25 years ago I was introduced to and met my Savior, Jesus Christ! Prior to that day I knew "of" Jesus but I did not "know" Him! I was not introduced to Jesus in a church... it was in the living room of an apartment with a small group of people who were messed up, yet were searching for something to fill the void in their hearts. We would get high and then read the Bible (No, I am not endorsing this nor would I recommend it! Please keep reading for the "rest of the story"). But God loved me! He saw past the muck and mire that I was in and He loved me! When I read the Bible, high as a kite, I read that God was a GOOD God! Could this be true?
For so long, I thought God was watching my every move waiting to beat me over the head and punish me if I did anything wrong! And trust me, I did PLENTY wrong on a daily basis. The only time I talked to God prior was when I was pleading to a God that I really didn't know crying, "Oh God, if you just get me out of this mess, I promise I will be good!" I was never able to keep those promises; I actually never even tried!"
But in that living room I came to realize that God was a GOOD God and that He loved me! I was born again and spirit filled in that living room and my life has never been the same since! As time went on, we kept reading the Word and the more we fell in love with Jesus and realized how much He loved us, the more we stopped wanting the things that the world offered, including drinking and doing drugs.
As I reflect back on the day I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I am thankful that God didn't care what kind of person I was. God didn't wait until I got my act together. My sins did not bother God in the least little bit; He had already provided payment for them at the cross! God didn't require that I clean myself up and come up to His level to meet Him. He gently outstretched His arm and reached down to my level and picked me up! Thank you Jesus!
Many believe, (including myself until recently) that when believers sin we become separated from God. It is preached that, "Sin separates you from God." THIS IS NOT THE TRUTH! Our sin was placed on Jesus when He hung on the cross. God turned His back on Jesus at the cross, full of our sin, so that He would never have to leave us or forsake us! "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34 & Matthew 27:46) That is just how much God loves us!
I was also taught that when Adam & Eve sinned in the garden that their sin separated them from God. As I was reading "The Gospel of Peace" by Dr. James B. Richards (which is a great book) I realized that God did not separated Himself from Adam & Eve. God did not hide from Adam & Eve because they had sinned, it was the other way around! It was their "perception" that God would not want to see them naked that caused them to hide from God. "Perception" is not reality! Adam & Eve had always been naked before God; it did not bother God before... God didn't change, they did! "If God did not want to fellowship with Adam, He would not have come to the Garden looking for him" Dr. James B. Richards
The day I accepted Christ, 25 year ago, I knew that God loved me just the way that I was! I knew that He saved me by grace and that it was a FREE gift from God! I knew that NOTHING could separate me from the love of God! I knew that ALL things were possible through Christ! I knew that what I had was a relationship not a religion! Unfortunately, somewhere along the way I allowed 'religion' to sneak back in to my relationship without even noticing. I started believing that in order to be used by God I had to do X, Y, & Z. I started believing that I had to go to those "who were called by God" for prayer, guidance & approval. I started believing that if I wanted or needed God to move or do something I needed to pray, fast, cross all my T's and dot all my I's and if all that failed beg for forgiveness! It is not that I was living a life full of sin but I just wasn't able to do all the "good" required to be used by God. Thank God that He is the healer, not the one laying on the hands! Thank God that He is the provider, the peace, the joy, the EVERYTHING not the delivery person. If God can use a donkey or a fish, He does not need a man who is full of good works! I found myself back where I was over 25 years ago, before I met Jesus... never quite measuring up! Well, thankfully God continues to love me and again reached down and whispered in my ear, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Before someone uses this to find a license to continue in sin let me share... Since I have come to realize that it has NOTHING to do with anything I do or don't do and EVERYTHING to do with the finished work of the cross of Jesus I have done more for God then before. And though I still sin each and every day (who doesn't?) I sin a lot less. The difference though is my motives. I do not pray or fast or "work" to please God or get something from Him; I realize that He has already provided EVERYTHING for me at the cross and that very act of love compels me to want to do good! Knowing that there is NOTHING that can separate me from the love of my Abba Father compels me to love others! Knowing that by GRACE I am saved and in right standing with God at ALL times, compels me to want to share 'The Good News' with others!
Love this so much Carla!
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