It has been said that the secret to a happy life is learning how to avoid pain. We certainly live in a day in which this philosophy holds sway. Ours is a comfort-at-any-cost, I-want-it-now society; a society that trumpets, “It's all about me!” Yet, what the world shuns as foolishness, the Lord embraces as wisdom—the wisdom of pain to turn mere followers of Christ into disciples of Christ. Jesus called it “the cup.” To Him the cup was the anguish, humiliation, and torturous death on the cross. To us it means “taking up our cross” and following Him daily.
The Cup That He Drank
Message 6
Pastor Chuck Swindoll • John 18:1–11
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How Great Is Our God!
The Holiness of God
Pastor Chuck Swindoll • Isaiah 6:1–8
What comes to your mind when you think about God? Whatever those thoughts are, one thing is true: they say more about you than they do about God. Fashionable thinking today—in a society that no longer receives its cues from the Scripture—wants a god who is predictable, not one of mystery. We want a god who is comfortable, not one who makes us shudder. We want a god who is a little holier than us but not too holy. In short, we want a god like us . . . only better. How foul such thoughts are, for our God is none of these things. In His unique otherness, our God is the measure of all things. And in the beauty of His holiness, we see the ugliness of our wretchedness, yet we also find the encouragement to be holy as He is.
The Love of God
Pastor Chuck Swindoll
Love is the best known and least understood of God's attributes. Few doubt that God is love. Yet, many believe that God's love, as demonstrated in His patience, mercy, and forgiveness, nullifies His righteousness, justice, and holiness. This popular notion of God, as if He were a benign, aging grandfather, sitting passively in heaven—affable, lenient, permissive, and devoid of any real displeasure over sin because He loves us—cheapens God's love. It doesn't uphold the value of His love. In truth, looking into God's heart to discover His love is to discover His other attributes as well.