straight talk

The Gift Freely Given, the Choice Freely Yours.



Posted: Sunday, March 23, 2008

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Yes today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, all blessings be upon Him. In doing so He offered to all the gift of eternal life. That is to all those who choose to follow Him. Yes, freely given, freely accepted or rejected.

Now no matter what you profess, what your position in life, no matter who, if you accept that gift, His sacrifice and accept Him as your Lord you are saved . Now here is something that is interesting and has created debate since the time of Christ. Luther on the Reformation understood and based his entire perception and belief on by Grace you are saved. In other words you can't work your way to heaven. It is a gift. All your works combined are but rags. That is if you try to get to heaven through them you can't. That all your works are rags, worthless means what it says.

Yet we can also paraphrase Jesus that not all who profess shall enter the Kingdom. Basically it is Gods right to give you what you want. In fact because He loves you He will not stand in the way of YOUR CHOICE. If you place all this world offers, as your God, before Him, then that He will give you as well, freely. You have placed that before Him, your choice.

How do we do this? Simple, it is where your heart lies. Matthew 6:21 "where your treasure is there will your heart be" says it all.

That leaves it down to us individually. It is your choice to reject or accept. It is really that simple. You can argue how, verses, beliefs, mans opinion all you want but it gets down to If you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord you are saved and we shall know you by your works, that is the fruit of your faith.

Is love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, humbleness, meekness, charity and those things of God which manifested in all you do, or is it the opposite? That is greed, covetousness, a desire for power, wealth, the things of this world? Is it demonstrated in what you have done or failed to do? Do you carry grudges, hate, un-forgiveness? Do you connive, slander, cheat, steal? Does your actions hurt others directly or indirectly? Are these the works of God that should come from a professed believer?

Then if you find these are your works it is truly time to repent, change, be Born Again. If you have professed God, but by your deeds, what you have done or failed to do reject Him then it is time to change. Yes not only individually but as a professed Christian nation.

If you can condone what our leaders have brought us, if you seek what is of this world, if you find no fault with any of the immorality of this age, then continue to do what you do, knowing God will give you your choice. However, if your Hope is in Him and no man, then trust in Him who you profess and in those who demonstrated by their works, their faith and in doing so make the changes in this world you also hope for. Change Congress Change America.

Robert T. Melaccio Sr. 2008 Copyright 2008 Robert Melaccio



Robert Melaccio Sr. has worked in the computer industry for 40 plus years in a diversified business and managerial environments. He enjoys freelance writing, giving seminars for young adults and teen groups as well as being an accomplished award winning poet of published poetry. He has worked teaching and as a youth minister. He is married and has three children and three grandchildren.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Dave Tanguay
 3 years 321 days ago.
The America we knew Mr. Melaccio as we grew up is entirely different today. Nothing is real today, yesterday we could play the game and still find an inner peace. As you say "We all must change", it all begins with us.
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» left by 3 years 321 days ago.
Yes David exactly. Best wishes. RTM
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