Shining Perspective

Success! We’re moved.  We are now living each day sifting through a sea of boxes.  My daily motto has become: “adopt a spirit of adventure and go on a treasure hunt!”  Seven years is long enough to collect more stuff than I ever imagined I would own.  I’ve been surprised to discover the things that I could find sentimental value in. (And I’m astonished at what my husband and son are attached to.)  However, I haven’t become attached to a building, a house, or an apartment.  I moved several times as a child and as an adult, I’ve moved more times than I want to count.  I spent the day cleaning this apartment for the last time and realized that somehow, I got attached to my little home.

Maybe it’s because it was the first apartment that I had for an extended amount of time.  So many memories were made in seven years, some good and many that I didn’t want to remember.  As I spent the day in solitude, (something I don’t get a chance to do very often) I scrubbed and vacuumed as the reel of memories played back in my mind.  We moved there just after the first year of our marriage.  My son was conceived there.  His first steps were taken there; His first words were spoken there. He got his first tooth and five years later, he lost his first tooth there.

Of course, there are plenty of bad memories too.  Memories plagued with anger, immoral living, bad choices and big mistakes.  Holes left in the walls have their own stories where a spirit of rage once reigned, and the presence of old wounds that gave birth to broken hearts still quietly lingers.

Why did I get attached to this apartment?  The one memory that will stand out, the one reason this apartment will always hold a special place in my heart is because it is where I gave my life to Jesus Christ.  I relived so many moments.  Seven years of memories, but none compare to that moment, two years ago, when I surrendered my life and opened my heart to Jesus.  I will miss that spot where I prayed a million prayers and shed a million tears.

While scrubbing the tile floor for the last time I realized that I’ve left my mark on this apartment.  The grout was dirty no matter how many times I ran that brush across it.  It seemed as though it would never come clean; it was stained.  I could continue to try and clean it, and yet my dirt remained.

The same holds true with sin.  It doesn’t matter what we try to do. Sin remains. It is only by the blood of Jesus that we are saved.  It is only by the blood of Jesus that we are cleansed.  “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” ~Leviticus 17:11  “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” ~Hebrews 9:22

It was clear that I could not get that floor to come perfectly clean, just as I cannot make myself perfectly clean.  Since moving to my new home I’ve found myself giving Satan access again.  I’ve allowed him a foothold in my life and I seem to walk in victory but only temporarily.  Then I slip back into the same trap again and again.  But my precious Jesus reminded me that I am covered by His blood and I have been made righteous in Him.  Jesus’ blood doesn’t cleanse me temporarily; it cleanses me once for all.  I haven’t been forgiven for one sin, but all sin past, present and future.  “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” ~Hebrews 9:14

The amazing thing is I can’t do anything to earn forgiveness.  I can’t do anything to make myself clean.  I am free of guilt for every bad memory that was made in that apartment.  All the mistakes and all the wrongs of my life from the beginning and even the mistakes I will make in the future have been covered by the blood of Jesus. Oh, the power of the blood of Jesus.  Not only does Jesus’ blood do all of that, but it has also made it possible for us to have a relationship, a personal and intimate communion with God.  “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” ~1 John 1:7  “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” ~Ephesians 2:13

Maybe you find yourself allowing sin in your life.  Maybe you’ve just made some mistakes and find yourself far from God.  There is nothing you can do, no sin too great, no mistake too big, no blemish on your record, no stain too horrendous that the blood of Jesus cannot wash away and cleanse completely.

How to Have Your Debt Paid in Full

The current national debt of the Untied States is an amount so staggering, few can grasp it. It’s one of the big reasons why national help with health care is so hotly debated, and people worry so much about Social Security.

There is an even bigger debt, though, than the tens of thousands of dollars owed by each man, woman, and child in the United States. And, it, too, is a debt each person owes.

What is that debt? When we see someone do something wrong, we all like to think “They’ll get what’s coming to them.” That faith helps us overcome the incredible evil that is all around us. It is a debt that wrongdoers owe. In fact, people released from prison are sometimes said to have “paid their debt to society.”

The problem is, we all commit wrongs, called sins. We all have a debt – and the combined total of that debt is great far greater than the U.S. National Debt. Think about all the lies that have been told. With so many people in the world, there are far more lies per second than the amount the National Debt increases per second. That’s not even counting the number of times people steal, hurt others, act mean, and so on. This sin debt grows higher and higher every day.

We can pay off credit cards bit by bit. Sometimes, we can agree to pay a certain amount, and a case will be closed. But, in order to do this, you have to not charge any more, right? You can’t pay a minimum balance of $100 on a credit card and then spent $150 per month on that card. It wouldn’t make sense. The debt would never be paid. And, this doesn’t even take into account the interest on that debt. More must be going to pay the debt than the amount added to the debt, in order to spend it down.

In order to get out of debt, we have to work to manage things so we are spending less than we take in. that includes interest. And, we need to manage thigns so we aren’t racking up so much interest we can’t repay.

Think about that debt that we owe because of our human nature, then. Each of us owes a debt because of those things we say, think, or do that are wrong. They’re usually not like the “debt to society” that is paid for with prison. Most of them are things that need a simple apology, or something else. But, even that is not enough to pay off the debt of sin.

