Current blog post written by Becca Wellan. A devoted and caring friend who loves coffee and talking about Jesus. Oh, and did I mention she loves coffee?

"Twinkle twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are."

I sing this lullaby to lull the sweet babies I nanny to sleep. I can’t sing, so this doesn’t always work. Each time I sing this song, I always think, these words are so odd. I’m no astronomer, by any stretch, but I’m pretty sure stars aren’t diamonds in the sky. I’m also quite positive they’re not little.

Have you ever laid on your back during a clear summer night in the middle of nowhere? Just to watch the stars. Just to see how small you really are. It’s amazing. You know, I tried counting all the stars, once. I believe I got to twenty-nine, then I got distracted.

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

One billion trillion; I was a little off. That’s the number of stars in the observable universe. That’s one billion trillion stars, in the ten billion galaxies we’ve found so far (like I can somehow take credit for this).

That’s a lot of stars.

I don’t know about you, but my view of God is very small. I mean, I know that God created the world, the universe, the one billion trillion stars, me. I know the stars are designed to show us His power and beauty. (I also believe He made them just for fun. Just to paint the sky for us. Just because He’s God, and He can). I know all these truths, but as my heart’s been breaking beneath the weight of my sin, I’ve learned that there’s a difference between “know” and “believe.” The difference between chains and freedom.

And I don’t believe that this God could truly love me. In my doubt, I’ve been drowning.

Does this God actually have a heart big enough to love all of me?
Enough power to truly forgive me?
Enough grace to rescue me?
Enough understanding to heal me?
Enough mercy to let my heart rest, filled up to overflowing with peace?

I don’t know about you, but my view of God is very small. There are days my sin takes a hold of my heart and my mind and yells so loud, with such strength, that this God who counts the countless stars seems to disappear.

Do you ever wonder if God could truly love someone like you? If being fully, totally forgiven for everything you’ve ever done or thought applies to everyone else, but certainly not you?

I don’t actually believe that God would love me enough to pour grace over the dark spaces in my mind. I don’t actually believe that I can rest in His forgiveness, without doing penance to earn His grace. I don’t actually believe Him when He said “it is finished.”

But this God, who created the universe and all its stars, will not remain silent. This morning, He broke through my doubts and spoke to me:

“He heals the brokenhearted,

And binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars;

He gives to all of them their names.” // Psalm 147:4.
 

Suddenly, I believed Him. If this God has enough power in His voice to tell the one billion trillion stars to shine, hanging them up like Christmas lights, then He must have enough power to heal my broken heart and bind up my wounds.

If this God is caring enough to name each and every one of the stars, then He must care enough to truly, completely, deeply, relentlessly love me.

To call me by name.

And, this God must have enough power to actually mean it when He hung on the cross and said “it is finished.”

“As far as the east is from the west,
so far does He remove our sin from us.” // Psalm 103:12.

As far as the east is from the west is pretty far, if you think about it. The edge of the observable universe is forty-six billion light years away. One light year is six trillion miles. It keeps going, and going, and going and no one knows where, or if, it ends.

When Christ died on the cross, the sin that separated us from Him is black-hole status gone. He has only grace for us, now. He is not disgusted by you. He is not ashamed of you. To endure your days as though Jesus is not powerful enough to forgive you is not just insulting, it will wreck you.

This morning, as I read these verses through my tears, I finally felt how absolutely adored I am. I could actually see myself wrapped in the arms of Jesus. Sobbing. Letting go of everything but Him. In that moment, I finally felt that I am more valuable to Him than one billion trillion stars. The weight of the guilt I’ve been carrying was lifted. All I could say was “I need you.”

“I know, sweet girl, I know,” He said. “That’s why I came down to rescue you.”  

“When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end of all my sin.”

Although I never met Ronnie, although he was not famous, although we lived thousands of miles apart, he had a significant impact on my life and my faith, and I felt compelled to write a few words about him.  Back in 2010 I saw a video of a sermon preached by a young man from an Acts 29 church in Texas.  It was not your typical sermon, but was rather a series of 47 portions of scripture put together, memorized and recited before the church by a man named Ronnie Smith.  Something about watching this 28 minute video moved me deeply.  I saw in what Ronnie had done, something genuinely beautiful.  And when you experience something you believe to be genuinely beautiful, you cannot help but to share it with others.

