DaveEnglund.Name/DBlog

Be Pursuing God for Joy!

Are you pursuing God for joy? You'd better!! My experience tells me if I don't I'll go looking for joy someplace else (cars, tech toys, business success, food, etc.). More importantly, "God is most glorified in us when we are most... satisfied in him" (John Piper). Why? Because God really *IS* more satisfying than anything else!! Check out this summary article of pastor John's on "Christian Hedonism" in which he explains why we need to pursue God for joy.

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Rebuilding Some Basics of Bethlehem: Christian Hedonism :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library

Source: www.desiringgod.org
Rebuilding Some Basics of Bethlehem: Christian Hedonism from the Desiring God Christian Resource Library.
Taste & See Articles and resources about Christian Hedonism.

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!

Just thinking about this phrase today from Isaiah 43:1b, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you."

Today, while sitting in a business training session this phrase from Isaiah 43:1b quite suddenly appeared to me as good news. Why should I not have anxieties about my standing before God? Because that standing is not of my own doing. It is not conditional upon my successes or failures each day with respect to sin and my sin-prone heart. My standing with God, and the peace I know in its certainty, has everything to do with what God did on my behalf. He redeemed me.

How did he redeem me? God redeemed me through precious blood, through the blood-bought sacrifice, of his only begotten Son (the fully-man fully-God, Son of infinite worth and glory). This is a sacrifice (or, offering) beyond question. God is bound to treat this sacrifice with all the respect it is due, and it is due every last bit of his respect, as the Son fully reflects the all of the Father's own glory.

So, when doubts and anxieties arise about my standing with God or my eternal security, I should remind myself of the good news that I was redeemed, not by any effort of my own, nor do I remain so through any effort of my own. I was redeemed by God himself through the precious atoning work of his Son. God's faithfulness in preserving my position before him is not conditional upon me. It is conditional upon who the Son is and what he has accomplished.

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Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am.

[Chorus]
Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.

I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.

I know I shall see in His beauty
The King in whose way I delight;
Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night.

Prophets of Music & Worship

My Bible reading program has been taking me through parts of the Old Testament over the past few months. And, during this time I happened upon a quite unexpected discovery - God raised up prophets who prophesied through music. To my knowledge, the first mention of this is in 1 Chronicles 25:1-8:

25:1 David and the chiefs of the service also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals. The list of those who did the work and of their duties was: 2 Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king. 3 Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, [1] Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the Lord. 4 Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, Mahazioth. 5 All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer, according to the promise of God to exalt him, for God had given Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 They were all under the direction of their father in the music in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the order of the king. 7 The number of them along with their brothers, who were trained in singing to the Lord, all who were skillful, was 288. 8 And they cast lots for their duties, small and great, teacher and pupil alike.

So, we see that the musicians appointed to service in the house of the Lord were of three families; sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Juduthun. Verse 1 indicates that all of them "prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals." In Heman's case it would appear his three daughters also prophesied since they were included in the same list of ministry responsibilities previously mentioned for those who prophesied. All of them were trained in "singing to the Lord."

My ESV Study Bible notes for this passage includes the following:

who prophesied with musical instruments, i.e., wrote songs. In some cases, their songs seem to have become part of OT Scripture, for Asaph is named in the titles of Psalms 50 and 73-83, and Jeduthun in the titles of Psalms 39, 62, and 77. In addition, Heman here may be the same person as Heman the Ezrahite named in the title of Psalm 88 (cf. also 1 Chron. 6:33). The verb "to prophesy" (Hb. naba) indicates that their songs were prompted or guided by the Spirit of God. This shows that "prophecy" is not always a direct announcement of God's plans; it indicates that the person is operating as God's authorized spokesman, here providing the right way for God's people to sing to him (they prophesied...in thanksgiving and priase to the Lord, 25:3).

I found two more references to these particular singers so far (I'm only as far as Nehemiah). The next is in 2 Chronicles 29. King Hezekia, who "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done" (that means he was a God-loving and worshiping king), undertook a spiritual cleansing of the people, the temple and everything associated with it, as they had all become corrupted by the actions of their fathers who had turned away from God to idolatry. When the cleansing offerings were completed Scripture says, "Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped" (29:30).

