For He (God) says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a
day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold,
now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2
The 80-year-old man showed up at the Chinese railroad station in the town of
Yongkang.
It was his intention to take a railroad trip, and he knew the price of his
ticket should be somewhere around 12.5 Yuan, which would be $2 American.
Expecting to get a handful of change, the old man handed the cashier a 500-yuan
bill. Taking a look at the currency, the ticket master quickly handed it back
and said, "I can't accept this."
The old man was shocked. He wanted to know why. Was it because the cashier
didn't have enough change for such a large bill? Was it because the old man's
money seemed counterfeit? No, neither of those reasons were the reason the money
wouldn't buy the ticket.
So what was the problem? The cashier tried to explain, "I can't accept this bill
because it was printed in 1943. Seventy years ago the country's founder, Sun
Yat-sen was president, and the nation was struggling to be a democracy. But
those days are gone now. Simply stated, the cashier said, "I can't accept this
money, because it no longer is money. The bill which once was valuable is almost
worthless today. Now you may be able to sell the bill to a collector, but you
can't use it to get you to where you want to go."
As this devotion is being written, the Lord Jesus continues to offer forgiveness
and salvation to all who are brought to faith in Him as their Lord and Savior.
The Christ has sacrificed Himself, has defeated sin, Satan and death, so all who
believe might be brought into heaven.
But ... and there is a but ... but the day is going to come when some people are
going to be surprised the doors to heaven are shut to them. On that day,
Judgment Day -- Too-Late-Day -- folks will find they have missed the opportunity
for heaven.
It is not the first time such a thing has happened.
Thousands of years before Jesus gave Himself for our salvation, Noah preached
repentance to a sinful world. In those messages Noah warned of the disaster that
was going to come, and promised life to all who listened. You know what happened
then. Nobody listened, and the Lord shut the doors to the ark. From that moment
on, no amount of pleading, no calls for help were successful. The time of
repentance and believing had come and gone.
This is why St. Paul wrote the warning that serves as our text for today. In 2
Corinthians 6:2 the Lord tells us, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and
in a day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time; now
is the day of salvation."
Yes, now is the day to believe, and now is the day for us to share with the
world the story of salvation, which comes through the Savior.
Now is the day, because there is a day coming when it will be too late.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, today I pray for the lost. While there is still time, may
the Holy Spirit bring them to faith and forgiveness, which is freely given in
Jesus. This I ask in the Savior's Name. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus Lutheran Hour Ministries All rights reserved; not to be duplicated without permission.
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