Imagine a World Without . . .

I think this is a terrific ad! And I agree with the idea of getting rid of cigarettes!

But let’s think about this a bit. Imagine a world without . . . [What would you insert here?]

John Lennon tried to imagine the wrong thing away . . . heaven!

I can think of some big issues: SIN  DECEIT CRUELTY  HARSHNESS  CRITICISM  MISUNDERSTANDING  IDOLATRY  BIGOTRY  RACISM  TEMPTATION  INFIDELITY  ADULTERY  GOSSIP  The list could go on and on . . .

Actually the Bible teaches that one day all sin will be a thing of the past! Won’t that be a great day?

 

TOO LATE! We Are ALL ALREADY Infected!

Our hearts go out to all those who have been infected with the coronavirus. And we should each take steps to stop the spread of this pandemic. Now we hesitate before shaking another person’s hand, give another believer a holy hug, or think about running whenever someone is about to sneeze. We all can’t wait until this virus has run its course and is no longer a threat!

However, there is a virus that all of us have already. The infection of SIN. We didn’t get it through human contact, but by being born as humans into this broken, fallen, rebellious world. We are SINNERS by nature — and by practice. And the answer to this worldwide pandemic is not self-quarantine (as much as we introverts think we might like such). Nor is there any human cure. No amount of money or scientists thrown at the problem will solve it. This virus is lodged in our DNA until the day we die.

This malady, this sickness, has infected our very persons. Like a newly-discovered tumor, it is far from benign. It is cancerous, invasive, progressive, and lethal. Outside treatment, even of a radical nature, will not help. Without an inner healing, we are helpless and doomed to debilitation, decay, and death.

Sin has infected each of us, down to our very bone marrow. The tests have come back; the doctor says, “I’ve done a thorough DNA scan on you. I’ve checked the results twice. Unfortunately, I’ve got very bad news. You’re infected, the disease is progressive, and it will kill you. It is only a matter of time. We do not know of any cure. There is no hope. I’m sorry. You should complete your will if you haven’t already done so. I can recommend a good attorney if you need one.”

Overtly moral and good people can’t see their sin. Their true nature is covered up by their goodness. But, one thing they lack is true forgiveness, a spiritual washing.

The only vaccine that can bring us spiritual health is . . . the death of Another in our place. The Great Healer, the Lord Jesus, took our sin upon Himself and “became sin for us.” He does not, at this point in time, eradicate the infection which is in us, but He has paid for the penalty of our SIN.

Give thanks today for our Great Physician, the Lord Jesus! Recognize that you will never meet another human who is not infected. Be prepared to share the CURE which is CHRIST.

 

 

Time for a Great Quote: Tim Keller on SIN

“Many have the impression that the Christian doctrine of sin is bleak and pessimistic about human nature. Nothing could be further from the truth. When I was brand-new in the ministry a young man came to see me whose wife had just left him. He was feeling angry at what she had done, guilty over his own flaws that had led her to it, and despondent before the whole situation. I said that what he needed more than anything was hope. He quickly agreed and asked how he could get some. As gently as possible I said that the good news was — he was a sinner. Because he was a sinner he wasn’t simply the helpless victim of psychological drives or social systems.

Years later I came across a passage in the sermon by Barbara Brown Taylor, who said more eloquently what I tried to say that day: “Neither the language of medicine nor of law is adequate substitute for the language of [sin]. Contrary to the medical model, we are not entirely at the mercy of our maladies. The choice is to enter into the process of repentance. Contrary to the legal model, the essence of sin is not [primarily] the violation of laws but a wrecked relationship with God, one another, and the whole created order. ‘All sins are attempts to fill voids,’ wrote Simone Weil. ‘Because we cannot stand the God-shaped hole inside of us, we try stuffing it full of all sorts of things, but only God may fill [it].'”

 

Still Another Great Quote from Pastor John Piper: A Definition of SIN!

 

Naturalism and Christianity — Thomas Oden on Guilt and Sin!

“The heart of the difference between cheap-grace doctrines of guilt-free existence and the Christian gospel is this: Modern chauvinism desperately avoids the message of guilt by treating it as a regrettable symptom. Christianity listens to the message of guilt by conscientious self-examination. Hedonism winks at sin. Christianity earnestly confesses sin. Secularism assumes it can extricate itself from gross misdeeds. Christianity looks to grace for divine forgiveness. Modern consciousness is its own fumbling attorney before the bar of conscience. Christianity rejoices that God himself has become our attorney. Modernity sees no reason to atone for or make reparation for wrongs. Christianity knows that unatoned sin brings on misery of conscience. Modern naturalism sees no need for God. Christianity celebrates God’s willingness to suffer for our sins and redeem us from guilt.”
― Thomas C. Oden, Guilt Free

 

Men Love Darkness Rather Than Light, Because Their Deeds Are Evil!

