Even on the cross He did not hide Himself from sight; rather, He made all creation witness to the presence of its Maker.
- Athanasius of Alexandria
Psalms of Delight...
Most of the Bible's Psalms give thanks to God on one or more levels. Commanded to do so, Christians aught to make the time to praise God for His glorious nature, creative genius and many gifts to mankind.
Psalms of Delight are written in concert with Psalms in the Night. Both series contain Modern Psalms meant to comfort and inspire those seeking the Omni-God revealed in Scripture.
Not Willing Any Perish Summary
The Gospel is nothing short of fantastic. So much so, that even angels are impressed and intrigued. One glorious facet is that God's revealed He's unwilling that any should perish but that “all should come to the knowledge of truth, repentance and salvation.” This begs the question if in fact all are, and if not, who's frustrating God's will.
Not Willing Any Perish
Modern Psalm of Delight 9
Speaking on behalf of 7.5 billion with Hell to loose and Heaven to gain, let me just say I’m thrilled Omnity’s on our side! Fearfully and wonderfully made, mortals with extremely limited lifespans and freedom, the deck is clearly stacked against us. Throw in sin above, about and within and we sorely need a faithful and merciful Creator and Savior like You!
On the other hand, the Bible warns You’re also a glorious “consuming fire.” A fact supported in more ways than one, including Your creation of 50 billion trillion suns!
Like You, Scripture is simultaneously awesome and awful. So much so It takes careful commentary to reconcile Your love and holiness. It’s a reason few today spend serious time studying, preferring to skim or skip over problematic or unpleasant passages. A strange strategy since all humanity’s on a direct collision course with eternity.
Even so You continue to grant mankind previously unimaginable blessings, powers rivaling mythological gods, yet rather than being thankful we grow ever more rebellious. Unfortunately, as our entitlement grows so do are issues with You.
Billions have jettisoned faith as irrational. Others fear the Bible's irrelevant or inaccurate. Even within modern Christianity only a dwindling percentage can quote 10 verses in a row, or even 5 with the possible exceptions of Psalm 23 or the Lord’s Prayer. Rampant temptation and deception promote worldliness and apathy to the point of reducing even most “believers” to practical agnostics. Biblical illiterate, hundreds of millions stop and pray less than 5 minutes a day preferring entertainment, Christian or otherwise. And as Churchianity looses it’s salt and light, we and the world quickly spoil in the growing darkness…
Of course You warned us. Millennia ago:
- "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 1 Peter 4:17-18 NIV
- "Don't be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self-absorbed, money-hungry, self-promoting, stuck-up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog-eat-dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God. They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals. Stay clear of these people." 2 Timothy 3:1-5 The Message
- "But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment." 2 Peter 3:8-10 NIV
- “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?" Ezekiel 33:10-11 The Message
- "And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen." 1 Peter 1:12
- "The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering, extraordinarily patient toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9 Amplified Bible
- “We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him. He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and he was led off— and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, Even though he'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true, Still, it's what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he'd see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God's plan will deeply prosper through him. Out of that terrible travail of soul, he'll see that it's worth it and be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many "righteous ones," as he himself carries the burden of their sins. Isaiah 53:6-12
- "The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we've learned: that there's one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free." 1 Timothy 2:1-6 The Message
- "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?" Romans 8:31
- "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
- “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ‘ordinary’ people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously -- no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner -- no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment.” - The Weight of Glory
- “And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.” Ephesians 6:10-12 The Message
You’ve designed the free yet conditional gift of salvation to go above and beyond! This is more than good news, it's the best! As is the fact that Your not willing any should perish. Yet someone(s) or something(s) seems to be frustrating Your will given there’s an eternity of difference between all and few:
- “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 NIV
- “Yes, I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon! I’m bringing my payroll with me. I’ll pay all people in full for their life’s work. I’m A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion. How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies. I, Jesus, sent my Angel to testify to these things for the churches. I’m the Root and Branch of David, the Bright Morning Star.” “Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride. Whoever hears, echo, “Come!” Is anyone thirsty? Come! All who will, come and drink, Drink freely of the Water of Life!” Revelation 22:12-17 The Message
You've done so much. Yet isn't there something more that can be done? You paid an unthinkable price for atonement. Won’t You do just a little more? Teach us how to approach You. Open our eyes and ears to the crises and opportunity engulfing mankind. Soften our hard hearts with brokenness and godly sorry that gives life. Help us to comprehend truth. Show us the secret of happiness, Your Trinity of glory, is beyond compare! Help us develop sensitivity to Your Holy Spirit. Let us put aside dualism and double-mindedness, hungering for greater levels of righteousness. Grant us a new Pentecost with an immediate global yield of a million upper rooms in answer to Paul's greatest prayer that we might be "filled with all the fullness of God!"
O Lord, as only You alone are fully aware, having gone to such lengths, Heaven would be a Hell of a thing to miss.
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