June 2010 Nuggets of Faith
May
24
Written by:
5/24/2010 5:28 AM
Some people call me "Coupon-man".
June 2010 Nuggets of Faith
By Tony Barnes
Hi, my name is Tony and I am a “reward-aholic”. Some people call me “Coupon Man”. I don’t spend hours and hours cutting out coupons. However, when I see a coupon I can use, I get excited. I like the ones that offer a few cents off for the product. But, when I get a coupon that gives me something for free my heart rate increases dramatically. In fact, my epitaph may possibly read “If it’s free, it’s for me.”
My fascination with coupons may be hereditary. I can remember my grandmother licking and sticking S&H green stamps that she received from the local grocery store. And, my mother was into the Scottie’s trading stamps. I have saved Pepsi points and currently a Coke or Sprite cap with a code is fair game for me. In other words, I like to redeem coupons or points for something of value.
While gaining Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior involves redemption, it is not gained by anything you can do. I can lick stamps until the cows come home and I can save beverage caps until there is a Dallas blizzard in July. I can help little old ladies across the street and raise thousands of dollars for charities. However, until I accept the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ I am not a Christian. By accepting the gift of His redemption for me, I am saved.
Coupons typically cost you a small price. The trading stamps my mother and grandmother saved weren’t issued to them unless they bought some groceries. Even coupons you find in the newspaper cost you the price of the newspaper. But, the “coupon of redemption” that Jesus Christ offers came because of the price He paid on the cross. Jesus paid the entire price for your redemption. It is truly a free gift.
When someone gives me a gift, I like to reciprocate. If you buy my lunch, I will look for an opportunity to do something nice for you. But, what do I do for the Savior who has everything? How can I express my appreciation to the Creator of the universe? Studying the New Testament gives us great insight into how we give back to God through our Christianity. The first generation believers saw the importance of being the expression of Christ on the earth. The New Testament believers congregated and celebrated together. They faced terrible persecution and truly needed to be strengthened by each other.
In the last few years, I encounter people frequently who claim to be Christ followers and yet they don’t congregate and celebrate with those of like faith. Church is seen as an optional activity and people say they don’t believe in “organized religion”. However, the Bible is clear that we are to worship corporately and celebrate the risen Savior together. Certainly, we all should have a private devotional life where we go into our prayer closet to spend time worshipping our Creator. For some the prayer closet is a place in the home. For others, it may indeed be a walk in the woods or a special place in nature. But, the church is to have a prominent place in the life of a believer. Ignoring the church as irrelevant leaves a person severely stunted in their spiritual life.
Jesus Christ gave his life so we could have a coupon of redemption. We don’t have a physical coupon to show a heavenly cashier. All that’s necessary is to point to the nail scarred hands of Christ. The holes in His hand led to healing the hole we have in our heart. How do ever repay him? We repay Him by congregating and celebrating with our love, our presence, our worship and our tithes and offerings. By doing so, we demonstrate our faith. Anything less hurts His heart. To pretend that we can have a healthy relationship with him while abandoning the church He established because we don’t like “organized religion”, is to accept Him as Savior yet deny Him as Lord. When He redeemed you, He expects you to be part of His church that celebrates and congregates. It’s the greatest coupon that has ever been issued.
Tony “T-Bar” Barnes is a ministry development representative with Lighthouse Mobile Ministries in Colorado Springs, CO. He can be reached at tbarnugget@yahoo.com and is available for speaking engagements.
Copyright ©2010 Tony Barnes