RECONCILIATION

“For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:10)

 

Reconcile - cause to coexist in harmony; to settle (as in a disagreement); restore friendly relations between two or more parties.

 

          The sin of Adam transferred itself to all men resulting in a gulf between God and man. Habakkuk 1:13 tells us that the eyes of God are too pure to look on evil, for He cannot tolerate wrongdoing; therefore, man was separated from God and would remain so until His plan of salvation would come to fruition. The death of Jesus Christ repaired that broken relationship. His blood, when applied to sin, not only provided payment for that sin, but also brought restoration. That lone act bridged the gaping chasm that existed between Creator and man.

          If you are a Christian, it may be difficult for you to accept that you were at one time an enemy of God. We are not Christians simply because we live in America and we are not Christians simply because we attend weekly church services. We aren’t necessarily a Christian if we are a member of a church or even a deacon or elder. Being a Christian entails giving something up. It involves letting go. Just believing in God is a start; however, as James 2:19 states “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.” Believing in God should elicit change in us. We should be compelled to emulate Christ. We should want to read His word. We should want to live for Him. Just acknowledging God’s existence doesn’t relinquish control of our lives and that is what is required. We must give ourselves away. We must surrender.

          There is a cost associated with living for God. We must be willing to turn from our old life. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17; NLT) Not allowing that change is like looking at your disheveled appearance in the mirror and walking away without making any changes. Actually, God does the changing; His Holy Spirit will lead and guide you through this maze called life. He will make alterations to your thought processes and character if you allow Him to. To not allow it is like dying of thirst and yet leaving a cool, refreshing glass of water on the table and walking away. Accept all God has for you. Draw close to Him and learn from Him. He has plans for you that you cannot realize in your life without submission to His will. There is really nothing to think over; the decision is really quite simple. Submit to God’s spiritual surgery and live.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!

RANDOM RAMBLINGS 72

          Have you ever considered what your life would be like if you had never accepted Christ?  The busyness of our lives doesn't always lend itself to introspection, but we should probably make some time to ponder this all important question.  Why is it important, you may ask?  I think remembering where we've come from and where we are now is very important to the maturation process of a Christian.  I think it is also important for us to think of how our lives may have developed had we not surrendered to God and allowed His Holy Spirit to mold us into all He knows we could be. We might find that the potential alternative to the path we've taken will appear rather dark and ugly by comparison. There are rewards in heaven for those who remain faithful and live according to God's precepts. Scripture tells us that we could never even begin to imagine what God has in store for us on the other side. 

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) - "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."

rlk

OUR COMPULSION

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

COMPULSION - a very strong feeling of wanting to do something, especially a feeling that you cannot control.

            Compulsion is an interesting word.  Once we receive Christ, we are a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), old things have passed away … all things have become new.  During this transformation a compulsion should have been born.  This compulsion should have been a strong desire or “want to” that drove us to read the Bible.  It was a Spiritual hunger.  It should never leave you as long as you walk with the Lord.  It tends to leave you when you allow your spirit man to, in a manner of speaking, dehydrate.  I lived in Texas for nine years and you can’t do a whole lot outside during the heat of the summer without hydrating yourself constantly.  Christians must hydrate their spirit man with the “living water” that is the word of God.  It is the love we now realize God has for us that is to do the compelling.  He died for us all so that we might live.  We are no longer to serve ourselves, but submit to the leadership of Christ in our lives.  Christ not only died for us all but was raised to new life, which is emblematic of the new life we achieve once we receive Christ. 

            If you want to put salvation in earthly terms you might think of it like this.  Let’s say that for one reason or another you found yourself in serious debt.  Let’s say, for the sake of this example, $32,000 in debt.  You lost your job and as a result had to sell your house and move into a cheap apartment.  You had a debt that you were unable to pay.  At the moment you had no way of even making a single payment.  Now think of how you would feel if a total stranger came along and paid that debt in its entirety.  You would want to do something to show your appreciation to that man, wouldn’t you? That is exactly what has happened if you received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  He paid the debt sin had caused us.  We are totally incapable of repaying it.  Christ bridged the gap between God and man.  As a result of this loving act of redemption; a ‘buyback’ of the grandest magnitude, we are to have a driving compulsion to know Him intimately, read His word and live for Him, thus being His ambassador to a dying and sin sick world.

WALK WITH THE KING AND BE A BLESSING!  

OUR WONDROUS GOD

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."  (Ephesians 1:7)

          One drop of Christ's blood can wash us whiter than snow.  All the detergents in the world cannot do what Christ can do; not one of them.  You could spray yourself with Oxy-Clean or Shout from now until the end of time and you would never be able to blot out the stain that has been caused by your sin.  Yet God requires a payment.  It's the system He set up.  A blood sacrifice for sins committed.  But how could it be done so that it wasn't required annually?  God had this all planned out from the beginning so at a time when all appeared lost and Israel was desperately seeking their deliverer, Christ came.  But as a baby? What about the warrior king they were expecting?  God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that the Jewish people would reject His Son and that rejection would open the door to all men.  It was God's grace; His unmerited favor, that allowed for this.  God forgives the most heinous of sins if forgiveness is sought with a sincere heart filled with regret.  There is no fooling God for if He knows anything at all, He knows the hearts motivation of each and every man.  God loves us so much that He gave us all a second chance; and if necessary, a third chance and a fourth chance ... .  We simply don't get it sometimes.  I know I don't.  What is this grace that sees down into my core and knows me better than I could ever know myself?  Who is this God who gives us chance after chance to get it right?  I know who He is, but I still marvel at His undying and unconditional love for us.  I know who He is but I will never understand the patience He has with any of us, let alone me.  Embrace Christ for who He is, not what He has done, because He is worthy of praise regardless of whether He had saved us or not.  And then glorify Him for His wondrous work on the cross, for without that we would have no hope of anything but a fiery pit.  Seek and serve this wonderful God who loves us.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!