Our cars were broken into last night in our driveway!  In our neighborhood we usually don’t lock our car doors.  But we’re going to start doing so.

I just ordered a solar-powered motion-detecting light for over our garage to keep thieves from robbing us again.

They got a little bit of money AND my $20 birthday Red Robin gift card.  May they choke on the next burger they eat (imprecatory prayer).

God doesn’t need a solar-powered motion-detecting light, does He?  He sees what we do in secret.  Nothing is hidden from His sight.

Sure makes you glad you’re in His family, right?

 

Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord (Psalm 106)

Psalm 106

¹ Praise the Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

² Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord
    or fully declare his praise?
³ Blessed are those who act justly,
    who always do what is right.

⁴ Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people,
    come to my aid when you save them,
⁵ that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that I may share in the joy of your nation
    and join your inheritance in giving praise.

⁶ We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
    we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
⁷ When our ancestors were in Egypt,
    they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
    and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
⁸ Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
    to make his mighty power known.
⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
    he led them through the depths as through a desert.
¹⁰ He saved them from the hand of the foe;
    from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.
¹¹ The waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them survived.
¹² Then they believed his promises
    and sang his praise.

¹³ But they soon forgot what he had done
    and did not wait for his plan to unfold.
¹⁴ In the desert they gave in to their craving;
    in the wilderness they put God to the test.
¹⁵ So he gave them what they asked for,
    but sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶ In the camp they grew envious of Moses
    and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
¹⁷ The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
    it buried the company of Abiram.
¹⁸ Fire blazed among their followers;
    a flame consumed the wicked.
¹⁹ At Horeb they made a calf
    and worshiped an idol cast from metal.
²⁰ They exchanged their glorious God
    for an image of a bull, which eats grass.
²¹ They forgot the God who saved them,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
²² miracles in the land of Ham
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
²³ So he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him
    to keep his wrath from destroying them.

²⁴ Then they despised the pleasant land;
    they did not believe his promise.
²⁵ They grumbled in their tents
    and did not obey the Lord.
²⁶ So he swore to them with uplifted hand
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
²⁷ make their descendants fall among the nations
    and scatter them throughout the lands.

²⁸ They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor
    and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
²⁹ they aroused the Lord’s anger by their wicked deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
³⁰ But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was checked.
³¹ This was credited to him as righteousness
    for endless generations to come.
³² By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord,
    and trouble came to Moses because of them;
³³ for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
    and rash words came from Moses’ lips.

³⁴ They did not destroy the peoples
    as the Lord had commanded them,
³⁵ but they mingled with the nations
    and adopted their customs.
³⁶ They worshiped their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
³⁷ They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to false gods.
³⁸ They shed innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was desecrated by their blood.
³⁹ They defiled themselves by what they did;
    by their deeds they prostituted themselves.

⁴⁰ Therefore the Lord was angry with his people
    and abhorred his inheritance.
⁴¹ He gave them into the hands of the nations,
    and their foes ruled over them.
⁴² Their enemies oppressed them
    and subjected them to their power.
⁴³ Many times he delivered them,
    but they were bent on rebellion
    and they wasted away in their sin.
⁴⁴ Yet he took note of their distress
    when he heard their cry;
⁴⁵ for their sake he remembered his covenant
    and out of his great love he relented.
⁴⁶ He caused all who held them captive
    to show them mercy.

⁴⁷ Save us, Lord our God,
    and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸ Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.

Let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the Lord.

 

Time for a Great Question: “What Is WRONG with You?!”

My wife Linda and I sell books on Amazon.  We ship out about 10-15 books per day.  Most of our sales are straightforward.

Occasionally, we have to deal with the “20% crazy factor.”  This refers to those customers who complain or send their book back and write things like, “No longer needed” or “There was writing on one page” or “I ordered the wrong textbook.”  We (mostly) cheerfully refund their money.  Without arguing.  Without criticism.

But one customer was so incensed with her purchase (the book had some highlighting in it which we accurately described in its listing) that she wrote us an email that simply said, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

Now, we could have gone into a lot of detail as to what is wrong with us, what is biblically wrong with her, etc.  But we didn’t.  We simply refunded her money.

It did remind me of the great Tozer quote you see above.  ‘Cause we are all broken. And there is a LOT that is wrong with us!

 

Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord (Psalm 51)

Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

 

Time for a Great Quote (fighting sin!)

Billy Sunday, a former professional baseball player, became an evangelist. He once said, “Listen, I’m against sin. I’ll kick it as long as I’ve got a foot, I’ll fight it as long as I’ve got a fist, I’ve butt it as long as I’ve got a head, and I’ll bite it as long as I’ve got a tooth. And when I’m old, fistless, footless, and toothless, I’ll gum it till I go home to glory and it goes home to perdition.”