TITLE: Bad Debts
DATE: January 10, 2019 TEXT: Isaiah 53:2-12 - - For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. ... Here, my friends, is the bad news:
Here my friends is the good news. You know, this is where the Long Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers or Gene Autry are supposed come riding up and offer their services. This is when Superman and Iron Man are supposed to stroll in and ask if they might provide any assistance. Well, instead of the Lone Ranger and Ironman,. the heroes on duty are the folks from RIP Medical Debt out of Rye, New York.. What RIP does is this:
In the four years RIP has been in existence, it has erased more than 475 million dollars of debt for more than 250,000 people. Right now RIP is trying to raise $50,000 to buy $50 million in medical debts owed by veterans. We wish them well. You may have noticed, as I shared the story of RIP, that there were many similarities between the work that they are doing and what our Savior accomplished. Just two of those similarities would be:
There is, however, one, very great difference between Jesus and RIP. The folks at RIP are using money to pay off the earthly , temporal debts of others. On the other hand Jesus is paying off the spiritual debts of the entire world. This He s doing, not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. This He has done so we might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness’s innocence and blessedness. THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, even the smallest of sins have me owing a debt I cannot pay. Grant that I may appreciate the Savior Who sacrificed Himself to win my forgiveness and grant me the gift of eternal life. In His Name I ask it. Amen. . Today’s devotion was inspired by various articles, amongst which is the one carried by Mary Eschfor the AP on December 26,2018. Those who wish may check out this link which was, at the time of writing, fully active: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/secret-santas-charity-buys-and-erases-past-due-medical-debt/ar-BBRqVAC The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann, one of my long-ago confirmands. He is singing with three brothers. This song comes from the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |