Evangelism

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THE HEAVENS AND EARTH BELONG TO GOD

(Psalm 121 1&2) I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, The maker of heaven and earth.

The Bible begins with the Words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Now, if I don’t believe this, what good is the Bible to me?  The very premise of the Bible is that God created all that exists in the physical world, and therefore, creation is His.  I believe that the initial statement of the Bible is true, so I can trust that the rest of the Bible is true and trustworthy.

From the very beginning, we his created ones, have worked to deny God his right to his creation. We have created false gods and worked to eliminate God by saying that he doesn’t exist.  At the beginning, God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden He made for them.  Direct fellowship with mankind ended when they rebelled against Him.  God separated Himself, because He cannot tolerate the presence of sin.  The human rejection of God left us on our own.  We did not repent of our disobedience. Instead, we began to embrace evil by murdering, stealing, and lying to each other.

 However, God did not abandon us; Because of his great loves for us, He planned for our redemption:

 (1John 4:9&10) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I believe that God created the heavens and the earth; it belongs to Him, and the Bible tells the true story of how He has dealt with His creation.  The sad part of the story is how utterly hard we have worked to destroy each other and His creation.  Considering how patient God has been with us, I believe he deserves our devotion to His plan for our redemption. We His children have the opportunity through our gratitude, praise, and worship to recognize God’s rightful place as our creator.

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THE CALL OF GOD

(Luke 13:34) Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

Here in this lament over Jerusalem, Jesus expresses God’s desire to care for and protect His chosen people, but like so many of us, they refused the call of God.  You can almost hear the sadness in His voice as He recalls the many times, He desired to gather His children to Himself. 

Jesus was just days away from His death on the cross when he spoke these words of lament.  The Son of God was about to take on the sins of those who rejected Him.  We were about to be given the greatest gift that mankind would ever be offered, yet to this day many reject God’s call to repent and receive eternal life.

I have been teaching through the book of Revelations.  As I am coming to the end of the book, I read that those experiencing God’s final wrath against the sins of the world still refuse to repent.  Rather, they curse God clinging to their ungodly ways to the very end.

For those of us who have accepted God’s call to return to Him, we have the promise of eternal life with Him in a sinless and new heaven and earth.  Our sins are forgiven and covered by the blood that Jesus shed.  So, no matter what this world may throw at us, let’s stay close to our God.  In the end, it will all be rewarded if we keep the faith.  How foolish it is to reject the call of God!

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THE VALUE OF FORGIVING AND REPENTING

(Colossians 3:12-14) Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

One vital aspect of good family relationships is forgiveness.  God forgives us because he loves us with a perfect love. He demonstrated this love when he gave us his son to cover our transgressions.  The love we have for each other is tainted.  Our sinful nature causes us to resist forgiving.  Therefore, forgiving even insignificant offences tend to be a challenge.  It’s important then to overcome sinful tendencies and take care of the list of transgressions we are holding on to; otherwise, they can grow into a festering sore that will damage our souls as well as our relationships.    God has provided us with forgiveness and repentance for the healing of relationships.

I share these thoughts with you because I have experienced difficulties with forgiveness and repentance, and I have learned through these struggles the great value of forgiving and repenting.  I have found that forgiving someone reveals that their value as a person is greater than the offence.  This is a Godly perspective.  To repent is a humble expression of confession of the offence we have perpetrated. This initiates the process of forgiveness, but do we have to wait for someone to repent before we can forgive? 

My answer to this question is no.  Forgiveness is ultimately a righteous act before God.  It’s nice if a person repents, yet our forgiving does not depend on their repentance.  When we repent before God it clears our soul and opens the door to rebuilding our relationship with him.  The same is true when we repent to each other. It provides the initial step to rebuild a relationship.

There is great value in following God’s command to forgive.  Unforgiveness resides in our soul and does much damage.  Forgiveness frees our soul.  The same is true about repentance.  To repent frees our soul.

