Recently I've been struggling through Erasing Hell and when I say that I've been struggling through it, I don't mean that I don't agree with it. It is just that this is a hard book to read in general as a Christian who doesn't think about the reality of hell on a daily basis. But it is powerful and I personally suggest it to anyone who wants to know what the Bible truly says about hell. Francis Chan actually went to various different Biblical scholars to have them read this book to ensure that his interpretation of the scriptures was, in fact, correct. It is extremely well studied and presents his thoughts in a clear and easy to understand way. This book is one of the great things that came out of Rob Bell's book Love Wins. I have heard it argued that Erasing Hell was rushed through as a response to Rob Bell...and while I do believe that it is a response...Francis did not rush through this book in any way. If you have watched the video that he released before Erasing Hell came out, you would know that he was extremely worried about messing this up. It's not something to screw up...because if he did...he's dealing with people's lives. This is a real thing...a real aspect of life that we have to face...and he did not want to lead anyone in the wrong direction. Well...watch the video and see for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnrJVTSYLr8
Within the book many different passages have challenged me. But one of the passages just hit me really hard.
"As I write this chapter about hell, I'm sitting in the middle of a busy Starbucks. Every time I look up from my computer screen, I see that I'm surrounded by thirsty customers racing to the counter to fuel up on lattes and iced teas and mochas. They're happy, busy, enjoying life, laughing, chatting, and, of course texting. Two moms look as if they just got done jogging and sit next to me, digging into each other's lives. Another couple just left. They were all over each other -- a typical young couple without a care in the world. The girl last in line looks sad. Really sad. It makes me wonder what just happened in her life. And what about the employees? Are they happy? Some look that way, but others don't. Joy, laughter, coffee, jazz, texting, talking, flirting, friendship, depression and the hope to be freed from it one day. This is life! I love it--and so do they. The place buzzes with life. Meanwhile, I sit here reading passage after passage, which all say that some of these people are going to hell. It sickens me to say that, and I can't explain how conflicted I feel right now. There are at least a dozen people within ten feet of me right now, right now, that may end up in the agony that I'm studying. What do I do? Do I keep writing? Keep studying? Should I bag this whole book thing and start building relationships with them? How can I believe these passages yet sit her silently? I know that some of you have faced this same conflict. Even as you're reading this, there are probably people within a few feet of you who may also go to hell. What will you do? It could be that the Lord wants you to put the book down. Coming face-to-face with these passages on hell and asking these tough questions is a heart-wrenching process. It forces me back to a sobering reality: This is not just a doctrine; it's about destinies. And if you're reading this book and wrestling with what the Bible says about hell, you cannot let this be a mere academic exercise. You must let Jesus' very real teaching on hell sober you up. You must let Jesus' words reconfigure the way you live, the way you talk, ad the way you see the world and the people around you."
That passage flabergasted me. I literally put the book down for a full week. It effected me so much that I wanted to make sure my heart was in the right place and ready to read the rest. And if you read this book I suggest you do that same, because it is easy after reading these passages to look at God and say I don't want to worship a God that is going to do that...but the fact is. His ways are so much higher then ours! Francis goes on to say one of my absolute favorite passages in his book...
"We are bound by the words of the Creator, the One who will do what is right. The One who invented justice and knows perfectly what the unbeliever deserves. God has never asked us to figure out His justice or to see if His way of doing things is morally right. He has only asked us to embrace His Word and bow the knee, to tremble at His word, as Isaiah says (66:2). Don't get so lost in deciphering that you forget to tremble."
Isaiah 66:2--"Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word."
Shouldn't this be how we are living? We were not made to question God's morals or His justice...we are made to tremble at this Word...to stand, kneel, fall prostrate before his awesomeness. For we honor a great God. One that no matter what plans he has is morally right and always unchangingly good. Remember this. Remember that we serve a God that's ways are FAR beyond ANYTHING that we could ever ask or imagine. And in serving him we need to be looking to the nonbelievers and to ourselves within the church. Are we living our lives in a way that is worthy of Christ? Are we lukewarm? Are we hell-destined? Because...Jesus left it up to us. It's up to you and me as the church to continue the great commission.
