Debt

Debt. It's a scary word. To owe more than you have the means to pay off. Although the word is terrifying to many people it seems that more and more individuals are finding themselves in this less-than-pleasant situation. Debt can leave people bitter, overwhelmed, and hopeless. While monetary debt is the most commonly recognized idea of debt in today's world, there is also another kind of debt, blacker, darker, and more deadly than anything that could be caused by a credit card. This form of debt is sin, and it is a debt that no earthly creditor can help us get out of.

I sat in my religion class Monday night: Death and Dying-- not the most pleasant way to spend 2.75 hours of my life each week. I was looking around at my classmates when I noticed something peculiar about the girl sitting in front of me. The chairs in this classroom are set on tiers which allowed me to have a nice, clear view of the back of her head. On the little piece of skin directly behind her right ear she had tattoo. In the common "tattoo-black," and in all lowercase letters, her tattoo consisted of one word: debt. Her tattoo astounded me! Why would anyone want to be constantly reminded of such a dark and dreary concept? Why would someone as pretty as the girl in front of me want to be permanently branded with this terrible idea?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized a very pertinent spiritual truth. We are all, every one of us, marked with a big, black, dark tattoo mark of spiritual debt which we have received from "Satan's Tattoo Parlor". Using the ink of sin, the tricky tattoo artist has made our mark permanent. There is nothing we can do to remove the scar. No scrubbing with good deeds will make it come off. No scraping with the act of being a good person. No earthly creditor or "get out of debt fast" self-help method can help us. Our situation may seem permanently hopeless.

But it is not.

Although we are all tattooed with the debt that comes from the sin we have committed against God, there is a way to break free from our scar. Christ's blood is the ultimate "get out of debt" solution. His death on the cross paid our debt, allowing us to become debt-free. In the process of taking our debts upon Himself, he poured His blood out for us, washing us clean and removing our tattoo of debt in the process.

The more I thought about this truth the more grateful to God I became. I am so thankful that I do not have to walk around marked with something as black and terrible as the brand of debt. I also felt sorrow for the girl in front of me, a girl I know to be skeptical of Christianity. I hope that one day she will find the ultimate form of debt-removal in Jesus Christ. Will you join me in praying for her?

While the girl in my class might be stuck with her tattoo for life, we, as Christians, can have our debt paid for, in-full, once and for all! And the best thing about Jesus' tattoo removal business? Unlike most laser removal options, it doesn't even leave a scar.

As a matter of fact, it doesn't leave a single trace!

Creation Speaker

I was so blessed over the course of Spring Break to attend the creation science speaker from The Institute for Creation Research who spoke at First Baptist Church. Dr. Randy Giuliuzza, or Dr. G as many called him, was an excellent speaker and further affirmed my belief in the truth behind Genesis 1:1 and the 6 day creation account. Dr. G held a session on how we can see God through the workings of the human eye. It was amazing to see just how complex the eye really is. I am convinced that nothing that complex and intricate could ever have evolved from some random parts of the primordial slime. Dr. G also did a seminar on the age of the earth, and how just by looking at the different rock layers around Wyoming it should be obvious that the earth is not millions and billions of years old, but rather only thousands. His main speaking point in this seminar was that rock layers, such as those found in the Grand Canyon, were not put down one layer at a time over a long period of time, but instead were put down quickly in a mass flood. This would be supportive of the account of Noah's flood. Dr. G also gave a talk on the supposed "missing link" fossils. These included Lucy, Ida, and Aida. He proceeded to discuss how these remains are built up to be much more than they truly are and, although they have been disproved, they are still not removed from textbooks or museums. Finally, Dr. G did a session on how to approach and talk to an evolutionist. On Sunday morning, Dr. G did a Sunday school on how dinosaurs lived with people, and he followed up by a sermon on how creation should cause us to praise God and recognize his power. I have attended many events like this in the past and I was blessed to be a part of this very interesting seminar in my very own home town Church. God truly blessed the sessions.