Word hard your whole life and what do you get?

As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. (‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬ NLT)

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭10, 22‬ NLT)

According to the verses above, scripture is clear...we have all sinned. There is no one who walks the face of this earth that is without sin. Not one. I think it's interesting in both of these verses Paul refers the reader back to the Old Testament scripture. The verse he refers to here is Psalm 14:3 in which the psalmist tells us "there is no one who does good...not one."

There is nothing we can do to be good enough. We cannot follow the law good enough, or serve others good enough, or live a good and moral life that will ever be good enough to make us right with God. The only way this can happen Paul says in v.23 is through placing our faith in Jesus. Believing and trusting that the work he did on Calvary is good enough to cleanse us from every sin...past, present and future.

I'm sure you have heard someone say "Well, I haven't killed anyone, I obey traffic signals, and I don't cheat on my spouse...I live a good and moral life." While that may be true, if they haven't accepted Christ and put their trust in him, they are still considered unrighteous...not right with God.

God wants to be in relationship with us...we've seen this truth from the very beginning of time when Adam and Eve walked and talked with Him in the Garden of Eden. Yet in one moment of doubt, they gave up the paradise God made for them and believed the lie of the enemy. In that instant their eyes were open to this sin-stained world and they were cast into the midst of it as a direct result of their disobedience.

God never intended for us to face eternity without Him. He loves us and wants to give us life! He's not some cosmic kill-joy who wants to rule over us. If He did...He wouldn't have given us free-will (the ability to choose.) But with choice comes consequence. The consequence of sin...death. I like the way the Message paraphrases Romans 6:22 - 23:

" But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master."

Romans 6:23 echos what Jesus said in the Gospel of John (John 10:10 - NCV) "...I came to give life-life in all its fullness."

The word of God is clear...the wages or penalty of sin is death. We are headed for an eternity in hell if we don't put our faith in Jesus as our Savior.

Through this chapter (Romans 3) we can see Paul urging us to understand that Jesus is the only way to become right with God. It is only by His blood are we are washed clean and considered good enough to enter God's perfect heaven.

What could be better than silver or gold?

Is there something that you’ve been living (or dealing) with that you wish you could change? In Acts 3, Peter and John were headed to the temple to pray when they encountered a man who had been crippled since birth. Every day the man was placed at the entrance to the temple gate to beg for money. When the man saw Peter and John approaching he asked them for money just as he had done to everyone else that entered.

“I have no silver or gold” Peter told him “but what I have I give you.” 

You see Peter couldn’t give the man what he wanted but through the power of the Holy Spirit he could give him something even better than money. 

“In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!” 

Peter took the man by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles were made strong.

Can you imagine? What do you think was going through the mind of the crippled man? This guy had just been begging for money just a few short seconds before with no hope of ever walking and now in an instant he was walking and leaping and praising God!

Peter gave him something much better than money; he gave him the use of his legs. We tend to do the same thing don’t we? We ask God to solve some small problem – we can see it… it’s right in front of us and to us it’s a major crisis. But He wants to give us something better than that.  Instead of solving our one problem, he wants to give us a new life and solve all of our problems. We may ask God for what we want but we can never be too surprised when He gives us what we need instead.

Acts 3:1 – 10 (NCV)

One day Peter and John went to the Temple at three o’clock, the time set each day for the afternoon prayer service. There, at the Temple gate called Beautiful Gate, was a man who had been crippled all his life. Every day he was carried to this gate to beg for money from the people going into the Temple.  The man saw Peter and John going into the Temple and asked them for money.  Peter and John looked straight at him and said, “Look at us!”  The man looked at them, thinking they were going to give him some money.  But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you. By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, stand up and walk!”  Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong.  He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk. He went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.  All the people recognized him as the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate begging for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God, and they were amazed. They wondered how this could happen.

I choose abundant life!

John 15: 14 – 16 (NCV) You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I heard from my Father. You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.

A few years ago I attended a Cleaning Stream seminar. This seminar is comprised of several weeks of classes, homework assignments, and a retreat. Each Sunday mornings I'd attend class and I throughout the week I spent time completing the assignments and scripture reading. Prior to attending this class, I had been told of the healing and freedom that comes as a result. I had witnessed first hand the change in my friends’ lives… and I wanted that too.

The retreat I have to tell you… was a life-changing weekend for me. I walked into the host church on Friday night chained by the lies the enemy had been feeding me for far too long. By the retreat’s end, I walked out with my face and hands lifted high in praise and thanksgiving. The chains I walked in were gone! I had been set free!

In my quiet time the first morning after the retreat I read John 15: 14 – 16. Reading the words to these verses out loud, tears fell from my eyes as I allowed the truth “I am a friend of God” to wash over me. Letting that truth sink in this morning blew me away like it never had before. Me… a friend of the Most High God. Even more, He chose me before I was even conceived in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139:16). He accepted me first. I am not rejected because of anything that I have said or done in my life.

This truth that He had a plan for me before I even existed was a not a new concept for me. In fact, I had heard it several times. I had even talked, written, and encouraged other’s to believe it. But God revealed something to me during that retreat weekend; I hadn’t allowed myself to believe that simple truth about myself. I never realized I hadn’t really allowed myself to accept and open the precious "gift of acceptance" from God. Instead, I had believed the lie of the enemy telling me that I couldn’t possibly do anything for God because I wasn’t good enough.

The truth is I am good enough! I am a friend of God... the creator of the universe.  You can be a friend of His too if you believe that He sent His son to die on the cross for your sin. 1 John 1:9 tells us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Jesus’ choice was made long before he took one step on this earth. He chose to love and to die for us so that we could have eternal life. It is up to us to make the next choice; we can either accept or reject his offer.  

Today I choose to accept the abundant life Christ promises.

Living in the pasture of Good Shepherd

John 10:9 (NCV) “I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved and will be able to come in and go out and find pasture.”

After reading John 10:9, I am reminded of the 23rd Psalm. In this Psalm David writes “The Lord is my shepherd I have everything I need.” (Psalm 23:1 NCV) As I read these verses together I feel reassured and comforted. Based on these two verses, I'm safe and secure in the pasture of the living God. The Shepherd’s pasture provides protection from the thief who wants nothing more than to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10 NIV) my life.

In the His pasture, I am guided beside still waters and given new strength. Because I listen to the Shepherd’s voice, I am escorted down paths that lead to abundant life. Even if I walk through a dark valley, I have nothing to fear because He gathers me in his arms and gently helps me (Isaiah 40:11).

I am confident in the Shepherd's love because He laid down his life so that I may enter through the only gate that brings eternal life.

Shepherd, help me to hear your voice clearly in this world of wolves and thieves.