Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
1 Timothy 1:15
There can be no doubt to any of us that we live in a very troubled world. There is evil in many forms all around us and the danger to our soul is to be overcome by this fact and to focus too much on it to the point we are led to despair, depression and defeat. Why are we born into a world that has so much wickedness, injustice and violence? If we look to God’s Word, we can find the answers! In Genesis we learn of how Adam and Eve sinned against God their Creator and set in motion all the problems we find today. The truth is we live in a fallen and sin-filled world because of mankind’s rebellion. The sin of mankind to rebel against the Lord fills every human’s heart and is the source of pain and vexations that fill every people group of the world. Once we realize this is our problem, we can then learn to see the incredible gift of Jesus Christ coming into this world to die for our sins and provide a pathway for us to be transformed and die to our sin nature. The promise of God is that any person who will humble themselves and repent of living a self-ruled life and then trust in Jesus’s death on the cross as payment for their sins, can be forgiven and transformed. This is a spiritual transaction that occurs in the heart of a person where they surrender themselves to the Lord because they realize that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life as John 14:6 reveals. In this spiritual transaction that is by definition invisible to the eye, the soul is radically changed by God’s grace, Spirit and Word. It is our only hope to see people changed and it is to be the #1 focus of the church to help people find Jesus by faith and to learn to live for Him. We must not get side-tracked as this is the only way to lasting change in the lives of people; nothing else really works or lasts. God can change anyone as Paul the Apostle, who wrote this letter to Timothy, is an example of. Friends, the gospel message is the way to see change and transformation in the lives of those we know and love. Let’s be sure we have Jesus as our Savior and then invite as many people as we can to find Him also. Blessings!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek