Why Not Wrath?

                When Jesus was being arrested, His disciples must have forgotten who He was, because one of them attacked one of the men who were arresting Jesus and cut off his ear. We see a human being trying to defend Jesus Christ. Why? Isn't Jesus Christ God, and isn't God omnipotent? He has all the power. Why would he need to be defended? It's easy to think that the disciples had seen so much love from God that they forgot that He was also powerful. They misunderstood His meekness for weakness.

                When this had happened, Jesus said, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53) He was telling the disciples who He was. He was not just the loving Jesus Christ, He was also the omnipotent and sovereign God of all. Looking at the time, a legion in the Roman army was 5,000 men. Jesus said that He could call for more than twelve legions of angels. That means that He could call more than 60,000 angels at once. 60,000! Try to imagine 60,000 people all in one place, holding swords of fire and trumpets that make thunder sound like a soft key on a piano. This is not even a fractions of the power of God!

                Many of the Jews of the time must have wondered why Christ did not come down from Heaven in thunderbolts and lightning, destroying everything that dared to oppose His people. Well, to be honest, He could do that at any moment. He is a powerful God who has no limits. So why didn't He come in power? Why did He choose to come through a poor Jewish girl, walk around the Earth for thirty-three years healing people and being meek, and then dying on the cross when He could have easily spoken a word from Heaven and obliterated everyone who was against His people? Well, His people deserved Hell, too. In fact, everyone deserved Hell. We are all sinners. Instead of choosing to kill us all off, He decided to come in love. He choose to come and be our living example instead of our destroyer. He loved us more than He wanted to bring wrath down upon us; that is why He took the cross so that He could be just and loving at the same time.

                So, why not pick the road of omnipotence and wrath, as opposed to meekness and love? Because He is a God who loves us and will never stop loving us! We should be grateful that His grace is sufficient and that His mercy never runs out.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Do Not Fear

                The Bible says "Do not fear" 365 times. That's enough for each day of the year! I was talking to a friend last night and he was saying how he would gladly take a bullet for being a Christian. I agreed. I felt it was easier to go to such radical extents. What if you didn't have to die for being a Christian? What if we stopped looking at the big things as something to fear? Once we die, we go to Heaven. There is no suffering involved. Why should we fear death as Christians?

                I know that I would die for God without hesitation, but put a needle in front of me and I am ready to cry like a baby. I cannot stand shots or anything involving a needle! Ask me to go hold a snake and you will see how fast I can run. Let's not even talk about spiders. The point is, we are so quick to say "I'm willing to die for this!" What about the little things? What about when you have to walk in the dark and you feel afraid? What about when you have to go get a shot and you cannot stand the thought of needles? What about having to hang around someone that you cannot stand being around? What about giving your last dollar to someone in need? Let's stop trying to act so big and look at the small stuff too.

                Are you afraid to do the small things, too? If so, that is fine! That is why the Holy Spirit is known as the Comforter. He comforts us! God knows that we can become afraid and He has prepared for that. Let us not be ashamed to be afraid. Instead, let's get into prayer whenever we become afraid. Let us ask God to be in our every day situations. He is not so big that He will only deal with life or death situations. He will be right there with you no matter what the situation is.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Good People

                I have heard people say, "Well she is a good person. She'll go to Heaven." This statement is completely true! If you are a good person, you will go to Heaven. Even Jesus says that the righteous will enter into Heaven (Matthew 25:46) That's wonderful news, right? Well, there is one problem: There is no such thing as a good person.

                I know what many of you are thinking. "What do you mean there is no such thing as a good person? I go to church five days a week, I give food to the homeless, I tithe at church, I do it all! How can you tell me that I'm not a good person?" Well, let me give you this scripture then. "Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one  has seen or ever can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:16) Can you live forever? Can someone see you and not die on the spot? Unless you are God, you are imperfect, and if you are imperfect, you aren't good.

