April 18
Josh 16:1-18:28 | PS 87:1-7 | Prov 13:11 | Luke 19:1-27
When it comes to our salvation, God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, has done all the work. In His grace, mercy, and love, knowing that there was absolutely no other way for sinful man (of which we all are) to enjoy and experience eternity with God unless every single sin was paid for in full, He accepted the cup of God's wrath, which is the rightful punishment for the sins of all mankind, and willingly took them upon Himself on the cross, experiencing the full wrath of the Father. Though He was sinless, He willingly and lovingly bore our sins. We can never do enough "good works" to pay the debt that we owe God. It comes down to the realization of our sinful state and our realizing that we indeed need our Savior. Yet, as Jesus clearly stated, most have and will reject this free offer. Whether it be ignorance, apathy, procrastination, fear of what others might think, pride, etc. really doesn't matter. It doesn't even matter how bad your sins were, because our salvation is based on what He did on the cross, not on anything that we do. It is called Good Friday, even though the Son of Man had to die, because this is the day that we, in Christ have been freed from the bondage of sin. Thank you, Jesus!!!
Zacchaeus, the chief tax-collector was deemed a traitor to the Jewish people, was despised, and spent his life and career cheating his own people. Yet, we read the conclusion of his interaction with Jesus in Luke 19:9-10, "Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”" Salvation came not because of all of the changes in the life of Zacchaeus, but because He realized his need for a Savior, and repented and accepted Jesus' offer. Some foolishly mischaracterize Jesus, blinded for any of a multitude of reasons, they fail to see their own state of sinfulness and fail to see the reality of who He is, to which we read in Luke 19:26-27, “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’” It's not that Jesus derives any pleasure in this, there is simply no other just action possible, as they have foolishly rejected their only hope of salvation.
This realization that God does all the work, and we, the people, simply need to claim that which He has already done, is present also in the work of God in His offer to take the entirety of the Promised Land. God did it all. He gave them the land, He conquered the enemies, they simply had to step out in faith and realize this. But we read that some did not realize this in Joshua 17:16-18, "The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.” Then Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more than one portion. The forests of the hill country will be yours as well. Clear as much of the land as you wish, and take possession of its farthest corners. And you will drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots.” Therein lies the choice for all of us: fear vs. faith, seeing what lies before us as obstacles vs. opportunities. Our actions cannot be abdicated to a leader, a group, etc. Ultimately, each of us must make a choice, what will it be for you? Jesus has offered us a gift that no one else has the ability to offer, what will you do with that offer: accept it or reject it? The reasons behind either decision really doesn't matter, it comes down to a decision which best not be put off or kicked down the road for a while, as none of us know when our time on this earth is over.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: