Stolen Chocolate

Hi there! I'm happy you came to read this article. My name is Roman, and I am from Seattle, Washington, USA. I am a writer, evangelist, and most importantly a lover of Jesus. I write blogs on my website for people to know Him. Many agree there is a God out there somewhere, but through writing, I hope you experience Jesus and His love personally. May this article radically impact you and change your life forever. Are you ready?

Before we get started I'd like to honor Reinhard Bonnke who is now in heaven with Jesus. Watching this man influenced me to preach the gospel all around the world. I was even able to attend Christ for all Nations Bootcamp where I had the privilege to study to be an evangelist. His successor Daniel Kolenda is the man with a big vision who inspired me to write on the things of God. He has impacted my life tremendously, so I honor them both.

In the article, I'd like to speak to you about penal substitution. You may wonder what that even means. Allow me to explain. The meaning is that Jesus suffered the penalty for mankind's sins instead of us. He took our rightly deserved punishment on Himself so we don't have to pay for our sins ourselves.

To explain this another way let's read the passage from Isaiah 53:5. It says, "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."

Jesus was wounded for our transgressions when He hung on the cross and died. He took a beating like no other human being in the history of mankind. We see how vile and twisted our sins were that they put a righteous man in the most dreadful and horrendous state of punishment. There is nothing to compare to the penalty that Jesus took for us, but to get a better understanding I'd like to share a story with you.

There was a time little Lisa turned 6 years and she went with her parents and her older brother Mark to the grocery store. There was saw the candy aisle and froze. She wanted the chocolate bar! "Mommy, mommy, can I please get one?" she cried, pointing to the shelf. "No honey, we have some chocolate at home." "Please!" she said with tears in her eyes. "Wait until we are home, we have some candy there." But little Lisa didn't want to wait, she wanted the sweet chocolate now! She waited until the parents went further, so she grabbed the candy bar and put it in her pocket. She thought no one saw her, but God sees all things.

Once they got home, she quickly dressed in a new outfit to play with her friends and completely forgot about the chocolate bar in her pocket. When mother discovered it she was shocked! "I can't believe Lisa stole this candy after I told her no!" she told Lisa's dad.

The father called in Lisa, while her brother and mom were there also. "Do you know what you have done?" the dad asked. Lisa was afraid, she remembered the chocolate, and now it was in her father's hands. "I must punish you." He took off his belt, and as soon as he started swinging young Mark jumped in. The belt ended up hitting him instead of his little sister. "Mark, why'd you do that? asked the father. "She is my sister, I cannot let her get hit. I love her."

Mark did see Lisa steal the candy bar but he was ready to protect her. Lisa started crying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She really did regret committing a crime. The whole family hugged, and asked forgiveness from God. It was a beautiful time of reunion.

Though we have sinned, Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. Once we realize we are guilty before a holy God we can repent and turn from our wicked ways to Jesus. He took the punishment in our place. This is the beauty of the gospel.

May this story illustrate just a fraction of what really happened on that cross. It was Jesus, our older brother stepping in for us to take the gruesome penalty that we deserved.

You know some make the big mistake of thinking that their sins are small and don't matter much to God. They think that God will forgive them even without confessing them, or that He will just look past them. Don't be deceived, God has in fact loved us, but He is a holy God who cannot dwell together with sin. Sin is the total opposite of who He is. Let us not ignore the fact that Jesus' death showed us how dark our sins were to the Lord.

If you don't think sin is a big deal let me share another story with you. This illustration was written by Paul Harvey.

According to tradition, this is how an Eskimo kills a wolf. First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. He then adds layer after layer of blood until the blade is completely concealed by the frozen blood.

Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the cold Arctic night. His craving for blood becomes so great that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue. Nor does he recognize the instant when his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite continues to crave more until, in the morning light, the wolf is found dead in the snow!

Many begin using drugs, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or engaging in unsafe sexual behavior for the same reasons that the wolf begins licking the knife blade. It seems safe and delicious at first, but it doesn’t satisfy. More and more is desired, leading to a crisis or death.

Don’t be fooled by the temptations of sin. Like the wolf, we can get away with it for a while. Eventually, however, its true character is revealed. Sin leads to death and destruction. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What a tragedy it is for men to be enslaved to sin all their lives and never experience the gift Jesus freely give us. Right now you have this opportunity to come clean with God and turn from sin to Jesus to be rescued. In this world, we are all like on a sinking ship. The storm has started and there is only doom and gloom up ahead unless we quickly enter the lifeboat that Jesus offers you. Forgive and let go of bitterness towards others right away. Let go of anger and envy. Don't let these things keep you from experiencing all that God has for you.

This world will pull you down with corruptible things such as money, riches, and gold. Let not your pride get in the way either of saying "yes" to Jesus. For pride only trusts itself. If in fact, you were sinking in the cold water of the Atlantic ocean you wouldn't care who would throw you a life ring, you'd just grab onto it and hold it until you are safe. Jesus is alive and He can change the course of your life right now only if you surrender and follow Him.

If you want to make a decision to follow Jesus and to be saved from your sin I'd love to personally hear from you. Please write to us in the contact form. We would also love to connect you to a local church in order for you to grow in the things of God. Please write to us right away. We'd like to hear from you soon!

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