God's Motivations for the Salvation of Humankind

Human Need:

"Human need includes the facts that we are lost and need to be found; we are enslaved and need to be freed; we are condemned and need to be pardoned; we are alienated and need to be reconciled; we are in darkness and need light; we are oppressed and need justice; we are sick and need healing..." Christopher Wright, The Message of Ezekiel, 24.

Divine Emotion:

"Divine emotion includes the wonderful biblical affirmations that God loves us, pities us, has compassion and mercy on us, grieves over aour wilful waywardness, longs for our return, rejoices in our restoration, celebrates our homecoming." ibid, 24.

Himself:

"But for [Yahweh] almost the sole issue, and certainly the overwhelming motivation, was what the salvation of Israel would mean for Yahweh himself...But what ultimately mattered was that Yahweh's name and reputation should be vindicated and that Yahweh should be universally acknowedged as God...Needs and emotions are not excluded; but what matters most is the glory of God and the honour of his name." ibid, 25.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

The astronomy picture of the day is great way to worship the Creator.

Thank God for NASA.

Jesus Died for God's Glory

I've heard it said by one preacher that one of the main reasons Jesus died was to preserve the freedom of man. Wrong. Jesus died for God's glory. John Piper, in his classic, The Pleasures of God, writes,

"...God would not just sweep the sins of his chosen people under the rug of the universe. If God was simply going to acquit guilty, God-belittling sinners by faith, then something terrible and awesome had to happen to vindicate his allegiance to the worth of his glory. And that something was the death of his Son. This death demonstrated the inexpressible passion God has for the worth of his glory and for the vindication of righteousness...We know that everything Jesus did in life and death he did for the glory of his Father...The very purpose for which Jesus came to the hour of his death was to glorify the Father. Jesus wants us to see that his willingness to lose his life is because of his love for the glory of the Father. This is how the worth of God's glory is magnified in the death of Jesus." (p. 165, 2000 edition)