Things We Ignore, Part 1

Sorry for the delay! Here's part 1 of ... Things We Ignore in the Bible...

But before I get started, if you are somehow mired by Judgment Day date setting, stop right now and go to your Bible and read Matthew 24. This is what I did today. Read the whole thing slowly and thoughtfully. Notice these words of Jesus...

Matthew 24:36 (ESV)
“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."

Matthew 24:42 (ESV)
"Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming."

Matthew 24:44 (ESV)
"Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Another thing in the Bible ignored by some, apparently. How can we "not expect" Him if a billboard is broadcasting exactly when He's coming and the world's media is covering the announcement of this (even if it is as a novelty)? The key thing for Christians is to stay aware of and spiritually charged by Christ's soon return. Be absolutely sure of it. Be absolutely ready for it. Be absolutely desirous of it. If He tarries, then be on fire for it on May 22nd and every day afterwards we have left! Make no mistake, He is returning some day!

OK, back to our regular blog programming. I wrote,

"We ignore some things in the Bible. Here's an incomplete list...

1) God makes sure that many wicked people get what's coming to them (and I don't mean a second chance). The Bible, for many in it, is not a book of second chances, but a book of no more chances."

Start with Cain. Go to Pharaoh. Review the list of conquered kings in Joshua. See Judas. On and on it goes. But the most in danger of "getting what's coming to them" are people who worship idols or other gods. This is true throughout the Bible. If we don't worship the true God, then we worship an idol, to take the Bible at face value. Idols are dead, even those animated by evil spirits. What we become is based on what we worship. If we worship death, we get it. It turns out that the one thing religion isn't is personal. Your religion affects everyone in your life, everyone you touch. The Bible offers life to believers, and - consider this carefully - it offers death to unbelievers. It is good news and bad news. More accurately, it is good news or bad news. If for me it is not good news, then for me it is bad news. No third alternative is offered, although only believers feel both the good and the bad news. A real unbeliever doesn't care and loses no sleep over any of this. It is not a human being passing judgment here, at least not according to the Bible, it is God. This is a sobering thought. If you read the Scriptures entirely through, it is a thought you cannot escape. As a believer, you realize just how gracious God is. He doesn't have to be. He just is. Far from passing judgment on others, this sobering truth compels all who submit to it to the greatest depths of compassion and prayer.

Never accept the unbelief of another. If you do, you might accept your own some day. Quietly, forcefully, continually pray. Expect and prepare for an opportunity to speak the gospel.

We ignore the righteous wrath of God because our hearts are cold and our faith is small. Why was there a cross anyway? Does the cross permit us to ignore its cause? Hardly. Again, it's back to His Grace, back to His Word, back to The Cross, back to Jesus.