August 14, 2014 Saved

Saved

Matthew 14:6-10 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison.  

YOU were probably looking for a happier verse or two today, weren’t you? The casual murder of God’s anointed is a grim reminder of Satan’s destructive desires for God’s own.

     Mankind hasn’t changed over the centuries, have we? We hear on the news in these August 2014 days of hateful people attacking, brutalizing and even beheading God’s people in Iraq. The war rages; horrible people seem to triumph, and we wonder, “When will you end this, Lord? Will you come now to deliver us from the Evil one?”

     This is a good time to remember that the Lord has come to deliver His own from sin’s destruction. Jesus’ horrific death on the cross atoned for, removed, the penalty of our sin that we would be acceptable to live eternally with God.

     The Apostle Paul writes of the “great sin exchange” in 2 Corinthians 5:21 For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God's goodness into us! (The Living Bible) Yes, God put his perfect Son on a cross, took the sin out of us and poured our filth into Jesus. Then he poured Jesus’ perfection into us.

The Lord, of course, deeply grieves evil’s affects on his world. That’s why he has come to save us with his own death.

LIFE Link: Keep your eyes on eternity.