A Reading
As a believer, you are qualified to share in the inheritance of the men and women of faith who have gone before you. You are qualified because of Jesus Christ, who has secured your redemption. Your redemption was a legitimate transaction where Jesus traded his blood for your life. He purchased your deliverance from bondage to the kingdom of Satan and brought you into the kingdom of his Father. Now that this transaction has taken place, you are rescued, redeemed, restored and forgiven. (Colossians 1: 12-14)
A Thought
As a rule, I look forward to Mondays. Monday is our bin collection day. It is always pleasing to have unwanted items taken away, and the bin cleared to start afresh.
However, last Sunday it snowed. The roads near us are unsalted, and as a result our recycling bin was not emptied. It was already full and cannot fit in any more recycling.
I am now filling a third dustbin bag with the recycling overflow. Our bins are emptied every two weeks, and I expect to refill the recycling bin as soon as it is emptied this coming Monday.
Worse still, the weather forecast is heavy snow this Sunday, which may once again disrupt our bin collection. At this rate of progress, there will be a 4-week accumulation of mixed recycling obstructing our movement around the kitchen. Truly exasperating.
Sin tends to accumulate in the same way. When we give in to temptation once, it makes the next compromise so much easier. At first it is easy to feel that our shortcomings are not serious. But the sins continue piling higher, beyond our control, and finding somewhere to hide them becomes progressively more difficult.
Except that Jesus has provided a solution. When we place our faith in Jesus, confess our sins and welcome the Holy Spirit into our daily life, our past and future sins are instantly removed. He provides a bin for our sins, which he takes to the heavenly tip.
Of course, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are not generating as much sin as we used to. Bible study and church help us to recognise any sin that we have overlooked. Then we can pick it up ourselves and put it into the sin bin with an apology.
Jesus empties the bin afresh each day.
It would be wonderful if our recycling bin collection worked as well as this.
A Prayer
Dear Lord,
I live in your grace and receive your forgiveness.
Every day you give me a new beginning.
May the power of the Holy Spirit
help me to walk away from everything that I know to be wrong,
and embrace everything that I know about you.
Amen
Comments