Forgiveness

NOTE: If you are a woman reading this and have ever done something you think might have been "immoral" or had something done to you that you didn't want done to you (keeping this as kid-friendly as possible), please do continue to read and then watch the video about the Rose. I care about you and hope you get much from it.

Friends, family or whoever is reading this, please watch this video I posted below if you get a moment. STOP! The answer to your question is "No, you can't skip all I wrote and skim down to the video." You have to read this first. I have a tracking system on this blog that tells me who has skipped down to the bottom first after you clicked on the blog from your email. Okay, I lied. But it was only a WHITE LIE! Oh yeah, there are no colors of lies. I suppose if I lie, I am a liar and need forgiveness. Will you forgive me? Okay, so the video made me stop and think for a long, long moment and prompted me to type this blog entry. Put on your "oh this is about Jesus again" filter on first. You don't think I'm going to write a whole blog entry without mentioning the one I love most in my life, do you? And please, if you end up reading this whole blog entry and watching that video, post something on my blog here or email me or SOMETHING! I hate silence. All complaints can go directly into my email box. If I get nothing, I'll just assume you didn't read this. (Either that or my tracking system will kick in...)

So moving on, why is it that it seems Christians judge so much? Could it be because of what this guy in the Rose video says he heard from a pastor years ago? The final part of the clip at the bottom is THE POINT of Christianity. Don't miss it, please. Maybe this is why when I talk to people who want nothing to do with their Creator and Lord of glory who died on the cross, they think I'm talking about: "clean yourself up first." That's a false gospel, my friend. How do you think you can clean yourself up for your Creator? What could you possibly do to look good in a perfectly holy God's eyes? Really, answer the question in your head. What could you do if you stood before Him if your heart gave out right now? What would you say?

"Oh, I gave money to the poor!" And He would say, "So?"

"I stopped this or that sin recenlty!" And He would say, "that's nice, but that's not what is required to go to Heaven."

"I went to church last week!" And He would say, "And the demons go to church too. Anyone can attend church, but a building doesn't get you to Heaven."

"I stopped yelling at my kid!" And He would say, "That is good! But when a rapist stops raping a woman and tell the judge so, is he less guilty after he stopped? No."

Come on, answer it. What will you say when He asks you why He should let you into Heaven? Your answer goes here: ___________________ .

(Hint: if the sentence starts with "I" then you probably won't get in.)

No, no, no, no, no! It's not about: "clean yourself up first." It's about: "we are all unclean, messed up sinners and need God's mercy, every one of us." If people would just understand that Christianity is not "religion," but a relationship with the Savior. That Christianity is not about being a "moral" and "good" person. That it's not about doing good or doing better than you were before or even better than your neighbor, co-worker of family member, but about being FORGIVEN. Here's what the Bible says in a nutshell:

• God is holy and just (in other words, He is without sin and keeps His word).
• God created all things.
• You are one of the things He created and loves.
• God has moral laws (i.e. you shall not steal, you shall not lie, you shall not look with lust, etc.).
• You broke those laws and that's called sin.
• God hates sin and will not tolerate it (and you thought I was being intolerant as a Christian? God detests sin and will refuse anyone who has sinned without forgiveness. Hey, not my message!).
• Because God is holy and just, it would be against His character to allow you to be with Him in Heaven. (for instance, if you stole something last week from a store and this week you went before a judge, that judge would be unjust and corrupt if he just let you go for no reason. Imagine if someone came in and raped your mom tonight. Would you want a judge to just let the guy go? NO! You want justice. God is thorough in His justice).
  
• Nothing unclean and tainted with sin can be in His presence because He is holy. That means you and I can't go to Heaven as we are.
  
• Because God is also love, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ who fulfilled the Law completely to suffer what you should suffer, that is, the full wrath of God on the cross.
• You did the crime, Jesus paid the fine (and to think how many times we have taken Jesus' name in vain and not given Him the honor due Him!).
  
• Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death (in other words, the resurrection... why Easter is celebrated).
• Jesus requires you to repent (turn to Him with a change of mind about your ways) and trust in His good works, not yours. Period.

That is how a person gets to Heaven, by Christ's good works, not yours. You need to ask His forgiveness. He extends grace to the humble and contrite. Is that you?

Stay with me... the video clip is coming up. If you got this far without hating Jesus or rolling your eyes at me as you read or wanting me to take you off my email list, I'm already in shock and quite pleased! Keep reading...

The gospel is not:

• Come to Jesus and He will give you a nice life, nor
• Repent of your sin and live a sinless life, nor
• Clean up your life first and then come to Him, nor
• Do everything you can to be like Jesus, nor
• Come to Christ and then you can sin however you like.

Simply put, the gospel is GOOD NEWS, that Jesus Christ was punished in the place of sinners. If you're not a sinner, you're good to go and you don't need His forgiveness, just pass "GO," collect your $200 and enter Heaven on your own good works, but refer to Revelation 21:8 before deciding that's the way to go.

If you are a sinner, then you need a Savior. Which is it? Have you lied? Stolen? Looked with lust? Hated anyone, ever? Said a cuss word? Had sex outside of marriage? Used God's name in vain? Disobeyed your parents at any time? Gossiped about anyone, ever? Or done anything else that has offended God? If so, then you are just like the rest of us and qualify for grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Christ did not die so the self-righteous would inherit eternal life. The self-righteous need to repent of their pride. He died so that those who would confess that they need His righteousness, would inherit eternal life.

The BAD NEWS is that sinners should be punished (that's called Hell in God's court... hey, I didn't make up the idea of Hell; I don't even LIKE the idea of it. I'm just telling you what the Bible says), but the GOOD NEWS is no matter how much of a broken, beat up sinner you are, no matter how much bad or wrong you have done in comparison to the people you know, He will give eternal life to those who turn from their sin (repent) to Jesus Christ and believe the gospel. Now, with that said, please watch this four minute clip:



If you think you are going to Heaven, but aren't sure, instead of looking to me as someone who is judging you, just examine yourself. I'm not your judge. You have one Judge, that is your Creator. I'm just a sinner who has been forgiven and want you to know that forgiveness and freedom too. One who is just like you, who needs a Savior. You know better than me if you have kept the most important commandment. Jesus said, " you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) Here are a few things to read in case you aren't absolutely sure when you die that you will have forgiveness of your sins. Just click on one blue link below or read them all:

How to Become a Christian

What if I'm Pretending?
My Life After Death
Need God

Answers for Seekers

Is Christianity the One True Religion?

Was Jesus Really God?

Blessings,
Tamara Slack

God helps those who....

It's time to put this thing to rest once and for all about how to get God's help. With this question, there can only be one answer (well, according to what God says anyway). Fill in the blank for the following sentence:

"God helps those who ____________"

a. help themselves
b. admit they need help

What was your answer? If it was "help themselves," I'm sorry, but you lost the game. It's a cute cliche, I've got to admit, but it's simply wrong. I can hear the defense now:

"But Tamara! That's all I've heard all my life. It's what I was taught by mom, friends, and even teachers. I can't be wrong on this! I mean, come on, everyone knows that God helps those who help themselves."

Really? Well, let's not take my word for it. Who am I anyway? I'm not the author of truth. That would be blasphemy, in fact. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." (see John 14:6) So before throwing stones at the messenger, you might want to pick up those stones against Jesus (though I wouldn't recommend it) who is The Truth!

Throughout the entire Bible, we see one theme of who God helps, but since you would be reading this blog for three days just getting through all the verses, I've condensed them down to only ones from the Psalms. Let's then look at what the Bible (not Tamara!) says:

"In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears." (Psalm 18:6)

"O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me." (Psalm 30:2)

"Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. (Psalm 33:20,21)

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles." (Psalm 34:17)

"I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words." (Psalm 119:44)

We haven't read anything close to "God helps those who help themselves."

