Bearing up Under the Weight

I'm sure all of you have heard the phrase "everyone has their own cross to bear", it is a rather common phrase, even if the word "cross" has been replaced by "burden", or "weight" or some such thing, it all means the same thing:

While we are on this earth we are weighted down by cares, burdens, trials, pain, suffering, sorrow, and death. Crosses are not easy to carry, unwieldy, and heavy.

But for the Christian, this phrase must take a new meaning, for both a promise and precept is given to God's Beloved, and to start, we will look at the precept, for precept must always come before promise, lest our hearts take advantage of some loophole and abuse God's grace, which we are wont to do.

This is the precept, the command given by our Savior Jesus: Luke 9:23 "And He [that is, Jesus] said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.'"

Here we have it, plain and simple. since we know that nothing is more valuable, or more worthwhile than following and pleasing our Savior, Jesus Christ, we know that whatever burden we are made to bear must be worth it, for God does no thing without reason, and He allots trial and weight to us for our good, for our growth, to change us, and transform us to be like Him.

But here we see the problem, you see, we are weak creatures, unable to bear the burdens of this life. The cross we must carry each day, whatever it may be for each different person, is often heavy, burdensome, and it is painful to carry, worthwhile, but painful.

For you know that we must also deny ourselves, our wants, our passions, our desires, even our lives to carry the cross that God gives us to bear every new dawn. The burdens we must bear are heavy enough without trying to carry our sinful, worldly desire with us, for to walk the path of life as the enemy (by the grace and blood of Jesus) of the ruler of this world (Satan for the time being), we know we will be beset, riled upon, attacked relentlessly, for the only aim of the evil one is to cause us to stumble and fall from our pursuit of Christ-likeness.

So we all have our cross to bear, pain, sorrow, poverty, sickness, temptation, and many more, so now what are we to do? For often it seems too heavy for us to carry, and we know our Heavenly Father is good, but often it is hard to see when the weight of life is upon us, when our cross seems to grow heavier by the day, with what promise of Holy Scripture may we comfort ourselves with? With what truth of our Precious Savior, and Dearest Friend can we console ourselves and keep walking, keep running after Jesus?

Simply this: 1 Peter 2:24 "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness."

You may say to yourself: "But how does this help me? I know Jesus forgave my sins, but how does that help me when I am burdened down?"

Well Christian, I fear if that is what your heart is asking, that you have forgotten who you once were. You were a sinner, the enemy of God, under His righteous wrath. You could not stand under the weight of your own sin, it was too heavy, an impossible weight, greater than anything else, and it consigned you to an eternity in hell.

If Christ took that upon Himself... If He picked up every sin, and carried His cross to death, so that in Him, all our burdens might be taken away, even the sting of death, then do you not believe that He who was strong enough to carry the weight of the sin of every man, past, present, and future, that He cannot now that you are His, carry you, and every burden that He calls you to bear for His name's sake?

O Christian, He who carried the weight of your sin will also enable you by His strength to carry any cross that you must bear, and in denying yourself in His name, so that you may carry onwards towards Him, He will provide the strength, even though it seems as though you have none left.

So strengthen your weak arms with this truth, pick up the cross you must bear daily, given strength to carry it, and any other burden, by the Almighty hand of Jesus, for when you grow to weak to continue, He will carry you home, when you will carry nothing with you but joy, and no yoke will ever burden your shoulders again.

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

The God of your soul knows what cross you must bear, He will strengthen you to carry it, but you must deny yourself daily, take up your cross, and willingly follow Him.

And because He also reconciled us to each other, we can rely on our brothers and sisters in the church to aid us, to bear with us the burdens we must bear in Christ's name. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 bids us to: "Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all."
So we not only have our Glorious God to help us carry our cross, but our brothers and sisters won to us by Christ to strengthen our weak hands.

We have every strength to carry any burden given in Christ, for His glory, and for our ultimate joy.
But while we still must carry our burdens, look forward to heaven, where there will no more be anything to carry, for all of it will be laid at the feet of Christ, and life and peace will never end.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

Borne by the Strength of my Savior,

--The Scribe

Treasures in Heaven

Is this what we think of when we think of treasures? Gold, silver, jewels of various kinds and colors, lucre, and the distinct shine and beauty we see in its approximated value?

