The Cost
Everything today has a price. There is really nothing free other than the air we breathe. Web sites offer many things for free. They say there is no cost and nothing to purchase, but when you read the fine print you must pay for shipping and handling and that cost is so overstated it should be against the law. The shipping through the post office for a normal size book is about $1.96 US, yet they will charge you anywhere from $7.95 US to $14.50 US just for the shipping and the handling cost for someone to pick that book up and put it in a box are about $24.95 US. So that thing that is absolutely free just cost you anywhere from $26.91 US to $39.45 US, and they say it is free. There is something that is absolutely free and all you have to do is ask for it. That is the love of God. God does not put a price on his love because that price was paid for us two thousand years ago buy Jesus. He paid that price because he knew the love his Father had for us and he wanted us to know that love. The price he paid was his life that all could have eternal life. This world can charge any price they want for the goods and services that we receive but the love of God will continue to be free for the asking. What is keeping some people from asking for this love? My thoughts are that think they will have to give up something that they feel is important to the success of their life. The fact is that they could not be further from the truth. They can be the same person they have always been and God will change the things that they don’t need to be from the inside out. This was a big problem that I faced before I gave my heart to Jesus. I thought that I would have to become less of a person and not be who I was in order to follow him. How wrong I was. God met me right where I was and when I accepted him there were changes that began to happen and not one of them were bad. Each change made my life more complete. I realized that I did not need some of the things that I was so worried about having to give up. What was the cost? My sadness, my anger, my drinking, my drugs and I gave it all up with joy and knowing that I had become a better person. A person filled with happiness and health and peace. God did all of that and he showed me what life was really like. So I guess you would say that there is a cost, but that cost does not even compare with the price you will have to pay if you don’t know Jesus. That cost is where many are headed now and it is up to those who believe on the Name of Jesus Christ to tell them. Now I could not imagine having to pay that price and I am very happy that I chose the other. I chose life and received life to the fullest. (Job 10:10) For those who don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior, you really need to give it some serious thought. God is waiting and he is waiting just for you. He loves you with a love that you cannot understand and he wants to give you that life in abundance and absolutely free of charge. Think about it.
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Depression is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign that you have been trying to be strong for too long. How many of us have been in this thing called depression? If that is you then you are not alone. So many times we get into that area in our life when nothing seems to go right and everything and everybody seems to be against you. You try to fight the tugs and pulls of depression but it finally becomes too great for us to handle and we succumb to it. We think that the battle is over and we have failed ourselves, our family and most important of all we failed God.
There is good news and the truth is you have failed absolutely no one, especially God. God knows our weaknesses and when we are weak he is strong. We just try to do it ourselves. We don’t want anyone know what is going on and we put on a false face and look good on the outside while inside we are struggling. How long do we think we can keep it up? For some they go on for weeks at a time and in all actuality we do not have to deal with it but only for a moment. I know it is true because I have struggled with depression for years. I know everyone thinks that I have it all together because I am a pastor but that really has nothing to do with it. We hold things in so we can work it out ourselves and before too long we have gone too far and the pressure is more than we can handle. Millions of people struggle with depression at different levels and it took me a very long time to come to the realization that God wants us to put our trust in him. Even after I became a pastor, depression seemed to have a hold on me. I would battle it sometimes for days. One day God spoke to me just like I am about to speak to you and he said, “why can’t you just trust in me and let me take this burden from you and I will show you that what you are depressed about is nothing more than just a fleeting thought.” Those words spoke volumes to me and I realized that I go around encouraging others and yet I had my own battles that needed to be dealt with. We cannot allow our thoughts to take us from that place that we know to be safe and sound. God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” and what I came to realize he was there all the time. God waits patiently for us to come to him. We need to get over ourselves and make that sooner than later. To put it in understandable terms, right now. God is there and he is asking for us to just trust in him. He is standing there waiting patiently in line for us to get beyond the world and into his loving arms. Why not give it a try? The only thing you have to loose is your depression. Put a smile on that face of yours and let the SON shine out of you and through you. I have realized that life is way too short for us to run around with our smile upside down on our face. Smile it adds face value. You will not regret your decision I guarantee it. |
AuthorAn Evangelist called to preach the gospel all over the world. To lay hands on the sick and to prophecy to everyone. Reaching out to the world that all may be saved. Archives
December 2021
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