The next mention of the priestly singers is in Ezra 3. Ezra had been given permission by Cyrus king of Persia to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of the Lord. In chapter 3 the builders completed the foundation for the temple, and it was at this point that the singing priestly prophets stepped forward again:

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord" (Ezra 3:10-11).

We see that the musical expression of the prophetic word began under king David ("according to the directions of David king of Israel"). The primary function of the singing priestly prophets was to lead the people into worship of God. And, furthermore, some of these prophetic utterances of worship became Scripture in the form of psalms (Psalm 39, 50, 62, 73-80, and 88).

Is there an application for the NT church today? I'll let those more knowledgeable address the scriptural merits of that. But, my experience would lead me to believe we have musical prophets among us today, just as we have verbal prophets among us. No, we are not getting new revelation here, as the canon is closed. But, today's prophets speak powerful words, both through teaching-preaching and through specifically direct messages for holy guidance. I see no reason to think musical prophets operate any differently. And what a gift they are to the church! May God use our musical prophets to call believers hearts to worship and unbelievers hearts to repentance.

Scriptural Noticings

Two scriptural noticings took place this morning during my morning prayer and meditation time.

The Name of Jesus and The Glory of God

The first one began yesterday while I was reading "God's Passion for His Glory: Living The Vision of Jonathan Edwards," by John Piper. I am currently slogging through the Jonathan Edwards part of the book, which is his treatise "The End for Which God Created the World." My noticing occurred in Part Four of Section Three, paragraphs #162-163.

[162] There are some things in the word of God which lead us to suppose that it requires of men that they should desire and seek God's glory as their highest and last end in what they do.
[163] As particularly, from 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (ESV)

Note the similarities to Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (ESV)

The passage from Colossians ("do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus") has been living in my heart and mind for some time. It is often a passage I pray on my way to work, asking God to help me remember that every choice of word and behavior matters (and also every internal choice of thought and attitude), and is to be done in such a way that Jesus Christ is exalted. It reminds me that God didn't put me on this planet at this time in history so that David Englund could be exalted, but rather so that Jesus Christ would be exalted, and my choices really do matter toward that end ("Choose this day whom you will serve," Joshua 24:15).

My noticing of the similarities between these two passages (1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:17) focuses on the phrases, "do all to the glory of God" and "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus." In the margin of my book I wrote "See Col 3:17, "In the name of Jesus" is synonymous with "the glory of God."" Those familiar with Edwards' treatise will recognize that he goes on to make just that point in several subsequent sections, of special note is Part One of Section Four, paragraphs #195-205. But, I hadn't read those yet when I made the notation.

Logically, since the scriptures say "whatever you do" and "do all" in 1 Corinthians 10:31, and "whatever you do" and "do everything" in Colossians 3:17, what comes afterward must either be in conflict and require some type of reconciliation, or it must be in harmony (the meaning is the same). I think what ties it as "the same" for me is that Colossians 3:17 includes the phrase "giving thanks to God the Father through him." Therefore, we can safely conclude that doing anything/everything in the name of Jesus is the same as doing anything/everything for the glory of God. This further establishes the glory of Jesus Christ as synonymous with the glory of God.

Are You Praying to Live in Righteousness?

The second noticing occurred in comparing Matthew 6:9-10 (part of the Lord's Prayer) and 2 Peter 3:11-13

Matthew 6:9-10 (Lord's prayer)

9 Pray then like this:
"Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name. [1]
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven."

2 Peter 3:11-13

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

When I first read the passage in 2 Peter some weeks ago, I could not help noticing that life in God's kingdom will be, among other things, a life lived in utter righteousness. I wondered if I was prepared for that. "Do I enjoy or take delight in living in righteousness right now? If that will be an eternal quality of kingdom life, should I not begin (by God's grace) developing a love for righteousness now? Wouldn't it be wonderful to step into that way of life as something I am eagerly looking forward to because I already love righteousness?" Indeed, that seems to be precisely  Peter's point, for he says "Since all these things are thus to be dissolved [making way for the new realm in which righteousness dwells], what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness."

