The Wage of Sin is Death

This passage led me to Christ this morning.

And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel.
Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water.
And as they sat at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived
(1 Kings 13:1-25 ESV).


The Lord reminded me this morning of the seriousness of sin, God's hatred of it, and his wrath that comes against sinners. The wage of sin is death. BUT, God...

Truth over Feeling

Thank you, Matt Lantz, for teaching me truth over feeling. You have no idea how vital this teaching has been for Chassidy and I as we continue to be forged by the Lord.

May God bless you,
John

Conditioned to Cynicism

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
(Philippians 4:8-9 ESV)

Yesterday in church the Lord spoke through these verses to convict me of my constant attitude of cynicism. I have been conditioned to critique or to find flaws in people, systems, philosophies, theologies, songs, or books before I find the positive things-the things of God that are true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

Paul gives this challenge to the Philippians after he entreats two Christian women, "...who have labored side by side with [Paul] in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of [Paul's] fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life (4:3)," to "agree in the Lord (4:2)." When we have this attitude of cynicism, we are blinded to the things of God, nothing is ever good enough, and we disagree in the Lord. We, as believers, are in the Lord, many members of one body (Christ), called to maintain the unity given us in Christ (Ephesians 4).

As redeemed (justified), recovering (being sanctified)sinners, we will have disagreements. Sometimes it is necessary to disagree and sometimes it is unnecessary to disagree, but we must always agree in the Lord. The way we do this is to think about and look first for the things in Paul's list. Because Jesus is true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise, anything that bears any of these qualities is of God and, therefore, must be celebrated and enjoyed.

"What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."
(Philippians 4:9)

The Whole Great Commission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:16-20 ESV)

I saw the Great Commission in a new way this morning. I saw it first as a whole made up of two parts.
The whole: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."
Part one: "...baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."
Part two: "...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

These two parts have to be done in order to make disciples. We must first make converts and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. This is justification. Then we must teach the new converted people all that Jesus has commanded. This is sanctification.

If we only seek to make converts, we get people who "prayed the prayer" but bear no fruit. If we seek only to teach them to observe all that Jesus has commanded, then we get legalistic "dead trees" with duct-taped fruit.

We have been sent on a mission not to make prayers of prayers or pharisees, but disciples. This is much harder work and most glorifying to God.

Help us, Jesus. He is with us always, "to the end of the age."

Currently Reading

Currently I am reading "Engaging God's World" by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. It is a great read for any Christian seeking purpose behind their education or vocation. Plantinga encourages the reader to look at everything in the world through the meta-narrative of Scripture (Creation, Fall, and Redemption), and challenges the elected (Christians) to faithfully take part in the gracious opportunity to be an agent of reformation. Plantinga's running challenge through the whole book is, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, to strive and pray for the Lord to bring the Kingdom of God.

Similar read would be one of my favorite by Albert Wolters, "Creation Regained."

Sanctification and Reformation

"Sanctification is not an antiseptic affair. It is raw, rough, and not for the faint of heart. To please the Lord, we do not "let go and let God"- we reach out and kill the sin that threatens to kill us. This sacred responsibility is not offered to us as an option." -Strachan

On Reformation: "I had rather see coming toward me a whole regiment with drawn swords, than one lone Calvinist convinced that he is doing the will of God." - unknown

"But the Christian life is subjectively living out the implications of what has already been objectively achieved." - The Resurgence

Sanctification is staying the course to where you are going and already are in Christ. It is becoming restored back into the perfect image of Jesus. The threshold of this journey is justification and the finish line is glorification. All this is from God to the praise of his glorious grace.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
(Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)

I am not my own

I am not my own. I was bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus Christ. I am to honor my master with my body and everything in it.

Prayer

In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.
When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
(Matthew 21:18-22 ESV)

Huge prayers answered today. Thank you Father!