of every pain suffered, every injustice endured, every sin committed, every oversight, every evil scheme, and every disappointment. He takes it all into account. In fact, I was recently encouraged while reviewing Bible passages I have memorized. I came to Ephesians 3:17 (NASB) and was reminded it is God’s desire that “Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Christ dwells in my heart! He is right there in the mix with all the emotions I experience! Of course He knows exactly how I feel. Of course He is paying special attention to all the feelings of His people! He understands the works of all people, and He dwells particularly in the midst of His children’s hearts.

Second, God is waiting to bring final judgment. Although it does not appear that God is correcting wrongs and answering desperate pleas, He will act one day with finality and accuracy. For now, He is waiting because “[He] is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9, NASB). God’s judgment of the horror of sin and its effects is so terrible, so final, and so unimaginable that He wants to ensure all have had a chance to repent and turn to Him. Please do not be disturbed by the unimaginable nature of His judgment, for you know the indescribable horror resulting from sin throughout the centuries. The judgment is commensurate with the gravity of sin. Somehow, God’s waiting provides a way for all to have opportunity to repent before facing God’s wrath.

Third, the judgment lies on the other side. The essence of Biblical Christianity is faith. Hebrews 11:6 (NASB) proclaims, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Faith declares that God’s people will be rewarded – on the other side of death. Likewise, Revelation 20:13-14(NASB) states, “Death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Faith also declares that God’s enemies will be punished on the other side of death. While we reap natural consequences in part in this present world, precise and comprehensive judgment and reward takes place at another time.

Do you believe this? Can you affirm what Paul said in I Corinthians 13:12 (NASB), “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face”? Do you believe that the next world is the right world? (II Peter 3:11-13, Revelation 21:1-5) Do you believe that the God who made everything out of nothing actually has a New Heaven and a New Earth to follow an accurate and final judgment? Do you believe that the omniscient God of the universe can sort out the rights and wrongs of every human heart? Do you believe that He will serve justice because He is – by His very nature – just?

If you believe these things, then you will be most miserable unless you also believe that Jesus Christ stands waiting to absorb your guilt! As I counseled that sobbing young lady, allow me to tell you that you also can “throw your sin on Jesus, because He can handle it; you cannot!” II Corinthians 5:21 (NASB) says, “[God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Only an infinitely powerful and completely holy God can handle our sin. We cannot pay for it. We cannot hold it inside. If we do not take it to God now, then He will judge us later. Sin demands payment. An infinite, holy God can absorb that sin in one, finite moment of time (just as He did on the Cross). On the other hand, a finite, sinful human being could never pay for his or her own sin. A person would have to go on forever, in complete separation from God without ever finding rest or resolution for the sin problem. Hell is as logical as Heaven, and both lie on the other side.

God has done something, He is doing something, and He will do something. Trust the work of Jesus on the Cross two thousand years ago as payment for your sin, assist God in the mission to see others repent while we await the final judgment, and – finally – hope in the realities of the other side!

Rest, Not Religion

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Salvation is rescue
– not reward.

Heaven is given
– not earned.

Obedience is reaction
– not action.

God’s burden is easy
– not oppressive.

Worship is natural
– not forced.

Joy is relational –
– not conditional.

Forgiveness is real
– not fairy tale.

Jesus died for all your sin
– not just some of it.

He asks for all your heart
– not just most of it.

God gives rest
– not religion.

Talk to Him today
– not tomorrow . . . before it is too late.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)

Greater than a Fairy Tale

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If God brings us to Himself through the death of His Son, can you imagine what He does through the life of His Son, now that we are near? If God loved us enough to reconcile us to Himself while we were still in rebellious sin against Him, can you imagine what He will do for us now that we are on His side?

The questions above reflect the heart of God’s Word found in Romans 8:10 (NASB), “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” The words of this passage have on different occasions penetrated my mind and soul at least three times in the past few months.

Perhaps at times fearful we will be functioning in fairy-tale land if we hope too much, I believe followers of Jesus sometimes live far beneath His blessing because we do not digest His truth as He intended. The message is right there in Paul’s letter to the Romans: God saved us from His wrath by Jesus’ death, and He shall surely deliver us in all ways imaginable by Jesus’ life. We need not be afraid that this verse is too good to be true. After all, fairy tales are the result of human imagination flowing from a mind given by a God who has an unbelievable “end” to this “story” of life. In other words, we can only dream of great endings because we were made in the image of the all-creative God who has planned from the foundation of the earth a real and tangible culmination to history that defies the highest expectation of limited, human reasoning. Fairy tales do not discourage me, but rather remind me that we were originally intended to “think big.” The momentous point to remember is that the God behind our creation is actually able to complete His plan for reality! Human fairytales are feeble, short-sighted shadows pointing to an Almighty God who works in the stuff of actuality and truth.

