<idle musing>
And that's the end of this book. I hope you enjoyed the excerpts enough to read the whole thing.
</idle musing>
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
The end of the matter is this...
This brings us back to a point I made in the first chapter: Jesus didn't come to hurt us; He came to kill us. If we want to follow Him, we must deny ourselves, crucify the flesh, die to our flesh and selfish desires, and let the Spirit of God live through us. That's what it means to die to self and live to God. Anything less may taste great, but it can't fill the gnawing emptiness in our hearts. We were made for more than painkillers and empty pleasures. We were meant to live an adventure, but first we have to die.— Christianity Lite, page 211-212
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I got the book, and agree. Death is indeed what Christ calls us to, but it bears remembering that God gives beauty for ashes. Death isn't the point, the point is eternal freedom, life, and joy in the presence of God. Trying to live our lives our way is the cross we created for ourselves.
Chapter 5 of my book: Everything I Needed to Know About God's Love I Learned From Hookers; When The Church Embraces the Sexually Broken They'll Reach the Heart of God.
Long title, but hey it's a good one...Anyway, chapter 5 centers on Abraham's obedience to God when God told him to sacrifice Isaac. The Holy Spirit has been making some interesting connections. The heart of the chapter centers on what we are told in Hebrews 11:19, "Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead..." That is my current favorite verse. No one told Abraham that God could raise the dead. With all his years of experience with God Abraham didn't try to figure God's angle; he didn't focus on the sins which might have brought about this test from God; He didn't shake his fists at heaven, demanding in a loud voice, "WHY?!?!"; he didn't sit around navel gazing. Abraham was the walking dead for 3 days on the road. During those 3 days Abraham thought, cogitated, meditated, pondered deeply, the God who called him "friend". At some point Abraham was overtaken with the understanding that God could raise the dead.
When Abraham came to the place of sacrifice God provided a ram instead. Jesus tells us, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
The death Jesus promotes gives eyes to see God's salvation so clearly you're actually there. Who needs Kodak?
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