Guilty, but Declared Innocent

This post is third in a mini-series based on my jury duty experience.
See part one here
and part two here.

The main job of a juror is to look at the facts as seen in the evidence, and decide if the defendant is guilty or innocent, based on what the facts say.

In the case for which I was a juror, the facts didn't make that job easy. It was hard to trust the validity of the witnesses' testimonies, or the accuracy of computer data. We had no way of knowing whether something was dependable or not. Therefore, we had to decide that there was not enough proof to declare the defendant guilty of the main crime of which he had been accused. So, of that crime, we decided he was innocent.

As a sinful human being who answers to a far greater Judge than the one sitting in the courtroom I was in, I am not so lucky. There is very solid evidence against me. There's no jury debating my guilt or innocence.
I am, beyond all possible doubt, guilty of sin. I have broken God's laws, and God, who sees and knows everything, has no doubt of that.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." Romans 3:23

Satan has accused me. My own sinful nature has convicted me.

But I will not receive the punishment due a guilty verdict.

"...and are justified freely by His grace." Romans 3:24

You see, when the Law pronounced guilty every person who's ever lived, God's Son stepped in to take the punishment we all deserve.
As a lawbreaker, I deserve death. Eternal separation from God.

"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a

I'm not getting what I deserve.

"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23b

Jesus Christ took my guilt upon himself. He had never sinned, and he was perfect--holy, pure and righteousness. He told his Father, "Look at them and see my sinlessness. Look at me and see their sin." And God said, "Yes. For your sake, I forgive them wholly."

"God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

He took the punishment that was rightfully mine--all of ours. He died. He experienced total separation from God, besides a physically excruciating death. He was mocked, humiliated, and tortured--so that I would not be.

But Jesus didn't stay dead. He paid the price, all right. But he is God, and God cannot die.

He faced my accuser--Satan. He announced that he had paid the price for my sin. And he declared to Satan that I can no longer be accused of guilt. Past, present, and future sins were all covered by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Nothing I do will earn me eternal condemnation. God looks at me as one holy and perfect, covered by the righteousness of his Son.

Now, I'll still have to face consequences for the poor choices I make. But I will never have to endure the punishment that those wrongs deserve.

There's no question: I committed the crime. But there's also no question that the guilt is no longer mine. The holy Son of the righteous Judge has taken my punishment. I am free and redeemed because of his love and grace.

Redeemed

Redeemed: bought back, exchanged, purchased, reclaimed, ransomed.

I have been redeemed.  I would be a slave to sin and Satan if Jesus had not paid the price for me.

Had he not given his life for mine, I would have had to pay for my sin with my own eternal soul.  I would have spent eternity in hell.  But Jesus paid the life-debt for me and all other people.  He took the guilt of our sin on himself and gave up his life as a ransom for us all.

Thus, I am free.  Saved.  Redeemed.  And so are you.

I am no longer bound to sin; now, because Christ is my Redeemer, I am bound to him.  I am one with him through my baptism, and my life belongs to Christ--to God-- because he made me.  In response to what he has done for me, I strive to love and serve him by loving and serving others.  I can't do this perfectly--I fail all the time--but he already took care of the guilt of my sins, including the failure to love and obey him fully, and even the sins I haven't committed yet.

I don't have to live in fear of punishment.  Jesus already took the punishment that I deserve.  He destroyed the power of Satan, death and hell.  They no longer hold power over me, or over you.  Satan still has power in this world, but the battle is over--he has already lost, and he knows it.  Those who believe in Jesus will spend eternity with him in heaven, no matter what Satan tries to do to them in this world.  Why?  Because we belong to Jesus, and he is more powerful even than Satan.

We can therefore live this life in joy.  We are free from the weight of our own sin, and from the weight of the sin of the world.  Jesus bore it for us.  Despite the evil that is still rampant all around us, our life doesn't have to be one of sadness or despair.  Not for us.  Not for those who are children of God.  We have the promise of eternal life, and we know that nothing can separate us from God's love--because he has redeemed and saved us.

I know that my Redeemer lives!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives.
He lives, he lives, who once was dead--
He lives, my ever-living Head.

He lives triumphant from the grave,
He lives eternally to save.
He lives all glorious in the sky,
He lives exalted there on high.

He lives and grants me daily breath.
He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare--
He lives to bring me safely there.

(I Know that My Redeemer Lives, vv 1, 3, 7; text by Samuel Medley.)

Attitude {Like that of Christ Jesus}

Welcome to visitors from the A to Z Challenge!  Please leave a comment to let me know you're here, and check out other posts that pique your interest!  Mondays are Marriage Mondays at Living in the Light.

"Don't give me that attitude, young lady!"  That's what comes to my mind when I hear the word attitude.  Of course, when my mother said that to me growing up, it was definitely always because I deserved it!  But the word seems to often have a negative connotation.

According to dictionary.com, the word simply means "manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind."

I want to consider what kind of attitude we have in marriage.  How is my attitude toward my husband?  How is yours toward your spouse?  How is your "disposition, feeling, position, etc." when it comes to marriage?

My attitude can sometimes be loving, especially when my husband has been sweet and helpful, when he hasn't left dirty dishes or laundry lying around, when he's been affectionate.  But in that case, my attitude is dependent on my husband's actions toward me.  That's reasonable, I suppose, but is it right?

Let's see what Scripture has to say about it.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:3-11 (NIV)

Jesus Christ, God's Son, God himself, humbled himself to the ultimate point.  We just celebrated yesterday his resurrection from the dead--but he wouldn't have had to rise if he hadn't allowed himself to be humiliated and killed on a cross.

This, Paul wrote to the Philippians, is the attitude we are to have: that of humility, considering others better than ourselves.  Paul doesn't advocate self-loathing, but he is encouraging his readers (that's us!) to put others first.