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be inus so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be ne as we are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."--John 17:20-26
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
A Love Beyond Understanding
I was in High School when I first read the book of Hosea, and I realized quickly that the book is full of wonderfully amazing and encouraging aspects of faith, at least for me. Chapter 2 quickly became one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, due to the forgiveness and love that is demonstrated within it, however, after recently hearing a sermon on the book of Hosea, I have come to the understanding that this entire book is absolutely amazing.
For those of you who have not read this book, Hosea is a love story. "When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD." (Hosea 1:2) Now originally when I read this I thought that God was telling Hosea that he should get married and due to the fact that there were no women of worth within the city, he should go ahead and settle, HOWEVER, this is NOT the case. God could have simply declared, "Israel is like a wife to me--an adulterous wife." Instead, he used Hosea to act out the treachery in real life--to show in living color God's fury, his jealousy, and above all esle, his love for his people. This love that is sooo beyond all of our comprehension. The love that is sooo completely unconditional and forgiving in every cirmcumstance. Therefore, He told Hosea to take a wife that was adulterous and had many children from another men and to love her as his own. Hosea took Gomar to be his wife and she produced three offspring for Hosea before chapter 2.
Chapter 2 marks a turning point in the relationship of Hosea and Gomar. At this point the LORD goes on a rant through Hosea. He says, "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts." It is now that we realize that something (we don't know what, but adultry is somewhat implied) that has resulted in the demise of Hosea and Gomar's marriage.
He continues, "Otherwise I will strip her naked and make her as bare as on the day she was born; I will make her like a desert, turn her into a parched land, and slay her with thirst. I will not show my love to her children, because they are the children of adultery. Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.' Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.' She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold--which they used for Baal. 'Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her nakeness. So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands. I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days--all her appointed feasts. I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers; I will make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them. I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the LORD." (Hosea 2:3-13)
I love this chapter because those verses read like a letter from a lover scorned, and in fact, that is exactly what they are. God loved Israel sooo much and Israel had been turning their backs on God. They had been acting out in all of these various ways, and God longs for the one he loves. He is angry, yet still loving. The love never leaves, even in these harsh words. In fact this is displayed by the last words of these verses when the LORD says, "but me she forgot." I have heard these words before, from myself and others, and they are always said in a distraught manner. In a "why wasn't I good enough for them" sort of way...yet, God knows that he is in fact good enough. HE is EVERYTHING that they need, yet they are still walking away from him. But the aspect of this chapter that I ABSOLUTELY love is that the chapter doesn't end there. Instead he goes on to say...
"Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." (Hosea 2:14)--Wait, What??!?!?! It is in this way that God shows his completely devoted, unconditional, incredible, transcendital, beyond mine or your comprehension, kind of love for his people. And he doesn't end there...
"There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. "In that day,"declares the LORD, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.' I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. "In that day i will respond," declares the LORD--"I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine an doil, and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.' " (Hosea 2:15-23)
God loves his people sooo much that he forgives them. He calls them back to him. He even allures them back to him if you will. He goes out and he draws his people to him. I read this passage and I just can't believe that I am loved that much by anyone. It completely blows my mind. Yet...this is how much God loves us. That no matter how much we screw up, no matter how many times we turn our backs on him...He is there trying to allure us back to him. So...As you go about your week...just remember that you are loved...despite all the sin in your life...despite all of the wrongs that you have done...despite what your past looks like...as long as you have a relationship with God, you are loved beyond understanding.
P.S. In Chapter 3 Hosea goes after Gomar, as God went after Israel. Hosea ends up buying her off of an auction block where she is being sold into slavery, and instead of treating her as a slave, he tells her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you." He calls her to be faithful unto him and he shows her grace and mercy and love...none of which she deserves...much like God has shown this to us.
For those of you who have not read this book, Hosea is a love story. "When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the LORD." (Hosea 1:2) Now originally when I read this I thought that God was telling Hosea that he should get married and due to the fact that there were no women of worth within the city, he should go ahead and settle, HOWEVER, this is NOT the case. God could have simply declared, "Israel is like a wife to me--an adulterous wife." Instead, he used Hosea to act out the treachery in real life--to show in living color God's fury, his jealousy, and above all esle, his love for his people. This love that is sooo beyond all of our comprehension. The love that is sooo completely unconditional and forgiving in every cirmcumstance. Therefore, He told Hosea to take a wife that was adulterous and had many children from another men and to love her as his own. Hosea took Gomar to be his wife and she produced three offspring for Hosea before chapter 2.
