I took cookies to my new neighbor a couple weeks ago. Such a small easy thing... why did it take me so long? I'm glad to know his name and I pray that see him again sometime! I met him almost two weeks ago but I haven't seen him again.
My next step - starting a book club for the women in my apartment complex. My friend Emily started a book club in her neighborhood and said it's been great for meeting people, so I decided to give it a shot. I asked the apartment manager to put a note about it in our December newsletter, she said sure, and I've already had a few phone calls about it.
I'm thankful to my faithful God who wouldn't allow me to sit in my own little bubble any longer, but I confess that fear and anxiety still find a home in my heart. I'm afraid that I will build relationships with these people and never share the gospel with them. I'm afraid that I won't build authentic relationships because I might see these women as projects. I'm afraid of rejection. What if no one comes? God save me from these fears!
To be continued, God willing...
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Dreadful Works of God
Living under the new covenant, it is easy to forget some of what Christ saves us from. When I think about salvation or thank God for his saving grace, I often turn my mind towards what my heart is without Him. I become grateful because I know I can live this life free from sin, shame, and depravity, and I'm awestruck and moved to worship. How can we not be thankful? He provided a way out! He provided a way for us to truly enjoy life, which would otherwise be ruined by our own selfish desires and hopeless attempts to numb the consequences of sin.
What I rarely think on, however, is the utter destruction God would bring upon us were it not for Christ. How do we so easily forget the just nature of God? The prophets are full of these descriptions of him, and God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! His very nature is to punish sin, and not simply by denying us more money or happier lives. The Old Testament paints a much more dreadful picture of the wrath of God.
Lamentations 2:5 - "The Lord has become like an enemy."
I don't think I can summarize the imagery that I read in Ezekiel today (Chapter 4) or any of the other OT writers that explain the just acts of God, but Lamentations 2:5 describes a dreadful enough situation, right? We are not just saved from lives of depravity. We're rescued from the dreadful wrath of a just God. My sin is the same as the sin of 2000 years ago. I have to be punished. My sin has to be punished. And it has.
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." Rom. 5:6-9
My prayer is to be thankful for all that He's rescued me from - a dreadful life without Christ, and a dreadful death of judgement against my sin.
What I rarely think on, however, is the utter destruction God would bring upon us were it not for Christ. How do we so easily forget the just nature of God? The prophets are full of these descriptions of him, and God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow! His very nature is to punish sin, and not simply by denying us more money or happier lives. The Old Testament paints a much more dreadful picture of the wrath of God.
Lamentations 2:5 - "The Lord has become like an enemy."
I don't think I can summarize the imagery that I read in Ezekiel today (Chapter 4) or any of the other OT writers that explain the just acts of God, but Lamentations 2:5 describes a dreadful enough situation, right? We are not just saved from lives of depravity. We're rescued from the dreadful wrath of a just God. My sin is the same as the sin of 2000 years ago. I have to be punished. My sin has to be punished. And it has.
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God." Rom. 5:6-9
My prayer is to be thankful for all that He's rescued me from - a dreadful life without Christ, and a dreadful death of judgement against my sin.
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