Category: Salvation

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Road Closed

Obstacle Ahead

ROAD CLOSED—This is NOT a sign you want to see in the early part of a 1000+ mile journey home after being away for over three months. Actually, I’m not sure it is EVER a sign you want to see. I only know that it was particularly painful yesterday. I wasn’t sure we would ever get out of Florida! All lanes  on I-95 N were closed due to an accident just north of Jacksonville. So, we had to exit and find our way back with several thousand of our closest friends. You can imagine our delight!

An Alternate Route

My husband, Todd, doesn’t generally let me do much of the driving, but he succumbed when he had had enough of evading the obstacle keeping us from our intended route. I suggested that I take a turn behind the wheel so he could take a nap. I assured him that I wouldn’t fall asleep in such driving conditions. So, I drove. He slept. We covered 0.8 miles in the process! Finally, we made it  back to I-95 and were on our way again. By midnight we had conquered the rest of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, stopping off for the night in Elkin, NC.

Responding to Obstacles

I’m always asking God for writing material. After an altered night of sleep due to our late night, it came in the form of the Verse of the Day in YouVersion first thing this morning. As we reflect on the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, we revisited the story of Jesus going to the Temple in today’s verse. Like us yesterday, He encountered obstacles. Also, like us, He responded with anger. Okay, His was righteous. Ours, not so much. Instead of the Temple being used for its intended purpose—worshiping God, it was being used to take advantage of those who traveled to Jerusalem for that very reason.

Jesus went into the Temple area. He threw out all those who were selling and buying things there. He turned over the tables that belonged to those who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of those who were selling doves. Jesus said to them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are changing it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’”

Matthew 21:12-13 ERV

Theft

The people who came to the Temple for worship were being robbed, in multiple ways. First, the merchants were selling animals needed for sacrifice at excessive amounts, priced too high for many of the travelers to afford. That led to a second type of robbery—a spiritual robbery. Those who could not meet the asking price were excluded from worship, unable to pray and connect with God at the Temple. The merchants and religious leaders had filled the Temple with obstacles, keeping the poor and vulnerable from God’s very presence.

Clearing the Path

Jesus would have NONE of that! In His anger, He single-handedly cleared the Temple of all man-made obstacles blocking people’s access to God. That was a temporary act, leading to His ultimate act, one that has eternity stamped on it. Jesus tore down every obstacle standing in our path to God when He went to the cross on our behalf to pay the penalty for our sin. The obstacle is gone, the road is open, never to be closed again. Thank you, Jesus!

If you haven’t yet chosen this road, please know that it is an open invitation and one you’ll never regret accepting. I know how thrilled we were to get back on I-95 and get moving yesterday, yet it pales in comparison to the joy of being in relationship with God, only made possible through Jesus. May you know that same joy!

 

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Unfair Trade

Unfair Trade
All Trades are Not Even

Have you ever been involved in an unfair trade? All trades are not even. As a child, I learned that lesson firsthand. I collected baseball cards as a kid. My cousins from New York did as well. I always looked forward to their summer visits and the opportunity to “play” with our collections. 

 

An Uneven Trade

One particular trade we made stands out from the rest. My cousins offered me 100 cards for ONE of mine. That didn’t quite seem like a fair trade. I was shocked that they would propose such a trade as I clearly was getting the better end of that deal. After all, 100 > 1. How could I possibly turn that down?

The Trade of All Trades

Did you know that God makes some unfair trades? It’s true! In fact, He is the author of the most lopsided trade in history. God gave us something priceless, Jesus, in exchange for something worthless, our sin, to give us the right to become part of His family, His children. Why would He do that? Because of love! 

 

Reaping the Benefits

That trade is a done deal; however, to become His child and experience the abundant life that comes with that position, God requires something of us. He simply asks us to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin and to fully trust that He alone is the way of salvation. God offers salvation to anyone who will receive it from Him. 

 

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”

John 1:12 NLT

 

What a deal! And it was all made possible by an unfair trade. 

 

Shortchanged

About that unfair trade I made with my cousins–it turns out that they were the ones who got the last laugh. I did get 100 cards in exchange for my one. The problem—that one card I traded away was Roberto Clemente! Ugh….

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Did you RSVP?

