AP-London. Christians in Britain are gearing up with a new public awareness ministry to warn people of the dangers of tobacco use. Much like "the truth" campaign in the USA, they have taken a blunt and straightforward approach, but with a spiritual twist. "While God created the earth and everything in it," said volunteer Gwendolyn Roundbottoms, "not everything in creation is good for humans. We want to raise awareness of divine guidance on this issue."
Still, while public health concerns hold interest to the average person in the pew, there's still no calling quite as honorable as sharing the good news.
As I'm sure most of you can guess, this post is a parody. The pictures (which are very sad) are from the Phelps clan of Westboro Baptist Church (which is really a cult, not a typical Baptist church). As I pointed out in last Sunday's sermon, when we forget the doctrine of the incarnation, it can lead toward an unbalance in the faith that tends to focus more and more on God's judgment. Another example of this can be seen this in militant Islamic groups.
ReplyDeleteWhat was God's motivation behind the cross. It was not hatred or anger; it was love. Out of love, God took the consequences of sin upon himself, and offers us freedom in return. The more we repent of sin, the more we can share the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), which is love (1 John 4:8).
Two more edifying verses:
1 John 4:9--"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."
1 John 4:20--"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen."
I don't know if it made a difference, but a few days after I made this post my wife quit smoking.
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