| Resources to aid your Understanding |
|
|
TIRED OF YOUR LIFE?
Trade It In On A New One!
When the odometer on the car starts looking like the national debt and normal wear and tear results in too many repair bills, a lot of us get bitten by a bug that causes “new car fever.” Then once the virus starts to spread, the cure is to take the old clunker down to the local dealership and see how much they will allow on it as a trade-in. Of course we all know that they manipulate the price so that you wind up practically giving them the old one, but hey that’s the way the game is played! And besides, the thought of a shiny new chariot sitting in the driveway makes the sacrifice easier to take.
It is a sad fact of human existence that sometimes lives have a way of wearing out too; and desperate people get to the point where they would give anything for a better situation, but they know the reality is that living happily ever after only happens in fairy tales. So they either resign themselves to their plight or, in extreme cases, commit suicide to “end it all.”
But there is hope for the hopeless! When a person gets to the point where they are so far down the only way to look is up, the good news is that by hitting rock bottom they meet the most important eligibility requirement for a priceless trade-in. And if by chance this describes your present circumstances please let me tell you how to file for bankruptcy and seek a brand new life.
Winding up on bottom is a humbling experience, but that degree of humility is necessary because receiving a new life is something you do not deserve and cannot demand. Therefore, since you now find yourself in that predicament, may I suggest that you cry out in desperation to the only One Who can provide what you need? It will require that you believe some things you have probably rejected all your life, but what other options do you have?
A drowning man will grasp at straws (or anything else that floats) in a desperate attempt to stay alive and that fact was stressed in a Red Cross life saving course I took many years ago. The reason for the warning is that rescuers can wind up being victims if they allow panicked individuals to grab them and pull them under. But if you are floundering in life and about to “drown,” I can assure you that the invisible hand reaching out to you cannot fail to save if you grab it and hang on by faith.
What do I mean by faith? Let me illustrate by using a story
I heard about a man who strung a cable across
My friend, the kind of faith I am talking about will jump at the chance to climb into the wheelbarrow!
Do you have that much faith within you? If you have to admit that you do not, wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone could give it to you? Well, it just so happens that where the business of trading in your old life for a brand new one is concerned, the “Dealer” is willing to supply the needed faith if you are absolutely ready to do business. And He is holding out His hand to you—inviting you to take advantage of His great strength and be spared the tragedy of drowning in the problems of your old life.
But the next step is up to you.
Are you ready to believe that God’s own Son Jesus Christ made it possible for you to literally become a new person inside? Are you ready to admit that sin has played a major role in causing the dissatisfaction with life that you are experiencing? Are you ready to cry out to Him and confess that you are a sinner in desperate need of a new life? Then do it! Stop making excuses and “get in His wheelbarrow.” Throw yourself on His mercy and grace and beg Him to save you!
Even if you have doubts about whether or not God exists (and you probably do), ask Him to give you a new life by forever changing you as a person. Then keep on asking until He answers, but while you wait bear in mind that He is under no obligation to give you anything. Also be advised that any plea not coming straight from your heart will only bounce off the ceiling because He knows the difference. You cannot con Him with a good act.
If you think this whole thing of getting a new life is totally ridiculous, I am here to tell you that I have been given one and so have millions of others. And even though many of us did not experience a dramatic change in our immediate circumstances (we were still at the bottom looking up), in every case there was a definite change in us! God made a new person out of each one of us on the inside and then slowly but surely our lives began to change for the better. The problems we had did not magically disappear, but we received an ability to cope with them that we did not have before and our outlook on life was turned around.
What was the “sticker price” on my new life, you ask? My friend, there are not enough zero’s in the universe to express a number that large, because it literally required the death of God’s own Son to pay for it. You see, the problem with sin is that God is so holy and righteous that He cannot tolerate anything less than perfection and since all of us are far from perfect, our chances of spending eternity in heaven with Him are absolute zero as long as we remain imperfect! And to make matters much worse, God’s holiness and righteousness requires that anything less than perfection (which is actually the definition of sin) must be punished.
“For the wages which sin pays is death, but
the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus
Christ our Lord” Romans 6:23 (Amplified
Bible).
According to this verse the punishment is spiritual death—an eternity
separated from God’s presence while suffering in the flames of the
And you thought you had it bad now!
But wait a minute—how did I get a new life when I am just as imperfect as you? Ahh, now we are getting to the good part! In the greatest act of love in all of human history, God sent His Son (Jesus Christ) into this world to be born as a human. And when the time was right, He allowed Him to die a sacrificial death on a Roman cross to pay for the sins of His people. The punishment we deserve was placed upon Him and in return His sinless perfection was granted to all those who will receive it by faith. Genuine belief in Who He is and what He did results in a new life within and a new home reserved in heaven. The individual’s sins are forgiven because the perfection of Christ’s sacrificial death makes them acceptable to God the Father. We are adopted into His family as sons and His Holy Spirit literally takes up residence within us to direct our path throughout life. That is what the Bible refers to as being “born again” and it is not just some mystical theory because I have experienced it personally.
The perfection I was granted defines my standing (or position) before God—which never changes. On the other hand it must be understood that my present state varies from moment to moment because of the sin nature I still possess and the sins that I still commit. The difference is that now my sins are offences against my heavenly Father and not the Supreme Judge of the Universe. And if I am not very careful to confess them and ask for forgiveness, God may “take me to the woodshed” and chasten me thoroughly! However, even if He does find it necessary to give me a whipping my standing will never change because I am now one of His children.
Problems still pop up and sometimes life can be a real bummer, but there is a peace in my heart that defies mere human reason. It came when God offered me the best deal I had ever heard of, gave me the faith to trust Him and then calmed my fears about riding in His wheelbarrow above the raging waters of this life.
There is plenty of room for more passengers, so just take the Hand being held out to you and crawl in with the rest of us! If you do, the warranty will never expire and the service is out of this world.
“Because if you acknowledge and confess
with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust
in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved. 10 For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts
in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable
to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely
his faith) and confirms [his] salvation” Romans 10:9-10 (Amplified Bible).
If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.
We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order Kingdom of Antichrist in their daily news.
Return to Pastoral Articles index
Finally, we would love to hear from you. You can write us at:
Cutting Edge Ministries, C/O Pastor Ron Riffe
P.O. Box 26
Gordo, AL 35466
You can also E-Mail Pastor Ronald Riffe regarding questions or comments about this article.
God bless you
.