                I know, I know, "But I go to church every service! I don't murder or do anything big. I'm not a bad person." Well, maybe you haven't murdered anyone or done any drugs or slept around, but let me give you this scripture. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Sin is sin, no matter how big or small. Any and all sin equals death, even one time. Even if someone lived the perfect life, and stole a piece of bubble gum, they sinned and their sin bought them death. Sin is a decision we make when we think that our idea is better than God's. That is why sin looks fine to us, because we think that it's a good idea. It is not. It is rebellion against the almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth. Sin is rebellion against someone better than you. It is like an elementary student taking their parent's car keys and driving around town. They think it is fine because they are having fun, but they are oblivious to all of the danger that they are getting themselves in.

                Look back on your life and tell me that you have never sinned. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Everyone has sinned, including you and me. Have you ever lied, even a little white lie? That is a sin. Have you ever stolen something, even something that no one would miss? That is a sin. Have you ever talked bad about someone behind their back? That is a sin. Have you ever thought someone was stupid or sinful? That was judgmental. That was a sin as well. We are all sinners! This is a fact!

                I know, I know, "But my sin wasn't big. Those Bible verses are talking about big sins. It doesn't apply to me." Well, I believe Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned, and I believe that you are included when the verse says "all." Yes, you might not have murdered, but you have stilled sinned and it is worthy of death. To say that your sin isn't big enough to send you to Hell is to spit in God's face and tell Him that He isn't as holy as He thinks He is. God cannot be in the presence of sin. You and I are both sinners, and that is a fact. That is why we would go to Hell. Hell is separation from God, and He cannot have you in His presence if you have sinned. Not because He chooses to separate you and Him, but because He is too holy to be in the presence of sin.

                Let me put it this way. Imagine that I bakes a delicious cake. It was triple layered and filled with your favorite flavor. Now, as I cut out a piece of the cake to give to you, I hand you the plate and say, "Oh, by the way, I sprinkled just a little bit of dog poop into the batter before I cooked it." Would you still eat my cake? It is the same way with our sin! Our sin, no matter how big or small we want to think it is, destroys us and makes us imperfect. Don't be mad because the standard is high, be mad because you didn't meet the standard. God made man perfect but we failed Him. If you're going to be mad, make sure that you're getting mad at the right person.

                No matter what, there is no way out of it: we are all sinners who deserve Hell for not meeting the standard of Heaven. Being mad about this truth is like being mad about having diabetes if all you ate was sugar and candy for a year. We cannot be mad at the consequences of our own decisions.

                Now, we all know that we are sinners. How do we not go to Hell? No matter what our sin is, we don't want Hell. Well, we should turn to Jesus. Why Jesus? Because the Bible says that "'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:13) Jesus Christ is Lord and He is the only one that can save us. He even said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Jesus Christ is the only true way to Heaven. Jesus Christ is the only true way to eternal life. We cannot work off our debt. The only thing that can satisfy sin is death. It doesn't matter how often you go to church, how many homeless people you help, how much you donate, or how well people know you at church. The wages of sin is death, that means that when you sin, you owe death. No other payment will do. Trying to work off sin is like trying to pay your bills with pumpkins. It just won't work.

                It is through Jesus Christ alone that we can be saved from Hell. Romans 10:13 says that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." We must turn to Jesus who gives us grace. We must stop trying to work off our sin or ignore it. To take any other path to Heaven aside from Jesus Christ is prideful and arrogant. It is saying, "God, you don't know the rules to the system that you made. I, a sinful imperfect man, know a better way to Heaven; and you're going to let me in because this is the way that I want to live; so be quiet and work with me." This will never work! Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven! We cannot work our way in.

                We must humble ourselves and accept what Jesus Christ did for us. He went to the cross and took the spiritual punishment that we deserved when God poured out the cup of wrath on Him, the cup of wrath being filled with the punishments that every human will ever deserve for their sin. Jesus took it all for us. We must be humble enough to admit that we sin and deserve Hell, but that God will give grace to those who are humble enough to accept it. It comes down to this: We are all sinners who deserve Hell and need a savior. Jesus Christ is that savior. He is the only way out of Hell. Nothing else will do. He has reached out His hand to us at the cross. Will you take His hand and accept what He did, or will you let your pride get in the way of eternal life? The choice is yours.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Not Evangelism!