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THE KEY TO ETERNAL GLORY RESTS IN FORGIVENESS

(Ephesians 4:31&32) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Our fallen nature has the ability to produce bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice.  These are all counter to what God desires for us his children.  He wants us to be kind, compassionate and forgiving.  This is perhaps the greatest challenge for a Christian.  We live in a world where there is little of what God wants and much of what our fallen nature generates.  The key to living a Godly life lies in our ability to forgive one another.

Jesus set the stage for us to forgive, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (see Romans 5:8) God made provision to forgive us through the sacrifice of his Son.  If God was willing to sacrifice his Son for our forgiveness, we should be able to forgive those who sin against us. 

Sometimes the sin against us seems impossible to forgive.  That’s when we need help from the one who knows the cost of forgiveness.  Jesus humbled himself, even to the humility of death on the cross.  If we are willing to set aside our pride, Jesus can patiently guide us through the process of forgiving.  As we work through the difficult challenge to forgive, we can rest assured that God will be pleased, and there is a blessing coming for those of us who are willing to surrender to God’s way.

(1Peter 3:8&9) Finally, All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

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GOD HEARS OUR EVERY WORD

(Ezekiel 35:13) You boasted against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it.

This was the word of the Lord given to Ezekiel to prophesy against the nation of Edom.  The Edomites were descendants of Esau, and they were the enemies of Israel for many centuries.  When Judah, the southern kingdom of divided Israel, fell to the Babylonians, the Edomites plotted to take over their land.  They boasted against the God of Israel and spoke against God himself.  God heard them!  And that led to their demise.

Isn’t it interesting to know that God hears what we say?  Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken.”  It is beyond our ability to comprehend how God can know every word that has been spoken – for all of time since the beginning and on to the end.  I am very glad that I have been given grace through Jesus Christ.  I hope you have received this great gift of God.

There are those who say that God doesn’t exist, and they use many other words that dismiss the existence of God.  They use his name in vain without restraint. I hope they repent before they come to the day of Judgement to avoid having Jesus speak to them the words he gave to Ezekiel for the Edomites.

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WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF ALL BELIEVERS 

(John 1:12) Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

John is telling us that as believers we have gained the right to be God’s children. Paul tells us in Romans 8:17 that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Collectively, all believers will inherit the Kingdom of God.  The inheritance is already ours to share with brothers and sisters through all eternity.  Okay, so we must die before we reap the full benefits but just think of all the amazing people that will be there to share the joy, peace and wonder of the Kingdom.

When we arrive in heaven, imagine who we might visit with.  Perhaps a visit with our brothers Noah, Abraham or Moses.  Maybe we could talk with our sisters Esther, Ruth or Mary.  These visits will go on for as long as we’d like, because time is not a factor in eternity.

 I’ve been reading in the book of Acts.  The people of the early church experienced some amazing moments with the Holy Spirit.  Won’t it be fascinating to meet these remarkable people. While reading in Acts and thinking of the ones who lived the stories, I had this revelation; though they lived two thousand years ago, they will be there in heaven when I arrive.

These thoughts helped me to recognize that we are full brothers and sisters.  Chosen by God from the beginning of creation to be his children.  The joy to be experienced in heaven is for all his children.  What an amazing future our Father has set before us.  Let there be in our hearts gratitude and great rejoicing at the fellowship we are destined to enjoy.

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A DEEP SENSE OF REVERENCE FOR GOD

(Acts 9:31 MSG) All over the country- Judea, Samaria, Galilee- the church grew.  They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God.

The title I’ve chosen for this post comes from the wording of this scripture verse from Acts chapter 9 as worded in The Message.  Eugene Peterson, the translator of The Message, coined some beautiful ways of expressing the scriptures.  I believe these words, “A deep sense of reverence for God,” give a more complete understanding of what it means to fear God.  They seem to incorporate love into fearing God.

It has been my experience that reverencing God happens over time.  As I have walked with God, I have increased in my love and respect for him.  He has blessed me in many ways, and he has been beside me through some pretty tough times.  To my amazement, the tough times have seemed minor.  The devastation that might have been was overcome by his faithful presence in my time of need.

