Humans Need Jesus: Colombian hitmen

Here’s an interview with some drug cartel hitmen. I don’t know that I have words to describe what I just read. I pray they repent, trust in Christ, and flee their current lives.

Humans Need Jesus

Joe Rigney has some very timely words about the sexual perversion and brutality that is ever-present in our world.

Be Courageous, Mr. President

Humans Need Jesus: Horror or Christ

According to recent news reports, the horror movie “Saw V” came in at number two this week in the North American box office. People from North America alone spent $30,500,000.00 this weekend to be “entertained” by a psycho named “Jigsaw” who apparently makes a game of murdering people. Evidently people enjoy watching this “torture porn” (to use the vocabulary of the New York Times). Indeed, according to a couple of local high school boys, ”this stuff is cool”.

I must ask, in what way is torture cool or entertaining? How is the theatrical destruction of human beings, who have been created in the image of God, enjoyable to watch? How does the cruel murder of persons on the “big screen” bring a high school boy to say, “that was a cool movie” and “that torture device/game was clever”? On what grounds does a people justify investing $30,500,000 in a weekend to see death and carnage when the same funds might have been used to see thousands of people dying of starvation live in Mexico, Sudan, Chad, and India? How does one, after delighting in such an evil flick, not become numb to the real news reports of others who are being sawed in two for proclaiming the Gospel of peace?

Now, granted, these questions stem from the worldview of a Christian. That is, they come from a person who has been rescued from his slavery to sin and corruption and moved by the Spirit of God and his holy word to see the world and its creatures through the unique lens of their Creator. Such questions do not necessarily flow from the heart of the non-believing community, unless otherwise stirred by God’s common graces. Nevertheless, Christians such as I are surely constrained to ask the world such questions in light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In light of Scripture, sin, death, and destruction are not taken lightly. Sin destroys our fellowship with God and brings the curse of death on all people (Gen 3; Rom 1-3). This is why people die: death spread to all men because all sinned in Adam (Rom 5). Death is not supposed to be here; but it is here as a result of Adam’s and our own sin. It takes away life. Death is not something to smile about, especially if you are a non-believer. Why? Because, death will one day be taken away, forever, for those who embrace the Gospel. However, others who stiff-arm the grace of God offered in the Gospel will experience the Second death when God casts them into the Lake of Fire to suffer the torments of Hell forever (Rev 20). In so doing, he will be just and will keep them there justly dispensing his wrath. This eternal destruction is not pleasant; it will not be “cool”; it will be forever painful.

Scripture also has something to say about life. Life is beautiful. It was designed for eternal fellowship with God himself (Gen 1-2). This happens for those trusting in the one Jesus, whom God the Father sent into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved and have life through him (John 3). God has promised life, eternal life in Jesus, the Christ. On the last day, participants in this eternal life with Christ will not experience a Second Death, but be raised up to reign with him forever in his everlasting kingdom. This life, which God created for good, wonderful, reasons is meant to be cherished and enjoyed, not mocked by horrific media.

The worldview that delights in horror, as illustrated by the box-office results above, does not taste the severity of death nor the joys of life. This is because the person who embraces this worldview has a deeper problem, he or she does not embrace the message of Scripture or the person and redeeming work of Jesus Christ revealed in the Gospel. This is why such a person is fascinated with death and disregards life, he does not know Jesus. Humans need Jesus. Repent, come to him, behold the kindness and the severity of God. Trust him, and he will make you his own and raise you up from the dead on the Last Day to enjoy himself forever.

Education: Not a Remedy for the Fall

I was listening to NPR two days ago and heard a very interesting conversation between a caller and the radio program’s guest, Richard Holbrooke. The discussion concerned Bosnia and two war criminals, Radovan Karadic and Ratko Mladic. Holbrooke has recently written an article in the Washington Post entitled The Face of Evil covering the importance of Karadic’s arrest and an encounter Holbrooke had with the two criminals 13 years ago to broker the end of the siege of Sarajevo.

The caller asked this question: “How could someone educated such as Karadic, someone so smart — educated at Columbia University — how could he be so evil?” Of course, this piqued my interest. I do not recall Holbrooke’s exact answer, but he did acknowledge that education does not negate evil. Hopefully the caller believed him.

Education, generally speaking, is undoubtedly beneficial. But like most everything else, when it is confronted by the power of evil it becomes another twisted weapon in the crooked man’s arsenal. History witnesses to us that educated people are not necessarily good people. Germany, one of the most educated countries of the WWII era, birthed the Holocaust. Of course this is all the more frightening when we consider that we’re all crooked. Evil people are not a select few. To be human is to harbor and enjoy evil, even if it is kept secret.

What then? Where do we turn when we hear of some of the most brilliant minds fully embracing sinister ideas and actions? I submit Jesus: the Son of God who died for evil people. Scripture tells us that those who trust in Christ are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, who renews from within. Only then will we make headway in helping evil people to learn about good.

