Bought with a Price

Imagine you find a car that you want to buy. You go to the dealer and tell him that you want to buy it. The dealer comes back and tells you that the price is one million dollars! One million dollars for a car? Andy, you've lost your mind... But, that's the price. If you want the car it will cost one million dollars. Anyway, you love this car so much that you consider it worth the price.

So, there you go, even though the car is not nearly worth a million dollars, you buy this car for that price, and go to the dealer to pick it up. You sign all the paper work and get the license plates, and you're ready to go. You finally get the keys, the anticipation is over, and you start the car up, and begin to drive... life is good.

But then, you realize that there's no steering wheel in the car! You go back to the dealer and ask him about it. He tells you that you did not pay enough to get the steering wheel too! What?! A million dollars for this cheap junker of a car, and that's not enough money to get the steering wheel too?

I Corinthians 6:20: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Ok, now imagine that the car is really pretty much worthless. The car doesn't have a steering wheel; there are no tires on it; the engine has 350,000 miles on it, and hasn't run in a couple years; the hood doesn't latch; the doors are barely hanging on; and it leaks all the fluids you can imagine.

Yet, someone comes in, and pays WAY more than one million dollars to buy the car anyway.

That's us.

God loved the world so much, that He paid a price that is just invaluable. He gave His only begotten Son. Why? To buy, to redeem, this old clunker, called Andy.

What does Andy do in return?

"Sorry, God, You didn't pay enough to have the steering wheel too."

... really? ...

just a thought

Shameless Advertising

I've been working a side job for a few months now with a couple of guys from church. They are pretty decent graphics designers, and with my technical help with websites, we've got a pretty good thing going.

Anyway, today we launched our new website at www.FesyukDesign.com

Check it out, and let me know what you think!

No thoughts involved.

Stop the Blasphemy!

I got one of those awesome forwarded emails the other day (I hate 99.9999% of forwarded emails, but sometimes they do give me a blog post idea!). I've received this one before as it has circulated around the Internet a few times. It is the one that says that "In God We Trust" is being taken off of our coins in the US.

The truth of the matter is that the new dollar coins did have "In God We Trust" taken off the front and back, but put on the edges, along with the year. So, it wasn't taken off of the coins, but it did cause enough of an uproar, I guess, that new ones are to put it back on the front or back. You can read more about it here: http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/dollarcoin.asp

Here's the thought of the day. I think that we as Christians should start a petition about this. We should stand up for what's right. We should not let these things go on! Look at what our government is doing - having strayed so far away from our founding fathers!

So, yes, I think we should start a petition. We need to tell the government that they MUST stop making up coins that say "In God We Trust" on them.

You probably want to stop... go back and read that last paragraph again. That wasn't a typo.

"In God We Trust?" Can anybody, honestly say that the United States trusts in God? This is a vain thing that our government puts on the coins nowadays. We, as a nation, are not trusting in God anymore. Why should we as Christians allow the secular government to use God's name in vain? It's blasphemy!

Ok, I'm not going to start a petition or nothing, but really, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar, and unto God the things that are God's.

Just a thought...

Jesus

What do you think of when you think on Jesus? I mean, of all the different characteristics, positions, functions that Jesus is, which of them comes to your mind when you "picture" Jesus?

Do you see Him as the meek and lowly man that when He was punched, He did not punch back? When He was spat upon, He did not revile nor open His mouth?

Do you see Him as the great Mediator, the great High Priest, that when man approaches God (unable to do so on their own merit), He pleads to the Father on man's behalf? Man's Surety standing before the throne?

Do you see Him as the overthrower of the moneychangers' tables in the Temple, coming in with a whip, a whip that He made for the occasion, with the intent of driving them out of His Father's house?

Do you see Him as "Big Brother," since one day the Christian is destined to be conformed to His image?

Do you see Him as Baby Jesus, Who had to have His mother and Joseph run for their lives away from the wicked King Herod? A helpless babe, dependant upon two poor humans.

Do you see Him as the King of kings who will come one day, in a flame of fire, with a sword drawn, with His garments soaked in blood, to enforce righteousness?

Do you see Him as the all-forgiving One; Who, regardless of what your sins were, will cast them as far as the east is from the west; Who loves you unconditionally; Who, even when believers sin, He still has their sins covered?

