While I was researching churches in Ireland, I found this really cool-looking congregation whose church is in the heart of Dublin. (Points.) I listened to the recording of the pastor's sermon this past Sunday (they are more technologically advanced than we. But that's not really hard to do.), and I was really impressed. Not only was his sermon really solid, but the Irish accent is pretty fantastic, too. :) There was one thing especially, toward the end of the sermon, that I was struck by, so I figured I'd share it here. His sermon was about God being our refuge, essentially. He read from Joel and Revelation about the wrath of God and how inescapable it is. Then he said, "But in a bush-fire, where is the safest place to be? The safest place to be is where the fire has already been."
The analogy is simple, but it blew my mind. I guess I'd just never thought of it in those terms before. We're familiar with the fact that Jesus took on God's wrath for us, but think about it - fire doesn't double back over its tracks. It can't touch what it's already burned. God's wrath and judgement is very real, but to those who know and have a relationship with Jesus, it isn't a threat. Once Grace steps in, wrath can't double back.
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