The post I wrote in November on her story as told on the Oprah Show produce more interesting than anything else I have written. Some agreed with me, some disagreed with me, but the ones that caught my attention most were the ones that desired her to burn in Hell for what she did.

I just started reading the book "Twelve Ordinary Men" by John McArthur telling about the lives and personalities of the original Twelve Apostles. The one that speaks to me most is John, the brother of James, and one of the "Sons of Thunder". I can most relate to John's personality as McArthur describes him. He was a man who had a passion for the truth and often pushed aside compassion and love for his zeal for the truth. His passion led him to tell people that they could not cast out demons in the name of Jesus because they were not of the group of twelve. He told children to go away and not bother Jesus. He had arguments on who was going to be the greatest of all the Apostles. Ultimately, John learned about the importance of love and need to balance the passion of truth with the necessity for love. Neither of them are worth much on their own. Without truth, love is shallow and insincere. Without love, truth is harsh and judgemental.

Jesus was the perfect balance of love and truth. He would tell people who should have been knowledgeable of these things that they were heading for Hell and their judgment was going to be greater than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. He told them that it would have been better if they were never born and that their sins would be revealed for all to see. He also showed compassion on the woman who was caught in adultery. According to the law, she should have been stoned, and Jesus agreed saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." When everyone left, He told her that He does not condemn her but that she go and sin no more. He did not tell the woman at the well that she was a sinner for lying about her marital status but told her that she spoke well because she was not married as she had said but instead was living with a man who was not her husband.

Jesus is perfectly righteous but is also perfectly loving. I often fall into the same problem as John by focusing on truth over love rather than balancing the truth with love. Over time, I am now 30, I have been able to have more compassion on people but I still have a lot of work to do. I am very quick to get on them for behavior that is blatantly sinful, forgetting that I am also a sinner who is going to Heaven only by God's saving grace. I am very thankful for my wife because she is the opposite of me. She is quicker to respond with love and compassion over truth. She provides a balance to me and together we get it a little better than each of us individually.

There are times when truth is needed and people need to be rebuked for their sinful behavior. Jesus also demonstrated this when He overturned the tables in the Temple courtyard. There are also times, maybe even more often, that we need to exercise compassion on those who sin such as Jessica Coleman.

This is one case where I think I got it right. My first reaction to this young girl was compassion, love, and sadness. When it comes to abortion, I respond with passion and truth on those who pass legislation enabling abortion and those who perform the abortions. There does need to be love there also but their situation is entirely different than the young girls who are having the abortions, or in Jessica's case, having the baby and then killing it and throwing in a quarry.

Girls like her do not need to be condemned. I am certain that most, if not all, realize what they did was wrong and sinful. Jessica has confessed that what she did was horrible. By law she must be punished but as Christians, we should be quick to pray for her and reach out to her with the love of Christ. He is able to forgive all who seek Him in repentance. For those of you who are ready to cast the first stone and sentence her to Hell for eternity, are you sinless as Jesus asked the men who accused the adulterous woman?

I am not going to even come close to claiming that I am perfect in the arena love and compassion. I have a lot to work on and I am getting there. Maybe someday I will be able to say that I have the balance of love and truth down perfectly just like Jesus. This is very unlikely but I will continue to strive for that as we all should.

 

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom

6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9 But as it is written:

“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Even though I knew what Paul was saying here was true, and I knew that he wrote this after trying to out-debate the Greeks using logic and rational arguments to no avail, I still thought I could do the same thing in political and religious discussions.

The wisdom of God, here stated by Paul, is a mystery that cannot be understood until it has been revealed by the Holy Spirit. People who reject the Holy Spirit by rejecting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ cannot understand these mysteries Paul is talking about nor can people who are spiritually mature enough handle the deeper wisdom of the Lord. Some Christians are still in the infant phase and can only handle the spiritual milk as Paul speaks about in Chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians.

Paul realized, as I have just accepted myself after trying to out-debate people, that the wisdom of God is foolishness to men. Psalm 14:1 declares The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." When people reject the existence of God, the Bible declares they are fools and they despise wisdom. When Paul failed at debating others into accepting the Lord, he resorted to simply preaching that Jesus was the Messiah, He was crucified for our sins, and rose from the grave three days later. That was all he needed to say. If people reject that, there is no amount of wisdom or logic that will change their mind. Before anyone can handle the spiritual solid food, they must first become babes in Christ by becoming born again.

