It seems that there is a quota of social ills that land upon my ears that, once reached are no longer brushed aside. I have been spending time in the Old Testament, and have been amazed at the parallels addressed by the prophets of old. Similar issues are raised and the man of God is continually brushed aside and downright scorned for his "archaic" and "harsh" statements against the people's sin. As in times of old, as now, sin is deadly, and the allowance of it is fatal--not loving. My heart has broken over the pain of my friends, but I confess that within me has been festering a fire like Jeremiah's that wants to shout from the rooftops that Jesus is Lord. I see cracked pots of immorality that promise pleasure and deliver pain, the alleviation of anger that alienates friends, the glamour of riches that estranges and restricts the soul, and every other entanglement that ensnares, deceives, and sullies the soul that was created to radiate God. Jeremiah 2:13 says, "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water." The world and its goods can be very convincing in its principles and modes of operating, but the truth is that more often than not, the masses are deceived and their attainments and aspirations are blossoms of dust, and plants without root.

I've been going basic again, and my heart has been revived as I consider the work already accomplished by our Lord at Calvary. I often dwell on the good done by the hands of my Master, and neglect that His good works were all preparation and the result of His connection with the Father, and His being God. Jesus came to this earth as a man, and exemplified the pinnacle of human existence, but he came as more than an example and a teacher. Jesus is Savior, and all other good terms, but He is firstly Savior, and the only One provided. Jesus came to accomplish the Redemption of a fallen race of humanity that was inextricably estranged from their Father--their Maker, because of the barrier of sin in their hearts. I hate the reality that Jesus came to die--(and because of humanity's hatred of Him), but thus reports the gospel of His grace. Indeed the gospel is "good news" today, as it was in day's past, and the temptation more than ever is to adulterate its contents to make it more palatable to its hearers, and more inviting than condemning. My lack of love can be a stumbling block for this message, and woe is me if I add offense to the cross because of my hard heart, but 2 Corinthians 5 says that it is the love of Christ that controls/compels us to speak the unpopular truths of the gospel, and to urge and persuade men because of the impending reality. Redemption is the sweetest song of the earth, and the reason my soul sings at Spring and can whistle in winter; purpose is breathed back into the Creation whose brand-mark is the Lord.