While I prefer to use this blog for stories that bring the Bible or the principles of following the Way of Yeshua the Messiah to everyday life, I am compelled in this post to share the great and awesome mercy and patience of the Almighty God, my Father.
Consider the Good News--That the Almighty God, Eternal Father, Creator in His Wisdom and love for us, for you, has given life--true life. Without freedom of will, we would be robots. We would only do what we created to do. However, because of free will, we can do as we choose--within the boundaries of the physical universe, the boundaries of the flesh. His purpose was to create us for fellowship and for honest fellowship with the Almighty, we must choose Him.
Fellowship is between the Creator, an eternal, omniscient, being beyond our capacity to fully fathom, and me, or you, a created, finite, fragile being with limited understanding in comparison. I can hardly grasp why the Almighty would want to fellowship with me, and you, yet it is a fact the He does. Not only does He want fellowship, He wants to be family. His desire is that we become one with Him. Ponder the implications!
However, because we are sentient beings, with freedom of will, we can--and all have--chosen to go against God's will--His design or purpose. We are egocentric, deny His existence in Our own wisdom, designate His authority to some other god of our own creation, including ourselves. We mess up our lives, the lives of others, the environment and so on, without even consulting the Designer of all things. We taint ourselves. Unfortunately, because God is holy He can't connect with us or even look upon us when we are in such a state. His anger burns against us for our choices, as it must!
How then can we survive His anger and the punishment that must ensue? How can he spare us?
Understand, God knew beforehand when He created us that we would be like this in our very nature--why? Because we are not God. We are not all knowing, all seeing, all powerful--and we have to learn this. As Creator, Supreme Being, Sovereign of All, He must have boundaries and consequences for crossing those boundaries. After all, all the universe is ordered even in its chaos. Their are physical laws that even the stars must obey.
In His mercy, He provided a way--the Way. He gave his only Begotten Son, the Son of His exact nature and being, to take upon him the punishment that we--rebellious, self-centered, careless, thoughtless, creatures that we are--deserve. Because of His Perfect Love for us, even knowing everything we have ever done or will do, even knowing our every thought, even knowing the depths of our hearts, He offers mercy--but on His terms according to His rules. Because of pride, the original sin of the very devil, we can't earn mercy. It is a gift. Only He could take on the penalty of our sins, because only He is pure and only He could bear the penalty of the fullness of His own wrath.
Since He paid the penalty, took the affliction upon Himself through His son, who is His very Nature and one with Him, not one of us need bare the penalty of His wrath.
Wrath?! How can a good God have wrath toward anyone or anything?
Just take a look at the news. Take a good look in your community, your family, your own life. Doesn't it make you angry to see murder, rape, child abuse, spouse abuse, robbery, disregard for the environment, disregard for human and animal lives? If you created life, how would you feel about the millions of babies that are brutally and mercilessly torn to pieces and removed from the womb? How would you feel upon seeing millions of dogs, cats and other animals neglected, tortured, and abandoned? How would you like to see the Earth plundered of its resources without good stewardship and planning to replenish those resources? How would you feel when people walk right past their fellow man, woman or child in their community that is homeless, hungry, thirsty, almost naked and does nothing as though that person didn't exist or was a nuisance? How would you feel if you saw families being torn apart by affairs and divorce? Society being twisted by the perverse desires and passions of those who insist perversion is a form of normal? What about mass genocide? What about mass poisoning of entire populations by the greed of those in the food and drug industry that push their chemicals and genetic mutations upon people, declaring them to be good or to heal their diseases. Take a good look! What about those of us who have cheated on our taxes? What of those of us who have abused the welfare system? What about those of us who have lied? What of those of us who have amassed debt through credit to satisfy our needs or our whims? Do we really stop to consider the consequences these things will have upon our future, our family, friends, neighbors, or the world in general? The mess goes on and on? How can Almighty God not be angry, even in His love?
Now, I share this: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, a sermon written by Jonathan Edwards and delivered to his congregation on July 8th, 1741. This sermon should be given in every church, and shared with as many people who don't attend church as possible. Please read this. It should change your life, even if you are already saved. I implore you, don't just shrug this off. Read it! It is more appropriate in our day than it was in his day. In this sermon, he reveals the side of God that is not politically correct, that is ignored. But to know our Father, to know our Savior, we must understand His total Sovereignty and Awesomeness. We must understand that He is to be feared in His wrath. How else can we fully appreciate the price of mercy? I love my Father all the more for His patience in holding back the fullness of the evil that is our own hearts! For if He did not, Hell on this Earth would be fully realized! This sermon describes the hell that is within us as we resist or ignore God's offer of mercy and refuse to accept His Salvation. We are condemned already! Accept the grace and mercy of Yeshua's death on the cross and the promise of salvation that His resurrection assures! Walk in newness of life! Discover the fullness of Our Father's love and fellowship. Partake of the joy and peace that oneness brings. What are you waiting for?
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