I have already found from experience that when I do this in my marriage, my husband's and my relationship greatly benefits from it.  When each of us is seeking to serve the other person, instead of paying attention to only our own needs and wants, we're both happier.  When we act in a selfless manner toward the other, we both feel loved so very much, because in doing that we're demonstrating that each of us is the most important person in the other's life.

It might seem counter-intuitive to live in such a way.  "Gotta look out for number one," after all.  But following what comes naturally doesn't always work out.  By nature we're sinful, selfish human beings.  It's because of Jesus' sacrifice in our place that we have the ability to live as he did--selflessly.  Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us: his own life.  He loves us so much that he was willing to suffer indescribable humiliation and agony, so that we could be forgiven--and so that we could imitate him.

By God's grace, we're able to show each other Christ-like humility and selflessness--in all our relationships, but especially in marriage.

I'm going to keep working on this in my own marriage.  Try it for yourself!  See what happens when you start putting your spouse first.  The results just may be even better than you thought.

I'd like to give a shout-out to Arlee Bird, the fantastic blogger who started this A to Z Challenge three years ago!  Head over to his blog and say hello!

Linking today:  A Proverbs 31 Wife, What Joy is Mine, The Better Mom, Yes They Are All Ours, Countrified Hicks

The best of all Good days

This is the best of all good days.

It's Good Friday.  The day when Christians all over the world remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps this doesn't seem like it should be a good day.  It certainly wouldn't have seemed good for the followers of Jesus.  Their Lord, the one they believed to be the Messiah, had been betrayed, arrested, tortured, mocked, and condemned to death.  Finally he was nailed to a cross.

And he died.  He really, truly died.

It seemed as if the Messiah wasn't who everyone thought he had been.  "If you are the Son of God," the soldiers and religious leaders taunted, "come down from there!"

I'm sure his mother, his disciples, those who loved and followed him, wondered why he didn't come down from the cross.

Why he endured unimaginable suffering.  Why he responded to their angry jeers with sad silence.

They couldn't know, then, the magnitude of what he was doing.  The Messiah, the Savior, suffered in near-silence, speaking only to utter words of forgiveness, words to fulfill prophecies made about him hundreds of years before... with the weight of the world's sin on his sinless shoulders.

He suffered so that we would not have to.  He took on himself what we deserve and endured separation from God himself so that we would never experience such grief, such guilt.

That's why today is called Good...

Image credit:  Iamnee via www.freedigitalphotos.net

Because we know that on another Friday, so long ago, Jesus paid the price for our sins.  He took our guilt and punishment on himself so we would know his forgiveness.  So that we would not die eternally, but would instead spend eternity with him in heaven.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,

What wondrous love is this, O my soul?

What wondrous love is this,

That caused the Lord of bliss

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

Marriage :: Defined

Well, now I know how to get all my Facebook friends excited: ask them to share their opinions on the topic the Supreme Court is currently debating.  (If you would like some background information, you can read it here, here, and here.)

I realize that there are a lot of issues involved in this.

-How do we define marriage?
-WHO defines marriage?
-Is homosexual marriage a right?
-Should the government have a role in marriage at all?
-Who decides who can get married and who can't?

Disclaimer:  I'm going to state some of my beliefs here.  I understand many of you may disagree with me, and that's OK.  I'd love a discussion in the comments.  I just ask that we all respect each other as people created by God.

For me, the bottom line is GOD.  God supersedes the government in authority.  God's Word contains the directives for daily life.  Obedience to God is the best way to live.  So I stand by God's definition of marriage.

Genesis 2:23-24: The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Genesis 1:27-28: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it."

God created marriage to be between one man and one woman.  (Side note: his directive to "be fruitful and increase in number" would be impossible to fulfill if marriage had been designed to also include same-sex couples!)

Now, should the government have the right to define what marriage is?
I acknowledge that our government isn't perfect.  It may even be described as corrupt.  And I realize that governments have been used in the past for great ill.
That doesn't negate the fact that government was originally instituted by God for the order and benefit of society.  (In 1 Samuel, God chose the first king, Saul, for the people of Israel.)  In the United States, our government has outlawed such sins as murder and theft, and sexual sins such as incest, rape, and child pornography.  I believe that therefore homosexuality can be decreed by our government as illegal.

This brings me to the next point... is homosexuality a sin?
I believe it is.  I believe that anything outside God's design for marriage is sinful.  And the Bible does speak to this.  Genesis 19:1-11 make it clear that homosexual behavior is punishable.  Leviticus 20:10-17 condemns homosexuality, incest, adultery, and bestiality.  1 Corinthians 6:9 clearly condemns homosexuality, along with other sins.

Romans 1:24-28 states, "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts for the degrading of their bodies with one another...Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.  Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."  It is helpful to read this passage in its full context: Romans 1:20-32.  Also see this article for a helpful discussion of the topic.

Now, I must make the most important point.
Do I condemn homosexuals?

NO!

I cannot condemn any sinner.  Why?  Because I, too, am a sinner.  It is up to God to condemn sin.  I saw an excellent quote on Facebook, that has been attributed to Rick Warren (although I can't verify that):

Our culture has accepted two huge lies.  The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear or hate them.  The second is that to love someone means to agree with everything they do.  Both are nonsense.  You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.

Jesus said, "Love one another as I have loved you."  Jesus loves everyone equally.  That's the kind of equality I'm all about!  He does not love any person more or less for the choices they've made.  However, Jesus did tell the prostitute caught in her sin, "Neither do I condemn you.  Now go and sin no more."  (John 8:10-11)

Jesus died a horrific death on the cross so that the sins of all people, of all time, would be paid for.  He wants all people to be in heaven with him someday.  All people have been created by God, and God loves them all, so very much!  Whether your sin is drunkenness, gluttony, sloth, greed, murder, lust, theft, homosexuality, or any other sin, Jesus has died to eliminate that sin.  He has died for you (and me!) because he loves us.  And he doesn't want us to be separated from God for eternity.

