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Hell What?

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I don’t think there’s anything within Christianity that has bugged me more than this incredible belief that people will burn forever. How on earth did we become comfortable with God acting in ways we ourselves would never? If Hitler had been spared the self-inflicted gun wound to the head, and been captured, would any court of law have sentenced him to thirty years of torture and deprivation? Are you kidding me?

And yet more than nine out of ten of us Christians tote this idea about God spanking us all forever without batting an eyeball. How on earth did we get to this point? No parent would retain custody of their kids if they spanked them for thirty minutes… but God is going to punish us physically for millennia? God who cares deeply for us? It’s enough to make me want to heave. What a crazy way to view the Being who calls Himself LOVE personified.

Not only does eternal burning hell not make any sense to the common human instinct, no matter how warped by evil. Us getting roasted forever does not jive with the basic teachings of the Bible. First and foremost, Jesus said he took the wages of our sin, which of course the Bible refers to as being eternal death by being crucified. Well then if Jesus took what I have coming and fully took my place, then why didn’t or I should probably say isn’t Jesus still burning in Hell right now?

If the cost of my sins is eternal hellfire, and Jesus took my place, well then you do the math… it’s not that complicated. Jesus has got to get what I had coming—all of it. Otherwise it’s like the guy who’s getting shot for betraying his country and his dad steps in to take his place and instead of shooting the dad, they just put him in prison for a few years. Make sense? No. Fair and just? No. Inconsistent? Yes.

If Jesus is going to take my place by dying one long afternoon, fine, but then don’t tell me that if I reject Jesus taking my place I get more than a slow painful death that takes a few hours. Anything more and Jesus hasn’t done what He says He did. He didn’t take all my sin and it’s consequences… not at all… and He can’t take credit for being my stand-in at all.

Then there’s that text I just quoted part of a few paragraphs back, you know, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Death is the wages of sin; life is the gift of God. This text parallels a hundred more in the Bible, and is very clear on two things on where death and life come from. God gives life as a gift. To burn forever, God is going to have to keep giving me the gift of life so He can hurt me over and over again. That is the human equivalent of you taking me to the ER so that I can be patched up before you return me to your basement to beat me up, again and again and again… forever.

I could go on all afternoon. We could talk about what death is… since that is what sin is said to cause—not eternal burning. Or how Jesus in Revelation says that those who reject life will be thrown into the same lake of fire that the Devil and his angels and then death itself are thrown into—so does God keep the Devil, his angels… and death itself alive forever? What?

Yes, and we could talk about how He calls himself love, and that He values our freedom so much He’s let this planet spin on, despite the misery and confusion we lavish on ourselves, and how this kind of “you’re free to choose your destiny and I’ll love you no matter what you choose” could possibly make anybody feel free if there’s that mammoth BUT I’LL PUNISH YOU FOREVER clause at the end. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t make any sense at all. Not even to me, a fallen, sinful, selfish person who rarely succeeds at pure love and has a load of personal issues. If I loved you and you decide to hate and reject me, what is the loving thing for me to do? Make you pay for your choice as long as you live? Hold a grudge and play out revenge for 80 years? Even I know the answer to that.

God didn’t create suffering, doesn’t like it and died in my place to release me from it. And this same Guy is going to keep people alive to punish them forever… and for no apparent reason—we all know that punishment as children was to get our behavior in line. So God is going to punish when it’s too late for us to choose any different or better?

If the billions of people on planet earth who want nothing to do with God are ever going to change their minds, and want to love Him, you can bet all the money in your bank account that it’s not going to be because they’re terrified of Him. Perfect love casts out fear is what the Bible teaches, and that it’s kindness that leads us all to turn to God.

I know that an eternal burning hell is not part of who God is, first it’s not kind, and second it’s not perfect love because is sure doesn’t cast out fear. Sounds a lot more to me like the Devil’s dream for all of us.

Read more at the source: Hell What?

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Jesus the Lobbyist

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You’re a lobbyist?

You’d almost have better luck putting “Top Used-Car Salesman” on your resumé. Politicians, especially those with an ambitious eye on a comfy white house in our nation’s capital, make sure we all know they’ve never been a lobbyist, never been influenced by a lobbyist, never even met a lobbyist. They cast their votes based on just the facts, ma’am, and not on golf junkets proffered by influence peddlers from Big Pharma or Freddie Mac bankers. Hey, for all they know, a quid pro quo is something you order at a seafood restaurant.

The surprising thing, then, is that the Bible proudly describes Jesus as being a lobbyist! If any man sin, John writes in his first epistle, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. The Living Bible paraphrase has a decidedly K Street flavor with this rendering: There is someone to plead for you before the Father. And whether we view our Savior as a lobbyist or a very effective defense attorney, the end result is the same: he offers to peddle his influence regarding a rather weighty decision . . . our eternal destiny!

Hebrews 4 adds to Christ’s curriculum vitae by lauding him as our high priest – and in Bible times the priest was an advocate on behalf of sinners seeking absolution. If we sign with him, we find a Friend who is not only sympathetic with our travails, but who empowers us to approach the throne of grace with confident boldness.

The biblical concept of propitiation – the turning away of God’s wrath – has maybe given frail Christians the idea that we do need a powerful lawyer to stand before the bar on our behalf. But this ignores the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ and his Father are united in their desire to redeem and restore us. The late John Stott comments in his standout book, The Contemporary Christian: “Whenever we have cast Jesus Christ in the role of a third party” – a lobbyist, if you will – “who intervened to rescue us from an angry God, we have been guilty of a travesty which stands condemned, since it is God who loved the world and God who took the initiative to send his Son to die for us.” Remember the wonderful hymn? “O Jesus, blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God.”

