Today’s thought

“God is . . . faithful” (Exodus ch. 34 v. 6 & 7)

This passage of scripture I have chosen to look at makes a series of very positive statements about who God is. However, the problem that could occur is that it could leave us with an unbalanced view of what God is like. We could end up with the incorrect idea that God is ‘just a big nice-guy’. That would create a problem because ‘nice guys’ are often ‘push-overs’ and easy to manipulate. A school teacher was once explaining her teaching parameters to me.

She said, “No smiles during the first term!” Yes, tongue in cheek, but I understood her intent. Pushing for popularity is likely to cost one control in the classroom. True, God is faithful. But the first person he has to be faithful to is himself. He cannot create standards and then let people decide when and if they will acknowledge and abide by them. The idea that God loved us enough to send Christ for us is the central theme of Christianity. There are only two options: those who turn to

Christ in faith will have “eternal life” and find forgiveness for sin. Those who do not will face judgment. No one is exempt. Salvation through Jesus Christ is not an upgrade; it’s a rescue from disaster. This salvation is through Jesus, and Jesus alone and ignoring it means facing the wrath of God. The term “wrath“refers to the righteous anger of a judge issuing punishment for a crime. If we are honest with God he will indeed be faithful and forgive our wrongs. — Pastor Donald McLeod, Eastside Community Church