Sin is Still Sin

Sin is never to be taken lightly, but it is. What has happened not just in America, but in America’s churches that sin receives such little attention? At one time churches could be counted upon to extol the holiness of God and man’s glaring unrighteousness. The Holy Scriptures were preached and practiced; consequently, the God of the Word was proclaimed and lifted up for all to see. We learned that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). Sin was laid bare because “all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light” (Ephesians 5:13).

It is the holiness of God that teaches men to depart from sin. “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). There is wisdom in fearing God because God is the judge of all the earth. Christ taught his disciples “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). We fear God because he is holy and we are not.

Frankly, most churches have little to say on Sunday mornings about the holiness of God. I invite you to make this consideration very personal and think about your own church services. Is the holiness of God a recurring theme? Is sin lifted up as an affront to this holy God and the dangers of continuing in sin made plain? God is not just offended by sin, but this offense mandates that he judge sin. The Psalmist reminds us “Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalm 58:11). The Holy Spirit through the author of Hebrews declares “it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement” (Hebrews 9:27) and “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

This appointment is sure; consequently, there is a wrath to flee. The fact that our churches and our society have grown comfortable with sin has not changed God’s attitude toward it. We may think that God does not see, but he does. We may believe that because he has not judged yet, he will not judge at all. But he will. We may convince ourselves that he does not care, but we believe a lie and we do so to our own destruction. God sees, God cares and God will judge! His opinion is the only opinion that counts. We remind ourselves, “all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13; emphasis added).

It is true, sin is never to be taken lightly because God never takes sin lightly. He is a God to be feared, but the Scriptures teach us that he is also a God who forgives. The Psalmist gives testimony “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared” (Psalm 130:4). The Judge of all the earth has provided deliverance from the wrath due our sin through his Son Jesus Christ. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

Render to God According to the Benefit

In 2 Kings 20:1-11, the Bible relates that Hezekiah, king of Judah, was “sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah…said unto him, thus saith the LORD, set thine house in order; for thou shalt die and not live.” We then read that Hezekiah “prayed unto the LORD…and wept sore…and the LORD came to him [Isaiah], saying, … tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years…”

Hezekiah, evidently overwhelmed by the word of the LORD said, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?” (v.7). Hezekiah asked that the shadow return backward ten degrees as a sign and the LORD did just that. That was quite the impressive miracle just to convince Hezekiah that God’s promise was true.

What a marvelous thing! Hezekiah prayed and God gave him a miraculous sign. He then not only healed him, but he gave him fifteen additional years. How good God is! But unfortunately, there is more to the story. 

We read in the book of Chronicles, “In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he [the LORD] spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore, there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 32:24-25). Instead of humbly thanking God for the mercy shown unto him, he became filled with pride. Therefore, God’s wrath was upon him. What a tragic end to this great work of God in Hezekiah’s life.

Before we jump on the band wagon condemning the self-destructive folly of Hezekiah, should we not examine ourselves? How often do we take the time to give God thanks for his goodness to us? The Scriptures record “blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” (Psalm 68:19). We read again, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2). Every day God loads us with benefits; things like a good night’s rest, the ability to eat and enjoy food, the joy of family, employment that is useful to our needs and desires. The list goes on and on. Its length, however, is cut short by our own failure to pause and reflect. We need exhorted as the Psalmist wrote to not forget his benefits! This takes effort on our part, effort we seldom expend.

The New Testament reminds us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Take a moment to think of something genuinely good, something that truly is a blessing. It was given to you by God. When Jesus healed ten lepers and instructed them to show themselves to the priest, only one returned to “give God glory” for healing him (Luke 17:17). Jesus noted and asked “where are the nine”? Let’s not number ourselves among the nine but render to God according to the benefit done unto us.

Praising the Praiseworthy

The churches in Galatia were falling prey to false teachers who had infiltrated their ranks with a corrupt gospel. These teachers promoted the necessity of circumcision and other works of the law in order to be saved. Their teaching stood in direct opposition to the gospel of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to the Galatians in an effort to expose the fallacy of their teaching and to strengthen the believers’ faith in the true gospel.

These false teachers had craftily sought to drive a wedge between the Galatians and Paul, in both his ministry and his message. Paul writes, “They [the false teachers] zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you [from Paul], that ye might affect them” (Galatians 4:17). The words “zealously affect” mean to “make much over” someone or something, to praise or commend them greatly. These false teachers were making much over the Galatians to gain their favor and have them turn away from Paul. Their motivation for making much over these believers was selfish.

