Romans 5:8

"But commendeth His love towards us,
in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us."

Funny how things work out. I have been thinking about this verse all week, and yesterday my pastor touched on it in the service. Like my pastor said, we are no longer under condemnation. The death of Christ satisfied God for the payment for sin. The word used for commendeth means, to represent as worthy. (vines new testament definitions) How can we be worthy? It's due to the imputed righteousness of Christ we now receive when we surrender our life over to Him. God looks at us now with that covering on us. He received the punishment, we received the pardon. That's great news!!!! The mere fact that even while we were in our sins, God loved us enough to do this, should boggle the mind. To this day I am still trying to wrap my head around it. God knew us and could see us as filthy, unregenerate sinners, yet He made a way so that He could once again have fellowship with His creations. That's love. I know on a daily basis, if I was God, there are some people that wouldn't make it. That's conditional love. God has unconditional love. No strings attached. The only way this is accomplished though is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's like this. I am a mechanic. When I have a car that is not operating as designed, I have to look at it and find the best way to fix it so it works properly again. I can do a number of things to help it, but only one thing will fix it for good. That's what God has done. He fixed it for good. There is nothing else we need to do to gain His love or acceptance. All we have to do is accept Him as Lord and Savior. The rest is just information to be provided later after we are born again into His Kingdom. Why don't or can't we have that info now so we can decide if we want to accept Him? We can't understand it. Before I was a saved Christian, many people tried to tell me about the Love of God and the plans He wanted for my life. I couldn't and didn't want to understand it. It wasn't until I got to a point in life, where I was so empty inside that I wanted it. Then, there was a desire for something more out of life. That's where the Love of God stepped in. Once I realized He loved me all along and was just waiting for me to come to Him, it was a no brainer. My pain and sorrow taken in exchange for eternal life with Him one day? Done deal. As a side note, I would like to state that everyone will have eternal life, it's just a matter of where you will be. Smoking or non smoking. To be real honest guys, the Christian walk is not exactly easy at times. I don't particularly exemplify it at times to my shame. What I can tell you is this. When those times of desperation, fear of the unknown, etc come in life, I have a Father in Heaven who is right there taking care of me and providing guidance. On the flip side, those times of joy and happiness are so much sweeter than what life ever offered before. Why? Jesus Christ. This holiday season, when people often get depressed and sad, ask yourself this. Do I want peace and fulfillment in life once and for all? If the answer is yes, then look no further. He bids all who seek to come to Him. He is the one who gives rest. If the answer is no, then keep trying to find that in the world and let me know how it works out. The world can't offer you what God has and never will be able to. Have a great week and be blessed.

Bob.

Isaiah 61:3

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

I'm sure we have all heard the term beauty for ashes. What I don't know is if we truly understand what it means. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word is an ornament, tiara, or turban. Another word could be a crown. That's what God has done for us. By sending His son to die on the cross, he exchanged His beauty for the ashes of our broken lives. I personally have had quite a bonfire of a life before and sadly after I got saved. Before I didn't care or think about the consequences of my choices or actions. After, I became aware and realized how stupid I still am at times. To think, we who gave our lives to Christ are still making bad choices, baffles me. We have the imputed righteousness of Christ and sadly, we take it for granted. He took my ashes and gave me a crown. A crown of life. I/we are His. This whole passage in Isaiah is amazing. It tells of what God was going to do for the nation of Israel. More importantly, the amazing thing is, His promises are for us as well. I am not going to make this a long devotional this week. I just want it to sink in that what we have received at His expense, is more than we could ever imagine. I want people to know that if you are in a bad place and feel all burned up, your ashes of a broken life are redeemable for something more beautiful than can be described. Is it always easy being a Christian? No. Do I always act like one? No. I can tell you this though. In those times of trouble or despair, I can turn to the one who loves me, and will always be there for me. Even when I bring an offering of ashes that are worthless, He still See's me as worth it. Why? Unconditional love. I will never understand it fully, but I accept it and am thankful. Be blessed this week.

Bob.