The Strong Name

From the scottish theologian James Stewart, an except from "The Strong Name":

"He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men, yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming yet He was so genial and winsome and approachable that the children loved to play with Him and the little ones nestled in His arms. No one was half so kind or compassionate to sinners yet no one ever spoke such red-hot scorching words about sin… His whole life was love. Yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees how they ever expected to escape the damnation of hell… He saved others but at the last, Himself He did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confront us in the Gospels. The mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality."

1 Corinthians 15:21-28b

1 Corinthians 15:21-28b 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet."^[a] Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Why does evil exist?

I heard the following when listening to Ravi Zacharias (http://www.rzim.org/). In response to the question of why God tolerates evil he responded this way. This is my paraphrasing of his explaination.

Atheist point to evil as proof that God does not exist, because a loving God would not let bad things happen to good people. But if you believe evil exist, good must also exist. If good and evil exist then there must be a moral law by which to distinguish the two. If there is a moral code there must be a moral law giver, in other words God.

We went from how can God exist if evil exist, let's go to "How can evil exist if God exists?" If God is the moral law giver than he exhibits the ultimate ethic, which is love. Love then necessitates freedom. He gives us the right to choose. He tells us what is good for us, but we can choose to ignore it, and bad things happen.

No graven image

Exodus 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." (ESV)

The second commandment states that we shall not make any graven image. Commentaries by Henry and Barnes state that we are not to worship any image, or even create an image of God. We are come to know God through faith, not through images. Images created by man distort the true image of God.

Have you checked out who is painted on the ceiling of the sistine chapel?

No other god before God.

Exo 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me." (ESV)

The hebrew word translated as before, means above, below, in front of, behind of, against. In other words we will not put any other god anywhere near the one true God.

I read somewhere that god is the place we go to get good things, and the place we go during times of hardship. This is a good test of the god we worship.

Do you think money will bring relief, or do you believe God will comfort you? Answer this question honestly to see if you idolize money.

Do you think that if you find the right person to love you will be satisfied, or do you seek God for satisfaction?

We pray oh Lord for your divine guidance. Let us seek out God and worship him alone. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-17 Good Stuff

Colossians 3:1-17
Rules for Holy Living 1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Practice this daily

1 Peter 3:9 ; "9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing."

Oh but it feels so much better to repay evil with evil. That is because of pride. Humble yourself before the Lord and repay the evil with a blessing.

Purify the Heart

James 3:13-18

The passage talks about wisdom. But the wisdom is what one should have in one's heart. James 3:14 states "But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth" (NIV). We should not be proud of our bitter envy or selfish ambitions. Seems obvious. The second part caught my attention.

"... do not ... deny the truth ..." If we there are bad things in our heart we should not deny it. This does not mean that if we hate our neighbor we should show it by egging his house. It means that we must be honest with ourselves and admit to God that hate. He will then start to heal your heart. I have experienced this. First saying everything was fine, and then admitting my unrighteous anger to Him. Things improved for myself.