For My Unbelieving Friends

Dear friend,

My heart is burdened for you to know the Truth! Burdened because your eternity hangs on it! When you die it will be too late and there will be no second chance! I beg you to just read this note and think on these things and, if you so wish, ask questions! Ask anything because there is an answer for you no matter what your question is! I implore you to consider these things because they are the only eternal truth! The grass withers and flowers fade away but God's word will never fail and never become irrelevant! Friend, eternity is a long, long time. Longer than the human mind can grasp. It's too big for us! Compared to this life, it's like the Himalayan Mountains being compared to the bumps and ridges on an orange peel. Please read. Just consider. Ask questions. Think things through. Ask God to grant faith in these words. There is no greater joy available to you than to know the Truth! Your best day in this life is absolute shit compared to the joys that God offers you in knowing Him. Sorry if my use of that curse offended you but that's literally what the joys of this life are compared to what God offers you.

Truth #1: God is so kind to you. Look at your life. You have breath in your lungs. You have the food that you need to keep on living. And not just ANY food but unless you're living in a third world country, you have access to some REALLY NICE food! You have a roof over your head. You have friends. You live in a country where crime is under control and you can say and think what you want to. Your body continues to function! Do you know how many different processes are at work in your physical body right now? Do you know how many of them are absolutely vital to your continued existence? If one of these faltered even for a second you would die on the spot. Your very existence is a gift from God's hand to yours. You don't earn the function of your organs. You don't earn your ability to work, make money, and buy food. God graciously has granted your body to work and He graciously continues giving your body what it needs to keep going. Do you have any great memories in your life? You didn't earn them. You didn't work hard to get the friends you have. God, in His great kindness, brought them to you. You have all 5 of your senses. You can see and hear and smell and taste and touch! All of these are gifts. God is not under any obligation to do any of these things for you. If God takes them away you have no right to complain because you did nothing to earn them. Your whole life you've been completely dependent on God keeping you that way. He could change anything at any second and you have no right to argue with God that it's wrong of Him to change it. He gave you life and knit you together inside your mother so He has every right to decide when you die. It could be right after reading this note. It could be in 20 minutes. It could be in 20 years. God decides when you die. You have no say in it. James 1:17 says "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." God has been and continues to be VERY kind to you. Not because you've earned it but just because He is kind and gracious.

Truth #2: You haven't responded to God's kindness adequately. You've acted as though you had some right to good things. You've loved the gifts more than the Father who gave them to you. If someone asked you "What makes you a good person?" you would probably reply that you never killed anyone, stole anything, told any BIG lies. You're not a rapist or a dishonest stockbroker or a burglar. You've never sold any drugs or strung out a teenage girl. You've never kidnapped anyone and demanded a ransom. Morally, you're in pretty good shape you think. Do you notice any pattern in these answers? I do. They're all about how you've treated other people. They're all about your relationship to other human beings. Not one of these qualifications has anything to do with God. If God used this standard to evaluate people, we'd all be pretty much okay. Of course, we all have to admit we've failed at one time or another to love other people the way that God requires of us. But the point of all this is that God does NOT use this standard to judge people! Jesus said the greatest commandment (the most important one) is to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. (Matthew 22:35-38) Have you done that? God is the most precious, most beautiful, most powerful, fearful, awe-inspiring, radiant, magnificent, perfect, righteous, just, holy, compassionate, loving, kind entity in existence! Have you treated Him as such? Has your entire life been a symphony of worship and praise to Him only? If you want to earn heaven by working, that's what your going to have to do. You can't let one single, solitary moment escape you without giving God the absolute maximum amount of glory and worship you possibly can. And once you DO put forth this amount of work you can't have a single ounce of pride. You must be completely humble to come into God's presence. Pride is a sin that God hates. And even if you were able to live that way from this moment forward you'd still have the problem of your previous life and the moments gone by that you've failed to worship and love Him adequately. All of this to say... you. have. not. loved. God. as. He. deserves.

