I overheard a song yesterday in a restaurant and commented to my friend, "Do you know what band that is? Who is the artist? It sounds like Beck." Much to my surprise, my friend pulled out his mobile phone and fired up "Shazam," an app which in seconds was able to discern the song amid the chatter and noises of a crowded restaurant! Will the modern conveniences of technology ever cease? The song we heard above the background was "Lost Cause" by Beck. Listening to the song made me feel good, but when I read the lyrics later it made me sad. It is a tragic message that resonates in a fallen world.
The refrain goes, "Baby you're lost; baby you're lost; baby you're a lost cause. I'm tired of fighting; I'm tired of fighting - fighting for a lost cause." From a human perspective, we have all known people who needed help beyond themselves but have refused it. It can be disheartening and even devastating when people are ensnared in addictions or behaviours that are killing them and it can feel like there is nothing we can do about it. As Beck sings "Lost Cause," I can feel the despair in his voice from the depths of his soul. It's like a person who invests everything in a relationship just to experience pain and betrayal and finally walks away, wounded and broken.
It is easy for people to look at other people like a "lost cause" not worth fighting for, but that is not how God views people. Jesus Christ came and laid down His life to save lost sinners. Nothing is too hard for Him! Therefore there is no one on this planet who is a lost cause. They may be fallen, deceitful, filled with hate and bitterness, and have committed great wickedness. But Jesus is able to save to the utmost all who repent and trust in Him! For the God who created the universe and all that exists, nothing is too hard - not even wayward, foolish, lost men. People only seem lost causes when we have lost sight of God, His power, and love. Even a little faith in God is enough to move mountains.
There are many causes in the world. No person is a lost cause because Jesus not only has the power to find, but to save!
04 May 2013
01 May 2013
The Resurrected Life
What do you suppose is the best evidence of Jesus Christ's resurrection? The empty tomb? The historical evidence? The biblical accounts? While all of these are credible, there might be evidence that holds more sway than all these: the new life of a born-again believer. A transformed life through the power of the Holy Spirit is a divine revelation of God's love, power, and grace as our living Saviour Jesus Christ lives His life through us. People might discount the authority of scripture in ignorance. They may wrongly believe that the resurrection account was a fabrication. But they cannot long deny the transformation of a person by a real relationship with the living God.
Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory." Jesus is Immanuel, God with us clothed in human flesh. After His crucifixion, three days later Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many before His ascension. He chose to leave His disciples behind, but He did not leave them alone. He prayed the Father who sent the Holy Spirit to empower Christ's followers to be witnesses to glorify His name throughout the world. An empty tomb carved out of a rock still speaks, but living witnesses have a more powerful testimony still. Jesus affirmed in John 14:12: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."
How great is the work and calling of every Christian disciple! We are not worthy through our efforts, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Great is the scope of the need, hard are the hearts, blind are the eyes, and deaf are the ears. But our God shall supply all our needs. His strength is sufficient for us. He came to open the eyes of the blind, set the captives free, and raise the dead - and desires His work to continue through us! It is written in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." While on earth we are not yet perfected, but we are called to be faithful. We must be faithful to Jesus, His Word, be obedient to His commands, and love one another as He has loved us. We are called to abide in Christ and boldly hold forth the mystery of the Gospel revealed in these last days. We are unable, but God is able.
Let us pursue this high calling, that our Christ-led Spirit-empowered lives might provide the best evidence of Christ's life and love for the glory of God. Let us work with our hands what is good "...for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Praise His name for the gift of forgiveness, salvation, and the gifts He has given to men!
Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory." Jesus is Immanuel, God with us clothed in human flesh. After His crucifixion, three days later Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many before His ascension. He chose to leave His disciples behind, but He did not leave them alone. He prayed the Father who sent the Holy Spirit to empower Christ's followers to be witnesses to glorify His name throughout the world. An empty tomb carved out of a rock still speaks, but living witnesses have a more powerful testimony still. Jesus affirmed in John 14:12: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."