Note in Matthew 6:10 the phrase "on earth as it is in heaven," and in 2 Peter 3:13 "new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." If righteousness is thus to dwell on earth (in the realm of the new heavens and a new earth), and so "as it is in heaven" then we can be sure that the Lord is instructing us to pray ("Your kingdom come, your will be done") that we may begin living in the very same righteousness now . I wonder if we are aware that when we pray the Lord's Prayer we are asking that we may begin living now in the righteousness that currently reigns in heaven, and will subsequently typify the realm of the new heavens and new earth.

A List of Everything they Prayed for in the New Testament

Here's a little treasure that was put out by the DesiringGod blog today...

A List of Everything they Prayed for in the New Testament :: Desiring God.

This post links to an article, "What Should We Pray For?" Pastor John assembled a list of what the early church prayed for, and suggests including them would add good breadth and depth in our prayer life.

A Christian Hedonist View of Sanctification

During a cursory search through 2 Corinthians yesterday I happened upon this passage.

7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body [flesh] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.  -2 Corinthians 7:1

I had been reading the last part of chapter 6, and it seemed odd that there would be a chapter division before 7:1 as the flow of thought was so much in line with verses 14-18 of chapter 6, especially the following assembly of quotes which Paul takes from various places in the Old Testament.

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
      and be separate from them, says the Lord,
    and touch no unclean thing;
      then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
      and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”

If I understand the context of Paul's prior discussion with the Corinthians, the admonition to "go out from their midst" and "be separate from them" probably goes to those who are still holding to his teaching over and against those within the church who are fiercely opposing his teaching and authority. Clearly, Paul views the opposition not so much opposing him as the counsel of God which he is a minister of. He reminds the Corinthian believers whom they are yoked with - the Lord Almighty. And, his admonition moves quite naturally into the matter of their sanctification, as their tolerance of the opposition clearly puts their progress toward holiness at risk.

Paul combines various Old Testament passages to remind the Corinthian believers that they are in a most holy and personal relationship with a most holy God. And so, in chapter 7, verse 1, he concludes by calling them back into the process of their sanctification.

7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body [flesh] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.  -2 Corinthians 7:1

This morning my current flow of Bible study was again interrupted by 2 Cor. 7:1, as I found my heart still taken with the admonition to holiness. So, I took a moment to ask God to help me hear and understand how he wants to apply this admonition to my life. Then, I ended my study time and left for Christmas celebrations with my family.

At my parents home for Christmas, I found there was still some time before the crowd arrived to continue reading "God's Passion for His Glory: Living The Vision of Jonathan Edwards," by John Piper. I browsed through what I had already read to note thoughts which had left a particular impact on me, and that was when I noticed this quote on the cover page for chapter two, "Jonathan Edwards, The Man and His Life."

As God delights in his own beauty, he must necessarily delight in the creature's holiness which is a conformity to and participation of it, as truly as [the] brightness of a jewel, held in the sun's beams, is a participation or derivation of the sun's brightness, though immensely less in degrees."  -Jonathan Edwards, "The End for Which God Created the World"

In my prior readings this was not a paragraph I had highlighted, so it seemed like a fresh read to me. And, I couldn't help but notice how it profoundly complemented 2 Corinthians 7:1. The creature's holiness is a conformity to and participation in God's own beauty, God's glory. A light went on. What an opportunity to glorify God! Our participation in the work of sanctification with God's Spirit is nothing less than a joy-filled opportunity to glorify God. Because the matter of our justification (or standing) with God is settled, our work of sanctification can issue forth from a much different motiviation than trying to improve our standing with God. Instead, it can become a Christian Hedonist's¹ expression of worship, an opportunity to glorify God by joy-filled conformity to his own beauty and excellence. I pray that God will help me keep this motivation at the fore as he calls me into the hard work of getting honest about the defilements of body and spirit he wants to cleanse from my life.

From Protest to Praise - Habakkuk Learns Humility

Dave Mathis, at Desiring God Blog, posted this highlight of the book of Habakkuk...From Protest to Praise :: Desiring God.

I think perhaps we are on the same reading program, as I just read through Habakkuk last night myself. But, oh how beautifully Dave Mathis sums it up! Please give his post a read.

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Here are a couple of my own observations from Habakkuk.

Habakkuk is impatient with God's timetable for bringing judgment on his adulterous people. He cries out to God (Habakkuk 1:3-4).

Why do you make me see iniquity,
   and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
  strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralyzed,
  and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
  so justice goes forth perverted.

