BBD 09.10.02 The Terror and the Love
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
09.10.02
The Terror and the Love
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one
may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done,
whether good or bad. Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade
men.." - II Corinthians 5:10-11.
"For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died
for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live
no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." -
II Corinthians 5:14-15.
Last week I read about a man in Oklahoma City who was at a Wal-Mart store
shopping. He was walking down the aisle when suddenly he collapsed and the
next thing he remembers is waking up in a hospital. He collapsed when his
heart went into full cardiac arrest. Nearby was a police officer that is a
CPR instructor and also a woman trained in CPR. They immediately began
working to save the man's life performing CPR for 25 minutes until
additional help arrived. The man is doing fine now.
My Uncle shortly before he died at 80+ years of age shared with me about
several men he knew who had died suddenly. My Uncle knew he had been
blessed to live a long life in relatively good health. It was also a
message to me that we do not know when we will leave this world. We may
have years or it may be today. Last week a godly man (47 years old) who had
lived in our community in the past was suddenly removed from this world to
the next. He was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his son when a tire
blew out and the vehicle swerved off the road and down a steep incline
hitting a tree. The man's daughter-in-law and his granddaughter were
critically injured but are now improving.
The apostle Paul knew first hand about the "terror of the Lord." Paul had
personally encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) where
Paul intended to continue persecuting the church. Being struck blind by God
tends to get a person's attention and Paul knew what it was like to be in
the hands of the living God. It was a terrifying thing that Paul remembered
very well. But not only had the apostle experienced the "terror" of the
Lord, he also knew first hand of the "love" of the Lord. Paul the
persecutor through the grace of God became the greatest apostle, evangelist,
and missionary of the early church with many of his letters being recorded
as the Word of God.
Let us live life soberly and with a sound mind being aware of the brevity of
life. We are not here on earth to have a good time and in fact life is very
difficult for some of us - it was difficult for Paul too (II Corinthians
11:25 - But God can bring good out of the bad for those who love Him and are
obedient to His will - Romans 8:28). We are still here because there is
work for us to do. As Paul points out we are new creations in Christ and as
His new creations we are His ambassadors "as though God were pleading
through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God (II
Corinthians 5:20)."
Copyright © 2002. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited.
If I can help you in any way please contact me at wrather@logixonline.net
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