So am I going to say homosexuality is wrong?  Yup.  Am I going to say it's something no one should do?  Yes.  Am I going to back the government if it makes a law that homosexuality is illegal?  Well, I'm not going to complain... but the government hasn't outlawed my sinful habits of rudeness, laziness, and meanness.  The government isn't required to make such a decision.

Will I continue to strive to love everyone around me equally, with the love of Jesus?  You bet.  Because that's how God does it.


Linking with: Upward Not Inward, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers, We are THAT Family, To Love, Honor and Vacuum, Messy Marriage

A Demonstration of Selfless Love: Reflections on Monday of Holy Week

This weekend, my husband demonstrated the beauty of what real love in marriage is all about.

I was sick all day Friday, and then pushed myself too much Saturday morning and was tired the rest of the day, and much of yesterday as well.  I slept a lot.  I didn't cook at all on Friday, and not till supper on Saturday.  Supper yesterday was the first real meal we've eaten together, that I cooked, all weekend.

But has my husband complained?  Not one bit.  He's even helped with the dishes.  He encouraged me to rest.  He just quietly did his own thing while I was sleeping and recovering.  He was sweet and helpful on Friday when I was feeling the crummiest.  He stayed home from class to take care of me.  He even brought me 7-Up because we didn't have any in the house.  He's made me tea, brought me blankets, adjusted the heat when my feverish self went from cold to hot and back again, and kept me company.  We spent a lot of time playing LEGO Lord of the Rings on the PS-3 this weekend (perfect activity to do when one is sick; using the video game controller takes virtually no energy!).

He hasn't even complained about the fact that I've done no housework all weekend, that I was the most boring wife imaginable (I don't even know how many hours I slept the last three days!), or that he had to fend for himself in the kitchen (although he's perfectly capable of feeding himself :) ).

Can I just say, my husband is awesome.  He's loved me like crazy this whole weekend without expecting or asking anything in return.

He's demonstrating to me Christ-like love: selfless love, love that gives without expecting to get.  Yet another reason why I love my husband so much.  He models Jesus to me.

And, what a lovely coincidence, this happens to be the week that we remember the days that Jesus demonstrated his love for us in the most radical, selfless, incredible way possible.

He gave his life for us.  And in the days leading up to his death on the cross, Jesus spent his time teaching his disciples, preparing them for what would happen in the days ahead, giving them spiritual encouragement and strength, and loving them.  "As I have loved you," he said, "love one another." (John 13:34-35)

It's actually not possible for us to perfectly love one another in the way Christ loved us.  We're human, after all, and it's only by the power of God that we're able to love at all.  But by his grace, we can demonstrate that kind of selfless love for each other, motivated by what Christ has done for us.  His love for us is so great that he willingly died for all people--even though they didn't all love him.  "God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8)

That's the kind of perfect love I will never be able to achieve, but it is the love that, by God's grace, I am so thankful to receive.

How have you seen the love of Christ active in your life this weekend?

Linking with:  A Proverbs 31 Wife, Grits and Grace, What Joy is Mine, The Alabaster Jar, Raising Arrows, The Better Mom, Countrified Hicks, Yes They're All Ours

How I was saved, and how you were, too!

This post was inspired by this salvation story on natashametzler.com.  Reading Natasha's post and responding to it got me thinking about my own salvation story!

The story of my salvation doesn't start with me.  It starts with God.  God, who created heaven and earth and everything in them.  God, who from the beginning of the world had a plan to conquer sin and death (Genesis 3:15).  God, who sent His Son to earth to become a human baby, who would grow into a sinless human man, who would die for the sins of the whole world (John 3:16).

Image Credit:  bela_kiefer via www.freedigitalphotos.net

My salvation starts with the incredible love of God.  It's because God loves us--all people--so much that He has a plan for all of us to spend eternity with Him.

He gives us faith.  We become His children.  We believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, and the fact that Jesus' death paid the price for all the wrong we ever do.  We live a brief life on earth, obeying God and loving Him according to His Word and in response for the gifts He constantly gives us (in addition to the gift of faith in Him!  Wow!).  Then, when our sinful, earthly bodies die, our sinless souls are united with God in heaven, and spend eternity joyfully with Him in paradise.

This is what God did for me.  He made me his child just four weeks after I was born into this world.  In my baptism, the Holy Spirit came into my heart by the power of God's Word, and gave me faith.  It wasn't necessary for me to understand what that meant, because my saving isn't about me.  It's not anything I do.  God saves us, God makes us His children.  It's kind of like how we become our parents' children.  We don't have any choice to become their children.  And they don't love us because of anything we do.  They love us simply because they are our parents.  God loves us because He is our Father.

So I became God's child through the miracle of baptism.  As I grew, my parents taught me, using God's Word, how much God loves me, and what Jesus did for me.  And I knew for sure that I was God's child.  I knew that whenever I died, I would be in heaven with Jesus.  I knew that I was sinful, and did bad things, but I also knew that God forgave those sins when I asked Him to, just as my parents told me they forgave me when I disobeyed them.

Now that I'm an adult, I'm still constantly learning what it means to be God's child.  How does that play out in my everyday life?  God reminds me daily to trust Him in everything.  He has to keep teaching me how to accept His forgiveness, because I struggle with remembering that.  Satan is constantly working to try to pull me away from God, but I know that because the Holy Spirit lives in my heart, Satan can't hurt me.  Jesus has already defeated him and his power, and I have nothing to fear.

So my salvation story doesn't end with me, either.  It ends with the ultimate gift from God--eternal life in heaven.  It will end when my sinful body dies, and my eternal, holy, sinless soul is taken to heaven by Jesus, where I will live with Him forever.  There no one will be sad or in pain.  There will be no death, no grief, no discomfort.  There will be joy, peace, love, and light, and it will be more wonderful than we can ever imagine, until we actually get there.

