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May 20, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Did I Get Everything Right?, by Tim Archer
I don't like paying taxes. I especially don't like the whole process of
filing taxes here in the United States. It's amazing how complicated
our tax code has gotten. In 1913, the tax code was just over 400 pages
long. The instructions for filing consisted of two pages. In 2008, the
code had grown to over 67,000 pages; the instructions for filling out
the basic form, the 1040, had grown to 155 pages. The complexity of
accurately filing taxes fuels an entire tax-preparation industry.
Because of that, most of us feel a bit of anxiety when filing taxes:
Did I get everything right?
Some people feel a similar anxiety when they think about God. Did I get
everything right? Have I made amends for all the bad things I've done?
Have I done enough good things? Did I say the right words, go to the
right places, think the right thoughts? Even though the Bible isn't as
long as the U.S. tax code, the consequences of being wrong can fill
anyone's heart with fear.
Did I get everything right?
If you feel nervous when you think about standing before God on the Day
of Judgment, you might be surprised at something the apostle Paul
wrote, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Peace?
Peace with God? How can we have peace with God when we have to
constantly worry about getting everything right in order to please him?
The answer to that question is, we can't. If our being right with God
depends on us and what we've done, we'll never be at peace. But look at
the first part of what Paul says: "Since we have been justified through
faith." We can have peace with God because our future doesn't depend on
us doing everything right. Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul
wrote, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so
that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). It's not about what we've
done; it's about being saved through faith in the gift that God has to
offer us.
God expects us to respond to him in faith, committing ourselves to
change our lives, washing away our sins in baptism. But none of that is
done as a work, none of that is done to earn salvation. Salvation is a
free gift from God, and we can rest assured that God wants to give it
to us. We might worry when we mail in our taxes, but when it comes to
being right with God, peace should be all we feel. If you don't feel at
peace about your relationship with God, write to me at
tim@hopeforlife.org or leave a comment on our HopeforLife.org blog.
(Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing,
retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article.
Contact us at info@hopeforlife.org)
Are you presently experiencing a new life? God's word says, "if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has
come!"
This new life is a free gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If
you want to know more about this life that only Jesus can give you,
sign up for one of our Bible courses. Wherever you are in life,
whatever you've done, you can begin again.
You may also contact us at info@hopeforlife.org if you have questions
about becoming a new creation.
---------
(c) 2009 Herald of Truth
RELATED LINKS:
* Earning A Reward
http://hopeforlife.org/blog/entry.asp?ENTRY_ID=36
* Junk Mail And Happiness
www.hopeforlife.org/blog/entry.asp?ENTRY_ID=39
* Cries In The Dark
http://www.hopeforlife.org/blog/entry.asp?ENTRY_ID=76
* HopeForLife
http://www.hopeforlife.org
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200905/20090520_getright.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
THE END OF REASON: A RESPONSE TO THE NEW ATHEISTS, by Ravi Zacharias
Zacharias cuts to the core of the atheist problem and presents a case
for truth resolving itself in a presentation of God in the person of
Jesus Christ as the intelligence behind the universe, and the end (the
culmination, not the cessation) of reason.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?255
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
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