A freewill offering

(Psalms 54:6)  “With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;”

This may well have been a Psalm of David and his heart towards the Lord at a specific time in his life; however our God had planned a rescue for mankind long before this. He is the greatest of leaders, our God leads by example…

The hearts of men with the root of evil that lives within them and the sin that so easily besets people’s actions is so far removed from God’s character that it is not allowed to rule in His presence. This is an obvious truth that is easily understood from scripture. In fact even though our Saviour the Lord Jesus “knew no sin” (he never broke one of God’s laws), when He had paid the punishment for our sin God turned His back on His own Son, because He is so pure and holy that He is not willing to share the same space with sins wickedness, light and darkness cannot co-exist!

Do you see the love of God evident in this act of mercy for a people who had long forgotten Him as sin had blinded their vision of what is true and what is in fact a lie? God the Father sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity to forfeit His life so that the gulf that then separated mankind from God could once again be bridged, just as it was prior to the fall in the Garden of Eden.

God the Father willed a rescue for mankind, God the Son seconded it and God the Spirit paved the way. It was not an easy thing for the man Jesus; in fact we understand that at times it was very painful; temptation was so unembellished that there was a time when the Lord Jesus prayed earnestly for that cup of mankind sin to pass, it never did, and He drank it all! In fact it was so severe upon his body that be began to sweat drops of blood through the pores of his skin. Why would God the Father allow this? Simply understood so that we may be rescued from our predicament because of our sin and once again have an intimate relationship with a holy God, whereby we could address him as Father God. Just like our great grandfather Adam had once done way back in the beginning. Christs sacrifice was no light thing! It was savage and brutal and He did it because of His love, understanding the reality of our hopelessness if He did not act with mercy. Therefore, all who would learn to believe on Him may escape the death that they deserve; He did it so that our sins may be forgiven. Regardless of how vial your sin may be, God is rich in mercy and has made a way of escape for all who would confess their sins to Him, pleading for His mercy, this is now on offer for all who still breathe and live on this planet.

When we consider what God has done for mankind, my jaw drops, I am gobsmacked and with the current passing of my father Don, it is a bitter sweet emotion that we as a family now experience. He is in a place of tranquillity, Donald sees the One who died for Him and tears must be steaming from his face in awe and adoration for our blessed Redeemer and our Glorious Father who consider us, mankind such a rebellious, ungrateful species and yet because He is perfect in love He chose to save us, bless His name now and forever more, Amen!

As I witnessed my father Don lying on the floor with my brother administering CPR to him in hope of resuscitating him, when we finally realised that he had run his race, there was an astonishing calm and peace that came over the three of us, my mom, Ryan and I. His struggle was over and God had taken him home. How many families have that reaction when losing a loved one? I thank God for his abundant mercy for saving a family like ours, most certainly a witness of God’s grace. Such a mixed bunch and not without its share of sin playing its part in our lives and yet God through a man Malcolm Harris way back in the early eighties chose to bring him across my parents path and from that a church sprung to life and it still lives today, the mercies of God who can fathom them?

Signing off

Tyrone