God wants everyone to be in heaven with Him.  He has created you just like He did me, and He loves you, too, more than you will ever understand.  I hope you know my Jesus, too, and know that He is your Lord and Savior--and how much He loves you.  You can spend eternity in heaven, too, because Jesus paid the price for your sins as well as mine.  Try saying this to God, your Father--you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain:

"Dear God, I know you love me.  I know you sent your Son, Jesus, to pay the price for my sins.  I acknowledge Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  Thank you for giving me faith in you and in what Jesus has done for me.  Now, as your child, I give my whole life to you."

Linking up today: A Holy Experience, Upward Not Inward, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers, We are THAT Family

Forgiven: Knowing it, believing it, living it.

I'd like to do a little soul-baring with you, my dear readers.  Perhaps one of you has had an experience like mine, so I hope that sharing my own story will bless you, as well.

Image courtesy of David Castillo, www.freedigitalphotos.net

For much of my life I've had what you might call a legalistic mindset.  I've always understood about grace, don't get me wrong.  I know Jesus died for my sins, I know that because of him I'll have eternal life, I know that God has forgiven every sin I've ever committed or will ever commit.  I know I don't have to DO anything at all for my salvation--Jesus has done it all.

But I struggle with applying what I know in my head, to what I truly believe in my heart.  I've never struggled with faith in Christ, but I've struggled with letting go of my sin.  With accepting the fact that God's forgiveness erases that sin from my life.

It's not like I've done anything "majorly wrong."  I've never done drugs, smoked or gotten drunk.  I was a virgin when I got married.  I've avoided swearing and bad language.  I've never broken a federal law.  My parents raised me to be a good, honest, obedient and law-abiding person.

But I'm just as sinful as anyone else, and I also happen to have a bit of a "guilt complex."  Or, as my husband says, an overly active conscience.  I struggle with letting go of my own sins.

I struggle with forgiving myself, and accepting that through Christ, God has forgiven me.

Does this sound like you?  Have you ever had a struggle like this?

Whether you have or not, perhaps what I've learned will be helpful for you.

Since I started dating Joshua, he has been a powerful voice of forgiveness in my life.  He easily and quickly forgives me when I sin against him and ask his forgiveness.  He's reminded me time and again of God's forgiveness.  And I'll remember that, and know it, for a while.  But then that little voice inside me pulls up a wordless doubt, one that darkens the cheerfulness I usually feel, and makes me feel sorry for myself.  "I'm just not good enough.  I'll always have to struggle with this.  The consequences will always be part of my life.  I don't deserve forgiveness."

I read a blog post today where the author talked about forgetting.  She asked God to remove memories of past sins, so that she wouldn't dwell on them anymore.  This, I realized, is what I needed to do-forget about those sins.  Dwelling on my sins, hanging on to that guilt, and refusing to forgive myself, is actually sin in itself.  It's letting the law take over my life, instead of filling my life with the Gospel.  Then I read another blog post with a similar message, and tonight Joshua and I watched the movie October Baby.  It's about a teenage girl who discovers that she's adopted...and that her birth mother had attempted to have her aborted, but the abortion failed.  The girl also had a twin brother, and although they were both born alive, her brother died.  She struggled to forgive herself for living when her brother died, to forgive her birth mother for trying to kill her, and to forgive her adoptive parents because they had kept the truth from her for a long time.
In the movie there is a powerful message of forgiveness--that because God has forgiven us, we have the ability and the power to choose to forgive others.  Including ourselves.

As the movie was ending I dissolved in tears...because for the first time in a long time, I felt truly at peace with myself.  I realized that I was damaging myself by refusing forgiveness.  And so I let go.  I let go of the guilt I've been clinging to.  What a self-centered thing I had been doing.  It's not like it consumed my life...but it would come up at times, and I wouldn't just let it go.  But I believe God spoke to my heart today.  And so I've let go of the past, those sins that no one else would blame me for but for which I've been blaming myself.  The sins that Satan's been using to hurt my heart.

I read a Scripture verse on a blog today, and it applied so well to my blog, but also to God's gentle message to me today.  It's at the top of this page.  Scroll up and read it.

It's especially the last sentence of that verse that really means a lot to me right now.

I also love these other words of God about forgiveness:

"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of the greatest," declares the Lord.  "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:33b-34

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."  Psalm 103:8-14

God doesn't remember my sins.  Jesus' sacrifice on the cross took care of that.  God has removed my sins from me; they are no longer part of my life.  He is gracious, not "fair"--I don't get what I deserve.  I deserve eternal punishment.

What God's given me is eternal life.  And grace, forgiveness, and everlasting love.

There is no reason for me to hang onto my guilt.  There is no reason to deny myself forgiveness, not when God has forgiven me long ago.  I am a saved, baptized, forgiven child of God.

And just as Jesus died to save me from MY sins, so he died to save you from yours.  Remember that verse at the top of the page?  That's for you, too.  When we repent of our sins--turn away from them--God is quick to forgive, and remind us of how much he loves us.

And he loves us so very much.

I hope you know that.  If you don't, please talk to me, or talk to a pastor or another Christian you know, who is walking with Jesus.  If you don't believe in Jesus in your personal Lord and Savior, he wants you to, so much!  He wants you to know that you are his child.

It's amazing how much Jesus loves us.  I've been reminded of that today, yet again, and I hope you know that in your heart, too.

Linking with: Growing Home, Heavenly Homemakers, Time-Warp Wife, Exceptionalistic 

Food, romance and forgiveness: I am thankful for these things

I appreciate the pattern of "Thankful Thursdays" because it helps me focus, on a regular basis, on all the many things I have to be thankful for.  That's not to say that I'm not grateful to God every day for what he has given me, but I like noting particular things.

For example, today my husband took the car to be washed--it's so lovely and shiny now!

