Written in the Heart

“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts
    and on the horns of their altars.”
Jer. 17:1

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.”
Isa. 49:16


Here is a contrast.  The erring people write their sins upon their heart and in their heart.  They hold fast to sins and idolatry.

But the Lord holds His people near and dear to His own self.  This is symbolized in Exodus 28 by the priestly robes having stones inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel worn over the heart.

But God's true people will hold Him near and dear to their hearts.  Isa 44:5 says, “Some will say, 'I belong to the LORD'; others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, 'The LORD's,' and will take the name Israel.”

Of these the Lord Jesus says they are in His hand and none can pluck them out.

But those who cling to idols and write their sins indelibly on their hearts, there will be another writing.  Their names will be written in dust.  (Jer. 17:13)  Dust to show the incredibly non-permanence of their position and the utter humiliation their pride will be cast down to.

Thus we must ask, what is it that we hold dear in our hearts?

The Necessity of the Wrath of God

The Necessity of the Wrath of God

"This is a supreme necessity in the interest of the universe. Prisons are
in the interest of the free. Hell is the safeguard of heaven. A State that
cannot punish crime is doomed; and a God Who tolerates evil is not good.
Deny me my Biblical revelation of the anger of God, and I am insecure in
the universe. But reveal to me this Throne established, occupied by One
Whose heart is full of tenderness, Whose bowels yearn with love; then I am
assured that He will not tolerate that which blights and blasts and damns;
but will destroy it, and all its instruments, in the interest of that
which is high and noble and pure."
~Studies in the Prophecy of Jeremiah, pg 248, G. Campbell Morgan



"Have we realized that to deny the justice of eternal punishment is also to repudiate
the grace of God? If endless misery be unjust, then exemption from it must be the
sinner's right, and if so, his salvation could never be attributed to grace, which is
unmerited favor!"
~Arthur Pink, Eternal Punishment


If we understand not God's wrath and His infinite displeasure at sin and the sinner, then there is no way that we might understand and appreciate the Infinite Mercy bestowed upon those who believe and trust in Christ's atoning work on Calvary.

Hell is not the absence of God. Rather it is the absence of all of God's benevolent attributes, such as kindness, mercy and love; and the full presence of God's attributes of anger and justice.

There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warn of hell.
Bear in mind that over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ himself!
There must be something to it if the founder of Christianity referenced it so often!  (Other terms used include eternal destruction, a place of fire, or of weeping and gnashing of teeth.)

• Matt. 3:7-12
• Matt. 5:22, 29 - 30
• Matt. 7:13, 19, 23, 27
• Matt. 8:12
• Matt. 10:15
• Matt. 11:24
• Matt. 12:36-37
• Matt. 13:30, 40-42, 47-50
• Matt. 18:7-9, 34
• Matt. 21:41, 44
• Matt. 22:13
• Mt. 23:33
• Matt. 24:51
• Matt. 25:12, 30, 41, 46
• Matt. 26:24
• Matt. 27:5, 45
• Lk. 16:23 
• etc.

Rage, Rage Against the Light

It has been far too long that I have ignored, forgotten and neglected this blog space. No more. God is not silent nor should His children be either for they have much of which to talk and sing and praise and thank!

This poem is in answer to Dylan Thomas' famous poem, "Do not go gentle into that good night."  I was contemplating this and it struck me all wrong.  For a Christian, death is not an encroaching Night with darkness and void and despair and cessation of Light.  No, for a Christian, it is Dawn.  It is the beginning of an Eternal Morn.  It is being with GOD who is Light and in whom there is no shadow of turning.  

But for someone who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Coming of His great and glorious Day will be one of fear and dread because His Light will expose their deeds. "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." John 3:19

written: 07 Dec 2011

 

 

They go not quiet at end of night,

   Their old age burns and churns at certain day;

Rage, rage against the coming gleam of Light.

Earth's sages speak and claim unconquered might

   And wax poetic at their fate,

   Their heads unbowed at Horrors great,

Yet rage, rage against the coming end of Night.

Good folks, though that be subjective blight,

   Arrange their deeds by shades of gray,

   Yet curse what gods there be at Day

   And slip like quarry-slaves away,

And rage, rage against the coming Light.

The wild men then and unschooled sprites

   Who laughed and sang at endless dark,

   Reviled the talk of coming Spark,

   Now shudder at the Light so stark,

And rage, rage against the end of Night.

While solemn men and healthy youth alike

All quake and writhe and curse and strike

   And call to rocks and rills,

   To mountains, stones and hills,

   “O! Blind our eyes and hide our night

   From Him who comes in endless Light.”

Then rage, rage against His coming Might.

But come He must and all that's just

   Will thrill and trill at ending Night,

Then on that day, bid tears away,

   Step gently in His Light!

 

- David Benning ©2011