God loves YOU!
As individuals, we have had amazing spiritual journeys. We both went from empty lives to one filled with a purpose and hope. Before I was saved, I might have thought it all sounded hokey. I mean come on, how can being born again have that kind of impact? Everyone has to make their own happiness, right? We get what life deals us and that’s that.
To tell the truth, I always thought people who said they were “born again” were loopy as it was. Just what does being born again mean anyway? Sounded kinda cultish to me. Maybe that’s where you are right now. Maybe you have just read our beliefs and you’re thinking that we are out in far left field. Or maybe you’re the intellectual type who just doesn’t buy into all this Christian stuff because being Christian means believing what you can’t see. That’s OK. We’ve been there. We’ve felt that way, too. We are both strong independent types who are logical people. We have dry, sometimes sarcastic sense of humors. I was military; my husband is an engineer. We had (and enjoyed) our wild, partying days. But both of us had that nagging (and annoying) sense that there was something else out there. There was something more to life.
But what? You can search and search. You can search in a glass of beer. You can search in the next party. You can search while doing pot next time. You can search in the next boyfriend or one-night stand. (Because all you ever wanted was to settle down and have a family but somehow you keep attracting Mr Wrong.) But you can keep searching… because God is who you need. And He is not in that beer or shot of Jack Daniels. He is not in that lustful dance with a stranger. He is not in the drugs. Those are all just temporary things… Sure they feel good at the time. But the next morning! Don’t you feel horrible? That hangover, that regret, that disappointment? But with God - it is an eternal thing. He is right there with you, though, as you try to seek Him. He knows you are only trying to fill that empty part of you that only needs Him to fill. He is patiently waiting while you give everything else a try. In the end, you turn to Him and He will be waiting there with open arms ready to embrace you and tell you He loves you. He will wait for the one lost son, search for the one lost coin, and look for the one lost sheep (Luke 15). He is waiting, looking for YOU.
Or maybe you already believe in God. You think, “Well, none of that is me. I don’t drink or do drugs. I’m married. I go to church. I help out at the shelter and say hi to my neighbor. I’m a good person.” But are you perfect? Do you think all of your good deeds puts you in the same class as God? Those good deeds - do you think of them as your ticket to Heaven? Think again, my dear friend. No amount of good deeds can get you in (Romans 3:27-28 ). Good is never good enough. Why? God is perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4). We can try and try but we can never be perfect like God. No matter how much I try to convince my husband that I am perfect and never, ever make mistakes, I will never ever come close. (Please, don’t tell my hubby that! LOL) You and I think we are basically good… but do you think negative thoughts about someone? (Guilty - every time I get behind the wheel of my truck!) Do you work at your job (be it at Meijers, Ford Motor Company, a gas station, or at home) giving it 110%? (Do you chit-chat, cruise the internet, or daydream? I’m guilty, are you?) Have you ever taken a piece of paper, a pen, time away from your employer? (Guilty - but I couldn’t help myself… know how many government pens I used to have in my home???) Have you ever gossiped about someone? (Ummm… yep.) Ever lied to someone? (”No, really, that dress looks nice on you.” ) Ever thought, “Wow! Look at his/her butt!”
Sinning is doing bad things. We all have. Well, almost all. The only one who has EVER been perfect is Jesus Christ. He was perfect. He gave 110% on the job. He never stole anything. He always told the truth. He was perfect. Of course, He had an advantage over us - He was God’s Son. He was sent here to bridge that gap so gaping wide between a holy, perfect God and measily us. What happened 2000 years ago on a cross in Calvary bridged that gap. But it is up to us to put our faith in that cross. To believe that Jesus died for us.
Think of it as a bank account. Everytime we sin, we make a withdrawal from the bank of God. We are so heavily in debt (like this country of ours!) that we could never ever make up the difference. Our payment plan? Hell - separation from God for all of eternity. (You think Hell is only fire and brimstone. I don’t know about all that but being separated from God forever, His back turning on us is worse than all the fire in the world!) But Jesus came along and paid that sin debt for us. He entered the depths of Hell and emerged victorious. He conquered Hell - for us. Wow! That’s love! If you are a parent, then you can totally understand. Would you send your only child to die a horrible death and pay for ALL of mankind’s sins? To save the entire world? I know I wouldn’t send either of my daughters to that kind of death. No way, Jose. But God did. Because HE LOVES YOU (John 3:16)!
But you have to take that step… to believe… to confess… to repent… now (Romans 10:9-10). Not tomorrow. It may be too late. Waiting can be dangerous. You could step out your door this afternoon and be toast. Then what? You are in Hell forever. Or you could put your faith and never look back and be assured of eternity. And start a adventure to write home about! (Being a Christian is certainly not boring, like I thought it would be - but that’s whole other article to someday write!)
All we are asking is to just think about the things we have written. Even read the Bible. God says to test Him. If you “test” Him by reading the Bible (look at the passages we have noted along the way to help you begin), asking Him to prove to you that He is real… I think you will be amazed at what you find. And maybe, just maybe, that void you have been seeking to fill… you will find it filled… overflowing with love and a sense of purpose.
God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:8-10
By cbmrj777 on Jan 2, 2006 in Misc.
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