Truth #3: God hates sin. What is sin? Sin is anything that does NOT magnify the greatness of God. God. is. everything. Romans 11:36 makes it clear. God is the center of everything. If it's not making God look more to be desired and loved and wanted it's wicked in the highest degree. God created you to make Him look great. Now you might think that's vain and self-centered but think about it for a second. If God really is perfect and holy and beautiful and desirable and holy and majestic and all the other superlatives that God is, doesn't that make Him the only one who DESERVES to be made much of? Wouldn't it be unkind of God to keep you from valuing that which is supremely valuable? So God is kind and gracious to hate everything that doesn't make Him look like what He really is! Isaiah 43:7 says that everything was created for God's glory! So if it's not doing its job, it's wicked! God can't stand sin. Sin is disgusting to Him. Picture a 4 or 5 year old splashing around in a pool of blood and pus and vomit and urine and motor oil and other disgusting things, holding a switchblade in his hand and physically threatening any adult who comes along to take him out of it all. He's bleeding everywhere and throwing up but he loves it. That's you when you're not worshipping God with everything in you. Sin. disgusts. God. Loving anything more than you love God is wicked beyond description.

Truth #4: One day, you're going to stand before God to have your life set up against the divine standard. God is a just judge. Maybe you're saying "Oh but I think God is loving and kind and He wouldn't sentence me to any real punishment. You've already emphasized how loving and kind God is and now you're contradicting yourself by saying He's going to punish sinners with hell." Picture this... you're married and you've got 3 children and a dog. You live in a nice house and have a couple good cars. One night you come home and a horrible sight meets your eyes. Your front door has been broken down. You come inside and your spouse is lying facedown in a pool of their own blood. You come in further and find two of your children have been violently attacked and sexually abused. Their throats have been cut. You fall to your knees, overwhelmed at what you're seeing but you hear some soft noises coming from another room. You walk in just in time to see your last child being murdered. You manage to subdue the attacker but your child is dead. A year later you're standing in the courtroom as the only eyewitness to this crime. You watch as the judge calls the defendant to her bench and you listen with horror as she says, "Don't worry. I'm a kind, gracious, loving, compassionate judge. I don't believe in giving punishment. Just pay this small fine and I'll let you go. I will acquit you." The very quality you're relying on to keep you from punishment (i.e. God's goodness) is the VERY quality that will condemn you. The fact of the matter is that if you haven't lived every second in humble adoration, worship, and love of God, you're going to stand condemned. Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." Maybe you'll face that judge in 10 years. Maybe in 20 years. Maybe after you finish reading this note. Remember, you have no guarantee of tomorrow. Death could come literally any second. But you will face the righteous Judge of all the earth. He knows all things. He sees all things. He hears all things. He has seen every thought that passed through your mind. Nothing is hidden from Him to whom you must give an account.

Truth #5: God loves you and has made a way for you to be found not guilty at the judgement. God has every right to simply cast you into hell. You have no grounds for a defense. You have no argument that will persuade God to acquit you. You are guilty before Him. BUT, as I said earlier, He is kind. He offers forgiveness to ANYONE who wants it. There is no sin so great that He cannot forgive it and grant you an acquittal at the judgement. Jesus Christ. God came into human history about 2,000 years ago in the form of a man named Jesus Christ. Jesus loved His Father with everything in Him the 30 odd years of His earthly life. Never once did He waver. He never slackened in His service to the Father. He did not break a single commandment at any time during His entire life. Not one deviation. Not one sin. Not one moment of pride. He raged against sin His entire life but He loved people at the same time. He lived the perfect life. After about 3 years of ministry, though, He was crucified. Who crucified Him? Some people say it was the Jews. Some say it was the Romans. Some say you and I crucified Him because He took sin on Himself and was punished for all of those who would have faith in His subsitutionary death. But, ultimately, Isaiah 53 makes it clear that GOD was the One who killed Him. Because He wanted to make a way back in for sinners. God couldn't ignore sin because He was just. But He COULD transfer sin and punish another in our place if they freely offered themselves as Jesus did. Jesus died for all who would believe and put their faith in Him. If you want forgiveness today, it's yours. Freely granted. No strings attached. No monkey business. You want mercy? You want to walk into death without any fear or apprehension or worry about what comes after? Just grab on to Jesus!

Truth #6: All you have to do is believe. Put your sin on the table. Be upfront and honest with God. If you don't remember every little thing you've said or thought or done, don't worry about it. You're not trying to earn God's forgiveness by recalling everything. Just fling yourself entirely on His mercy. Then believe. "And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:21). If you don't believe, for God's sake don't just give up! If you don't believe, pray for belief! Ask questions! Labor in prayer! Beg God to grant you belief! EVERYTHING hangs on it! Don't rest! Don't slacken your grip! Don't take it easy! Press your whole being into your pursuit of real faith!