Chapter 2 marks a turning point in the relationship of Hosea and Gomar. At this point the LORD goes on a rant through Hosea. He says, "Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adulterous look from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts." It is now that we realize that something (we don't know what, but adultry is somewhat implied) that has resulted in the demise of Hosea and Gomar's marriage.
He continues, "Otherwise I will strip her naked and make her as bare as on the day she was born; I will make her like a desert, turn her into a parched land, and slay her with thirst. I will not show my love to her children, because they are the children of adultery. Their mother has been unfaithful and has conceived them in disgrace. She said, 'I will go after my lovers, who give me food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.' Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.' She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold--which they used for Baal. 'Therefore I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her nakeness. So now I will expose her lewdness before the eyes of her lovers; no one will take her out of my hands. I will stop all her celebrations: her yearly festivals, her New Moons, her Sabbath days--all her appointed feasts. I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers; I will make them a thicket, and wild animals will devour them. I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals; she decked herself with rings and jewelry and went after her lovers, but me she forgot," declares the LORD." (Hosea 2:3-13)
I love this chapter because those verses read like a letter from a lover scorned, and in fact, that is exactly what they are. God loved Israel sooo much and Israel had been turning their backs on God. They had been acting out in all of these various ways, and God longs for the one he loves. He is angry, yet still loving. The love never leaves, even in these harsh words. In fact this is displayed by the last words of these verses when the LORD says, "but me she forgot." I have heard these words before, from myself and others, and they are always said in a distraught manner. In a "why wasn't I good enough for them" sort of way...yet, God knows that he is in fact good enough. HE is EVERYTHING that they need, yet they are still walking away from him. But the aspect of this chapter that I ABSOLUTELY love is that the chapter doesn't end there. Instead he goes on to say...
"Therefore, I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." (Hosea 2:14)--Wait, What??!?!?! It is in this way that God shows his completely devoted, unconditional, incredible, transcendital, beyond mine or your comprehension, kind of love for his people. And he doesn't end there...
"There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. "In that day,"declares the LORD, "you will call me 'my husband'; you will no longer call me 'my master.' I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD. "In that day i will respond," declares the LORD--"I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine an doil, and they will respond to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to one I called 'Not my loved one.' I will say to those called 'Not my people,' 'You are my people'; and they will say, 'You are my God.' " (Hosea 2:15-23)
God loves his people sooo much that he forgives them. He calls them back to him. He even allures them back to him if you will. He goes out and he draws his people to him. I read this passage and I just can't believe that I am loved that much by anyone. It completely blows my mind. Yet...this is how much God loves us. That no matter how much we screw up, no matter how many times we turn our backs on him...He is there trying to allure us back to him. So...As you go about your week...just remember that you are loved...despite all the sin in your life...despite all of the wrongs that you have done...despite what your past looks like...as long as you have a relationship with God, you are loved beyond understanding.
P.S. In Chapter 3 Hosea goes after Gomar, as God went after Israel. Hosea ends up buying her off of an auction block where she is being sold into slavery, and instead of treating her as a slave, he tells her, "You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with you." He calls her to be faithful unto him and he shows her grace and mercy and love...none of which she deserves...much like God has shown this to us.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Understanding God's Love
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out f his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ my dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.--Ephesians 3:14-19
This is my prayer for all of you.
This is my prayer for all of you.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
If Love Wins Is God Just?
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.--1 John 3:1
Love wins...this is the title of the new book, coming out today, by pastor and author Rob Bell. If some of you do not know Rob Bell, he is the well known pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the creator and star of the Nooma video's, which many church's have used in their curriculum at some point or another. He is also the author of five books dealing with the Christian faith, such as: Velvet Elvis, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Drop Like Stars, and his most recent Love Wins.