Whenever we confess a sin, or imagine ourselves going into that great galactic courtroom, or even just whisper a prayer, we need to bear in mind that the things Jesus wants, God wants too! John unravels his own “lobbyist” metaphor by having Jesus say to his disciples in John 16: I don’t need to send God a basket of fruit on your behalf . . . because the Father himself loves you!

So instead of reading Scripture as saying, “We have an advocate with the Father,” let’s envision both their names on the same corporate letterhead. And now, “We have an advocate with the Father.”

Read more at the source: Jesus the Lobbyist

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

The Shell Around Us

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Photo by Pixabay

Recently when the wind blew some trees down across a trail near where I live, I went out the next day to clear them away. When I arrived one was still partially standing, leaning up against another tree, so I cut it down with the chainsaw and used the tractor to drag it away.

After clearing away all three of the trees, I was picking up the broken branches and clearing the area when I noticed a pretty deep hole in the ground caused by one of the trunks of the tree as it fell. This hole was several inches deep, and looking into it I noticed what looked like a bowl in the bottom. “Hmm, that’s weird,” I thought as I took the toe of my boot and tried to dig it out. I was startled as it moved; it was a turtle! I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because that tree had landed right on top of him and pushed him several inches into the ground. I was afraid he was hurt or his shell was cracked, but after carefully digging him out and putting him to the side, a few minutes later he poked out his legs and head and ambled off into the woods.

As I continued with my work I thought about the turtle and the Christian walk. During the storm the turtle was protected from the weather and from the fallen oak tree. He wasn’t squashed like a frog or bird because of the protection of his shell.

As followers of Christ we are protected. God’s means of protection includes the Holy Spirit and His holy angels. You can read more about the protection that God gave to Job in Job 1, 2 and Daniel 3.

Think about God’s protection as a shell about you as you read this from Psalm 91:

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do Psalm 91not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. . . If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. . . The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation” (Psalm 91, NLT).

Remember to commit your heart to Christ every single day, and you can rest assured that His protection will surround you as well.

Read more at the source: The Shell Around Us

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Pop-up Windows

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Recently, I began to receive a barrage of pop-up windows on my computer. Every time I logged on to the Internet, I received an arsenal of solicitations that included everything from plastic surgery to refinancing. There was no end to it; it was maddening!

Finally, in desperation, I called the Technology Department, who came to my desktop and “did their magic” to correct the problem. I’m not exactly sure what they did, but it worked! They silenced the pop-ups.

Did you know that God uses pop-up windows? He uses them daily to notify us, to warn us and to direct us. We often refer to God’s pop-ups as our conscience, or that still, small voice of His Holy Spirit.

Throughout the day, pop-ups appear on the lighted screen of our minds. Sometimes they alert us that what we are thinking about or doing is dangerous in some way. Other times they suggest thoughtful or helpful things we can do for others. Sometimes they appear as a source of direction guiding us to make the right decision in a certain situation.

Missing God’s Call

But God’s pop-ups are a bit more subtle than the images that flash across your computer screen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve brushed them aside as irrelevant, only to discover later that they were from God.

Listening to the voice of God is challenging in a world as noisy as ours, but it is a discipline that can be cultivated. Conversely, His voice can also be silenced.

Today, set aside just a few moments of quiet time to talk to Him, then a few moments more to listen. Silence your mind and observe what you hear. Over time you will be able to distinguish His voice amid the clatter.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, NIV).

Read more at the source: Pop-up Windows

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Is Your Soul Thirsty?

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We must have water to survive! Our bodies are more than 70 percent water; to keep them running smoothly we are told to drink eight glasses of water a day. You might survive for weeks without food by living on body reserves, but water is so integral to life—with every function depending on it—that most of us would die after three to four days. To skimp on water intake is to put your body in serious risk of malfunctioning.

To get the most out of your water intake, you should drink two cups before breakfast, two or three between breakfast and lunch, and two or three between lunch and supper. So that it doesn’t interfere with digestion, wait an hour or two after eating and stop about 15 minutes before eating again. And don’t depend on thirst—you need water way before you feel thirsty for it!

What a blessing to have running water in our homes, or go to the local store and buy a bottle! But imagine you’re near Death Valley in the middle of summer. Your car broke down and you have no idea when help might arrive. You drank your last sip of water three hours ago. The desert is so hot that you see water shimmering in the distance, but it’s only a mirage. Or imagine you’ve just hiked 10 strenuous miles, and your mouth is dry and your energy zapped. You reach for your canteen for a refreshing drink, but all the water has leaked out. It will be four more miles before you reach another source. As thirsty as you’d feel in these situations, that’s how thirsty God want you to be for Him!

David drew the corollary that our thirst for water is like our need for God. Pursued by King Saul, David cried, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps. 63:1, NIV).

Our world is cut off from God by sin—a true desert in the midst of the universe. Are you aware of your critical need of spiritual water? The next time you take a refreshing drink of pure, cool water, consider also your soul thirst. How can you quench it? The answer is in Revelation 22:17: “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely!” Drink in spiritual water throughout the day—don’t wait until you’re thirsty.

Have you gotten your drink of living water yet? Come to Jesus, the source of the water of life, and let Him fill you to overflowing!

Read more at the source: Is Your Soul Thirsty?

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

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