How great is the work and calling of every Christian disciple! We are not worthy through our efforts, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Great is the scope of the need, hard are the hearts, blind are the eyes, and deaf are the ears. But our God shall supply all our needs. His strength is sufficient for us. He came to open the eyes of the blind, set the captives free, and raise the dead - and desires His work to continue through us! It is written in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." While on earth we are not yet perfected, but we are called to be faithful. We must be faithful to Jesus, His Word, be obedient to His commands, and love one another as He has loved us. We are called to abide in Christ and boldly hold forth the mystery of the Gospel revealed in these last days. We are unable, but God is able.
Let us pursue this high calling, that our Christ-led Spirit-empowered lives might provide the best evidence of Christ's life and love for the glory of God. Let us work with our hands what is good "...for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). Praise His name for the gift of forgiveness, salvation, and the gifts He has given to men!
29 April 2013
God Hears When We Cry
"Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24
For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard."
Psalm 22:23-24
Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ have an everlasting, sure hope. The world loves to glorify the strong and mighty, those who have great fame and wealth. Nothing makes the people in the world as disillusioned as when they see their idols tumble down to earth from the pedestals men have created. People shake their heads in disgust when those rich with worldly things choose death over life to escape their pain. Give me the wealth of the sports hero, give me the fame of the most popular singer, grant me the power of the most influential political figure, says a dreaming man, and I shall better use it. What he does not understand is how money, fame, and power will rot him from within, and that he too would remain dissatisfied and empty with everything. Everything without God is nothing. It is man's darkest hour when he finally obtains the desire of his heart only to find it impotent to meet his real need. It was all a lie. What a man thinks will save him apart from Christ ends up dragging his soul to hell.
Unless a man has faith in the God who created all things, he has nothing. Can money save a man's soul? Can fame grant a man righteousness on the Day of Judgment? Is there any power greater than God's? One does not need to have live long on the earth before he faces troubles greater than himself. It is in Jesus Christ we find a God who is greater than any trouble we might face. Instead of despising our weakness, Jesus became flesh as we are. It is written of Him in 1 Timothy 3:16: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." He was greatly afflicted, and the Father hearkened unto His cries. Those who are born again by faith in Christ also have this consolation: when we are afflicted, God does not hide His face from us. When we cry out in our affliction to God, He hears us and will answer.
Do you know this comfort and peace that passes understanding? Most people of this world know much of suffering, but little of comfort. Money, fame, and power will all pass away, but those who trust in the name of the LORD will never be ashamed. The comfort provided by God is not temporal, but eternal. It does not numb and cloud the senses like alcohol, but sharpens them. Our blind eyes are made seeing through Christ's touch, and our hardened, stony hearts are made soft. We have in Christ a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and the Holy Spirit has been sent by God to indwell and empower all who believe the Gospel. Let us not be as Aragon in the Lord of the Rings, who gave hope to men but kept none for himself. Let us walk in this hope by faith in God, as truly as we have received it from Him. Let us fear the LORD and praise Him, for He has not hidden His face from us. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."
27 April 2013
Headed to Hell?
Years ago, my wife and I often went to San Diego Padres baseball games. I remember heading to Taco Bell before the game with our friend Josh Jordan and heading to our seats to watch Ken Caminiti, Tony Gwyn, Greg Vaughn, and Trevor Hoffman play ball. If the Padres were winning in the ninth inning and the game was close, Trevor Hoffman would make his way slowly to the mound as AC/DC's song "Hell's Bells" blared at full volume, the crowd erupting at the first bell toll. When the "Q" was full, the stadium was rocking! As exciting as it was to have Trevor close out a game, I found the lyrics everyone sang with happy faces disconcerting: "...You're only young but you're gonna die. I won't take no prisoners won't spare no lives, nobody's putting up a fight. I got my bell. I'm gonna take you to hell.
I'm gonna get ya, satan get ya! Hells Bells!" Speaking for myself, I don't want to go to hell, no matter how cool AC/DC makes it sound. It is no place any person should go, but it is the place of unspeakable horror and torment every human being is heading.
