Who would die for you?

Romans 5:6-8
6 While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly.
7 Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die.
8 But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

I have been studying these verses this holiday with some fellas from church to understand Christ and begin studying fervently the Word again. I studied these verses to understand what God was trying to say in these verses and I found something very profound in these verses specifically in verse 7. Read it below and think about this for a minute.

7 Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man...

For a man who lives upright and lives a good life, it would be an extraordinary thing for one to give their life for that man. The Jewish people defined four classes of people based on their works. This man fell into the category of one who viewed life as the following: "What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours." Cool right? That's how most people should view stuff. What's mine belongs to me and what's yours belongs to you. He is classified as the upright man. Yet it would be an extraordinary thing for someone to die for Him? Why? I have a better question. Is this you? With that said, would someone die for you?

...though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die.

The noble and generous benefactor is different story though. He is the man who views life the following way: "What's mine is yours and what's yours is yours." Huh? Say what? Yes, he does not view his things as belonging to him. He gives all he has to others and allows them to keep their things. This man is classified in a different category than the man in the above paragraph. This is the man who gives everything he has to the poor, rebuilds Katrina-hit areas during his spring break, does hundreds of hours of community service, and donates to the needy. This is the type of person we are told we should be like and many of us strive to be. But look at that person as well. Someone would perhaps dare to die for them. Huh? You mean that no matter all the good things I do, if I needed someone to die for me, perhaps they would? Pretty much. It is not certain. Even though people say they would die for someone in all the great things that one has done, would they still have that opinion when the gun is pointed at them and they are about to lose their girlfriend, boyfriend, fiancee, mother, sister, brother, best friends, time on this earth to love and help others, future plans, and all the hopes they amassed for someone that they don't even know that well? I don't think so. Especially if they're not certain of what will happen with them after they die.

But this is where the story gets really interesting. There is another class of man the Jewish people spoke of, the fourth class of man. This is that man's philosopy: What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine. This is the quintessential wicked man. He wants what you have and will not give what is his. He is selfish, inconsiderate, rude, and beyond the type of man or woman that we are taught to be like when we are a child. (By the way, although we don't want to be like this person ourselves, isn't it interesting we love watching these people on reality shows like Survivor, Real Chance of Love, I Love New York, and I Love Money. Just sayin') This is the last person who would have any person die for them. Yet for this person someone did die: Christ. And what's more amazing, we aren't the other groups of people no matter all the things we have done; we are like the selfish, wicked man. Don't believe me? Who are you when no one is watching? What do you think of that you fear others will find out? If you truly search your heart you will see that you are not the great person you think you are. I know I'm not. But this is where Christ comes into the picture.

For the wicked man, the one who no one would definitely die for, Christ died for him. Why? Because we are that wicked man. We are the sinners that have transgressed God. Our very lives are wicked to God as well as our hearts. Don't believe me? What do you think about most? Is it God? It is yourself? Your girlfriend? School? Where does your money go first? Church? Your entertainment fund? The club? Like all of us, you were concentrated on living for yourself. You had your own plans. How can we have our own plans in the face of God? How can we not want to live life the way He wants us to? There is something foundationally wrong with humanity and the problem resides deep inside of us. For this we really needed help. That is why when we were helpless Christ helped us. He died for the ungodly because we had no hope of godliness without Him. We had no hope of any resemblance of a meaningful, good life without the One who created life. And the death He died was a gruesome death. It was a innocent man dying a criminal's death. The death we deserved.

So after reading this I ask you the question again: Who would truly sacrifice their life, their family, friends, love, relationships, hopes, dreams, ambitions, etc. and all in it for you?

Now think about this: You no longer have to ask that question. Christ already died for you.

Check back for more posts. Feel free to leave comments.

What If You Had No More Excuses?

This is from a talented and anointed spoken word artist named Blair Wingo. It's called "What If You Had No More Excuses?" I would write more but she says it all perfectly. What would you do if when it came to God you had no more excuses...

Psalms 8: You are worth more than you think you are

Today's blog post comes from my reading of Psalms 8:

Psa 8:1 O LORD,our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens;
Psa 8:2 it is sung by children and babies. You are safe and secure from all your enemies; you stop anyone who opposes you.
Psa 8:3 When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places---
Psa 8:4 what are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them?
Psa 8:5 Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor.
Psa 8:6 You appointed them rulers over everything you made; you placed them over all creation:
Psa 8:7 sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too;
Psa 8:8 the birds and the fish and the creatures in the seas.
Psa 8:9 O LORD, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world!

Psalms 8:3-5 discuss how we all relate to God. Verses 6-8 define the role and purpose that God has defined and given to all of us.

Psa 8:3 When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places---
Psa 8:4 what are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them?
Psa 8:5 Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor.

God has made man and despite the lowly stature of man, given him glory and honor, in fact crowned him with glory and honor. Crowning is done only by a higher monarch upon a lower monarch. Verse 4 of Psalms 8 places it all in context by asking "What are we really?" What is it about us that God is so interested in? Mindful also means remembers and visitest also means miss, care for, and charge. We are a little lower than God (the word translates to angels in some translations as well) but we are crowned with glory and honor. What makes us so important and valuable? The answer to the question is in the verse:

For You have made him lack a little from God, and have crowned him with glory and honor.

GOD has crowned us with glory and honor. God is mindful of us, and visits us, dwells with us. God has given us dominion over HIS creation. Our worth, value, and purpose all come from what God has given to us and invested in us. We are important because God has made us important in His eyes. That is why in verse 9 David wrote:

Psa 8:9 GOD, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.

God is brilliant because He first thought to make us important despite how we act, what we've done, and what he knows we are capable of doing in the future. Even despite the sin we commit and the bad things that we do sometimes, he still loves us and we are still valuable to Him.

Joh 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.
Joh 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

Rom 5:8 But God has shown us how much he loves us---it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!

He has decided to crown us with glory and honor. No matter what you are going through, you are valuable and important to God not because of the things you do and your accomplishments, but because of His love for you and Him deciding and seeing how beautiful and wonderful you are. And nothing you do can change that, whether good or bad. And that is special. Because that means He will never change His mind. No matter what you do, you will always be valuable to Him. He will always love you.

The first real blog post

So the first post that I posted on the blog was promptly found by my girlfriend as really funny and not overall helping to the cause of the blog. So for all of you who have come to this site from GCSU or anywhere else, I will have this blog up and running soon, within a day or two. Come back now ya hear!

Testing out this blog

Just testing this to see if it works.