Love wins speaks about the issues of Heaven and Hell and whether they exist and who gets to go there, this in and of itself sounds like an interesting topic, one that is not spoken about often, yet is a staple in the Christian faith. However, Rob Bell comes at this topic in a way that is contrary to what the word of God says. (Keep in mind I do not say this lightly. I personally own all of Rob Bell's books, including Love Wins and up until last night thought that he was a rather good pastor that just raised some rather hard questions, however, I have been proved wrong.) Rob Bell takes a very Universalist stance within this book and within his beliefs. (For those of you that do not know what a Universalist stance is...it is the belief that all religions and all people go to Heaven.) This has upset many throughout the Christian community, yet, Rob Bell had not given any interviews (at least not to my knowledge) concerning the book and his views until last night. Last night Rob Bell was interviewed in New York City about his book (which released at midnight) and his thoughts on the afterlife. (The interview can be seen at www.livestream.com/lovewins, if you have an hour and fifteen minutes and would like to check out the interview yourself.) Within the interview Rob Bell continued to push a lax form of Universalism and promote the fact that God is love and that within that God wants to take care of us and heaven is about us, our needs and what we want.
Rob was very contradictory in many areas of the interview, and he acknowledges that at the end of the time. Yet, he holds fast to the fact that God is love and how could a loving God condemn someone to a life of torment? (Keep in mind that Rob Bell does believe that Hell does exist, however, he never says that hell is a literal place, other then to say that he believes hell is on earth...which is also where he said heaven is, in the beginning of the interview. Yes, I know very confusing.) This is an argument that I have heard throughout my years on the earth and I'm sure has been used on several occasions throughout time! It follows closely with how can a god of love let us suffer...In fact, with the current situation in Japan, I am positive that this question is being asked all over the world right now! And the fact is, this is not an easy question to answer! The question of suffering has been one for the ages, let alone the question of how a loving God could condemn his creation to suffer for a lifetime!
These questions are intense...and cannot be answered easily...but the fact is...God is love...and he does in fact have a plan, even though it may be extremely difficult to see it from our vantage point. In fact Isaiah 55:9 states, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." So, in order to save time and not claim to know the thoughts of God I am not even going to begin to touch on the fact as to why suffering exists or why God allows pain in the world, let alone natural disasters. (At least not in this blog post) All I am going to say is we serve a faithful God and we have to trust him in our times of uncertainty. Come to him with your doubts and your questions and he will give you peace.
The questions I am going to focus on though is the questions of: if God is love, and if love wins (as rob bell says it does) then where does that leave God? Does that mean that he is just a cute and cuddly being that wants nothing more then to please us? Where does the Old Testament come into that? Did God change over time? Did God decide that he was just being too hard on us, mere humans, in the Old Testament and decide that he was going to go ahead and save us so that we could be lazy and not have to give sacrifices? IS the Christian faith all about us? The answer to every one of those questions is a resounding NOOOOOO!
To start, I have been studying the book of 1 John. Now, if you have ever read the book of 1 John you would know that one of its main focuses is on love. Love for God and love for others mainly, and I have found that as I was reading 1 John 3 this morning I kept thinking...this chapter is talking about love and how we need to love others and love God and be righteous...but it doesn't talk about God's Justice. However, as a former seminary student, I remembered that this chapter was never meant to be taken by itself; because if you continue reading in Chapter 5 of this book John says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. WHO IS IT THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD? ONLY HE WHO BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD."(1John 5:1-5) It's a simple matter, really. It's what the entire Bible is about. Christ came to take down the devil (1 John 3:8) and in so doing he came to take our sins away. Jesus says, the only way to the father is through him! (John 14:6) Yes, God is love and yes he absolutely wants to save his creation! In fact 2 Peter 3:8-9 says, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (NKJV) However, this being said...God is just! Hebrews 10:30-31 says, "For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. And again, 'The Lord will judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (NKJV)
In conclusion, God does in fact love us. In fact, he loves us more then we can even imagine. He created us, and breathed life into us, yet, the Bible is full of times where people turn away from him and he punishes them. He is a just God, and he is a faithful God...and there is a heaven and there is a hell and we need to continue to recognize the two! Do not be caught up in the words of false doctrine! (Especially by someone who quotes "the doctrine of Ricky Bobby") For those that do want to read the book, I urge you to be careful and stand firm in your faith. Guard yourself with the armor of God before reading it, I know I will.
And remember this: He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.--Revelation 21:6-8. If this isn't a clear indicator that God is love and still just in his ways, I don't know what is.
