#ElevatedFriday, April 13th, 2018

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a Texas church whose recent donation truly embodied the spirit of Easter. Covenant Church in Carrollton, TX announced this past Easter Sunday that they had paid $100,000 worth of medical debt for local families. When hospitals experience lengthy debt repayment, they often sell the bad debt to collection agencies for fractions of the original price. Thus, through working with the non-profit RIP Medical Debt, the church’s $100,000 covered over $10 million in medical debt that had shackled the lives of over 4000 Texas families and veterans. The families are now being notified through the mail that their debt has been paid. Of the donation, Pastor Stephen Hayes said, “If you can imagine what those people this week will be feeling when they receive the letter that you sent them saying their debt is paid. I pray 100-fold that that [is how] you would feel in reading the letter [Jesus] wrote to you in the book of John 19:30. ‘Hey, your debt of sin is paid. You are covered.’”

Jesus suffered incredible lengths to pay the debt we owed through our sin. Because of this selfless sacrifice, we all may have eternal life in Heaven with Jesus. But in doing this, Jesus did more than just sacrifice himself—he set the example by which we all should follow. The forgiveness of debts is a major part of living as a Christian. Why is this so important? Because freedom and debt cannot co-exist. If we have the ability to forgive a debt, we hold the power to set someone free. Today, consider how you can forgive a debt for someone in your life.

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” – John 19:30 NLT

Original Article:

https://bit.ly/2HrnBVx