Daily Journal: 16 December

The No Asset Procedure

How stable do you feel? How would you feel about going bankrupt?

Those who have been through the full bankruptcy process know the long-reaching and devastating effect it has on their lives.

One process of bankruptcy, called the No Asset Procedure, means the debt can be written off. In this instance, the person has no debtors because the person has no assets to claim against their name. Their monetary debt is cleared and they are immediately free to start again. But their names are written up on a public record for seven years.

Mark 10:23-27 (NLT)

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

To the point, God calls us to take a spiritual NAP (No Asset Procedure). He writes off our debt and we get to enter the kingdom of God. Instead of depending on our own authority we take on the authority of Jesus Christ, who gained all authority in heaven and on earth when He paid the debt for our sin on the cross and redeemed our soul three days later when He rose to life.

When we are willing, we let go of the desire to claim our assets as our own. We choose not to use our gifts, our talents, all that has been entrusted to us, toward a lifestyle that doesn’t glorify the One who removed our debt. Instead, we choose to live in tandem with the One who gave them to us in the first place for the purpose He designed us for.

Matthew 7:13-14 (NASB)

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

There is more to life than what we perceive in the natural. Being able to enter the kingdom of God is about recognising where our fulfilment truly comes from; the One who can restore our soul because He's the Maker and the Redeemer of it.

Matthew 5:3 (GWT)

“Blessed are those who recognize they are spiritually helpless. The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

Before we think God’s expecting us to end up with nothing and be happy about it, we need to remember that we're on a spiritual trajectory that is leading to either everlasting life or everlasting devastation. Life with God or without God. Nobody was created to live without God, yet most people are. They have chosen not to take the No Asset Procedure and proceed to the devastation of complete bankruptcy. When we choose a No Asset Procedure, our name is forever written in a record that's called the Book of Life and it can never be erased. Our debt of sin is cleared and we are ushered into the Kingdom of God with great joy.

Matthew 6:30-33 (NCV)

God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith. Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?' or ‘What will we drink?' or ‘What will we wear?' The people who don’t know God fight to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them. Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.

Have you had a NAP? Have you thanked God recently that your debt has been cleared and that your name has been written in His heavenly registry?

Lord, we are so grateful that you underwent such a trial to ensure our lives would be saved and kept with you. Help us to live every day, grateful for such an extravagant demonstration of your love for us.