Is God… fair?

What is God’s relationship with the non-believer – one who doesn’t know Him or acknowledge Him? 

Careful now,  answering this question will lead to another, more uncomfortable question (yes, even some of you “mature” Christians will find it awkward).

The Bible is very clear on answering the first question - God will JUDGE the non-believer.

The other, more incisive question that arises is whether His judgement is fair or not.

Can God be good and righteous if He judges the non-Christian for their sin, especially in light of being “divinely chosen” as expressed in John 6:44 ( “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him) and Ephesians 1:4 (He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him).

If man cannot be saved unless chosen or elected by God, then is it fair for Him to judge those whom He has not so chosen?

 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:18-21 (NASB)

Is it fair for God to choose some to have belief and salvation, while judging those who didn’t get the nod?

Is it unfair?

Yes.

It is unfair.

Not fair at all….

But it is merciful and gracious.

You see, if God was fair, all men would be condemned.

Never ask God to be fair because you would not like it if  He were.

Ask Him to be loving, merciful and gracious.

“He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.” (Psalms 103:10–11)

 

Grace and Peace

“With all I have to give…”

by Lecrae | from the album Rehab

If this Life has anything to gain at all
I count it lost if I can’t hear you, feel you, ’cause I need you.
Can’t Walk this Earth Alone.
I recognize I am not my own, so before I fall
I need to hear you, feel you, as I live to make my boast in  you alone.

With every breath I take, with every heart beat,
Sunrise and the moon lights in the dark street.
Every glance, every dance, every note of a song.
It’s all a gift undeserved that I shouldn’t have known.
Every day that I lie, every moment I covet
I’m deserving to die, I’m just earning your judgment.
I, without the cross there’s only condemnation.
If Jesus wasn’t executed there’s no celebration.
So in times that are good, in times that are bad
For any times that I’ve had it all I will be glad.
and I will boast in the cross. I boast in my pains.
I will boast in the sunshine, boast in His reign.
What’s my life if it’s not praising you.
Another dollar in my bank account of vain pursuit. I do.
That count my life as any value or presence at all.
Let me finish my race, let me answer my call.

Tomorrow’s never promised, but it is we swear.
Think we holding our own, just a fist full of air.
God has never been obligated to give us life.
If we fall for our rights, we be in hell tonight.
Mere sinners own nothing but a fierce hand.
We never loved Him, we pushed away His pierced hands.
I rejected His love, grace, kindness, and mercy.
Dying of thirst, yet, willing to die thirsty.
Eternally worthy, how could I live for less?
Patiently you turn my heart away from selfishness.
I volunteer for your sanctifying surgery.
I know the spirits purging me of everything that’s hurting me.
Remove the vale from my darkened eyes.
So now every morning I open your word and see the sun rise.
I hope in nothing, boast in nothing, only in your suffering.
I live to show your glory, dying to tell your story.

Glory was solely meant for you.
Doing what no one else could do.
With All I have to give, I’ll use my life, I’ll use my lips.
I’ll only glory in your Word. What gift to me I don’t deserve.
I’ll live in such a way that it reflects to you, my Praise.

Grace and Peace

In Christ Alone…

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Grace and Peace

For I am Convinced…

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

In these verses Paul is going to search the entire universe to see if there is anything that could possibly separate us from the love of Christ. Death is mentioned first because it is man’s greatest fear (Hebrews 2:15–death is the “king of fears“). God does not say that He will keep believers from physical death but He does say that physical death will never separate us from Him! 

In fact, for the believer in Christ, death is actually the doorway into the very presence of God where we will know His love more and more:

“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain… having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better.” Phil 1:21-23 

Grace and Peace

His love endures…

^{PSALM 136 (NIV)}

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
       His love endures forever.

 ² Give thanks to the God of gods.
       His love endures forever.

 ³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
       His love endures forever.

 ⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
       His love endures forever.

 ⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens,
       His love endures forever.

 ⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters,
       His love endures forever.

 ⁷ who made the great lights—
       His love endures forever.

 ⁸ the sun to govern the day,
       His love endures forever.

 ⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night;
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁰ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
       His love endures forever.

 ¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them
       His love endures forever.

 ¹² with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
       His love endures forever.

 ¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁴ and brought Israel through the midst of it,
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁶ to him who led his people through the desert,
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁷ who struck down great kings,
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁸ and killed mighty kings—
       His love endures forever.

 ¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁰ and Og king of Bashan—
       His love endures forever.

 ²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance,
       His love endures forever.

 ²² an inheritance to his servant Israel;
       His love endures forever.

 ²³ to the One who remembered us in our low estate
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁴ and freed us from our enemies,
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁵ and who gives food to every creature.
       His love endures forever.

 ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.
       His love endures forever.

 Grace and Peace

 

Stop ‘doing’ Church…

We need to ensure that our heart beats for what God’s heart beats for – a lost and broken world.  The Bible says in Mathew 18:11, “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”  

How do we do this?  

