Devotions with Pastor Jerry

UNCOMFORTABLENESS
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There are often things that make us uncomfortable, like these for instance:

• Wearing shoes that are a size too small
• Riding a bicycle that has no seat (more about this later)
• Sitting on a broken chair
• Going out in public on a bad hair day
• Realizing you’re wearing two different color socks or shoes.

Or how about the one that seems uncomfortable for us to talk about or listen to and yet Jesus addressed it more than anyone else, emphasized it more than the issue of heaven; that was the subject of Hell.

Jesus describes hell in Luke 16 as a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.

He also tells of a time when people will be separated into two groups, one entering into His presence, the other banished to “eternal fire”, a place of eternal torment and unquenchable fire, where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret from which there is no return.

He calls hell a place of “outer darkness”, comparing it to “Gehenna” that was a trash dump outside of Jerusalem where rubbish was burned and maggots abounded.

Therefore we need a rescuer; one who can take us from a state of depravity and eternal punishment, simply by accepting Him as our Savior and His gift of redemption.

Jesus died for us so we could have access to heaven through Him. Through a relationship with Him as our Savior, His mercy gives us access to enter heaven, into God’s glory, without fear of the torment of hell. As Paul expressed it: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:33).

There is a hunger within each of us that longs to be what God created us to be, even when we are not sure of what it is, we long for what will nourish and quench our soul.

To live a relationship with Christ is to live as Christ; the one who sustains our life with true life; both in the now and the not yet and then to gain eternality in the kingdom of heaven with Christ. For this reason, Christ spoke more of hell than of heaven, so that by His great love for us we could avoid hell’s eternal wrath; simply by accepting His eternal love and grace; by faith.

Oh yes, about the uncomfortable bicycle without a seat. Growing up on the farm, my first bicycle was an old one abandoned by my uncle. It had no seat, no brakes, two rotted flat tires and numerous missing spokes and more. To ride it, I would push it up a pasture hill, sit on the back fender leaning over where the seat should be, to barely reach the handle bars. Then coasting down the hill, I would run head long into a livestock fence that would stop and bounce me backward. Uncomfortable Yes, but for a very young boy, what great fun. Eventually my father put new tires on it, a few spokes, a chain for the peddles and brake, and oh yes, a nice big padded seat. Now you know the rest of the story.

May you find the conclusion of your story to be with Jesus Christ in heaven. God Bless you in your relationship with Christ as you journey through life with Him as your Savior and Lord.
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Pastor Jerry