Who Will Pay the Price?

Scripture:
Psalm 96
James 4:4-8

No one wants to be falsely accused of a crime.  Even the guilty do not want to pay the wages of the crimes they commit.  Everyone wants off, a clean slate.  I remember a several years ago in a Sunday School class the question was asked ‘why are you a Christian?’  After thinking about my answer I replied ‘because I do not want to go to hell.’  Another person did believe me or want to accept my answer.  I explained that deep down inside I didn’t want to go to hell and the only alternative is heaven.  The only way into heaven is through Christ.

The truth of the matter is that every single person that ever lived and that will live has sin in their lives.  Well every single person except for one.  Jesus is the only one who can stand before God the judge and plead not guilty.  He is the only one who doesn’t have to pay the wages of sin.  Yet He willingly died upon the cross in order to pay our debts.  Have no doubt about it in the end each one of us will stand before God the judge.  Each of us will have to plead guilty and await judgment, Romans 14:10-11:

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  It is written: 

   “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
   every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

What makes the difference between a believer and a nonbeliever?  The difference is who pays the price.  I once heard someone use auto insurance as an example.  They drove too fast most of the time and would get several speeding tickets.  The example they used was an auto policy renewal.  He stated that if his insurance company said he was too high risk and his policy was going up and would be over a million dollars a year.  He had no way to pay it.  He would have to do without insurance.  However, the president of the company calls him up and says I know you cannot pay your policy so I will cover it.  Consider it paid in full.  So I ask who will pay the price of your sin.  Will you pay it and live for eternity separated from God in Hell?  Everyone will stand before the judge and be found guilty.  The wages of sin is death.  Who pays the price?  If you are a Christian and accepted Christ as your savior Jesus will stand up tall and in a loud clear voice proclaim “I have already paid the price.”

Fasting...

Scripture:
John 5:35-47
Acts 13:1-3

I remember as a teenager I participated in a weekend fast.  It lasted only 24 hours.  The youth group stayed up most of the night playing games, talking, praying, and studying God’s word.  Looking back it was a wonderful experience.  So why do I not fast more often?  This has been one area I have struggled with the most.  For whatever reason I seem to never fast.  Yet it is vital in building our relationship with God.  Throughout the Bible you find people fasting for various reasons.  Daniel fasted as part of a means to seek God.  The early Church fasted and prayed in order to seek God’s guidance.  People today fast all the time in order to grow closer to God.

What is so important about fasting?  One aspect is that it clears the mind and body of distractions.  When we fast we are becoming more focused on God.  Fasting is denying ourselves of something in order that we can focus more on God.  It becomes a time of spiritual growth.  By fasting we shift our attentions from worldly things to Godly things.  I know someone who went to the North Georgia Mountains to camp for a weekend.  He was alone and spent the time fasting and praying.  He only drank water and juice for the entire weekend.  His experience was beyond anything else.    Food is not the only thing we can fast.  We can also fast from television, from sex, from games, from our favorite sport or activity, or from anything that can or does distract you from God.  Anything that brings your focus on God is a good thing.  Anything we can do to draw closer to Him should be a high priority in our lives.  When was the last time you fasted?  When was the last time you shifted your focus from earthly things to Godly things…  My challenge to all of us is to make time to stop and focus on God.  What do you need to deny yourself in order to focus more on God?

Out With the Old

Scripture:
Nehemiah 1:1-11
Revelation 21:1-7

People tend to have a fascination with restoring something old back to a like new status.  We refurbish bicycles, motorcycles, boats, cars, and even homes all the time.  I remember growing up someone brought in an old Triumph motorcycle to be restored.  The mechanics in our motorcycle shop worked diligently to make it look and run like new.  When they finished the bike looked as if it just came off the showroom floor.

The Jews experienced the fall of Jerusalem; the breaking down of the wall and tearing apart of the city.  The news broke Nehemiah’s heart.  He mourned and eventually petitioned God to help him rebuild.  Everywhere we turn we can see things break and fall apart.  Growing up in Chicago you could see cars all rusted out from the salt used to melt snow and ice.  In every city across the globe you will find buildings and homes in need of repair.  Let’s face it we live in a broken and fallen world.  Ever since the first sin of Adam and Eve our world has been falling apart.  Over the years we have patiently waited for God to restore everything back to like new status.  Only one problem with waiting for God to restore things back to the way they were.  He isn’t going to.  In the end the heaven and earth as we know it will cease to exist.  Things will not be restored but replaced.  Revelations 21:4 “…for the old order of things has passed away.”  

Isn’t it wonderful to walk into a brand new home for the first time?  Knowing it is new and not something old.  I remember wanting to purchase an old fixer upper house so that it can we could restore it.  Now I would rather just buy that new home.  I decided a long time ago I really didn’t want the headaches of the old house.  No matter what you do it is still an old house with old problems.  When God creates a new heaven and a new earth all the old problems will be gone.  We will live in perfect harmony with our Lord and Savior.  We will have an eternity in a new home…

Are They Here Yet?

Scripture:
James 1:5-8
2 Peter 3:1-13

I remember waiting for my cousins to arrive.  I remember expectantly waiting for them to arrive.  It seemed they would never make it.  Never mind the sixteen hour drive they had to get to our house.  I would run down stairs asking my mom when would they arrive.  Hours later after I quit waiting they would finally show up.  The wait was finally over.

Are we eagerly awaiting Jesus’ return?  Do we constantly bug our heavenly father asking “Is He here yet?”  Do we wait as expectant children do for Christmas morning?  Over and over we hear of Jesus’ return is here.  It will happen on this day or that day.  One thing for sure we know exactly when He will not return.  On every day that is precisely predicting His return will not be that glorious day.  Jesus’ return will be like that of a thief in the night.  We will not know until He arrives.  True we will see signs of His return.  We have been since the day of the cross.  If you look back through time you will see disasters, wars, and roomers of wars.  There have been would be conquerors that others thought for sure they were the anti-christ. 

While waiting for His return we must not forget that He is already here.  Jesus is among us living in our hearts.  We are filled with the Holy Spirit.  We do have a bit of heaven here on earth.  We are just too busy looking elsewhere to realize He is already here.  Are we doing our share to pass along what we already have?  It is amazing how much light you can get from a small night light in a child’s room.  In the complete darkness a small light will illuminate the entire room well enough to see.  It is amazing how far the light of the world can reach when we let it shine through us.

God hasn’t sent down His wrath to destroy the heavens and the earth.  He is patiently waiting for us to return to Him.  Are our hearts filled with His presence?  It is His greatest desire that none shall be lost.  He wants us all to find our way back to Him through His Son.  I can almost hear God asking one of His angels “Are they here yet?”