And so, I committed myself to memorizing this work, which Ronnie called “The History of Redemption”.  I must have watched this video 50 or 60 times.  And I must have talked about it so much, that pastor Rob eventually asked me to write a weekly blog post on each of these 47 sections of scripture for our church.  And so, over the course of 2011, that is what I did.  I invested countless hours in reading, listening to, memorizing and writing, all catalyzed by what Ronnie had done.  He was a young man, about my age, and I knew nothing else about him, except that he was a faithful servant of Christ who was a part of a church in Texas.  

Last week, Ronnie was murdered in Benghazi, Libya.  He was living there with his wife and young son, and was working as a chemistry teacher at the international school, and he was shot dead while jogging.  I believe that God called Ronnie and his wife to move to Benghazi, one of the most violent and broken cities on this planet, because He (God) loves those people.  And Ronnie and his wife went because they had been filled with a hope that extends into eternity and they desired to share this hope with those who have no hope.  Although I never met Ronnie, and I still know very little about him, I am quite sure that he understood they very real possibility of facing death in a place such as this.  And still he went, to love and to serve the people of Libya and to love and serve his God and Savior.  Ronnie paid the ultimate price for his obedience to Christ, and I am confident that in the moments following his death, he heard the voice of God Himself gently whispering in his ear, “well done, good and faithful servant”.

Although today we are saddened and grieve the loss of Ronnie, his life was not wasted.  And today, be sure of this, that Ronnie is not sad.  

I praise God for Ronnie’s life.  His was a life lived with absolute direction and purpose for the glory of God.   And as we have brothers and sisters in our church preparing to move to the Middle East, motivated by the same love that motivated Ronnie, this is a painful reminder to me, to not only encourage them and support them and pray for their fruitfulness, but also to pray for their safety, to pray daily, to pray without ceasing.  It is also a reminder to me that ultimately our hope is not in the length of our days or what we accomplish, but in a God who can and will use our lives to bring glory to Himself.  For He can use all things for good for those who love him and are called according to His purpose.  Ronnie’s life was a testimony to his love for God, and now our prayer is that God would use his death as a catalyst for the forwarding of the Gospel and the hope to which we cling.  This is a worthy cause.  There is no greater cause.  

Below is the video of Ronnie preaching “The History of Redemption”:

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” - Psalm 116:15

photo credit: a7fadhomar via photopin cc

  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen.  - Jude 24-25 NASB

These are the final verses in the history of redemption series.  This year for me has been blessed by God in so many ways, and one of those has been the opportunity to commit myself to walking through this series with those of you reading.  Last week we heard about the great restoration that will soon take place, as God restores the earth to the way He created it.  Words alone cannot describe how wonderful it will be.

The history of redemption ends with the above call from the book of Jude.  It is a call for the perseverance of the saints.  This is one of the doctrines of grace that we at Redeemer hold firmly to, that it is God who is able to keep us from stumbling, and it is God alone who makes us able to stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy.  Wayne Grudem says of this glorious doctrine, “The perseverance of the saints means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again” (Systematic Theology).  I hope you find great comfort in these words, and that you are able to fully trust that you will be kept by God’s power and that you will one day “stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy”.

I love lists.  I love to-do lists, grocery lists, terrorist watch-lists .... really any kind of list.  If you don't believe me, ask my wife.  I love the clarity and cohesiveness that a good list gives to any subject.  I probably love lists more than is healthy.  But I feel that in light of the conclusion of the history of redemption, I am left to ask myself, "How now should I live?".  We get tremendous guidance to answer this question throughout the bible, but the preceding verses in Jude give us particular insight, which I will outline in a list below:

1.  We are called to remember what we have heard.  "But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 17).

2.  We are called to build ourselves up in our faith and to pray.  "But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20).