As a math teacher, I thrive on logic. It is my profession to draw logical conclusion based on given information. What Paul is speaking about here perfectly translates to my math class so I should have understood. My students will not get advanced algebra of geometric proofs unless they first have a solid grasp of the basics: adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, and fractions. I was trying to debate deep concepts of the Bible such as salvation, the trinity, grace, faith, works, and the literal interpretation of scripture with people who think Jesus may not have even existed or think the Bible is just a book of stories that you can pick and choose their meanings. They were not ready for deeper discussions of God's mysteries, as Paul puts it, because they think what I am saying is absurd and foolish.

I have finally reached that point where I realize that I can not debate people to the Truth of the Lord. As Paul found out, all we need to do is preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Until someone gets that basic understanding that we are all sinners in need of a savior, everything else will sound like complete nonsense. At least it only took me 30 years to fully accept this.

I recently made an attempt to discuss religion and politics on the Ubuntu Backyard forum. The Backyard was there specifically to discuss topics like this apart from the main technical help forums so I thought the other people there actually might like to debate. I quickly found out that I was a very tiny minority being a Christian and a Conservative. Most of the other people in the forum were very liberal Christians who may or may not even believe that the Bible has some truth in it, or they were complete nutcase whacko anarchists and atheist liberals.

Their tactics of debate included making some ridiculous statement then telling me I am stupid for believing in a fairy tale God. I tried to argue all of my points logically and rationally and often tried to formulate my arguments so they didn't rely on the Bible as my source. Obviously the Bible is the main reason I believe what I believe but they reject it so using it as a source would be counterproductive. Plus, since my thoughts and arguments are based on rational observations of our world and how it operates, I don't need to use the Bible because life itself backs up my arguments on such things as homosexual marriage, abortion, drugs, child raising, right and wrong, and world affairs.

At church today, we had a very interesting teaching in light of what I experienced in the "debate" forums. We covered two specific verses in Hosea, 9:9 and 10:9.

Hos 9:9 They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

Hos 10:9 O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

In both of these verses, Hosea references Gibeah, the main city of the tribe of Benjamin. This reference is to a specific event that happened in Gibeah and recorded in the book of Judges, chapter 19 and 20.

Jdg 19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehem-judah.

Jdg 19:2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehem-judah, and was there four whole months.

Jdg 19:3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Jdg 19:4 And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

Jdg 19:5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

Jdg 19:6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.

Jdg 19:7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father-in-law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.

Jdg 19:8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.

Jdg 19:9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.

Jdg 19:10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.

Jdg 19:11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

Jdg 19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.

Jdg 19:13 And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

Jdg 19:14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.

Jdg 19:15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.

Jdg 19:16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

Jdg 19:17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?

Jdg 19:18 And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehem-judah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehem-judah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.

Jdg 19:19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.

Jdg 19:20 And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.

Jdg 19:21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the donkeys: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

Jdg 19:22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

Jdg 19:23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

Jdg 19:24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.

Jdg 19:25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

Jdg 19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.

Jdg 19:27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

Jdg 19:28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon a donkey, and the man rose up, and got him unto his place.

Jdg 19:29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

Jdg 19:30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

Chapter 20 goes on to tell about what the other tribes of Israel did in response to this incident but the depravity of the people in this city hits a little close to home when you look a little closer at America.

The book of Judges is a very sad book because it says twice, their was no king in the land and the people did what was right in their own eyes. This is modern day moral relativism that is rampant throughout our country. I heard this belief expressed constantly in the debate forums. America along with the rest of the world has embraced this philosophy. Anyone who dares to believe there is a truth out there and that truth comes from our Heavenly Father is labeled intolerant, hateful, bigoted, homophobic, and so on. Believers in relativism call Christian arrogant because we believe there is only one way to Heaven and that way was established by the Creator of all things. I say they are the arrogant ones, however, since they believe that whatever they determine to be right or wrong is what is right and wrong. They, as seen in the Ubuntu forums, are very intolerant of those who believe in a Heavenly Creator and do not want to listen to another point of view.

In this story, the men of Gibeah wanted to have homosexual sex with the man who was passing through with his concubine. Instead, his host offered his virgin daughter and the visitor's concubine for them to rape all night long because that makes it better? The depravity of the situation is very reminiscent of the story of Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis. In our culture today, homosexuality is embraced and celebrated as normal and healthy. Sexual perversion of all kinds is used for entertainment in movies, pornography, books, night clubs, and so on. We are murdering our unborn children under the banner of reproductive freedom and choice. Our society is completely sick but the rest of the world is no better. We are nearing and crossing many of the same lines of perversion and sin that all former powerful nations once crossed before they fell to another. History does not lie and it often repeats itself.

