How’s your relationship with receipts? Is it love, or hate? When the person at the cash register asks if you want to keep your receipt, what do you say? “Yes, please” or “No, thanks“?

My wife gently reminds me that I’m supposed to hang on to my receipts for our records, but I’ve got to admit, I’m not great at it. She, on the other hand, looks carefully at every receipt after a purchase and then puts it in a place other than the garbage. She loves receipts and I hate them…just one of our many complementary differences. (I thank her every time I have to return something ; )

Speaking of receipts, the worship leader who wrote Psalm 103 (David) prompts us to take a closer look at a receipt documenting the benefits we have from God. Not that we’ve ever purchased anything from God but, by his grace, there are a number of things that are ours to enjoy.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits – v. 2

You see, in Christ, we have a copious load of benefits that we are prone to forget about. Taking a moment to review our receipt, if you will, might just change the outlook.

So, with the help of the psalmist, here is an itemized list of the benefits that are yours freely in Christ. It isn’t an exhaustive list, but it should be enough to lighten your heart and make you smile:

1. Forgiveness. “He…forgives all your iniquity” (v. 3). It’s no wonder that forgiveness is at the top of the list. We all need forgiveness – a lot of it. And on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, forgiveness isn’t a wish – it is a reality. Because of the Cross, God can extend mercy and forgive us of all our offenses. He holds none of it over our heads. He let’s it go, so we can let it go, too. If you’ve done something really dumb recently that you had to confess to God, the upside is that you probably have a fresh appreciation for the blessing of being forgiven.

   

2. Healing. “…heals all your diseases” (v. 3). No doubt, the most awful of diseases that God has healed us from is the cancer of sin. We were terminal until Jesus intervened. If that weren’t enough, some of us have also experienced physical healing when our bodies were sick or broken. Chances are, some of us are praying now and asking God to heal someone of something. In any case, it is “by his stripes, we are healed” (Is. 53:5).
3. Redemption. “…who redeems your life from destruction” (v. 4). Loosely speaking, this means we’ve been bailed out from a very bad situation. We were stuck, but praise Jesus, we are stuck no longer. We are now free to live, free to serve, free to love. That, too, is on the receipt of benefits from God.

The list goes on, but you get the idea. If you have placed your trust in Jesus, you are one blessed individual.

Just check your receipt.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.