3.  We are called to remain IN His love: "keep yourselves in the love of God" (Jude 21).

4.  We are called to wait upon Him: "waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that  leads to eternal life" (Jude 21).

5.  We are called to be missionaries, proclaiming the gospel to those who are perishing.  "And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire" (Jude 22-23).

6.  We are called to act mercifully toward those who are suffering: "to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh" (Jude 23).

7.  And we are called to worship: “to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.  Amen.” (Jude 25).

Let us now continue on this journey, remembering always what the Lord has done for us , and what He is today doing for us, and what He will one day do for us, His chosen bride.  And let us “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).  We have been saved!  To God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ be glory, now and forevermore.  Amen!

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches.  I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16).

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.  And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”  And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”  Then He said to me, “It is done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.  He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.  He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly”  Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.  - Revelation 211;3-7; 22:20 NASB  

Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration.  This is God’s story for humanity.  Every worldview held today SHOULD give account for each of these four chapters.  Only one worldview is the truth.

Before I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ I battled with bouts of depression, sometimes lasting days, sometimes weeks.  At that time I understood Creation, and I understood the Fall.  What I did not understand at that time was the application of Redemption and of Restoration.  I did not understand the finality of Christ’s atonement upon the cross, and so I stood condemned by my guilty conscience, knowing that I could never live a life which was not stained by sin.  Likewise, not having read my bible, I had no understanding of what awaited me after this life comes to an end.  I saw before me a world filled with mourning, crying and pain.  And I could not reconcile this with a good and loving God.  Now I can.  Now I understand.  Now I see that the greatest suffering in the history of humanity, was in fact the most merciful outpouring of God’s love for us.  Now I see the redemption bought by suffering, as I look to the cross.

Over the past 46 weeks we have read through God's history of redemption.  We read about His perfect creation in the Garden of Eden.  We witnessed man's rebellion against his Creator.  We heard of man repeatedly turning his back on God, and were therefore reminded of our own rebellion against God.  We then came to that great turning point in God's plan, when He sent His beloved Son, to enter into human history, as the most vulnerable of creatures, at the most vulnerable of times.  We watched that Son march to His death, on a bloody and brutal cross, as He took upon Himself the wrath of God for our sins, for our transgressions, and for our iniquity.  We watched Him then rise from death, in a great victory over satan, as He had paid once and for all the wage for our sin.

And now, we arrive at the greatest climax to the greatest story every told.  And how glorious is the ending to this story?  Never before has there been more hope and more joy and more love expressed in the history of the universe, than there is in the restoration of the earth for God's people, by God.  Other stories may have "happy endings", but they are all fleeting.  The prince and the princess will still one day succumb to sickness and death, another terrorist cell will still rise up and again attempt to destroy their enemy, and another greedy villain will once again surface for James Bond to battle, as his body slowly but surely deteriorates.  Their joy is always temporary.  But our joy is ETERNAL!  The great hero of our story not only conquers, but now dwells with us, forever!  We will never again get sick, we will never again feel pain, we will never again experience the loss of a loved one.  We will never again hunger or thirst, for we will drink forever from the "spring of the water of life".  And we will never again be separated from the love of God!

Think about the greatest moment of pain in your life so far.  Now picture God Himself, gently and lovingly wiping away every tear from your eyes.  Oh God, You are so good.

Christ Himself declared on the cross that "It is finished".  We are reminded here again, by Him, that "It is done".  We have nothing to fear.  We are freed from sin, and from death, and we will live forever with our Creator, our Lord, our King our Savior, and our Father.

As Oswald Chambers pronounces, in My Utmost For His Highest, "The greatest note of triumph that ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ - “It is finished”.  That is the last word in the Redemption of man.”

“Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.”

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyones name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. - Revelation 20:10; 14-15 ESV.  

At first glance, these words are a terrifying glimpse of our fate apart from the work of Christ.  As I have read these verses over and over again however, I have realized the incredible amount of information that we learn about God and His plan of salvation in Revelation chapter 20.

