“And they sang a new song saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9
On mom’s side of the family, you would find Uncle Leo Johnson. I loved Uncle Leo! He was one of my favorite relatives growing up. He owned and operated a little country store and gas station in Husteville, Alabama, where my mom grew up. Now, you could count on this: Uncle Leo would always close his store when a Gene Autrey movie was playing in the town of Albertville or in Gadsden Alabama. He loved Gene Autrey, so it was no problem closing his store to catch him on the big screen!
Mother once told me of the time when she was twelve years old and her sister, Sarah, was seven that Uncle Leo took them to see a Gene Autrey motion picture. Their mom, my grandmother, had given each girl a dime to spend on a box of popcorn at the movie. The sisters were sitting in the back seat of Uncle Leo’s car, when Sarah turned to my mom and said with tears in her eyes, “Jeanine, I swallowed my pop corn money!” To which my mom responded, “Sarah, I could just wear you out!” To which Uncle Leo, having heard it all said, “Don’t worry Sarah, I’ll buy you a box of popcorn when we get to the movies.” And he did!
How wonderful it is when someone pays for something we could not pay for even if we had originally intended to pay for it! It is hard for the human mind to comprehend, but Jesus Christ, the Son of God paid for our salvation by His blood-which no amount of money in all the world or any act of merit on our part, could ever purchase! In fact, the Bible says you and I have nothing to offer but a swallowing of our sinful pride which leads us to reject the grace of God: His love, mercy, forgiveness, hope, and peace, in exchange for the abundant life in Christ lived in submission to Him.
Perhaps you’ve been searching for the meaning of life and your purpose in life for a long time, but know this, I can tell you through all my personal ups and downs that only Jesus Christ can satisfy your soul. Invite God to speak to your heart as to how much he loves you. And how much is that? “For You (Christ) were slain, and have redeemed (purchased) us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”
There’s not a man, woman, boy, or girl anywhere in the world that God doesn’t love and long to be in relationship with through His Son, now and forever! Call on His Name!
Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 67
Ephesians 4:30-32; Ephesians 1:13
Redemptive Love
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:30-32
Back in the day, and many of you who are reading this blog will remember, we earned points for receiving merchandise without having to pay cash for it, via the famous “S&H Green Stamps” system. It worked like this: Our mother, Jeanine, for example, would earn these stamps when purchasing groceries, gasoline, and other things. Later, when she had collected enough stamps to exchange them for a lamp or kitchen item she wanted as selected from the “S&H Green Stamp” catalog, she would drive about thirty minutes down Hwy 431 to the “S&H Green Stamp Redemption Center” located in Guntersville, Alabama, to pick up her goodie!
Now, to be honest, mother only received what she really wanted for herself two or three times over the years because she would give in to my brother and me who would be wanting a badminton set or something of the sort. And boy oh boy, did my brother and I love licking and pasting those stamps in the little books you received in-order-to receive that special toy!
The Bible says Jesus died for your sin and mine by paying for our sin in full at the cross! And Paul tells us in Ephesians four the moment we are saved, we are also sealed by the Holy Spirit now and forever through the precious blood of Christ (see also Ephesians 1:13). In other words, it is Christ’s redemptive love on His part that purchases, saves, and seals us! But our walk with God doesn’t stop there. Paul goes on to say in our text for today that we grieve the Holy Spirit when we do not love others with the same love in which God loved us at the cross: when we use the words of our mouths to hurt or destroy someone or we get mad at someone at church or carry unforgiveness in our hearts.
Instead, Paul says we are “[to] be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.” That’s redemptive love in motion in a world that is currently lost, dark, and divisive! Therefore, let us exchange our weapons of war for attitudes and actions of love and mercy in the name of Christ who died in our place that we might live and bring great glory to the Father!
Praise be to the One who sought and bought me with His redeeming love,
Pastor Louie
Sand Mountain Sermonette 68
Revelation 22:17 ;John 6:44; Acts 16
Wedding Surprise!
“And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” Revelation 22:17
My mother once told me of something I said in the presence of she and my father and a company of other folks in Nashville, Tennessee, a long time ago. I was about four years old and my parents, who loved the Grand Ol’ Opry, took me with them to the original Opry house for a special weekend together. I still remember sitting in the back of the old Opry house eating Borden’s vanilla ice cream from a little plastic cup with a wooden spoon; the pull-top lid featuring “Elsie the Cow.” And I still remember my mom purchasing a package of plastic sea creatures such as an octopus and a shark that I played with in the hotel bathroom sink.
But what I didn’t remember was something my mom told me about many years later when they were window shopping one evening in downtown Nashville during our trip. At one point we found ourselves in front of a bridal shop and the three of us stopped so mother could browse over a beautiful wedding gown on display in the store’s front window. And as she was doing so, she said I said out loud so everyone walking down the sidewalk or standing near the bridal store could hear, “Mother there’s just one thing about it, I hope you and daddy never get married! And mother said she told my dad right then and there she didn’t know what in the world made me say that! She was embarrassed, but she loved me!
Today, God is still calling people to enter and serve in His kingdom! And the apostle John who is revealing to us the revelation He received of the Lord on the island of Patmos in the first century, is very clear when it comes to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in the Twenty-first Century. It is the work of both the Holy Spirit and the bride (the body of Christ upon the earth, the church): the Inward and the Outward call of God upon the heart.
The question you must answer as I have had to answer, is: “Is my heart open to the work of the Spirit?” For although a Christian pastor or someone else may share about the real hell and the wonders of the real heaven which are described in the Bible for example, you will not truly come to Christ until the Spirit is drawing you; until the Spirit says, “Come.” Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me, draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” In Acts 16, we have the beautiful story of a businesswoman named Lydia to whom Paul shared outwardly the message of the good news of Jesus, and re “whose heart the Lord opened” resulting in her embracing the gospel as a free gift, as “living water” via of God’s grace, and her life was transformed for Christ that day.
Has your heart been nudged by the Spirit and by the outward call to come to Christ? I urge you in love and prayer to keep your heart open to the still small voice of God who loves you so! He will receive you as the old hymn reads, ‘Just as I am.”
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10
I have always had a special place in my heart for a good courtroom judge; one who is fair, to the point, and wise. When I was a young man still living in Alabama, I was called to the Guntersville, Alabama, courthouse to appear for possible jury selection and although I was never called, I will never forget that day or the judge.
A group of about thirty or forty people had assembled and been there for a short spell, when in walked the judge who proceeded to take his seat on his judge’s bench. Now while this was going on, I happened to notice an older man walk in with a younger fellow, both dressed in motorcycle attire and holding their respective helmets. In a few moments the judge invited anyone who felt they couldn’t serve as a juror that day to raise their hand and he would talk with them. Well, one by one, several people raised their hand to which the judge invited them to approach the bench one by one and give the reason why they didn’t think they could serve on a jury. Now, some were excused while some returned to take their seat in the courthouse. Then, the judge asked one last time, and the older biker guy who was seated in the very back of the courtroom raised his hand and stood up. And this wise judge, who was seated quite some distance away, said to him from that distance, “Tell me why you don’t think you can serve today.” To which the man replied, “Judge, I can’t serve today because I have a hearing problem.” To which the (wise) judge asked, “What did you say?” To which the man said, “I said, I have a hearing problem.” To which the judge responded, “You sit down right there!” And I still remember the smile the biker guy had on his face as he sat down. And when I was excused along with some other folks that day, I believe that man was still sitting there.
The Bible addresses more than one judgment. For purposes of this devotional, I will mention two: the very last judgment known as The Great White Throne Judgment where only the unsaved will stand before Christ the righteous Judge on that day (Revelation 20:11-15), and the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ found in our Scripture for today, (2 Corinthians 5:10). Only Christians will stand at this judgment which I believe will take place following the Rapture of the church (of Christians), preceding seven years of “Tribulation” upon the earth which will occur before the Second Coming of Christ to the earth.
This judgment will not have to do with salvation, but with the receiving or loss of rewards (“crowns”) as told in Scripture (See I Corinthians 3:10-15). The truth is, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that, “ [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Think about it. The Bible says the judgment of God’s wrath against sin fell in full degree on Christ so the way could be made for you and I to stand faultless and forgiven on the day of judgment. God’s loving and holy ways are good and fair and wise! Choose Christ today and you will pass from spiritual death into life now and forever! For the Bible Tells Us So!
Pastor Louie