Hell--"If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the win of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."--Revelation 14:9b-12
Heaven--The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.--Revelation 21:21
Love wins...this is the title of the new book, coming out today, by pastor and author Rob Bell. If some of you do not know Rob Bell, he is the well known pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the creator and star of the Nooma video's, which many church's have used in their curriculum at some point or another. He is also the author of five books dealing with the Christian faith, such as: Velvet Elvis, Sex God, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Drop Like Stars, and his most recent Love Wins.
Love wins speaks about the issues of Heaven and Hell and whether they exist and who gets to go there, this in and of itself sounds like an interesting topic, one that is not spoken about often, yet is a staple in the Christian faith. However, Rob Bell comes at this topic in a way that is contrary to what the word of God says. (Keep in mind I do not say this lightly. I personally own all of Rob Bell's books, including Love Wins and up until last night thought that he was a rather good pastor that just raised some rather hard questions, however, I have been proved wrong.) Rob Bell takes a very Universalist stance within this book and within his beliefs. (For those of you that do not know what a Universalist stance is...it is the belief that all religions and all people go to Heaven.) This has upset many throughout the Christian community, yet, Rob Bell had not given any interviews (at least not to my knowledge) concerning the book and his views until last night. Last night Rob Bell was interviewed in New York City about his book (which released at midnight) and his thoughts on the afterlife. (The interview can be seen at www.livestream.com/lovewins, if you have an hour and fifteen minutes and would like to check out the interview yourself.) Within the interview Rob Bell continued to push a lax form of Universalism and promote the fact that God is love and that within that God wants to take care of us and heaven is about us, our needs and what we want.
Rob was very contradictory in many areas of the interview, and he acknowledges that at the end of the time. Yet, he holds fast to the fact that God is love and how could a loving God condemn someone to a life of torment? (Keep in mind that Rob Bell does believe that Hell does exist, however, he never says that hell is a literal place, other then to say that he believes hell is on earth...which is also where he said heaven is, in the beginning of the interview. Yes, I know very confusing.) This is an argument that I have heard throughout my years on the earth and I'm sure has been used on several occasions throughout time! It follows closely with how can a god of love let us suffer...In fact, with the current situation in Japan, I am positive that this question is being asked all over the world right now! And the fact is, this is not an easy question to answer! The question of suffering has been one for the ages, let alone the question of how a loving God could condemn his creation to suffer for a lifetime!
These questions are intense...and cannot be answered easily...but the fact is...God is love...and he does in fact have a plan, even though it may be extremely difficult to see it from our vantage point. In fact Isaiah 55:9 states, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." So, in order to save time and not claim to know the thoughts of God I am not even going to begin to touch on the fact as to why suffering exists or why God allows pain in the world, let alone natural disasters. (At least not in this blog post) All I am going to say is we serve a faithful God and we have to trust him in our times of uncertainty. Come to him with your doubts and your questions and he will give you peace.
The questions I am going to focus on though is the questions of: if God is love, and if love wins (as rob bell says it does) then where does that leave God? Does that mean that he is just a cute and cuddly being that wants nothing more then to please us? Where does the Old Testament come into that? Did God change over time? Did God decide that he was just being too hard on us, mere humans, in the Old Testament and decide that he was going to go ahead and save us so that we could be lazy and not have to give sacrifices? IS the Christian faith all about us? The answer to every one of those questions is a resounding NOOOOOO!
To start, I have been studying the book of 1 John. Now, if you have ever read the book of 1 John you would know that one of its main focuses is on love. Love for God and love for others mainly, and I have found that as I was reading 1 John 3 this morning I kept thinking...this chapter is talking about love and how we need to love others and love God and be righteous...but it doesn't talk about God's Justice. However, as a former seminary student, I remembered that this chapter was never meant to be taken by itself; because if you continue reading in Chapter 5 of this book John says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. WHO IS IT THAT OVERCOMES THE WORLD? ONLY HE WHO BELIEVES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD."(1John 5:1-5) It's a simple matter, really. It's what the entire Bible is about. Christ came to take down the devil (1 John 3:8) and in so doing he came to take our sins away. Jesus says, the only way to the father is through him! (John 14:6) Yes, God is love and yes he absolutely wants to save his creation! In fact 2 Peter 3:8-9 says, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (NKJV) However, this being said...God is just! Hebrews 10:30-31 says, "For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. And again, 'The Lord will judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (NKJV)
In conclusion, God does in fact love us. In fact, he loves us more then we can even imagine. He created us, and breathed life into us, yet, the Bible is full of times where people turn away from him and he punishes them. He is a just God, and he is a faithful God...and there is a heaven and there is a hell and we need to continue to recognize the two! Do not be caught up in the words of false doctrine! (Especially by someone who quotes "the doctrine of Ricky Bobby") For those that do want to read the book, I urge you to be careful and stand firm in your faith. Guard yourself with the armor of God before reading it, I know I will.