The Bible speaks of a time when the Christ rejecting, sinful world will finally be judged for its sins and face the wrath of God that should have been avoided if they only accepted the payment Christ gave us on the Cross. We all deserve God's wrath and judgment for our sins but Christ made a way for us to escape it. He paid that price and took what we deserved so that we could spend eternity with the Father in Heaven who loves us.

We are living in a time unique to world history when all the nations have rejected God. There is no king in the world right now and all the nations are doing what is right in their own eyes, including America and that scares me.

I believe the time is drawing close when Jesus will call His bride (the Church) to our seven year wedding celebration while the rest of the world finally realizes that there is a God and He is worthy of our worship and praise. The time is nearing when everyone will be forced to choose between serving God or serving Satan.

One thing that really bothers me is dishonesty in debate. The most guilty party of such dishonesty is the evolution camp. They refuse to respond to the actual points of the debate when it comes to creation vs. evolution. They love to makes charges of stupidity against creationists because they accuse them of not believing in such an obvious thing as evolution.

Is this true? Well, yes and no. It is all a matter of semantics. They love to play the game that evolution just means a change over time, specifically referring to the traits and genes within a species. Nobody denies this is true and observable. That is not the debate however. While that is a textbook definition of microevolution or adaptation. The debate between creation and evolution deals with macroevolution relating to the origin of life and the species. The idea that we all came from a common ancestor, mainly amino acids floating in a bubbling pool or primordial ooze.

This idea is so silly and baseless that they have to spin the debate and attack the creationist's intelligence. They don't want to confront the issue of the origin of life because their side makes no sense and has no evidence. Instead, they claim evolution makes no assertion of the origin of life and only talks about the observable change as though this were the real debate. Evolution relies on the origins of life because in order for their to be change over time, there had to be a starting point of life. Because evolution provides no answers to this origin, though it does provide theories, they don't want to discuss them because the theories are very weak.

If you ask any large population of normal Americans what the theory of evolution is about, almost every one of them will say that it is the theory on how life came about after the Big Bang going from non-life to all the life we have here on Earth. They won't have a clue about the differences of micro and macro evolution.

So, to all of you who resort to calling those who believe in Biblical Creation (or general intelligent design) stupid, please be honest and address the real issues of the debate rather than trying to redefine the issue to mean something that nobody disagrees with you on. If evolution is such strong scientific fact, stand up for it and defend it. Stop hiding behind false claims and semantics.

One of the comments from the site that did nothing but quote "fundies" and then comment on them brought the age old challenge for God to prove that He exists. If God is so powerful and real then it shouldn't be too hard for Him to reveal Himself to each person that demands a sign. This brought to mind a little passage found in the book of Matthew, chapter 12 verses 38-42. Jesus is talking to the Pharisees who are asking Him to show a sign from Him in order to prove that He was who He claimed. Remember that Jesus had done many signs that they had seen. The passage goes:

Matthew 12:38-42
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

We are living in a generation that seeks after signs. If they were not spiritually blind they would see signs of God's existence every day. I see God's hand working all the time in my life and in the life of others but this generation refuses to accept it. They want God to come down to Earth and reveal Himself to everyone. Surely everyone would believe if God did this but wait.

Jesus said that no sign would be given except for the sign of Jonah. What was the sign of Jonah? He was in the belly of the fish three days and then appeared to the people of Nineveh who repented and turned to the Lord. Jesus said this would be His sign.

God came down to Earth, took on the form of a man, lived among His creation, died for our sins on a cross, remained in a grave for three days and then rose from the dead on the third day. While God was living on Earth, He performed many miracles, healed the sick, raised the dead, caused the blind to see, caused the lame to walk, cleansed lepers, walked on water, fed thousands with little, and the list goes on. To top it all off, He told everyone that He would be killed, buried, and raise from the dead after three days. That would be the sign to everyone. The sign that everyone was asking for. The sign that would finally prove that God exists and everyone would repent and worship Him as the true and living God that created the universe and all that is in it.

Nope, men refused. They didn't want to. Why? Men's hearts are wicked. We are sinners by nature. We don't want to believe in God because then we are accountable for our actions. We want to follow after our own desires, our own lustful flesh. An evil generation seeks after a sign. The sign was given 2000 years ago when our loving God became one of us, lived a sinless life, took the penalty for our sins and opened up His Kingdom so that any who believed in Him would not perish but have eternal life. He made it easy. He did all the work. He paid all of our debts. All we have to do is accept the gift yet people refuse.

