Only One Needed

 

Only One Needed

Romans 5: ¹⁸ So then, as the one sin condemned all people, in the same way the one righteous act sets all people free and gives them life. ¹⁹ And just as all people were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man.

 

²⁰ Law was introduced in order to increase wrongdoing; but where sin increased, God's grace increased much more. ²¹ So then, just as sin ruled by means of death, so also God's grace rules by means of righteousness, leading us to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

============

 

Wanting results quickly, I went to the store to find something to make a plant grow faster. I found what I was looking for. The directions said “Use only one tablet.” I did this but did not see the results in the time I wanted, so I added another one. A little while later the plant started growing then it died. I read the directions and it said this would happen.

 

• There have been times when I did not trust the directions.
• There have been times when I did not believe I only needed one.
• There have been times when I did not think the number one could be so powerful.

 

Paul explains that eternal death was introduced by one man committing one sin. That’s powerful. From birth, each person desires to sin. No exception. BUT GOD had another plan.

 

• GOD committed a single act of love to save me.
• GOD sent one being to die in my place.
• GOD loved me so much that HE gave HIS one and only SON to die, just for me.

 

This one act of love cost so much. I mean, JESUS gave up everything just to save me. HE showed ultimate compassion with one single act of love, namely HIS death. But the story does not stop there. JESUS was raised from the dead and placed over everything. All authority has been given to JESUS. I am glad ONE is all I need.

 

• Do you think GOD needs your money or for you to be “good” in order to be accepted by HIM?
• Are you looking at a life of sin, thinking you could never be forgiven?
• Will you stop doubting what JESUS did and simply believe HE took care of all your sins so you can enjoy a relationship with the ONE who loves you dearly?

Harsh Message

Jeremiah 19: This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests ² and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, ³ and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. ⁴ For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

============

“Thou shalt not have any god before ME” are the words spoken by GOD that are seldom spoken today. I mean, I have to go to work and that is where I get “my” money, right? I may not have as much time for going to church and GOD forbid helping others. I also may have so much money that I have to protect it by placing it in shelters reducing tax liabilities. I mean, I have to save for retirement, right? I may not have as much money to give to others because “mine” is tied up.

• Many times I have placed something over GOD.
• Many times I have looked somewhere else for the answer instead of GOD.
• Many times I have been blind, thinking my bank account is what will save me rather than GOD.

Like the ancestors of old, I murmured in the desert while GOD was protecting me and teaching me. HE delivered me from the modern day “Egypt” and sent me on a quest to seek HIM. HE showed me that complaints were quite painful to HIM and HE does not have tolerance for them too long. I had to grow up and hear GOD.

• GOD said to me “I AM the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.”
• GOD said to me “I AM the gate, no one enters Heave but through ME.”
• GOD said to me “I AM the bread of life and I AM the light of the world.”

GOD clearly wants me to know that HE is the only provider. As humans attempt to rob, steal and kill me and those around me, GOD wants me to stand firm on HIS word, trusting and believing in HIS mighty power. HE does not want to hear a complaint about someone else from my lips, otherwise I am acting like the Accuser. GOD wants me to praise HIM no matter the circumstance. My worship should be to HIM.

• Are you worshipping your job?
• Do you worship your bank account, no matter how small it is?
• Are you devastated when you lose either?
• Can you allow GOD to have all that you have?
• Will you let GOD reign supreme in your life?