Supper today was fantastic again...tilapia kind of like what I did last week, except with lime and basil instead of lemon with garlic and butter.  We had it with rice and a tomato-cucumber-yogurt salad.  SO good.  It is such a blessing to always have plenty of good food.

I made homemade yogurt this week, and it turned out!  I'll share more about that tomorrow!  I am thankful for the success, but even more for the opportunity to add to my cooking and homemaking skills.

I'm thankful for my grandparents, and the fact that they let us do laundry at their house every week.  I love spending time with them; it is an amazing blessing to have family so close, both them and Joshua's parents.

I'm so thankful for my husband and how romantic he is.  Last week he took me for dinner at an Italian restaurant I've been wanting to visit for a long time, and to see Les Miserables (SUCH a good movie!).  This weekend we're going on a little getaway for Valentine's Day--not far, but it's much-needed and will be so nice.

As we begin the season of Lent, I'm reminded how unspeakably grateful I am for the fact that Christ suffered so much--for me.  He endured an incredibly torturous death so that I would never have to experience separation from God.  He gave up the rights of his divinity and suffered as a human so that I can live eternally with him, now that he is risen from the dead.  This, above all things, I thank God for.

Linking with: Loved and Lovely, The Fontenot Four, black tag diaries

Saved by Grace. This is what matters.

My friends, it's a blessed but weary morning.  Most days I'm ready to jump out of bed and start my Bible reading, make breakfast, write a post if I haven't already.

Today I'd love to go back to bed, but this house needs my attention, and so do you.  And you and I both need a reminder of the big picture--what life is all about, what the most important thing is.  (And I'll tell you what, it's not the fact that I have a lot of picking up to do around here.)

It's this:

Ephesians:
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body^[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.^[b] 4 But^[c] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [Emphases added] [Source]

This is what matters.  We can't expect perfection from ourselves, because we're not perfect.  We needed saving--which means at one point, we were lost.  Specifically, dead (see v. 1).  But in our baptisms, God made us one with Christ--one in his death, and one in his resurrection, so both Jesus' sacrifice and righteousness count for us, too.  God made us alive with Christ.  He has given us the promise of eternal life with Jesus, and because of his grace has given us faith (again, through our baptism and in the Word) which saves us.

Can I add a note here?  Perhaps you don't believe the truth of these things.  You might have heard about them, but not made them a part of your life.  If you don't know who Jesus is, or if you've heard of him but don't believe in him as your Lord and Savior, please, email me (jaimie dot ramsey at cune dot org) and we'll talk.  This message is for you, too, because Jesus also died for and loves YOU!


Our salvation is not contingent upon anything we do or don't do.  That would make even salvation from sin into a law.  But it's not.

Our salvation is entirely about Jesus, and what HE has done for us.

We are children of God and the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, enabling us to live obedient lives to God.  Because of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, God no longer looks at us and sees sinners.  He looks at us and sees Jesus.  He knows we're sinful, but he also knows Jesus has already paid the price for that sin.  He has already forgiven us for everything we have done or will ever do that is against his will for us.  There is no more price to be paid, no more punishment to be taken.  Oh, we experience the temporal consequences of bad decisions.  Sometimes those consequences are acutely painful.  But they don't affect our eternal state--our soul has been ransomed by Jesus Christ, and nothing in this world can touch it.

Ah...yes.  This is what's important.  God doesn't love me more if my house is clean.  He doesn't look at my homemaking skills or my good grades and say, "Well done, Jaimie, you've just made your salvation more sure."  That would be ridiculous.  God doesn't depend on us for our own salvation.  He just asks that we don't throw away the faith in his Son that he's graciously given us.  And I'm not about to do that.

Today, you and I can rest in the knowledge that God loves us, no matter what our house looks like, no matter how we do in our job or our studies or whatever vocation we're in.  Remember that you are saved by grace through faith, and this is NOT of your own doing.  It's a gift from God.

Linking today with Upward not Inward, Exceptionalistic, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Homemakers

Abraham: Living by Faith

This week for my Bible study I've been reading in Genesis, chapters 12-22.  These are the ones about Abraham and Sarah.  I haven't really pondered their journey recently, and reading this story anew brought things to light that I hadn't thought about before.

First, Abram and Sarai (their original names) traveled with Abram's father and family from Ur to Haran-- quite a long way.  Then when Abram was seventy-five and his wife was sixty-five, God called them to leave their family behind and move again, this time all the way to Canaan.  (Click on this link to see a map of their journey.)

God made a promise to Abram before they left Haran:
^{2 "}And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3

Shortly after their arrival in Canaan they traveled to Egypt to escape a famine (Gen. 12:10-20). Pharaoh tried to make Sarai part of his harem because Abram lied and said she was his sister (see 20:12).  Pharaoh found out and was not happy, but gave them riches and servants anyway and sent them on their way.

They went back to Canaan where Abram parted ways with his nephew Lot, who had been traveling with them.  Lot got into trouble with local kings and Abram had to rescue him (Gen. 13-14).  Abram and Lot were successful, and once again God blessed them through their enemies.  God renewed his covenant with Abram, promising him the land in which he lived would belong to his descendants, of which there would be more than there were stars in the sky (Gen 15).

However, Abram and Sarai were getting old, and Sarai doubted that she would be able to have a child.  So she gave her servant Hagar to Abram to conceive a child, which Hagar did, bearing Ishmael.  Unfortunately, as soon as Hagar became pregnant, Sarai was jealous of her and treated her poorly (Gen 16).

Not long after that, God and three angels appeared to Abraham (whose name God had changed) in the form of human men.  They told Abraham that in a year's time, his wife would bear a son.  God had already informed Abraham of this (17:15-22), but this time it was in Sarah's hearing (18:1-15).  Her response was the same as Abraham's when he heard:  She laughed.

Later, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, where Lot and his family were living.  Only Lot and his two daughters escaped, and they did not live God-pleasing lives (Gen. 19).