Lastly, we should note that the final judge of everyone, including war criminals, is not an earthly tribunal. God is Judge. On the final day, everyone will be laid bare. All secrets will come out; all darkness will come to light. And there will be many educated people, who were not war criminals, who will be shown just as evil as those who were. If a remedy for evil is what we want, we must repent and trust in Christ.

Humans Need Jesus: Part X

The chances of a sting ray jumping out of the water, making your wife fall backward and hit her head on the boat deck, and killing her are probably small. But it happened here. The husband was driving the boat and witnessed the whole thing…and I can’t begin to fathom the pain of such a sudden loss. The questions inevitably come: “Why did this happen? Why now? Why me? What will happen to my wife in death? What will happen to me in death?” I pray this guy knows Christ — and I pray he knows his compassion and his sovereignty. Humans need Jesus for everyday monotony, but we also need him for the sudden, harsh realities that cut us to the heart and leave us spinning.

Humans Need Jesus: Part IX

The article.

I haven’t done one of these in a while. And I won’t comment too much. Just read the article, pray for this lady, pray for yourself, and realize the extent of the depravity that Jesus suffered for on the cross. It is obvious from the headlines that humans are in bad shape apart from Christ.

…and also meditate on the fact that he rose victorious. What a great Savior!

Humans Need Jesus VIII

The article.

12,000 people stand accused of taking part in this epidemic — pandemic — wickedness. Most of the time the articles I feature in this series are about individual examples of the human need for Jesus. This one, however, shows that Jesus is needed on a much larger scale.

Dog More Beloved Than Grandchildren?

Leona Helmsley, hotel-owner/real estate billionaire who died earlier this month, has left a lasting memory for her family and for the world to remember her by: leaving $12 million to her pooch and stiffing two of her grandchildren. The Helmsley’s Maltese, “Trouble”, is also to be buried next to them in their mausoleum when she dies.

My boss was the first to inform me of this, and when the words left his mouth, I felt sick to my stomach…and that was before I knew about the grandchildren.

I see some terrible ideas lying around behind the actions of Mrs. Helmsley:

1) Animals should be treated better and loved more than grandchildren. According to the article, they received nothing for “reasons that are known to them.” I do want to approach this with charity, though I’m having to search for ways to do so. So…I will give Leona the benefit of the doubt and say that there is always the possibility that the grandchildren rejected her and refused gifts from her first. Thus, they shouldn’t expect any, nor would they want any. However, I am skeptical about that.

2) Animals should live like humans. I see this occurring way too often. Pets are beginning to or already are treated like children by some folks. They eat better food than many humans eat. They wear more expensive clothing than many humans wear. They received better grooming than many humans do. The list could go on. I wish I was a great thinker, because I would love to articulate the root of the mindset behind such activity. (Timmy, Bret…help me!) Dogs are not humans, and they should not be treated as such. (I’m willing to say that such a mindset easily stems from the belief that we evolved from animals. If we are really just evolved animals, of course we should treat them the same. However, I recognize many Christians are probably guilty of this. Thus, I want to nail down some more coherent thought on why this happens.)

3) And this is the larger idea behind #1…Animals are more valuable than humans. $12 million was left to a pooch. This animal licks its crotch, sniffs other dogs’ poo, and would eat straight out of a trash can with strange delight. Meanwhile, people starve — yes, even many hard-working people — and children go without clothing, electricity, water, medicine, etc. The human and the animal have switched places. The dog has been left with a steak to eat, and the human has been left to eat out of the trash can. This is wrong, and you can feel it in your soul. To put it in perspective, for $32 a month Compassion International is able to provide a child with the following:

Educational opportunities
Health care and supplemental nutrition
Opportunities for safe recreation
Opportunities to learn about important life skills
Most important of all, sponsoring a child will allow your child to hear about Jesus and be encouraged to develop a lifelong relationship with God

Through this setup, $12 million would provide:
-375,000 months of the above
-31,250 years of the above
-the above supplies for life for 390 people (that’s giving them a generous 80 years to live)
-300 college educations (going off of Texas A&M’s $40,000 degree…some colleges are cheaper)
-2 million meals (at an average of $6 per meal)…that’s 1,826 YEARS worth of meals that humans could eat
-240 houses (based on a generous $50,000…in poor countries that number would skyrocket)

And I’m sure the list could go on forever. One must also take into account that, if managed properly, trust funds could be set up and the number of people helped would exponentially increase.

If one thing can be seen in this, it’s that the human heart is exposed. We all suffer from the same sin Mrs. Helmsley suffers; devaluing human life by actions that we don’t think are related is just one of the manifestations of it. People turn to so many institutions to try and fix the human problem, whether it’s government, charities, rights organizations, etc. The problem is, these institutions are run by people…the same people who value dogs more than humans. Jesus is the only place left to turn. He atones for sin, exposes sin, and renews the mind and heart by the power of his Holy Spirit.

Lord help us.

Humans Need Jesus: VII

If this turns out to be true, we need to pray for this boy, that his heart would be softened and that the Lord would send him someone bearing the message of the gospel.