C.S. Lewis (from Reflections on the Psalms) provides an amazing perspective on why we should desire to praise Jesus, the Lover of our souls:
"I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are, the delight is incomplete till it is expressed."
It is written in Zephaniah 3:17 that,
"The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing."
He expresses His love and enjoyment for you by rejoicing over you with singing! How will you express your praise for Jesus today?
-Putting thought to paper (or blog) is an amazing thing to do. It takes a lot of effort but bears rich rewards if you can apply reason to reality to find wisdom. In fact, much like praying before a God who knows you perfectly, writing your thoughts out helps in the process of obtaining wisdom by exposing hypocrisy in your thought processes. The best way to find wisdom is to ask questions and discover certain principles that never change. Once you've found those principles, you have an immutable foundation upon which to build your life. This foundation leads to a strong conscience and character and a hatred of deceit.
-A friend writes concerning the scriptures: "Okay, whatever. I'm done talking about the Bible because I don't know anything from it. I am useless."
My response: "That's foolish to say lil' sister! Ask me for scriptures for proof instead of lambasting yourself. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions! You won't gain wisdom by denying your creation as a daughter of God, made in His image!"
-A question I asked on Facebook: "How does gay marriage infringe upon our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Does another person's marriage take away your ability to live life as you see fit?"
A friend writes: "I feel that if our nation was to legally endorse gay "marriage" then the judgment of our heavenly father would be upon the whole nation."
My response: "Doesn't the judgment of God fall upon people for every sin? Does God deem one sin as more worthy of eternal justice than another? Doesn't our allowance of abortion as a country place us under God's judgment already? We are either under judgment already or we are not."
(The picture above is an illustration intended to reveal conceit and is not in alignment with my beliefs)
Another friend writes on this topic: "A gay man thinks the same as a straight man. Therefore no limitation [on marriage] should be made. But what about those with a mental disability that could cause harm to oneself or another? Is it okay then to have limits?"
My response in part: "Who determines mental disability? Even mentally disabled people can be wise and make proper decisions. I know plenty of mentally enabled people who make incredibly destructive choices. Wisdom is not constrained by one's ability to think but rather by one's ability to have empathy towards others. Mentally disabled people I have known are some of the most loving people I have ever met."
-A third friend ask how I got on the topic and I said: "[My reason is] anger over the conduct of judgmental Christians who would rather judge their unbelieving neighbor instead of loving their enemies as God loved them when they were His enemies!"
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Every morning, I stand guard in front of the high school and observe what is happening. For a hectic thirty minutes, parents, students and visitors all converge on one entry point into the school while navigating the dangers of one of the most busy streets in Escondido. I see the faces of hundreds of those who are young and old, of every race and almost every creed and get an intimate glimpse into their personal lives for the slightest of moments. I see suffering and sadness, happiness and joy, laughter, lethargy and disgust. Sometimes, I see occupants crying.
Often, I see parents and their children fighting intensely with one another only to pull up to the curb, open the door and go about their day as if everything is all right. The mask goes up and the defenses are fortified. The fake smile waxes brilliant or the stoic face buries the pain. Yet, the eyes are the gateway to the soul and at these times I consider my brief glimpse and wonder at the pain. To know the fullness of its depth would be too great for me to bear.
The pain I feel when I see the outward appearance of a person is nothing compared to the pain God knows when He looks at the heart. The pain I see is for but a moment, but the pain God sees is intimate and perfect in understanding and depth. He did not shy away from it or wring His hands in despair when He encountered it. From His throne in the heavens, He looked upon His lost sheep scattered to the four corners of the earth and it did not please Him that they would be lost and suffer forever. Thus, He gave us His Son to come to the earth and experience our agony and the shame of our sin in order that He might defeat it and bury our sadness in the overwhelming joy of eternal life that He alone can lead us into.
There is hope at the end of the tunnel. We see it as a dim light and know that we will soon emerge into the brightness of joy perfected at the other end. For but a little while longer, we must endure this present suffering in order to share the peace and joy that the Lord has promised to those who will call Him Father. The light is always the most pronounced in the greatest darkness and that light is the light of the Lord. In His light there is hope for He is the King of the Universe! He is the God of this city! He is the King of this people! He's the Lord of this nation! He's the peace to the restless! He's the hope to the hopeless! He's the Light in the darkness!
"This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." ~1 John 5:3-5
After watching the video again and considering nature's power I recalled a passage from Hebrews 10:
26If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Our world is an unpredictable and terrifying place but it is only the dimmest shadow compared to the wrath of God and His burning anger towards sin. In a very real way, our Father in Heaven is infinitely more terrifying than "Mother Nature" and He demands justice for our sinful law-breaking. Thus, in Christ alone is there no room for fear for He only has taken our sins and our punishment upon Himself. He has eternally cast them into the lake of fire with our adversary Satan to be burned up forever. We find this hope in the prophet Micah's words in chapter 7 of the last book of the Old Testament:
18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
It is always good to put these truths to song so please listen to Audio Adrenaline's song about how God has forgotten all our sins and buried them on the ocean floor:
Psalm 100:5 - "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
The issue being discussed was whether or not it is irresponsible to be selling guns along with cars. It quickly turned into a discussion on how God's love corresponded with the need for peace-loving people to use guns. I think the reporter and car dealership owner got a little bit confused on what the actual interview was supposed to be about!
The greatest line was when the reporter says, "What would Jesus do? Would he carry a gun?" The dealer responds by saying, "They didn't have guns back then but I do believe He'd carry a sword if He needed it but He was so powerful He didn't need any weapon."
Christ's power came from wielding no other weapon but the Truth. He was so confident in His mission to save His children that He became sin for us and entered into the grave. In a very real way, Jesus did exactly what a man with a gun would do to protect his family. He took the fight to His enemy and defeated Him. He defeated Satan and led death into captivity. Thus, any Christian who desires to save life from the evildoer is scripturally taught to defend others even if it means using an AK-47 to do so!
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