                As Christians, we know the reality of Heaven and Hell. If you do not have Jesus Christ in your heart, you are choosing to go to Hell. It is a reality that many Christians do not want to face when their loved ones have not chosen Jesus Christ. If your mother was not a Christians, or your best friend, you would be devastated and would want them to become saved right away. It is natural, and loving, to want others to be saved; but we cannot forget this simple truth: it is their relationship with God, not ours.

                No matter how much we want to save others, we cannot. As I always say, we cannot save a soul. Only God can do that. We must not become a burden upon others. We must continue to do well and love others with the same love that Jesus Christ showed us. Aside from that, we cannot force our beliefs upon others. If someone is not comfortable talking about religion, do not bring it up. Be respectful and let them bring it up whenever they are comfortable. Do not attack or insult someone else's beliefs. How can we expect to show God's love if we are making fun of someone else's way of life?

                Until that someone decides to seek out God, all that we can do are two things: show them the love of Jesus Christ and pray for them. We can do nothing else. We are called to seek the lost, love them, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. We can present scripture when the time is right, but we must let the Holy Spirit lead us. We cannot force someone to believe what we believe. We cannot argue our way into someone's hearts. No one has ever been saved through argument. Only through love and the conviction that the Holy Spirit presents. We can do no more than pray and love them.

                But do not be discouraged! These are the two most powerful things a Christian can do for a non-believer. Jesus came and did this for us. He prayed for us and loved us enough to go to the cross for us, and look at how many people have been saved through His act of love and prayer. Let us follow in His example! Do not be discouraged. Instead, be patient and know that God is in control!


                                                                                                                                         -D

Decent From The Cross

                Last night, a group of my friends and I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (AKA: LACMA) and I saw a piece called, "Decent fron the Cross" by Daniel Mauch. The piece captivated me as soon as I saw it. I had to take a look and see what was going on. In the piece, there is a man taking Jesus Christ down from the cross right after his crucifixion. It was like watching what could only be described as holy horror. As I looked upon the piece, I thought, "God died."

                It was not part of the story, "Jesus died, and then He rose again! Yay!" This is a reality. The almighty creator of Heaven and Earth came to literally die for our sins. As I looked at the man who was holding Jesus, I pictured what must have been going through his mind. He was holding his creator. He was holding God. He was holding a dead Jesus Christ. It must have been heart breaking. He must have been waiting for Jesus to open His eyes again and breath life; but He didn't.

                One of my friends who was with me came over and asked, "are they just ripping Him off of the cross?" Another friend commented saying, "Of course." I thought about it for a second. Of course they were just ripping Him off of the cross. They had no idea that He was going to rise again in three days. He must have looked like a normal man, dead and being taken down from the cross just like everyone else that had ever been crucified. He looked no more glorious than any other man on the cross, so why would they treat Him differently? Why would they treat Him better? They had no idea who they were putting up on the cross.

                It was not the piece itself that made me realize that Jesus died for us. I knew that already; but to see an image of what it must have looked like hammered the final nail into the coffin. Jesus Christ literally came into a human body and died for us. No figurative language at all. Jesus literally died. For three days He was dead and in the tomb.

                Now, what lifts my heart with joy is what happened at the end of those three days. He rose again! He did not stay dead. He might have come in the form of a man, but when He died He came back with all authority and all power! He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. There is nothing greater that could have been done. He was the top guy in charge, there was no position above Him. Then He went down to the bottom. There was literally no position below Him. He did not have money or a job or a place to live. He went from the king who rules over every king, to a homeless man sent to death for a crime that He did not commit. The glorious part is that He did not stay as a lowly man. He picked up His authority and His power in death and triumphed. Jesus Christ was not beaten. In fact, He gave us victory!

                Jesus said, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:18) It was Jesus Christ alone who had the authority to give up His life and pick it back up. What man takes back his life from death? None but Jesus.

