Scripture
Israel, put your hope in the Lord.
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with Him is redemption in abundance.
~Psalm 130:8, CSB
Quote
The atonement is infinitely greater than any other event in history.
~Ya’akov
The PASSION OF CHRIST is definitely the most moving Hollywood production that I have ever seen and there is no close second. Why is this so? I think it is because the cross, the death of Christ is vivid reminder of the price paid for our redemption and just how much God loves us. In our recent thanksgiving praise service where everyone had the opportunity to testify, the atonement was mentions more than any other thing. Why is this? I think it is because we realize that sin is a problem. David said, “LORD, if you considered our sins, who could stand before You?” I know the answer; no one other than Christ. I need forgiveness, you need forgiveness and we know it. Had Christ not been willing to die in our place we would be doomed to hell. Without the atonement, we have no hope. The apostle Paul never got over the atonement. He brought it up in almost every sermon he preached. He made it the theme of his preaching and teaching.
The older I get, the more I am convinced that the atonement is the most important thing in history and the more thankful I become that Jesus was willing and able to pay off my sin debt. I have always preached the whole council of God including stewardship. I have tried to be true to the word and call sin a sin. My goal has never been to please people and win compliments although I do like to please people and I don’t mind compliments. In my younger days, I had a man who would pray the same prayer every week when we took up the offering. He would say, “Hide our preacher behind the cross and let him preach Christ crucified, and that only.” I would think to myself, “Yeah, I guess you do want me to stay on the cross; that way I want get on your toes.” Hey, I don’t know what his motives were but there is a lot of truth to his prayer. Somehow, we preachers have got to do both, “Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” One thing is certain; everything hinges on the atonement.
Extra
Charles Stanley says that praise and thanksgiving are a choice. We choose to praise God from whom all blessings flow and we choose to give thanks. The one gift we all have that is totally ours is the will. I want to thank the LORD for a great weekend and a great day of worship. Heaven came down for me last night as Rex lead us in praise and worship. I sing with all my heart and volume but toward the end, I could not sing at all and I wept as Rex sung ALL IS WELL by Robin Marks. Rex can sing it better than Marks. He is an anointed worship leader. I needed a little heaven last night and I got it. Thank you Jesus and Rex! Thank you Joe David for invited Rex.
Lincoln stays on my mind and heart and I had not heard from them for two or three days. Mickey gave us an update in Bible Study and I was heart broken. I struggled to preach. Judy was trying to tell me that he was better before we had our prayer time at the close of the service but I could not understand what she was saying. Lincoln did have to check in to St. Jude’s on Saturday night but he did get better Sunday morning. I sure wish I had known that when the service began. That’s all on me; it is what I get for looking at circumstances instead of looking to the Savior. Anyway, I am praying for Lincoln and all our cancer warriors to have a victorious week. Gregg was at worship last night. If Gregg was at worship with the pain he suffers, what does that say about all those who laid out to watch TV or do something else. Gregg will tell you: A GOOD WORSHIP SERVICE BEATS ANYTHING ON TV.
Hannah June took Big Mama, the twins, the boys {Jackson and Titon}, and myself to Stone Mountain on Friday. The place was covered up with hispanics and asians. Trust me, we were in the minority. I was impressed in a good way. Robert E. Lee, a gentleman’s gentleman, is still carved on the side of that huge stone. It is the biggest rock I have ever seen. Plus they presented the gospel on the train ride and they sung Christmas carols. This is the America you do not hear about on the news. I was thinking yesterday: someone needs to start a NEWS program that only reports good news.
Then Lara wanted to drive half way to the East coast to visit Covington, Ga. where they film some lame TV show. Covington has a 25 foot statue of a confederate solider and a memorial. I was standing there reading the plaque on the statue and a black man walked up to me. He said, “What do you think about the statue?” I said, “I like it. To me it is a symbol of our heritage and a park of history. I see absolutely nothing racist about it.” He said, “I agree.” You will not hear that reported on the NBC nightly news. We didn’t agree on everything. He didn’t agree with me that Abe Lincoln was a sorry president but he did agree that the war was a tragedy. We agreed on the Savior as well. It was a refreshing conversation. In case you didn’t know, Lincoln violated the constitution more than any president up till his time and Sherman was nothing more than a terriorist. What kind of president has entire cities torched and civilians terrorized and some murdered? Government education does not tell the truth. Do your own research.
Have a great day and thanks Mandy and Floyd for reading the blog.
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