Please RSVP

The abbreviation RSVP originates from a French phrase, but in English it means please reply to an invitation. When I got married, I included a card insert with a stamped, self-addressed envelope for the RSVP. With the advancements in technology, that is no longer the norm. My daughter requested the responses to her wedding invitation be made electronically via her wedding website.

Hillary set February 1 as the deadline to RSVP for her upcoming wedding. Surprisingly, well over half the invited guests hadn’t replied by that date. I’m not completely sure why the response rate was so low, but my theory is that, because most of the guests have to travel a distance, we already knew many of the answers. Thankfully, technology allowed me to round up the responses without too much hassle.

In the midst of collecting RSVPs, I was reminded of the most important invitation I’ve ever received. You received the same one. God has invited each of us to be part of His family through faith in Jesus.

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Replying to this invitation has eternal consequences:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, how does one RSVP to this invitation? A positive reply involves four steps:

    1. Recognize that your sin separates you from God.
    2. Ask God for forgiveness and be willing to turn away from your sins.
    3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave.
    4. Invite Jesus into your heart and life and begin to follow Him.

Here’s the deal—God will pursue a positive response but won’t force it. He gives us free will to choose. I consider my saying YES to His invitation the best decision I’ve ever made.

Have you RSVP’d yet? As long as you still have breath, it’s not too late to say “yes!” He is awaiting you with arms wide open and more love than you can ever imagine. Please, come be part of the family and enjoy the abundant life that Jesus came to give. The benefits are eternal and I promise you won’t regret it!

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Makeup

As you most likely already know, I’m going to be playing the role of “mother-of-the-bride” fairly soon. With this gig comes a lot of pressure! According to my mom, my appearance can only come in 2nd to the bride. Have I mentioned pressure? I knew I would need to step up my game to pull this off, so, earlier this week, I went on a field trip to Ulta for makeup.

Leaving My Comfort Zone

Makeup doesn’t exactly land on my Top 10 list of important things. In fact, it falls closer to the Bottom 10. I wear it, but I’ve never invested much in the way of time or money on it. By the time I was done being made up at Ulta, they had me looking pretty good without making me look like someone I’m not. That’s the goal!

How Much?

Once I had given my permission, the girl who worked on me retrieved the products that she used, put them in a little basket, and sent me on my way to the checkout counter. I didn’t know if I was to pay her for her time and efforts, or if payment indirectly came through the purchase of products. I quickly learned that answer when the cashier told me the cost. (Insert multiple emojis with eyes wide open) I spent more money on makeup in one trip to Ulta than I have in my entire existence! I got the goods, now it’s up to my sister, Jayne, to apply it. I’m not going to bear this pressure all alone!!

Is It Even Necessary?

All this talk of makeup and improving my outward appearance got me thinking. First, I’m so thankful that God loves and accepts me just as I am, blemishes and all. He’s more concerned with my inner beauty anyhow. There is no need to hide behind a mask, makeup or otherwise. He already knows everything about me. And He knows everything about you too. Yet He still loves us beyond our wildest imagination. Perhaps you need reminded of that today. You and I were carefully constructed by the God of the universe.

“So God created human beings in his own likeness. He created them to be like himself. He created them as male and female.”

Genesis 1:27 NIRV

Let that sink in for a moment. We were created by God and in His image. Remember, He doesn’t make mistakes.  David recognized God’s handiwork in Psalm 139:

“You created the deepest parts of my being. You put me together inside my mother’s body. How you made me is amazing and wonderful. I praise you for that. What you have done is wonderful. I know that very well.”

Psalm 139:13-14 NIRV

But then there’s that matter of sin which brings me to my second point. When Eve took a bite of that forbidden fruit, sin entered our world and separated us from God. He, of course, had a solution for that too. His name is Jesus.

Solving the Sin Problem

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”

1 Peter 1:18-20 NLT

“The blood of Jesus is the covering that allows us to enter into the presence of a perfect and holy God. It was shed on our behalf, and it grants us membership into a divine family and access to God’s presence. It is the most precious treasure, and we should never lose our gratitude toward it.”

~Dr. Paul Chappell

The Perfect Makeup

The shed blood of Jesus covered our sin. I guess you could say it is the ultimate makeup. The Ulta makeup was pricey, but the ultimate makeup—it is priceless! May we never forget who paid the bill for our sin and what it cost Him.