The Exchange

Isaiah 43:1 (NKJV)
¹ But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NKJV)
¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Isaiah 52:3 (NKJV)
³ For thus says the Lord: "You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money."

Matthew 13:4-5 (NKJV)
⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
⁵ Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.Matthew 13:46 (NKJV)
⁴⁶ who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

All laws set on this earth, help in keeping the balance. Whenever there is no balance, there is trouble and an eccentric or deviant progress. So, the Old Testament law says "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, life for life. As he has done, so it shall be done to him, so that evil may be put away from you."

God settled the payment for all evil when He sent His Son Jesus into the world. 2000 years ago, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, lived a perfect, sinless life, suffered at the hands of people, having been falsely condemned. He was cruelly crucified and died, paying the price for the sin of humanity in all the earth in all generations. He rose again and proclaimed the victory over satan and sin.

We can now come to the 'bank of Calvary', and process the exchange by confessing our sins and repenting of them and leaving them at the cross of Jesus. What we recieve is new life.

Any of the following and more of such things are accepted at the 'bank of Calvary'.

Guilt, shame, lies, anger, bitterness, hurt, pride, murder, hatred, depression, low self-esteem, pain, confusion etc.

Tarry at the cross till you are relieved of all you want to be rid of. Take all that is available for you in return such as- forgiveness, peace, love, freedom, joy, gratitude, heart and mouth of praise to God and newness of life. This is the salvation of your soul. This is the most profitable exchange transaction you could ever make.

Mark 8:37 (NKJV)
³⁷ Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Note the current exchange- Lay down your life to gain eternal life. Let Jesus live through you.

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Now remember to maintain this balance by being Christ-like in your exchange transactions with others.

Freely you have recieved, freely give.

Matthew 5:38-45 (NKJV)
³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'
³⁹ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.
⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
⁴² Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion, HE understood
All I had to offer HIM, was brokeness and strife
But HE made something beautiful of my life

Root of Bitterness: Time for Weeding!

Do you have difficulty in worshiping the Lord joyfully? Do you have a problem in your relationship with any person? Do you lack peace in your soul? It's time to check your heart for roots of bitterness.

You may be angry with someone. You may be trying to judge someone by their behaviour or words. Thoughts put into your mind by others or ideas caused by unresolved issues with God or others put out roots of bitteness that go down into your heart. This reults in a wrong heart attitude towards God and others. The fruits that are produced by such roots are words and actions that cause problems. Unfortunately, the problem doesn't stop there. Wrong words and and actions are like seeds that can be sown in the minds of people around. If these seeds aren't destroyed, they will defile the souls of those people.

When the thirsty Israelites arrived in Marah and eagerly went for the water there, they found that it was bitter. Are you thirsting for fulfilling relationships with God and with people, but find it is impossible because of the bitterness in yoiur soul?

God showed Moses a tree, which he cast into the waters and the bitter waters were made sweet. That tree was a pointer to the tree on which Jesus Christ hung for you and me. Come to the Cross of Christ and linger there till the bitterness of your soul is turned into sweetness.

Hebrews 12:14-15
¹⁴ Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
¹⁵ looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

Jesus is my everything, He is my all
He is my everything, both great and small
He gave His life for me, made everything new
He is my everything, none other will do

Like honey in the rock, sweet honey in the rock
For He tastes like honey in the rock
Oh taste and see that the Lord is good
Fort He tastes like honey in the rock.