I sat on my couch, idly looking through the Travel Section of the Sunday Times a few weeks ago, reading about all the far flung places offered in complete packages for rates surprisingly affordable.  Trips to Australia, France, England, Spain, Hawaii, London, Italy, just to name a few, are made simple and accessible to all.  So many endless choices to take you away for a week or two where it is easy to lose yourself in the sound of musical languages that hit the ear and sights to spark your interest. 

"WILL this trip include airfare and hotel reservations?" you wonder.  "How about transportation to and from the airport once you get where you are going?"   As you read, you find many travel packages cover not only the flight but include shuttles or limousines to and from your hotel, and the tours are prearranged and priced.  I found myself thinking how great it all looked in color photographs that showed a whole new way of life.  And a trip might just give some respite from a hectic, everyday pace. 

THIS pondering on earthly travel with its wonderful presentations made me think of the most important travel package each of us should consider.  Not an expensive jaunt for two weeks that returns you home at the end of it to the same rat race you left behind, but something that is eternal.

JESUS Christ offers each of us that joy and happiness in a complete deal even more exciting, for in it He has put together all the essentials of salvation and eternal life that He paid for over two thousands years ago.  We will find the peace we seek, contentment and pleasure that this life can only give momentarily.  God promises to make the crooked paths of earthly life straight and the injustice, slights, hurts, misery, pain and suffering will be abolished forever for He promised to make all things right.

HIS eternal package is complimentary to anyone who accepts it.  There are no hidden costs and it is the premier of all proposals for it contains something no one else can offer…longevity.  By simple trust and belief in Jesus Christ, we know that what He promises and paid for will exceed our wildest dreams.  If you accept Him, some of the features include a first class ticket to God's Kingdom with all sin debts cancelled, timeless peace and harmony, and seeing Jesus and our heavenly Father face to face in an eternal life.

TOO often we think of God as a far away God Who is inaccessible to us.  Know that  His all-seeing eyes are on us every single minute of our lives.   If you could see Him watching you with such compassion and love, you would be overwhelmed by His majestic and everlasting tenderness.  If you could see how He keenly perceives all your life dramas, your pains, your sorrows, and even your sins that make Him sad, you would bow your head and be eternally grateful for no one can come close to how He feels about you.  What an awesome God!  

TO bring you close to Him, He sent His son, Jesus Christ, down to earth to pay for our sins. With an everlasting love, He died and shed His blood on a cross to redeem a lost and sin-sick world and restore us into God's fellowship.  As He was nailed to it, so were all humanity’s sins were nailed there, past, present, and future, and if we believe this, have faith in Him, and trust, He will someday welcome us into His Father's Kingdom.   

ISAIAH 53:5-9 prophesies that Jesus would bear the grief, sorrow, sorrow and sin of the whole human race.   “He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole.  He was whipped so we could be healed.  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.  We have left God’s paths to follow our own.  Yet the Lord God laid on Him the sins of us all.  He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.  And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open his mouth.  Unjustly condemned, He was led away.  No one cared that He died without descendants, that His life was cut short in midstream.  But He was struck down for the rebellion of us all.  He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone.  But he was buried like a criminal; He was put in a rich man’s grave.”  Jesus Christ is our advocate and our intercessor to God.  His way is the only way to get to God.

THOUSANDS of years ago, God created a complete package for you.  He formed you in His likeness, placed free will there, for He wanted you to recognize and grow to love Him on your own as He loves you.  He promised to give something big and wonderful in return, beyond all human comprehension.  He promised to make you higher than even His precious angels for He cares that much.  He formed and placed within each of us a secret spot that no man, no physician can see or remove.   And in that secret place He formed a spotless soul, and that sacred soul is a priceless holder for the Holy Spirit to come and live within you if you ask for it.  It rests in each of us who believes in His glorious Son, Jesus Christ and offers peace, strength, counsel and recognizable joy. If you believe, you will be governed by the Holy Spirit Who will warn you whenever you move away from the teachings of Christ, Who will sound the alarm and send pure clarity whenever you stray too far away the voice of God.  John 10:27 tells us “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

YES, we can choose not to hear it, and yes, we can stray far, far away for God gave us that option, but like a loving parent who calls to his child, if you believe, you must obey that voice.  The door remains open always, and there you will find forgiveness and grace.  Like the prodigal son, He, in His marvelous forgiveness will still have His loving arms open to welcome you back.

SO, how much does this complete package cost?   Any hidden costs lurking in the background?   No! It is free! You only need a belief and faith in Him and a willingness to let Christ be the guiding force in your life.

WHAT is the sum total of your life?  If you are serious about God, it is time to make a firm commitment and say "Yes" to Him.  It will not be easy.  There will be times that we will want to just go with the ebb and flow of the crowd and enjoy what comes our way.  But, if we follow this path, in the final analysis we can be sure of our eternal destiny, and it will not be eternity with God.

CALL and make your reservation today.  It costs nothing but faith and trust.  The number to call is 1-800 P-R-A-Y. The lines are open 24/7 and Jesus Himself will always be there to answer your call.

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