Have you ever thought about why you were born into your particular circumstances? If you are reading this blog entry you are most likely a Christian whose life has been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You are also likely relatively wealthy, at least compared to most people living in the world. If you have the ability to eat three times per day and have shelter over your head, you are better off than many people in the world. If you earn $25,000 per year, you are the richest 10% of the world. You are rich. In fact if you earn $2,200 per year you are the richest 15% of the world. If you reading this you are literate and likely had several years of education. If so you have received more education than hundreds of millions of people around the world. Perhaps you have gone to college, even graduate school.
So why? Why you? Why your particular circumstances? There are people around the world who might be asking the same questions. Wondering why they weren’t born in America. Wondering why they can’t eat three times per day, why they don’t have the luxury of throwing food away. Wondering what it would be like to go to school or attend college or even read. Wondering what a warm bed feels like.
You could have been born as an impoverished child in an unreached nation. Perhaps as a girl born into a Muslim family where you would be forbidden to show anything beyond what can be seen through the eye slits of your veil and could be beaten if you disobeyed even the simplest command of your father. You could have been born in a remote village in Vietnam with little food or education and no opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You could have been born as a girl in Africa who will eventually be sold by your parents into sexual slavery. That could have been you.
Sunday night I continued our study of 2 Kings. In this 3 part series from 2 Kings 9-10 we are challenged to see Jesus not just as the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of the world but also as the apocalyptic lamb burning with the wrath and fury of God. In another way, Jesus is the greater Jehu yet to come!
Recently a firefighter in our church was told by one of his colleagues that belief in Jesus was for weak people. I found that ironic coming from a firefighter.
I have a fire hydrant in our side yard. I have never looked at the fire hydrant and felt any shame. I drive by a firehouse everyday. I never think, “If this community didn’t have weak people than we would never have firehouses.” Every month when I pay my property taxes, that go towards financing fire departments, I never get angry at myself, thinking, “if I could just handle fire myself I wouldn’t have to write this check.”
Imagine a person whose house was on fire. The fire is raging out of control and the fire truck pulls up, sirens blaring. The person runs out of his house in a rage and says, “How dare you come to my house and think that I can’t handle this fire myself! Firefighters are for weak people, not for me.”
What would you think of someone like that? Insane.
True saving faith is not simply a matter of believing in Christ because you are afraid of going to hell; faith is not simply a matter of avoiding punishment where you do not have any desire to love and enjoy Christ. Rather, true saving faith means that you come to a deep, heartfelt conviction of how precious Christ is, and ‘account all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Philippians 3:8). You come to see Christ as all your salvation and happiness (Colossians 3:1).
True saving faith also means that you love every part of Christ’s salvation – holiness as well as forgiveness of sins. It means that you earnestly desire God to ‘create in you a clean heart and a right spirit’ as well as ‘hide his face from your sins’ (Psalm 51:9-10). Do not be like those who care nothing about Christ at all, except to be delivered from hell. ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.’ (Matthew 5:6)
I just saw this over at Justin Taylor’s blog and I had to share it with you. It is an attempt on Google Earth to show the major locations of Christ’s final events on earth. Check back at Justin’s blog each day this week for more info!
Today is the first day of “Holy Week,” where Christians recount Jesus’ final pre-glorified week on Earth.
Here is something you might find fruitful while contemplating the events leading up to our Savior’s death and resurrection: an attempt in Google Earth to show the locations of the major events (to the best of our knowledge) along with descriptions and biblical passages describing those events.
Click on the image below to go to the Google Map, then click on each letter to see a summary of the events for each day.
The KML file lets you interact with this map in Google Earth, allowing you to rotate the view and zoom in from various angles.
This week I’ll blog through each day, providing the biblical texts for what happened on each day.
I have been enjoying Paul Tripp’s video series called “War of Words.” I especially appreciated these thoughts in session five on “Understanding God’s Sovereignty.” There are fewer things more precious and exciting to me as a Christian than knowing God is sovereign in everything and being reminded of them by Tripp caused me to break out in joyful worship to our KING. Truly, he works all things after the counsel of His will. Nothing is left to chance. Read the following seven points carefully and slowly. Let these wonderful truths sink deep into your soul and give praise and thanks to God!
(1) God is the unchallenged ruler of the universe.
Daniel 4:34-35: “At the end of time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation; All the people of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’”
(2) God rules over all things for the church.
Ephesians 1:19b-22: “That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.”
(3) God rules over the specific details of our lives.
Acts 17:26-27: “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”
(4) God rules over every aspect of our salvation.
Ephesians 1:4-6: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (See also Romans 9; Ephesians 2:12; John 10:25-30).
(5) God rules over circumstances for our sanctification.
Romans 8:28-34: “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. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (See also James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:3-9)
(6) God rules over relationships for my sanctification.
Ephesians 4:11-13: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (See also Ephesians 2:14-16, 19-22; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 18-20, 27).
(7) God rules over all things for his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-14: “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory” (See also 1 Corinthians 10:31)
, p. 51
