365 Days with God - Day 110: Not A Tame Lion

I'm giving myself a challenge. Read the Bible each day for a whole year, following the ESV Study Guide 1-year plan. Each day, I will post whatever God has revealed to me in His Word, and how it is changing me. A friend of mine once said that nothing has changed her life as much as reading the bible each day - and I'm excited for how this will change me. Join me on an adventure into the heart of God - and day by day, we can learn more about who He is and what that means to us!

- Andy Catts

Day 110, April 9, 2014

Readings: Psalm 109, Leviticus 16, Isaiah 21, Galatians 1:11-24

The LORD says to my Lord;
"Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."

The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your enemies!
Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power,
in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
the dew of your youth will be yours.
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,
"You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
He will execute judgement among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
He will drink from the brook by the way; 
therefore he will lift up his head. (Psalm 110)


How often have you seen Jesus portrayed as the lamb? The doormat who was beaten and crushed for our iniquities? Who is nothing more than a weakling, a teacher of "good morals" and a pacifist who is tolerant of everything and everyone?

Here comes the fire and brimstone.

Make no mistake, Jesus did come to be the sacrificial Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. But that day has come and gone. Jesus is at the right hand of God, and the Lion is coming. We are at his mercy right now! He is holding back the wrath that we so rightly deserve! This time we have is a gift, that we may discover Him and be saved from what is coming.

This is not a "fire insurance" message, not a "get yourself a ticket to heaven" admonishment. This is a plea to recognize the truth of who God is! He is kind, just and merciful.  He is the Lion and the Lamb. He is to be feared and respected. Not because of the terror he wields over us, but because of the amazing power he possesses, and the mercy he has given.

We do not fear a garter snake - it is harmless, small and weak. We do not plan around it, listen for the sound of it's coming. But the rattlesnake holds true power. We respect it. We plan for it. We listen for the sound of it's coming, it's wrath. God deserves our respect because He is powerful. He is returning. And we are hopeless before Him.