I was reminded from Genesis 12 this morning of a very true and painful fact about our sin, and that is that our sin has consequences. What's more, the consequences of our sin may not only or always be paid by us but by someone else...someone else who likely doesn't deserve it as seems to be the case here. Genesis 12 begins with God making some stout promises to Abram...promises that seemed unbelievable to him as evidenced by his actions in Egypt. I say that because if Abram really believed God for these promises he would have left his life in God's hand instead of taking his life into his own hands. Because he failed to believe God's truth, he lied about his marital status with Sarai as they entered Egypt and said that she was his sister. He did this because he believed her beauty would lead to his death. Instead, as his sister her beauty led her to the house of Pharaoh where she joined his harem. Instead of Abram losing his life, he amassed a great fortune in animals and silver and gold as Sarai's brother. But it was all a sham and God would have nothing to do with it and visited their sin with great plagues. However, the plagues didn't come to Abram and Sarai, they came to Pharaoh's household. Without going into the "fairness" of this, let me point out that often the consequences of our sin are paid by someone else. When I speak harshly to Denise or exasperate Jackson, who pays the consequences for my sin? They do! As I think about the awful truth of this reality, I am reminded of one who paid the ultimate consequence of not only my sin but the sins of mankind throughout all time. Jesus didn't deserve to face our consequences, but he did so willingly that we might be the recipients of God's great love and affection and not his judgment and wrath. Lord, help me to believe in your gospel promises. Don't let me take them for granted and the cost that you and Jesus incurred in offering them to me.

So I was working on my sermon late this afternoon and had about three or four more paragraphs to write when Jackson innocently (I still don't know how) rebooted my computer. Unfortunately, I had not recently saved my sermon so I lost about 2 pages of my sermon but they represented the bulk of the work I had done today. Today is Saturday, tomorrow is Sunday. At first I wasn't upset because I thought Pages (IWork) autosaved documents until I realized that they don't. It didn't take long to get mad, but mad at who or what? Mad at Jackson? He didn't mean to nor did he even know what he had done. Mad at myself for not saving more often? Yes! Mad at IWork for not including an autosave function? Yes! Mad at God for allowing Jackson to reset my computer. Yeah. After all, I was working on a sermon and not some menial or even secular thing. How could he let that happen? Why didn't he stop Jackson from rebooting my computer and losing part of my sermon? But I think the thing that I am maddest about is the reality that we live in a world that does not function the way it's supposed to. A pastor losing part of his sermon on Saturday evening is not supposed to happen. It is a violation of the shalom that God created the world to experience. It makes me hunger and thirst for the future righteousness of God that will reign and rule in my heart and the world, which is ironic because that's what my sermon is about.

I happened to be driving by there today and what did my eyes spy but POP's marquis announcing our presence there...very cool!

"I will be there." 

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Did you see what he said? "It is impossible for God to lie."  In other words, it is impossible for God to say that he will do something and not do it.  Moses says it best in Numbers 23:19, "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Has he said, and will he not do it?  Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"  My prayer for myself in 2010 is that I would believe the gospel promises of God more and more and that when I am confronted with making promises to others that I would remember the power to offer my "will" comes from God's "will" through his gospel promises. 

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