Written ~ 12-30-2023
Romans 5:6-11
6 “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”
Jesus Christ has made us friends of God… when Jesus was born as that innocent baby, this was His entire purpose for coming to earth, to close the gap between our sinful natures and the Almighty and Holy God. The reason Jesus offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice was for that sacrifice to be the final bridge that would bring us into a relationship with God as our Father. There just isn’t any other way to be made right with God than through the acceptance of what Christ did on that cross.
When you have accepted the fact that God, the Almighty and Holy God, loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, you have received a powerful gift! This gift has brought you out of death and into life! You have been made right in the eyes of God the Father, He only sees the blood of Jesus as you stand before Him.
Verse 5:11,
11 “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”
So now we can rejoice! As believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ we now have the distinction of being called the children of God! And that is something to shout about, to raise a voice of praise to the Father!
As we come to the close of another year, let’s take the time to reflect on our relationship with the Lord this past year. All of us have room for growth, no matter the stage of your walk with the Lord. When you look back at this year, where do you see bumps in the road? Did you handle those with grace and mercy and give praise and honor to the Lord? Or was your attitude tainted with rebellion, anger and lashing out? When given the opportunity to serve the Lord, did you do what the Lord asked without hesitation? Or did you pull away and crawl back into a secluded comfort zone? When studying the Scriptures did your heart yearn for more? Or did you decide it was too difficult and you set your Bible aside? Did you give the Lord your top priority in everything you did? Or was your time too valuable to consider Him first?
Everyday we have a reset, we wake up in the morning and can decide then and there if we are going to place our footsteps inside the footprints of the Lord. Following Him should be what sets the precedent of our day.
Verse 5:10,
10 “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son.”
We have life because of Christ! Our whole outlook on life should be different!
Verse 5:6,
6 “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”
This verse says we are helpless without Christ! So when Christ died and rose again, He gave us a way to have life! To have the help we need to get through every single day. No matter what is thrown our way.
So, as we close out another year, think about these verses for today… If we didn’t have Christ, this is what would remain…
The hopelessness we would have to endure.
The separation from a loving Father.
The condemnation of our sin.
The status as the enemy of God.
But instead of all that!
We have life in Jesus! We have hope, we are given access through Christ to the throne of God, we have been cleansed of all sin and we are friends of God!
Seems like some pretty great things to hold onto as we approach a New Year. My prayer for today is that we would all grasp onto the truths of these verses and truly understand what they mean to us individually. Think about your life and how differently it could have gone if Jesus hadn’t entered in when He did. He has done so much for you, for me, so let’s make sure we live our lives with the heart of Jesus. He resides within us, so let’s put to rest our sinful natures and live for Him.
~AMEN~