9-1-1

Family get-togethers are almost always fun, especially in my family. We always find ourselves staying up way later than normal, trying to fit as much family time into a few hours.

This past weekend my daughter and I were visiting my sister in Michigan. We stayed up late Saturday night. The term "late" seems to get redefined with each decade. Late for me is 10:30. Late for my daughter is midnight. Just wait kiddo! Someday. LOL!

Earlier that evening my niece was relating a story where she and my daughter got themselves into trouble at an early age by dialing 9-1-1 and telling the operator someone needed help. They apparently did this a few times, resulting in the police calling our house to investigate.

My dad answered the phone and told the nice officer that there indeed were two young ladies in the house but that no one was in need of assistance. The my dad informed me and my sister what our daughters had done.

I yelled upstairs where our daughters were "playing" and made it very clear to my daughter that she had done something very wrong. My yelling was having quite and impact on my niece. She confessed this past Saturday that it was SHE who called 9-1-1 and that it was her fault.

She said she felt so guilty when someone else was being punished for something SHE had done. Let that last sentence sink in for a bit as we reading this verse from the Book of Isaiah.

"5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,    and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5

When you found out that someone else (Jesus) was being punished for YOUR sins, how did that make you feel? I know I felt pretty bad. It was my fault that Jesus had to die!

Now, I know that everyone else's sins resulted in the death of Jesus as well but I took it personally. I think we ALL should take it personally.

What is the first thing we should do when someone else takes the punishment for OUR sins. I don't know about you but I apologized to Jesus when I learned that "²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21

May we all take the time to reflect on the things we've done in this life. The thought of someone else dying for something I did is a constant reminder of how much God loves us and the sacrifice He was willing to make for us. How do we answer that? We should offer our lives to Him.

Lord, I Offer My Life To You - Hillsong

Urgent - Foreigner