Following Jesus Son of God …

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… without hope and without God. The same place we would be without Christ.

The US troops found him after a ten year search, but where is he now?

Is it good he was captured and killed? Probably.

Can I get too excited over the violent death of another human being, another of God’s creation? I don’t know.

But he was so evil.

Maybe, but he was no farther from God than you or I apart from the grace of Jesus Christ and his shed blood.  You, me and Osama bin Laden.  Everyone, apart from Christ, is far from God.

… you who once were far away.

• Ephesians 2:12-13 (NIV)
  Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

… dead in your transgressions and sins.
… by nature objects of wrath.

• Ephesians 2:1–3 (NIV)
  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

… God’s enemies.

• Romans 5:10 (NIV84)
  For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

But God … great love, rich in mercy.

• Ephesians 2:4–5 (NIV84)
  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

So did that man cause great anguish and fear?  Yes.  But in God’s eyes is he less than us?  Did Jesus die for bin Laden?  Is he more evil than you or me?

What does God say in that book, the Bible, to which we Christians so often refer?  How does God describe us apart from Jesus Christ?

• Romans 3:10–18 (NIV84)
  As it is written:  There is no one righteous, not even one; ¹¹ there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

¹³ Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips.  ¹⁴ Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.  ¹⁵ Their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶ ruin and misery mark their ways, ¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.

¹⁸ There is no fear of God before their eyes.

So I guess that although I believe this was probably necessary.  I think I’ll hold the celebration.  Apart from the grace of God who knows …

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We’ve had two young bald eagles playing around the last few days.

Is Jesus Christ our silver bullet?

• Idiomatic Usage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_bullet
  The term has been adopted into a general metaphor, where “silver bullet” refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technological development or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem.

Does coming to Christ in belief and receiving forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life solve all of our problems?

Yes and no.

Coming to Christ “fixes” what matters most and that is our relationship with God, our Creator and Redeemer.

So, no, God doesn’t offer to fix everything in our lives.  But he does offer the gift of life through Jesus Christ.

Think about it.  This is God’s plan.  This is how God decided to bring “help” to humanity.  So we may want to at least for a moment stop and take a breath before discounting God’s idea for how he can most come alongside us as Savior and involve himself in our lives.

Salvation through no other way than Jesus Christ.

• Ephesians 1:7 (ESV) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

I am selling some things I haven’t used in a while.  Maybe you wouldn’t mind passing the word.  I know; not very spiritual but look what a blessing you will receive helping me get some extra cash.  🙂

Go to this link to view my online garage sale:  http://preview.itsaboutGod.com

• M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI Digital Audio Card
• Roland DM10 Studio Monitors
• Fender San Miguel Left-handed acoustic guitar
• Yamaha G-235 II Right-handed classical guitar
• Roland KC-60 Keyboard Amp
• Peavey Micro Bass Amp
• Samsung Syncmaster 931B Flat Panel
• Casio Privia PX-310 Keyboard
• Flip Ultra Video Camera
• JVC Everio GZ-MS130 Video Camera
• Olympus Stylus 850 SW point and shoot camera
• IK Multimedia Workstation Software Bundle
• Power Tracks Pro Audio recording software

Thanks for the help.

• … the wound is so great that it takes the death of the Son of God to heal us.

Inspirational but so sad.

I can’t imagine the horrors of living through a war.  The awfulness, the irony.  Mostly good (in human terms) people killing each other. Killing each other.  Taking a life; removing it from the face of the earth.  For someone’s cause.

The people on both sides had jobs, baked doughnuts, worked in factories, designed buildings.  Everyday, common people who cared about what their neighbors thought and spent holidays enjoying their families.

Kind and gentle, caring.

And then we murder each other.

The forces of darkness mock us and laugh at our stupidity.

Created in God’s image?  Ha!  Let’s show God what his creatures are capable of.

How can we be so evil and so good? How can we crush the people around us and not think twice and yet have such compassion for the needs of others at times?

Because sin wounds us to the depths, and the wound is so great that it takes the death of the Son of God to heal us.

We fall short of God’s glory, his ideal.  The first evil was “merely” eating the wrong fruit.  Something to remember when we think that apart from grace we have any hope of true righteousness.

“Well, all I did was _____________ .”

Go ahead and fill in the blank.  But ask yourself, Was it worse than eating a piece of fruit?

It is the direction of our heart that is the problem.

Give in to an impulse that isn’t from God and we are right there at the forbidden tree picking the fruit that God prohibited.

But it looked good; probably tasted really good.  And now we do see life differently.  We see life where we no longer trust God for everything, no longer thank him, no longer honor him by living that path that he calls us to.

• (Ephesians 2:13 NASB95) But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

• (Ephesians 1:7 ESV) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

One of the keys to following Jesus Christ on the path of life is allowing him to deal with our pain.

As with everything he does, God excels at taking the broken pieces and fragments of our lives and making new stuff.

And the new is better than the old.

We make useful products from plastic bottles, scrap iron, aluminum cans, etc. We reclaim what was on the junk heap and make something new.

That’s what God will do with the junk of our lives if we let him heal our wounds and pick up the shards of our broken dreams and forgive our sins.

God is in the reclamation, redemption business.

What he fashions from the pieces exceeds our dreams.

But again …

If we let him …

• 1 John 1:9 (NASB95) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• Proverbs 20:30 (NIV) Blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.

• Romans 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

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