Well we as Christians are given a simple  rule, a command, a promise and a warning all in one passage, and if you don't like the look of the word "command", like you think it comes from a source unfitting of your attention and obedience, this comes from the very mouth of God, the physical mouth of God, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, so you had best listen (and if you want to know what gives him the authority to command you, read Isaiah 6, and then read my post about His Kingship).

Our Lord said this to the masses as he taught one of the most famous sermons in the entire canon of Scripture, the Sermon on the Mount, He said:

Matthew 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

I think we all know this one quite well, it is one of the tenants we recall most when we think of the Sermon on the Mount. But do we think of what it means? We know we must not try to amass treasure on earth because it is temporary (and if you think any differently, go read Ecclesiastes, it will sober you up, and if it doesn't then you must examine your heart immediately), but do we understand what it means to do the opposite, what Jesus calls "laying up treasures in heaven"?

I know that to this day, but for deeper study and grace-driven growth I considered the picture above when I thought of heavenly riches. The image in my mind (and be honest, some of you have thought this way), was of the riches above, but in heaven, the only difference being that the gold, silver, and jewels wouldn't perish. Of course I knew that it wasn't for my gain that I gather these treasures, I had been taught that much at least, that all of that treasure would be amassed for the glory of my gracious King and Lord, but I think we somewhat misinterpret Jesus' words here.

I would submit, (and correct me if you have hard evidence of the contrary) that the treasures our Savior is speaking of isn't some kind of heaven gold, or holy silver, but Himself...

Laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven is merely a counter to laying up treasures on earth, I believe that Christ isn't necessarily speaking of an honest action, but a change of perspective, and change of mind, and a grace-driven change of heart.

Here is where I get this thought: Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

There you have it, Jesus wants to give the crowds, (who as of yet, haven't understood His words) a new perspective, a higher perspective. He wants to change their hearts, not the location where they amass wealth, He wants them (and by exchange, us) to retrain our minds to think that where we put the most value is what matters, not the location that we place our treasure in. Our gracious, and knowing Savior knows us like the back of His hand, indeed, He created us! He knows our bent of mind and calls out to the crowd to change what their hearts truly value, and He wants that value to be placed in something that will never perish, namely, Himself, and nothing else.

With this thought in mind look a little further ahead in Matthew 6, at verses 22-24

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." 

There, the change of perspective, God wants us to devote ourselves to pursuing a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, that is where our treasure must lie, do not be thinking of gold, silver, and jewels, instead picture this when you think of your treasure in heaven:

That is where your heart, and therefore, your treasure must be. In Christ Jesus, and His Gospel, His Cross, and His triumphant Resurrection.

Wonder where I get this? Take a look, never take my word for it, go to the Scriptures, always go to the Word of God.

1 Peter 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

That is what Christ wants us to think of when we think of treasure in heaven, our inheritance through His blood that is untouchable, namely, Christ Himself, who is irremovably seated at the right hand of His Father on high.

That is the treasure we must strive after. For many will kill for money, but who would die for it? We are commanded to be willing to die for our treasure, because our Treasure... Died for us. (See what I did there?)

Strive for Christ Christian, and He will give you the desires of your heart, Himself. (Psalms 37:4), for where your Treasure is, there your heart will be also.


Praying for this kind of heart...

--The Scribe

Coming Before the King

The Dark Ages were a harsh and dreadful time. Disease and Death were rampant, knowledge was scarce, and kings ruled over all.

We as a nation have been free from monarchy for some three centuries now, and I am very thankful for this, but the old system carried with it some implications that I would like to briefly look at during my short stint (I say this hopefully) in sickness.

Kingship is a concept that I wish we had not lost, yes the tyranny of monarchy was terrible, but we have also lost a sense of ruling power, a sense of who we are, we are creatures meant to be under authority.

Sin has separated us from that standing, or, we think that we are freed from control, our lying hearts tell us that we are now kings of our own lives, and that the real King is deposed. I tell you Christian, God will not be deposed.

This is the reason our sin deserves hell as eternal punishment.

God is the King of this world, His very name was one that His people Israel held in honor, they would not dare to speak His name lightly, and in a time when His name is taken in vain as if it was of no worth, I wish we still knew what kingship means.

