Made in Elements
2026-1-04-10
The High Cost of Justice?
A popular world religious leader recently said: "God does not bless any conflict." And "No cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood." The greatest "conflict" of history was the greatest "blessing" which "justified the "shedding of innocent blood." In Golgotha's deadly battle, evil was defeated by the shedding of Jesus blood.
War and evil have been part of all human history. "Can't we all just get along" is blind to the fact that we are all basically selfish and sinful and that evil cannot be negotiated away. We can't even agree on what is evil and what is righteous.
God never negotiates with evil. The conflict between good and evil is not a bloodless conflict and it always involves great weeping and great rejoicing. People who confess and repent of their own sin recognize that mankind and God are in very serious conflict which God describes as either eternal death or eternal LIFE.
2026-04-03
LIFE With The God of Extremes
It seems I am content with and even seek, to live avoiding extremes. We use phrases like: “too much of a good thing” and “don’t overdo it.” We tend to seek balance and middle ground. We try to avoid both suffering and rose-colored-glasses. But the Bible’s Easter tells a different story.
It tells of God’s suffering and joy. It describes the old Olympic theme: the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Olympic competition (actually nearly everything in life) does involve both victory and defeat. But to think of the defeat and victory of Easter as anything but extreme beyond measure is to misunderstand and misrepresent what truly happened. To misunderstand Easter is to miss the truly Extreme LIFE Jesus said He came to give us.
Many people have and do suffer serious defeats of great anguish both physically and mentally. We can wince and even weep as we contemplate the physical abuse Jesus suffered as He endured the hours of His crucifixion. It truly was extreme. But to recall that “He (God) came to His own and His own rejected Him” reveals His suffering as “extreme.” That God planned it, allowed it, reveals the “Extreme” love story that Easter tells.
Of course Easter is not only about defeat, but also about victory. While those who crucified Jesus (actually all of us) imagined they were done with someone claiming to be The Sovereign KING of LIFE, little did they know that what appeared as an extreme defeat, was actually an extreme victory. What could possibly pay the death penalty of rejecting the God Who made us? Only One Person could pay such an extreme price. On Easter Friday Jesus paid it.
How do we know Jesus’ agony was enough to be the extreme victory we need? In His dying breaths Jesus said: “It is finished.” It was not just relief that the agony was over, but the debt was paid, the enemy of LIFE was defeated. How do we know? While the heartbreaking agony of Jesus’ followers would last through Saturday, Easter was not finished until the extreme victorious joy of the Sunday morning news that “He is not here, He is risen.”
It is appropriate to weep seriously contemplating the agony Jesus suffered because of the “great love with which He loved us.” But we ought to weep extremely recognizing that it is our own sin that prompted His agony. But that is only half of the extremity of Easter, for when we admit our sin and accept Jesus’ death in our place, His Resurrection to new LIFE becomes ours. This is a “joy inexpressible, and filled with glory” that Jesus’ LIFE should become ours. There is a song titled, “At the Cross” that includes the phrase: “two wonders I confess, my worth and my unworthiness.” In my extreme unworthiness, God considered me of such extreme worth that He paid the extreme price of His own death to give to me the extreme gift of His LIFE. “To all who receive Him, who believe in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God.” We have the Extreme privilege of LIVING daily with The God Who “for the joy set before Him endured the cross.”
Our heart, mind, and LIFE should more often ponder the extremes of Death and LIFE the truths of Easter tell.
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2026-03-29
“No Kings” Protests?
The media is showing large crowds of people all across America and around the world enthusiastically protesting President Trump who they claim is acting like a fascist/king who is forcing his anti-democracy rules on America and the world. In response these people gather at the times and places at which they are instructed by Marxist/Communist leaders (Kings?). The organization, funding, topics, slogans, are all decreed and financed by these, in many cases, foreign leaders (Kings?).
While advocating “No Kings” the crowds follow the kings who are simply using them to accomplish their own dictatorial ambitions. The crowds are blindly seeking to “do what is right in their own eyes.” The end of these desires is only chaos and ultimate slavery to the kings of no-kings.
As much as we might imagine or wish for no mere human leader/king can be the KING we truly need. There is a King Who Alone has the Right, Ability, Wisdom, Justice and Power to Reign in Loving Perfection. His Name is Jesus, but alas, many people reject Him, foolishly preferring to be and do what is right in their own eyes.
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2026-02-23
I saw this headline on a website:
“Theoretical Physicist Questions Whether Reality Exists”
The question captures our attention. It sounds both interesting and intriguing. Being from a “theoretical physicist” makes it sound very intellectual and authoritative, thus worthy of serious consideration. If reality does not exist then nothing matters, even the musings of a theoretical physicist. Most people have considered the idea to varying degrees. But the question arises not from any evidence but from the common desire to avoid facing the realities of life and death and the accompanying question of what lies ahead. Avoiding these questions is basically a refusal to believe the real claims of Jesus Christ regarding our present and eternal life. The Bible and Jesus Christ have many much more captivating statements than asking whether reality exists.