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| Am I saved? When was I saved? Was I really saved in Middle School at that 6 hour prayer/revival meeting? Were my intentions right? Was it all a rush of emotions? Was it fake? Now I understand the gospel so I must be saved, right?
I know all of you have asked at least one of these questions before. Here's my response to any of you who ask those questions... you're asking THE WRONG QUESTIONS!
It's not about your salvation in the end... it's about the Savior, Jesus Christ and His heinous, bloody, scandalous death on the cross ~2000 years ago.
If you have the proper view of the Savior and what He did on the cross, all the questions above are answered. | | |
| Romans 6:23a - For the wages of sin is death...
I've said and heard this verse countless times... whether it was during my sharing times in ET or listening to a rap song by the 116 clique or in various sermons... the list goes on. However, it wasn't until today that I felt a certain depth to it. For the wages of sin is death... hmmm... I often thought, "B/c we sin, we deserve to die. The End." And that is true but not the whole picture I think God is trying to display here.
Did you ever wonder why death is so haunting to us? Even the death of trivial things... hair in the sink, clipped finger nails, dead skin, rotten tomatoes, etc. Why do we freak out when we're around that kinda stuff? Why do we think it's dirty? I thought about this for some time and the answer is actually very simple... It's b/c God wanted it that way. He made us repulsive to death and dead things so that we might relate to how He feels about sin. But those things mentioned above are only trivial things. Back in the day, God's people - at that time Israel - had to slaughter a white baby lamb - what would be equivalent in our day a pet puppy. I want you to take some time right now... close your eyes and imagine a little puppy dog... barking and licking your fingers and cheek as you pet it and hug it... yea, that dog. God ordered His people to have that puppy beheaded and then have the blood from the puppy sprinkled and that would atone for the people's sins. Now if you did as I said and imagined that cute little puppy slaughtered as it yelped and weeped before your eyes as you took a cold 12 inch blade to it's innocent neck, and if you have any sense of dignity, you would think, "That is disgusting and twisted!" And that's the point of Romans 6:23a.
When I think of that verse now, I think of God's mercy. It says, "For the wages of sin"... not sins. 1 sin. One stinkin sin is enough for incredible bloodshed. Every time you sin, you deserve to be exposed to carnage and incessant blood flow and weeping. Just imagine... everytime you sin, which is probably what you are doing right now, you were exposed to death and blood. Wherever you turned, you would have blood splat into your mouth and eyes and you would inhale - with every breath - the stench of carnage mixed with fresh/rotten blood.
That is what sin is like to God. Disgusting and suffocating.
So, now you know why God chooses to condemn sinners to hell and why the wages are death. He is absolutely repulsed by them and their sin! And in hel the sinner has his blood splat all over his face incessantly and the stench of death will never pass him by for a second throughout all eternity. His mouth is continually filled with the taste of blood and hell looks red to him b/c his eyes are stained from all the blood from all the sins. "For the wages of sin is this death..." [emphasis added]
Today, I felt the weight of my sins press on me like a ton of bricks. My pride had taken over my lifestyle. Everything I did and said, even if it related to God, was done and said to boost my pride and for that I am so sorry to God and to all of you. The crazy thing is that this didn't happen over night... it was a combination of sutble approvals to sin. I became a self-exalting monster. But God, being rich in mercy... my Daddy loved me, even still. Daddy saw my distorted face and kiss it over and over and said, "You're beautiful, Sam."
To conclude, I thank God for being merciful enough to not expose me to the corruption I deserve to be exposed to... I would seriously kill myself from all the torture. But most of all... I thank God that I don't have to go to that hell b/c Jesus Christ on the cross experienced that hell - to the fullest - for me and it's the blood of Jesus that my Daddy tastes every time He kisses me and says, "You're beautiful." I love you, Jesus.
Your love is deeper than any ocean... higher than the heavens... reaches beyond the stars in the sky...
- Amen.
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| I've only recently been thinking about the ministry of Jesus and how he 1) reached out to the rejects and 2) was brutally shamed and it's been a wild ride. And here's one thought that I've come across:
I have some beef with a lot of so-called christians today who are deemed as the religious-type - you know... the ones who have the nice Bible verse on their gchat status, lead prayer meetings, etc. (I'm mainly talking to my brothers and sisters at Eastbay). You never cuss (in fact, when non-believers cuss around you, you tell them to stop), you're always so happy-go-lucky when you meet up with a fellow brother/sister for a meal never touching the taboo assumptions in today's culture, and if you do you judge those who drink, smoke, and have sex before marriage and you make it seem as if they have a long shot to reach Jesus. And maybe it's cuz you're immature and haven't gone thru the tempests in life but let's be real. We are jacked up, perverted, stupid people. And seriously, if you're faking who you really are by putting up a mask at church and stuff, you are totally missing it. In fact, I think you have a longer shot from Jesus than prostitutes in Vegas.
I know all of you have gone thru some sort of crap in life that you are ashamed to talk about with anyone. But it states in Matthew 9:12-13 that Jesus came to heal the sick and needy, not the religious. Jesus accepted the dirty girls and undisciplined rejects of His day and detested the religious calling them "white washed tombs" and "brood of vipers"! And you, being so ashamed of your sins and act so high and holy to cover up the shame, need to take Jesus' rebuke to heart. You need to stop hiding your problems from others b/c that is ultimately selfish. I know that's how the asian, or at least the korean, culture is... just a bunch of plastic smiles everyday and show no cracks whatsoever but you need to escape from that trap! Scorn the shame of your sins! If you are still suffering from the shame of your sins, are you still in bondage and have not trusted Jesus' death on the cross to expiate your sins!
On that note, I don't think you should "run around naked" in front of everyone at church talking about your heinous sins in the past, but be vulnerable to brothers and sisters - mainly younger - you meet up with who may need to hear that someone else went thru the same crap they went thru. Pray to Jesus about being vulnerable so that you can be like Him and start reaching out to the scarlet letters, the closet porn addicts, rape victims, daddy's punching bags, divorce victims, etc. I think these are our prostitutes and tax collectors at church.
One last thing, as Christians, don't we want to be like Jesus? Doesn't Christian mean "little Christ's"? And when we think of Christ what is the very symbol we use to signify our Lord?
THE CROSS!
WE LOVE AND WORSHIP THE MOST BROKEN MAN IN ALL OF HISTORY!
So, do you really want to be like Jesus or are you just saying that, christian?
Embrace your brokenness, scorn the shame and find Beauty in the Broken.
letmeknowwhatyouthink. | | |
| 4th degree murder
btw, anyone have a sega genesis with sonic 3? I have a sudden urge to play again.
ooo, let's a have a poll:
WHICH IS BETTER?!
1) Sonic the Hedgehog series on Sega Genesis
2) Super Mario Bros. series on Nintendo
EVERY VOTE COUNTS! | | |
| The thought of Christ's return has been absolutely CRUCIAL in my spiritual life these days... I see how sinful I am when I'm not thinking about His return. heh, I've realized that Christ can come back any time and I'd rather not be caught with my pants down, all 챙피해, when the King of kings returns.
This life is not for me to live out to establish my kingdom but for me to be His pawn to be a part in establishing His Eternal Kingdom.
Kingdom Minded! | | |
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