Israel knew well who their leader was (despite their constant idolatry and apostasy) they knew who their King was, and one of their greatest follies was desiring a king besides the only Ruler of All, and their folly caused the nation to eventually split under the rule of wicked kings whose hearts turned from the Lord.

But now, because Christ has redeemed us from the curse, by becoming our curse for us, so now we are free, and yet, not as we like to think. We are not freed under grace to be our own, no, no, and no, we were bought with a price. Listen closely Christian, I say to you, let nothing distract you from these words:

We belong, body and soul, in life and in death to our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that is something! Christ didn't save you to be your own! He saved you to be His, and His alone.

Christ Jesus may have humbly come to earth to save the lost, but it does not change who He is, and this is what I'm getting at, why I believe losing the idea of kingship is a terrible mistake, and tossing it aside is foolish at best, and absolutely sinful at worst.

Jesus Christ is the King of Kings, the Ruler of all that is, the Lord over all Creation, and He deserves our absolute surrender to His Kingship.

He is the same God before whom Isaiah said: "Woe is me! I am undone!" (Isaiah 6:5) His presence is the same that set fire to the mountain and the same glory that made Moses' face shine so that the people were fearful to see it.

Here is my point, we cannot now, as Christians lose the idea of kingship, for it is our new reality! It is our new way of life given by the death of our King, His humility to make us humble worshipers.

I say this especially for this current age, where the name of our King is slandered as if it was garbage. We must fear the Lord, as in the Dark Ages, the veritable age of monarchy, the people knew who their ruler was, and they had a rightful fear of their king, for he held all power withing the bounds of his kingdom.

And the Lord's kingdom has no limits, no boundaries, no borders. All is within His Kingdom, and He rules it all. Let us not forget that our King can split a sea in two, or calm it with a word, that He can strike down thousands with Death in an instant, or save three thousands by a single sermon.

He demands and deserves our respect, and service, we are little but peasants before His power, but He adopts us a sons.

That is my second point, and the original point of my writing this.

Hebrews 10:19-22 "Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that He opened for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

The holy places, in Jewish tradition, and by God's mandate in the Temple system there was to be a room, set apart from the rest, the Most Holy Place. To enter without proper course was immediate death, for this Holy Place was the presence of God among His people, His throne room on earth.

But the curtain that separated us from the Throne Room of the divine was torn in two from top to bottom, by the death of our Savior.

So now, we have full assurance to draw near. This is what prayer is. I do not think many realize this, we are walking into the Throne Room of God, to inquire of His Will.

Be it siege, or famine, disease or foes, the peasantry knew where they would find help, they would come before the king to petition his aid.

And we have confidence in faith to enter the Most Holy place without fear of death, for we are washed clean in Christ's blood. To ask our Gracious King for what we need.

But I say this, we cannot forget, God is still King, and He deserves our respect, and honor.

So think this the next time you pray, which you have free, and ready confidence through Christ to do, think of walking along a floor of marble, being led towards the Throne of God, you bow your head, be it in shame over sin, need in trial, or reverence in joy. You look up to see your Heavenly Father, the King of all Creation, smiling at you and saying:

"Come closer my child, and tell me what you need."

He is the King of all, and we must retain the proper fear, the fear of coming before the Righteous King, and God of everything, including you. But hear this comfort, we have a confidence that no serf or noble in the Dark Ages ever had.

We are given full access to our King, free and confident access to the Throne of Grace, to inquire at His temple and to ask of His will, nothing can keep us from Him anymore, and no fear need drive us away from His presence, indeed Christian, it should drive us ever closer to the foot of His Throne.

Draw near to the Throne of Grace, given access by the blood of Jesus.


No longer restrained by the curtain of sin and Death,

--The Scribe

Distance and Nearness Part Two

Last time we looked at Psalm 73, and learned that we must distance ourselves from the idea that somehow, unbelievers, who seem to prosper while we suffer, have it better than us and we must fight this sinful bent of our hearts by drawing near to God, indeed, verse 28 of Psalm 73 says: "But for me it is good to be near God..." 

So then, we come to the next step, first we must draw away, and now we must draw near. But we are here on earth, and He is in heaven. I am not suggesting of course that the Almighty God of the universe is unable to reach us here, indeed, He is all-present, and He protects us personally as our Mighty Father, but often we do not feel His closeness as we must to get away from the frame of mind in the early parts of Psalm 73 ("For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.") 

