DAILY REMINDER #5 - "My faith in Jesus Christ assures me peace with God"

Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

Imagine...you just graduated college, you are out looking for a job (in a market similar to this one...in other words, not good :/) and can't find anything anywhere.  You already signed a 6 month lease on your apartment that you can't break, your savings is about to hit zero and mom and dad have decided to quit supporting you.  It's ALL on you!

Now, the only solution that you find, is to get a job flipping burgers (which there is no shame in...) but you still can't make ends meet.  So, you do the unthinkable...you get a credit card!  Suddenly, no one is denying you anything, the world is your oyster and you are having the time of your life.  Food, travel, entertainment...you do it all without any hesitation.  Until...

The credit company calls you.  They want their money...and they want it NOW!  They threaten you with every possible threat from law suit to sending all of your debt claims to the IRS.  You are stuck because you DON'T HAVE THE MONEY.  What do you do?  Mom and dad won't help, all of your friends are broke and you just became the laughing stock of your graduating class...imagine.

Suddenly, a long since forgotten about distant relative shows up at your apartment (that is about to get taken from you).  They say that they heard about your situation, and they wanted to help.  They are willing to pay off ALL OF YOUR DEBT...every cent of it on two conditions...you apologize for spending like you did, and you believe that they can get you out of this mess.  Without hesitation, you agree to their terms.

What you experience as a result is peace with the debt collectors.  They are no longer hounding or threatening you.  You can walk in front of you landlord with out hiding behind the bushes.  This peace puts a whole new level of confidence and strength inside of you. 

Our relationship with God is very similar.  God says that sin must be punished.  And, of course, we are unable to pay our own debt of sin.  Jesus stepped up to the plate for us, and paid our debt.  Colossians 2:13-14 says "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

That payment of our debt, means that we are no longer the subject of God's wrath.  Rather, we are at PEACE with Him.  All that is required is that we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus.  That's it!  It's good to be debt free!