One thing that everyone has to deal with is lack in their lives. Currently our world is experience lack in basic items such as water, food and oil. Besides these there are many things that one could be lacking at one time or another in his life including:
- Lacking in relationships
- Lacking in knowledge or experience to accomplish a task
- Lacking in skill for dealing with others
- Lacking in accomplishments
- Lacking in self-confidence or self-worth
- Lacking in tranquility or piece of mind
- Lacking in physical vitality or health
- Lacking in opportunities
- Lacking in hope
- Lacking in love
- Lacking in the necessities of life
- Lacking in physical or financial resources
- Lacking in contentment
- Lacking in safety and security
- Lacking in guidance or knowledge
- Lacking in encouragement
- Lacking in joy
- Lacking in judgment
- Lacking in fulfillment
- Lacking in significance or propose for one’s life
- Lacking in justice
- Lacking in physical needs such as like sleep
- Lacking in relief from the pain caused by rejection or failure
In my life I’ve had to face many instances of rejection and discouragement and even harassment and failure. Often I was crushed by these occurrences; I could not find anyone who could offer me solutions for meeting these challenges. But that is not the case any more.
I have discovered that there is an answer for all the lack and the difficulties that we will encounter. The insufficiencies, failures and disappointments that we experience in this world are often the result of our separation from God. Our strength, wisdom and resources are limited. But God’s resources are unlimited. You see, God created us for the purpose of fellowshipping with him. God desired a family and we were his children. He said to his people that he led out of Egypt:
I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people. Leviticus 26:12
And as our Father, he would share his life with us and take care of our needs, wants and desires. Through our relationship with him, he would be our source for every thing we could want. God told his people in Isaiah 58:
…and the LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make strong your bones; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters don’t fail. Isaiah 58:11
His life is known as eternal life. It is not just a life without end, but an abundant and satisfying life as Jesus explained to his disciples in John 10:
I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. John 10:10b
But, as we often see in human families, events can take place that causes difficulties and obstacles in our relationships. And that is just what happened between God and mankind; we experienced a separation in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. It was the result of sin due to man’s disobedience.
Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12
Sin is rebellion against God. It leads to death, both spiritual and physical. But God is pure and holy; he has no sin or darkness in him. The Apostle John tells us that,
…God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
And while we are walking in the darkness of sin we can not have fellowship with him. Our sin keeps us separated us from God and his provision for us. The prophet Isaiah reminded God’s people about this, saying:
Behold, The LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it can’t save; neither his ear heavy, that it can’t hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2
It is not possible for God to share himself and his life with us while we are living contrary to his nature. And because man allowed sin into his life all kinds of negative consequences came about:
- We became self-centered and began to oppress and mistreat one another.
- Because we lost our access to God’s provision for us we had to take care of our own needs often at the expense of others.
- We stopped following the principles that God gave us adopted practices that were destructive to our selves and others.
But God would not abandon his creation. He understood that we could not overcome our sin problem by ourselves; it would be up to him to get his children back. Thus, God sent Jesus to restore our relationship. Who is Jesus? The Bible tells us that he is God who came to earth in the flesh:
The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
Jesus came and lived on the earth as a man. Yet he was not separated by sin from his Father like we are. Thus he could live on the earth and operate according to the will and the provision of God. He lived a sinless life and that enabling him to become the prefect sacrifice for our sins. Then he offered his life as an atoning or covering sacrifice for our sin. That is why Jesus went to die on the cross. He died to:
- pay the plenty for our sin, rebellion and disobedience
- to bring us forgiveness and make us righteous in God’s eyes
- and to make God’s gift of eternal life available to us
The Bible says:
…who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
Now the way has been cleared for us to return to God; to be in fellowship with him and receive all the resources we need for living. Resource such as:
- Guidance
- Wisdom
- Comfort
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Protection
- Healing
- Companionship
- Encouragement
- Abundance
- Righteousness
- Empowerment
- And hope
Thus Jesus made a way for us to be restored to God and partake of his free gift of eternal life. There is nothing we can ever do to merit or deserve it. The Apostle Paul tells us in the book of Ephesians:
…for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. Ephesians 2:8, 9
and in Romans:
…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
It is by grace thought faith in what Christ has done that puts us into a right relationship with him: Paul explained it this way in Romans 5:
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1, 2
Thus through Jesus’ death on the cross God accomplished what was necessary to restore us to him. But now we have to do our part. We have to receive what he has done for us. The Apostle John tells us:
But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children… John 1:12
How do we receive God’s gift of eternal life?
First we need repent; that is to make a change in our attitude concerning sin: from seeking sin to seeking after God and his way of doing things. Acts 3:19 tells us:
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out…
Second we accept and place our faith or confidence in Jesus:
- That he is God’s Son
- That his death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin
- That we receive forgiveness for our sin on his behalf
- That he was raised from the dead
- That he has made God’s gift of eternal life available to us
1 John 2:2 tells us:
And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
And third, we make Jesus the Lord of our life. We transfer the control of our lives over to him. As the Apostle Paul tells us in the book of Romans:
…that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9, 10
By praying a simple prayer we can accomplish these three requirements. This places us into God’s family where we begin to grow in our faith and our relationship to the Lord Jesus. As we read God’s word or hear it taught, participate in worship, talk to the Lord in prayer and spend time with other Christians we are able to tap into the resources that God has made available to us: his wisdom, guidance, protection, provision, encouragement and support. Jesus told his disciples in John 15:
I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains [or abides] in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you. John 15:5-7
This is God’s system for getting his supply into our lives. Our Lord Jesus is our source for everything we need. Our job is to stay connected to him and obedient to his will and purpose for our lives. Then we are able to draw on his resource for of our needs.
Therefore, if you understand this message that God has made his eternal life available to you so that He can be your source and if there is not any reason that you can think of preventing you from placing you faith in Jesus right now and receiving God’s gift of eternal life then I invite you to pray this prayer out loud (because with the mouth we make confession) and sincerely mean these words in your heart:
Lord Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner and that I have been separated from God and that you died for me on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. Therefore, I repent of sin in my life and receive your forgiveness. I believe that you rose from the dead. I receive your gift of eternal life and I make you Jesus, the Lord of my life. Thank you Jesus!
If you have prayed this prayer, please write us to let us know of your decision to receive eternal life. Click here to contact us.
Copyright © 2008-2011 by Alan Pasho. All rights reserved.
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