In a few weeks our family will be going to Disneyland for free. Carolyn has a cousin who works there and she can bring three of us in with her. This would have cost us several hundred dollars.
I took this photo at Disneyland a few years ago
Don’t you love freebees? Half the fun of going to Disneyland will be not paying for it!
Here’s better news than a free trip to Disneyland. God has free gifts with your name on them!
“We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you – your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.” (2 Peter 1:4)
Have you claimed your free “tickets” from God?
Here are six wonderful and free tickets from God that you can claim today:
1) The Free Ticket to Becoming God’s Child
Some people think everyone is a child of God. But Jesus said to some of the most religious people of His day, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). Wow.
Yet God promises adoption into His family for those who receive Christ as their Savior and Lord!
“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
2) The Free Ticket to Everything Working Together for Good
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28)
I can hardly think of a better gift than to know that no matter what happens, it will come to good.
This is much more reliable than trite phrases like, “everything happens for a reason” or “It’ll all come out in the wash” or “pan out in the end.”
This free ticket includes things that seem terribly bad.
But just like we get into Disneyland because of family, this promise is for family—God’s family.
3) The Free Ticket to Light for our Path
One night I arrived home, grabbed my briefcase from the back of my car and headed toward our house in the darkness. I couldn’t see our son’s skateboard and I stepped on it. It flew out and sent me tumbling to the ground, landing with a painful thud on my rear end. Funny now, but not that night!
The problem: I had no light for my path.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and light for my path.”
Without light, we too can slip and fall in many areas of life. God’s Word helps us to see where we need to go so we don’t have to stumble through life.
4) The Free Ticket to Pardon and Rewards
Thousands and thousands of presidential pardons have been given. Only two presidents of the USA have not given any pardons: William Henry Harrison and James Garfield. Both were due to their deaths shortly after taking office.
President James Buchanan pardoned Mormon leader Brigham Young
Gerald Ford pardoned President Richard Nixon.
Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger Clinton, Jr.
The Bible says everyone is guilty of sins and therefore in need of a pardon. This is a free “get out of jail” gift that anyone can have.
But what about those who are “saved?”
“For we will all stand before the judgment [bema] seat of God” (Romans 14:10)
Those who have accepted Christ not only receive a pardon, they get rewards for service at the Bema judgment of believers. Rewards can be lost for unfaithfulness, but Christians will not be punished for pre and post conversion sins.
When we go to Disneyland with Carolyn’s cousin we take her a gift to show our appreciation. Likewise, we serve Christ in gratitude, not to earn our way into heaven. Then He rewards us at the Bema for our service. It’s a truly sweet deal!
5) The Free Ticket to Paradise
We long for a world that is free from pain, problems, death, tragedies and heartache. Christians have this promise of paradise for eternity.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
6) The Free Ticket to Assurance
I once led the funeral of a family member who had committed suicide. She was only in her 40’s. It was deeply distressing. She was without purpose and hope for the future.
As believers in the Lord we know:
Who we are
Why we are here
Where we are going
1 John 5:13 offers, “My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion.”
Do you have the gift of the assurance of knowing where you will spend your eternity? If you are unsure, you can pray receive salvation now by praying, “Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Forgive me from my sins. Help me to live for you. Amen.”
Are you claiming God’s “free tickets”?