Another king, this time Abimelech king of Gerar, tried to make Sarah part of his harem and God spared him punishment (Gen 20).

Finally, Abraham and Sarah's son Isaac was born, fulfilling God's prophecy (Gen. 21).  Then when Isaac was in his teens, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son.  Abraham was about to do it when God stopped him and provided a ram for the sacrifice instead, rewarding Abraham for his faith and obedience (22:1-19).

Isaac, of course, was the father of Jacob, who had twelve sons, who became the twelve tribes of Israel.  From Abraham the entire Jewish line was descended, and through his son Ishmael the Arabian tribes descended (Muslims trace their heritage back to Abraham as well as Jews and Christians).  But Abraham and Sarah couldn't see how God's promises would be fulfilled, hundreds and thousands of years into the future.  They both struggled to trust.  They lied, doubted, tried to do things their own way, and laughed at God's words.

Despite all of this, Abraham was praised by the writer of Hebrews as a man of faith (Hebrews 11:8-12).  This passage says that Abraham trusted God "by faith," and that even Sarah "considered [God] faithful who had made the promise."  And that was after Sarah had laughed at God's prediction of her conception!

In 1 Peter 3 we read that the holy women of the past used to make themselves beautiful with "the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:4).

⁵ For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (3:5-6)

Abraham trusted and obeyed God, and Sarah trusted and obeyed her husband.  No, they did not do it perfectly.  They sinned.  They doubted sometimes.  But what does the writer of Hebrews tell us?  They had faith.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph. 2:8-9) 

The faith in God that Abraham and Sarah had did not make them perfect.  It did not make them impervious to fear and doubt.  But that faith was not something that they had by their own doing.  God blessed them with faith to trust in him.  He blessed them even when they faltered.  And God does the same with us.

I think too often we read the Genesis passage in light of the Hebrews one.  Abraham was a man of faith, so those things he did in Genesis weren't as bad as they really seem.  Well, they really were bad!  Abraham was a sinner, just like you and me.  But when we look at the Hebrews passage in light of the Genesis one, we see God's grace.  We see that God counted Abraham and Sarah righteous, and faithful, not by anything they had done, but because of God's grace and mercy--because of Jesus and what he did for them.

The same is true for us.  We are sinners, yes, but because of Jesus, God looks at us with love and grace.  He does not look at the sinful things we have done or count them against us, because Jesus has paid the price for those sins.  God looks at us as perfect and holy, because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross in our place.  He died for us and for all people who have ever lived (including Abraham and Sarah) so that we don't have to die eternally, but can look forward to eternity in heaven with Jesus.

Therefore, like Abraham, we may live by faith--by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. 

Can you relate at all with the struggles of Abraham? How do you see God's grace working in your life?  

Linking today with Upward Not Inward, Exceptionalistic

My Purpose for Writing and for Life

I was inspired today to reevaluate my purpose and goals for this blog, and for my writing in general.  Why am I writing?  About what am I writing?  For whom am I writing?

Bottom line, I'm writing to honor and glorify God.  I am writing so that you can know my Jesus--the Son of God who is Lord of all.

And within that, I'm writing to encourage, build up, and inspire you--those for whom I write.

I want to write about a lot of things: homemaking, marriage, cooking, life.  But I want the good news of Jesus Christ to be the common thread that runs through all of that.  God is all-pervading in my life; he's the reason I am alive and he gives me purpose for life.  I want my blog to reflect that.

I'm writing for you, and I'm writing for Jesus.

Maybe that sounds kind of corny.  But in this little space on the internet, I have a voice, and I can use that voice to serve him: to praise him for who he is and what he has done, and to talk about the good news of his life, death, and resurrection.

I want to share a lot of things with you.  I'm thankful for each of my readers, and yes, I hope my readership will grow.  But I want that mostly so that I can tell all of you who read these words of mine, that Jesus loves you.

I want you to know that:  Jesus loves you.  So much.  So much that he, the Son of God, came to earth as a human, lived, and died, and rose again, for you.    He did this so you can have a relationship with him, have faith in him as your Lord and Savior, and spend eternity in heaven with him.

As a sinful person, I won't always accomplish what I set out to do on this blog.  I might focus more on myself than my God.  When that happens, I ask that you graciously look past my faults to the perfect God who, by his grace, I do my best to serve.

He has done everything for me, and he has done everything for you.  Please rest in the knowledge today that the Creator and King of the universe--loves--you.


Linking with:  The Fontenot Four, black tag diaries, There's Just One Mommy, Loved and Lovely

Look to the Cross

This morning during my Bible reading I read Psalm 22.  This psalm is one of the clearest Old Testament prophecies of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  It includes many details which Jesus' passion would fulfill many hundreds of years later.
"All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 'He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him.  Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.'" (v 7-8)
"I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.  My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.  Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.  I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.  They divide my garments among them and cast lost for my clothing." (v 14-18)

A little later this morning I read a blog post by my friend Sara, discussing one of my favorite hymns, Water, Blood and Spirit Crying.  She quotes Stephen Starke, who wrote the text, and who said in his explanation of it, "To look for God we need look no farther than the cross."

I mentioned to Joshua while we were eating breakfast that it seemed that I was being led to focus on Good Friday today--interesting since it's a foggy, damp Monday.  Joshua replied that every day is a good day to ponder the events of that Friday so long ago.  He's right.

What Jesus did for me that day should be in my heart and my thoughts every day, because it was that sacrifice of his that makes it possible for me to live each day in his grace, and to have the hope of eternity in heaven.

The horrors that Jesus experienced aren't pleasant to think about.  I'm not suggesting that I let the awful details of his torture and death pervade my thoughts constantly; I would never be able to think about anything else if I was only focused on that.  But the reality is that Jesus' death, and his resurrection, are the reasons that I have God's forgiveness--and it is only because of that that I can love, obey and serve him.

