He's Done It!

People have always looked for for magical means to change their life situations. In the Middle Ages, kings employed legions of men who claimed that they could find the secret of elemental transformation - with a primary goal of turning ordinary lead into precious gold. We no longer pursue that aim, but we still want quick fixes for our problems. Companies get rich offering Americans 'magic' pills that will produce weight loss without diets or exercise programs. Counselors, often with with dubious credentials, claim to be able to rid us of our hang-ups and emotional pain in a couple of sessions were we can learn the secrets of life! And we all know about the myriad wealth schemes that drop into our email, promising instant riches.

But the truth is that all things of value - whether health or wealth - require steady efforts in a long process.

Building wealth requires careful stewardship, wise investments, and not a small amount of the blessings of the Lord with what we call fortuitous circumstances.

Extending good health demands that we monitor our consumption of foods, that we regularly exercise, and that we maintain our bodies by taking care of issues that arise before they become major problems.

Enjoying a wide circle of relationships, one of life's richest rewards, demands maturing beyond childish selfishness and learning to share in the lives of others as we extend forgiveness.

BUT, (there is always that exception, isn't there?) there is a transformation, a place of healing for the soul, that is a gift of great worth available to all, beyond our purchase.
The Bible tells us the story like this:
"Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. Youused to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeyingSatan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. ... All of us usedto live that way, following the passions and desires of our evilnature. ...and we were under God's anger just like everyone else.But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that evenwhile we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when heraised Christ from the dead.
(It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!)
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms-all because we are one with Christ Jesus..... God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this;it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's
masterpiece." Ephesians 2:1-10 NLT

Wow! I hope you didn't read those words too quickly. The promise is so big that it boggles my mind! "Dead, now alive! "Saved... special favor. God's masterpiece!" Why would God would love a sinner like me (and you, too) with a love so great and so wonderful and so powerful -- that we can be saints, not in some moment in the future, but here, now?

Yet, that is what we are: saints, perfect today, in the sight of God because of an amazing work transformation that He accomplishes by the Spirit in us. He offers us beauty for our ashes, hope for our despair, whole lives for the broken ones - and all at His expense! This is THE glorious and amazing truth of Christianity.

To be sure, we have a responsibility to 'work out' the implications of God's love in our day to day lives. There are disciplines of the Spirit to be learned so that the likeness of Jesus is re-created in us more completely. But, do not let anyone tell you that you can be more saved than you are at this moment. There is nothing to be added to His salvation. The work done at the Cross is a complete work on our behalf at the altar of Heaven!

"For Christ didn't enter the earthly version of the Holy Place; he entered the Place Itself,and offered himself to God as the sacrifice for our sins.He doesn't do this every year as the high priests did under the old plan with blood that was not their own;if that had been the case, he would have to sacrifice himself repeatedly throughout the course of history. But instead he sacrificed himself once and for all, summing up all the other sacrifices in this sacrifice of himself, the final solution of sin. Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ's death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation.
Hebrews 9:24-28 MSG

Have you humbly knelt before Jesus Christ and with faith, renounced your own attempts at pleasing God?
Have you embraced, in faith, this gift of life that is offered to you without cost? If not, why not do it right now - right where you are?

Simply thank God for making a spiritual transformation possible, for forgiving you for the offenses against Him that you have committed both in ignorance and rebellion. Invite the Spirit of God to fill your life and to make you a new person!

And, amazingly, He's done it!