In Awe
...Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
-Revelation 6:15-17
One of the greatest weaknesses of the modern church is the idea that God is love and love is God. It is taught in Sunday schools and from pulpits and in books and on felt boards. It is true that God is love, for his infallible word says that. But we, the church, have put our own definition of "love" in place of the true one, which to be quite honest, I'm not sure we can quite fully grasp. God is love, but he is holy and he is authoritative and he is a King as well. Esther was scared for her life by simply entering the King's room to talk to him. This is what we have forgotten. This is why reformed theology is so hard to accept. To think that God is tough enough to create people (like Pharaoh in Romans 9) simply for His glory and their demise. But even if a person falls into the Arminian belief, they must come to grips with the God who sent the flood, allowed the plagues, let Jospeh live in prison for a ridiculously long duration of his life, asked Abe to kill the promise child, allowed Satan to destroy Job's property, family, and even the skin on his back ... a God who's very idea of redemption is disturbing ... A CROSS??? God is not Santa Claus, and as John Eldridge put it, he is not Mr. Rogers either.
The fact that the whole remaining peoples of the earth despite their differences all unify as a huddled mass in the caves to attempt to hide from the wrath of the Lamb, must remind us that we are not dealing with a best friend we can give a secret handshake to. He is God, he is King, he is Lord of Lords, King of Kings, he is the ALMIGHTY, the Beginning and the End, Son of Man, Son of God, The Great I AM ... the jealous God who had to appear to Moses's back in the cleft of a rock.
The end of the world has been on my mind a lot lately. We are studying revelation in Bible Study, which is a bit heavy at times, but I'm so glad. I forget all too easy that the God I pray to each day is much more than a father-figure. And Revelation reminds me of how powerful He is, and how the fear of the Lord is truly the beginning of wisdom.
I don't want to be afraid when judgment comes, but I also don't want to undermine the coming King!
-Revelation 6:15-17
One of the greatest weaknesses of the modern church is the idea that God is love and love is God. It is taught in Sunday schools and from pulpits and in books and on felt boards. It is true that God is love, for his infallible word says that. But we, the church, have put our own definition of "love" in place of the true one, which to be quite honest, I'm not sure we can quite fully grasp. God is love, but he is holy and he is authoritative and he is a King as well. Esther was scared for her life by simply entering the King's room to talk to him. This is what we have forgotten. This is why reformed theology is so hard to accept. To think that God is tough enough to create people (like Pharaoh in Romans 9) simply for His glory and their demise. But even if a person falls into the Arminian belief, they must come to grips with the God who sent the flood, allowed the plagues, let Jospeh live in prison for a ridiculously long duration of his life, asked Abe to kill the promise child, allowed Satan to destroy Job's property, family, and even the skin on his back ... a God who's very idea of redemption is disturbing ... A CROSS??? God is not Santa Claus, and as John Eldridge put it, he is not Mr. Rogers either.
The fact that the whole remaining peoples of the earth despite their differences all unify as a huddled mass in the caves to attempt to hide from the wrath of the Lamb, must remind us that we are not dealing with a best friend we can give a secret handshake to. He is God, he is King, he is Lord of Lords, King of Kings, he is the ALMIGHTY, the Beginning and the End, Son of Man, Son of God, The Great I AM ... the jealous God who had to appear to Moses's back in the cleft of a rock.
The end of the world has been on my mind a lot lately. We are studying revelation in Bible Study, which is a bit heavy at times, but I'm so glad. I forget all too easy that the God I pray to each day is much more than a father-figure. And Revelation reminds me of how powerful He is, and how the fear of the Lord is truly the beginning of wisdom.
I don't want to be afraid when judgment comes, but I also don't want to undermine the coming King!
posted by go2016 at 3:47 PM
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