04/27/2010

Good Morning

Driving along Highway 85 south Sunday I passed a church sign that read: Ready for Renovation. There was no punctuation so I didn’t know if the quote was a statement or a question. I also don’t know if they were talking about making improvements to the church building or if they were talking about the change that comes when a person comes to know Christ as Lord and Savior. Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 5:17: 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Just what does Paul mean by this statement? Well, when a person is “in Christ Jesus”, his / her viewpoint changes. The old “me-me-me” becomes the “Christ-Christ-Christ”. Our walk is different. Our talk is different. We are “set apart” – not because we are superior but because we are redeemed.

I was thinking about the word “redeemed”. What came to my mind is the old S&H green stamps we used to get at the grocery store. For those of you who are too young to remember them, your Mom would go grocery shopping and get a stamp for every ten cents she spent. She would save these up in books supplied by the grocer and when she had enough saved, she would either go to the “redemption center” or get a catalog and choose the item she wanted to have sent to her. And some of the items were pretty good.

The word “redeemed” as we use it, though, means that a price had to be paid for you in order for you to have eternal life. That price was a blood price – Jesus had to shed His blood to cover the sin that you (and I) had committed. Without the shedding of blood, there could be no remission of the sin – and we could not be redeemed. I can assure you God looks upon us as a great prize – one He would give His only Son to claim.

So, are you ready for renovation? Or have you already been renovated and are gleaming bright? If so, today is your day to shine for Jesus!

Agape’

Mr. Jim
Fatdad5@comcast.net
"Preach the Gospel everyday - and if you have to, use words" ... St. Francis of Assisi