Now, God answers Habakkuk (2:2).

Write the vision;
  make it plain on tablets,
  so he may run who reads it.

It's almost as if God is saying, "Just get to writing Habakkuk! Get it down on tablets so those who read it will have one last chance to repent before I bring judgment on this people."

Then, the Lord addresses Habakkuk's finiteness -- his limited ability to comprehend the perfect timing of God (2:3).

For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
  it hastens to the end -- it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
  it will surely come; it will not delay.

God has an "appointed time" for everything he does, and this judgment he is about to bring on his people is no exception. He corrects Habakkuk's all-too-human misperception by telling him, that rather than slow or behind schedule, "it hastens to the end." The Lord admonishes the prophet, "If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay." So, from God's perspective his plan of judgment is right on course, there's no delay in it whatsoever - the prophet is admonished to find some patience and humility. And he does. Later, Habakkuk responds, "Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble" (3:16).

When I read the above passage (Habakkuk 2:3), I couldn't help but think of the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus. The Lord's apostles thought his return would be in their lifetimes. The Lord himself said in his Revelation "for the time is near" (Revelation 1:3). If "near" applied two thousand years ago, where does that put the Lord's return in the context of our time? What descriptive term would fit? How about "it hastens to the end...it will not delay."

There are those who think God tarries. It's human to think such things when we find ourselves pained by the evils we see in the daily headlines. Yet, we do well to remember God's admonishment to Habakkuk, to remember that we are dust, what do we know about when its the right time for judgment! In such moments we need to also remind ourselves of 2 Peter 3:9.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

And again, later in verse 15.

And count the patience of our Lord as salvation,

Notice that Peter's admonishment was directed at his church readers - "The Lord...is patient toward you." And his later word in verse 15, in context, might be expressed as, "count the patience of the Lord as your salvation."

Were we not all under judgement before coming to Christ? So too, are many around us right now, people we rub shoulders with every day. A God who acts according to our impatience would surely have brought each of us to destruction aleady. Thankfully, we have an amazingly patient, loving and compassionate God, whose heart is "that all should reach repentance." Oh, that we would remember the admonishment given to Habakkuk; God's judgement is not slow, "it hastens to the end!" Oh, that we would in humility remember we are poor sinners, deserving of judgment, saved by amazing grace! And oh, that we would take advantage of the Lord's patience by praying fearvantly for the salvation of those around us, for "it will surely come; it will not delay" and "the time is near."

We must see Him as glorious

Perhaps there is a connection between these two passages of scripture. You be the judge.

2 Corinthians 4:4-6:

4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord [fully God], with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

To become believers in Jesus Christ required an intervention of God on our behalf. The god of this world had blinded our minds to the full reality, the saving reality, of who Jesus Christ is. God brought forth a command for his light to shine in our hearts so that we might apprehend the glory of God in Christ in such a way that it moved our hearts to an active saving faith and trust in him.

2 Peter 1:3-4:

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to [by] his own glory and excellence [divine moral excellence], 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Here again, we see a gift of God's grace in providing us with what is necessary to enter into life and godliness. How did this happen? It occurred when we by his grace came to know Christ Jesus for who he really is - that is, we saw his glory as fully God, and we saw his divine moral excellence as fully God. Having had that apprehension by his grace, when we heard the gospel, when we heard him speak a great and precious promise "I am the way, the truth, and the life," our hearts said "Yes! I believe!"

The Lord gives...but bring your shovel and pick

Proverbs 2:1-6 says:

2:1 My son, if you receive my words
     and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
   and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
  and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
  and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
  and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
  from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

What a tremendous promise - "the Lord gives wisdom!" How gracious is our God! Ah! But there's a bit more to it isn't there. What is the context in which God gives his wisdom? Note the eight verbs or verbal expressions (words or phrases that describe action) that are contained in verses 2 through 4:

Receive; treasure up, making your ear attentive; inclining your heart; call out for, raise your voice for, seek it, search for it.

