Paid In Full

Paul Walerczak

Paid In Full
by Paul Walerczak

Recently my family and I headed out in "The Memory Maker" RV to experience life together on the open road for five days.  During this five day period of time we traveled through four states, stayed at three different campgrounds, and covered close to 1,000 miles.  To say that this was a memorable trip for my family and I would be an understatement at best!

The trip wasn't just a time of fun and relaxation, but rather a fulfillment of a calling that we sense the Lord is laying upon our family to insure that we simply do life and ministry together as a family unit.  Sure I could continue traveling by myself to speaking engagements and outdoorsmen events as Without Excuse Ministries continues to grow, but what is the point when I am constantly leaving those whom the Lord has entrusted me with and I love the most behind. So, with that being said, the main focus of this trip was to be a blessing and share the Gospel as a family with outdoorsmen at Floyd's Creek Baptist Church located in Forrest City, NC. 

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Floyd's Creek Baptist Church

We arrived in Forrest City, NC on August 8th a little bit after lunch time and actually drove past the church on our way to the campground.  As we passed the church it was obvious that the congregation members were working hard with their preparations and this was going to be a great event.  I had received a phone call from the pastor earlier in the week indicating that the event was sold out with a waiting list of people wanting tickets if they became available.  In short, the event was packed, the food was great, the congregation was very welcoming, and by the end of the night 9 men had given their lives to Christ for the first time! 28 other outdoorsmen renewed their commitment to Christ as well.  What a great joy to travel back to the campground with my family late that night and share this information with them.  What a blessing to be able to serve together as a family!

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Will's Rainbow Trout

We pulled out on August 9th heading back over the mountains to Gatlinburg, TN for some family bonding time at the Crazy Horse campground.  This part of the world is simply one of our favorite places to visit.  We love the Smokey Mountains and seeing all that our Creator has made for us to enjoy!  While at the campground we had fun with several activities to include swimming, racing down a 500 ft. long water slide, jumping in an inflatable bouncy house, taking strolls through the park, setting on a covered porch watching the kids play in the rain, listening to bubbling sounds of a stream, and of course Will's favorite..... FISHING!

The fishing part is what really leads to the title of this devotional "Paid In Full."  I am not one to just spend money on anything, especially paying to fish, but when you have no other transportation other than a 34ft. long class A RV that gets about 8.5 miles to the gallon, paying 7 dollars for Will to walk about 100 yards from the RV to fish doesn't sound like such a bad deal!  In the picture to the left you can see Will with his freshly caught Rainbow Trout.  If you look closely you will see that Will has a black bracelet on his right wrist.  The bracelet is there to let the park staff know that an individual in fact paid their 7 dollars to fish in the pond.  That bracelet is a constant reminder to the park staff that the requirement needed to legally fish in the pond had not only been met, but that it was indeed "Paid In Full."

As I looked at that bracelet throughout the day it seemed to be a constant reminder to me that I too have had a debt "Paid In Full."  Just like Will I have been enjoying the fruit of someone else's work.  Will didn't have to worry about paying the 7 dollars to fish, just like I personally do not have to worry any longer about a mounting debt that I owed in my own life caused by the sin I have personally committed.  Jesus Christ has paid my debt in full by His atoning work on the cross on my behalf.  The theological word for this process is called propitiation.  Christ has become our substitute and has paid our debt IN FULL!  1 John 2:2 states NKJV - "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." 

The question really becomes are you willing to accept the atoning work that Christ has done on your behalf?  Scripture is clear in Romans 10:9 NKJV - "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."  You see on August 8th, 2013 at roughly 8:30 in the evening, 9 outdoorsmen for the first time in their lives finally realized what it meant to have their debt "Paid In Full."  How about you?

God Bless and thanks for reading the RV life!

Sincerely,
Paul

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