Message from Scripture: 12/7/2020

 

Our message from Scripture today is Eph. 5:2. “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, the 79^th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which sent our nation into WWII, an event which President Roosevelt would call a day that would live in infamy. For those who lived through that day, and the events that would follow, it defined that generation, what has been called the greatest generation, for their willingness to sacrifice for the good of others, who sacrificed even their own lives for the sake of liberty and freedom. Sadly, many people today are unaware of those sacrifices made, or that this day is different to others in what it reminds us.

As members of the kingdom of God, we remember the sacrifice Jesus offered of Himself for us. Paul reminds us, “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross” (Phil. 3:8). What a sacrifice was made that we could have the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus willingly went to the cross, to shed His blood for us. It didn’t happen by accident, nor was He forced into it against His own desires. It was for this that He offered Himself up, that we might have the hope of eternal life, a sacrifice without which we would have no hope.

Today, it is appropriate to remember the events of 79 years ago, and how we are beneficiaries of the sacrifices made by those who fought for our freedom. It is also appropriate that, each day, we should remember what Christ has done for us, and what we can be in Him. May we never forget the Son of God becoming the Son of Man, dying a horrible death on the cross, that we could be free from the consequences of sin. Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14). What a price was paid, but what a life we now have to live. God bless.

Robert