Yesterday, I wrote about God’s wrath, one that has been accumulating over time, and was poured out on His Son so that you and I could have a Savior who bore our punishment.

I can’t leave that subject and go on.  Ever since writing this message yesterday, I can’t stop thinking about it.  I’d never thought of God’s wrath like a dam about to burst, how Jesus took on the fury of it, the accumulation of it, and how vast an amount that would be upon a man.  I don’t know how He withstood it.  And mostly, I can’t comprehend the love that was willing to even consider doing it.

I am so convicted.  I am a teacher of the Gospel.  Women make decisions to receive Christ in our conferences.  Sometimes, as many as a hundred at a time.  But am I presenting the Gospel in a way that is reflective of God’s love and His wrath?  That’s the question I’ve been wrestling with.  It has had me in tears, repenting over my over-reaction to past presentations of the Gospel and the distortions that I felt harmed the spiritual life of the men and women who heard the preacher’s messages.  Yes, they came to the altar but they came mostly for ‘fire insurance’.

God’s love, and God’s wrath, are both realities.  But my experience is that churches and ministries are rarely balanced in presenting both sides.  I sat under preaching that focused on the wrath but lacked grace.  I was made aware of others who were soft on sin and wrath but spoke, almost exclusively, of God’s love.  When God birthed Daughters of Promise, I was moved to share the Gospel in a fresh vernacular.  Invitations have been given about becoming God’s daughter, no longer living like an orphan.  While I have certainly presented the message of the cross, I have not spent time talking about God’s wrath against sin.  I am no longer afraid to do so.  I realized this morning that to reveal the reality of the wrath of God is to set up a deeper understanding of the love of God which sought to provide a Lamb for lost sinners.

I am beginning to teach a conference on prayer today for Salvation Army Officers in Texas.  You can be sure that my language will have a different tone today.  To all those who have been following this ministry for some time, I ask your forgiveness if I have presented the Gospel in any way that has lacked the full impact of Calvary.  I pray you’ll be led to stick with me and see the changes.

Pray for me.  Romans is doing its work.