If this note speaks to you, PLEASE don't hesitate to contact me. Post a comment. Send a message. Call me. Email me. I want to show you the love of Christ and that's a large part of why I've written this note. I'm here for you if you're ever discouraged or convicted or afraid! Sometimes you have a long process to work through before you come to real faith and I want to be there for you if you're working through a lot. Know that I'm praying for you. May God bless you richly with eyes to see the greatness and the beauty of Jesus Christ!

Your Friend,

Wes

Gracious Works

What is the relationship between grace and works? Will everyone be equal in heaven? Or will some receive greater blessing than others? I've listened to both sides of this question. Some are adamant that grace is the great "leveller" under which nobody is greater than anyone else. Such preaching is sweet to our soul because it means God won't love some of the "great" Christians like Whitfield or Spurgeon. They are not "better" than us or more loved of God than us. On the other side, it definitely seems like Christ preaches that those who make greater sacrifices will receive greater blessing. Those who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly. When Christ is asked to reserve the two seats at His right and left hand He intimately links such a request to suffering.

So what's the answer? Are we equal under grace? Or do some receive greater rewards than others? I believe the answer is both. We are equal. We all desperately need saving. We are wicked beyond comprehension and need a Savior to rescue us from sin. BUT, we do NOT all work with the same level of intensity after salvation has been wrapped around us. Once again, think of us as cups. Some of us are big, some are small, some are mere thimbles. That's how we're all different. Varying sizes. BUT the same beverage is poured into us. Namely, the love of Christ. It's not that some of us are more loved or less loved than others but that we can more completely understand that love. That love is more or less precious to us. Some of us have relatively easy lives here on earth. We don't suffer martyrdom or vicious lies being told about us. Our faith in Christ is real but the greatest thing we suffer for it is a more cramped financial lifestyle and the struggle to pray and pursue God every day. On the other side of the camp we have people like Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Haralan Popov, and Richard Wurmbrandt who payed a very high cost for their faith in Christ. Now these men were not more loved by God but they had a more dreadful time living for Him than we do. The worse our experience in this life, the more we treasure the love of God. The more poverty we have in this world, the more we'll treasure the riches we have in the next. The drier the desert, the more desired the Promised Land. We're all loved by God and we're all deeply indebted with a debt that we can't ever pay off but we're NOT all undergoing equal suffering for our faith in Christ.

So if you want to receive blessing in greater amounts in the next life, pursue the more difficult path in this life. Blessing is linked to suffering. You won't be more loved by God, but you'll treasure that love more. You can be a HUGE cup or a thimble. The choice is up to you by the grace of God.

I accept that there may be a LOT of disagreement with this note. I'm not even sure it's all theologically intact. So I welcome any thoughts or feedback. Thanks, guys!

Maximum Work, Maximum Punishment

Just think about the insanity that was Jesus Christ being crucified.

First, look at the obedience of Jesus Christ. He was perfect. Not one single time did He lose track of His life purpose. Not one single error in His thinking. He didn't hold any false doctrine about God. Neither did His heart separate thinking from feeling. He never let His joy be determined by His situation. His joy in God was the result of painstakingly thought out theology. Not once did He look lustfully upon a woman. Not once did He wish He could kill His enemies. He was never angry without cause. He never erred in His keeping of the 10 commandments. He never coveted something that belonged to His neighbor. He was never frustrated when He didn't get His way. He never once in His entire life complained to God. He never took God for granted. He spent as much time as He could in prayer but He did not neglect practical obedience to His Father. He never prayed to the neglect of His day to day duties of loving His people, healing their infirmities, or preaching the Word to them. Not once. His record was the only one unblemished in the entire history of humanity. BUT He didn't slip into pride as a result of it. He was remarkably humble and easy to approach. This man was like no other. There was no slipping, no disobedience, no shortcuts taken in His ministry. He didn't cut corners to get to the "spiritual results" faster. He didn't neglect anyone who came to Him for grace and love. Neither did He let anyone escape His anger when they had sinned. He never downplayed sin or encouraged someone whose actions were NOT to be encouraged! He was angry with others but not at the expense of graciously showing them their mistakes. All of this to say, Jesus Christ did not sin even one time. He. Was. Perfect. Unblemished. Whole. Devoid of sin. Completely righteous in every possible way.