Do you see Him as getting upset, or grieved, when His believers sin? Not approving of that sin, and ready to execute the Father's correction as needed?

He is all of these things, and way more. He is love and mercy, yet He is true and holy. He hates the WORKERS of iniquity, yet He died for His enemies nonetheless. He is willing to forgive, but He does not simply overlook. He will come with a vengeance to punish sin, yet He provides a way to escape it.

Are you willing to go through this life with a limited view of Jesus? Will you just grasp onto one of His attributes, or one of His positions, and ignore the rest? I am understanding more and more why it is so important to read His word - it is so we can get to know Him better. I don't want to be stuck with such a narrow view of Jesus. I want to know Him more and more.

Jesus - what a name! what a God - the only true God.

Just a thought...

Bible Verses About Dying Young

For some reason, the title of this post is a very frequent search phrase that comes to my blog. Certainly, that has to do with me linking to Shannon Young's blog. Even still, it seems there are a lot of people on this world wide web, that are searching for what the Bible says about dying at a young age.

I can't imagine what a person that searched for that is going through. Perhaps they are looking for comfort for a friend or family member that was lost, or perhaps there is a terminal disease that they are faced with. I can't imagine going through something like that.

What does the Bible say about it? Paul desired to be absent with the body and present with the Lord, and even though he wasn't a young man, that thought can through. Oh, how awesome it would be for a young person to be so fixed on Christ that he wasn't concerned about the life of this body, but just desired to be present with the Lord!

What advice is there about dying young? I am reminded of a quote by Jim Elliot (Missionary to Ecuador that was murdered by the people he was trying to reach at age 28), when writing in his journal during college: "Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus."

Jesus died at an age younger than He should have. I am 32 this year... that means, next year I will be the age that tradition records that Jesus was when He died. (A though for another day: Will I have accomplished as much as He did when I get to be His age?!) Jesus had a full life, but not a long life.

Just a thought...

Stupid Bird

Proverbs 1:17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

I used to really have no idea what the point of that verse was in the middle of Proverbs. It is right in between the sections that warn the reader to avoid hanging with bad people, and the part that says that these bad people will get their reward.

Then finally I think I figured it out. The net, is the warning that is given, that God will judge sin. If you fellowship with those enticing sinners, then you're going to end up getting in trouble. The warning is put out there, right in front of you! There is a trap - a net, if you will - that is laid. But if the net is set out right in front of you, then it shouldn't work, right? You should just fly right around it, right? It's vain to set the net while the bird is watching.

But, you know what, I'm afraid that this world is full of stupid birds. The trap is set; it is even set right in front of our eyes, but we still fly right into it. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not - they lay wait for their own blood.

Don't be a stupid bird.

Just an aviary thought...

Dehumidifier

Hello, again, everyone, it has been a while - where have you all been?! :)

So, my wife decided that she wants to move into a house that will give us some more space. It doesn't matter that she's 8 1/2 months pregnant, or that since we're selling our house, people will be coming by to see it - while my parents and brother & family are in town staying with us... but, anyway, that's what's going on in my life right now.

Our basement... ok, Our cellar... because of the location of our house, kind of on top of a hill, has never had a problem with water getting into it. We have a sump pump, but it is sitting on a shelf down there. Well, even though water doesn't run into our basement, the basement always seems to be a damp place. I wish I were more like my basement...

Today's Thought, which I think may be tied into my inconsistency with blogging, has to do with dryness. I have been going through a dry spell in my life in regards to spiritual matters. I am still active in ministry; I still am performing all the duties that I have committed to; but, my intimacy with my God, my abiding in Christ, my praying without ceasing - has been very dry of late. What is it?! Why do these times keep coming up?! O wretched man that I am!

Taking the principle found at the end of Romans 7, where Paul asks: "who shall deliver me from the body of this death," and we know his answer: "through Jesus Christ our Lord." However, the problem that I have constantly, the typical Laodicea problem, is that I think I am fine. I think I can handle life all by myself. Things are going great, and I think that it is not that important to rely on and communicate with God as much.

Oh wretched man that I am!

I am praying that I will sanctify the Lord better in my heart, and as a result, hopefully I will have more thoughts to post on here. If not... would you pray for me? Seems a strange post to make here, but that's where I'm at.

Oh wretched man that I am, but Oh, what a merciful God He is.

Just a thought...