God of Wrath or God of Mercy?

Just recently in BSF we read a chapter of Leviticus that has an especially graphic portrayal of the wrath of God The Father. Talking about the punishment for disobedience He says:

"If in spite of this if you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile towards me, then in my anger I will be hostile towards you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you." Leviticus 26:27-30

At the first reading of this I was taken aback. The sure gravity of what He says is astounding. Dead bodies piling up on altars, cannibalism of sons and daughters; a state of complete chaos.

Yet this is out of context. The Lord has already given the Israelites 4 chances, by this point, to repent. Only when their evil has continually persisted and their hearts, like that of Pharaoh in Exodus, have become hopelessly calloused does The Lord resort to such extreme measures.

But still, how do we as Christians today parallel this sort of brutality with the words of Jesus telling us to resort from violence altogether?

Well let me tell you what Jesus told me.

At my school, there are a number of things I dread. I dread going to English and having to sit at a table of boys who constantly persist in conversation about drugs, sex, and the ways they are going to get out of school. I dread my teacher Mr Helm becoming frustrated and acting out in his frustration. I dread the awkward standoffs between Mr Helm and the class. I dread being in the locker room during soccer. I dread hearing the conversations about graphic events and thoughts prevailing in the minds of my teammates. I dread the constant outpouring of vulgar language. I dread interaction with my Coach, Mr Aldrich. I dread being the target of his anger and hypocrisy. I dread my Music Theory teacher Mr Feris. I dread being the object of his impatience and sarcasm. I dread being a witness to sexually promiscuous displays of affection in the hall ways of my school.

There are a lot of things in my school I wish I never had to be in contact with. My school is permeated with darkness, sin, and evil. And being around such evil weighs heavy on my soul and exhausts my physical body. If it were up to me, I would flee from every situation where evil is present and retreat to the sanctity of isolation.

But thank goodness I am not in control. Thank goodness Jesus, who is so infinitely wiser, has control over my life.

Instead of seeing a situation of potential threat, He sees a situation of opportunity for movement of His Spirit. Where I tend only to see bad influence, He sees the potential for Spiritual growth.

"Lord give me your eyes so I can see everything I keep missing. Give me your love for humanity. Give me your arms for the broken-hearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach, Give me you heart for the ones forgotten. Give me your eyes so I can see."

There is a reason for everything that happens in this life. Jesus has a purpose for placing me in each of the classes I am in and with each of the people I am with. He knows that it is for my good.

"You make all things work together for my good."

My battle, our battle, is not against flesh and blood, not against people, it is against the rulers and authorities that reign supreme in this dark world. The war is over hearts, the enemy is evil. The enemy is sin; Babylon herself.

"Finally, be strong in The Lord and in His power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground."  Ephesians 6:10-13

Jesus repeatedly has been telling me, 'Marcus, you have a warriors heart.' I was told first at a Healing Rooms prayer session, I was told again by my small group leader Mr Ronk at Winter Camp, and then I learned the meaning of my own name; Marcus means Warlike. So what is Jesus trying to tell me? I believe I have finally begun to understand.

He wants me to realize that my battle as a man of God is against the evil in this world, and just like God The Father, when it comes to evil, there is absolutely no level of toleration. Like Him, I must learn to abhor evil in all forms, and fight against it with all the power has a gifted me as a servant of His Kingdom.

The Lord is a God of Wrath because He hates evil, but He is a God of mercy because He loves people. At every turn He offers the chance for repentance:

"But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers-their treachery against me and their hostility towards me, which has made me hostile towards them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies-then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and my covenant with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land." - Leviticus 26:40-42

And as his Warrior I must do the same.

Hate evil. Love people.

Resist Satan and He will flee from you. Nothing can stand against a warrior clothed in the Armor of Christ wielding the Sword of His Spirit.

The Narrow Gate

The Narrow Door

"Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
“Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
“But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.

The question that Jesus is asked is a very important one. "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" This is a question that I'm sure every Christian has at one time or another wrestled with. Am I really saved? How can I know for sure that I am one of the few? If you look up the number of Christians in the world on Google, you will get an answer of 2.18 billion people, which is a third of the worlds total population. Now if you ask me, that does not seem like a narrow door, in fact, that seems exactly the opposite, that seems like a gigantic door! So now I'm a little confused, what does Jesus mean when He says many will not enter? Lets dive further in and find out.

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."

What does Jesus mean when He says "every effort"? Can our effort get us into heaven? That doesn't seem consistent with scripture, lets check the Greek to be sure. The Greek translates the word, strive, same as make every effort, to be agonizomai - which means to endeavor with strenuous zeal, to contend, struggle, with difficulties and dangers. So by strive Jesus doesn't mean to say that we can accomplish anything with effort, He means that we must seek the Narrow Door with zeal and fervor, despite the struggles we will face. We must seek the Narrow Door no matter what life throws at us, not falling away because of our lack of faith but standing firm in perseverance. Now that makes much more sense. Many people will not enter the kingdom of God, that is a scary thing. But what about all the 2.18 billion Christians? Don't they get into heaven? Well does this ideal of striving after Jesus with great zeal and fervor despite the difficulties faced in doing so sound like the average Christian of America today? Or of the world? I'm not so sure.

So who or what is the Narrow Door? How do we enter through it if not by effort? Well Jesus says in John 10:9

“Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."


So this is established, Christ is the Narrow Door, the Gate. Lets go back to when He says:

"many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."