What has struck me today is the extent to which God hates sin.  God’s wrath is not a popular topic today, yet it is His wrath against sin which informs us greatly of His holiness.  We worship a holy God.  We worship a God who is “separated from sin and devoted to seeking His own honor” (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology).  This is so crucial to who God is, that we should be constantly striving towards a deeper understanding of what it means that God is holy.  When we understand what it means that God is holy, we will worship Him not in spite of, but BECAUSE OF His wrath against sin.

These verses in Revelation 20 also remind me of the incredible mercy of God.  I deserve to be thrown into that lake of fire.  You deserve to be thrown into that lake of fire.  Many theologians and pastors have described hell as “separation from God”.  Often they describe hell as such to make it less offensive.  But hell is described in the bible over and over again, as a real physical place, where those opposed to God are forever tormented.  The thought of hell as God teaches it, is terrifying to me.  It causes me to shudder.  But what should bring me to my knees in fear and trembling is the fact that this is where I deserve to suffer for eternity.  I have stood opposed to God.  I have offended Him.  I have profaned His holy name.  When I am asked by skeptics why anyone deserves to go to hell, I ask them, why does anyone deserve to go to heaven?  The truthful answer to this is, no one.  “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).  By GRACE I have been saved from eternity in the lake of fire.  By grace YOU have been saved.  It is not because of our good works, or our obedience to the law, or by anything but this, GRACE!  Our God has had mercy on me, a sinful and wretched man.  Praise be to God for His immeasurable mercy.

And finally, God knows those whom He has chosen.  Their names are written in a great and awesome book.  And we who have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, can now have confidence that our names are written in that book.  How great is our God?

There are many people alive today, whose names are also written in that book of life, and who desperately need to hear the good news, that “Christ was slain, and purchased for God with His blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation”. (Revelation 5:9 NASB).  I have heard it said that we should “respect” people of other faiths, and therefore should not preach “our faith” to them.  However, if you saw someone standing in the middle of the road with a bus heading straight towards them, what would be your response?  Would you “respect” their decision to stand there, and allow them to be killed?  Would you not yell at them to move?  If they were deaf, would you not even push them out of the way?  When we understand what it means to be thrown into the lake of fire, the most respectful and loving thing we could ever do would be to share the gospel with that person.  This should motivate us to live as missionaries, wherever and whenever God has placed us.  “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” (Romans 10:15).

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15).

They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. - Revelation 17:14 ESV.  

This is the 44th week that I have written this blog post.  Some weeks it has been very easy for me to write, and the words have come to me quite naturally.  Other weeks I have struggled, and it was not until I spent time in prayer, asking for words, that the Lord gave them to me.  This has been one of those weeks.  And so I have asked the Lord what I am to write.  And He has responded that it does not matter what I write, or how eloquent I am, or how creative my writings are, because I have been “called” and am “chosen” and am “faithful”.

Revelation 17 is a great reminder for me of my identity in Christ Jesus.  What joy it gives me to hear these words from my Lord, that I am “called and chosen and faithful”.  What incredible freedom we have to know that the One we serve is the Victor.  And since we are His, and because He is victorious, we are victorious too!  He will never leave us or forsake us, for we are “with him”, and we are “called and chosen and faithful”.

And what a great King we serve!  He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, yet He laid down His life, as a Lamb, as one who “is led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).  “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).  And truly He was “wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5).  What kind of king would do this?  Only One.

And now, because He was the propitiation for our sins, we can be “with him”.  We are “called and chosen and faithful”.  This causes great celebration within my heart.  This causes my heart to swell with joy, and hope, and faith, and such love for my God who would do this for me “the worst of sinners”.

We continue to live in a time of war.  And those opposed to Jesus will make war on the Lamb, but we have nothing to fear, for “the Lamb will conquer them”.  And not only will He conquer, but because we are His, and are “with him”, we too will be victorious.  “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith” (1 John 5:4).

This week I hope that you will spend time meditating on your identity in Christ Jesus.  I hope that you will remember daily who it is that we worship.  And I hope that you will rejoice greatly, with exceeding joy, that you are “with him” and that you are “called and chosen and faithful”.

Thank you Jesus.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).