Yet to make much over someone or something for the right reason is proper. “But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing” (Galatians 4:18). It is right to be praised and commended for doing right things and, consequently, to be encouraged and exhorted to continue doing such things. Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that genuine, God-honoring love “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth” (I Corinthians 13:6). To rejoice in the truth is to seek and to praise every manifestation and expression of truth.

Truth is made manifest not just by the spoken word but, also, by our actions and attitudes. Jesus Christ prayed the Father, “Sanctify them [believers] through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Through our obedience to the word of God, we are conformed to the image of Christ and this glorifies God. Christ-likeness is praiseworthy and commended to all believers because this pleases the Father. As a result, our very lives reflect the truth of God.

This conformity to Christ is not only that which we seek in ourselves, but also that which we promote in the lives of others. It is with this goal in mind that we “make much over” others. We commend them for their faithfulness to Christ and promote adherence to his word as the means of greater conformity to his likeness. Paul’s prayer for the Philippians captures this concept. “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are be Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).

We more often than not fail to praise others when the opportunity arises and, more importantly, fail to praise the evidence of God’s grace in their lives for the things that are truly worthy.

An Active God

We live in a world that denies God, his existence, his rule, his activity. Stephen Hawking, celebrated physicist and a known atheist, summed up the world’s perspective quite well. He maintained “There is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate.” We should not be surprised at that “for the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). As believers, we know otherwise!

Yet we are often tempted to question whether God is really present. We do not see evidence of his activity among us (or so we think); consequently, we become like the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness who “tempted the LORD, saying, is the LORD among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7). Be assured from the Scriptures that he is very much among us and is active. David wrote “Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to usward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered” (Psalm 40:5).

Not only is God active, but he is actively good. The Psalmist reminds us “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee” (Psalm 31:19). In fact, everything that is good in this darkened, sin-cursed world comes from the hand of the “Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). This is true for all men “for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35). Therefore, we are admonished “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing” (Psalm 107:21-22).

God is indeed present and active among us. We often strain to see his working but, for the child of God, what he has said is sufficient. Faith requires no more proof than the testimony of God’s word. Job struggled to understand the ills that befell him and was overwhelmed by what he perceived as God’s absence. “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him” (Job 23:8-9). Even so, his faith knew what his eyes could not see! He declared “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).

We, too, as dear children of God, are called upon to rest in his promises even when we cannot discern his presence or performance.  Jesus said “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). However dark things may seem to be, he has not abdicated his throne. As the words to an old hymn remind us, “This is my Father’s world, Oh, let me ne’er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” As the Psalmist reminds us “Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalm 58:11).

While his promise to judge stands, there are many that deny God’s presence because they do not see his working. They remain willfully ignorant of his revelation concerning himself. May we not be counted among them. Those that deny him now shall one day assuredly bow the knee and “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).

The Praise of Zacharias

Zacharias was an elderly priest in Israel. While performing his priestly duties in the temple, the angel Gabriel announced unto him that his wife, Elisabeth (also, elderly), would give birth to a son. Because of his unbelief, Zacharias was dumb and unable to speak until the day the child was born. This child through his ministry became known as John the Baptist (Luke 9:19).

When John was born, God restored Zacharias’ speech and he immediately offered praise to God focusing on the promised deliverance of His people, Israel. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” (Luke 1:68-69). God had promised David a descendant that would reign over the people of God (2 Samuel 7:12-13). The angel Gabriel speaking of Jesus to Mary confirmed this promise. “He shall be great…and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever” (Luke 1:32-33).

Zacharias’ praise also acknowledged this promised deliverance was in keeping with the “oath which he [God] swear to our father Abraham” (Luke 1:73). God had promised Abraham “I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing…and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). The angel of the Lord who appeared to the shepherds repeated this promised blessing in Christ. “And the angel said unto them, fear not: for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10; emphasis added).

John the Baptist had the great privilege of preparing the people for the arrival of this very special Person, Jesus Christ. Zacharias declared of John “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our God” (Luke 1:76-78).

John’s ministry prepared the people to receive the Messiah by leading them to repentance. John said of himself “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah” (John 1:23). The Apostle Paul confirmed this testimony of John declaring “John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus” (Acts 19:4).

The redemption of which Zacharias spoke was to be provided by the Messiah, Jesus. He was so named by command of the angel “for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Christ came to save sinners and salvation begins with repentance from sin. This message of “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” was central to the message of Paul (Acts 20:21). Look beyond the manger to the cross; repent of your sins and trust Christ. This is the message of Christmas.

His Name is Holy

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15). This verse teaches many things, but perhaps the most significant is that it teaches us God is holy. In fact, we are reminded that his very name is Holy!

