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There is no fear of God before their eyes."
Romans 3:10-18 (NIV)
“Don’t you fear God?” is a great question. It’s a question that I don’t think we hear much anymore. And if we’re not careful, the next generation will miss entirely this all important characteristic of God.
That’s why I’m glad Disney and Walden Media is releasing C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe” this December. If you don’t know anything about this, let me encourage you to pick up the book and make plans to see this movie. In this story, Lewis chose a Lion to represent Jesus. At times the children in the story felt comfortable to run their fingers through his mane, take rides on his back and enjoy being in his presence. But his roar was ferocious enough to introduce an element of fear. It prompted 1 of the children to ask, “Is Aslan safe?” The thoughtful answer was, “No, He’s not safe, but He is good.”
God is a God of love and justice; grace and wrath, and sometimes I think we need to hear Him roar to remind us of His holiness.
"CHURCHED" VS. "UNCHURCHED" DOESN’T TELL THE WHOLE STORY
New Ellison research on U.S. adult attendance at worship services found the traditional definitions of "churched" (attend services monthly or more often) — and "un-churched" (do not typically attend frequently enough to be considered "churched") often doesn’t tell a complete story. If adults are placed in more realistic categories based on their normal behavior, attendance stats at religious services would look like this: 11% attend more than once a week. 22% attend once a week. 14% attend 2-3 times a month. 5% attend once a month. 9% attend occasionally, not on a regular basis. 10% attend only on religious holidays. 29% do not attend at all. The study also found if an adult attended worship services regularly at some point before the age of 18, there is a 55% chance that person is currently attending once a month or more. If the person never attended prior to age 18, there is only a 21% chance he/she is currently attending worship services on a regular basis. When someone grows up in a home where both a mother and father occasionally attend religious services, there is a 62% chance that individual is now regularly attending services as an adult. If only 1 parent attends services occasionally, there is a 50% chance that grown adult is now regularly attending worship. But when an individual grows up with neither parent regularly attending worship services, the chances of that person regularly attending is only at 33%. Ron Sellers, President of Ellison Research, said, "We estimate that up to 43 million adults who do not regularly attend worship services will visit a church or place of worship at some point during the year."
(The Christian Post 7/17/08)
Theologian Louis Berkhof wrote, "Justification is a judicial act of God, in which He declares on the basis of righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that all claims of the law are satisfied with respect to the sinner."
Source: Systematic Theology, p. 513.
THE REAL DEAL?
Reaching the end of a job interview, the Human Resources Person asked a young accountant who was fresh out of school, "What starting salary were you thinking about?" The Accountant said, "In the neighborhood of 100,000 a year, depending on the benefits package."
The interviewer said, "Well, what would you say to a package of 5 weeks vacation, full medical and dental, Company Retirement Fund to 50% of salary, Executive Share Option Scheme, Profit Related Pay and a company car leased every 2 years - say, a 5 series BMW?"
The Accountant sat up stra...
SIN IS LIKE QUICKSAND
In his book, Homesick for God, Joel Gregory described a horrible pit from which Tony Chain was rescued.
Tony and J. R. Hounchell went hunting the first day of duck season in 1981. They were in an area called Duck Flats, northeast of Anchorage, Alaska. Hours before, 10 feet of tidal water had covered the gully where they anchored their boat. As they made their way through the thick mud, Tony's left wader stuck fast. He struggled to free himself, but both feet became stuck. Every effort to free himself only caused him to sink deeper.
Tony's frantic call, "J. R., help me," startled his companion. Both men knew about Alaska's glacial silt-like quicksand. This quicksand, formed by grains as fine as talcum powder, looks like dark gray mud; but it is deadly. J. R. tried to pull Tony out with his belt, but J. R. felt the surface become spongy beneath him. If he got caught, both of them would drown. J. R. pulled loose and ran for help, knowing that time was against him. Alaskan tides are among the fastest and most dangerous in the world.
J. R. reached Elmendorf Air Force Base where a rescue team scrambled to help Tony. Numerous rescuers tried to help, but they, too, began to sink. Next, the rescuers passed a strap attached to a helicopter beneath Tony's arms. As the helicopter tried to hoist him up, the pain was so severe they had to stop for awhile. By 1:45 p.m. the mud was up to Tony's armpits. The tide could come in any minute. Finally, as the helicopter began to pull again, Tony felt a slight movement upward. Little by little, the waders slipped off his body and disappeared into the mud. He was pulled free just in the nick of time.
Just like quicksand, sin can have disastrous results. We find that sin is contagious, scandalous, repulsive and complete. Romans 3:23 tells us that "The wages of sin is still death."
(From a sermon by Terry Blankenship, A Redeeming Ministry, 2/8/2011)
"I'M FINE."
Farmer Joe decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company (responsible for the accident) to court. In court, the trucking company’s fancy lawyer was questioning farmer Joe. "Didn’t you say, at the scene of the accident, ’I’m fine’?," questioned the lawyer.
Farmer Joe responded, "Well I’ll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the..."
"I didn’t ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted, "just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, ’I’m fine’!"
Farmer Joe said, "Well I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road..."
The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."
By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe’s answer and said to the lawyer, "I’d like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."
Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn’t want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible sh...
A young boy was explaining basic Christian Theology to his younger sister: “You see, it was Jesus’ job to die fo...
