Read The Fine Print
Recently, I went to a restaurant with some friends. Mind you, I have been to this restaurant several times. We got our meal, sat down, and ate. After we finished eating, my friends informed me that you get free ice cream if you dine in. I was shocked. I had no idea. As many times as I had been here, I didn't know that that was part of the package. I forgot about this incident until I read Ephesians 1.
Ephesians 1:7-14 says, "7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
11-12 It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
13-14 It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This down payment from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life."
We have to read the fine print because sometimes we don't realize what we have access to. When I went to that restaurant, I had no idea that I had access to free ice cream. It's the same thing in our Christian walk. If we don't read the Bible, we won't fully realize and understand what we have access to. Ephesians 1 tells me that I'm forgiven. The next time the enemy tries to condemn you or me, we have to fight back with the word and remind the enemy and ourselves that we are forgiven and that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. The whole Bible is full of promises for you and me. We have complete access. Before Christ, there was a show that would go on T.V. called access Granted, and it was a show where celebrities would show their homes to the viewers. The stars would go room by room, showing the cameras each part of their home. The viewers had access, and the camera people had access because the celebrities invited them into their homes. It's the same thing in our walk we God; we have access to him and access to the promises he has for us. Hebrews 4:16 says, "14-16 Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help." We have access; if we need something, we have to talk to God about it. We must read the fine print in the Bible to find out what we have access to.