Thursday, May 8, 2014

Living as if There is No God? Psalm 52-53; Second Thessalonians 1

May the mumbling commence!

It is foolish not to believe in God.  It is equally foolish to believe in God and not follow after the Lord with all your being.  Everyone falls short of seeking God.  Read from Psalm Fifty-three:

Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; no one does good! 

God looks down from heaven on the entire human race;
he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding, one who seeks for God. 
But no, all have turned away from God; all have become corrupt.
No one does good, not even one! (Verses 1-3)

We may wish to condemn atheists, but we should be careful.  Even though we may claim to know God exists and claim to follow the Lord, we need to look carefully at our own actions and thoughts and attitudes.  Do we live as if there were no God?  Do we benefit from a corrupt system that widens the gap between the rich and the poor?

Corruption eats away at all our hearts.  It is a systemic disease that is embedded in our society.  No one is immune to its corrupting touch.  We need God – you and me.  May we live the life that Christ calls us to regardless of the consequences in the moment.  May we be like the people of Thessalonica.  Read from Second Thessalonians chapter one:

Dear brothers and sisters, we always thank God for you, as is right, for we are thankful that your faith is flourishing and you are all growing in love for each other.  We proudly tell God's other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.  But God will use this persecution to show his justice. For he will make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering, and in his justice he will punish those who persecute you.  And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.  They will be punished with everlasting destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power when he comes to receive glory and praise from his holy people. And you will be among those praising him on that day, for you believed what we testified about him. 
And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you worthy of the life to which he called you. And we pray that God, by his power, will fulfill all your good intentions and faithful deeds.  Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of you, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the undeserved favor of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. (Verses 3-12)

To combat the corrupt nature that we have, we need to have endurance and faithfulness through any trial or test.  God’s justice will be seen to completion.  We will have rest – if we claim it.  Rest in the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Enough mumbling for now…


Peace Out

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