Am I giving enough?

Have you ever heard one of those sermons that just sticks with you and you can't seem to get out of your head or heart? Well, that happened to me back on Easter Sunday. We have struggled finding a church in Cookeville and we finally found one that we like back in January after living here for a year and 1/2. We have been to a LOT and they always seemed to have something "wrong" with them for us...we loved the preacher and worship was pretty much non-existent, was the story at most. But we did happen on Cookeville First Assembly and we have not gone anywhere ever since.

Anyway, on Easter Sunday they had a powerful dramatization that was set in a court room. Satan was the plaintiff and "Man" was the Defendant, represented by Jesus. Michael was the arbitrator (I guess that's what you would call him) and of course, God as the judge.

"Man" was being charged with sin (in fact he had broken every single one of the 10 commandments), but claimed that he was a "good guy" and that he went to church.

Satan put up a very good defense and Jesus didn't say much....until the end. At the end of the trial, "Man" was found guilty and sentenced to death. This was when Jesus offered to take his place and God agreed.

Now, I grew up in church and have been a Christian for several years, but I have never heard a sermon like the one that followed this dramatization. I can't tell you everything that was said, but the things that I still chew on today and that are still in my heart and on my mind on a daily basis are these two things:

1. Jesus did not die for my sins! What!? I know, I have been told this several times, but it's true! Jesus did not die for my sins, he died for ME and he died to save me FROM those sins, but he did not die FOR my sins!

2. When you buy something, you want your money's worth...you want to make sure that you weren't cheated out of anything, you want to make sure you got all the parts. And if you didn't get everything you were promised, 99.9% of the time, you would return it and want a refund or a replacement. Well, Jesus bought us with his blood which is a very HIGH price to pay for something, so.....Are you giving Jesus his blood's worth?

Am I giving Jesus His blood's worth? That question has been traveling around with me since Easter and it's something that I think about on a daily basis. Just like we want everything we were promised when we purchased something, Jesus wants all of us too! Anyway, I just wanted to share that and hopefully have others asking themselves on a daily basis if he or she is giving Jesus his blood's worth?!