Much has been said and written about the efforts of the Federal government to bolster the floundering economy and put people back to work. Every day we hear of more doom and gloom as more people lose their jobs, as people cannot find jobs, and as Americans are going broke. We dare not minimize any suffering that has taken place as a result of all this, as even many of our members are struggling now due to lost jobs and increased burdens.

At the same time I have often said we should all be thankful that this has happened, and is happening to us at the point in our lives. It reminds us of the transitory nature of things, and calls to our minds what is really important. Life is not all about money, and things, but it is about our relationship to God and to family. We have forgotten that in this country. We have worshipped the almighty dollar to the point that we have forgotten that money is what God gives us - we have not done this ourselves (Deuteronomy 8:11-17). I believe God is allowing these things to happen so that we will wake up to our sin in this country in trusting our government, or in trusting things, or in trusting everything and everyone but HIM for what we really need.

As our government spends billions of dollars at this time in an effort to turn the economy around, let me suggest to you that God has had a real bailout plan in existence for the last 2000 years. This bailout plan is not just for banks and businesses that are going under, but this bailout plan is for every race, and for every person on the face of the earth. It doesn't matter if one is poor or rich, white, black, Hispanic, Asian or African, or from what country one comes from. This bailout plan is for the whole world.

This bailout plan is also different because no one of this world is entitled to it. We have not done anything or been good enough to deserve what God is willingly offering to all mankind. Indeed, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10, 23); and God gave us this bailout plan even while we were enemies of his because of the sin in our lives (Romans 5:1-8). This bailout plan was devised and perfected by God before the world began (Ephesians 3:10-11) and has already been paid for (our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will not have to pay for this plan in the years ahead). It has already been bought and paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. And God "bails out" man from man's greatest problem, and all he asks is that man do what he has asked man to do from the beginning of time - trust him to work things out. Trust him enough to obey him. Trust him enough to do what He commands for man to do to be saved (in faith, repent of our sins (Acts 2:38; 17:31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10) and be baptized in Jesus' name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). He then desires us to live a life of continued faithfulness to Him and his commands.

This bailout, unfortunately, has been ignored by many in the world. Many do not know how deep in sin they are in, and do not even know they are lost. Let it be understood by all that if we choose to ignore or reject this bailout plan it will result in the failure of our lives for the purposes God has for them. We also need to understand that statistics show that the longer a person waits to accept the bailout plan God has offered, the more likely that person is to reject it.

One thing, though! All need to understand that because the cost of the bailout plan is so high that it cost God his son, God also expects us to pay, if necessary, with our lives. We must be willing to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him(Matthew 16:24-26). We must be willing to let everyone know about this bailout plan - even those that don't know they are lost. We must be willing to get out of our comfort zones and pay a price, not because we are purchasing our salvation, but because God wants others to know about what he has done for them as well. And, as we do this, and see others as God sees them, then we will care enough to help them as they struggle to make it home to the Father!

So, as we truly consider being "bailed out," know that someone has already done that for us. He wants to do it for the world! The price has been paid - we just need to get the word out, and not be selfish.
This article was taken from an idea from a video seen at www.sermonspice.com