Let's review. Who does God help?

From the verses above, we see those who call upon Him in their distress, those who wait upon Him expectantly, whose heart (inner self) is joyful about Him, who trust Him, who rise up and cry to Him, who are humble, sorrowful for the sins committed against Him, who have the fear of the Lord. Do you see what I see? It has nothing to do with us, but it's all about Him!

Here's a verse that might explain this modern day cliche of God helping those who help themselves:

"Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!" (Isaiah 31:1)

in modern times, we might say something like this, however:

"Afflicted and judged are you who rely on help from mere man instead of God, people who trust in their own resources to help them instead of looking to their Creator God and ask for help from Him!"

Makes sense, doesn't it? If we go looking inside ourselves or to other sinful human beings (yes, that's all of us) instead of the One who created us, He basically is saying:

"Fine! You want to suffer? Go ahead. Your sin of pride will get you into deep trouble and if you die in that sin, you will also end up in Hell. But have it your way. Turn to the left and to the right looking for help in your time of need. I'm not there. I'm here for the humble who turn to Me for the help they need."

The Psalmist asked:

"I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from?"

His answer:

"My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1)

He also says:

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18)

And Isaiah aids us in what kind of person receives God's help:

"this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:2)

Maybe it's time we dump the cliche, "God helps those who help themselves" and go back to the Author of Life, Jesus Christ, who is our only help.

A few more verses for meditation on this subject:

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

"And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."" (Mark 2:16,17)

Lest we forget and try to boast about being Christians, remember God is the one in charge of salvation. He chose the foolish things in this world, which include you and I!

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."" (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

- Tamara Slack

Worries about your loved ones

If you worry about your family members and their eternity and nobody listens to you, know you're not alone. Most of us have heard the regular stuff:

"Jesus Freak"

"Can't you have an open mind?"

"I wish you were the old Tamara" (well, fill your name in there!)

... Or one of my personal favorites (yes, that's actually sarcasm!):

"I'm glad you found religion."

Isn't it something that people think Christianity is about religion and not about life? Is the Church doing something wrong that so many people think it's about religion?

Nobody is going to stand before Jesus after they die and He says, "How come I should let YOU in?" And the person says, "Because I chose a good RELIGION!" Nope. It's either Jesus Christ and His cross or Hell.

Jesus said He is not about religion! He is about making a person born again, about giving the gift of eternal life through repentance and faith. He said:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. - John 3:3,36

Of course the word "believes" in the verse above is not a belief like "yeah, yeah, I know He is the Son of God," but means a trusting in Him for who He is and what He has done! I hear so many say "I believe!" Yeah sure, and the demons believe, they also worship Jesus, and bow down to Him. Hey, they even go to church! Where is their final destination? Heaven or Hell?

Jesus also said:

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." - Matthew 10:34-39

It is a difficult thing that many of us struggle with having no family members who are born again, but it's nice to know you aren't alone, right? Check out what Kurt Warner says about his worries about his teammates and family members below.

- Tamara Slack

Look not at your sin, but to Christ

"Keep not guilt in the conscience, but apply the blood of Christ immediately.

Remember your sins, Christ’s pardoning

Your deserving, Christ’s merits

Your weakness, Christ’s strength

Your pride, Christ’s humility

Your many infirmities, Christ’s restoring

Your guilts, Christ’s new applications of His blood

Your failings, Christ’s raising up

Your needs, Christ’s fullness

Your temptations, Christ’s tenderness

Your vileness, Christ’s righteousness

Blessed soul! whom Christ shall find not having on his own righteousness (Phil 3:9), but having his robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14)."

For entire text, read "Honey Out of the Rock"
by Thomas Wilcox (1621 - 1687)

- Tamara Slack

For the bruised reed

I have written much on the holiness of God, the wretchedness of man, the reality of hell, and the dangers of sin. Today though, I believe I need to write on the grace of God and help for the bruised reed. I am one an in need of much grace.

