Thursday January 12, 2017

I keep thinking about what God has done for me. I continue to realize that the blood that He shed has taken the weight of past sins off of my shoulders. His grace and love for everyone allowed Him to do that.

How long did I take a look at who I was and what I had done and think that there was no hope for me? A very long time. Not knowing Christ intimately kept me in the dark, not fully seeing the love that He had for me. Satan also kept whispering in my ear that I was no good. That what I was doing, and had done, God would never forgive. The dark was such a comfortable place for me. I was lacking something, but "why get out of my comfort zone?"

I had tried to change, in the past, but my heart was not in the right place. It followed the world, the world was a "safe" place. The world was an easy place to live. The world told me that I could do anything! And so with the lies from Satan, and an "easy" life, I continued to sit in the dark. Hiding a shameful past. Chained to the wall of my sins.

But events in my life allowed the Light of His glory to finally shine into my dark world. I heard His voice, and it sounded so much different than Satan told me it would sound. I could not mistaken the true love that I heard. All I knew, because of Satan's lies, was that I would hear condemnation and rebuke. Hearing His loving voice, the chains that had bound me to the wall of my past sins were no longer there. They were gone. Jesus stretched out His hand and helped me to my feet. What was He doing? Where was the hate and distain that I was told would be there? Then came the actual words, "I love you!" What! Love me!

He then put His arm around my shoulders and we began to walk, along the road that He had for me to walk. He told me that this precious moment was what He had died for. To take away those chains that had bound me for all those years. To free me from the sins that I had let define me. He lifted me out of the hole that I had dug, and eventually fell into. "But Jesus, look at what I have done!" As He turns and looks at me and asks, "What sins?" I looked down and instead of the dirty clothes that I had had on, now I was clothed in white, clean clothes! "This is the outcome of my death on the cross, the shedding of my blood!" "But Lord I'm not worthy." But I was. Christ came and sacrificed Himself on my behalf. He came as a sacrifice for the sins of EVERYONE IN THE WORLD!

We get the clean clothes by becoming followers of Him. By humbly  coming to Him and allowing HIM TO REMOVE the chains that bind us. See, as much as I had ever tried to take the chains off, I couldn't. I did not have the power or strength to do it, PERIOD! But by coming to Jesus, and submitting to Him, His power was sufficient. His strength was more than enough. He freed me from the lies Satan had put into my head, and heart.

My sinful life has had it's consequences. There have been storms. But what I have learned is that Christ is steadfast! He walked, and walks, with me during those times in order that when I came out the other side, I realized that it was true! Christ will never leave us or forsake us. His hand held me the whole time and through it all! And so my trust in Him has only grown. My heart has the desire to follow only Him now. What this world has to offer is rubble compared to what I have now, and what I will have when I am reunited with Christ when I die.

So my mission, now, is to express what Christ has done for me to others, like yourself. To tell you what He did for me, and desires to do for you also. Now you may think that there is no hope for you, that your sins are way to awful, that you may have walked so far away from God that He could never find you. I pray that you can finally stop listening to the lies of Satan. Christ has walked next to me ever since I was born, and He continually called out my name, saying "Follow me." He walks with you. And since He created you, He knows you better that you know yourself, trust me.

Come to Him now, allow Him to liberate you from the sins that have weighed you down long enough. Cling to Him in your storms, because He is the Rock that is solid. His voice will be the loving and caring voice that you have needed to hear all your life. Trust me, His voice is loving, true, and always there speaking peace into your heart. Allow Him to give you the "Peace that passes all understanding."

The God of the universe does love you unconditionally. Again, I pray that you will seek Him out, because He is seeking you right now. Allow Him to take from you the struggles and pains that have haunted you long enough, so that you too may enjoy the life that He desires you to live. Your life is of concern to Him that created you, and His desire is for you to have the assuredness that you will live with Him in eternity! Run to Him because you will NOT have far to run, He stands right beside you. And always has!