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~ Rejecting the gods of our culture since 1998.

cultural atheist

Monthly Archives: October 2013

The Three – NO FEAR!

15 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration

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Angel, Beasts, God, Good News Gospel, Jesus, Prophecy, Revelation, Vision, Wrath

If you just had a few moments to call out a warning to people you love, what would you say and how would you say it? What would you be willing to risk? If you knew that the warning would be scoffed at and ignored, would you still give it? I ask you to consider these questions and more in a series called, “The Three.”

In the last letter of the Bible, there’s a lot of symbolism; a story being told with vivid imagery. In that letter we find an urgent message in Revelation 14:6-11.

Last post, I asked you to consider the first angel shouting at those who dwell on the earth: “Fear God!”

The problem is, John also wrote that, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” 1John 4:18 Those who dwell on the earth already fear God.

Without getting too technical, in Revelation 14:7 the Greek word behind fear is phobeo. Phobeo comes up a handful of times in the Bible. Here’s an example from Ephesians 5:33: “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she phobeo her husband.”

When I noticed this, I went to my wife, pointed to the text and said: “Fear me, woman!” The rest of the conversation did not go well. Fear is not a good building block in marriage. This is a good thing to keep in mind because marriage is the deepest and most intimate pictures of our relationship with God. God is frequently pictured as a husband and his people are the bride. Fear seems very out of place in such a relationship, doesn’t it?

Maybe this helps. The English word for phobeo in Ephesians 5:33 is respect; in this case respect based on deep, unconditional, love – God’s love.

So how do we put this altogether? As I wrestled with this, a thought came to me from back in my lifeguarding days at the public swimming pool. When a person is drowning, he or she is out of their mind. Because of everything going on they can’t hear, they’re panicked, they don’t know what to do.

When you go into the water – which is a last resort because it’s a huge risk likely to get you killed – the lifeguard must approach the person and assume a defensive position. Then you shout in a loud voice – “Calm down, I’m here to help you, I going to grab on to you and take you to safety, and so on.” You have to risk coming across forceful because it’s urgent and you have to try and get through to the person so you can save them.

To me, this is another picture of our amazing God. He’s reaching out to people who have a terrible picture of who he is and yet he’s willing to take risks, even put his reputation on the line, do whatever it takes to rescue the perishing. Have you ever heard of a God so good? Have you ever seen such love?

Can you respect a God like that?

12 Reasons

14 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by braddahr in Rants, Sarcasm, Spirituality

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We interrupt the series on The Three to bring you these 12 Reasons Why I Quit Attending Sports Events.

1. The coach never came to visit me.
2. Every time I went, they asked me for money.
3. The people sitting in my row didn’t seem very friendly.
4. The seats were very hard.
5. The referees made a decision I didn’t agree with.
6. I was sitting with hypocrites—they only came to see what others were wearing!
7. Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home.
8. The band played some songs I had never heard before.
9. The games are scheduled on my only day to sleep in and run errands.
10. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
11. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches, anyway.
12. I don’t want to take my children because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

— From Josh Hosle

I found this today and wanted to share. I don’t know who Josh Hosle is, but he makes a compelling argument.

The Three – FEAR!

09 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Angel, Beasts, God, Good News Gospel, Jesus, Prophecy, Revelation, Vision, Wrath

If you just had a few moments to call out a warning to people you love, what would you say and how would you say it? What would you be willing to risk? If you knew that the warning would be scoffed at and ignored, would you still give it? I ask you to consider these questions and more in a series called, “The Three.”

In the last letter of the Bible, there’s a lot of symbolism; a story being told with vivid imagery. In that letter we find an urgent message in Revelation 14:6-11.

The first angel says with a loud voice, “Fear God…!” For God to send a command to fear him is kind of strange. It seems out of character. Remember back in the beginning, after Adam and Eve broke relationship with God, they felt afraid; they ran and hid from God. The Creator didn’t lash out at them but instead sought them out, initiating the reconciliation process from the very start.

Years later the apostle John, the author of Revelation, is writing about a reconciled and healthy relationship with God and he says: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” 1John 4:18

To John, fearing God is a negative thing. If you fear God; your love relationship with your Creator is broken. If you fear God, you haven’t “been made perfect” – in other words, your heart is untouched by God’s love.

Now remember who the message is for: those who dwell upon the earth. Those who dwell on the earth believe the worst about their Creator. One author made this observation, “The law of Jehovah was burdened with needless exactions and traditions, and God was represented as severe, exacting, revengeful, and arbitrary. He was pictured as one who could take pleasure in the sufferings of his creatures. The very attributes that belonged to the character of Satan, the evil one represented as belonging to the character of God.” Those who dwell on the earth have bought the lie.

Wouldn’t it be really dangerous for God to command those who dwell on the earth to fear him?  Maybe he didn’t.

The Three – The Call

07 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration

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Tags

Angels, Beasts, God, Good News, gospel, Jesus, Revelation

If you just had a few moments to call out a warning to people you love, what would you say and how would you say it? What would you be willing to risk? If you knew that the warning would be scoffed at and ignored, would you still give it? I ask you to consider these questions and more in a series called, “The Three.”

In the last letter of the Bible, there’s a lot of symbolism; a story being told with vivid imagery. In that letter we find an urgent message in Revelation 14:6-11.

The message of the three angels is for those who dwell on the earth. These are the people with blood on their hands; these are the people who love themselves and the world more than they love others and the kingdom of God.

We tend to write off people who do what those who dwell on the earth do. Not our God – he loves with everything he’s got to the very end.

So what does this mean for me and you?

For me, it makes my heart swell with praise. For I was once a person who dwelt on the earth. I’m forever grateful that he called out to me; never giving up on me.

Do you hear him calling for you?

The Three – Beyond Our Imagination

03 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration

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Tags

Angels, Beast, christ, Glory, God, gospel, Jesus, Revelation

If you just had a few moments to call out a warning to people you love, what would you say and how would you say it? What would you be willing to risk? If you knew that the warning would be scoffed at and ignored, would you still give it? I ask you to consider these questions and more in a series called, “The Three.”

In the last letter of the Bible, there’s a lot of symbolism; a story being told with vivid imagery. In that letter we find an urgent message in Revelation 14:6-11.

In my last post, I wanted to let you know that the message of the three angels isn’t for people who have put their life into God’s hands; those who are in an intimate, trusting, obedient relationship with our Creator. The message is for those who dwell on the earth, a phrase that the apostle John uses to describe those who have turned away from God. These are the people with blood on their hands; these are the people who love themselves and the world more than they love others and the kingdom of God.

Think of it this way. Recently, the news was filled with wildfires raging in California. Imagine there are people in the path of that fire and they are not moving. God comes racing ahead of the blaze with a loud voice – he has to use a loud voice because the roar of the fire is deafening – and he cries out – the fire is upon you, the time has come to take my hand, trust me and I will be able to save you.

A man-made God would say something like – I died to save you, you rejected me and my salvation, get lost! Isn’t that how we usually are in our relationships when things go bad? Haven’t you written off some friends and family because they got on your bad side?

But the true God, the living God, is beyond our imaginations; he loves with everything he’s got to the very end.

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