Debt Crisis

Today’s America, the land of the free, is populated by citizens enslaved by debt.

According to the Center for American Progress, most Americans owe more than they earn in a year--124% of their after tax income.

In addition, one in seven mortgages is delinquent or in foreclosure. Credit card defaults rose to more than 10% this year.

What that means is the average family is living on the edge of financial disaster. It now takes two incomes to provide what one income provided 30 years ago. If one loses a job, there’s no back-up plan. Not only has household savings plummeted, it’s now a negative number!

Our crisis is reminiscent of the Tennessee Ernie Ford song “16 Tons.” In it a coal miner says, “You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter don’t you call me ‘cause I can’t go—I owe my soul to the company store!”

Like that coal miner, many Americans can’t afford to die!

What could be worse than being that deep in debt? --No hope of ever paying it back. And that’s the exact situation we’re in when we face God.

“Now hold on just a minute! What does our personal debt crisis have to do with God?”

The Bible says we owe a debt to God we cannot pay. Failing to keep the Ten Commandments is just the beginning. Who has kept all their promises to God? Who has showed him the gratitude he deserves for the many blessings we have received from him?

And just feeling sorry about all that doesn’t begin to compensate God for our failure.

God says that the wages of sin is death. That our disobedience and outright rebellion against him have put each of us in a position where we owe him more than we can ever repay.

What if I told you that your debt to God could be paid in full today by a generous donor? Wouldn’t you jump at the chance?

The good news is that God is a God of new beginnings and fresh starts. All you must do is admit you can never earn enough through good works to pay him back on your own. And you must believe that God accepts Jesus’ payment, his death, on your behalf.

The Bible tells us that through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, God offers to cancel, to forgive, your debt and mine. To mark it “Paid In Full!”

Many people have a hard time forgiving themselves. We know how bad we really are. But God offers unconditional forgiveness to all who will come to him and trust him.

Like many Americans you may find yourself in a debt crisis, owing more than you’re able to pay. You may think, “I haven’t got a prayer!”

But the good news is that Jesus Christ has cancelled your spiritual debt. Will you accept his free offer? Not only will he forgive your sin, he promises to provide for all your needs. All you need to do is talk to him. The day you trust in him is the day you become his child.

Never forget that, with God, we always have a prayer, because he hears us when we pray.

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!