4-14-23

I recently saw an image with 2 pictures side by side. The first was a picture of Christ on the cross, the 2nd was a picture of me (a representation) on the cross. It said, “It should have been me, but He chose His son to die for my sins”.  How often when we sin, do we think about the consequences? The older I get, the more I realize what a sinner I am. The more I realize what a sinner I am, the more I realize that I need a savior. This image made me think about that.

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

Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

There is a man on YouTube that strolls the beach in CA speaking with strangers about God. He starts out asking if they know Jesus. 2nd question is,” Have you EVER lied, stolen, or cheated?” and invariably the answer is yes. 3rd question is “So do you think you are a good person? Do you think you need a savior?” MOST of the people say “I am a very good person. I do not need a savior, that’s for really bad people.” The man then proceeds to explain that God is SO HOLY that He cannot look upon us, his children in our sinful, unclean state. So, someone must pay the price for our sins. God chose to send His ONLY son to earth to die for our sins. Much of our world today is oblivious to all of this. They have heard of Jesus, God, even the Holy Spirit, but they have not really been taught why they may want to investigate further, so this is why we plant seeds. 

I just heard a story of a man who had just become a pastor. As a new pastor he felt led to stop in the business where his longtime atheist friend worked to invite him to church.

Pastor: Hey, I thought you might want to come to church this Sunday and hear me preach.

Friend: NO way! You KNOW I’m an atheist and I want NO part of your church!

Pastor: But this Sunday is Easter, when Jesus is resurrected.

Friend: He wasn’t resurrected

Pastor: Well, there actually happens to be a lot of evidence to prove he was.

The pastor went on to share more of the gospel, but his friend was not receptive.

The pastor walked out of the office dejected. He asked God “What was that about? You sent me in there to witness to him and there is no way he is willing to accept the message”

Shirlene Peterson