Dead Man Walking

That was me, LORD. That was how I walked before I came to know you. Smilingly, happily, confidently, proudly---but very much dead!

I thought I was alive. But your WORD said otherwise:

Romans 6:23[a] (NIV)
"For the wages of sin is death,..."

Oh, yes. I refused to believe I was living in sin. But that truth does not depend on whether or not I believed it.

It was like when I refused to believe that you were real, dear God. It did not make you disappear. Instead, you revealed yourself to me through your Son, my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Dead man thinking: I'm smart. I know my way around. I live in the fast lane. I'm an achiever. Surely, if heaven were for real, I could achieve whatever it takes to get myself there. Isn't that how the game plays out?

Wrong. That's NOT how it plays out. It is no play at all. My fast lane was headed straight to hell---literally.

Dead man walking. I needed to get a life. The real, from here-to-eternity kind. And no amount of my smarts could achieve me one.

There was something I was missing:

Romans 6:23[b](NIV)
"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It was a GIFT! I did not have to achieve it. I just had to receive it. It was a free offer that did me no good until I accepted and enjoyed it. I just needed to trust that the offer was good for life forever.

Oh, I trust it, LORD. I trust it.

Foolish? Yes, maybe. If I remained in my unbelieving spirit. Not so, now that I have your Spirit:

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Truly, you are all-wise, Father.

Praise be to my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.

For it is in his Mighty Name that I pray it. Amen.

Valentine's Day is upon us. With a weekend in front of it. How are you holding together? It's a great opportunity to honor the LORD. Here's how.