THE OFFENSE

The Gospel is more than just a scandal. It's an offense to every culture that has come. And it will continue to be an offense for many centuries to come. But say what you must, it is incredibly good news to the person who has come to the end of themselves. 

John wrote what would arguably be the most famous verse in the Bible: John 3:16. It is so, because it captures the heart of the Author and His love letter in one easy to understand sentence. It doesn't take a professor to interpret or a scholar to unpack it's truth. It's simple. God loved. Jesus came. Men believe. Eternal life is gifted. John expresses the ease in which one is rescued from eternal condemnation: Believe in God's one and only Son.  

But that should cause one to stop and ask a question, though. What does it mean to believe in Jesus? What exactly are we to believe about Jesus that grants the gift of eternal life to the believer? Let me summarize for you:

GOD

Many don't like the idea of an all knowing, all powerful and all present God who gives life and sustains life and that without Him, nothing would exist. He is righteous and He is holy. He is perfect in every way. He exists outside of time. He sees all and knows everything about everyone. Like it or not, He is God of all. Including you boet!

MAN

We are unholy. We are unable to save ourselves; if we indeed even believe there is an actual after life. We are rebels to the core. We are lost in our sins. We are worshippers of ourselves. We live to please ourselves. We are unable to please Him or know Him. We don't desire Him on any level. We are lost. Our destination is damnation. And the truth is, it's a just sentence. 

Because of this, we are in desperate need of a savior. 

Side note: A good doctor doesn't just give a sick man medicine. A good doctor whips out the x-rays. He displays pictures of the disease. He doesn't hold back. He calls a spade a spade and gives the sick man a blunt, open and honest diagnosis of how bad he really is, to the point where the sick man is almost begging for the remedy. The reason why men don't desire God's remedy (JESUS) is because they aren't aware of how sick they really are.

REMEDY

Jesus is God's remedy to a sick and dying world. He came to seek and save the lost. Jesus paid the penalty of every lost man's sin for all of time. He died for you! He took the full brunt of God's wrath towards sin upon Himself. He reconciled God to the world on the cross. He, who knew no sin, became sin, so that through Him, many would become the righteousness of God. He is the only way to God. He is the only remedy to a lost and dying world. 

MAN'S RESPONSE

The Holy Spirit downloads this amazing truth in such incredible revelation: God is holy. I am unholy. I need saving. Jesus made it possible for me to be saved. That's the message. The invitation is simple: BELIEVE. Church attendance is not a prerequisite. Neither is obeying the commandments or praying every day. "Quit smoking! Stop using foul language! Stop watching Internet porn!" is all good advice. But it's not the good news. Jesus is the good news. He lived the life we couldn't live. He died the death we all deserved to die in order to give us a salvation we could never earn. Grace is given to those who don't deserve it. That's you my friend! And so man's response is simple: just believe. Unwrap the gift and say thanks.

The Gospel is an affront to every culture. Lost men don't like to be told they are sustained by a Creator. Lost men don't like the idea of being told that they are not good enough. Lost men don't like the idea of being told that they need help. And even those who believe in a God somewhere up there, they don't like the idea that Jesus is the only way to Him. And when they cross that bridge, the thought that we owe Him no debt or payment in any form for this eternal gift is a scandal amongst them that actually belong to Jesus' family. It's too good to be true. But it's good because it is true. 

I will never stop enjoying this truth which I believe we've only scratched the surface of understanding.

He qualifies us

I saw a picture of two athletic tracks. They looked exactly the same but they ran (excuse the pun) off two diametrically opposed operating systems. One was running on law and the other grace. 

The track that ran on law was filled with athletes running their fastest and it seemed like they had been running forever. Some were cramping and some had blisters. It was clear, they were exhausted. Then the truth hit me between the eyes: the finish line didn't exist. These ailing athletes were running a race in which the end never comes.

The other track was different. The athletes were in their starting positions, just about to launch into their run. "On your marks...get set...GO!" As soon as they leapt out of their starting blocks they crossed the finishing tape with their chests instantaneously. Done. They had finished the race. They were victors. And yet, knowing this, many continued to run. Because that's what they were born to do. Runners run.

The enemy attacks Christians with the lie that we are disqualified by what we do. The lie parades itself: "Your giving qualifies you to be blessed." "Your right living qualifies you for God to answer your prayers." "Your prayer life qualifies you for God's intervention into your daily affairs." "Your Bible reading qualifies you for God to......!" The good news of the Gospel is that JESUS qualifies Christians. Not Christians. If it was left to us, we'd be disqualified. Every time. But thank God it's not left to us. God answers our prayers, blesses us with good things, grants us favour in our vocation, heals our bodies and fellowships with us whenever we need or want Him, not because we have gotten it right today or yesterday. It's because, in CHRIST, we have been qualified. Done. 

If God had to pick someone to join His team, he'd chose you. Why? Because Jesus qualified you. He made you good enough. He made you righteous enough. He has done it all. It's a one way transaction. You bring nothing to the table, except for your trust and belief in His goodness. Your effort, your obedience or your performance have nothing to do with it! Faith in Him does. Does this mean the "living" or the "doing" doesn't matter? In terms of our qualification in God's sight, no. But in terms of working out our lives in Him...YES! Runners run. In Christ, you are His workmanship....GO BIG! But when you fluff it...and we all do...never confuse that with disqualification. Your already on the team. You've already finished the race. You've crossed the winning tape. That's done. You're in and you're His. Jesus has done the qualifying.

Being qualified is based fully upon your trust in Christ, not on your obedience and performance.

Think about it.

He qualifies us.

A Friend. My Friend.

"What a friend who has found me. Closer than a brother. I have felt His touch. More intimate than lovers." - Matt Redman

 

He swam through the roughest oceans and He climbed the highest mountains to rescue me. Me? A wretch. A loser. A lost and lonely sinner who was so self absorbed; and who only cared about his god: himself. A degenerate who'd never give Him the time of day; on any day. 

 

But He came for me. He didn't care how dirty or cynical or evil I was. He came anyway. Such is His love. Such is His compassion. And He found me wondering off. He found me in the mud of my mess. The stench of my pride filled his nostrils, but He didn't care. And into my mud, He stepped in. He smiled at me with the most enormous grin I'd ever seen as though He'd found a long lost treasure. He took me by the hand and I felt His pulsating strength. Into His arms I surrendered. And He carried me out. He then washed me. He scrubbed me. He dried me. And He gave me His own crisp clean robe to wear. And we embraced. He sang songs over me and We danced. We ate and He fed me His choicest food. And He called me His friend.

 

I love Him today. And I love Him everyday. Impossible to ignore what He gave up for me. Forever My Lord. My King. My Husband. And He's my friend. My best Friend. My Jesus.

Treating others well

Treating others as God treats us. 

How you doing with that? 

And I'm not just talking about the people you get on with or your mates...

Haha! That's difficult sometimes. And they mates!! But what about others? How you doing with that?

If you like me. You probably stink at it. But this blog isn't to tell you how bad you doing. But rather to encourage you to look at our Lord. He's amazing at treating bad people well. Or rude people. Or vulgar speaking people. He does a lot better than us.

Read the following quote.

"In the natural world, we see many examples of this type of cycle. Water falls from the sky, and returns to the heavens by the process of evaporation. The moon does not generate its own light, but reflects the light of the sun in the night sky. The image in a mirror is nothing more than a reflection of the actual object. Likewise, our love for God is a reflection of His love for us. Love begins and ends with God.

We cannot love God on our own initiative, but we can give back that which He has bestowed on us. When the Father of Lights gives us a gift that touches our heart, it does something inside of us. We end up returning to God the very thing He has given us. To love God, we must be loved by God. It’s a wonderful thing to go through our entire lives being loved by God. We are condemned to be loved by Him forever. We can’t escape it. We have no alternative but to put up with it: this is who God is.

