Have you ever taken the time to really see the rising of the Son? No this is not a misspelling, I am referring to the risen Lord Jesus, Son of God. The verse above calls Jesus the sun of righteousness and He is that and more, but sadly many people have never met Jesus or take the time to get to know Him.
To illustrate my point let me tell you a quick story. A father was trying to get his child up to watch the sun rise with him, but upon waking, the boy asked “Why should I?
Why is this so important?” Then pulling the covers over his head he exclaimed to his father
“Wake me up at a decent hour and Ill watch it with you.”
It was not convenient for him.
The problem is that if he waits until later to see the sunrise it will be too late and he will miss out on something wonderful…and that is exactly my point.
So many people put off meeting Jesus because they feel it is not convenient for them, wondering
"Why should I? What’s the rush? Why is knowing Jesus so urgent and important?". They say “Let me go on with my life” but are they experiencing real life and do they know and understand what’s beyond this one.
The Bible, Gods own Word, tells us this: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12
(NKJV)
God's Word is clear.
Those who have never taken the time to really meet and know His Son Jesus Christ, or those
who have rejected the Son of God, are not really living.
They are just going through the motions. Most people in this world are always searching for something to fill the void in their life where God should be,
trying to make life meaningful. But sadly, the number is great of those
who never experience real life. Why is this?
The Bible says we are born into this world with
a spirit that is dead to spiritual things and separated from God. This is directly because of
sin. Now, please don’t stop reading here because I mentioned the word sin. Let's face it.
All of us have done things, at some point in our lives, that we are not proud of, things we have done that we know are just wrong, even little things.
That, my friend, is called sin, things that will not hold up to the standards of God. All of us are guilty, myself included. God's
Word says this: “as it is written,
There is none righteous, no, not one.” Rom 3:10 Not one, no one is acceptable to God because of sin. Period! Shocked? I hope enough to keep reading. Sin cannot stand before the Holiness of the living God.
It must be dealt with, judged and paid for. Yes, this sin in our lives comes with a price tag. Look at this verse from the Bible:
Rom 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death.”
Sin causes the death and decay of every aspect of our
lives. It causes the decay and death of: relationships,
marriages, vocations, attitudes, our minds, and eventually our physical bodies
because we all will die. All because of the sin in our lives and in the world.
And sin doesn’t stop there.
When we die, if nothing has been done to change our sin
condition, we will spend eternity separated from God
because of it. We will spend eternity with the void, we tried all are lives to fill, still empty and hurting, never knowing the love of the living God, never seeing the place called
Heaven.
Remember, no one is acceptable to God who is still in their sin condition. The
Bible calls this eternal separation; eternal death, in a place far from
Heaven called Hell where we ourselves will have to pay for our sins.
Now I, being human, have committed a great many sins. Even just one brings me short of God's standard.
How do I change my sin condition?
I certainly do not want to pay the penalty for them myself for all eternity suffering an eternal death separated from God! What must I do to be changed from this condition?
What must I do to be saved from this place called Hell?
One thing is clear, I cannot save myself. No matter how hard I try to be good and to do good things I am still a sinner, I am human. I’m not God, so at some point I will fail. I would have to be completely without sin in God's eyes to be acceptable to Him.
How could I possibly do that? Well, the Bible says we can’t
do it on our own.
Is there any hope? Who can save us? Who can stand in the gap and make us (you and me) acceptable to God? Certainly no other mere human can, they are sinners too!
Only someone that is without sin could do it.
Now here’s where the best part of my story comes in. Someone did!
God, being Holy, being who He is, by His very nature must judge sin; but He loves you and I so much that He, in His love for us, provided a way for us to escape the judgment for sin, to escape His
own wrath upon it.
Remember the verse I quoted “For the wages of sin is death”
?
Well, there is another part to it that I
haven’t disclosed yet. The whole verse reads like this:
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The gift of God is Jesus Christ.
God, seeing our sinful condition, sent someone who is without sin to do something about it. He sent His only begotten Son Jesus. He came to save us from eternal death and suffering, to save us from the separation we have from God the Father due to sin, and He came that we might know God intimately as our Lord and Friend.
Jesus, the only Son of the living God, did this by sacrificing Himself for us. He, being without sin, paid the penalty for our sin, yours and mine. He willingly and freely did this by giving up
His life so you might live and know God. He did this at the Cross and it cost him everything. He took the pain and suffering that we, as sinners, deserve. Gods word say’s: “ But God showed his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5:8” That’s the Love of God in action.
Let me use this last illustration and then I won’t keep you any longer from your busy schedule, and thank you for reading this far. Picture
yourself standing on a train track. The train is speeding toward you and you
are frozen, you can’t move. You are going to die and there’s nothing you can do about it, nothing!
Then suddenly from the side you feel a push and you are off the tracks and safe. Then you realize the truth that the train has run over the very one, someone you didn’t even know, a perfect stranger, who, without thought of self, saved your life. That’s what Jesus did for you and me on the cross. He, without thought of self, gave His life for yours. With his own blood He, who had never sinned, paid the price for sin we could not pay, all our sins past present and future. Once and for all!
Jesus was no mere human. He was fully God and fully man in one, the only one qualified to purchase, at the cost of His own life, your eternal salvation and bring you to a place of fellowship with God the Father. The
Bible says this:
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
Jesus is the only way and our only hope.
Just one more thing before you go. God wanted you to know that Jesus, His Son, is who He claims to be. So, to validate all that Jesus said and did, God raised Him from the dead. His grave is empty, to this very day, to let you know He is alive, and in breaking the bonds of death is able to give to you eternal life. No one else in history can make this claim, because only Jesus is the Son of God and God Himself!
Have you seen the Son rise? You haven’t missed Him yet.
If you are reading this there is still time, but don’t wait, the time is now.
Once you die it is too late. If you would like to know beyond
any doubt that all your sins are forgiven, and that you have been made acceptable to God and will spend eternity in heaven, then you need to accept the gift of God, JESUS CHRIST His Son.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world (you and me), that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Everlasting life? Yes, this is a direct promise from God to you and me if we, through faith, accept His gift of grace, Jesus Christ, and put our trust in Him. It's no work of ours, but all of what Jesus did for us.
To accept God's gift you need to pray to Him from your heart and mean it. What do you say to God? Simply pray: “ Lord I know that I am a sinner and that my sin has separated me from you. I now turn from my sin.
Please forgive me of my sins once and for all. Wash them away with the blood of Christ that was given at the cross just for me. I give you my life and accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me in Jesus name.”
If you have prayed this prayer and truly meant it you can rest assured God has forgiven you of you sins and as He promised, you now have eternal life.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name.” By grace, through faith, you are saved!
You are now part of God's own family. He loves you and wants you to get to know Him, so talk to him often through prayer.
Read his Word – the Bible- it’s His love letter to you. And please get involved in a local
Bible believing church so you can meet more of the family of God. If you need help, we can assist you in finding a church in your area, and always remember you are welcome here at Highland Baptist Church! God Bless You!
If you have made a decision for Jesus Christ
or would like to know more, please email us or
call. We’d love to here from you.
Email:
hbcone@verizon.net
Phone: 978-342-9646
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