Jon Stinkin' Devlin
Lots of attractive girls at the airport today
Hope they are on my flight
Woohoo
Just found out the womens national disc golf championship is in round rock this year. Time to find my wifey :)
The Gospel
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us - Galatians 3:13
God is holy. God is perfect. And because God is perfect, He demands perfection of us. He reflects His perfect expectations for us in the perfect law that He has given us.
But we have not perfectly obeyed God’s law; and so now we are in a perfect mess. We are in the terrible predicament of being sinners who must one day give an account to a holy God for our sinful actions. What hope do we have of surviving the judgment day that God says is coming?
The only hope in all the world is that your sins were paid for by Christ when He died on the cross. Because if Christ died for you, then He has taken upon Himself the punishment for your sins.
The curse that the law demands was put upon Christ as He hung on the cross. If your sins were put upon Christ, then your penalty has been paid and you have been redeemed from the curse of the law! There is no better news than to know that those that are in Christ are now blessed because Christ has taken their curse upon Himself.
What is your hope? Will you stand before God on your own, or are you represented in the finished work of Christ? If you are Christ’s, then Christ has redeemed you, being made a curse for you.
Repentance
As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways - Ezekiel 33:11
Many times people can misunderstand the sovereignty of God and assume that God is pleased with all that He allows to happen in the world. We might even presume that God condones some sin in which we are engaged, even though He expressly forbids it in His Word.
You may have been justifying to yourself a particular sin, or even a sinful way of life, by telling yourself that if God wanted you to change then He would let you know. But He has! He tells us in His Word: “turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways.”
Have you been listening to God and to His Word or have you been following the dictates of your sinful nature, your corrupt conscience, your lustful desires? Know for a certainty that God is not for a moment pleased with your rationalized rebellion.
On the other hand, God delights to see wicked sinners turn from their rebellious ways and live. It is, of course, He who gives them the strength to do so in the first place.
Sinner, there are only two ways before you: the life that is found in pleasing God or the death that is found in your current way of wickedness. Turn from your way and live.
God is Sovereign
Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased - Psalm 115:3
To say that God is sovereign is just another way of saying that God is God. God has the right to do as He pleases. He is in charge, He is working His will and accomplishing His purposes.
Recognizing the truth of sovereignty gives us the right view of the character of God. He has power over all (Psalm 99:1). He is holy and just (Isaiah 6:1-7). All things are for His glory (Revelation 4:11). God is not frustrated or disappointed, as He is sometimes represented, but is working all things after the counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1:11).
This truth provides a great sense of security and hope for His people. They see that no vicious enemy, no catastrophic event, no unexpected trial can affect God’s sovereign reign. As Psalm 46 declares, even if the earth was removed or the mountains carried into the sea, God is a refuge for His people. And they are further assured that what may be a long night of affliction can be turned into brightness as the heavenly Father teaches His children in their time of trouble.
God’s sovereignty gives assurance in salvation. We see that human merit or mere human choice is not the basis of salvation; rather, it is all of grace originating with God’s choice, being based on the death of His Son, and ultimately consummated because of His effectual work.
What peace comes by resting our case in the hands of Jesus, knowing He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Understanding the truth of sovereignty will evoke praise to His great name because we recognize all glory belongs to Him. Our God is in the heavens!
The Attributes of GOD
Power belongeth unto God - Psalm 62:11
There is no power - past or present, spiritual or physical, heavenly or earthly - that does not come from God. The only autonomous, self-sufficient being is God Himself. All power belongs to Him, so He is omnipotent, all-powerful.
This is a great comfort to those who recognize their own frailty and face countless daily challenges that are above their own ability or strength to overcome. However, it is also convicting to every one of us that has entertained the notion that we can thrive, or even survive, without God’s strength.
Every other source of renewal, every other aid to which we might turn, will eventually fail us. But in the all-powerful God is everlasting strength (Isaiah 26:4). How wise is the one who therefore puts their “trust in the Lord forever.” How foolish is the fist that is shaken at this God, or the restless one who wanders away from Omnipotence!
It is this very attribute of God’s omnipotence which is given to us believers as inspiration to disciple the nations in the name of Christ. Jesus declares, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18) and so commands “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (19).
Rest in the everlasting strength of the one true God today. Go in the power of Jesus Christ today.
I want to marry Dianna Agron
And I really am mad I left my journal at home.
Future Things
As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God - Romans 14:11-12
Today there are many who are blatantly shaking their fists in the face of God, daring Him to judge them for their evil works, by either denying His existence or justifying their right to sin. But it will not always be so.
There is coming a day, says the all-powerful God, when every knee will bow and every tongue will be made to confess that I AM God. There will be no exceptions. No legs are strong enough to stand in His presence, no argument or will is forceful enough to deny the overpowering authority of the Creator.
There will be no place to hide when all the world is burning and there will be no excuse when everything is already known. Every one of us will give an account for every one of our actions before the just and holy God.
While this is a fearsome thought for any of us to consider, there are two possible responses to it: we can either be sobered by and submit to it, or we can reject it and be unaffected by it. What is your response?
Do you walk and think and act in the realization that we live our lives coram Deo, before the face of God, and that you will give an account one day to the Lord? Do you bow your knee voluntarily to Him now, knowing that one day ever knee will bow?