We do well to reflect on the implication of that truth. The prophet Isaiah wrote “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims…and one cried to another, and said, holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the smoke was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:1-5). One truth is prominent. God is holy and we are not!

Only when we see God for who he is can we see ourselves as we really are. Yet our sin leads us to hide ourselves from him even as Adam hid himself from the LORD in the Garden of Eden after he had disobeyed (Genesis 3:10). But there is no hiding place for “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (Hebrews 4:13). The Psalmist reminds us “whither shall I flee from thy presence…yea, the darkness hideth not from thee…the darkness and the light are both alike to thee” (Psalm 139:7-12).

We are all as Isaiah was, undone before a holy God! “God reigneth over the heathen [nations]: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness” (Psalm 47:8). “The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men” (Psalm 11:4). There is no escaping his view nor our accountability to him. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Even so, this holy God has given us hope. He says “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit” (emphasis added). A right view of God then is the first step in preparing to meet this Holy One. He does not crush us by the weight of his holiness, but tenderly invites us to repent of our sin (the evidence of a contrite spirit) and to humbly trust in him for a righteousness that is not our own.

When is the last time you paused to reflect on the holy character of God Almighty? This is the first step in knowing his tender love. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews makes a thoughtful and provoking admonition. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Remember, God is holy and we are not. He alone can bridge the gulf between us.

Easter and the Gospel

This past weekend was Easter weekend.  In the Christian calendar we commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This is the very essence of the “gospel.”  In our world the gospel has taken on many diverse meanings far afield from what the Scriptures declare the gospel to be. It is well to see it as God has revealed it to us.  Listen to the clear and focused words of Paul to the church at Corinth, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel…how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:1-4; emphasis added)

Many see Easter, perhaps, as a symbolic gesture of the hope of new life that the return of spring brings each year to an earth awakening from winter sleep accompanied by new outfits, Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, and family gatherings.  None of these are wrong and each can be enjoyed as occasion permits.  But the essence of Easter scripturally has to do with the gospel, which quite literally means “good news.” 

How then do the death of Christ and his resurrection translate into this good news?  There are those that would conclude that his life marked an example of virtue and goodness culminating in a tragic and unfortunate death.  It is true – his death was grossly unjust and his life was clearly a pattern to follow.  But that does not speak to the real reason he died.  Christ himself claimed that he came “to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

His death then was a payment, i.e. a ransom.  Returning to Paul’s words, Christ “died for our sins.”  That is, he paid for our sins, a debt that we could not pay.  Who required this payment?  God, the Father, declares “all souls are mine…the soul that sins, it shall die.”  (Ezekiel 4:4)  Yet God Himself provided the payment by sending His Son and making “his soul an offering for sin.”  (Isaiah 53:11)

But that was not the end.  The Scriptures affirm as Paul related above that Christ “rose again.”  His resurrection declared that God “accepted” his sacrifice.  Again, as Paul confirmed to the believers in Rome, Jesus Christ was “declared to be the Son of God…by the resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4)  Christ as God’s Son was perfect and sinless.  Accordingly, he did not deserve to die and, consequently, the grave could not hold him.  Sin’s payment was made and the payment was accepted.  That is good news, indeed!  Believers are those who’ve come to rest in this payment on their behalf. As we mark the passing of Easter in whatever way we choose, let us take time to reflect on its scriptural ties and the essence of the gospel – God’s good news for times like these.

God, Our Creator, Benefactor, and Savior

Nothing we own really belongs to us. The Scriptures teach “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). Reflect for a moment on the sweeping implications of that truth. The ores and all minerals belong to the Lord and everything resulting from their development.  All the forests, crops, and even the gardens’ produce are his. Everything that comes from the sea and sky he owns. The “fullness thereof” contemplates much more than we readily give thought to.

The Lord claims much more than the world around us and its goods as his own. Even “they that dwell therein” belong to him. At the risk of being obvious, it includes each of us. Life, yours and mine, comes from God. “Children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psalm 127:3). Isaiah, the prophet, instructs that God “giveth breath to the people upon it [earth] and spirit to them that walk therein ” (Isaiah 42:5).

To the point, we own nothing. But we owe God everything. He is both Creator and Provider. We live in a state of dependent stewardship.  The Lord endows and enables. We work but the rewards, whether little or much, are from him. 