Why would He reject anyone? The people who tried to enter through the Narrow Door, they knew who Jesus was, they couldn't have tried to enter the door if they didn't know who Jesus was. Doesn't everyone who professes with their mouth and believes with their heart that Jesus is Lord get saved? Well yes, that is true, but we are running a very fine line here (and I know you know all this Janelle, we've talked about this a lot). We as humans do not have the right to judge. Only Jesus, in His righteousness, has the authority to judge the legitimacy of a persons faith, because only He knows the heart. Therefore we must not be concerned about this part for others but only with ourselves and our own hearts, do we know that we are saved and will enter? How can we live our lives accordingly?

"Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’"

The owner of the house closing the door symbolizes death. The time when one's fate is sealed and one's eternal destination is determined. I believe the people outside knocking and pleaded must be the people who knew who the door was, otherwise how would they know where it was located? It could however, be referencing to everyone, but in any case, the warning is the same: know what your name is, or you will not be allowed into to house of the Father. You will be stuck outside begging Jesus, the Narrow Door, to open for you, but he will be ashamed of you for you were ashamed of Him when you were on earth.

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." - Luke 9:26

Here is a scary picture Jesus paints of this very scenario:

The Rich Man and Lazarus
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

I could do a whole another email just on this scripture, but that will be for another time. But you get the point. Don't let yourself be caught ashamed of Jesus for He will be ashamed of you. Be bold in the God you serve!

Now back to the Narrow Door scripture, here is the next bit.

“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

The people knocking are saying, hey we knew you! You taught in our streets! We hosted a Backyard Bible Club! We were part of FCA! We studied your word every week at BSF! Don't you know who we are? God the Father is replying, "My Son does not know who you are and therefore neither do I, away from me you evil people!" Even though the people knew all about Jesus' teachings and the things He stood for, they most likely chose to live for themselves and for the world. They chose to save their life instead of losing it in Christ, and maybe without ever realizing they'd done so.

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." - Luke 9:24

Are we losing our lives everyday for Christ? What of this world do we still cling to? Is there anything in between you and Jesus? If there is Janelle, cut it off! No matter how much it hurts! Only keep what will glorify God.

"If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." - Matthew 5:29-30

It's so important that we don't get tangled up in the goings of this life but instead lose it all. For none of it matters once we get onto the Bema, only the acts of gold and silver and precious jewels will not be burned up.

Here is the last part of the Narrow Door scripture:

“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."

It says there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth", and this is a phrase used by Jesus a lot of different times. Whenever I think about what things gnash their teeth, I always think of some sort of wild animal in rage. So I believe the gnashing of teeth means anger and violence. The weeping is of course associated with sadness and depression, so there will also be that outside the gates of heaven. These are the emotions that you can guarantee will be present in hell, sadness, depression, anger, and proneness to violence. So I believe Jesus is meaning to say that there, the devil will be very prevalent and hell will be upon you.

Those who are last will be first, and those who are first will be last. Those who are wealthy will be poor, those who are poor will be wealthy, those who are proud will be humble, those who are humble will be proud. This comparison shows just how drastic the difference is between heaven and earth. Where in one, death is everywhere, and in the other, life is everything.

We have such a hope for the future Janelle, I can never emphasize that enough! Hope is such a powerful thing. It motivates us to live and to continue on despite the struggle. Because we know that one day, we will be completed and whole in the presence of our Creator. We must live our lives everyday for the kingdom of Christ, seeking the holy lives He has for us. People from all around the world will be in the assembly of God at the last days, but many will be left out. As Jesus says, Strive for the Narrow Door, Strive for Him, for we are lost sheep that He has pursued and rescued. We must love and serve Him everyday in return for that amazing sacrifice on the Cross!

How Do We Find True Joy?

I was sitting on my bed asking myself, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ I had been so sad the entire week, and it was beginning to weigh on me. Finally, I cried out to God. I asked Him to reveal to me why I was making myself so miserable.

That week I was in a state of confusion, and I felt like I couldn’t do anything right. I felt numb and helpless.

Have you been in a state like this? Chances are, you have.

You aren’t alone.

Often times, hearing that other people struggle and suffer is a source of comfort. Not because I like it when other people suffer, but because I know that there are other people around me struggling with the same things.

We need to be more vulnerable. We need to share our struggles. When we share our struggles, we can encourage each other and use each other’s experience to help encourage and lift each other up.

I was home schooled up until fifth grade. Working alone on my school work was hard because I had no motivation. When I made the transition from homeschooling to going to a private school with other students around me, I slowly began to care more and more about school. Knowing I had classmates doing the same work as me, served as comfort because I knew that I wasn’t alone. I knew that if they could do it, I could do it too.

My friend Serena (left) and I (right).

In the same way, we need each other in life. To share experiences with. To exhort and admonish.

Adam knew he was missing something when he was first created from dust. God, knowing He was going to make a companion for Adam all along, formed the love of Adam’s life out of his own rib.

We are not meant to tackle life alone.

Relationships and community are a need in our life.

While I was on my bed crying out to the Lord, I realized I had been pushing relationships away. That I had been neglecting the blessings God has graciously provided for me.

A sacrificial relationship with Jesus Christ is what provides joy in my life.

When I don’t constantly seek out Christ’s Word, I don’t communicate with Him, and when I don’t communicate with Him I lose my hope in God and begin to trust in the things of this world to save me (like myself).

Things of this world can never save us, but Christ can.

He wants us, we need Him. Cling to Him.

Praise Him through the storm. He is faithful and just.

Many times, when we lose focus on God, He uses the trials and sufferings we get ourselves into because of pride and selfish desires to humble us and show us that we need God.

We will fail, but Christ is enough for us. That’s why we get back up and keep trying.

That night I was crying out to God, He revealed Himself to me and humbled me because of my failure to engage in a relationship with Him. Soon after, I thanked Him for humbling me, and I prayed that He would forgive me for my pride.

Life isn’t easy and, as human beings, we often forget who we are and what we deserve (death).

Never give up and never cease to give thanks to God for the hope He has provided for us.