Inside My Mind

While doing some reading, I was taken to a study of Yom Kippur , the Day of Atonement, on which the Hebrew High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the nation for the past year. I was reminded of the way this happened and brought to a new question. You see, as the people prepared for this wonderful day, two goats would be brought to the courtyard of the tabernacle. Lots would be cast and one goat would be chosen as a sacrifice, to be killed and have its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. The other goat would be sent into the wilderness, symbolic of carrying away the sins of the people. Which goat would I want to be? The one carrying the weight of the sins of a nation for an entire year? Or the one sacrificed so my people could be clean and presented to God? I think more times than not, I walk away from a sacrifice, and in doing so, carry sins on my back that burden me. I pray that I am more willing to sacrifice and not walk away into the wilderne...

     WARNING! Unless you are ready to look at your life in a completely different way, you should avoid reading Radical by David Platt. From the opening chapter, he convicts you with the admonishment that we have traded the radical nature of faith in Christ and replaced it with a comfortable theology that supports the American dream. Once started, I had a difficult time putting the book down. It is filled with sound biblical arguments that we have filtered the commands of Christ to fit our comfortable (and excessive) lifestyles.      True followers of Jesus must be willing to believe and obey His words before you ever hear them. Once heard, the commands must then be acted upon. When looking at the words Jesus spoke to His disciples and applying them to today, Platt notes " Give up everything you have, carry a cross, and hate your family. This sounds a lot different than 'Admit, believe, confess, and pray a prayer after me'." The commission of the gospel i...