“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

Mark Driscoll says in his book “Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions” that “all people are religious, which means they think they can justify themselves in one of three ways:

1) Loosely religious people assume they are living a good enough life so that no spiritual devotion or extra effort is required on their behalf for God to be pleased with them when they stand before him at the end of this life.

2)   Secular religious people work very hard at some social cause because they think that they are good people and need to overcome the evil of bad people who are ruining the world.

3) Devoutly religious people work very hard at keeping the rules of a particular religion in an effort to justify themselves as good and obedient people in the sight of God.”

Religion, in any of these forms, is utterly bankrupt and totally dependent upon our behavior.

Jesus explained this to the rich young ruler in His day.

“As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

“You know the commandments, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’”

And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.”

Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” (Mark 10:17-22)

The rich young ruler was a good man. He knew the law, and he strived to obey it, just as any devoutly religious person would. When Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him because he knew this man lacked what all people lack: one thing.

The rich young ruler was wealthy and he was willing to do whatever was required of him to secure eternal life, except one thing, and it was that one thing that separated him from God.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.

Just like the young ruler, we may be willing to do anything for God, but for all of us there is one thing we won’t do. There is always something that is too much, too far out of our comfort zone, too sacrificial for us.

We all lack one thing, and it is that one thing that condemns us.

The thing we lack is the thing that seperates us from God. It is the thing that will always separate us from God.

Being religious never, ever restores our broken relationship with God. Only Jesus who was fully God and fully man was able to restore our relationship with God.

Jesus never lacked anything. He was willing to do whatever God the Father asked of Him…even laying down His life for people like us.

After the encounter with the ruler, Jesus’ disciples said to him “Then who can be saved?!” Jesus replied, “with people, it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God”. (Mark 10: 26-27)

Religion, in any form, doesn’t save.

Only Jesus does.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“That if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Lord God, show us the one thing we lack, and help us to understand that nothing else we do will ever compensate. Help us to understand that we are powerless to save ourselves and without hope, that we stand condemned. You, in Your mercy have taken our punishment upon Yourself. Humble us and draw us to Yourself. Amen.

“At the University of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called Baptist Day… On this day each one is to bring a sack lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every Baptist Day the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center.

One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr. Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact, never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions.

After about thirty seconds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped, woolly white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium. “Docta Tillich, I got one question,” he said as all eyes turned toward him. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it. “Docta Tillich…” CRUNCH, MUNCH… “My question is a simple question,” CRUNCH, CUNCH… “Now I ain’t never read them books you read…” CRUNCH, MUNCH… “and I can’t recite the Scriptures in the original Greek…” CRUNCH, MUNCH… “I don’t know nothin’ about Niebuhr and Heidegger…” CRUNCH, MUNCH… He finished the apple. “All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate-was it bitter or sweet?”

Dr. Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: “I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven’t tasted your apple.”

The white-haired preacher dropped the core of his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, “Neither have you tasted my Jesus.”

The one thousand plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers. Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform.” - The Old Time Gospel

I encourage you today to pick up the Bible for yourself and taste and see who Jesus is, let the word of God speak for itself. Taste and see that God is merciful and kind, a mighty refuge for those who are paralyzed with fear–Psalm 34 reads,

“I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”

I realize that many reading this blog are struggling with their belief in God. They are waiting for God to give them some sign of proof as to His existence. While I understand the desire to know God, those searching for God must first understand themselves. The bible says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—” For those of you desiring to taste and see that the Lord is good, you must first understand your condition, you were born separated from God by sin. This has resulted in you being a genuine sinner, if you cannot see that, ask God to show you, so that your heart may be right before Him. Only in that state of right conviction can your heart be ready to see what God may have to show you, and only then will you be justified before God. Jesus tells a story about this in the book of Luke chapter 18,

“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

Remember that the God you desire to know humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross for the creatures He created. He is the Almighty God who created heaven and earth, and yet He took on human flesh and became one of us, and suffered on behalf of those who love Him. You must follow in His footsteps of humility if you ever expect to see Him and know Him. I pray for you today that the kind of conviction that came upon the tax collector mentioned above would also come upon you, and by God’s grace you would call upon the name Jesus and be saved.

You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle, are they not in Your book? You are close to the brokenhearted and save those who are crushed in spirit. You heal me and bind up my wounds. You bestow on those who grieve a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. You wound, but You bind up. You shatter, but Your hands heal. Though you slay me, yet will I hope in You. You have promised to never leave me or forsake me. You cover me with Your feathers and under Your wings I find refuge. Sovereign Lord, You are with me and You are mighty to save! You take delight in me. You quiet me with Your love and rejoice over me with singing. You are my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? You are the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?

(Psalm 56:8, 34:18, 147:3, Isaiah 61:3, Job 5:18, 13:15, Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 91:4, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 27:1)

Are you looking for God?

Seeking proof of His existence?

Go where He is.

He’s among the brokenhearted.

He’s comforting those who mourn.

Their tears aren’t unnoticed, but are so precious to Him that He saves every one. The God of the universe saves their tears in a bottle.

Here are two of their stories:

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2009/04/it-was-love.html

http://www.cjbergmenmusic.com/wordpress/?p=229