THE VOLKSWAGEN BUG, OUR SINS, AND HIS BLOOD

It happened one evening in late summer. I still lived in the Horseshoe Bend valley. I walked up to the top of the hill to my cousin’s house like I did almost every day, but he wasn’t home. His mother told me that he had gone to buy a used car and should be back anytime now. I waited for him for what seemed like forever. Then, the sun moved behind the trees and slowly disappeared, leaving the red and yellow sky to fade into gray, then finally to black. A little while after dark, we saw two sets of headlights coming down the gravel road. The car in the rear was my uncle. He was following my cousin as he drove his new used car into their driveway.

To my surprise, he was driving an old, white Volkswagen bug. It wasn’t in bad shape at all, but the paint was scratched and faded. He wanted to do something to fix it immediately, so he had stopped and bought several cans of black spray paint. He parked as close to the house as he could so we could use the porch light to paint by. Like I said, though, it was late summer and the nights were beginning to get a bit chilly. It wasn’t bad when we started painting but by the time we finished, the dew was falling and it was getting cool. We did the best we could with spray cans and limited lighting, and it really didn’t look too bad when we finished.

The next morning I went to his house and was shocked to see what the car looked like in the daylight. It was hideous. It looked like a monkey had painted it. The dirty, white, scratched-up paint was showing through the splotches of black paint where it had been sprayed lighter and unevenly. It was a big mess.

That’s the way it is when we try to hide our sins. No matter what we do, nor how hard we try, they always show through when the Light shines on them. The only way we can have our sins covered is by the blood of the Lamb. The blood of Jesus actually washes our sins away. That’s the only way we can be free from sin and enter into heaven. Hebrews 9:22 says, Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sins. That’s why Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died in our place, then rose again.

In Ephesians 1:7, the Apostle Paul says our sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus. Jesus said that he is the only way for us to be saved (John 14:6). He also said if we don’t believe in him, we will die in our sins (John 8:24). John tells us that IF we walk in the Light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). But, we have to confess our sins to him. Then we have the promise that he will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Don’t try to cover your sins. You can’t do it. You might hide them for a while, but they will weigh you down and torture you, then eventually, they’ll show through. Let Jesus wash your sins away with his blood. Ask him to forgive your sins and make you a new creature. He’s faithful and always keeps his promises. He wants to give you eternal life so he can be with you forever. He loves you that much. Time is growing short, though. Soon this world will end and your fate will be sealed, so don’t put it off another minute. He’s waiting to hear from you.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2018 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6

THE DAY THEY ALL FORGOT

Last week, we were watching Veggie Tales with our grandson and Jr. Asparagus was having a bad day. It was evening, and in spite of all his subtle hints, nobody had wished him a happy birthday. There was not even a hint of a surprise party or cake and ice cream. Not even so much as a cookie. It seemed everybody had forgotten that today was his birthday.

After his mother tried to comfort him, with what she thought was wrong, he finally broke down and told her the real reason he was upset. When she broke the news to him, he was shocked. Today wasn’t his birthday after all. It was a leap year and his birthday will not be until tomorrow. That reminded me of the time something similar happened to me. It wasn’t a leap year, but my whole family actually did forget my birthday.

It was the morning of my 12th birthday. I woke up all excited. I was another year older. Actually, I was only a day older, but it had been a year since my last birthday. I was used to not getting a lot of presents so I wasn’t expecting to. That never bothered me too much, but I was at least expecting some cheerful “happy birthday” wishes from my family.

My sisters and I were out of school for the Summer and we were spending a few days with our parents and our little sister at their house. Our grandmother was there with us and she had never forgotten my birthday before, but there was no festive salutation from her either.

So many times I’ve seen the scenario, on TV and in movies, where everybody pretends to have forgotten someone’s birthday while secretly planning a surprise party for them. My family wasn’t anything like that, so it never even entered my mind. They had simply forgotten.

I was hurt deeply. I was sad, but I was also a little angry about it, too. I decided I would just wait and see how long it would take them to remember, or if they would at all. I wasn’t going to say anything about it that day, or ever. I must not be that important to them if none of them could even remember that today was the 12th anniversary of the day I came into the world. I doubt that I was that philosophical, but that about sums up how I was feeling at the time.

As the hours slowly crept along, it became harder and harder to remain quiet about it. Soon, it was all I could do to keep from shouting out loud, “HOW COULD ALL OF YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN MY BIRTHDAY!?” I resisted the urge until noon. I had to say something to someone. Finally, when we were alone, I told my sob story to my sister who I was closest to. I asked her not to say anything to anyone else, and I truly meant it. I still wanted to see how long it would be, but she told them.

They all came and said they were sorry and wished me a “Happy Birthday.” My mom got busy baking me a cake. I don’t remember any gifts or cards, but I remember feeling a lot better after all the attention everybody gave me. I felt bad about all the negative thoughts and feelings I had for half a day.

I have since realized that people forget things sometimes. I have forgotten plenty in my lifetime, even some very important things. It happens, and I’ve forgotten family members' birthdays, several times over the years. What we have to realize is, just because someone forgets a special occasion in our lives, it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care about us. The older we get, the more responsibility we have, and the more responsibility we have, the more stress we have, and the more stress we have the more likely we are to forget something. After all, we’re only human. The good news is, our Heavenly Father has a great memory. He loves us with a love that is so pure and deep that we cannot truly understand it. In Isaiah 49, he tells us he could never forget us.

Isaiah 49:15-16  
15  Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.  
16  Behold, I have engraved you upon the palms of my hands;

The Father loves us so much that he gave his only Son to take our punishment for our sins and to die in our place (John 3:16). Jesus loves us so much that he was willing to do it. God tells us that we should love each other as strongly (John 13:34, Ephesians 5:2). If everyone had that kind of love for others, just imagine what a wonderful world this could be.

———————————————–
My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2017 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6