Thank You for answered prayers yesterday, Father. We were fretting and we should’ve done more trusting. I would ask that Your hand would be upon me this day. Guide and direct my thoughts and actions, and may they all be pleasing in Your sight. Give me the strength and stamina to accomplish the tasks at hand. Amen.

1 Timothy 2:5-7 (<<click here)

“For there is only one God and Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity – the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life [as a ransom – NIV, NASB] to purchase freedom for everyone.” v5-6a

My, oh my… what a point of contention, not for me but for so many others. Lord, before You even created the world, You knew this was the way it would be. And at the core of this contention is sin – pride – “Nobody is going to tell me what to believe!” Humanity just has to go against the grain.

I’m sure many would accuse me of narrow-mindedness, and God has given every single one of us the free will to decide for ourselves what we will believe. We can even believe that there is no God – it’s our choice. But I choose to believe that Christ Jesus is the only “God and Mediator who can reconcile” me and God. Lord Jesus, You gave Your life “to purchase” my freedom from the sin in which I had become mired. You ransomed me. No one else could do that! I am surely incapable of doing it myself. Life has proven that, I am not strong enough. I am too prone to failure.

So for me, Lord, You alone are the bridge that crosses the great chasm between myself and God. Whether there is a God, or is a chasm is not worth the argument humanity believes, for in the end we all will stand before our Creator to give account of what we did with Christ. We all exert our free will now but at that time that will be our only option.

And before we start crying “foul!” we must realize that this “ransom” is a gift – no one makes anyone take it. Every one of us has the choice to accept it…or reject it. But the ramifications of our choice will have eternal consequences.

Lord, thank You for this indescribable gift! May my life reflect that gratitude and may I be diligent in sharing Your gift with others.

September 1, Tues, 6:58 am