Something happened to me recently that reminded me of some very important lessons from God’s Word, the Bible. Some very dear friends, who are retired, enjoy going on long trips. They have given me a set of their house keys so I can take in their mail and water their plants while they are away. I used to keep their keys in the glove compartment of my car, but one night someone broke into my car, and the keys were stolen. Since then, I always keep the keys in my purse.
One Saturday I stopped at their home to take in the mail and water their flowers. The next day I was emptying my purse to put everything into a different purse. This is when I discovered that my friends’ house keys were not in my purse!
I quickly checked the car, the pockets of the clothes I had worn the day before, and different places in my home. But those keys were nowhere to be found! Where could those keys be? This was the second set my good friends had given me. I did not want to have to tell them that I had lost another set of their keys!
The next day was Sunday, so I spent the morning worshipping the Lord Jesus and then enjoyed the fellowship and ministry. However, every once in a while the thought would pop into my head, Where are those keys? Then I would pray and ask the Lord Jesus to show me where they were. I knew I could call on Him for help, because His Word says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:1515And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)).
That evening I went back to their house to see if I had dropped them outside. No, they weren’t there. Then I went to the office I had cleaned to check if I had possibly dropped them there. No, they weren’t there either. Next I drove to the grocery store I had gone to and asked if anyone had turned in some keys. ... And there they were!
I was so happy and God is so good! He took care of those keys on Saturday when I did not start praying about them until the next day. Isaiah 65:2424And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24) says, “It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”
Those keys could not cry out and let me know I had dropped them. They are like the lost coin the Lord talked about in Luke 15. A lady had lost a very valuable coin in her home. She lit a lamp and swept her home until she found it. She was so happy that she shared her exciting news with her friends.
You and I are like that lost coin if we have not accepted the Lord Jesus as our Saviour—we are lost because of our sins. There is nothing we can do to remove them, no matter how hard we try, and we won’t be allowed into heaven still in our sins. We are guilty sinners and need forgiveness from God.
We have good news to tell you. God has done everything for us: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
Because He loves us so much, Jesus went to the cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sins. He died and rose again and is alive in heaven right now, and He invites us to share heaven with Him. Will you tell Him that you are sorry for your sins and that you believe He took your punishment when He suffered on the cross? “The Son of Man [Jesus] is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). And that includes you.
ML-03/16/2014