The Skull Hill- No one is beyond redemption

 Noel Heikkinen's sermon today was awesome. He brought a lot of great things to light regarding anyone's ability to receive redemption, including the Christian who's walked away, the murderer, and the slanderer. In Noel's words: "You don't have to cleanse yourself to come to Him." I think that's one of the greatest messages of all.

If you're any bit like myself or William Cowper, you'd know that following Christ requires a "continuous trust" 

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;

And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;

And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

What my church growing up failed to tell me about William Cowper, is that he wanted to commit suicide. He knew there was nothing "right" about it, and that was the only thing keeping him from settling on the easy way out. We are reminded by the hymns of sadness that he wrote that rejoicing in Christ is the only thing that  can truly give us joy. See more about William Cowper here:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/f/tfountfb.htm
Everyone struggles with sin. But Jesus Christ, the perfect son of God went through 6 trials, was found innocent, and was still crucified because the people wanted to kill him for "blaspheming that he was God." Jesus Christ healed men and women on Earth while he was alive, and said "your sins have been forgiven" when he did so. He was able to do this because he WAS the son of God, and would be killed to become our sins on the cross.
Mark 2:7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 

In Matthew 5:44 Jesus says:
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
And as Jesus hung from the cross at Skull Hill being killed innocently,

 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Noel Heikkinen compared our sin to radioactivity, what's in the water in Japan that is causing people to thirst to death. God can't even drink the water containing the sin figuratively speaking, because it is so awful. So, Christ took it on himself bearing the sin of the world without complaint but rather by praying for the persecutor at his death.
As Erwin Lutzer said:

God's searing holiness demands an infinite penalty.

AW Pink wrote:

Sin is always sin in the sight of God, whether we are conscious of it or not

It is beyond ugly to see us justifying sin and making our own way through life. Even as Jesus spoke in Luke 23:34 above, another man being hung on a cross for his own wrongs next to Christ was forgiven due to his belief in Jesus' words. Christ promised a place in Heaven for him (Luke 23:43)
Charles Spurgeon wrote:

The thief was our Lord's last  companion on earth and his first companion at the gates of paradise.

 And lastly, a verse from the old testament before the coming of Jesus Christ:

Isaiah 53:12

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
   and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
   and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
   and made intercession for the transgressors.
See rivchurch.com for today's sermon podcast.
artwork at: http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=calvary#/d1bz61n

Love

Passion comes from love, not love from passion. Often times love is construed to be what its not. In order to live and love to the fullest, we must follow God's teaching first.

Proverbs 3:3-4
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Even in my relationship with my boyfriend, I failed to see the sin in pursuing a physical relationship that did not become sexual. My mind was changed when I read this verse:

1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

If you pursue Christ before your boyfriend/girlfriend, He will bless you as an heir to His kingdom:

Romans 8:12-17
Therefore brothers (fellow Christians), we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Therefore, consider Galatians 1:10 that asks if you are trying to win the approval of men or of God. If you were trying to please men, you would not be a servant of Christ. I have struggled with this in many ways this last year. For the first time this week, I have been able to see Christ for who he really is and have found my servitude to follow Him first. I do not have to be submissive to my boyfriend or him to me. We do not belong to each other as we belong to Christ. As a final note today, I would like to note that I have no regrets in making a list of guidelines/rules in my current relationship.