For those of you who don't know, Nahum is a book in the Old Testament in the Bible. You can find it sandwiched between Micah and Habakkuk. If you're still lost...go to the beginning of the New Testament and flip backwards through Malachi, Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah, and Habakkuk. The next book his Nahum. In my Bible it starts on page 1007 (which might help some of you guys who still have the Precious Moment's Bible your parents got you in the late 80's or early 90's.
Anyway, Nahum is one of those books that you really only want to read when you feel like having your toes stepped on. Or if you feel like having someone riverdance on your toes for 47 verses. Nahum is not for the faint of heart or the weak-minded. It is filled with the power, might, and mind-blowing wrath of God. This passage alone is daunting: "He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. The mountains quake before Him, the hills melt, and the earth heaves at His presence, yes, the world and all who dwell in it." 1:4-5 I mean...the POWER of that. The MIGHT of our God...that His presence would cause the whole earth to heave and melt the hills. And I read through forty more verses filled with with the same crazy-awesome-powerful-amazing things, and I cringe and I flinch, and think to myself, "God, please don't ever let me be on the receiving end of Your wrath."
I read 3:5-6, "'Behold, I am against you,' says the Lord of hosts; "I will lift your skirts over your face; I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame. I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle." And I feel as though I've been punched in the gut and I fear the punishment of the Lord...of a God who could do that to His enemies.
I read the last two verses of the book 3:18-19, "Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; your nobles rest in the dust, your people are scattered on the mountains, and no one gathers them. Your injury has no healing, your wound is severe, all who hear news of you will clap their hands over you, for upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually." And I see how God's enemy receives his mortal wound, and how the whole world will erupt in applause and the complete desolation of the wicked, and I realize...
I am not God's enemy. He is on my side. He may have stored up his wrath for His enemies. That is well and good because I AM NOT an enemy of God. I have nothing to fear because I am His and He is mine. And I rejoice because I know in my heart of hearts - in the deepest part of my soul that I will never have to face His wrath. I will never have to worry about His anger and His wrath and His vengeance because I have been saved and adopted into His family. And He has covered me with His love.
But my heart breaks for those who will never come to this realization, who will never accept the love and salvation of the Lord. Because it is those who shall surely suffer his wrath and anger and vengeance. And, oh, what a terrible day that is.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
I thought you were a Christian...but you don't sound like one
So, I have been thinking a lot in the last two or three days about how Christians get a bad name. I know the Bible says that the world will hate us because it hated Him first, but does that really mean we ought to give them fuel for the fire? I mean...there are some crazies out there who pour gasoline by the barrel on the already roaring bonfire.
What with all of the hate-spitting abortion protesters who line up at clinics, or the whack jobs saying that God hates the gays and the reason our troops are being killed is because of homosexuality, calling people faggots and other derogatory names. Let's not even begin talking about the bigotry and self-righteousness that daily divides the body of Christ...because a guy's hair is long, or because a girl wears makeup or pants, or because a person does or doesn't speak in tongues, or because they drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.
All I can say is: Seriously? Do we really think that God cares about makeup or skirts or alcohol consumption as much as he cares about the heart of a person? Do we really think that our God is that concerned with habits or personal preferences? You might as well say that a person who cracks his or her knuckles can't get into Heaven. It's ludicrous. LUDICROUS!
No, SERIOUSLY. What our God cares about is the heart and soul of a man/woman. And He also cares about how we represent Him to the world. We won't change the world by wagging our fingers and spewing our hatred of other religions or walks of life. When Christ dealt with all those sinners in the Bible, the whores and liars and murderers, he was kind and loving toward them. The only time he got pissed off was when people were trying to SELL salvation in the temple. It is His LOVE, His KINDNESS, that leads to repentance. It is not hellfire and brimstone, or fear, or judgment, and we have no right proclaiming what God thinks. We are not God, and we do not know the depths of his thoughts. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.
And, guess what, people, when Christ died He set us free from the LAW, and now we have the GIFT of His Spirit. Our God is a loving God, but the Church does a pitiful job of showing and sharing and being that love. We spew judgment about homosexuality, about abortion, about alcohol consumption or drug use, or cigarette smoking. Anger flashes from our eyes and hatred erupts from our hearts. Do we look like Christ when we do this? Do we sound like Christ when we say this? And what's more, why are we so worried about what the unchurched do, when we have gossip and back-biting and anger and unforgiveness and pettiness running rampant in our churches? Do you not know that above all other sins, our God considers sowing discord among the bretheren an abomination? Read Proverbs 6:16-19. And we would have the audacity to say we're better than the person walking in for an abortion? We would have the audacity to say we're better than someone in an alternative lifestyle? We would say we're better than a drunkard or a drug addict or a murderer? PLEASE! That is selfish and hypocritical! We are not better! We have only accepted the reality that we are wretched sinners in need of a Savior. That is our only difference.
I am not saying that I agree with abortion or homosexuality or substance abuse. I believe the Bible very clearly states that all three are wrong. But it won't do me any good to fly out to DC, stand on a steps at in the Mall, and scream and shout those things to all the passersby. I'd probably get arrested for disturbing the peace. It is fine and acceptable to have our own personal beliefs, our own set of codes by which to live, but it is not fine and acceptable to rage and scream and judge others when their beliefs or set of codes differ from yours. And it is certainly not okay to claim that you speak for God when the words coming from your mouth are tainted with hatred. And that is why Christians have such a bad reputation, such a bad name. We're supposed to be about love and forgiveness. Instead we judge and we hate. If I didn't already know Jesus, and all I had to go on was that example of a person screaming against abortions and calling homosexuals faggots and saying God hated them, you can be DARN SURE that I wouldn't want to meet Jesus or join His family.
So, the next time you feel like judging someone for their look or their lifestyle choice, consider this:
"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:3-5
What with all of the hate-spitting abortion protesters who line up at clinics, or the whack jobs saying that God hates the gays and the reason our troops are being killed is because of homosexuality, calling people faggots and other derogatory names. Let's not even begin talking about the bigotry and self-righteousness that daily divides the body of Christ...because a guy's hair is long, or because a girl wears makeup or pants, or because a person does or doesn't speak in tongues, or because they drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes.
All I can say is: Seriously? Do we really think that God cares about makeup or skirts or alcohol consumption as much as he cares about the heart of a person? Do we really think that our God is that concerned with habits or personal preferences? You might as well say that a person who cracks his or her knuckles can't get into Heaven. It's ludicrous. LUDICROUS!
No, SERIOUSLY. What our God cares about is the heart and soul of a man/woman. And He also cares about how we represent Him to the world. We won't change the world by wagging our fingers and spewing our hatred of other religions or walks of life. When Christ dealt with all those sinners in the Bible, the whores and liars and murderers, he was kind and loving toward them. The only time he got pissed off was when people were trying to SELL salvation in the temple. It is His LOVE, His KINDNESS, that leads to repentance. It is not hellfire and brimstone, or fear, or judgment, and we have no right proclaiming what God thinks. We are not God, and we do not know the depths of his thoughts. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.
And, guess what, people, when Christ died He set us free from the LAW, and now we have the GIFT of His Spirit. Our God is a loving God, but the Church does a pitiful job of showing and sharing and being that love. We spew judgment about homosexuality, about abortion, about alcohol consumption or drug use, or cigarette smoking. Anger flashes from our eyes and hatred erupts from our hearts. Do we look like Christ when we do this? Do we sound like Christ when we say this? And what's more, why are we so worried about what the unchurched do, when we have gossip and back-biting and anger and unforgiveness and pettiness running rampant in our churches? Do you not know that above all other sins, our God considers sowing discord among the bretheren an abomination? Read Proverbs 6:16-19. And we would have the audacity to say we're better than the person walking in for an abortion? We would have the audacity to say we're better than someone in an alternative lifestyle? We would say we're better than a drunkard or a drug addict or a murderer? PLEASE! That is selfish and hypocritical! We are not better! We have only accepted the reality that we are wretched sinners in need of a Savior. That is our only difference.
I am not saying that I agree with abortion or homosexuality or substance abuse. I believe the Bible very clearly states that all three are wrong. But it won't do me any good to fly out to DC, stand on a steps at in the Mall, and scream and shout those things to all the passersby. I'd probably get arrested for disturbing the peace. It is fine and acceptable to have our own personal beliefs, our own set of codes by which to live, but it is not fine and acceptable to rage and scream and judge others when their beliefs or set of codes differ from yours. And it is certainly not okay to claim that you speak for God when the words coming from your mouth are tainted with hatred. And that is why Christians have such a bad reputation, such a bad name. We're supposed to be about love and forgiveness. Instead we judge and we hate. If I didn't already know Jesus, and all I had to go on was that example of a person screaming against abortions and calling homosexuals faggots and saying God hated them, you can be DARN SURE that I wouldn't want to meet Jesus or join His family.
So, the next time you feel like judging someone for their look or their lifestyle choice, consider this:
"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:3-5
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
something about parents...
you know what really irritates me? i'll tell you.
Parents who think that everything in life is still about them.
PLEASE!!! It is not about you anymore. It's about your kid(s). If you wanted to be the center of attention and focal point of everyone in your life, you shouldn't have a had a kid. But you had a kid.
And, guess what...your needs and wants became secondary the moment you decided to have that baby.
So, stop being a selfish jerk. Get out of the sandbox, put all your toys away, and pull on your big boy (or girl) pants and be a grown up, already!
Parents who think that everything in life is still about them.
PLEASE!!! It is not about you anymore. It's about your kid(s). If you wanted to be the center of attention and focal point of everyone in your life, you shouldn't have a had a kid. But you had a kid.
And, guess what...your needs and wants became secondary the moment you decided to have that baby.
So, stop being a selfish jerk. Get out of the sandbox, put all your toys away, and pull on your big boy (or girl) pants and be a grown up, already!
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