Parents know an example of this principle: when our children were growing up, and our birthday was approaching, most of us gave them money to buy us a present. How do we know how to do this? It is in our DNA. God is the same way; His love is the currency He gives us so that we can love Him more fully." 

I've learnt a secret. "We love because we've been loved. And we are loved." In the great scheme of things. We are the bad, ugly, rude and vulgar speaking people. But JESUS loves us. He has forgiven us. He carries on loving us. When we stop trying to love. But rather bask in HIS love, something kicks in on the inside. When we know He smiles over us. When we know He calls us His kid. When we know He accepts us and enjoys us. Yes, us? And if He pours that love into us, we have the love to love others...

Knowing His love for you is the only way to share that love with others.

#fact

An anointed thought

Are the lost saved when he preaches? 

Yes? Then he's an evangelist.

If they don't, then he's probably not. No matter what title he's got on his business card or ministry letter head.

Does she have the business acumen and ability to make money and run the company with ease? 

Yes? Then she's a business woman, an anointed one.

When he speaks, do others listen? When he walks, do others follow?

No? Then he ain't a leader. 

When you're anointed to do something, you'll be successful at it. And......(think about it).....you'll find much joy and fulfillment in what you doing! When you're anointed, it means you are gifted to do it. It's not something you have to try and make happen with a lot of elbow grease. It happens. Pretty much naturally.

So, what are you good at?

The Negotiator

I'm a negotiator. That's who I am. And it's what I do for a living. I get paid to do it. I've learned to harness the skill since my first job after school at age 20. I'm 35 today. I no longer sell water purifiers to passers-by for R750 a pop. But I still negotiate. Rather, it's now R1.2million truck loads of biscuits and tea. 

I still maintain that a negotiator is a negotiator. No matter if you selling bath plugs, airplanes or chocolates. You're still trying to convince someone to buy what you have at the price you asking. The better you become at your skill will then determine the worth of the stock you're given responsibility to move. 

I was given some great advice from one of the world's best salesmen way back in 2002. He said "People don't buy products. People buy people. Sell yourself. Don't sell things." There's much truth in that. If you can trust me and I prove that what I've got will add value to your life that outweighs the cost of it, you'll buy it. But you've got to trust me. You've got to trust that I'm not pulling a fast one on you. 

You've got to trust that I'm playing open cards on:

1. What I'm offering, 

2. What my competitors are offering 

3. The price that I'm asking you to pay for it. 

Once I've proven myself in those three areas, more than likely, I'll get the sale. Negotiation complete. Successful Transaction.

And don't think you aren't a negotiator. 

You are. Everyone is. Even your 5 year old. We all negotiate sometime during the day. The brand of Milk we think our wife should buy, to the restaurant we should eat at on Friday night or the movie I think we must get on Sunday evening. Why we must buy this car and not that car...

"Babes, trust me..." Tell me you've never used that line.

There is one person however, that we never need to negotiate with and that's God. He doesn't need you to prove your self worth or trust ability too. We lose every time. And funny thing is that He knows it. So He has provided. And it's independent of negotiations. He gave. Freely. He just asks that we embrace and trust Him. No long talks or discussions. 

The price was already set: God's life for yours. 

The transaction was accepted: JESUS rose from the dead as proof.

Eternal life and Union with Him is provided freely because of it.

And yet some are still trying to negotiate for it....

Are you?

Nothing but grace

Amazing grace.

How sweet the sound that saved

A wretch

Like me 

#ALLOFUS

#lost

#depraved

I once was lost

But now I'm found

Was blind 

But now I see

#rescued

#saved

#onlyJesus

No matter where I am in life. Whether things are going well or terribly. I come back to this song. I have to return to these words to gain the correct perspective. I sometimes go off on a tangent. #ithappens

But these words bring me right back. Focused. On JESUS. Appreciative. Grateful. Humble again. I am where I am because of God's grace. Nothing more. Him alone.

Grace: Being given what I didn't earn.

#salvation

#relationshipwithcreator

#foreverhisfriend