Now flip everything around. Pretend that everything I just said was the complete opposite of reality. That's the punishment Jesus received. Here's how God looked at Him as He hung on the cross:

A thief. A liar. A drunkard. A man who showed no mercy. A man who hated everyone who crossed his path. A man guilty of rape, murder, incest, sodomy. A porn addict. An alcoholic. A person who never controlled his temper but allowed it to flare for no reason at all. A man who beat his wife. A man who rapes his children and then kills them. A guy that beats his dog and laughs as those who need his protection starve to death. A corrupt judge who takes bribes. A man who organized mass exterminations and laughed as his victims begged for mercy. A man who sleeps with different hookers every night. A man who is warned that there is a judgement but scoffs and threatens the one who warned him. An atheist. Someone who has twisted desires and doesn't hesitate to fulfill them. A serial killer. Someone who gets a sexual charge from physically injuring others and then violating their dead corpses.

I'm talking about the One whose gifts are infinite. Who willingly subjected Himself to death for YOUR sins. He's getting hit with licks deserved by religious hypocrites. He's in the fiery pit as if He was a wicked liar with twisted desires.

He's the source of all godly pleasure but he's being treated as if He's a child molester. HOW CAN HE BE TREATED THIS WAY! NOBODY deserved glory EXCEPT for Him! And HE'S getting all the shit that should have fallen on YOU and ME! He put forth the maximum work. He never slacked in doing righteousness but He's getting punished like one who never slacked in doing UNrighteousness! He is PERFECT in love and wisdom but He's being punished like he constructed the corrupt justice system! Like he's selling crack and pot and seducing teenage girls or looking at the most vile, abusive porn on the internet when he's not out performing violent sexual acts on the general populace!

When you look at the cross with these eyes you see how NUTS it is! I mean seriously! What. the. HELL! Christ suffered more in those 6 hours than anyone EVER will in hell! Let this cause you to weep over your sin and worship the One who put it away forever! He was NOT obligated to show you mercy! He wasn't obligated to do ANY of this! Nor does He do it to control you. He simply does it because. He. Loves. You. "Nobody takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord."

Glasses

People are like goblets. They are full of various beverages. Some are full of sports or entertainment. They can't wait until the season starts and their team has its first game or until the season finale of their favorite show! Others have love in them. The desire for romance. If they're single, they can't wait to be in a relationship! If they're in a relationship, they can't wait to be with their beloved. Some are filled with ambition. They're so excited about their future and they can't wait until they get their first big job. Some have loftier things in them like philosophy or religion. They love studying great thinkers and making conjectures about the nature of reality and of God. Most people are full of SOMETHING. On a rare occasion, you may come across someone who is empty. It's not usual. We feel that part of what makes us human is that we are full of something. A goblet is made to contain liquid. Humans are meant to be full of something that they believe is truly great.

What kind of people does God use? God uses those who are empty. They realize that they have nothing. They realize that no liquid seems to be quite great enough to be filled with. They are empty. They are in anguish of spirit because they are empty.

But being empty isn't enough. Paul makes it plain that God primarily uses those who are weak and small. But just because you are weak and small doesn't mean you will be used of God! If a cup is empty, it is a great shame! Because it's true! God DID create us to be filled with something. Realizing that nothing the world has to offer is quite up to par is wise; but simply remaining empty and weak and broken isn't enough. You have to come before Christ in your emptiness, begging Him to fill you with His Spirit. People weren't meant to be filled with someTHING; they were meant to be filled with someONE.

So if you're full of something this world has to offer, EMPTY YOURSELF! If you're empty... praise God! But know that emptiness is not enough. No benefit is garnered by simply being empty. You MUST be filled with the right beverage. So praise God if you're empty, but don't be satisfied being empty. Nobody enjoys anything about an empty cup. Come before the One who is willing to put into your heart "rivers of living water." Come. Drink. Be filled.

Selection from Foxe's Book of Martyrs

"Trajan likewise commanded the martyrdom of Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. This holy man was the person whom, when an infant, Christ took into his arms, and showed to his disciples, as one that would be a pattern of humility and innocence. He received the gospel afterward from St. John the Evangelist, and was exceedingly zealous in his mission. He boldly vindicated the faith of Christ before the emperor, for which he was cast into prison, and tormented in a most cruel manner. After being dreadfully scourged, he was compelled to hold fire in his hands, and, at the same time, papers clipped in oil were put to his sides, and set on fire. His flesh was then torn with red hot pincers, and at last he was despatched by being torn to pieces by wild beasts."

The world is not worthy of such.

Think Big!

