The Storm Is Coming

Luke 13:2-3(ESV)
² And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Coming to this passage in my daily study at the time of the tragedy of the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, is indicative and suggestive.  The debate has resurfaced in America, “How can a just God permit such undeserved disasters?”  These Galileans who were killed in the Temple and the people of Jerusalem who died suddenly, painfully, and dramatically raised the same implied accusation – “God's not fair.  They didn’t deserve to die like this!”

Jesus’ answer was very direct, “Unless you repent, you will all like likewise perish.”  Within the lifetime of many of those people listening to Jesus, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.  I do not predict a similar national disaster, but we should echo Christ’s warning.  In our day, the church and its leaders should with one voice answer with the same message, “Repent!”  Instead, we have churches and church men stammering with some form of apologetics trying to defend Jesus Christ as a loving God.  Jesus is love personified, but at this time and in this context, the message of the church should not be one of defending the faith in an apology, but the message must be, “Repent or you will all perish in the same way.”  Indeed, we all will die, and the only remedy for sin is repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ answer to disaster and tragedy was not a defense of God’s goodness or fairness, but a stern reminder of God’s righteousness, judgment, and sovereignty.   If this message is branded by the media and society as harsh, it is so branded by those who most need to hear and heed it.  In truth, the message of repentance is the only merciful message to give in times of disaster.

Coram deo

Responsibility of the Servant

"The Stairs of St. Barnabas"

At this place/stage of my life, I find myself able to do only two things well - I teach the Bible to a group of old men and I make paintings.  Of the two, only one, the first one, has any eternal value.  So I hear my Lord say, “Blessed is that servant whom the Master finds so doing (feeding His household) when He comes” (Luke 12:43).

In spite of everything else, my priority and my true responsibility is to be providing the Word to the portion of the Household assigned to me.  That portion may be more broad than I imagine, and my work as an artist may be another means by which I discharge my primary duty.

As Barnabas aided the work of others, may my labors make the work of others easier and more pleasant.

Biblical Illiteracy

 

I am doing something that is new for me - I want to point you to another blog.  This statement encapsulates the problems I see in evangelical churches across America, including my own.

Please follow this link to Leading from the Sandbox.

Thanks for reading.