We start “being the church” and we stop “doing” church. 

We stop going through the ritual of some boring religious obligation and start being engaged in what Jesus is passionate about. 

The Church is not a building; it is where the heart of the Lord resides. God dwells in the heart of His people. We are His People. He is in us. We are the Church.  God’s passion should be our passion.
If you’re still passionate about your walk with God and your Christian life, you’re not just going through the motions, but instead are truly moved – to live as Jesus lived, give as He gave, and do as He did. 

No one has to make you read the bible. No one has to ask you to serve at church. No one has to make you tithe or give offerings. No one has to beg you to be involved in missions and advancing the Gospel to a desperate world in need of Good News.
Heartfelt, life-changing, world-impacting power doesn’t casually happen; it is a direct result of your love-relationship with God.
Where’s your passion today?

Grace and Peace

Through the Brokenness…

Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.         

A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”         

 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.        

 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”         

 ”Man, I am not!” Peter replied.        

 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”        

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.         

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”         

And he went outside and wept bitterly.    Luke 22:54-65 (NIV)     

      

       

Most would define Peter’s denials of the Lord as failure.    

In the worst moments of Jesus’ life, Peter was denying he had any connection with Him even though a short time before, he had been so adamant that he would never turn away from the Lord (see Luke 22:33).      

Here are two very important points to take away from this -  First, our failures don’t have to be the defining characteristic of our walk with Jesus.      

Peter was weak and stumbled.      

But because of his deep repentance, the Lord’s help, and the power of the Holy Spirit, he was used mightily by the Lord.      

We must never relegate anyone, especially ourselves for falling short and letting the Lord down at one time or another.      

He is a gracious and compassionate God, and will forgive our sin when we genuinely repent.      

Second, the Lord can use our failures to make us equipped to better serve others in his family.      

 

   

Father, please forgive me for the times I’ve given up on one of your other children or on myself because of failures in faith. Help me to be more gracious to others and to myself and more committed to helping all of us see our opportunities to serve through the brokenness of our stumblings. In Jesus’ name. Amen        

Grace and Peace       

 

I can do everything…

I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)

Grace and Peace

Pray for Missions team…

On Tuesday, April 6th, the DL missions team left for Guatemala. They will partner with missionaries, Mike and Pat Black in their ministry to the impoverished, indigenous people in the rural areas of that nation. They will be distributing shoes, ministering to children and helping with a construction project.

    Please continue to pray for the team – Mark and Ramona Vaillancourt, Jimmy Nichols, Bericca Nelson, Linda Lipari, Bill Segall and Patti Jodhan – for God’s favor, guidance and safety thoughout their trip and until their return on Tuesday, April 13th.

O almighty God, Lord of the harvest of souls, we ask You to guide and bless the discoverlifechurch.tv missions team who have gone forth to Guatemala to preach the gospel.

Endow them with the gifts of generosity and concern.

Send your Holy Spirit on them, that He may strengthen them in weakness, comfort them in trials and direct their efforts.

May He open the hearts of their hearers to receive Your message.

Let Your revelation enlighten all minds for the salvation of souls, and let Your love heal every heart and body for the happiness of each person.

May all people consciously acknowledge You and serve You by living the teachings of Your Son. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grace and Peace

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made…

 

I come before you and praise you this day and every day, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Lord.  It was You that carefully designed every system, organ and gland in my body, and gave each one their tasks.  I ask that you remind each one of the task it is given, and help them all to perform them perfectly.
Father God, you have said that I have the keys to the kingdom of heaven,  and that whatever I bind on earth is bound and whatever I loose on earth is loosed!  So, with that power, this day, in the mighty name of Jesus, I declare that my body is Your temple and I choose to glorify You with it. I bind any sickness or disease that has been trying to attack my body.  I command it to flee in the name of Jesus so that I can present a healthy body to my Lord as a living sacrifice unto Him.  
Lord, you have said that, through Jesus Christ, I am redeemed from the curse of the law.  So, I receive that redemption right now in Jesus name.  No weapon of sickness or disease formed against me shall prosper any longer! 
In Your Word, you have promised that You will restore me to health and heal my wounds.  Because I serve You, You said You would bless my food and take sickness away from me.  Because I listen closely to every Word that You speak, and I keep them in my heart, You promised that they would be life and health to my whole body.
I choose to believe those promises Father.  Help me to believe them more than I believe the doctors that visit me or the symptoms I feel. Help me to stand on Your holy Word today and everyday.
Right now, today, I confess that Jesus Himself bore my pains and carried my sicknesses. He was pierced for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities. The punishment that brought me peace fell on Him, and by His stripes I am healed and made whole!
Anything that was out of balance in my body, through Jesus’ sacrifice, is now put back into balance.  Anything trying to work death in my body is itself withering and dying, because You Father have promised that I will live and not die!
Thank You, Father, that my light breaks forth as the morning and that my health springs forth speedily!

In Jesus Holy Name I Pray – Amen

Grace and Peace