Not exactly a passive receiving is it? Oh, God freely gives his wisdom, along with his knowledge and understanding. But, these treasures aren't exactly laying on the ground just waiting to be plucked up. This treasure doesn't come naturally to us. We have to have the word dwelling in our minds and our hearts so the Spirit of God can minister his illumination there and bring it to life there. We have to have hearts that are prepared to receive that illumination, that are desirous of it, thirsty for it. And, we have to ask for it because we really want it. And then, we have to partner with God and pick up our shovel and pick and go prospecting through his word. Read it carefully. Read it slowly. Consider phrases, clauses, and how they are related to each other. Consider the argument laid out in the paragraph. Pray over it, and read it again. Then, get ready to be surprised - there's treasure in there, and the treasure is God!

One Mighty God - Who is Jesus!

People sometimes say as a result of their Bible reading (me for one:), that the God of the Old Testament seems different from the God of the New Testament. Is that really true? Well, of course not, we know it's not really true, but many of us experience this disconnect. I won't say that I've got this one figured out (not by a long shot). But, God has been giving me some wonderful "Ah ha!" moments lately. Both, as part of my general Bible reading, and while reading for a class I'm currently taking, I have happened upon several New Testament scriptural texts that point back to the Old Testament and categorically declare that Jesus was there! Here are a few of them...

1 Corinthians 10:4
"For they all drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them,.."

Hebrews 11:26
"...He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt."

Jude, verse 5
"Jesus, who saved a people..."

Nothing terribly surprising there. Oh! But I left out the context (sneaky, eh?). Let's take a little closer look at those texts...

Author: The Apostle Paul

1 Corinthians 10:1-5
"1 For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness."

Apparently, New Testament writer, the Apostle Paul, saw Jesus as the "spiritual drink" that was nourishing the hearts of the people of Israel as they were in the wilderness.

Author: Unknown (perhaps Paul, or an associate of Paul's)

Hebrews 11:24-26
"24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward."

The New Testament writer of the book of Hebrews clearly saw Christ (meaning "Messiah," whom we know to be Jesus) as the God Moses was obeying when he chose to live as an Israelite.

Author: Jude (brother of James and Jesus)

Jude, verse 5
"3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe."

New Testament writer, Jude, brother of James and step-brother of our Lord Jesus, once he came to see his step-brother as the Christ (Messiah) viewed the God of the entirety of the Old Testament as non other than Jesus! In other words, there was no differentiation in Jude's mind between Jesus as the Son of God, and the God he grew up knowing about from the Scriptures he was familiar with.

Additionally, the above passage from Jude is quite sobering when you consider the admonishment it presents to the believers who were the recipients of the letter. Some people had crept into their fellowship and were perverting the grace of God into a license to live in sensuality. A few verses later Jude identifies the sins specifically as "sexual immorality" and "unnatural desire" (vs 7). What is sobering is that Jude declares that Jesus punished the people who came out of Egypt who did not believe (those who died in the Wilderness and did not enter the Promised Land) (vs 5), that Jesus put rebellious angels into "eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day" (vs 6), and that Jesus brought Sodom and Gomorrah under "a punishment of eternal fire" (vs 7) (and that means they are sill burning).

We know that the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were of "sexual immorality" and "unnatural desire." That is, they were engaging in every form of sexual perversion - the same sins that we see running rampant in the World today, and increasingly so in our own United States of America. If people are under an the notion that Jesus is just that "graceful and loving Savior" and will not bring such sins under wrath, they are living in an illusion. Jesus has already demonstrated he will bring unbelief in God, rebellion against God, and sexual immorality under his wrath - he has done it before, and he will do it again. Colossions 3:5-6 instructs believers to "put to death" sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, and goes on to say "On account of these the wrath of God is coming."

It is a sobering word that Jude and Paul (author of Colossians) are bringing to believers in Jesus Christ. Those who make a willing practice of such behaviors cannot reasonably claim to be Christians, and are destined to come under the wrath of God, which is the wrath of Jesus.

Lest I end on such a heavy note, let me try to bring some scripturally-based cheer back into the discussion that both celebrates Christmas and makes the tie-in between Jesus and the God of the Old Testament.

Isaiah 9:6
6 For to us a child is born,
     to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
     and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

"A child is born," that would be Jesus in the manger. "A son is given," that would be Jesus, Son of God. And, who is this Jesus, Son of God? Why, he is "Mighty God." No less. I expect to be reading the Old Testament a bit differently from now on :-)