Two-thousand years ago God’s love for the human race compelled Him to send His only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth in order to pay the penalty for sin on behalf of sinners (John 3:16).  Since only death could satisfy God’s wrath for sin, He sent Jesus to give His life so that the human race could be saved from death and eternal separation from God in hell.  God did not send His Son to condemn sinners, but so that the human race might be saved from death through Him (John 3:17).  Paul described Jesus’ sacrifice to the church at Corinth with these words, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  An exchange took place on the cross.  Jesus took my sin and your sin upon Himself and gave us His righteousness.  When does the exchange take place?  A person is given the righteousness of Christ at the moment he quits trusting in his own works, confesses his sin, and embraces Christ’s death as sufficient payment for his sin.  Adam’s (the first human being) disobedience brought sin and death into the world, but Christ’s death brought righteousness to many (Romans 5:19).  The story does not end with Christ’s death.  Three days following His death, Jesus was raised to life by the power of God.  His resurrection guarantees that those who believe in Him will also live again (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

Hearing the story of Jesus Christ changed everything for me.  I no longer have to spend my life attempting to earn God’s forgiveness, but He has freely given it to me through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Do you remember when you heard this story for the first time?

If Jesus paid the price for sin by giving His life and freely offered His grace to all who believe, does that mean an individual can continue living a life of sin knowing that they’ve been forgiven?  It’s a great question.  Paul writes these words in Romans 6:1-2, “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”  A person should not willingly continue in sin because he or she knows that Christ’s death brought forgiveness.  In my opinion, continual sin in the life of a Christian is an abuse of Jesus’ death.  Professing Christians should not be characterized by a lifestyle of sin.

Forgiveness brings freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.

If a good situation can quickly turn bad, does that mean a bad situation can quickly turn good?  I believe the answer is yes.  Thousands of years ago, Adam and Eve’s obedience to God was “attacked” in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3).  Satan lied to Eve and told her that she was better off living independent of God’s word.  Although Eve was deceived by Satan and ultimately disobeyed God’s word, Adam deliberately disobeyed God and plunged the entire human race into sin causing death and eternal separation from God (Romans 5:12).  Thousands of years later, God turned this bad situation into good when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for sinners so that they could be forgiven and set free from the power and penalty of sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).

ONE thing can change everything.

Paul said it best in Romans 5:18-19 (NLT), “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners.  But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”

Not too long ago, I became aware that my sin and disobedience had caused me to remain far from God and in danger of His judgment (Romans 6:23).  I immediately attempted to justify my behavior by trying to convince myself that I wasn’t as bad as others (Romans 3:23).  I even began doing some good things to make up for my shortcomings.  For a while I felt better about myself, but then I realized that my sin had kept me separated from God and that no amount of good deeds could repair my relationship with Him (Ephesians 2:8-9).  I began to search for something which could remove the guilt and shame my sin had caused, but no hope could be found…that is, until I came across this verse found in the Bible, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  For the first time in my life I realized that Jesus Christ was sent to earth to take my sin upon Himself so that I could be made right with God.  Then I read in Paul’s letter to the Romans which says that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).  At that moment, I abandoned my useless attempts to find forgiveness through my own good works, so that I could embrace the work which had already been done on my behalf by Jesus Christ.

My life dramatically changed when I put my faith in Jesus Christ.  Although I am far from perfect and have countless weaknesses, I know my sins have been forgiven and that I’ve been made right with God.  This forgiveness of sin and right standing before God was a gift given to me by God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and I wanted to let you know that God wants to forgive you like He forgave me.

The second part of my blogging adventure began on March 8, 2008, when I created a new dimension to my blog by incorporating random thoughts and real life stories with spiritual applications. This usually turns into an attempt to view everyday life with a sense of humor while providing a chance for personal reflection.

Considering all the reasons I write, there is one particular truth that I hope you do not miss. Thousands of years ago God created people to be like Him and have a relationship with Him (Genesis 1:27); however, the first two human beings were deceived by a fallen angel, Lucifer, and their disobedience brought sin into the world (Genesis 3:1-13; Romans 5:12). God had already warned Adam that breaking His commandment would result in death (Genesis 2:16-17), but Adam ignored the consequence for sin and chose his own way. Because God loved man (John 3:16), His prized creation, He immediately promised them a future deliverer who would conquer sin and death (Genesis 3:15). Thousands of years later God sent His only Son, Jesus, who was born of the virgin Mary to become this deliverer from sin and death through sacrificing His own life on the cross (Matthew 1:18-25). Since death is the only way to pay for sin, man now has two possibilities to pay this penalty: either man can pay for his own sins through physical death and eternity in hell (Revelation 20:11-15) or he can repent of sin and receive by faith that Jesus’ death was in place of his own and that His resurrection guaranteed eternal life in heaven (Romans 10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus is why I blog. He has provided new and eternal life to all who repent of sin and believe in Him; therefore, I use my words to hopefully point people to the benefits of living life God’s way.

Over the last few days our entire family has enjoyed watching as the feeder has attracted a handful of birds. Although the feeder has not initially brought as many birds as we had expected, we know that time will bring more. We are convinced that the key to attracting more birds is to offer them something which sustains life.

The modern day church has many avenues to “attract” people; however, it must not forget that its first priority is to offer hope and life through Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

At dinner tonight, we had another random discussion about how he would escape if a fire was blocking all the doors in the house. Initially my wife told him, “Just jump out any window. I would rather you break your legs than not to have you at all.” By the way, our house is two stories and I’m not even sure if I would jump from the second floor, but then again, I’ve never been face to face with a raging fire either. In response to Leah’s answer to his question, he brought up the fact that he doesn’t know how to open the windows. Good point. Personally, I was stumped, but Leah quickly spoke up saying, “I would do anything I could to save you. Don’t worry.” This answer seemed to satisfy him. I guess it’s a good thing to have someone nearby who is willing to give up their life in order to save yours.

Know anyone like that?

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Well, this past Memorial Day weekend (2009) marked my one year anniversary of being ticket free; however, the celebration was cut short as I made my way to work early Thursday morning. I’m sure I was singing praises to God in the car until I noticed flashing lights in my rear view mirror. Singing praises turned to desperate prayers as I pleaded for the guy next to me to get pulled over rather than me. My prayer was quickly shot down and I reluctantly pulled into a small parking lot. Of course, my prayers resumed as I fumbled around in my glove compartment (anyone know why it is called a glove compartment) to find all the pertinent information. A very tall and muscular officer whose arms were as big as my legs approached my car and asked me a few questions:

1. Do you know what the speed limit is here? Yes. 40mph

2. Do you how fast you were going? I have no idea.

I know what you are thinking…Tom, didn’t you receive the e-mail about the gang related killings where hopeful gang members ride around with their lights off and the first person who flashes their lights as a warning must be killed. I did receive that e-mail along with other e-mails which declare your hatred for Jesus if you do not forward. DELETE! My apologies if you sent me those e-mails.

I began to think. How many people do I pass every day without warning them? The warning I am speaking of is not an automobile thing, but a Jesus thing. All of us should be witnesses (Acts 1:8) of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross which paid the penalty for sin (1 Corinthians 15:1-7) and His miraculous resurrection which guarantees our eternal life. We are quick to speak about the failing economy, gas prices, presidential candidates, and the new fall season of our favorite show; however, we are scared to talk about the one Person which gives people hope. Don’t get me wrong…I stink at this. I know what it means to be a coward. I know what it means to fear rejection. I know what it means to be fearful of what others may think. Do I really believe that “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” and “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:17,36)? If I do, I need to start warning others. How about you?