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So how then must this be done? How are we to draw nearer to our Father who dwells in heaven? Psalm 84, in one verse (though I will be pulling from the whole Psalm) tells us the answer, and I want you to listen Christians, for this is the true hope of our souls, and unbelievers this joy could be yours if you draw near to the Throne of Grace! 

Psalm 84:1 "How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!"

Now then, you may ask "But how does this help when I am feeling the weight of this world?" Well, what is the best way to get yourself hungry? By thinking of food of course! And what about getting thirsty? One needs only to picture fresh water to feel the need to drink it. So what we think about most is what we will desire, and that is why we must turn our minds to heaven.

"How lovely is Your dwelling place"? Oh that I had this kind of mind, bent towards the heaven where my God dwells! Can't you see Christian? This is the mindset we must strive for, for the mind that is on eternity, will think of eternal things.

Recall to mind the conclusion of the Psalmist in chapter 73:18-20 "Truly You set them in slippery places; [that is, the wicked] You make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O LORD, when Your rouse yourself, You despise them as phantoms."

We must not envy the wicked of what they have because what they have and desire to have is temporary. Let me say again, what the wicked have and desire is temporary.

We, as Christians are called to forsake the temporary in order to embrace the eternal (and I don't mean that in some kind of philosophical or otherwise humanistic enlightenment sort of garbage), we are called with an upward calling, to lay up treasures in heaven, and not on earth (Matt. 6:19-20)

So now, we come to the real meat of the matter. IF we are called to lay aside the temporary in order to obtain the eternal (which we are promised upon coming to faith in Christ), then we must turn our minds eye upwards to where our God dwells, and this is the purpose of the Psalmist in Psalm 84.

Psalm 84:2 "My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh* sing for joy to the living God."

This is what we must strive for... Can you say this with an honest heart right now Christian? Do you have this longing, nay, this fainting joy to see you Father in the place where He dwells? 

Here is the crux of the matter, and this must be our heart in order for us to crush the sin of doubting our Heavenly Father's goodness: Psalm 84:10-12 

"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of Hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You!" (Emphasis added)

So then... "All in vain have I kept my heart clean"? No! No! You must never think that Christian, for "No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly"! 

This is where we must be found, and because our hearts are sinful, and we are prone to wander, we must bask in the grace of prayer and bathe in the warmth of our Savior's great light, He will not forsake us in our troubles, and He has promised to bring us home to Him, spotless, blameless we will be before Him one day, so set your mind on heaven, and run with endurance, do not let anything stop you, or entangle your mind with the lies that the Psalmist in chapter 73 was tempted to believe.

Recall to mind this parting thought, of both the Psalmist and me: Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever."

Hear those words Christian, and you will walk through fire and Death without fear, for God will bring you through. The wicked may seem temporarily to have freedom, but they are the ones in chains, it is us, those saved by the Cross and Blood of Jesus Christ, who are truly free. Free now to run towards heaven, the lovely dwelling place of our Lord.

I would rather be His doorkeeper...

--The Scribe

Distance and Nearness Part One

Psalms 73 and 84, two mutually exclusive Psalms, and yet I have discovered that they go well together, and now I will be sharing, in my first two part post about what I have learned, two things must be done when in the situation that the Psalmist finds himself in in Psalm 73, look and hear:

Psalm 73:1-3 "Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

                         But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.

                         For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

Interesting thought... I wonder, how many of us will freely admit to this type of thinking? Have you had these thoughts in your heart? Have you entertained these things in your heart?

It is a true thing, the wicked seem to prosper, they need not fight to gain anything, for they do not serve God, they serve themselves, and their passions and idols, who require, for a little while, so little in return.

Verses 4-12 in Psalm 73 express this, and after that the Psalmist begins to say things that, if we were honest, we have thought too, and perhaps think a lot.

Psalm 73:13-15: "All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children."

So we now see the dilemma. The Psalmist knows that these thoughts are not right, that they betray God's truth, which the Psalmist knows very well, and loves. Then a strange thing happens, the beleaguered Psalmist goes to the sanctuary of the Lord, and he realizes what the truth is.