"I can't believe in a God who would send people to Hell" many say. God does not send anyone to Hell. We deserve Hell because we are sinners. We are unrighteous and unholy and cannot be in the presence of our perfectly Holy God. We sentenced ourselves to Hell the first time we sinned. It is our Loving God who desires to be with us for eternity and provided a way out of Hell. Because He is loving, however, He does allow us to choose. We do not have to accept His way.

"How mean that God would force you to accept His way or go to Hell" some say again. Be thankful that God made a way. He could have just said, "my creation rejected me, they sin against me, they can all spend eternity in Hell." He does not though because Hell was not created for us. Hell was created for Satan and his fallen angels who rebelled against Him in Heaven. Hell was for those who rejected God. When we sinned, we chose the same path as Satan and were then unable to be in the presence of the Lord. Because His desire was to spend eternity with us, He made a way for that to happen again. Without the death of Jesus on the cross and the cleansing of our sins, there was no way, there was no hope. God provided a way when there was no way but people, in our evil sinful nature, say "why does there only have to be one way?" Why can't good people go to Heaven even if they don't believe Jesus is God and choose Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism, Humanism, or something else? The simple question is, there are no good people. We are all sinful, we are all bad by nature.

Nobody has to go to Hell. Jesus was the perfect and final sacrifice needed to wash our sins. He overcame death and rose from the third day and ascended into Heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father waiting for His bride, the church. He sent His Holy Spirit to guide us as we strive to follow His perfect and holy will in our lives.

When people refuse to follow God's will in their lives, they get everything backwards. Our God is not hateful. He is perfectly loving. Our God is not angry and vengeful. He is patient and merciful. Our God does not seek to take away all fun. He is a protecting loving father who warns us of the danger of sin. Our God does not bind us up with rules and restrictions. He sets us free by loosing the chains that sin puts on our lives.

I sometimes get angry and defensive when people attack our loving, merciful God. If I were God I would crush them all and send them all to Hell now. Then I step back and remember that I am a sinner also, I deserve Hell as much as anyone, and it is only because of our great God that I am saved and permitted to enter Heaven. I am no less guilty than anyone else on Earth and give thanks that our God is patient and desires that all believe and go to Heaven. He is patient in His return and quick to extend grace to all who call on Him. It is my job to pray for those who reject Him that their hearts might be softened and their minds changed to allow His Holy Spirit to enter in. It is a sad day when an unbeliever dies because all hope is lost. They will spend forever apart from the Lord. All they had to do was accept the Lord's free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ but they chose another way, a way which leads to eternity in Hell.

Hell is not a scare tactic, but Hell should be scary. God is not telling us to obey or go to Hell. God is telling us that we are all heading to Hell but here is another way if you just listen. It is a warning, not a threat.

You can make the choice today. You do not have to go to Hell because God made a way out. All you need to do is believe, repent, and turn your life over to Him.

In Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, and Luke 9:21 it says:

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

I just checked my visitors and noticed I had a handful that came from an anti-fundy site. I am at the bottom regarding my post on the Muslim Cleric praying to open the Texas Congressional session. I really love the comments because these anti-fundies are very funny. They have no clue what is going on and really do believe that Allah and Jehovah are the same. They act like they are so smart yet sound very silly when they make their comments. They try to call me stupid because I believe that Allah is a Muslim god and not an Hindu god. (Side note, Allah is Muslim, I am pretty sure). They tell me that because I was offended this one time, that I am easily offended. (Another side note, when I said I am not easily offended, I was telling the truth. Not many things offend me but this ONE did).

This was one of my favorites

I don't know what offends him more, a female politician or efforts to find common ground with other people.

and this

Allah is the same thing as the Christian god! Get it through your heads! They just believe in a different prophet. Allah MEANS God! Arrgh.

and most of all this

No, we are a secular nation, not built on the Bible or any other religious text. The fact that public prayers are allowed in government buildings for and/or by government officials IS outrageous.

This last person needs to do some reading of American history.

My point was not that Muslims could not be Americans and vote and practice their religion and so on. It was that we are (yes, this is true)a nation established on Christianity by Christians who prayed to Jesus Christ and believed in Him and if we start offering prayers to false gods as we open sessions of government, we are in trouble.

