The Bigger Picture

Good Morning!! Without the big picture view of human history, we can lose perspective on some of the most important elements of the Great Story. If you've ever walked into the middle of a movie, you know what I mean. It can be so hard to make sense of the middle and end of the story, if you don't know how it began. It's like that with our Christian faith too. If we don't understand what life was like before Christ and before the cross, we don't get the full picture of God's character and don't get an appreciation of who we are in Christ.

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."—Isaiah 6:5 (NIV)
The problem is, that we don't view sin the way God does. In fact, some of us, if we were really honest, would say, " I'm not even sure that God is a 'wrathful' God. I think He is a God of love, I think He will be nice to everyone in the end." Many of us don’t really believe in God’s righteous wrath,...and only see Him as our " buddy pal." But the Old Testament prophets knew better. The prophet Isaiah was blown away when he was given a vision of the glory of God.

A biblical view of depravity, gives us a much greater appreciation for the love of God,...and the cleansing forgiveness that we have in Christ.

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Father God, apart from what You did through Your Son on the cross, we would still be a person of unclean lips, ruined, living among unclean people. Thank You, thank You that we are now in Christ,...forgiven, cleansed by His blood, accepted by You as an heirs and children! What can we do except raise our voices in praise to You for what You have done for us? Amen! Amen!

" The Lord loves a cheerful giver,...until he brags about it."