Ephesians 2:1-10
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:1-10, ESV
This is one of the most amazing passages of Scripture. I was dead in my sin and, God gave me life. God is rich in mercy and love and, even though I engaged in acts that were against his command, he saved me. The God presented to us in Scripture is amazing and wonderful. I pray that you come to know him as I have!
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Pick Up a Mirror
When I was in college, a friend introduced me to mewithoutYou. This band is truly weird. Their sound is not orthodox by any means but, I gave their music a chance and, I got hooked. The lyrics spoke to me in ways other artists didn’t. I was in a weird place in college. I started to take my faith seriously. As I did that I had to face my past sins and, my past sins taught me a lot.
I learned the greatness of God and, the weakness of me.
God is utterly holy and, I am utterly sinful.
God is the giver of life and, I was living in death.
God is light and, I was living in darkness.
I learned that the glory of God was of utmost importance. A line in the mewithoutYou song below has this lyric in it:
Oh, my G-d!
‘I do not exist,’ we faithfully insist
while watching sink the heavy ship of everything we knew
if ever you come near I’ll hold up high a mirror
Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as you
I was watching my past life sink in the abyss of forgiveness and, I realized that the most beautiful thing is God himself.
“If ever you come near, I’ll hold up high a mirror. Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as you.”
I pray that all that read this blog will realize that there is nothing more beautiful than our God.
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The Tragedy of Mother’s Day
You probably read that title and said something like, “Wow! He must hate his mother!” Well, I don’t. I love my mother. She has taught me a lot about life. She has shown me love and, she has comforted me in times of pain. She is a passionate woman and a great mother but, this post isn’t about my mother. This post is about Mother’s Day and the tragedy that it has created.
I enjoy watching the Big Bang Theory. It is a funny show that often doesn’t agree with a Christian worldview but, there are moments that teach me lessons. One of those moments came while watching an episode where Sheldon tries to save his friendship with his roommate, Leonard, by making him re-sign the “roommate agreement“. While Leonard and Sheldon negotiate, Sheldon announces that when Leonard re-signs the agreement Leonard would have a day, once a year, where he would be celebrated. Sheldon calls it “Leonard’s Day”. Here is a YouTube clip of their exchange:
What is great about this clip is that it highlights the human condition. Leonard seems excited about having his own day but, when it comes right down to it, all the day means is that others are obligated to get Leonard a “crummy card”. For many, I fear, this is what Mother’s/Father’s Day has become. It is a day that is dedicated to our parent’s which is never a bad thing but, when it becomes an obligation we have abandoned Scripture.
Exodus 20:12 says:
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. -ESV
The honor that we are to give our parents is not an option. It is a command from God. The honor that we give to our parents should also be a daily occurrence. In the time of Exodus many societies were tough on the elderly. Often, the elderly had to provide for themselves. This left them with a huge burden because many could not work. God wanted to make sure that his people would not allow this mistreatment to continue among his chosen people thus, he said that they were to “honor” their parents. This understanding of “honor” is echoed by Jesus’ words in Mark 7: 9-13:
And he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.”
But you say, “If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.’
The Jewish authorities instituted the Corban rule, which was supposed to help raise money for the temple but, Jesus completely destroys this by looking back to the words of Exodus. Honoring your father and mother is more than a once-a-year tradition; it is a life-long commitment. That is the tragedy of Mother’s day.
We see the same tragedy with Easter or Christmas. We also see the same tragedy every Sunday. People go to church on Sunday and live like rebels the rest of the week. That is not honor. That is not righteousness. That is foolish and, so is celebrating our parents but once a year.
Don’t take part in the modern-day tragedy of Mother’s Day, instead show your Mother and Father honor throughout your entire life.
Thanks for reading.