The text of the hymn Water, Blood and Spirit Crying is worth reading in its entirety:

Hymn Text:  Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying (Lutheran Service Book 597)

1. Water, blood, and Spirit crying,
    By their witness testifying
    To the One whose death-defying
       Life has come, with life for all.

2. In a wat'ry grave are buried
    All our sins that Jesus carried;
    Christ, the Ark of Life, has ferried
       Us across death's raging flood.

3. Dark the way, yet Christ precedes us,
    Past the scowl of death He leads us;
    Spreads a table where He feeds us
      With His body and His blood.

4. Through around us death is seething,
    God, His two-edged sword unsheathing,
    By His Spirit life is breathing
       Through the living, active Word.

5. Spirit, water, blood entreating,
    Working faith and its completing
    In the One whose death-defeating
       Life has come, with life for all.

Let us rejoice in Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross; and let us live every day in the joy which his forgiveness gives us.

Born to die...and live

I find myself smiling every time I'm able to say "Merry Christmas" to someone in a store, or at work.  It's a reminder of what this holy day we're soon to celebrate is all about.  Signs and decorations proclaiming "Jesus is the reason for the season!" are great--and I agree with them--but do we ever stop to think about why Jesus came to earth?

God became flesh, taking the form of a human baby, so he could live as one of us...and die.

Jesus was born to die.

That was the goal of his life: to give it up in order to save ours.  To draw all people to himself.  To conquer sin, death, and the devil once and for all.

That baby lying in a manger, born in a humble stable, coming into the world naked and bawling?  Just about thirty-three years later, he would be humbled in another way--nailed, naked, to a rough wooden cross, hung high for all those around to see.  He would give up himself willingly--and Satan would think he had won.

But then, three days later, he would rise again.  His body would be whole and perfect.  And those who loved him proclaimed the news joyfully--He is risen!  Just as the angels had proclaimed to the shepherds--He is born!

Humbled, in order to be glorified.

Born, to die...and then live.

God made man, so that man could live eternally with God.

Emmanuel...God with us. 

That, my friends, is the reason for this holy season.  That is what Christmas is all about.

Precious in His Sight

We all have our prejudices.

I needn't list all mine, but there are those people who, when I see them in the grocery store or at school or wherever, I feel a disapproving look on my face and I start judging them in my thoughts.  "She's really in public wearing that?"  "Wow, he seriously needs to lose some weight."  "She's pregnant and there's no wedding ring on her finger..."

Some of the time I catch myself doing this.  That's when I remind myself of a few things:

-I am not perfect.  There are plenty of reasons for other people to judge me, one of them being my tendency to (at least mentally, if not verbally) put other people down in order to build myself up.

-I am a child of God.  That's no way for me to act or think or speak.

-Most importantly, Christ died for that person too.

Have you ever stopped to think about that?

The people who, when we see them, make us look down our noses in disapproval.

the people who should have it all together.

the lady at the grocery store who can't control her children.

the kid at the gas station with tattoos and piercings all over.

fill in the blank.  The person you just can't stand to be around.

Jesus died for them.

Jesus loves them.

He loves them just as much as he loves you--as he loves me!

We need his forgiveness as much as they do.

Jesus wants them to spend eternity with him, just like he wants us to spend eternity with him.

There are days when I look down upon myself.  When I know I haven't done everything right.  When I feel like I can't do anything right:  I've scolded and nagged my husband, I messed up dinner, I spent way too much time putzing on the computer instead of getting things done, I was crabby when my husband came home, I spent too much money at the store... that's the kind of day when I think about myself,

"You should have it all together."

"Who would want to hang out with you today?"

"Your husband could have chosen a better woman for his wife."

"Man, girl, what is your problem?!?"

On those days I need to remember...

Jesus died for me.

He loves me, with all my mistakes, just as much as he loves the women who seem to have it all together.

Nothing I do or don't do will make him love me any less.

He has given me his full and complete forgiveness, as well as the promise of eternal life, through his death on the cross and his resurrection.

He will give me a new chance, a fresh start, every single day.

So...when you feel those prejudices start to creep up...

when you start to look down on yourself for not measuring up to your (or anyone's) expectations,

just remember this:

Jesus died for everyone.

He rose for everyone.

He loves--everyone!

He wants every single person who has ever lived to spend ETERNITY--in heaven--with HIM.

We are all precious in his sight.

My Sickness...HIS Suffering

So I've been down with a rather nasty case of influenza since Monday.  I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Today is my second day home from school, and this is the girl who NEVER skips classes.  Today Hubby isn't feeling well either, so at least I don't have to stay home alone all day!

Since it's Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, I've been pondering the connections my physical illness has to my spiritual one.  This sickness is a result of the fact that spiritually I'm sick with sin.  Before I was baptized and given faith by the Holy Spirit, I was literally DEAD in my sin.  Now sin does not have control over me like it once did--I'm not going to die permanently from its presence in my life--but it still rears its ugly head on a regular basis and causes much frustration, pain, and suffering in my life.

Then it hit me: I don't REALLY suffer all that much for the sins I've committed.  Yes, I have to deal with the consequences.  Sometimes they're very serious ones that affect my life and the lives of those around me.  Sometimes they cause feelings of guilt that I have to deal with until I realize, once again, God's amazing forgiveness.

But here's the thing: compared to how Jesus suffered on the cross, my sufferings are pretty minimal.  First of all, having the flu is nothing compared to being beaten nearly to death, being nailed to a cross, and then hanging there for six hours until He finally died.  The worst of it?  Jesus was literally, completely separated from God.  Because He took the sin of the whole world on Him, God couldn't bear to be in his presence, because of God's complete perfection.

Jesus took the physical sufferings  and the separation from God that I deserve--on HIMSELF.


Yes, I am sick with sin.  But MY sin caused HIM to die.