THE AUTHOR OF OUR FAITH

“... fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

          The writer of Hebrews gives us a main key to success in a believers life: “fixing our eyes on Jesus”. Jesus Christ is the reason we have our sins forgiven. He is the One who considered it all joy to endure a horrific death on a criminals cross. Who else should we turn to? Who else can buy us back from the edge of the ledge? No one. No other 'religion' offers a complete and total answer for the removal of our sin. No one else throughout the course of history has ever stated that He was the Son of God and was equal with God. No one. Anyone else who would say such a thing would be lying.

          When it says that Christ scorned the shame, it means in essence that the shame He had to endure was nothing to Him. He gladly bore our sin and shame for He knew we never could. Once He uttered the words “It is finished!”, God's plan was firmly in place. No one can change what God puts in motion. No one can stop it and no one can change a thing about it. God's will for us all is to fix our eyes on the crucified Christ and in doing so allow that sight to make a permanent change in us from the inside out. Once we receive Christ our lives should never be the same. Surrendering to the author and perfecter of our faith is what we must do; we should be compelled to do it. There are two choices that have eternal ramifications: 1) Believe in God and receive His plan of redemption and as a result be forever changed, or 2) Don't believe in God, reject His plan and forever stay the same. One path leads to life, one to death. Where does your focus lie?

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!

SEEKING GOD

“Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things;preserve my life according to your word.” (Psalm 119:36-37 

          It is to be the desire of the followers of Christ to hunger after His word. In these verses the writer urges God to keep his heart set firmly toward the statutes of God and not selfish gain. In a world where self-absorption is rampant, we would do well to heed these words. Temptations abound all around us and the believer whose attention is not fixed fully on God and His word will struggle. The devil has his ways of persuading us to take a break from Godly pursuits and dabble in something trivial by comparison. Always remember and never forget Paul's statement in his first letter to the Corinthians (10:23); “'I can do anything' - but not everything is good for you.” He goes on to say that not everything is constructive for us as believers. We must take the time to get into His word so that we will not stray off into the direction of worthless things. Our lives are of infinite value to the One who created us. He has given us a second chance through the blood of Christ, which bought us back from the brink of death. It is the greatest buyback in the history of mankind. 

          So how are we then to live this life out? Do we accept the payment of our sin debt and simply move on or do we submit to one true God Who purchased our freedom? And if we are to submit, how would we do this? Acknowledge His Lordship over you. Praise His name. Give Him thanks continuously for what He has done for you. Seek His face daily and allow His Holy Spirit to minister to your soul. For those who think this is being too religious, I say, religion has nothing to do with it. It should be a relationship that we seek. It is a love relationship of the highest order; one that should not be one sided. God loves us all with such an incredible, unchanging, never-ending, unconditional love that no equal can be found this side of heaven. If you truly want to remain focused on the Lord, then do so with dogged determination. Your reward shall be peace, contentment and fulfillment. This can be found in no one else. 

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!

LETTING GO OF THE ROPE

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1)

 

           David wrote this Psalm as an indictment to those who do not believe in the existence of God. It is not a Psalm of Praise, but rather a Psalm revealing the true nature of the unregenerate soul. The word ‘fool’ in this context denotes a man who is morally deficient. He goes on to say that the immoral soul is corrupt, capable of no good thing.

          There has and always will be men who will deny the existence of God. They are control mongers who wish to be at the helm of their own ship, relinquishing that control to no one, whether seen or unseen. Those that make these denials shout out their need of proof. They require hard cold facts that would prove the existence of this unseen God that millions have sworn their allegiance to. Visible, tangible proof is not available, nor shall it ever be, for faith does not require natural sight, but rather supernatural sight. It requires sight in the spirit. Faith is seeing things that are not as if they are. Faith is placing your trust in someone or something that cannot be experienced with your natural senses.

          To fully experience God, one must let go of the rope we have been clinging to and trust that we will not fall. Sometimes it isn’t until we get to the end of that rope that we release our hold, thinking we have no other choice. God shall not fail us. Throughout history, as depicted in scripture, God has been faithful to those who have called upon His name. To those who dedicate their lives to Him, God becomes an unfailing source of all things. God knows us intimately and wishes us to know Him in like manner. It is only those who dedicate themselves to surrendering their will to God a little more each day that shall come to truly know Him. His character is revealed in His word. The recounting of real events in history reveals God’s nature. He is true to His own. He shuns those who shun Him, all the while leaving a door open for their redemption. Our Almighty Jehovah God is the supreme force in a universe of His making. To contradict the statement ‘there is no God’, it can be readily stated that “there is no one like God” for He knows all, sees all and is capable of all things. Those who devote their lives to Him and Him alone are of all men wise.

WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!