Over the years, I have learned to trust God and rely on him.  I am growing into a deeper sense of reverence for him.

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FEARING GOD

(Proverbs 9:10) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

In the last 60-70 years, our society has worked to limit the reality of punishment.  What was at one time considered good parenting by correcting our children with a spanking, is today called child abuse.  Criminals often get away with minimal consequences for their crimes. The obvious outcome has been that there is a greatly diminished fear of those in authority.  Though we are sinners in need of a savior, It would seem that we are trying to avoid the reality of eventual punishment for our sins. 

(Psalm 33:18) But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love.

Recognizing the unlimited power and authority of the God of creation is wisdom.  Fearing him leads us to a desire for the knowledge of him and his righteousness.  That desire causes us to avoid those things that anger him.  When we surrender ourselves to his will, we arrive at the humble place where a loving relationship with him can begin.  We can then confidently put our hope in his unfailing love.

Those of us who learn to fear God begin a father-child relationship with him that involves discipline.  His discipline is always for our good (see Hebrews chapter 12). God is molding us into the beings he created us to be.  His discipline is always purposed for bringing us closer to the righteousness he desires for us. 

God built fear into our psychic; fear can be a healthy way of protecting us. Fearing God is a healthy fear, for it leads to an eternal relationship with him.

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COME AND GO

(Matthew 11:28-30) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus gives us the greatest invitation we will ever receive when he says, “Come to me.”  When we come to him, we find rest, and as we commit ourselves to him, he gently teaches us a better way to live the life that he has given us.  He doesn’t lay heavy burdens on us, but be careful, there is a tendency for us to make it hard.

I remember those early days- shaking my fist at Jesus and saying that your burden is not light; it’s hard!  In my pride, I was trying to become a Christian on my own. It turns out that Jesus was patiently teaching me to trust him and learn from him.  As time went on, I found that his burden was light because he was always there beside me.

Like his disciples, Jesus teaches us his ways to live.  As we grow in our knowledge of him and his ways, we are then ready to share the Good News about him.  We are ready to go.

(Matthew 28:19&20) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

When we respond to Jesus’ invitation to come, he calls us to share with others the new life we have received.  We are called to go.  Where are we going?  I believe that we are going into the life The Father set before us.  Some are called to go to other countries, but most of us go to those who are a part of our daily encounters.  Whether we are called to other places or to share right where we are the call to go is for us.

We come and then we go.  We do not go alone, because Jesus has promised that till the very end he will go with us.  As we share and teach about Jesus, he will guide us.  Our receiving of Jesus’ invitation sets in motion an eternal partnership with him, and together we will share the good news with all nations.

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CONSIDER THE KINDNESS AND STERNNESS OF GOD

(Psalm 91:14-16) “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

(Romans 11:22) Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God…

The Apostle Paul challenges us with these words,“Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God…” the verses from Psalm 91 show us that for those who love the Lord and acknowledge his name there is kindness.  The opposite is therefore true that for those who reject the Lord and deny his existence there is sternness.  

Why do Christians talk about a new life in Christ Jesus?  The answer is because we have entered God’s kindness.  God has rescued us, protected us, answered our prayers, been with us in times of trouble, and shown us his salvation.  The writer of Psalm 91 received God’s kindness because he had acknowledged the name of the Lord and had come to love the Lord his God.

The sternness of God is reserved for those who reject God.  His sternness has been demonstrated from the beginning.  The flood is a good example.  In response to rampant evil, God wiped out all but eight of mankind. As we contemplate this, it is good to remember that Creation belongs to God, and he will deal with it according to what is necessary to bring about his final plan for his creation.   

We have each been given the opportunity to receive God’s kindness. First, we come to believe that God exists, and, as we seek him, he builds a relationship with us.  Jesus made the way for all to enter this glorious relationship with our creator.  God’s desire is that we would all come to him.  He would much rather show us his kindness than his sternness.