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But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.” 2 Timothy 2:19 (NLT)
Imagine the scene in heaven. You are standing before the God of the Universe, the Creator and sustainer of all things. He has the power to send you to hell for eternity or welcome you into an eternal life of rest with him. Not to oversimplify but it’s sort of like the scene from the “Wizard of Oz”. Like the cowardly lion you stand shaking in your shoes as the greatness of God fills the room and shakes the very foundation of the building.
Between you and the throne stands the accuser. He’s not the red-suited, horn bearing being you remember from the pictures back on earth. He’s huge, he’s beautiful and his very presence says POWER.
He opens a scroll within your view. On it are the charges against you. Every time you disobeyed your parents is recorded. Every time you flipped off another driver is listed. Every time you lied about not going to church, talked evil of your neighbor, abused your kids and had sex with your girlfriend before marriage. The list goes on. Charge after charge.
There’s no hope you know. You are guilty. Guilty…as they say, as sin. Charge number one is read. In great detail the accuser tells how you did the act. Your attitude. Your words. He even goes so far as to mimic (perfectly, might I add) your facial expression. It’s as though he were there!
The Supreme Judge turns to you and asks how you how you plead. Guilty? Or Not Guilty. You are guilty of course. Guilty of every charge. But just as you are ready to speak, you hear a voice.
“NOT GUILTY FATHER!”
Jesus steps forward. He’s glowing. The compassion and love oozes from every pore. He looks at you and smiles proudly. Then he turns to his father and holds out his hands, the scars from the nails are obvious.
The Father smiles and looks at you. Satan grimaces and his beauty fades into anger and hate. And so it goes with every charge on that list. Satan accuses, Jesus reminds the Father that you are his. Not guilty by reason of the shed blood of Jesus.
When it’s all said and done, your heavenly Father smiles and says “Well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest.”
Our sin is forgiven. Our lives are free to live in perfect relationship with God. And it’s all because of Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I thank you for forgiving me of my sin. I confess to you the struggles I still have with anger, lust, worry and abuse. Forgive me for what I do. Thank you for who I am in you. In your name, Amen.
But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Luke 12:31
Ever noticed how those info-mercials on TV make their particular product so inviting? “If you call now you’ll not only get the original item, they’ll throw in something else. But wait! There’s more. Call within a certain amount of time and they will give you a free give valued at some fantastic amount!”
The company attempts to paint a picture for you. First of all, you NEED this product in order to make life bearable. Secondly, if you purchase this product they will do you a huge favor by giving you much more than what you originally asked for. It’s a deal that simply can’t be passed up!
I’m not trying to cheapen life as a Christ-follower when I say this, but in a sense, living for Christ is like the ultimate info-mercial. Think about it for a moment. Here we are, a bunch of rebellious, self-centered, angry, doubting human beings just looking for things our way. It all started in a garden with a perfect climate, and two people who were physically, spiritually and emotionally naked. They had all God could give them yet they chose to rebel.
God said, I know what I’ll do. I’ll send my only son, my beloved son to die a cruel death on a tree. I’ll watch from heaven as they take my ‘little boy’ and strip him naked, beat him so badly that I won’t even recognize him and finally brutally murder him on a tree. They’ll even have the audacity to say they are doing this horrible thing in my name!
But wait! There’s more. Not only will I let them do this to my son, I’ll forgive their sin. Wipe it out completely. No penalty. No condemnation! Then, I’ll send my very own Spirit to live within them. He’ll guide them, show them the way to salvation, and administer grace and strength in their weakest moment.
Oh, I know they’ll fail. Some will fail over and over again. But if they repent and come back to me, I’ll forgive them and make things right between us once more.
But wait, there’s more! While they are struggling along the path of life, I’ll be preparing a place for them so that once their time on earth is complete they can come to spend all of eternity with me.
Too good to believe? It is to me too. But it’s true. God doesn’t just give us what we need. Our Heavenly Father gives us far more than we ask for. All he asks from each of us it to confess our sin, and invite Christ to be the Lord of our lives.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank and praise you for your wonderful gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. You not only have given me forgiveness. You have given me freedom to be all I can be and a promised hope of eternity with you. Empower me by your Spirit to live daily for you and not myself. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 