By The Book

Have you ever picked up and read your Bible and then felt like, "no way...I did NOT just read that" That's kinda how I felt this morning when I was just reading over John chapter 3. Now I've probably read that section 60 times, but for some reason I didn't feel so good when I got to the end.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. John 3:36

It's like another "good news/bad news" passage. Good news if you believe, bad news if you don't. I guess it really put things into perspective for me this morning. If people reject and don't obey Jesus (the Son of God) things don't end pretty. I've watched "Cops" enough to know that when a big guy gets angry, it's not pretty and somebody always ends up hurt and bloody. If that's the case here, imagine if God (the biggest of the big guys) ends up angry with you. Talk about a beat down.

There are just way too many people around here (and where ever you live) that are "cruisin' for a bruisin'" and as a pastor and a Christian I feel like I need to step in and do something, say something. Will everybody listen? No, some people are just stupid (again, watch "Cops" and you'll see what I mean). But there are still a lot of people who have no idea what kind of danger they're in.

So do we sit on the sidelines and watch?

Do we lie to them and tell them everything will be ok if you just believe whatever it is you believe sincerely?

Do we shout at them and point out how bad off they are - picket, protest and refuse to patronize the "bad guys"?

Maybe if we really believed the good news ourselves, we could share it more effectively with others. John 3:16 is good news, and so is 3:17. Good news isn't focused on condemning, looking down on people or even feeling sorry for them and how "lost" and "hell-bound" they might be. Good news is that Jesus loves us and didn't come to condemn us (or even point out our faults) but to set us free. Free to really live life. Free to love.

Don't you think Jesus came to save us from ourselves instead of from himself? We're the reason we get into trouble. We're the ones who do stupid things. Just ask the people who get their 15 minutes of fame on "Cops"