...There is no middle ground. Once we truly believe, our lives will reflect that faith either in rebellion or rejoicing. Well, some would say, what about the religious leaders -- don't they show us a third choice? The teachers and priests in Jerusalem had the Book that held the keys to the coming of the King. They knew the Old Testament inside and out. They dedicated their scholarly minds and their professional lives to it. The prophecies held no secrets back from them -- they thought. But when they heard the proclamation of the kings and the words of their sacred book, they...did nothing. Because they didn't believe. If they had believed, they would have acted. Many of us like to think apathy is an option when we believe. It's not. Apathy is the proof of our disbelief. For good or ill, those who believe, act. Our invitation today is to believe, and rejoice in the truth. You don't hear many sermons on King Herod's example to us. I've never heard one. But I have a thought to ponder. The kings from the East studied the stars and the literature they had. They observed, reasoned, and concluded that the King of Israel was being born. Even without the Scriptures, they believed this to the point where they risked life, fortune, and reputation to travel hundreds of miles or more on some sort of foot -- theirs or an animal's. And when they arrived in Jerusalem they heard the prophecy of Micah and trekked down to a little, dirty town -- seeking that King. Because they believed and rejoiced. King Herod heard the words of the Magi together with the words of Scripture. He put two and two together, and he believed, but did not rejoice. Based on that belief, King Herod, whether he knew it or not, fulfilled the prophecies of Scripture, slaughtering the babes of Bethlehem. Because King Herod believed and rebelled. When we believe those are our two options -- we can believe and rebel against God or we can believe and rejoice... Our culture has made a serious decision. Love is proven with candy...lots of candy...especially chocolate...with red roses and a fluffy white bear, the bigger the better. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you know, for sure, someone loves you (at least in February)
In the midst of this deluge of sugar and red hearts, we all know love isn't proven by a single gift one time a year. And some of us feel distinctly unloved especially on February 14th, because we know love can be proven, but chocolate isn't the way. So on this special day, some of us need to know something else. There is Someone who loves us dearly. God proved His love for us like this: When we were rebelling against Him, He came and died in our place. This is the way Jesus rescued us from God's righteous wrath and made us ready for a relationship with God. -- Romans 5:8-9 (paraphrased) God's Valentine's verse (Romans 5:8-9), speaks to each of us, but it is up to us to listen. You and I are loved by God so much that even though We have sinned against Him and pushed God away, He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins So I could be forgiven and freed from my sins, And so you could be forgiven and freed from your sins, Now you and I are invited to know and follow Him forever. Do you believe this? If not, God still loves you, and today is your opportunity to ask God to change your heart and mind. If yes, God still loves you, and your life, today, is the opportunity to love Him back with obedience and worship. Happy Valentine's Day! "It's the end of the world as we know it -- and I feel fine." I hummed along with my dentist's soundtrack and smiled: That cannot be the best song for people scared of the dentist. And even though I was pretty sure it was a famous song, I wasn't thinking about the artist or when it came out or even what they thought they were talking about. I was thinking about how often we feel that it is indeed the end of our world -- the car breaks down, someone is moving, the government is doing X, Y, or Z. So often it seems like everything is falling to pieces around us. But through God's grace we may feel many things, but we are indeed fine. He is carrying us. He is leading us. He is on the other side of whatever crises we are facing. Therefore, even if it really is the end of the world as we know it -- our Savior is waiting to receive us and we are so much better than fine.
Hard. Easy. Boring. Someone else's pieces always look better. But that is just a farce. God tells us that no good thing does He withhold from us who are right with Him (Psalm 84:11). When we are tempted to envy someone else's life pieces we can choose instead to reiterate to ourselves (and express to God) the Truth. Our God is good. He is trustworthy to give us good. He promises His children that all things will work out for good. (However, there is no promise that we will instantly see or understand this good.) Our Savior loves us. He gave you your pieces and me my pieces out of love. He promises that, regardless of the pieces or how badly I have messed up His pieces, He will never leave us or forsake us. Puzzles have easy parts and hard parts and boring parts, but all those sections come together to form the artist's plan. Life has easy parts and hard parts and boring parts, but for those who follow Christ all those sections come together to complete His plan. |
The AuthorCome with me as we grow in fellowship with each other and our Savior to whom belongs the Amazing Escape from sin and death and the Amazing Journey into glorious life. Archives
October 2024
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