Is Christianity boring, limited, and restrictive? Does the world offer something better? What about its costs? God gives gifts that surpass those of the world.
Christianity: Boring, Limited, and Restricting?
Sin
Belonging to God
We love our children just because they are ours & the Israelites were blessed just because they were His. Our children don’t earn our love by doing good things & they can’t lose our love by doing something wrong. The Israelites also could not earn or lose God’s love & neither can we. Once we become His child, we belong to Him forever.
Redemption
Redemption can be thought of like a coupon. Someone else already paid for the item & gave us the coupon. Then we give that coupon to the store in exchange for the item. Jesus paid the price for our sins & gave a coupon to every person on earth. But to receive the salvation He purchased for us we have to offer God His blood on behalf of our specific sins. Jesus buys us back even if we are completely used up, damaged, destroyed, & broken. Then He makes us whole, complete, & righteous before He gives us back to God. Wouldn’t it be a shame not to exchange that coupon?
Set Apart for God
We too can set ourselves apart to the Lord. This can be done in the form of full or part time ministry or just for a period of time to get right with God or to seek Him in a special time of need.
Reflect God’s Character
As His representatives, we need to reveal His character to the world. “Be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
Enter With A Sacrifice
So, examine your life. Repent of your sins & approach the Lord with a heart sprinkled by the blood of Jesus. Offer Him to the Lord & ask that He accept the Sacrifice on behalf of your sins. Then let God write His law on your heart & mind, that you may follow Jesus, now on earth & eternally into the throne room in Heaven.
What Are You Willing to Sacrifice?
always give our best to God. We shouldn’t offer Him only the things we don’t want to control or possess ourselves. We shouldn’t offer what is useless to us or what is left over. God is worthy of the most valuable & useful things in our lives. He deserves priority over everything. We are insufficient to control anything in our lives. He alone is powerful & trustworthy. We have no right to hold on to our possessions, because everything we have was given to us by Him in the first place & everything belongs to Him anyway.
Jesus – Messiah & Sacrifice
Jesus is the High Priest because He intercedes on our behalf & offered Himself up for us .Because He was the perfect sacrifice, there was no need for any more sacrifices. Because He lives forever, there was no need for another high priest to replace Him. So, He is the forever King & High Priest. He also was the Perfect Sacrifice, that put an end to all insufficient animal sacrifices. That is why He could say on the cross, “It is finished.” He finished what the priests started & accomplished completely what they could only accomplish temporarily.
Covered in the Blood
By making Jesus the Lord of our lives & accepting Him as our Savior, we enter into a fellowship relationship with Him.
The Presence of God
“Draw near to God & He will draw near to you.” James 4:8 Because of Jesus, we can enter into His Presence with confidence. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy & find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 …