And remember this: He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.--Revelation 21:6-8. If this isn't a clear indicator that God is love and still just in his ways, I don't know what is.
Hell--"If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the win of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."--Revelation 14:9b-12
Heaven--The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.--Revelation 21:21
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
There is NO Fear In Love
Recently I've been more aware of the aspects of my life and the lives of those around me that are changing. I mean change is constant. Ironic yes, but factual, and recently it seems like a lot of things have changed.
One of those things being my faith and the faith of those around me. Some of you know that last year I took a hiatus from my home church and went on a journey to find a new one. This journey ended with me back home, which I've come to understand is EXACTLY where God wants me. I do feel like I needed the break. I needed the time to figure some stuff out...to do some major forgiving...but ultimately I'm happy with where I am, and I know God is too.
Of course, with any journey comes realizations...it's the reason we take journey's in the first place. To find ourselves somewhere new. Somewhere where nothing is familiar...where you have to be stretched...you have to figure things out...and you have to change. And sometimes within those moment's we come to realize that the place we are supposed to be was the place we began, but even those journies are not taken in vain. For some piece of wisdom comes with every step we take to understand ourselves and God better. For me, the one piece of wisdom that I came away with that has plagued my mind and heart is the way we love each other within the church and outside of it.
Gerard Manley Hopkins was a famous poet in the 1800's. He says in his poem As Kingfishers Catch Fire, "For Christ plays in ten thousand places, Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his To the Father through the features of men's faces." For we are made in the image of God, in fact the word Christian literally means, "little christ". Keeping this in mind...ask yourself...are you loving people like Christ loved people? Are you seeing Christ in others? This is something I struggle with on a daily basis, the laying down of my patience and pride at the Father's feet, in order to live a life that glows from HIS glory, not my own. Believe it or not, God uses people. In many instances in my walk, God has chosen to use people to speak to me, rather then speaking directly. He has used people to comfort me, to encourage me, to speak truth to me, to heal me, and to teach me. As humans, I think we are a lot like Elijah in 1 Kings 19 when he asks for rest. At this point, Elijah is terrified. He is literally running for his life and He comes to a tree in v. 4 and says, "I have had enough, Lord...Take my life; I am no better than any ancestors." He is giving up. He is discouraged. He is TIRED. God sends him an angel and tells him to "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Elijah goes out and there comes a huge wind...but God isn't in the wind. There comes a huge earthquake...but God isn't in the earthquake. Then there is a huge fire storm...but God is not in the fire. Yet...Elijah finds God in the silence. In the same way, we today expect to see God in the GREAT moments. In the moment's where things are happening! Not in the silence. We don't expect to see God in eachother. We don't expect to see God in our pain...in our tears...in a touch from a friend...in an encouraging word...in a simple sentence. No, we expect to see him in the wind storms, earthquakes, and fire storms of our lives. But God uses us. He created us...he loves us...and he uses us for his glory. So...shouldn't we do EVERYTHING we possibly can to love one another? Shouldn't we being giving to others the love that God is continually pooring out on us? For those that are thinking that it's too hard...that you don't have the patience...or you don't have the time...MAKE THE TIME! PRAY FOR PATIENCE! People are dying without knowing! My pastor once said, "By doing nothing we are in essence telling everyone else to 'go to hell!' So are you going to sit by and do nothing? Or are you going to show love to anyone and everyone you come in contact with? I'm not saying it's going to be easy...but it's soooo worth it!
Worship Element: Perfect Love from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.
One of those things being my faith and the faith of those around me. Some of you know that last year I took a hiatus from my home church and went on a journey to find a new one. This journey ended with me back home, which I've come to understand is EXACTLY where God wants me. I do feel like I needed the break. I needed the time to figure some stuff out...to do some major forgiving...but ultimately I'm happy with where I am, and I know God is too.
