I've got a really short bolg today. The Bible says plainly "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 (King James Version)
I believe there is a right and a wrong, sin and righteousness, Heaven and Hell. If that makes me intolerant or outdated or mean then so be it. Jesus is the WAY. The thing that gets me is why do alleged believer go around spouting hatred? God is love, or maybe they didn't read that part. Sin must be confronted but it's not because of hate it is because of love. If I love my kids I don't let them play in traffic and if they try to I confront them and stop them. the same with sin. If you have unrepented sin in your life and I love you I will confront that sin. Love doesn't allow sin to go unchecked. But it must be love, not anger or hatred. Jesus loves you, He died for you, He wants you in the kingdom. If you encounter the people who hate in the name of Jesus or God remember they do not speak for Him and they are wrong. Love took Jesus to the cross and love can bring him into your heart and give you everlasting life.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Sacrifice of Nothing
2nd Samuel 24:24; "And the King said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver." (KJV)
In this chapter we find where David had decided to conduct a census to see how many people were in the nation. The Lord became angry with David and an angel of God began to move against the nation and destroy the people. It's not that a census is evil in and of itself but apparently the motivation for this census was to give David confidence in the strength of his nation instead of God. As the angel approaches Jerusalem God stops the destruction. The angel is at the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. David then goes to this location to offer sacrifices to God in repentance of his sin. Araunah, as a loyal subject of the throne, offers the use of his threshingfloor and offers ox for the sacrifice for free. David refuses and says he can not offer what has cost him nothing and so pays Araunah.
I have long been moved by this verse of Scripture. David was not perfect but he was a man after God's own heart and he understood the idea of sacrifice. If it doesn't cost something it isn't truly a sacrifice. We live in such a time and place that the church, in North America, doesn't understand the idea of sacrifice. Tonight if we decide no one in our family wants to fix dinner we can go to McDonald's and our dinner will be ready in 5 minutes and the price won't be much. It will take no real effort on out part. That seems to be our mindset about most everything these days.
I'm glad to be an American and I love my country but freedom may be the worst thing that has ever happened to the church. We show up on Sunday morning, toss a few bucks in the offering, and most of us don't come back the rest of the week. We could all apply our tithe or monetary gift to the church to other things but few people actually sacrifice other things to be able to give to the church, or to missions. We certainly don't seem to want to sacrifice our time. How often do we tell others of Christ? How often do we knock on doors or walk up to complete strangers and invite them to church or share with them about salvation?And why not?
We are busy, busy, busy. People are worn out, tired, and over extended but we don't seem to be accomplishing anything. We run ourselves ragged with work, hobbies, sports, etc. etc. but where does God fit in to our daily lives? What about prayer, bible study, when was the last time any of us (me and most all pastors I know included) took time to be still and know that HE is God. A lot of our busyness is totally avoidable and I've never met anyone yet who didn't make time for the things they want to make time. Lets face it those folks who never come back on Sunday night or Wednesday night aren't out saving lives or souls. They're usually sitting in front of the TV.
You may think I'm being to hard on people and I really don't mean to be unkind or harsh but I meet more and more "Christians" who never witness, never invite to church, barely give, and seldom serve. We miss church and don't participate in church outreach events because we're to tired, to busy, to uncomfortable, and to lazy. We want the church to grow and God to move as long as we don't have to be personally involved. We want to sacrifice as long as that sacrifice costs us exactly nothing.
Christ died for our sins, people need Jesus, no matter what anyone says there is a Heaven and there is a Hell. We have a mission, we need to work hard and do our part for the Kingdom. I know I could do more and I hope I will. I want to be an example to my family, my friends, my community, and my church. I certainly don't want to be guilty of offering the sacrifice of nothing.
In this chapter we find where David had decided to conduct a census to see how many people were in the nation. The Lord became angry with David and an angel of God began to move against the nation and destroy the people. It's not that a census is evil in and of itself but apparently the motivation for this census was to give David confidence in the strength of his nation instead of God. As the angel approaches Jerusalem God stops the destruction. The angel is at the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. David then goes to this location to offer sacrifices to God in repentance of his sin. Araunah, as a loyal subject of the throne, offers the use of his threshingfloor and offers ox for the sacrifice for free. David refuses and says he can not offer what has cost him nothing and so pays Araunah.
I have long been moved by this verse of Scripture. David was not perfect but he was a man after God's own heart and he understood the idea of sacrifice. If it doesn't cost something it isn't truly a sacrifice. We live in such a time and place that the church, in North America, doesn't understand the idea of sacrifice. Tonight if we decide no one in our family wants to fix dinner we can go to McDonald's and our dinner will be ready in 5 minutes and the price won't be much. It will take no real effort on out part. That seems to be our mindset about most everything these days.
I'm glad to be an American and I love my country but freedom may be the worst thing that has ever happened to the church. We show up on Sunday morning, toss a few bucks in the offering, and most of us don't come back the rest of the week. We could all apply our tithe or monetary gift to the church to other things but few people actually sacrifice other things to be able to give to the church, or to missions. We certainly don't seem to want to sacrifice our time. How often do we tell others of Christ? How often do we knock on doors or walk up to complete strangers and invite them to church or share with them about salvation?And why not?
We are busy, busy, busy. People are worn out, tired, and over extended but we don't seem to be accomplishing anything. We run ourselves ragged with work, hobbies, sports, etc. etc. but where does God fit in to our daily lives? What about prayer, bible study, when was the last time any of us (me and most all pastors I know included) took time to be still and know that HE is God. A lot of our busyness is totally avoidable and I've never met anyone yet who didn't make time for the things they want to make time. Lets face it those folks who never come back on Sunday night or Wednesday night aren't out saving lives or souls. They're usually sitting in front of the TV.
You may think I'm being to hard on people and I really don't mean to be unkind or harsh but I meet more and more "Christians" who never witness, never invite to church, barely give, and seldom serve. We miss church and don't participate in church outreach events because we're to tired, to busy, to uncomfortable, and to lazy. We want the church to grow and God to move as long as we don't have to be personally involved. We want to sacrifice as long as that sacrifice costs us exactly nothing.
Christ died for our sins, people need Jesus, no matter what anyone says there is a Heaven and there is a Hell. We have a mission, we need to work hard and do our part for the Kingdom. I know I could do more and I hope I will. I want to be an example to my family, my friends, my community, and my church. I certainly don't want to be guilty of offering the sacrifice of nothing.
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