Hello,
It is 100 degrees outside! I know that for some in our world 100 degrees is considered temperate, but not here in Western Pennsylvania. 100 degrees is hot here, really hot! Hot as H…E…double hockey stick.
Speaking of H..E…double hockey stick, if you have been a long time reader of the Bungee Cord, you may have noticed, as some of my parishioners have, wishing otherwise, that I don’t talk much about hell. Of course, the reason for their wish for me to talk about hell isn’t, they believe, for their benefit, but for the benefit of those “bad” people.
So, why don’t I talk much about hell? Two reasons.
One, I think that people have a pretty good idea of what hell is, and I say that because hell has a way of making its way into our lives. Relationships that tear away at people’s lives and hearts. Depression and anxiety that burns with unquenchable fire. Things done that have created a hole so deep that even light has a hard time getting in. Finding oneself to be nothing but fuel for other people’s greed and power. I am pretty sure that everyone, even the people that you and I might not think to wrestle with the Devil in this life (but in truth they do), have a pretty good idea of what hell is like. The smoke of hopelessness, despair, loneliness, worthlessness, fear…..the list can go on….is all around us. It finds its way into our lungs. I don’t need to tell people about it. People know it all too well.
Two, the God that I know isn’t at work to scare us out of hell, but rather to embrace us in the kingdom of heaven. “For God so loved the world…..”, that is the heart of the work of God in Jesus Christ. For God so loved the world that he sent his Son into the world, to die on a cross, and to extinguish hell’s fiery flames in a shower of blood. From the cross a fountain of God’s love and mercy sprayed into the world so that, as Romans 8 says, “nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” When Jesus stretched out his hands on the cross, he wasn’t signaling, “Stop. Danger. Don’t take another step.” No, he was stretching them out in a timeless embrace, saying, “Come unto me all you that are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Jesus Christ is not about fear. Jesus Christ is about love.
Several times over the course of the past year I have heard this said, “There’s a special place in hell for…..”. And you know what, I think that is true. The Devil, I believe, is at work preparing a special spot for everyone. Me included. The Devil takes a look at my life and says, “I had better get things ready for Jerry.” But here’s the thing, I am confident that the Devil is wasting his time, and my confidence comes from what Jesus has said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe* in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?*3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. “ (John 14)
It is my hope that the Bungee Cord is part of the cross-blood spray into your life, a spray that douses the hell in your life with the grace and mercy of God. It is my hope that when the flames of hell spring up in your life and seek to open the door to the special place that the Devil is making for you (and me), this Bungee Cord will be like a powerful 6 inch diameter fire hose, filled with the cross-nailed love of God for you, pulsing with 150 pounds of pressure, directly spewing onto those flames, putting them out as if they were a mere match flame, and while that is happening hearing God snicker and laugh in victorious delight, “Nice try Satan. But this one is mine!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace, (ggap)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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