The nation of Israel did this often and it led them to captivity and trouble every time. If they were a nations of God's chosen people and they suffered when they rejected God and sought after false gods, then I have great fear for America and our future. Without the True and Living God on our side, we will crumble like every other powerful nation and empire that existed before us.

Now that I am getting on the older side of young, I was able to attend the "older" mens retreat up at the mountain top retreat center down in Southern Oregon. It was one of those times when you think God is speaking directly to you because everything that was touched on was exactly what I needed to hear.

The main focus of our teaching over the weekend was from 2 Timothy Chapter 2. Nine roles were addressed as Paul wrote to young Timothy.

• The first is that of a steward of grace.

2Ti 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 2:2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Here Paul is telling us that first and foremost, we must remember the grace of God. Without this grace, we would all go to Hell but because of our loving God, He has provided a free way to be in Heaven with Him. The Bible tells us that it is the goodness of God that brings men to repentance so our job is to bring that message to those around us.

Also, in the more specific context of marriage that was the focus of our retreat, we are to treat our wives and kids with grace. How do we react when we are wronged (or at least when we think we are wronged)? If grace is unearned, unmerited favor, do we give this gift to our families. I do sometimes but fall short quite often. Grace is the ultimate message and foundation of Christianity. Grace says that we are all losers but God loves us so much that He died for us on the cross to provide a way to enter into His presence as perfect and righteous individuals. We as Christians are perfect because Christ was perfect and not of anything we could ever do.

• The second role was as a soldier.

2Ti 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
2Ti 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Paul here is referring to spiritual warfare and not actual war. We are not at war with our spouse nor our kids but against our own sin nature and against demonic influences in the world. That is where the real battle lies because spiritual death is eternal.

God gives us one offensive weapon in our battle and that is the Word of God. Knowledge of the word is what protects us, defends us, and defeats the enemy. Jesus demonstrated this when he was attacked and tempted. He always came back with scripture and nobody could do anything in return. The Bible gets attacked all the time but always withstands and outlasts the attacks. If we can come to an acceptance that the Word of God is truly more powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, we can make it through life with power, authority, and confidence but we must always remember the first role, and that is being a steward of grace.

• The third role was as an athlete.

2Ti 2:5 Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.

Heaven is our prize. After Paul experienced a time in Heaven, he came back wanting nothing more than to get back and be crowned and receive the prize of eternity with out Lord and Savior. The important piece of this role though is competing according to the rules. God lays out the rules in His word. He tells us what to do and what not to do in order to live a fruitful life. If we try to live outside these rules, there will be consequences. Now, we can always receive forgiveness if we repent for "breaking the rules" but there is one ultimate rule that will prevent us from receiving that prize if we break it. The Bible tells us that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. There is no other name under Heaven by which men are saved. People have tried to come up with alternative ways to Heaven but they will all lead to destruction.

• The fourth role was as a farmer.

2Ti 2:6 The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

The idea here is hard work and diligence. The Lord tells us that those who seek Him early will find Him. The farmer is awake planting his crops before the rest of us are awake. Are we doing this? Do we start our day off planting the Word of God in our hearts so we can reap the harvest during our day.

What about our work with others? Do we plant the seed of God's Word in others so they can reap the good fruits in their lives?

• The fifth role was as a prisoner.

2Ti 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel,
2Ti 2:9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.
2Ti 2:10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory.

Paul knew what he was talking about here. He wrote most of his letters while imprisoned. In a sense, we are prisoners of this world because we are not of this world. When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we became citizens of Heaven but still occupy this world. Our duty, as Paul explains it, is to endure all things in this world for the sake of those who are chosen to obtain salvation. Our duty is to spread God's word and be willing to suffer for our beliefs. It is God's word that sets men free and for this reason, Paul was willing to go through excruciating pain and suffering.

Are we willing to do the same for the Gospel of Jesus?

• The sixth role was as a student.

2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This is the verse that inspired my blog. We are told to study the scriptures day and night so that we are not ignorant. We will know the truth by reading God's Word. We will be aware of counterfeits that the world tries to pass off as truth by filling ourselves with the Word.

I can say that I have improved in this area but I still have a lot of work to do to become a diligent Bible student. I know that when I am spending more of my time in God's Word, I am spending less time in worldly things and my life is much better for it.

• The seventh role was as a vessel.