In Mark chapter 9, three times Jesus repeated for emphasis this description of hell: "...where their worm dies not, and their fire is not quenched." Hell is described in scripture as a place of torment in outer darkness where there is screaming and gnashing of teeth, a place created for Satan and his angels to be eternally punished for their rebellion. When Adam sinned, sin and consequently death passed to all men. The fruit of sin in this world is sorrow, pain, sickness, fear, crying, and death. Have you ever experienced these things personally? Then you can know for certain your life has been personally infected by sin: sin passed down from Adam perpetuated for generations, as well as sins you have committed. All die because all have sinned. Those horrible consequences are just a foretaste of what is to come if you die in your sins. A sin is anything we say, think, or do that is contrary to God's perfect, righteous standard. The righteous wages earned for a single transgression is death - not just the death of the body, but the eternal torment and destruction of the soul in hell.
God is not only a just God, but a gracious one. Because He loves mankind created in His image, He made a way for us to be saved from His wrath to come and hell. Not only that, but He has made a way through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us to go to heaven! Revelation 21:4-5 reads, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." God will one day destroy all hell, Death, and sinners in the Lake of Fire. He will create a new heavens and a new earth which God will rule in righteousness. Sin and all the symptoms of it - death, sorrow, and crying - will be wiped clean. It will be heaven because God will be there, and we will be with Him forever in glorified bodies like that of our risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.
In our natural condition, we are all heading to hell. It is a place of conscious, eternal torment separated from God. Revelation 21:8 warns, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." God does not want anyone to go to hell and perish. It is not his will for anyone even to die! Yet so great is His love for us, that He sent His Son to die to be a Saviour for all who will repent and believe. You may be headed to hell, but you can choose life through Christ! Satan is a liar, thief, and murderer from the beginning. Don't believe his lie that hell doesn't exist and if it does it is a party worth dying for. In the past decade there have been many concerts in crowded clubs that used the wrong pyrotechnics and led to many deaths. Those were no laughing matter. No one danced in the flames, singing to the music. The people screamed as they trampled each other to death in the choking smoke. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth, even ripping out of hair in sorrow! What regret, heartache, and nightmares! Such is the result of sin: it allures and tantalises but kills in the end.
Sin brings death. Choose life. Jesus freely offers His for yours.
In Mark chapter 9, three times Jesus repeated for emphasis this description of hell: "...where their worm dies not, and their fire is not quenched." Hell is described in scripture as a place of torment in outer darkness where there is screaming and gnashing of teeth, a place created for Satan and his angels to be eternally punished for their rebellion. When Adam sinned, sin and consequently death passed to all men. The fruit of sin in this world is sorrow, pain, sickness, fear, crying, and death. Have you ever experienced these things personally? Then you can know for certain your life has been personally infected by sin: sin passed down from Adam perpetuated for generations, as well as sins you have committed. All die because all have sinned. Those horrible consequences are just a foretaste of what is to come if you die in your sins. A sin is anything we say, think, or do that is contrary to God's perfect, righteous standard. The righteous wages earned for a single transgression is death - not just the death of the body, but the eternal torment and destruction of the soul in hell.
God is not only a just God, but a gracious one. Because He loves mankind created in His image, He made a way for us to be saved from His wrath to come and hell. Not only that, but He has made a way through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us to go to heaven! Revelation 21:4-5 reads, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." God will one day destroy all hell, Death, and sinners in the Lake of Fire. He will create a new heavens and a new earth which God will rule in righteousness. Sin and all the symptoms of it - death, sorrow, and crying - will be wiped clean. It will be heaven because God will be there, and we will be with Him forever in glorified bodies like that of our risen Saviour, Jesus Christ.
In our natural condition, we are all heading to hell. It is a place of conscious, eternal torment separated from God. Revelation 21:8 warns, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." God does not want anyone to go to hell and perish. It is not his will for anyone even to die! Yet so great is His love for us, that He sent His Son to die to be a Saviour for all who will repent and believe. You may be headed to hell, but you can choose life through Christ! Satan is a liar, thief, and murderer from the beginning. Don't believe his lie that hell doesn't exist and if it does it is a party worth dying for. In the past decade there have been many concerts in crowded clubs that used the wrong pyrotechnics and led to many deaths. Those were no laughing matter. No one danced in the flames, singing to the music. The people screamed as they trampled each other to death in the choking smoke. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth, even ripping out of hair in sorrow! What regret, heartache, and nightmares! Such is the result of sin: it allures and tantalises but kills in the end.
Sin brings death. Choose life. Jesus freely offers His for yours.
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