Judgment. Today it’s deemed a strange word. It has fallen out of use. It was once an accepted reality. No longer. Many people have jettisoned this idea as being not credible. They cannot reconcile how love and judgment can come from the same source. Recently there has been a flurry of books that attempt to teach that love and eternal judgment are irreconcilable. Instead, we are confidently told that “Love Wins;” the idea that in the end, there is no such thing as eternal judgment. Sounds nice, even comforting; but what if such ideas are wrong?

Everything is at stake. It’s a winner take all, loser loses all proposition. But there’s the rub. For those who propose that there is no eternal judgment, it’s winner take all and everyone is a winner proposition.  It sounds good, but has no correlation to reality. Unfortunately, people have accepted the idea that they can live as they wish, embracing any form of deviancy, call it normal and expect God to approve of their decisions. But they are wrong, and it will cost them everything.

But some cry foul and say that is just unfair! After all, they assert that there is no such thing as sin, only choices, and man, not God, makes the distinctions. Such a response, however, is visceral. They “feel” that it is simply unfair to send someone into a state of eternal torment – because despite their sin, they are good people – just ask them, they’ll tell you so. And they’ll respond, “How could a god who ‘loves’ all people torment people forever?” On the surface it sounds like a good question – even reasonable – especially when the idea of love is expressed as feeling. Feelings are always nice – especially nice feelings. But the only effect they have is to free us from the responsibility of good thinking.

The current trend that judgment is no longer a credible truth is born out of a generation that has been raised in a toxic brew of narcissism were conclusions are based on a “me center” approach to … well everything. The central issue is, “How does this affect me?” Of course, eternal judgment affects people very significantly. If one takes time to consider the implications of their sin, then what follows is the possibility of someone having very bad feelings about themselves. Unfortunately bad feelings are no longer accepted in our culture. It no longer matters what people think, so long as they feel good about what they think.

When people “think” about God they above all, want to feel good about themselves. This has become the central concern of much of what passes for Western Christianity today. Books and sermons by the truck-load Continue reading →

Love can be a difficult thing to measure, but I suspect at one time someone said the same thing about heat. How do you measure heat? Perhaps when new technologies were being discovered to measure heat, someone thought, “Measure heat? You can feel it!”

Love works something like that. I don’t suspect we will ever design a device that will measure love, but God has given us the ability “to feel it.” Just as we have a built in system to “feel” varying degrees of heat, so too, God has given us a built in system to experience various degrees of love.

In Luke 7:36-50 we are introduced to a woman whose heart was overflowing with love for Jesus. The measure of her love was so intense that others could feel its presence. Unfortunately, it made some uncomfortable. But I suspect that Simon, (and people like him) who have never really had that kind of love in their hearts could not understand her passion. But Jesus understood it. And many through the church age who have been able to read of this woman’s account have also understood it.

Jesus was not in the least bit offended at the woman’s display of love, and many people have been deeply moved by her story. Her love burned bright, and many have been touched by its heat. No, we cannot measure love like we measure heat. But the truth is that our love for God can burn so bright that others (including God) take notice.

So, I think we can measure love. Our “love temperature” can be clearly gauged by observing those around us. Just as people respond to heat by moving away from it, they too respond to love by moving. Some people move closer because of love. Some (like Simon) move away from it, but love always makes others move. To gauge the “temperature” of our love, all we need to do is look around us. Are people moving?

Hopefully they are moving in the right direction; but even if they are not, let them move still. Perhaps, on a cold day, when they are need of loves warmth, they will remember how those gentle rays settled upon their heart, and longing for its warmth, they will finally move into the full orb of its light.

I hope we all are moving in the direction of God’s love. Never forget, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

There are some people you just cannot please. If you say black, they will say white. If you say up, they will say down. The bottom line is that they will always look for a way to criticize, discourage and argue with you.

Jesus had just performed a miracle by casting out a demon from a man who had been a life-long mute. No doubt the demon terrorized the man for his entire life. When Jesus saw him, He had compassion on him and relieved him of his distress. In response to His act of mercy and kindness the self-appointed spiritual know-it-alls responded by saying, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”

I am not certain, but I suspect that there was a long, silent pause in heaven after that ignorant remark was made. It’s amazing to consider what Jesus had to endure as He shared God’s love to those around Him.

But He came to a broken and dark world filled with bitterness, envy, jealousy, strife, deceit, and wickedness of every sort. What is really amazing is that such people did not discourage Jesus from continuing to do good to others. The very next verse reads, “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matt 9:35).

What a beautiful sight. It seems that the cruel remarks of the Pharisees made Jesus double-down in his efforts. Not only that, but He made their community the object of His kindness and mercy. Look at that verse again. It says that He went all over “teaching in THEIR synagogues.”

Instead of quitting in anger, or arguing with idiots, Jesus gave them a season of mercy, love, grace, and kindness. What a lesson for us!

Has someone discouraged you lately? Have you ever felt like quitting because of the cruel and insensitive remarks of some thoughtless person? Instead of quitting, let their disparaging remarks lead you to double-down on your efforts to do good.

Treat your tormentors with kindness, grace, mercy, and love. Pray for them. Do good to them. Continue in the work to which you were called. Who knows, maybe they will come around some day. Your love will have covered a multitude of sins, but more importantly, you will be acting like Jesus, and revealing what the Kingdom of God is all about!

When I was a child in Michigan, I liked to exhale and watch as my warm breath hit the bitter cold air. My breath would crystallize for a brief moment, and then slowly disappear. Concerning the life of man, the Bible says that “Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:4).

From God’s perspective, our life is like that brief period between the time the air is exhaled from the lungs, hitting the cold air, and the time it disappears altogether. When life is put into that perspective, it becomes an understatement to say that life is short.

Since that is the case, why do so many people spend so little time focusing on the things of eternity? Why do people spend more time watching T.V. than the time they spend in prayer? Why do people neglect God’s Word (the words of eternal life), but can devour a novel? Why do people neglect worship, but will not miss an opportunity go to the beach?

There are people who will look over their lives and wish they would have focused more on the things of eternity. Unfortunately they will do so just before they are about to enter eternity.

But, God has given us everything we need so that when that day comes we will be prepared. The Christian life is about being prepared. It involves more than being saved. That is just the beginning. It involves spiritual growth for the purpose of knowing God; it involves learning to love God; learning to live in the Holiness of God (without which no one will see the Lord, Heb 12:14); learning to worship God in Spirit and truth; learning to love others, and serve others as Jesus served us. It involves a great many things—things that we need time to learn.

The more time one spends in preparation, the more one anticipates, and looks forward to that great day when God pulls back the curtain and reveals Himself fully. But not everyone will be ready for that day. They will prepare for a good golf game, a weekend at the beach, a good hunting expedition, or whatever else one can do to spend time in worldly pursuits, but they will not prepare to meet God. But that day will be here before we know it.

I can still remember the cold air. My breath lingered only for a moment, and then it was gone. Think about it, and then find a place to worship this Sunday …you’ll be glad you did.