Raw Scripture - Entry 4

The writings of Paul from the book of Romans .....

"For salvation that comes from trusting Christ - which is what we preach - is already within easy reach of each of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths. For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord, and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation."

(Romans 10: 8 - 10)

While The Wife's Away ........

My wife went out of town this weekend with some friends and that left me in charge of our three children. She left on Friday afternoon so that meant that Friday night's dinner was at Friendlies Restaurant. We had hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, a salad and some ice cream.

On Saturday morning the kids fed themselves breakfast and then we brought the twins to a birthday party. We dropped them off at the party and then Hannah and I went to Chillis for lunch. I had a buffalo chicken salad and Hannah had ribs. For dessert we split their delicious chocolate cake with ice cream. For dinner the five of us went to the Chinese food buffet. I had one of everything. The kids ate a hearty meal and then each had two bowls of ice cream. On Sunday morning the kids fed themselves breakfast again. For lunch I cooked steak out on the grill and we ate that with barbecue chips. On tap for dinner tonight? I'm gonna cook up some frozen corn dogs and we'll eat the second half of the bag of barbecue chips.

This is the nourishment that my kids get when mom's away. I would never let my family eat like this on a regular basis but when mom's away this is our way of 'letting our hair down', enjoying a little freedom and independence!

It's interesting that in the Old Testament God appointed holiday's for the children of Israel to observe. There were festivals and celebrations. Many were meant for the Hebrews to remember a historical event or God's works in the past. I believe that God created these events to help the Israelites remember and He used an effective tool: mankind's love of celebration.

The Bible records that Paul wrote to Timothy "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following." (1 Timothy 4: 4 - 6)

This weekend my children did not get very good nourishment but we had fun! In this scripture Paul encourages Timothy to be nourished on the words of the faith and on sound doctrine. God's will and wisdom and truth are recorded in the Bible. We need to give ourselves a steady diet of that truth! The Bible shows us the way that we can be forgiven of our sins and be reconciled to God. It also teaches us how we can have a close relationship with Jesus.

Stirring The Pot

Back in the mid 80s I worked in a church youth club. As Halloween approached one year the club leaders decided to have a 'Halloween' party for the kids. Being careful not to endorse the pagan holiday and wanting to avoid ghosts, vampires, and witches, the children and leaders were instructed to dress up as Biblical characters.

The supervisor who came up with that guideline must have forgotten about the Old Testament story in which King Saul approaches a witch to obtain guidance from the dead prophet Samuel. The many Biblical references to Satan must have also slipped his mind. Of course back in those days I was much more willing to 'stir the pot'. In this picture you can see my choice of a Biblical character.

This reminds me of a letter that I read a few years ago in one of those 'cute letters that kids write to God' books....

'Dear God, On Holloween I am going to wear a Devil's costume. Is that all right with you? Signed, Marnie'.

Marnie's desire to consult with God before making decisions is an admirable step to take. God is interested in our lives and has a will for mankind. What is that will?

The Bible says that '... as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.' (John 1:12-13)

God wants us to give our lives to Him. It is His will that we become His children. We do that by confessing our sins and trusting that Jesus paid the consequences for our sins, in our place, when He died on the cross for us. As the Apostle Paul says in the book of Romans we must 'confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead'. This is the first step in having a relationship with Christ.

Game Cube Golf Tournament - Part 2

My three children and I recently had a Game Cube golf tournament. To the best of my knowledge the game is not programmed to give mulligans ....

Webster's dictionary lists the word 'mul·li·gan' as a noun with this meaning: 'a free shot sometimes given a golfer in informal play when the previous shot was poorly played.'

Here is a variation of that definition that I've heard that I like even better: 'a free shot sometimes given a golfer in informal play when the previous shot was poorly played ... and the golfer is among friends. '

The beauty of a mulligan is that it is a conferment of grace on an undeserving person who just screwed up.

Jesus angered the religious people of His day because He frequently gave out mulligans to notorious sinners. In the Bible, John records that a woman caught in adultery was about to be stoned to death by a mob when Jesus stepped in and insisted that the first person to throw a stone should be the one who had never sinned. One by one the crowd dispersed. Jesus turned to the woman and told her that He wouldn't condemn her either. He said 'From now on sin no more'.

Likewise Christ won't condemn us if we, in prayer, confess our sins to Him, ask for forgiveness, and turn our lives over to His leadership. The hound of heaven sought us out to rescue us by sending Jesus down to earth and dying on the cross, for our sins, in our place.

(Pictured above is my son Josh's Game Cube character for our golf tournament.)

Believe or Balony? - Near Death - Episode 1

So this friend of mine is high up on the roof of a Habitat for Humanity house. He's nailing down shingles up near the peak when he decides to take a look over the edge down to the ground below. He realizes how high up he is and it starts to scare the crap out of him. When he tells me this story he says: 'I nearly killed myself building that house. After all that, I better make it to heaven!'

On the table: Spending eternity in heaven with God depends on your good works. If you go to church, get confirmed, get baptised, and do good works for the poor, you'll go to heaven.

Baloney! The Bible says: ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.’
(Ephesians 2: 8-9)

Life Hound Principle: Because of His great love for us, God sent His Son Jesus down to earth to die on the cross as punishment for our sins. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. We will go to heaven only if we trust that Christ's one good work on the cross was sufficient to save us.