The Exchange

This past weekend CrossRoads had their very first retreat. I must say that it was awesome. And it was not because the presentation was awesome. In fact I forgot to bring my projector. It was not because we had a lot of experiencing doing this kind of thing; remember this was the first one. It was awesome because of the people who went, and the way that the Spirit moved among them. This group was one of the best groups that I ever had the privilege being a part of. And I am very grateful for the opportunity to get to know them better.

At this retreat we looked at Romans 6 – 8. If you have the time, read through these three chapters. They are amazing. They talk about how we have a new life in Christ. Sin does not have the same power over us, because we have been freed by Jesus. He lives in us and through us, and we get to have that close relationship with him. Think about what that means for a moment. Your life has value and worth, because Jesus saw it as valuable enough to die for you. The price for your sins has been paid by Jesus on the cross. We talk about this a lot, but take a moment to think about this. Have you ever felt that you deserved to be punished for your sins? Have you ever felt that you had to carry around your guilt and burdens in order to make up for the things that you have done in your past? Have you ever felt that if you did any differently you would somehow be getting off easy? And yet that is not necessary, because Jesus paid the price for our sins. Even that one you are thinking about now. This is by no means a license to sin. It does not mean that we can go around and do whatever we want to do, because Jesus paid the price. It does mean that we do not have to live with the guilt and burden for past sins, because Jesus paid the price. So at that moment that we repented for those sins, at the moment that we asked God to forgive them, it was at that moment that they were removed from us as far as the east is from the west.

Isn't that an amazing and wonderful thing? We get to experience life and experience it to the full, because Jesus gave his life for us. We get to be healed from our past sins. We get to live life with God as his own dear children. We get to be part of his mission in this world and to proclaim this love and grace and mercy and forgiveness so that other people are also able to experience the joy, peach and hope that comes from the exchange.

These are deep truths that cannot be adequately mined in a blog. But I pray that you are able to take a moment to think about this awesome exchange, and what it means for you. And may that be an incredible source of strength, comfort and freedom for you, now and always.

 

Sincerely,

Pastor CJ