2 May 2013 by Stewart Chew-
The more I grow in my Christian faith, the more I feel I am very privileged. I am beginning to understand the nature of the love that our Heavenly Father has for all of us. God’s love for us is displayed, when, as often as we fall out of faith and deliberately go into periods of wanton living, and afterwards regret and then tell Him we are sorry, He will forgive us every time without fail! Fall out again as many times as we want and then ask Him for forgiveness again and He will forgive us every time!
We know that He loves and forgives us, yet at the same time, He does, and can get very angry. Let me explain. Our relationship with God is comparable to our happiness of knowing, as children, that our parents love us as much as we honour and respect them in return. Despite that, we know through our childhood experiences, that our parents can get angry and we do get punished for being disobedient or disrespectful to them. We also know that this anger is quite independent from the parental love that they already have for us.
So what is it then about God that we should fear so much? What can make God quite angry? Is it analogous to our childhood disobedience and disrespect that anger our parents? The answer is yes. God has shown that the combination of two things make Him very angry – even enough to disown you! It concerns our:-
(1) Failure to honour God the Father and being totally disrespectful of His divine character.
(2) Acceptance of the Bible and our reverance for His infallible word.
Thus, it seems that God is angry when we, His children and His creation blatantly denounce Him and dishonour Him in all the things we believe and do in our everyday lives. We come across many internationally renowned people in our lives such as political leaders and entertainers who command a big influence on the doings of many people. Some of these people are still alive today but many tragically died long before their time. Strangely enough, it seems that those who have died prematurely have one thing in common – they have publically declared their self-importance and have challenged the sovereignity of God These people who have publicly gone about disowning God's divinity, died suddenly and mysteriously.
It is a fact that God readily forgives ALL the misgivings concerning our lives. These include our unkindness, lying, cheating, immoral living etc. However, when it comes to our challenge of His divinity and the truth of His word, He takes what we declare very seriously. He does not forgive those who have experienced His goodness before and have not believed nor acknowledged it by deliberately denouncing Him. So, if we are fully aware of this, let us be extremely careful. As much as we wrong ourselves in His eyes, we can be spared again and again by the saving of grace of God. (This does not mean that we regularly sin and then ask for forgiveness!) But be warned! Declare that there is no God and say publically that His word is mythical and you will be struck down without His protection!
Here are some men and women who made God very angry.
1. John Lennon (Beatles)
Some years before, during his interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was OK, but his subjects were too simple. Today we are more famous than Him" (1966). Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.
Source: http://www.legend-johnlennon.com/
2. Tancredo Neves (Ex-president of Brazil)
During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God could remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died!
3. Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet)
During a show in Canecio (Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his marijuana cigarette, Cazuza puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you." He died at the age of 32 of AIDS in a horrible manner.
4. The man who built the Titanic
After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it!". I think we all know what happened to the Titanic.
5. Marilyn Monroe (Actress)
Billy Graham visited her during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus". A week later, Marilyn was found dead in her apartment.
6. Christine Hewitt (Journalist)
Jamaican Journalist and entertainer said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written. In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.
Who is (this) Jesus ?
No one who has ever lived except Jesus Christ can claim to have so much influence on the direction of past, contemporary and future human endeavours. Who is this Jesus Christ? We read in the Bible that He had openly declared to His followers and to the Pharisees and Scribes that He is the Chosen One, the fulfillment of Christ the Saviour foretold by prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. Jesus has also declared openly that He has been given the authority in Heaven and on earth to preach, to heal the sick and to bring comfort to the needy. He has achieved all that during His short life on earth and I believe He is continuing to perform miracles and transform lives from Heaven. Jesus is the LIVING God! Many prophets and religious leaders have died and remained dead and buried, but only Jesus died and rose again! Jesus is alive in Heaven today and He has promised us that He will come back again. In the Rev 3:20 Jesus spoke to each one of us individually “BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK, ANYONE WHO HEARS ME AND OPENS THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN AND SUP WITH HIM AND HIM WITH ME”. Today, as He has promised us, Jesus continues to transform people’s lives and bring lasting contentment to those who have searched and found Him and have openly professed of his saving grace.
Note: Stewart Chew is a retired senior lecturer in School of Medical Sciences, Curtin University in Perth, Australia
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Reference for pictures:
http://media.salemwebnetwork.com/ecards/scripturecards/cc_honorgod.jpg
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p480x480/600362_10151599444448623_731586187_n.jpg
http://videokeman.com/image/pics/JohnLennonsongPics19ZgjOdJnqVaskM.jpg
http://image2.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2012/245/96418513_134663118233.jpg
http://htekidsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Titanic_Sn1912.jpg
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060630/lead/Images/ChristeneHewitt.JPG
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