Never Ending Praise The Lord

Romans 6:23 NIV For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

                If someone asked you why we need Jesus, how would you answer? I’ve thought about this off and on for several years now. I’ve had so many different answers but the one I keep coming back to is so basic and it lays in Romans 6:23. 

                The problem started when sin entered the world. Ah, sin. What is it? Allow me to give you a visual. I used to leave lipstick in my jeans pockets because for whatever reason, I hated carrying a purse. Then, my distracted mind would wash the jeans, throw them in the dryer and cry when everything in that load of laundry was covered in a deep berry color. Stained for life.  Sin is that lipstick and we are the load of laundry. We can spray the clothes all we want, and try every detergent in the house, but we can’t fix it.  Sin is that regrettable act we commit that we can’t take back- so we have to rely on the only one who can fix it. In the meantime, it affects everything and everyone around us.

 God intended for everything to be beautiful and perfect. Unfortunately, it’s been human nature from the very beginning to turn away from God and seek satisfaction in the wrong places. This is what leads to sin. Sin leads to death and unfortunately, we can’t save ourselves.

                God, however, had a solution. Because he truly loves us, [john 3:16] he sent Jesus to die on a cross so that we would be saved. The best part of this amazing gift is that it’s free. You don’t have to buy anything or do anything because Jesus already did it.

                If you’re anything like me at all, you still feel like there’s a catch. I was a skeptic once in my life too because it seemed a little too simple. It felt like I had to think really hard about my response or say and do the right thing without being told what that thing is. Boy, do I have good news for you! Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, for you, you will be saved.’ [emphasis mine.]  Then verse 10 goes on to tell us that it is with our hearts that we are saved and justified and with our mouths that we profess this faith and are saved.

                I want to take it one step further. You can be at your most broken place in life and still say yes. Claim it for yourself, then proclaim it to the world. God isn’t waiting for your perfection, your empty promises, or your bargaining. He just wants your heart.

                So, the gospel is this; Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, he died the death we deserved, and then he rose again so we could have eternal life with him. Say yes and thank you, Lord AMEN!