Me, Beans, And God

Psalm 116:6
The LORD preserves the simple. I was brought low and He saved me.

What's up with the "beans" reference?
Well, if you were to describe me as a food....it would be pinto beans.
I'm that country.
No brag...just fact.
I tend to see life as something that is very simple.
There are consequences for the choices each of us make.
Good choices bring good consequences to my life.
Bad choices.....?
well, you get the picture.
Oh, I could complicate the whole thing by bringing in the whole "Sin Nature/Flesh" thing, but truth be known, it all boils down to who you are listening to and are willing to serve.
Choices-----

The Bible clearly states that God is love. I believe this to be true.
But you will run into folks that want to debate that simple statement.
"Well, if God is love then why did he act the way he did in the Old Testament?"
Or...
"I could never serve a God who would send people to hell."
Why is it so hard to accept the simplicity of God's nature. He not only has the capability to love. He is love. He created love. He defined what it was and wasn't. He is love.
Did those things happen in the Old Testament? Sure they did. But how you could say that God doesn't love is beyond me. Love doesn't excuse wrong. Love doesn't overlook sin. Love holds us all accountable. Just because I want to run off and go all stupid doesn't decrease God's ability to love me. He may look at me and wonder, "What's wrong with that boy?" But it doesn't stop who  he is or what his desire is for me.
Keep it simple!

I have been called naive...
Out of touch with the real gospel.
I have been called a hell spawn who was leading people down the road to damnation and that my own soul was beyond saving.
That one puzzled me as it came in the form of a letter I found taped to the door of the church. It was also signed anonymous. 

Truth is...
The gospel boils down to one of two things...
You believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. Or that he truly holds a position of authority and power above this world and it's inhabitants.And that God the Father raised this Jesus from the dead.
This belief in Jesus is more than words that you speak like the pledge of allegiance. It is something that gets all down inside your thoughts and heart and causes you to come to an understanding that something is not right in your life. That, in fact, you need this Jesus. You know that you are in need of being saved. 
Saved from hell....
Saved from eternal separation from God...
And saved from yourself and the destructive choices you have made.

If I confess my sins (tell them to God and admit that I own them. I am responsible for them) then He is faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. 
That, my friend, is the simple, undiluted good news of Jesus Christ.

So then next time you eat pinto beans....
Thank Jesus for them and for the simple good news that you don't have to live a life outside His goodness and His grace.

God on you...
mb