2Ti 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
2Ti 2:21 Therefore if anyone purges himself from these, he shall be a vessel to honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

Jesus said that He is the living water and anyone who drinks of Him will never thirst again. The Bible also says that Jesus is the living Word so the Word is the water that fills our vessels. For me, I want to be a vessel of honor which means spending as much time as I can in the Word in order to fill my vessel.

It should be our goal to cause our vessel to overflow with God's Word so that it spills on those around us.

• The eighth role was as a servant/slave.

2Ti 2:24 The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,

Jesus was the ultimate servant. He said that those who are first will be last and those who are last will be first. He gave us our example when He washed His disciples feet. If the creator of the universe can come down to Earth and live as a servant, though He above all deserved to be served, how much more should we be servants to others. Paul called himself a bond slave of the Lord. A bond slave was a slave by choice. The Lord gives a choice to serve Him. Paul was willing to give his life completely to the Lord to live his life as His servant.

• The ninth and final role was as a teacher.

2Ti 2:25 with gentleness teaching those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
2Ti 2:26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

It is God's goodness that leads men to repentance and it is our job to teach unbelievers of His goodness. Do we truly believe that all these things are true? If so, should our desire be to teach those that do not know the truth about our Lord?

We had a very good teaching today on Ezekiel 28 and the Lords proclamation against the King of Tyre.

Ezekiel 28:12-19
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

When you look a little deeper into who the Lord is talking about here it becomes very clear that the King of Tyre is Satan himself. The descriptions do not fit those of a man.

We see that this King was in the garden of Eden. This King was full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. This King was beautiful and is called the anointed cherub.
This King was perfect in his ways from the day he was created.

The only four beings in the Garden of Eden were God, Adam, Eve and Satan. Since this is not the description of a man, that rules out Adam and Eve. It is clearly not God because of the end of verse 19 and the fact that God is giving these words to Ezekiel. That leaves Satan and the object of this proclamation.

This King was perfect and beautiful but then iniquity crept in. What caused this beautiful perfect angelic being to fall. All we have to do is look at verse 17 as well as some more information found in Isaiah 14.

Lucifer's heart was lifted up because of his beauty and wisdom. In Isaiah 14 we find five things that Lucifer claims he will do. He says that he will:

1) Ascend into heaven
2) Exalt my throne above the stars of God
3) Sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north
4) Ascend above the heights of the clouds
5) Be like the most High

Lucifer suffered from over-inflated self-esteem. He esteemed himself higher than god. Self-esteem is nothing more than another name for pride and the Bible tells us in Proverbs 16:18 that pride comes before destruction and in this case, Lucifer's pride will cause his destruction. Ezekiel 28:19 says at the end that he shall never be any more.

God is not joking when it comes to pride. Lucifer was cast out of heaven and awaits destruction for eternity in Hell because he tried to lift himself higher than God. Eve's sin is that she disobeyed God's command to stay away from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and at of it in order to become more like God.

Our schools, our psychologists, and our leaders are telling us that we must have high self-esteem. We must esteem ourselves in order to be happy but the Bible tells us something quite different. Esteeming ourselves too highly is very dangerous. Rather, Philippians 2:3 says:

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.

As Christians, we are not to have high SELF-esteem but high OTHERS-esteem. This is a very difficult thing to do because we are very sinful beings and we all love ourselves. We take joy in tearing others down to make ourselves look better. Much of the destruction and judgment of the Bible comes against people who were prideful and esteemed their own beauty and wisdom above God's.

America is very guilty of this, myself included. I am always comparing myself to others, especially those that I am better than. That is human nature. We want to lift ourselves up but all that we have comes from the Lord. Apart of Jesus Christ we are losers. Huge wicked sinners deserving of Hell. Because of Him we are made perfect and may enter into eternity in His presence.

While we are to esteem other people higher than ourselves here on earth, ultimately we are to esteem Jesus higher than all. It is through His sacrifice that we may have eternal life. It is through the work that He did that we may stand before the Father in Heaven as perfect and righteous.

The Lord sees you and me as perfect because He sees the work that His son did for us. Our works are nothing. The Bible actually calls our best works filthy rags. There is nothing that we can do to earn our way in Heaven so esteeming ourselves highly is not only sinful, it is meaningless and untrue. On our own, we really have nothing to esteem because we are all sinners who deserve Hell.

The good news, however, is that God did all the good works we need for us. All we must do is allow our old sinful self to die and become reborn in the spirit through Jesus Christ, our loving Savior and God.

Do not be like Lucifer and esteem yourself higher than the Creator of the Universe. As he has shown us, pride does lead to destruction, and that destruction is eternal.