The Lord has reminded me through His word that He has much to say about His grace, the love of Jesus Christ, and the promises we need to stand on daily. Here's a few words from the Lord for God's children to meditate on (Jesus' words are in red):

Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3)

COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 5:3:

"It is better to be poor in spirit, to mourn, and to be meek, than to adopt the attitudes of the world. The poor in spirit recognize their spiritual destitution and depend on God. Those who mourn are sensitive to their spiritual faults and seek God’s help and comfort." - The Bible Readers Companion.

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Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

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"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

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"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench." (Matthew 12:20)

COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 12:20 IS AT BOTTOM. Please scroll to the end to read this great commentary I found about the "bruised reed."

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Jesus said, "Everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God." (Luke 12:8)

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If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

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"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)

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Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)

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"If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised- who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

"For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-38)

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Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:35-40)

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"This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." (Isaiah 66:2)

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"One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he [Jesus] said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)

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Jesus said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)

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"The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he." (John 4:25)

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"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4)

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Jesus said, "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Revelation 22:12,12)

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COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 12:20 ABOUT THE BRUISED REED:

He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick affirms that the Messiah will be gentle and kind to those who are helpless and weak. If it is not possible to retain either of the metaphors, He will not break a bruised reed may be translated as “he will be gentle to those who are weak.” A bruised reed is a metaphor that makes use of a weak and frail object, and the meaning is that the Messiah will not deal harshly with those who are weak. Most scholars interpret the metaphor in this way, and it accords with the figure of speech which follows.

Or quench a smoldering wick is a second metaphor. If it is not possible to retain the metaphor, it may be rendered as “and kind to those who are helpless.” Here the smoldering wick is acknowledged by all to reflect the symbolism of a flickering lamp; in fact, the flame is out and the glowing wick merely gives off smoke. The Messiah is so gentle and kind that he will not even put out a helpless, flickering lamp. Therefore in cultures where these aspects of the language may be misunderstood or noneffective, the figures may be removed and the parallelism done away with, since the two figures of speech each convey essentially the same meaning.

There are essentially three main ways translators can deal with he will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick. The first is to retain the form, that is, to more or less translate literally. Break may be “break off,” bruised may be “bent,” and quench may be “put out” or “extinguish.” But otherwise the meaning of the metaphors is not given.

A second way is to retain both the form and meaning by using a simile. Examples include “He would no sooner break a bent reed or put out a flickering candle than he would harm people who are weak” and “Just as he wouldn’t break a bent reed or snuff a flickering wick, he would not deal harshly with those who are frail and weak.”

The third manner is to drop the figurative language altogether, just as Today's English Version has done. Examples are “He will not treat harshly those who are weak, nor do any harm to those who are not strong” and “He will always treat in a gentle way the weak and frail so as not to harm them.”

Till he brings forth justice to victory differs considerably from the Hebrew text of Isaiah, which Revised Standard Version translates as “he will faithfully bring forth justice.” Jerusalem Bible has for the Matthew passage “till he has led the truth to victory,” but it is difficult to see how the translators arrive at this. Mft is consistent with what he did in verse 18: “till he carries religion to victory.” Taking this rendering of Mft as a model for brings justice to victory, translators can say “until he causes justice to triumph” or “until he causes my salvation to be victorious.” However, this does not make clear enough what it means for justice to have victory. Therefore some have said “until he causes people to accept my justice” or “to acknowledge the salvation I offer."

Till gives the meaning that the servant will persist in being gentle with people until justice is victorious. In may be enough to say “until,” but some have said “That’s how he will be until ....” - Newman, Barclay Moon ; Stine, Philip C.: A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. New York : United Bible Societies, 1992 (UBS Helps for Translators; UBS Handbook Series), S. 367

- Tamara Slack