He realizes that while for a time, the wicked prosper, since they need not fight war against themselves daily, nor suffer in the name of God, that that time is swiftly ending. Verses 18-20 speak very clearly thus: The wicked who seem to prosper now will fall to ruin by their own seeming prosperity, because it is sinful idolatry, they please themselves with no thought to God at all.

So where do we stand in all of this? What are we to learn? This same truth that I learned, Psalm 73, and Psalm 84 give us two things we must do when we are tempted to think like this, or tempted to think that somehow, what this world offers is better than what God offers, and the first half is pointed to here in Psalm 73, is distance. 

We have to draw back from the idea that somehow, the world has it better than us, that they somehow have more freedom than we do. 

Hear me say this Christian, they are the ones who are enslaved... We are the ones who are free, no matter how things seem, it is not in vain that we keep our hearts clean, or wash our hands in innocence.

We must speak the same words as the Psalmist to find our way out of this trap of thinking:

Psalm 73:25-28

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works."

This is what we must get into the habit of doing when we are tempted thus, we must know that God is not holding out on us, but He is in fact, punishing the wicked by allowing them to prosper in their sin. (Romans 1:24; 28-32)

Hear again the Psalmist's last words: "For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works."

Those who are far from God, seemingly prospering in their lives given up to any whim of their sinful hearts, will most certainly perish... Hear that Christian, do not be tempted to envy them, for their fate is sealed as surely as yours is, though you are promised a better fate.

"But for me it is good to be near God..." This is where we must end up when we are tempted in the same way as the Psalmist in Psalm 73, we must draw this conclusion from all of our wandering thoughts, that no matter what we may go through, it is good, indeed our ultimate and only good, to be near our Sovereign Creator, and our Blessed Savior.

Draw near to Him Christian, and he will give you what you truly crave, Himself.

On Wednesday, we will look at Psalm 84, which is the next step, we go from walking away from temptation and envy, to drawing near to our only good God.

May you draw near the Throne of Grace,

--The Scribe

The Tree of Life

The Psalms are filled with truth, overflowing with it in fact!
From the Psalms we get some of our greatest hymns, and our dearest truths from Scripture, and I'm sure many can relate also, to the constant conviction of the Spirit we get from reading the Psalmist's words.

Here in Psalms 1:1-4 we are given a recurring bit of imagery, and that I will discuss in a moment, but first, a treatise on trees...

Not really, but trees are some of my favorite parts of God's Creation, they add some much to the color, sound, feel, and atmosphere of nature. Indeed one of the first things that many think of when the word "nature" is uttered is a tall tree full of leaves and in full bloom.

So I want you to picture a tree, a beautiful, tree in full season, and then, put your face on it...

Okay, that was a semi-pointless exercise, but it gets my point across. Can we see ourselves like this tree in full season? Can we see ourselves in the same position as a tree, relying on sun, and rain, and air to survive?

This is where Psalms 1:1-4 comes in, it says this, listen closely Christian, and take care how you listen:
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does he prospers.
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away." 

Hear that? We are like trees, planted by streams of water...
Why is that last part important?

Water is essential for any plant, and trees fall under that category. Water is how plants live, and thrive, yes sunlight, yes, carbon dioxide, but water... Water is the more necessary of the three.

This imagery shows us where we stand, on conditions, (let us remember quickly that God's love for us is not conditional, but our joy in Him, and our satisfaction is conditional on how we persevere in repentance and obedience, by His grace of course) the conditions for us to be considered as trees planted by streams of water is as thus: we walk not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but instead we delight in the law of the Lord, and meditate on it day and night (v. 1-2).

So, if we delight in God's law we must forsake all of our wickedness, and wicked company in order to be planted by streams of water. Psalms 119:9 says: "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word."

We must be in the Word day and night and keep it close, lest our own wicked hearts, or the wickedness around us uproot our faith.

So say this is true of us, that, like in Psalms 19 and 119 we love and follow the law of God (again, by His grace given that we might please Him), we are like a tree planted right next to our source of life, and we thrive accordingly! ("yields fruit in its season..." "leaf does not wither...")

So we are promised that if we abide with our Lord we will never wither, we will in abundance of grace and joy, live this life right next to our source of all good in this world, and the next (James 1:17-18; Psalm 16:11)

But beware my friends lest you fall on the other side of the stream, for many who read this, perhaps unknowingly, are running toward the fire that will burn you to ash, and torment your soul forever.
Psalm 1:4 "The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away."

many may never know this life... This joy, this thriving, ever increasing love for God that plants them next to their all-Sovereign, all-good Creator, but instead willingly reject Him for their own passions and fleeting, fading, worldly joys.

