Ps. 84, 90
I had kind of an off-hand thought from today’s reading in the Psalms. It came from Psalm 84:3. “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.” I realize what I am about to say is not exactly the intent of this verse, but the verse put the thought into my head all the same. It got me thinking of laying our young at God’s altar. That is, sacrificing them to Him.
That sounds horrifying, right? Which is because when we think of sacrificing children to a no-god it generally involves taking that child’s life. But not so with God. Because He is the one true God and the giver of life, He is the only one we can sacrifice our young to that can give them life instead of taking it away. We see this with the story of Abraham, when he sacrificed Isaac to God. The same is actually true for each and every one of us. To give our lives to anything or anyone other than God alone leads to death. But when we give our lives to Him, He gives His life to us.
Rev. 9
Revelation 9 – the first two of the three coming woes. First torment with no escape. Then plagues that killed a third of the population. “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent…” (Rev 9:21a). Wow. Just wow. I would say that these people had hearts of stone. Like an addict who knows what they are doing is destroying them, but they just don’t care. I am convinced that those who end up in eternal condemnation will have had every chance and then some to see and accept the Truth. They will be fully without excuse.
Sadly, we know from Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23, where He says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:21a), that many of those will be people who are convinced they’ve got it right. They do the right things, perhaps even say the right things, yet they do not do the will of God. Instead, they pursue their own desires as if they were God’s. Whether they are trying to lift themselves up over others in self-righteousness or they are trying to white-wash their fleshly desires as something ‘godly’ – they will not fool God. God sees our hearts, and only those who have been sacrificed to Him through Jesus Christ will live.