Today, Good Friday, I’m filled with the truths of God’s Word and with His promises. All of the things that He promised to do, all of the things He said, “I will.,” He has done! God is not a liar. My Father does not play games or make me work for my reconciliation with Him.
As a society, we are constantly bombarded by a variety of advertising channels of all the promises that people and things, that assure us our life will be so much better if we “buy this ~ wear that ~ use this ~ vote for them ~ eat this” and on and on it goes.
Credit card slogans alone are absolutely filled with verbage that lull the customer into thinking their life will be made whole if they just have the credit card (or let’s be real here…multiple credit cards): Don’t Leave Home Without It. It pays to Discover. I own the high score. Is your debt to heavy to carry. It’s Everywhere You Want To Be. Live richly. The Card is Key. There are some things money can’t buy. What’s in your wallet? All you need.*
Do you see the truth in these statements above? The world says we will “have it all” when we put our trust in credit cards, debt, or in “keeping up with the Jones'”! So backwards and we fall for it so easily! In today’s writing, I actually want the truth of God’s Word to stand on its own, and speak to your heart, mind and soul today. I don’t need to expound on the merits of scripture because there is nothing in God’s Word to defend.
If you disagree with His Word or you don’t like something He has put in written form through scripture, it doesn’t change the simple fact ~ It. Is. Truth.
Let’s compare scripture now to the above phrasing from these credit card slogans and be encouraged as to what God says is the truth!
Don’t Leave Home Without It. ~ Jesus, the Son of God, left His heavenly home to live among us here on earth. He didn’t leave without taking His God-ship with Him. He became fully man and fully God, in order to reconcile us back to Himself. John 14:26-28, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”
It pays to Discover. ~ When we take the time to discover who God is, we find that He is trustworthy! Proverbs 16:19-21, “It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.” And Lamentations 3:24-26, ““The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
I own the high score. ~ There is no higher a price than can be attained as the one that Christ Jesus paid when He chose to sacrifice Himself for the sake of our salvation. I Corinthians 6:19-20, “ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.” And, Deuteronomy 26:18-19, “Today the Lord has declared that you are His people, His treasured possession, just as He promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all the nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor: and that you shall be a holy people [set apart and consecrated] to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.””
Is your debt too heavy to carry? ~ This is really a tagline used by a credit card company! Pardon my attitude here…but….DUH!!! The person has incurred debt by purchasing items they feel compelled to own because “then they will be worth something” as our society feeds the void felt by so many that ‘stuff’ is necessary. The promise this card company is touting is that you can transfer your heavy debt to their card which has lower fees. Do you see the twisted lie here? That person will STILL be in debt!! In terms of our relationship with the Lord, our debt of sin is way too heavy for us to carry. We cannot ever come out from underneath this kind of debt on our own. Only the Lord can carry that burden and remove it from us permanently. Hebrews 9:27-28, “And just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this [comes certain] judgment, so Christ, having been offered once and once for all to bear [as a burden] the sins of many, will appear a second time [when he returns to earth], not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who are eagerly and confidently waiting for Him.”
It’s Everywhere You Want To Be. ~ Every place that we are to go, in order to bring honor to the Lord, that is where we should want to be. The road isn’t promised to be easy, but His path for us brings life. Psalms 119: 104-106, “Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.” And, 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, “ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;”
Live richly. ~ The way to life a truly rich life is to place our life, and the control of our life, into the incredibly capable hands of the Lord. He will always guide is in the way we should go. Proverbs 22:3-5, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.”
The Card is key. ~ The only key we need to maintain our security, is found in the Lord. He is Who He says He is! Isaiah 33:5-6, “The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the security and stability of your times, A treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the Lord is your treasure.”
There are some things money can’t buy. ~ Romans 3:23-25, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.” The salvation of our life has come at a great price. One in which we could never afford. Christ did not come for just one weekend, to die and rise again. He LIVED a whole life on earth as God and man. He came to show us how to live as He did. How to care for and love others as He did. He showed us how to love God the Father as He did. Christ showed us how to worship the one true God. And then….he finished what He came to do in His earthly body. He CHOSE to be betrayed by a friend ~ one of His disciples.** He CHOSE to be unjustly tried and convicted. He CHOSE to be crucified because He KNEW that He was going to rise again and defeat death once and for all! Can I get an AMEN people!! You didn’t put Jesus on the cross as much as you cannot do anything to earn or deserve salvation. It is His grace to us in that He loves us so very much, He planned and executed a perfect plan of redemption. Isaiah 55:1-3, ““Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”
What’s in your wallet? ~ Let’s rephrase this a little by saying, ‘what’s in your heart?” What is it that you are carrying with you everyday to remind you of the gracious life you live because of what Christ did for you? Are you reading scripture everyday, meditating on it, and making an effort to keep it in your heart? Do keep it at the forefront of your mind? Our mind is constantly “on” and if we want to maintain some sense of sanity, everything we do and say needs to be filtered through the truth of God’s word! I Samuel 12:23-25, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”” And Luke 12:28-30, “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.”
All you need. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” Notice here that the above verse talks about how GOD is the one who helps us stand firm in Christ. We do not have anything to do with that standing ~ except to come humbly before the Lord and ask Him to be the Lord of our life! This doesn’t mean that we will never experience trials (that’ll be another blog for another time), but we are reminded of God’s goodness to us in Philippians 4:11-13, “ I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him[a] who strengthens me.”
We can live a rich, abundant, grace-filled, and satisfied life because we have all we need in the Lord. This life on earth is temporary, but that doesn’t mean that we simply float through life. God has called us to be witnesses of His grace in our life to those around us. Whether it’s smiling at random people in the grocery store (this is actually really fun…totally freaks people out!), sharing a meal with a friend going through a tough spot, handing a bottle of water out your car window to the homeless man on the corner, or sharing your testimony with someone about how God has saved your life.
Live fully in God’s truth ~ your debt has been paid ~ He will never leave your side & you will never be disappointed in a life lived for Christ!
Blessings,
René
Research found in:
- http://brandongaille.com/list-31-popular-credit-card-slogans-and-catchy-taglines/
- https://www.biblegateway.com
** You can read more about Jesus choosing Judas (His betrayer) in one of my earlier blogs entitled, “Jesus Chose Judas on Purpose.”
Broken & Blessed~Adventures in Gratutide! 