But do not fear fading ones... For your Creator has made a Way, The Way.

John 14:6 "Jesus said to him [Thomas], 'I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

And now we are part of a new life, and if we abide in Him, as He abides in us, then we will have eternal life, planted by the ever-flowing river of Living Water, Christ Jesus Himself: John 4:7-14
We are now a part of this new life, born again to a Living Hope, and connected inseparably to the True Vine, John 15:1-8

Jesus is our water, and if we abide in Him, we will be like trees, planted by streams of water!


Watered daily by the Word
--The Scribe

Justice to the Martyrs

Justice is an interesting concept...

The best way I can describe it is as thus: Do you ever get that strange feeling of satisfaction when the main villain of a story, be it book, movie or otherwise, gets his (or hers) at the end. The feeling of rightness when evil is destroyed, or punished at the end. That is one of the things that makes a good story.

What is that feeling? Well to a point (because we are naturally sinful beings) it is the image of God in us. We want good to ultimately win, and we want evil to be punished.

But what is justice? Is it the punishment of the wicked, or is it protection of the good?

The simple answer... Is neither.

You see friends, the way justice began is the same way anything began, God made it, or rather, He is it, it is one of His perfect attributes. God is Just, therefore, justice exists. But on to the kicker, many of you will wonder what I'm getting at, as many of you see justice as one of a few things not on my list at all.

Listen carefully, friend... Justice is God protecting His glory...
Let me say again: Justice is God protecting His glory.

At its most perfect, when shown in the actions and words of the Creator of all things, Justice is simply God maintaining the fact that He is most glorious and thus, most deserving of all praise, honor, and glory in the universe, which He created, and even outside, which we can't fathom at all with our very limited mortal brains.

So where do the other things come in? Why do we get that strange feeling when the villain gets his at the end? Well then... Let's get down to business.

Romans 1:18-32 give us a picture, but for now I want you to recall Genesis 3, the reason Justice must be shown. If justice is God protecting His own glory, then our sin, which tries to give glory to us instead, is evil, and must be punished. The entrance of evil into our world brought about the other facets of justice, punishing the wicked, and protecting the good.

But in this case, no one is good anymore! Romans 3:10-12 states that very clearly! (I am writing out less the make you all do more work in looking these things up. Test me against Scripture! I won't do your work for you!) It says "No one is righteous" so who is justice protecting? The only innocent still left, God Himself, and it must punish the wicked, which since Genesis 3, is all of humanity.

So what now? A pickle to be sure. But God didn't want to destroy us completely as His perfect Justice requires to defend His glory from the human race which was now a festering hive of attempted glory-snatchers.

So God makes a way, one that punishes the evil, and protects the innocent, (which is Himself, the only one still pure).

2 Corinthians 5:21, (and I will write this one out so that you can see the glory in these few words!)
"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
Mmmmm.... Do you feel that Christian? That is speaking of none other than our Lord, Jesus Christ Himself! Who was perfect for us! He, as God, the only innocent, took our sins upon Himself and died, Jesus Christ died... To allow perfect justice to remain unstained. The guilty is punished (Christ on our behalf, though He is perfect) and the innocent is protected (the Glory of God is once again shown in men saved through Jesus' blood).

So what now? (Romans 1:18-32-Many still do not fear God) Many of us need not look far before we see justice perverted in our courts, and in our lives as well, the blood of the saints, and the martyrs cries out for justice to be done*, but we see so little. (or so it seems to us)
So what now? Well... A day is coming, you need only read a chapter from Isaiah or Jeremiah to see...

For those who still pervert justice, and practice wickedness before the Lord, there is a day, and the Lord will protect His glory, and in flaming fire, He will burn away all who would attempt to steal any of His honor, or stain it with their sin.

Justice will be done.


That is the feeling you have when you see the villain's demise... The shadow of the truth in literature or screen, that one day all evil will be destroyed, completely and forever. God will not hold back on that day, He will execute His Perfect Justice...


Looking forward to the Day,

--The Scribe

*Revelation 6:9-11; 21:4