Salvation @ MindSay

In an hour or so I'm going to the funeral home. The deceased was only 21, a young man who graduated from high school with my son (the school where I've worked for 8 years). I had known him since 6th grade, and I also know his 2 younger brothers, one of whom was in 2 of the plays I worked on. He was killed about 8 am Tuesday morning in a car wreck - he was driving, crossed the center line and hit another vehicle head on. I don't know what happened, but I wonder if he was messing with an iPod, radio, phone, etc. and his attention strayed. It could happen to any of us.

This accident happened not far from where I live, in front of the Walmart where I go a couple of times a week. My heart has been heavy for this dear family. In the newspaper obituary, it said that at an early age, this young man had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, and I sighed in relief. What a comfort that must be to his family.

I guess this is affecting me deeply because he's the same age as my son, and I'm internalizing it because of that, and because I had seen him and his brothers at school daily all those years. The funeral is going to be held in the school chapel, and he will be buried in his school lacrosse team jersey.  This young man had no idea when he left home that morning that it would be his last day on this earth. But he was ready to meet Jesus. Are you? If you're unsure about what will happen to you when you die, please look at http://www.needhim.org/

This is a nondenominational, Bible-based website. You can read about how to become a Christian, you can chat with someone online, or you can call an 800 number and talk with someone on the phone who can help answer your questions. You can be anonymous. We are all sinners. Not a single person who was ever born is or was good enough to enter heaven without God's gracious gift of salvation through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.  To anyone who reads this, I urge you to investigate the claims of Jesus Christ.  It'll be the most important thing you ever do.

My husband and I were working in the flower beds the other day when a truck pulled up at the neighbors house across the street. A business advertisement was printed on the side of the truck:

 

"Paperless Divorce! Quick and Painless! Only $149!!!"

 

If I was anyone else, I would have thought "wow, that's a pretty good deal!" But I have not forgotten, like the rest of the world, what God teaches us from His word.

 

"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty.   ~Malachi 2:16

 

Simple enough to understand. Yet how prevelant it is in today's society where the divorce rate is creeping over 50% mark. Do they not consider the vows they made "to death do us part" and "what God has joined together let no man seperate." I doubt they consider such words as more than just apart of the ritual. But to me, they were much more. My husband and I both knew that. Marriage is not to be entered into lightly for God promises that it is not all lovey-dovey. It is the testing that either makes us stronger or breaks us. "Those who perserve to the end will be saved." Alas, that is another tangent.

 

Just so happened, I've been reading through Ezekiel. In chaper 16, Israel, God's choosen people, is described as a woman who God took for his bride but she went off and commited adultery with all her neighbors. We are not much different from Israel. America has turned from it's God to unfaithfulness and liberalism. The one condition the Bible gives us to divorce is if a spouse is unfaithful and commits adultery.

 

The thought hit me then...what if God divorced us, his children?

 

We would be cast out, no longer heirs of the promise, no longer covered by the blood of Christ. Our only certainty would be the promise of eternity in hell and it would be rightly deserved, yes.

 

All have turned away, they have together become worthless; 

there is no one who does good, not even one.  ~ Romans 3:12

 

But praise God and His promise to David. Praise God that in His Mercy He does not change His mind or go back on His word. He is the God of the Covenant, faithful still even while we chase after this sin and that sin, He is faithful to forgive and take us back.

 

Let us then consider a new perspective on divorce. Of course, I'm talking to the brethen, those who have already been elected and saved by grace and seek to obey the Lord we love. There are no limits to our unfaithfulness, nor to God's mercy, however, for fear of discipline, let us not test either.

 

Ndosch

To live is Christ, to die is gain!

Phillipians 1:21

The Lost Generation. Yes, they were appropriately named. The post-WWI, pre-stock market crash, roaring 20’s generation. The generation desperate to fill a void within themselves with alcohol, money, luxury, and sex. Funny, not so different from today. Despite my beliefs, and adamant objections to such sinful lifestyles, I do have an appreciation for Hemingway and his portrayal of the Lost Generation. America would do well to look on that generation as a mirror for today’s. The similarities are striking.

“I was the Lady Brett,“ I mused upon closing the last chapter. The promiscuous, the drunk, the loud, the flamboyant Lady Brett. Surrounded by men who adored her, men who lavished her, men who wanted her. At first glance one might say Brett is a strong willed, independent young woman, toting these men all across Europe like dogs on leashes. But it is only after careful consideration one can agree: she needed to be the center of attention more so than they needed her undivided affection.

Yes, I was the Lady Brett. I was the girl with all the guy friends. I needed to be the center of attention. I needed the booze and the parties and the nightlife to fill that empty void inside. I needed completion and searched for it.

It wasn’t until I surrendered my life to Christ did I come to the end of my search. The things of this world I had looked to were drops in the bucket compared to the overflowing grace of my Savior. For the first time in my life, I was complete. Not just complete, drowning in the love of Christ, the mercy of God and the peace of the Holy Spirit.