Job is a well-known historical figure whose trials are reported in the Old Testament.  He suffered greatly at the hands of Satan who destroyed his wealth and his family.  Even so, he understood and acknowledged the Lord as both his Sovereign and Benefactor. “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

We are here on this earth by God’s doing and for his purpose. That includes you, your family members, your neighbors, your employer, everyone. What then is a right response to that truth? At the very least we should give thanks to God unceasingly. If you have life, God gave it to you. If you have a family, God gave it to you. If you have a job, God gave it to you. If you have your health, God gave it to you. God indeed owns all things and all people and he shall bring all men into account for their response to that truth.

The correct response goes beyond gratitude.  The Scriptures teach us “thou [God] hast created all things and for thy pleasure they were and are created” (Revelation 4:11). How does God receive pleasure from his creation? His pleasure lies in receiving the glory due unto his name. The Psalmist declares “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name…worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him all the earth” (Psalm 96:8-9).

God deserves and demands a fitting worship from those he has created. However, he is holy and we are not. Our sin prevents a worship that is pleasing to him. But even in this matter, our Benefactor has provided.  He has given his Son, Jesus, as an offering for our sin that we might enjoy him as he intended. 

We owe God everything, even the payment due because of our sin. It is a debt we cannot pay, but the blood of Christ has paid it all. Accept his offering for your sin. Then he will not only be your Creator and Provider, but your Savior, as well. 

Exhort One Another

The writer of Hebrews admonishes his audience “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13). The emphatic challenge of the author is to continue in the faith. One of the earmarks of Christianity is persistence in obeying the truth. A believer may stumble and fall into sin, but a genuine disciple of Christ does not continue in that place of disobedience.  

The author reminds us that sin is deceitful. It will invite us to believe things that are not true and, consequently, to pursue a path that is not right nor pleasing to God. And this baiting is so subtle as to be beyond our discerning. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in a similar vein when he reminded them that “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Temptation to sin never parades itself before us with flashing red lights, but with soft, warm glows. But the reality is that sin will take us farther than we want to go, keep us longer than we want to stay, and cost us more than we want to pay.

In light of sin’s deceitful character, we are warned to take heed. The prophet, Jeremiah, testifies that our own heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Hence, we are even more at risk to depart from the living God through unbelief seeing that the temptation to sin is made all the more winsome because of our own sinful heart. If we are to persevere in our faith, we must nurture its spiritual well-being.

An integral part of that nurturing according to our text is fellowshipping with other believers in a way that permits and promotes exhorting one another. God has created the church, the body of Christ, to grow through communal participation. Paul writes to the church at Ephesus, “but speaking the truth in love, [we] may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly and joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16; emphasis added). 

Believers who assert that they do not need to go to church to be a good Christian have missed completely one vital and scriptural truth pertaining to the body of Christ. We need one another in order to grow and become more like Jesus! In the very spirit of persevering faith, this same author writes “let us hold fast the profession of our faith…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23, 25).

Are you faithful in participating in corporate worship at your local church with your brothers and sisters in Christ? They need you to be involved and the Lord expects it.

The Poor in Spirit

Both Matthew and Luke record what is popularly referred to as the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. His teaching on this occasion was for the benefit of his disciples, those who had committed to following him expressly. “And seeing the multitudes, he [Jesus] went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them” (Matthew 5:1-2; emphasis added).

He began with a series of blessings, the Beatitudes, which belong to those who have embraced and adopted his teachings. The eternal character of his words are evident as seen from the very first of these blessings. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The poor in spirit are those who acknowledge their own spiritual bankruptcy before a holy and eternal God.

It is not surprising that Jesus began focusing on the poor in spirit, for the way to know God begins with humility. We must see ourselves as God knows us to be, sinners deserving His wrath. Since Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, man has turned his back on his Creator. We live as though we do not need God, as though God is not there at all. But he is. The Scriptures remind us that “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

It is this spirit of independence, this willful pride that denies God his due. Our pride sets us in opposition to God. Yet James wrote, “God resisteth the proud” (James 4:6) and Solomon admonished that a “proud look” is “an abomination” to the LORD (Proverbs 6:16-17). Consequently, no man can come to God without acknowledging his own unworthiness to stand before God. Knowing God begins there.

James urged his audience “cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded…humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:8,10). When we humble ourselves before this great and marvelous God, he extends his infinite grace unto us. “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15).

Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven belonged to those who were poor in spirit. Its citizens are characterized by humility. There are no proud people in heaven. No one will be there who believes they deserve to be there. Those who are poor in spirit know that they are unworthy and that it is only by God’s grace they can enjoy his presence. Isaiah reminds us, “Thus saith the LORD, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool…but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). The way to the God who inhabits eternity begins with humbling oneself. There can be no other way.