”Why should I fear in times of trouble? The iniquity of my foes surrounds me. They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant riches. Yet these cannot redeem a person or pay his ransom to God — since the price of redeeming him is too costly, one should forever stop trying — so that he may live forever and not see the Pit.
But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol, for he will take me. Selah“
Psalms 49:5-9, 15 CSB
I love that this passage was written hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth. Gods plan was clear in the minds of His people long before He enacted the work of redemption through Jesus on the cross. Even during this time the people knew that God was the only one able to redeem a person, to pay the price required by all the sin committed while they lived. The price was too great for even the wealthiest king. God was their only hope!
There is nothing different about that statement almost 3,000 years later. Nothing we can do will help pay down the debt we owe for the sin we have committed. If we attempt to do right/good things to pay that debt, we fall utterly short…even if we lived 1,000 years, and perfectly accomplished 1,000,000 good deed every day, we still haven’t scraped the surface. Elon Musk isn’t rich enough to begin to erase even one sin.
Yet shockingly, God offers forgiveness for free. He sent Jesus to live 33 years, perfectly, no sin, no failures, just perfection…then asked Jesus to sacrifice Himself by dying on the cross. Jesus takes our sin, selfishness and pride…He accepted the penalty and gave us in exchange the opportunity to freely receive the gift of salvation. Something only God Himself can do.
Rejection of this truth, brings a life dull and impotent. Only fleeting moments of joy, days or weeks of forgetting that the end of life brings judgment…judgment that we have no answer strong enough to tip the scales in our favor. We are hopeless without accepting the truth of salvation through Jesus.
Lord, thank you for saving me, help me live every moment looking for the opportunity to share what you have done in me. I pray that my life would be an attractive example to those who don’t know you!!!
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