Romans 8:28. What a verse. Do you realize what this verse means?! This is, in my opinion, God's greatest promise for His children hands down. The sad thing is that most believers don't take advantage of this promise! We leave weakly and cautiously, fearful that we will inflict more pain on ourselves and more shame on God's glory than we can stomach. We live weak, sheltered, protected, cautious, small lives. Romans 8:28 is an a-bomb that should blow all that right out of the water! It's kind of like God is saying "STOP BEING CAREFUL! Think big!" Romans 8:28 frees us to make monumental errors in our pursuit of bringing God greater glory. Maybe you blow literally everything you have on God. Imagine emptying your bank account, mortgaging your house, selling all your assets, and moving back in with your parents and then giving the money to a missions organization. What if your parents won't take you in? What if this rash decision leaves you homeless? What if you can't afford 3 meals a day anymore and you find yourself taking up residence in a homeless shelter? No doubt, this would be counted as a pretty big mistake. God wants you to have the food you need to do His will. He wants you to have a roof over your head to protect you from the elements. Your His child and maybe you've just thrown away what He intended as your provision. BUT don't forget Romans 8:28. Is God up there scratching His head thinking, "What is WRONG with that guy?!"? No! No doubt, He is rejoicing! "Yes! He gets the gospel! He understands how much worship I deserve!"

Look at the story of Jesus at Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' house. Mary takes this pound of VERY expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus feet and wipes them with her hair. Now when it says "very costly perfume" don't make the mistake of thinking this was like "Eternity for Women" by Calvin Klein (running at $40/ bottle at Amazon) or "Ralph Lauren Blue for Women" (running at about $50/ bottle at Amazon). Judas says it could have been sold for 300 denarii. Now how much was a denarius? Well a denarius was about a days' wages. How much money do you make in a day? In my current job I make about $60 every day. You can do the math. Now maybe you make a bit more than I do or a bit less. But if I were to work 300 days, the amount I earn would be about $18,000. It's more than likely that this was Mary and Martha's savings. One day they wouldn't be able to work anymore. They would need something to live on. And here Mary is pouring everything they've got on Jesus feet. She's doing this because, in her mind, Jesus is worth more than the perfume.

How does Jesus respond to this kind of love? Does He scratch His head and say "Mary. Mary, Mary, Mary. I gave you that to take care of yourself after you can't work anymore. That was really stupid. Why would you do that? There's other ways you can show me your love. You didn't have to go and do that and cripple yourself financially for the future. I thought you were smarter than that."? No! He is happy! He honors her! I think God was thrilled in that moment. "YES! She trusts Me to provide for her! She gets how valuable My Son is! She knows that I'm not going to leave her high and dry for pouring out her life savings!" God is honored. Jesus is thrilled. Mary is trusting. What a beautiful picture. Romans 8:28 wasn't written yet but Mary's heart knew the reality of God's kindness and compassion.

I think one lesson we can learn from this story is that we need to be less concerned with what will happen as a result of our sacrifices and more concerned with showing love for and captivation with Jesus Christ. When you get the gospel, you stop being afraid of making gigantic mistakes and you start seeing the glory of God as more important than your personal enjoyment and comfort in life. So sometimes I think it's good to just throw caution to the wind and think "What is the hugest way that I can show my love for God today?" and then do it.

Don't Get Bogged Down!

Something amazing occurred to me this week! Simple obedience leads to unimaginable glory! Look at the story of Matthew's calling. Jesus says "Follow me." So Matthew gets up from the tax booth and obeys. Nothing seems so amazing about that. It seems like the most commonplace event in the history of the universe! No glory, no pomp, no "WOW! Look at that guy! He's FOLLOWING!" That's near the very beginning of the New Testament. Now flip ahead to Revelation 21:14, near the end of the New Testament. The wall of the Heavenly City has 12 foundation stones... and Matthew's name is on one of them. What the heck?! How did we get from "Follow me," to Matthew's name being written on a foundational block of the insanely glorious, eternal city?!?! All He did was obey. That's what we must do! Now maybe we won't get our name written on Heaven like Matthew did but I know one thing... God doesn't love Matthew more than He loves you. And it wasn't because of Matthew that he got up and obeyed Jesus. Matthew, Paul, Peter, John, you, me, and everyone need the saving blood of Jesus to get us into heaven. So who knows where your obedience will lead. But I know it's somewhere glorious! So don't get bogged down by how mundane life seems sometimes! Glory starts in the everyday.