The incredible thing is, the story doesn't end there.  Yes, He suffered.  Yes, He died.  But Jesus is not only Man--He is GOD.  And as God, He didn't stay dead.  After conquering Satan, sin, and death completely, Jesus rose from the dead.  And He is still alive.  And He has promised that I and everyone who believes in Him will not die forever.  We will not have to endure eternal separation from God--or even get a taste of it like Jesus did.

And the physical suffering that we endure now, in this life?  Those won't last forever.  Compared to what a lot of people experience, this sickness I have is so short, so mild, so temporary.  But even the worst illness will be healed completely in time.  And in heaven, there will be no more sickness, no more pain, no more suffering.  The perfect bodies we will have there will last for eternity, because we will be with God.

All because of what Jesus did for us.

http://www.thesefiveofmineplustwo.net/search/label/A%20Handful%20of%20Heart

late nights and Advent wonder

This last week or so I've had more of them than usual.  Oddly enough, it's twelve thirty and I'm not remotely sleepy.  I'm also in denial about the fact that I have to be up at seven for work.  Eh, six and a half hours, no problem.  I'll get to sleep in on Friday. :)

The main reasons I've been up so late are homework, and...oh.  Homework.  Yeah, that's it.  Mostly it's self-inflicted (coughprocrastinationcough) but I'm pretty okay with that.  Honestly, if I didn't have to get up as early as I do tomorrow I'd just stay up and write my very last paper and be done with it.  I might have been able to anyway if I hadn't spent so much time playing dumb games on facebook  chatting with my husband who was playing a computer game  procrastinating.  Ugh.

Anyway, being up this late tonight makes me wonder...it's Advent.  Eleven days before the birth of Jesus, was Mary sitting up, looking out her window, wondering what the future held?  A young, very pregnant girl, probably about to set out on the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  What was she feeling?  Fear?  Excitement?  Anticipation?  Nervousness?  All of the above?

Was she feeling hope?  She knew that the baby in her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

She was carrying, inside her body, God made Man.

Did she feel wonder?  Awe?  Amazement?

Hope?

Some days I fret, not knowing what the future will hold.  I mean, yes, tomorrow I'm getting up and going to work and coming home and going back to work.  We'll celebrate Christmas soon, the next semester will start, in a year and a half we'll finish college.

But will we?  We have no idea what will happen between now and then.  I don't even know what's going to occur in the next hour, the next minute.

But I have hope.  Because although my future might not be certain to me, it's certain to God--that God-made-flesh who was born from Mary, born in a stable, born into a sinful, dark world.

It's still a sinful world.  But Christ, the Light, was born into it, and now a Light shines in the darkness.

There is hope for the future, because that Light has already been there.  God knows what will happen tomorrow, next week, next year.  Nothing will happen in my life without his knowing about it.

And everything that happens to me, God will work for good.

Did Mary know that?  Did she know how eternity-changing her Son's birth would be?  Did she know, anticipating the pains of childbirth, that her baby would experience hell-- for her?  For the world?

I do.  I know what that baby experienced when he became a man.

He did it for me.

His Strength, Not Mine

A friend posted this on her blog last night:
We've heard it so many times, the cliche has dulled the sharp edges of how hard it can sometimes be to believe:  God never gives you more than you can handle.  Everything has passed in front of the Inspector for approval. 


In my comment I said this:
Sometimes I think God has more confidence in my ability to handle things than I do. Then I remember: He doesn't have confidence in my strength. I simply need to have confidence in his. "I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength"!! (Philippians 4:13)


Sometimes life is tough.  Being a believer doesn't mean everything goes the way I want it to.  I'm still a sinful person, so often, the way I want things to go is not the way God wants them to.  Sometimes I feel like it's too much, more than I can handle, more than I can bear.


But it's not more than God can handle.  On the cross he bore the sins of all of mankind, the weight of every wrongdoing that every person has ever committed or will commit.  That's huge.  He, therefore, can bear the weight of my struggles, my weaknesses, and my sorrows.  He wants to bear them, because he knows I can't, and because he loves me.


Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."


What grace.  What love.

A Political Victory, or a Spiritual Tragedy?

A friend posted on facebook last night, "Who needs the news when I have facebook?"  Around 9:30 and 10:00 every other post was announcing Osama bin Laden's death.  My initial reaction was one of relief--finally, the ring leader of Al Quaeda is dead.  And then, to my shame, I thought, I wonder how Satan felt about this.  It's a victory for our side, right?  One of Satan's most powerful tools is gone, after all.

My wonderful and wise fiance reminded me, when I voiced this thought, that Satan probably laughed: he had claimed another man for his own.  God would not want me to consider this a victory.  He weeps whenever one of his created people is lost to Satan.  It hit me:

Jesus died for Osama bin Laden for the same reason He died for me.  Paul wrote in his first epistle to Timothy that God "wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4).  John wrote in his Gospel, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  The Gospel is for ALL people.  Jesus died to save the world.  That includes bin Laden just as surely as it includes me.

Some are calling bin Laden the "Hitler of our generation."  That he may be.  He certainly is responsible for the deaths of millions of people.  It was the attack on our country that he orchestrated that caused the war that has lasted for the last decade.  This man was responsible for much grief, pain and death.

But Jesus took all bin Laden's sins on himself, just as he took my sins on himself.  "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," Paul writes in Romans 3, "and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."  The death of Osama bin Laden is a tragedy, because he rejected the saving grace of Jesus Christ and will now spend eternity separated from God.  Who could rejoice at such a thing?

I rejoiced yesterday, watching over 20 confirmands profess their faith in Jesus Christ.  Two of them, adults, had been born and raised Buddhist, and have recently come to faith in Jesus.  That was cause to rejoice: two more people are members of the Body of Christ and will spend eternity in heaven with him.

I don't want to sound legalistic or holier-than-thou.  I admitted that at first I felt relief knowing bin Laden was dead.  But I feel greater relief at knowing that in Jesus, I am alive, by the grace of God.