Category: Salvation

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The Last Word

The Last Word
Do you remember life at Age 3? Probably not, but, if you’re a parent, I imagine you do remember what your child was like at Age 3. Their vocabulary can be quite entertaining! A three-year-old can certainly push the boundaries of independence as they seek to have the last word.

Who’s the Boss?

My husband witnessed this firsthand when our neighbor brought her grandson over for a swim recently. He later shared the story with me, and we’ve been chuckling ever since. Apparently, it was time to go home, but the little guy was having none of that. As 3-year-olds do, he threw a bit of a fit. He said, “I’m NOT going home, and THAT’S that!” He may not have had the last word, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort.
We’ve been getting mileage out of that little boy’s statement ever since. I’m NOT fill in the blank and THAT’S that! God reminded me through this story that I’m not so different. I’m no longer three and may not use that same lingo, but I can display that same level of disobedience quite easily. How about you?
Just as any parent, God desires obedience from His children too.
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
‭‭2 John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Disobedience = Sin

I fall short. Very. Short. We all do. They call that sin. Sin separates us from God. It took the blood of His Son, Jesus, the final and perfect sacrifice, to restore us to a right relationship with Him.
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.
‭‭ Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭25 NIV‬‬

No Greater Love

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
‭‭ 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Our Heavenly Father gave us something priceless, Jesus, in exchange for something worthless, our sin. Why? I can just hear His response—“because I love you, and THAT’S that!” God ALWAYS has the last word. Aren’t you glad?
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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!