Of course, with any journey comes realizations...it's the reason we take journey's in the first place. To find ourselves somewhere new. Somewhere where nothing is familiar...where you have to be stretched...you have to figure things out...and you have to change. And sometimes within those moment's we come to realize that the place we are supposed to be was the place we began, but even those journies are not taken in vain. For some piece of wisdom comes with every step we take to understand ourselves and God better. For me, the one piece of wisdom that I came away with that has plagued my mind and heart is the way we love each other within the church and outside of it.
Gerard Manley Hopkins was a famous poet in the 1800's. He says in his poem As Kingfishers Catch Fire, "For Christ plays in ten thousand places, Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his To the Father through the features of men's faces." For we are made in the image of God, in fact the word Christian literally means, "little christ". Keeping this in mind...ask yourself...are you loving people like Christ loved people? Are you seeing Christ in others? This is something I struggle with on a daily basis, the laying down of my patience and pride at the Father's feet, in order to live a life that glows from HIS glory, not my own. Believe it or not, God uses people. In many instances in my walk, God has chosen to use people to speak to me, rather then speaking directly. He has used people to comfort me, to encourage me, to speak truth to me, to heal me, and to teach me. As humans, I think we are a lot like Elijah in 1 Kings 19 when he asks for rest. At this point, Elijah is terrified. He is literally running for his life and He comes to a tree in v. 4 and says, "I have had enough, Lord...Take my life; I am no better than any ancestors." He is giving up. He is discouraged. He is TIRED. God sends him an angel and tells him to "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Elijah goes out and there comes a huge wind...but God isn't in the wind. There comes a huge earthquake...but God isn't in the earthquake. Then there is a huge fire storm...but God is not in the fire. Yet...Elijah finds God in the silence. In the same way, we today expect to see God in the GREAT moments. In the moment's where things are happening! Not in the silence. We don't expect to see God in eachother. We don't expect to see God in our pain...in our tears...in a touch from a friend...in an encouraging word...in a simple sentence. No, we expect to see him in the wind storms, earthquakes, and fire storms of our lives. But God uses us. He created us...he loves us...and he uses us for his glory. So...shouldn't we do EVERYTHING we possibly can to love one another? Shouldn't we being giving to others the love that God is continually pooring out on us? For those that are thinking that it's too hard...that you don't have the patience...or you don't have the time...MAKE THE TIME! PRAY FOR PATIENCE! People are dying without knowing! My pastor once said, "By doing nothing we are in essence telling everyone else to 'go to hell!' So are you going to sit by and do nothing? Or are you going to show love to anyone and everyone you come in contact with? I'm not saying it's going to be easy...but it's soooo worth it!
Worship Element: Perfect Love from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.
Just A Quick Note
Sorry I haven't been updating this more often!!! I just want you to know that i fully intend on updating this blog way more this year!!! So keep your eye's open for future stuff :)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Seasons
In my life the one thing that I have come to recognize is that seasons come and go. There is in fact a time for everything.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
As of right now I find myself in the midst of a few of these. The one that I most relate to, however, is the time for mourning. I find that I am mourning for a friend and the lies that he has told, the way he is living his life, and yet at the same time, how I have lived mine in the past. I find that sin is sin no matter what the circumstances may be. Not one of us is better then the other. It creeps in on you and it looks seductive at first, but ultimately...it will break you. But the joyful part of this sad story, is the fact that when you break, God will be there to put you back together again.
Remember that God is above all the seeking you. No matter what your sin, no matter where you are in your life, we are all ultimately at the same place, because...God loves us. He loves us all and if you look, if you seek him...you would realize He is calling you home.
Christmas Opener: Just Come Home from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
As of right now I find myself in the midst of a few of these. The one that I most relate to, however, is the time for mourning. I find that I am mourning for a friend and the lies that he has told, the way he is living his life, and yet at the same time, how I have lived mine in the past. I find that sin is sin no matter what the circumstances may be. Not one of us is better then the other. It creeps in on you and it looks seductive at first, but ultimately...it will break you. But the joyful part of this sad story, is the fact that when you break, God will be there to put you back together again.
Remember that God is above all the seeking you. No matter what your sin, no matter where you are in your life, we are all ultimately at the same place, because...God loves us. He loves us all and if you look, if you seek him...you would realize He is calling you home.
Christmas Opener: Just Come Home from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.
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