                This is the powerful part, guys! He didn't just die and rise again to prove that He was God. He could have forced us to our knees in worship if He wanted to do that. He has authority over all, even us considering He gave us life. This is not what He did. He died and rose again, not for Himself or any gain to Him because He has all; but He did the most painful thing for the most worthless people. He took the punishment that we deserved. He died on the cross for you! He rose again for you! He did it all for you! So the next time that you see a cross, remember that it should have been you, but God stepped in and loved you enough to take the punishment for you. Now, it's your turn if you want to accept this free gift that He has offered you. This is your call to His action.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Family In Christ

                We, as Christians, are a part of a larger body. It is not just about ourselves and God. We have brothers and sisters in Christ. We can open our eyes and pour out our hearts to fellow believers because they will show us the love of God. We have a family in Christ. We are not alone.

                Yes, we will get on each other's nerves. We are human still. We will annoy each other, make each other mad, offend each other, and all of the other lovely things that brothers and sisters do to each other; but underneath it all is unity. Our family is rooted on the unity that Christ brings us. Ephesians 4:2-6 says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

                We all serve one Lord, we follow one God, we receive love and forgiveness from one source, and we are all one in Jesus Christ. There is no reason for any division within the church body. Ever. Anyone who fights with another brother or sister is fighting against the temple of God, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you? (1 Corinthians 6:19) If you fight with your brother or sister, you are fighting with the Lord. You must remember that our unity is not a unification of parts. We are all one with Christ. We have one goal, one Lord, one King, one Savior, one God. We are one under His love and mercy.

                Growing up, I visited my Aunt's house every other summer. I was younger, so I could not make food or do much for myself. My three older cousins all had to take care of me. I would wake them up early, demand the pickiest of foods possible, bug them to play games with me (especially when they were busy) and get them in trouble at any chance that I could get. I was a brat, to the "T." Through all of my annoying ways and my bratty habits; when it comes down to it, all three of them would have my back if something happened to me. That is love. They were, as Ephesians 4 tells us to be, patient and bearing with one another in love. They were humble when I was being selfish. They were patient when I was riding their last nerves. They were bearing me with love when I was getting them in trouble. I love the three of them to death! They are my family.

                All in all, they showed me what 1 Timothy 5:8 looked like: "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Because I can look back and see what they did for me, I now know how to show that patient, humble and enduring love to others.

                We might get annoyed with one another, and want to just abandon each other; but we are unified in Christ. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. It is our duty to help and love our brothers and sisters with a loving and humble spirit. Let us put this unity into action every day of our lives. We are the body of Christ, Let us not disappoint our Heavenly Father.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Phone Test

                How many of us carry our phones on us at all times? How many of us run home when our battery is low or carry a charger with us? How many of us have our whole lives on our phones? How many of us would be devastated if something happened to our phones? It is an interesting situation to think of. How was it fifty years ago or so when cell phones were not a thing, or when the internet was a science-fiction idea. Now, first of all, this is not about me saying that cell phones are evil and belong in Hell. Far from it! You can do so much good with cell phones. I will say this much. How important cell phones are in our lives should be half as important as the Bible is.

                Imagine if we carried around a Bible as often as we carried around a phone. Imagine if we had our noses in our Bibles half as often as we had them in our phones. Imagine if we asked for people's numbers, not to date, but we build meaningful relationships. Imagine if we prayed as much as we talked on the phone. Imagine if our phones were only half as important as our Lord.

                We are living in a day and age where electronics are becoming more and more popular by the month. We are living in a time where materialistic things seem to be looking more and more important. I am not saying that cell phones are not important. They are! But we need to remember what is paramount: God.

                I once took a day off of my phone. At first it was hard because I was thinking about my phone; but then I began to enjoy the liberating feeling. If anyone needed me, they somehow found me. It was too easy. In fact, it was so easy I almost didn't believe it. I wanted to try going another twenty-four hours without my phone. It is when I put down my thoughts of how important it was and let God put into perspective what was important that I began to understand things. I was set free by Christ from all things, even the mind set that I could not survive without my phone.

                Here is my challenge: Could you go a day without your phone? If the answer is no, could you go a day without prayer? If the answer is yes, then take a minute to examine what that means to you. What is important to you, and is that how it should be?


                                                                                                                                         -D