In Christ, Everyday Is Forgiveness Day!

The Russian Orthodox Church observed a tradition on February 26th called "Forgiveness Sunday". On this special day the church members ask forgiveness of all their family and friends and let go of any grudges that they may be harboring toward others. This tradition originated in the first century church and is a way for the Orthodox believers to prepare themselves for the season of Lent.
I'm not really too knowledgeable about the Orthodox church but anytime forgiveness is taking place it's probably a good thing. I also reflected a bit on the whole notion of a day of forgiveness. It sounds a bit lacking doesn't it? Just a "day" of forgiveness, that's kind of how man goes about eternally important issues isn't it? I'm sure they have good intentions but somehow it just seems anemic. It made me think about God the Father's method of securing our forgiveness. He sent His only Son to die on the cross in our stead, in our place. He laid on Christ the iniquity (sin) of us all. Jesus carried the sins of the whole world, He bled, He died and He physically rose from the dead so that you and I could be justified, forgiven and pardoned. When Jesus died on that cross over 2000 years ago it wasn't just a day of forgiveness it was the portal to total and continuous forgiveness. The Bible tells us clearly that He forgave all our sins and He forgives all our sins all the time. Now that is important because even though we become Christians when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we still possess a heart that is, as Jeremiah described it, desperately wicked. Now Christ took all that into consideration when He died for us and He provides for us a "sea of forgiveness", we are swimming in a sea of forgiveness! I love what the writer of Hebrews said about Jesus saving and forgiving power...

Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

He saves and forgives us to the "uttermost". The word means completely, perfectly and utterly. He forgives completely and He ever lives to make intercession for us! It's not just a day of forgiveness it is a state of forgiveness. This forgiveness is received by simply resting and relying in the work of Christ on the cross! Watch the little 3 minute video in the sidebar, come to Christ right now, be forgiven!

 

Derek Fisher, Meghan McCain and Ashley Judd - Are You Kidding Me?

Today I checked out a site called Hot Trends. It's a Google site that shows real time results for the most searched keywords on Google. Today the most searched items were...
1.  Derek Fisher, a player for the Los Angeles Lakers, is going to be traded.
2.  Meghan McCain, daughter of John McCain, recently posed for photos in Playboy magazine.
3.  Ashley Judd, Hollywood movie star, whose face is puffier than usual do to a recent series of steroids for a sinus infection.
Are you serious? This is what is on the minds of people in these epic times we are living! This is the "parade and peanuts" mentality that prevails while never before events are unfolding all around us. The global economy is teetering on the edge of the abyss, Biblical signs of the end times are everywhere, natural disasters are destroying property and people worldwide and Ashley Judd's face is the paramount thought in your mind? It's unbelievable and if you go to Google's Hot Trends you will find this insanity to be in vogue everday.
There was one item though that caught my attention. Dick Gallagher, famous comedian, had a severe heart attack and is in an induced coma at this very moment. It was Gallagher's second heart attack in the last two years. Now this story is worth searching for because Gallagher is on the edge of eternity. I don't know the spiritual condition of Mr. Gallagher but I do know that at the moment of death we enter into eternal life "somewhere". My Bible tells me that the only possibilities for this "somewhere" are Heaven and Hell. The Bible tells us that after death comes the judgement and then eternal existence of either bliss or torment.

Hebrews 9:27

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁷And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

I hope that Mr. Gallagher recovers, the doctors are optimistic, and I hope that he has trusted Jesus as his Saviour or will soon do so. I also hope that you have trusted in the work of Jesus on the cross as payment for your sin. I hope that if you were to enter eternity today that Heaven would be your destination. You can remove all doubt today, trust in Jesus. Watch the little three minute video in the right sidebar. Focus your attention on the important matters of our time...your soul.

Marcus Borg: The Jesus He Never Knew

Marcus Borg tells about giving a lecture on faith and concluding by asking for questions. One person expressed her concern that he had not mentioned faith in the cross. To clarify the question, he asked, "Do you mean do I believe that Jesus died for our sins?" She said, "Yes." Borg answered, "I don't think that Jesus literally died for our sins. I don't think he thought of his life and purpose that way; I don't think he thought of that as his divinely given vocation." Jesus, p. 96 

Once again I would like to focus a post on some more of Marcus Borg and his outrageous statements concerning Jesus. I think there is value in refuting the gainsayers (Paul's language) because in looking at the incredibly faithless statements of so called Bible scholars we can sharpen our own understanding of what the gospel message truly is and who Jesus really claimed to be.

Let's examine the above statement by Borg and look at it piece by piece. First statement...

"I don't think that Jesus literally died for our sins."

Now here is what the Apostle Paul said concerning Jesus and his death  and notice that Paul identifies these words as "the gospel".

1 Corinthians 15

 ¹Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
 ²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
 ³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
 ⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. What glorious good news! But not to Borg, he views the Bible as a human product that is fraught with error. Notice that Paul said that it is by receiving this good news that we are "saved". One has to wonder, based on Borg's own words, whether he knows what it means to be forgiven and saved. Dear Reader, it boils down to a very simple proposition, either you believe God's Word or you don't. Obviously, Dr. Borg does not accept the literal meaning of I Corinthians 15:1-4. I feel pity and anger for this man. I pity him because unless he believes the gospel he will die in his sins. I feel anger because Borg's influence through his writings and lectures has ensured that Borg will have company in the afterlife! Here is statement number two...

I don't think he thought of his life and purpose that way; I don't think he thought of that as his divinely given vocation." 

John 12:27

King James Version (KJV)

 ²⁷Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

John 14:6

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁶Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Luke 7:48-50

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁴⁸And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
 ⁴⁹And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
 ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Mark 14:61-64

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁶¹But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
 ⁶²And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 

Clearly, Jesus knew that He was the Christ, God in the flesh and the one who could forgive sin. He knew that it was His vocation..."for this cause came I unto this hour". The average reader, void of earned doctorates, not having a professorship at a major university, not having written a single book will simply read the Word of God and believe it. It is no wonder that the Apostle Paul recorded these words in the first chapter of his first letter to the Corinthians...

  ¹⁸For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
 ¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
 ²⁰Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
 ²¹For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
  ²⁶For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
 ²⁷But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

The Greek word that is translated "wise men" is sophos which means "cultivated or learned". I fear that many of our world's so called intellectuals have become so cultivated and learned they have lost the ability to believe with a child-like faith and many of them will in the final appointment hear a rejection from the Savior...I knew ye not. 
So here we are again Dear Reader, what about you? Have you been to Jesus for the forgiveness of sins? Have you relied on what Jesus did on that cross to be sufficient payment for your sins? Come to Christ! Don't make this more complicated than it is...come to Jesus!