Holy Anguish
I was watching the Cornerstone Church podcast from September 13th, 2009 and Francis Chan quoted a verse that has been haunting me ever since. It was Romans 9:1-4 and I have read it many times before, but never really paid attention to what it said. This is what it says….
I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel.
Paul is saying that we need to have so much love for our neighbors that we wouldn’t care if we were eternally separated from Christ, which is exactly what hell is, as long as they were able to connect with God and have a relationship with Him. Sure we can say that we are trying to love God and love others, but are we willing to take that “loving others” to that kind of an extreme? Do we even ask God to give us the kind of sorrow and unceasing anguish that Paul talks about here?
I love my family very much and I would do anything for them. However, I have to be honest that I don’t know if I would go to the point of saying that I would rather be cut off from Christ for their sake if it was necessary. That is pretty hard core. That is one of those things, as Francis said in his message, that I am not sure if I could ever attain. That is the kind of love that Jesus pretty much had for us. That is intense.
Every time I read that passage lately or even think about it I am pretty much brought to tears. It is such an overwhelming thought and quite honestly it is a place that I would like to find myself moving towards. I think that if the church would grasp that kind of a love for others then we would really see revival happen in this country. However, I can’t worry about what other people are doing. I can only worry about my response to this.




God didn’t send His only Son to this planet just so that we could better understand rules or have a face to put to a religion. No, God sent Jesus here so that we could better understand the importance of having a relationship with Him. Jesus became God with us not above us. I think Jesus summed it all up when He was asked by the religious leaders of the day about what the most important commandment was and He didn’t even reply to them with one of the
Today, I just found out that someone created a so called Christian alternative to
That is what I intend to do. Not only that but I know that Dan and Loretta’s legacy will live on, because every life that God has given me the honor of touching will have been touched by Dan and Loretta as well. That is the beauty and legacy of every Christ-follower. It is not having a plaque on the back of a pew or the carpeting that is purchased from the generous donation left to the church in your will. It is the joy of leaving behind lives who have been touched, because you cared enough to love and invest in their lives. The question for you is what are you going to do to honor the lives of the people who have touched your life? What kind of mark will you leave behind? Will be a stupid brass plaque or will it be lives touched?
Wow! I can’t believe that it has been almost a month since we moved down here to Cincy. We came down here to a house full of new friends ready to help us unpack. We quickly got everything unloaded from the truck and then was able to enjoy some delicious food made by a family at our new church. Even the next day we had another meal that a family from our church provided for us. It really helped us to feel very welcomed into our new community and home.
I am feeling so overwhelmed by God’s love for me. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family who love us dearly. A few weeks ago we were singing the song “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” by
So her first big youth trip was 