It’s important to apologize sincerely, of course. It helps a lot when we do. But, the problem is, by the time we apologize for a particular sin, things have been added to that sin, like interest. For instance, let’s say we have told a lie, and later apologize and change our heart attitude, so we don’t tell that same lie anymore. In the meantime, someone found out that we lied. An amount of trust will have vanished, that had been there before. It will take more effort to build that trust back up. That trust is like an interest payment for the debt that we took on when we sinned. In a way, then, that lie indirectly causes something to be stolen, as well. And, it isn’t even the only thing that can be lost. Someone may act on that lie, and wind up losing money, losing a relationship, or something else based on it, when that thing should never have been lost.

As much as we try, we can’t be perfect. Even if a person sins 3 times a day – and even if you believe you’re a “good person,” I’m sure you’ll accept that there are 3 times a day – that’s over 1,000 sins a year.

Think about it. We get cut off in traffic, and we curse the person even though they could have a sick relative they’re rushing to visit in the hospital. We say something to hurt or tear others down instead of building them up. We rush to selfishly do something instead of thinking of others first. We commit adultery in our heart through how we look at another. As we can see, then, the debt of sin is huge.

It’s one we can’t repay. We can’t even repay the sin debt on each individual sin. But, to make matters worse, we add to that debt every day. We add to it through mean-spirited things, gossip, selfish thinking, and many other things that not only hurt people, they hurt God. What an enormous debt we owe!

Our debt to society isn’t paid with prison, though. The wages of sin is death. It’s separation from God’s perfect love and goodness forever., in a horrible place filled with sin. God, in His justice, must keep sin from His perfect Heaven, because in His love, He provides a perfect place once this life is over. It’s a place filled with goodness, where there’s no pain, no suffering, and no tears.

But wait, you ask: If the wages of sin is death, if we have all this sin, how can we reach that place? How can that debt be paid?

Thankfully, the story doesn’t stop there. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It’s a free gift.

See, that debt was so huge, that no person could pay it. No person could pay it, because each person would have to pay his or her own sin debt. So, god came to this world, in form of a man. Jesus Christ was 100% man and 100% God while here on Earth. He paid all your sin debt when He died on the cross for you, and rose from the dead.

Think about it. It wouldn’t do to be 51% good and 49% bad, because that sin debt would still be there. Yes, we should try to be good. But, you can’t repay a debt just by promising to not go any further into debt. The debt will still be there. But, that’s what people do when they trust in being good. They try to ignore those little debts and just focus on not having any more debt. But, that debt still has to be paid. No amount of good work can cause that debt to be paid. Thankfully, the sin debt has been paid in full. Jesus Christ is God in flesh. He, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, all His disciples (though they were tortured and killed for it), Jesus’ miracles, and the Old Testament all testify that He is the sinless one, who became sin for us.

That’s how he took on our debt. He marked it “Paid in full” when He shed His perfect blood, as the sacrifice for our sin. All the lambs that were sacrificed from the very beginning were a sign of what Jesus Christ would do someday. He was the sinless Lamb of God. He laid down His life so we could be saved from our sin debt. And then, He rose from the dead the third day.

Archaeology confirms so much of the Bible. The testimony of people like John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace,” who have been radically changed, proves that it’s possible, and it happens. Most importantly, His Holy Spirit moves in peoples’ hearts to tell them how much God loves them.

See, God is just, but He is also a God of mercy and forgiveness. God wants to forgive your sin debt. He hung on that cross, suffering agony for hours as He endured the wrath of God the Father, as the sinless substitute for each of us. Then, as He died, He cried out, “tetelestai,” which means “It is finished!” The entire debt had been paid!And, he rose again the third day; He had defeated death, so all who believe can rise with Him.

That repayment must be accepted, though. If you knew it was free, you wouldn’t refuse a person’s offer to pay off all your credit cards and other debts, right? And yet, until that person paid them off, you would still have debt, because you wouldn’t have accepted it.

In the same way, Jesus paid all your sin debt for you. And, He just needs you to accept that He did, and receive it by simple faith. God is love. He wants to pay your sin debt. You just need to:

Accept you’re a sinner, that your sin debt keeps you from His perfect Heaven, that no amount of good work can get you there;

Believe that He is God in flesh, that He died on the cross and rose from the dead for you, personally, to take all your sin debt away;

Choose to turn away from your sins, and trust Him to save you from your sin and forgive you, and to come live in you through His Holy Spirit.

That’s all it takes. It’s a free gift. I know it can be hard for some, but that’s okay; He understands. He knows You, and loves You. He’ll help you have faith if you just trust Him to; before trusting Him to forgive your sin debt, just call in your heart, “ Lord, I’m not sure if you’re out there, but I’m giving this a try, and I trust that if You are real, You will hear and answer.”

Of course, once we receive Him as our Savior, and He comes to live in us, we still sin. We have a human nature that causes us to sin. But, we have Jesus Christ living in us so we can turn to Him and get help, so we don’t sin. And, whatever happens, He will forgive and cleanse us, if we just confess our sin to Him.

The Holy Spirit living is us is His guarantee that He will never leave us, nor forsake us. He will keep working in us to get us to be good. He might have to work pretty hard to get some peoples’ attention if they wander far away in sin. But, He will always lovingly guide us back, and watch over us, and help us. Because, God is love. And, He loves you. He wants you to be totally free from the burden of sin.