Thursday, September 26, 2019

Proving He Loves You


Daily Thoughts – September 26th  


 

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.”–Genesis 19:24 (in context)


The cities were filled with sin.  Man slept with man and woman with woman.  Rape, incest, murder, evil thoughts and actions were pervasive throughout the population of the city.  The corruptness had become the norm and righteousness was hard to find.  The pleas of Abraham had been for the Lord to show mercy if only 10 righteous people could be found in the entire city (Genesis 18:16-33).  It was not to be and we know the rest of the story.  In an instant the Lord destroyed the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as no righteousness could be found within their walls, except Lot and his family.  Was the Lord justified in destroying these cities?  How can you answer anything but yes when you are contemplating the actions of the Lord.  He is justified in every action ever taken by His own hand.  He is the designer, creator and author of life, death and all that is in between.  Who can tell Him that He is wrong in His actions?



For I propose to you that the society in which we live, the acceptance of our culture has become so complacent and accepting that unrighteousness once again abounds within the walls of each city.  Should we be looking heavenward for the streaking flares of sulfur raining down upon our cities any day now?  Are you convinced that the population of Sodom and Gomorrah were much worse than the cities of our 21st century?  Certainly, there are more than 10 righteous people inside of your city walls, and you are likely one of them.  Is this what keeps the Lord from pouring out His wrath upon our very existence?

There is a significant reason that God has not destroyed the earth again, despite the evil, corruption, sadistic and deplorable sinful lives of mankind.  That reason is the one we call Jesus Christ.  For you see, the wrath of our Lord; which was poured out on Sodom, it was poured out on the Philistines, it was poured out on the Egyptians, it was poured out on the entire world in the flood of Genesis 6; was also poured out on the very flesh of God’s own Son.  Take that in for just a moment.  We are no better than those of Sodom and Gomorrah, or those of Egypt, or those that ridiculed Noah.  We as a society in general have turned our back on serving the Lord with everything we have, and we have chosen to pursue the pleasures of the world instead.  The wrath of God that you and I so rightfully deserve for our thoughts, our actions and our sinful nature would be death, devastation and destruction of catastrophic proportion.  This overwhelming wrath of the Lord, the pain and suffering we deserve, was delivered to one man who did live perfectly righteous in every way.

The sacrificial lamb for our sins was slaughtered because you and I deserved to die for what we have done, not because of anything He did.  Jesus Christ bore the extreme wrath of God, something we cannot begin to fathom, so you and I would not have to.  When you read John 3:16; “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in Him will have eternal life.”; the words are almost cliché, because we have watered them down to our view of love.  I want you to realize the severity of God’s wrath that He poured out onto His only Son, based on the perspective of His wrath that He poured out on Sodom and Gomorrah, Egypt, and the world in the Old Testament.  This extreme wrath was poured out on this one man, so that you and I would be exempt from this punishment in our lifetime.  He loves us that much.  Not a little bit as you and I love each other and our families; but His love was so intense that He chose to destroy His own Son, literally and figuratively, so that we can enter eternity one day.

Is God’s wrath still alive today?  Yes, but we are shielded from that wrath because of the lamb that paid the price for our deplorable sinful nature.  One day, God’s wrath will once again be released upon this earth, for those who have chosen to deny His sacrificial offering.  This wrath will make Sodom and Gomorrah look like a walk in the park on Sunday afternoon.  The fire and sulfur that rained from the sky on these cities will be nothing compared to the depths of Hell that await mankind for their denial of Jesus Christ, and God the Father.  Don’t question the reality of it.  God has given you plenty of warning.  Jesus has pleaded with Him on your behalf and taken your punishment already.  The next step will be utter destruction of this earth as we know it and you won’t be able to avoid His wrath without accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  Don’t blame it on God, for He provided a path for your escape, just as He did for Lot and his family to escape from Sodom on that night as recorded in Genesis.  Are you telling your friends?  Are you telling your family?  Do you care enough about their salvation to ensure that they are not exposed to God’s wrath one day?  If not, ask yourself why not.  Why is that not the most important thing you have to do today?



Who is pleading with the Lord on our behalf today?


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