Atonement

Accounts Payable [Romans 5:6, 8 (4:3); other topics - Debt; Judgment]

Floyd has come and gone! And the total destruction has yet to be realized ... the cost has yet to be tallied!

Every night the evening news presents another vignette of another farmer or business woman or senior couple who’ve lost everything. They each have the same lament, “I’ve lost everything, I don’t know how I’ll ever pay the debt.” These people are like the rest of us, we’re all up to our ears in debt. The combined effort of the government, their families, their friends, and their churches will fall short of what is needed.

Such is the condition of all mankind. So many stand on the threshold of God’s judgment it’s hard to comprehend. Coming are the waters of wasted lives, tornadoes of eternal torment, and the horrors of hell’s fire!

Our sins are like lava spewing from the mouth of an evil mountain, flowing slowly down hill, swallowing anything and everything in its path. But still the unbeliever, the doubter, and the mocker don’t see it coming! When they do, it’ll be too late; and when the bill is tallied ... it will be more than they can afford.

And yet while we were still in our sins, Christ died for us. And for those who will but believe, like Abram, God will reckon it as righteousness to our account.


Temporal Bouquet from an Eternal Florist! [Leviticus 26:39; other topics – Sanctification, Sin nature]

I ‘m told most people in 16th Century England got married in June because they took their annual bath in May. It seems they still smelled pretty good in June. Still, many were starting to ripen, so brides began carrying a bouquet of flowers to hide the aromas. [Adapted from Life in the 1500's, author unknown]

Christ is God’s supernatural bouquet for believers; He covers our sins and hides our natural odor.

Relationships

Love Thy Neighbor [Leviticus 19:18]

Connie Cavanaugh relates how her sister, during a dozen moves, practiced the neighborly custom of introducing herself to her new neighbors. She was also faithful in welcoming other newcomers.

During one rather hectic recent move, Lisa neglected meeting her new neighbors. She rationalized that it was just a rental house and that she could do better when they moved into their permanent home. Besides, there was only one neighbor anyway ... “the big, scruffy fellow ... who was always puttering in his yard in baggy overalls.” His wife was housebound with a newborn.

Winter hit with a vengeance. One really bad December day, her husband at the office, Lisa was just barely able to get the kids off to school.

Finding herself with a free moment she sat down to enjoy a second cup of coffee and scan the morning paper. The headlines reported a very horrifying and graphic story of home invasion. The victim, a woman home alone, was beaten and robbed. Shaken, Lisa prayed for the woman and her family.

Suddenly, she heard footfalls on the porch; the doorbell rang. Assuming it was her sister frozen in the Arctic weather, she rushed to the door and flung it open.

Filling the doorway was a giant stranger, handsomely dressed and smelling of cologne. “My car won’t start. Can you give me a boost?” he thundered. Lisa mind flashed to this morning’s headline, remembering the criminal had used a ruse to gain entry. She grew lightheaded.
She said something about not having cables. He responded, “I’ve got my own. I just need your car. Give me the keys, I’ll do it myself.” He stepped through the open door, smirking and acting oddly familiar.

Grasping at straws she blurted out, “Ask the guy next door; he’s a landscaper ... he’s always hanging around the house. And he’s very big!” The latter just for insurance.

“That house?” the stranger asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Right there,” Lisa trembled.

“Ask the guy who lives there?” The brute mocked, as if he didn’t understand the first time.

“Yes!” She whined emphatically. “I’m sure he’s home.”

To which the monster retorted, “But, Lisa, I am that guy!”

We need to get to know neighbors before we love them.

[Connie Cavanaugh, “The thug next door;” On Mission, a publication of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention; Vol. 2, No. 3, July-August 1999, 29]

GOSSIP: Overt Anonymity Or Covert Animosity!

"You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD."

Leviticus 19:16

Your organist has bad breath, but you’re certain of the consequences if you tell her; your deacon chairman hugs the ladies a little too enthusiastically, but to tell him is one step away from updating your resume. Well, finally there’s a way to tell them without all of the potential conflict.

Several Internet companies will anonymously inform anyone about anything, for a price. The put-downs come in plain envelopes with phony return addresses. [Ed. Note: You’ll have to search out the URLs yourself, since I don’t agree with this approach to problem solving.]

Few things are more painful among members of the Body of Christ than anonymous criticism.

It comes in all forms and sizes:

1. "Well, John, I’d love to tell you who told me but they asked not to be identified."
   
2. Also: "I’m sorry, pastor, but I just can’t remember who told me you were having an affair."
   
3. And: "Ordinarily I wouldn’t pass on stuff like this, but we’re such good friends I just had to tell you."
   
4. Or: "I assure you, several people told me. And, no, I can’t remember who!"
   
5. Likewise: "Pastor, you really ought to give this some thought. After all, I’ve heard EVERYBODY is talking about it."
   
6. Then: "Personally, I think you’re a fine teacher. I just thought you like know a lot of others don’t agree."

Nevertheless messages clothed in the armor of anonymity are stealth bombs, intended to inflict the greatest damage at the least cost by a cowardly enemy.

The evil foundation of such criminal communication is the bedrock of Hell itself. People involved in rumor mongering, backbiting and gossip are misguided missiles from Satan himself.

We must not only abstain from evil [1 Thessalonians 5:22] but avoid even the hint of it [Ephesians 5:3].

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Gossip