Friends, stand on the promise that “we shall be saved by His life.” Jesus’ death was so powerful it brings sinners close to a holy God. How much more powerful is the life of Jesus! For one, we know that as He lives, He intercedes for us. Hebrews 7:25 (NASB) proclaims, “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” The sacrifice of Jesus’ life and blood paid the cost for our nearness to God, and now that we love our King, Jesus is so pleased to present us continually to the Father for help and deliverance.

We also know that the resurrection of Jesus has caused us to be “born again to a living hope” (I Peter 1:3, NASB). As a child comes out of a mother’s womb and is surrounded by air he must now breathe, so Christians emerge from sinful darkness and are now enveloped by the hope of God they must now take in.

Do we face difficulty and disappointment? Certainly we do. However, do we have God’s promise for ultimate deliverance? Absolutely, we do! As surely as spring follows winter – and as surely as Jesus’ resurrection followed His death – that is how surely our deliverance will follow difficulty and disappointment.

If God loved us when we were rotten and staunchly turned against Him, will He not love us now that we have run into His arms? If God thought us valuable enough to send His Son to die, does He not count us valuable enough to benefit from His Son’s life? This metanarrative – this overarching plan of God for the universe – turns out greater for followers of Jesus Christ than our minds can comprehend.

Actually, it does not just “turn out” that way; it exceeds what we can imagine in this present moment, because not one circumstance is lost in the working of God. Jesus, the Son of God, is all-knowing. He lives and intercedes for us. He does not miss one thing. Not one. As He goes to the Father on our behalf for every great and infinitesimal circumstance of our lives, the Holy Spirit moves in ways sometimes obvious and often mysterious to save us completely. We are being shaped into who we need to be for God’s glory and to shine in that beautiful Heaven of His. This is no fairy tale, but a true account of the God in charge of reality.

Nasty Doesn’t Stop God

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Selfish and hateful brothers, a woman from an idolatrous nation of child sacrifice, and a prostitute – these characters are all found in the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah. Can God use anyone or anything for His glory and His plan? The answer comes back a resounding “Yes, He can!”

Grace is unmerited favor; it is blessing straight from God that is in no way earned or deserved. Through the human lineage of Jesus, God is demonstrating His unfathomable willingness to work with people the world views as most repugnant. He highlights His mysterious motivation to work through pitiful and devious people in order that His salvation may emerge at the forefront and do what only a holy God full of grace is able to do – change pitiful and devious people!

The snapshot of Jesus’ ancestry holds forth to us a picture of the hope we have in God despite our sinfulness. Matthew 1:1-2 (NASB) says, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.” Immediately we see in the list of early ancestors that Abraham fathered Isaac, who fathered Jacob, who fathered Judah and his brothers. Stop there and consider Judah and his brothers and to what evil their envy led them. These are the men who threw their own brother, Joseph, into a pit after contemplating the possibility of murdering him outright. These are the ones who then sold Joseph as a slave to a band of traders.

Have we ever been jealous of someone as these brothers were? Have we ever wished or acted evil on another? Have we ever abandoned someone we should have helped? Have we ever been a part of watching someone – even a loved one – venture into a bad place? If so, we can symbolically place ourselves in this part of the genealogy of Jesus.

Let us now examine Matthew 1:5 (NASB), “Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.” Remember Rahab? She was a public prostitute of the Canaanites who decided to believe in the one, true God of the Israelites. And what about Ruth? Though she chose to go to Isreal and worship the real God of the universe; she had been a citizen of Moab, a nation that worshipped the false god, Chemosh, and offered children as sacrifices to that idol.

Have we ever committed sexual sin in action or in thought? Have we ever remained among idols of our own making? Have we ever not honored other adults or children as we should? Have we devalued humans? If so, we can identify with this section of the lineage of Jesus.

God did not abandon humanity when we ridiculously rebelled against Him to our own demise. Though we have sinned against our holy Creator, He has determined to give us a second chance. He sent Jesus even though the God-Man had to come in human flesh. God did not allow the ugliness of sinful hearts to stop Him from offering salvation. It is as if He stepped back from the conglomeration of misery and selfishness and said, “I still choose to save those who believe; I will not abandon who I have made, but I will offer salvation.”

God said to Joseph about the Messiah, “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21, NASB). Thank you God, for sending you Son! Thank you, Holy Spirit, for working tangibly in this world to effect your plan!

Let us no more say that genealogies are boring. The lineage of Jesus is a reminder of God’s willingness to work with the nasty world. Our responsibility is to react to His work on our behalf. We need to believe and let God save us through the sacrifice of Jesus and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. No matter the depth or nature of human sin, God can redeem!

Imperishable Seed Beyond the Boundary of Science

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My recent trip to the local library led to my finding a new non-fiction book, “Long for this World,” by Jonathan Weiner. I have not read the volume, only its inside front cover. The book’s subtitle is “The Strange Science of Immortality,” and the last sentences of its main description are “could we live forever? And if we could . . . would we want to?”

The pursuit of immortality has always intrigued mortals precisely because we are just that – mortal. Created by an eternal God, we long for the everlasting. Having had death introduced to us with the commencement of human sinfulness, we most naturally long to regain what has been lost – eternal life. Those of an atheistic bent seek immortality by walking the path of science, hoping for continued advancements right up to the point of deathlessness. The problem is that science can only investigate the natural world, which – for the astute Christian – hints persistently at the attributes of the biblical God (Romans 1:20). However, the natural world alone contains not the solution for death. For the obliteration of ultimate human demise, we must turn to the supernatural. Science is limited by God; its boundaries are set in such a way that it cannot fix the human spirit. Only the Maker of both natural and supernatural things can reach into the depths of the unseen spirit of men and women, and only He can do work there. Death comes to the natural body because death has come to the spirit. The spirit must be fixed for the body to live.

Enter the glorious words of I Peter 1:23-25 (NIV), “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you.” As God’s Word proclaims, not only are we as fleeting as the grass in the field, but our glory is as transitory as the flower’s blossom. One day we see it, and the next day it is withered. In stark contrast stands the mighty Word of God that literally endures forever.

The key for our help comes from verse twenty-three, which declares that we can be born again of a seed that never perishes. Inside a person, an eternal seed of life can be planted through the Word of God that has the power to carry a mortal over the chasm of earthly death into the astonishing reality of life everlasting. Moreover, this precious, indescribable Word is very close. Peter declares that this living and enduring Word of God “is the word which was preached to you” (I Peter 1:25, NIV). The Word that enables a sinful, dead spirit to be reborn into a righteous, living spirit is the Word about which you are reading right now! God has not kept this Word from us, but He has sent it to us!

The Bible is God’s written Word, and Jesus Christ is God’s living Word. At this very moment, He has come to you to deliver the incorruptible seed of life. A human spirit is dead because of sin; it needs a living seed planted in it in order to live and last forever. No string of scientific breakthroughs can ever blast through the impenetrable wall of mortality; only the eternal Word of God, Jesus, can carry a mortal past death to life.

Jesus said, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!” (Revelation 1:18, NIV). Jesus begins alive. We begin dead. We are born into corruption by our very nature. Jesus is God, and so “Before the mountains were born or [He] gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, [He] is God” (Psalm 90:2, NASB). Jesus was alive before He came to earth, and He rose from death after bearing the penalty for our sin. Notice God’s Word says Jesus is the Living One, that He was physically dead for a brief period, and that He is presently alive forever and ever.

Jesus can plant the imperishable seed of His salvation in us. Then, we can follow Him in this world. Ultimately, we can follow Him in His pattern of life after death. One amazing day, we will be able to stand with Him in Heaven and say, “I was dead, but now I am alive forever because of Jesus!”

Back to the inside cover description of “Long for this World.” The last question is, “And if we could [live forever] . . . would we want to? In a world that is itself crying out for redemption and restoration (Romans 8:20-23), I believe we realize we would not want to live forever in the present state of things; with disaster, disease, and disappointment abounding in every direction. “This world” needs changed, just as we do. We long to be immortal, but in a perfect world. The flawless world is coming, my friends. In the same way that we are made imperishable – by the Word of God – this creation will be rendered right. II Peter 3:5, 7, 12-13 (NIV) tells us, “Long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water . . . By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men . . . That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

There it is . . . crystal clear. The Word of God brings an imperishable seed to humans and to the universe. Immortality is not so much a “strange science” as it is the loving work of a redeeming God. Our supernatural God blasts through the natural to deliver to us immortality and an unbroken cosmos, something science can never do. Though you may have enjoyed or endured many science classes, know also that the Word of God has come to you this day, offering an imperishable seed!