Balancing on the See Saw of Life

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

In our daily walk with God, we experience all sorts of things. We have our happy days as well as our 'down in the dumps' days. There are certain events or experiences that occur which are beyond our understanding, for example praying fervently for a loved one that is sick, and losing that one to death in spite of all your prayers. These things are beyond our ken.

The journey of life sometimes appears undulating. We have our ups and downs; our days of laughter and our days of mourning. Ecclesistes 3:1-8 describes this more graphically : To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

As Christians, we must brace ourselves for unpleasant days, so that should they occur, our foundation will not be shaken. Our hope and faith must be in the Lord, who has promised us that all things work together for our good. In bad times,we must turn to God for strength, praising him amidst thanksgiving.There is a lesson to learn from each phase of life. Such lessons can be learned best when we look at events through God's Word and love. We must distance ourselves from bitterness and envy. Be content in whatever situation you find yourself in as Paul taught us in Philippians 4: 11b - 13 "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

When we have done all we know to do and have followed God's word to the letter, we must learn to be still and know that God is God, and that Jesus is Lord over our circumstances, and also that we are not forsaken as we have the seal of God - the Holy Spirit!

A story is told of a good christian man who had extensive work experience and a laudable profile.He applied for a job and was not offered the position. He was so hurt and felt highly let down by God. Little did he know that where he so badly wanted to work was going to come down in a terrorist attack. His office, had he been offered the job, would have been at the upper part of the World Trade Centre. Who knows if he would have survived September 11 or not. All things indeed work together for our good. Let us simply trust in the lord.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

LOOK UP AND LIVE!

SALVATION

Numbers 21: 4-9

4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, [c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

I personally believe there is significant correlation between the above passage of scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary through which the world has redemption from the power of sin and death. Ephesians 1:7 - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. Also in Colossians 1:14 this same truth is repeated - In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

As is told from the beginning, Adam and Eve sinned against the Lord, and this brought sin upon the entire human race. Human beings therefore inherited the Adamic sinful nature. Rom.3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are therefore sinners heading towards eternal damnation, for the wages of sin is death - Romans 6:23a .

In this regard, all human beings stand accused of sin - the original sin. And because of this tag of sin on us, our works of righteousness are like filthy rags before the Lord - Isaiah 64:6. In this light, there is none of us that is righteous, not even one - Rom.3:10 . All descendants of Adam are in dire need of Salvation from this tag of sin and spiritual death, which is eternal condemnation.

Jn.3:16 hints us about how we can be saved from sin - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. The Bible warns us in 1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And in Acts 4: 12, we are told about Jesus that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Jesus himself reiterated this in the following scriptures : John 10:9 -I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.Similarly in John 14:6, Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And in John 8:24 Jesus admonished us to believe in His message of salvation -I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins."

Just as our former passage of scripture from Numbers 21 describes a dying sinful people who had to look up at God's medium of salvation from death in the form of a bronze snake hang on a pole, the entire human creation in a similar vein, being sinners because of the Adamic sin we inherited are bound to die and be condemned eternally. Yet God in His wisdom has provided a medium of salvation in the form of Jesus, who like the bronze snake on a pole was crucified and hang on a cross.

Through His sacrificial death on Cross Calvary, anyone who realises he's sinned against God and believes in God's medium of salvation (Jesus), can ask for forgiveness, and looking up at the finished work on the cross, confess Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Indeed, any such person shall be saved and have eternal life. Romans 10: 9 -10 sums this up : That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Earlier on we looked at Romans 6:23a which said the wages of sin is death, but thanks be to God that though we are all sinners and deserve this death ( eternal condemnation), God did not end it right there. Being merciful and loving, he gave us a second side to this Bible verse. Romans 6:23b intervenes by telling us that 'but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Beloved, there is existence after death: eternal condemnation for all sinners and eternal life for them that believe in the salvation provided by God. John 5:28-29 reads - "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. Please do not harden your heart. Believe in Jesus and be saved.....I can hear the Lord Jesus still crying out to all - " I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins."

He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying.... For it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.Hebrews 9:27.