I was
getting ready for work the other day and the song Hallelujah by Darlene Zschech
began to play. The first line caught my attention, it goes, “He is King. The
Savior has been born, the One we’ve waited for, surrounded by our praises”. “The
One we have waited for” caused me to think that we have all waited for something
in our lives. I remember when I first
started working in the early 70’s thinking that once I finally made ten
thousand dollars a year my life would be so good. The odds are most of us are waiting for
something to come and change our lives, the perfect mate, the new car, the job
of our dreams, to finally get out of school, you fill in the blank. Living unsatisfied
lives is a common trait among humans. If you sit here today surrounded by
plenty and still feel like something is missing in your life, I have the answer
for you.
Part of the continuing search for meaning in our lives comes
from an inherent emptiness inside of each of us. There is a God shaped hole in our lives caused
by what the bible calls sin. The bible tells us that we all have sinned and
fallen short of Gods glory; it also tells us that the wages of sin is death. Everyone
but one, (you’re not the one) who has
ever lived on the face of the earth has sinned and missed the standard set by
Gods glory, and consequently has or had the penalty of death upon their
heads. Billions, upon countless billions
of people have missed the mark and have lived and died under the penalty of
death.
God is a loving God, God’s character is defined by love, and
in fact God loves you so much that he sent his one and only son to pay for the
penalty of death that follows us through our lives. Only Jesus lived a sinless
life. Two things are evident through the
teaching of scripture, the first thing is that the death that God says we
deserve (Genesis 2:17) is spiritual death, which is separation form the Gods
presence for all eternity; if we die in
our sins we are exiled to a place called hell forever. We are told in scripture
that hell is a place of fire and brimstone where we burn eternally without any
relief. But the greater anguish is those who choose hell are an eternity away
from God’s presence and love. You have one life and within the boundaries of
that life you are given the opportunity to *repent, or turn from sin to God,
through Jesus.
Since the day Christ died on the cross, and rose form the
dead to pay for our debt, we have been living in the days of grace; all of us
from the worst to the best have lived under God’s merciful grace, as He
patiently waits for the best and the worst of us to choose eternal life over
eternal death. God does not suddenly take people out just because He had a bad
day (He never has a bad day). As we live
here in this wonderfully complex world that God created, we are all given a
life time of chances and choices to choose Him. I believe God gives us all of
the time we need to accept his open invitation for a new life through His Son,
Jesus. It is not Gods will that anyone
perishes but it is his will that we all be restored to a right relationship
with Him. The time that it takes in a person’s life to come to this point of
understanding varies. People have turned to Him from early childhood all the
way to death bed conversions. This fact
bears out the compassion of our God.
The sad truth is that everyone on earth will not be *saved.
The bible says that few will choose him and many will be cast away from his
presence, because the pathway to destruction is wide and easy to travel, but
the path to eternal life is difficult and narrow and few will find it. There is a line from another song that fits
what I am saying it is from Caedmon’s Call “This world”, it goes “This world
has nothing for me and this world has everything, all that I could want and
nothing that I need”. In the bible, Proverbs
14:12 tells us “There is a way which seemeth right unto man but the end thereof
are the ways of death.”(KJV). Are you living in a way that “seems right” but
offers no satisfaction, like drinking a glass of liquid that does not quench
your thirst?
I encourage you to seek the One we have all been waiting
for. He is Lord of all, He is redeemer, savior, lover of your soul, Master of
the sea, and Lion of the tribe of Judah, His name is Jesus. He will fill the
emptiness that is in your life. We have
a need that Only God can fill we are openly invited to come and dine at the
masters table, regardless of who you are or what you have done. His forgiveness
is powerful, His healing is refreshing. He will wash you whiter than snow.
May God bless you richly, remember He loves you more than
you deserve and more than you could ever imagine.
* Saved is a term used
to describe escape from the penalty of sin that is upon all of our heads,
before regeneration. It comes only through confessing your sin and asking Jesus
to come into your life to be Lord and Savior. From the bible the book of Romans
the third chapter the twenty third verse and romans chapter six and verse
twenty three.
* Regeneration is a
fancy term that means a new life and a new heart, not a changed heart but a new
heart because the hold heart is corrupt. The heart is the mind and
consciousness of human beings.
*Repent is a term that
means to do a 180 degree turn away from your old life and walk in a new life
surrounded by Gods love and guidance. You must know that to repent does not
mean that everything is automatically perfect and your life changes overnight.
In most cases it is a slow process of relearning how to put God first in your
life and to get rid of addictions or blatant sins (specific things that are
contrary to the word of God and are hurtful to your life, and your walk with
God). This done by simply in trusting in Jesus and letting him live his life
through you. In the bible you will find the book of John chapter three verse
sixteen and it will tell you of God’s love. Specific verses about repentance
are in the books of: Matthew 13:3, Acts 2:38 (the need and the benefit.)
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