I no longer need the alcholol, the boyfriends, or the attention. I don't even need the roof over my head, the food in my stomach, of the money in my wallet. Those are merely extras. I have everything now that I have Christ. He is the answer, He is what you've been searching for all your life.

Yes, I was the Lady Brett, with emphasizes on “was.” But now I am a new creature in Christ, my Lord, God and King. Alleluia!


"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." ~2 Corinthians 5:16-20

Ndosch
To live is Christ, to die is gain!
Phillipians 1:21

It's Saint Patrick Day and no I will not wear green. I will not wear green and show my support for a Holiday celebrated for the purpose of drunkedness. That's all it is today. Another excuse for people to go out and get plastered. Next week it'll be the same thing...

"Let's celebrate the Ressurection of Christ by getting drunk! Hoorah!"

Fools. Igornant fools who know or care nothing for the Word of God. Even those who claim Christianity will be out tonight engaged in sin and that will only serve as proof of the true nature of their salvation (or in this case, the lack there of).

Yes, it bothers me. It bothers me that our world is choking on sin yet they continue to shove more of it down their own throats. Fools. No I will not wear green and if anyone even thinks about pinching me they will received a sound bashing over the head with my Bible.

And what kind of question is this, really, people? "Would you even kiss a girl?"

I stared at my co-workers dumbfounded when they asked me this. They mock me. They really don't understand just who I am and who I serve. They honestly think I could give any other answer that what the Word of God says.

Ok, let visualize...under the very broad umbrella of "Sexual Immorality" you have many sins...fornication, adultery, incest, beastiality, porn, orgies, homosexuality...etc. etc. I kiss my sister because she's my sister but I do not lust after her. If I did that would be incest and homosexuality (Lev. 18 and Rom. 1).

Let's say I was drunk and someone double-dog-dared me to make out with a girl. To do so would demonstrate a lack of self-control...

"It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God..." ~1 Thess 4:3-5

...and based on this particular text, one's salvation should be questioned. "Like the heathen, who do not know God." One should ask "Maybe I don't know God and that is why I do these things? Am I still under the bondage of sin and the devil? Does this mean I'm going to hell?"

DING DING DING! Tell them what they've won, Johnny! The Conviction of the Holy Spirit! No really it's a good thing, I promise. Conviction over our sinful ways is what leads us to repent of those sins and trust utterly in the work of Christ on the cross, whom without, yes, we all would be going to hell.

But back to the matter at hand. Drunkedness and lack of restraint/modesty/decency are different iniquities that can lead to sexual immorality. One may not have been burning with lust for the member of the same sex from the example above, however it is still sin because of the drunkedness.

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. " ~ Galatians 5:19-25

You asked the question. And there is my answer. How else would you people execpt me to respond but with the truth?

While I'm at it, there is another issue weighing on my mind... Thank you Jamie Lynn Spears and Miley Cyrus for being such wonderful role models for our nations youth. These two young ladies have now joined the ranks of "Barely Pubescent and Pregnant" celebrities that I, at one point in time, would have allowed my children to watch but not now. Not now that they proudly advertise "Sex before marriage is cool" and "Condoms are sooo lame."

And we wonder why our world is going to hell in a handbasket? Look at the role models for the next generation! Wake up people! Geez!

Ok... Rant over. No I will not wear green.

Ndosch
To live is Christ, to die is gain.
Phillipians 1:21

Last Sunday, Jack was baptized with the profession that he had been saved and given his life to Christ. It wasn't until he was about to be dunked that I realized...God had used me. He actually used me as an instrument for the Word of God to save sinners. Of course I humbly realize that it was nothing I did, but the words that God put in my mouth to say to my new brother in Christ that ultimately saved him but just the thought that God used me...I still can't wrap my brain around it. I mean, yeah, I had prayed for this, that God would use me and give me the word to witness to the lost but...this just blows my mind. And I must be careful not to puff myself up because God saved Jack, not me. God saved Jack...not me. Praise belongs to my God who saves by the power of His Sovereign Will...not mine. Must continue to pray for Jack that he would grow in the faith. Baptism is not the end; it is only the begining. He has been born again and like all newborns, he can't eat solid food just yet and he is just learning to crawl. Now is when he is most vulnerable to slipping back into old sinful habits. I pray for the wisdom from God that I might be an encouragement to him, a big sister to him and I thank God for him everyday.

 

In the light of this, Pastor has aked me to get up one Sunday morning and give a testimony about discipleship...I hadn't realized I had been doing that either until he mentioned it. It just ...came natural to reach out to our new brothers and sisters in Christ and help them take those first steps. I think that is why so many people fall away from chruch (note I didn't say "faith") because the rest of us don't know the first thing about discipleship. I am learning; God has given me the opportunity to learn and apply. Again, prayers for wisdom and purity of motive.

 

NDosch

To live is Christ, to die is gain!

Phillipians 1:21