The BEST gift I have ever received…is salvation through Jesus Christ. It is something that still blows my mind to this day. That God came down and plucked me right out of the darkness I was living in and turned on the LIGHT. I now live in the Light and He lives in me.
I can remember as a young child lying in bed and thinking about “God.” I knew there was something bigger out there that created me, although I could not put into words what I felt inside. My family was a church going family, thankfully, and as I grew up I would think about God, and who He was. I am SO thankful that they started me on my path to Him.
When I was in high school, I had lots of troubles. I put my family through a nightmare, and we all had lots of turmoil. Through it all, yes, I believed there was a God out there somewhere, but it was more of a feeling of being “spiritual.”
When college came I couldn’t wait to get there. I was going away and would be living free! Well within a month I had gotten myself a boyfriend who I gave more power over my life than I had over my own. I ended up coming home after one semester, because he did. I ended up finishing college locally, and being in a tumultuous relationship with the boyfriend.
Eventually we broke up and I was alone with myself. I knew there was more out there for me. I started going back to church and searching. It was during this time I met my future husband, the love of my life, the one God had chosen for me before time, but I had needed to go through troubles to appreciate the miracle he truly was.
We were engaged and during that time I really wanted to be part of the church. I really was searching to know God. I met a girl at one of my jobs that changed my life forever. She explained to me who Jesus Christ was. She explained that He came to die for our sins. I had sooooo many sins, I couldn’t comprehend at the time how they could just be wiped away. Although I said I understood, in my heart I hadn’t yet accepted the truth. I saw something in her though that I admired. She reflected this glow and this light. She was a genuine person with a genuine love for God. She was different. I continued to listen to her teachings, but still didn’t accept that all my previous sins were forgiven.
After I was married and had my first child, I felt closer and closer to God. Yet still I didn’t grasp the nature of Him. We went to church and we did all we were “supposed” to do. Then through a series of divine events we ended up at a church by our home. We felt God’s presence the second we arrived. I heard the same message that girl from work had taught me years before….That if I asked Jesus to come into my heart, and truly believed He could save me from my sins, I would have the gift of eternal life. I prayed that prayer and I let Him in! I got involved in Bible study and reading the Word. It all started making sense.
My husband also accepted Christ at this time. I saw the change in Him, and in myself. It is not something you can explain so much in words, but when you feel it inside and you see God take a girl like me, and change my heart, you KNOW it is true. You KNOW He is there. I was living in darkness and now I saw the light. Only by His grace could I have changed like that. No one else may understand it, but I KNOW that it is God because my heart completely changed.
Did you ever feel like you had a void in you life? Like a piece missing? I thought, “I’ll be happy once I…” And then you get to that part, and it doesn’t fulfill the void. So then you move on to the next thing. “I’ll be happy when…” But that happens and you still have a void. Well I would do that all the time. I was happy, but there was still this piece of me I thought would be fulfilled and wasn’t. It wasn’t until I really understood Jesus Christ and let Him in my heart, that the missing piece was found! Now I am happy in the present but it’s more than happiness…it is true contentment. It is JOY. That if everything else around me crumbles, I have my Lord and THAT is all I need.
When we feel that missing piece in our lives, it is because we are separated from God. When man sinned long ago it created a fallen world and the world we live in now has sin rampant. But God provided a way for us to be united with Him again. God is only good and good cannot live with sin. So He sent Jesus, His Son, to live and to die so that if we believe in Him, we are then forgiven, and He bridges that gap that was there between God and us. That void is filled! Once you grasp that truth, you feel it and you know it is true! God is yearning to have a relationship with you, but you need to take that step in faith and believe!
The wonderful news is this: NO ONE can live a perfect life. Every single person will always fall short. There is no way to be in God’s presence without a mediator, and that is Jesus. Being a Christian isn’t about striving to be good or perfect, but it is about the FREE gift of grace and forgiveness. We are all sinners, and Jesus suffered a death He did not deserve (He was the ONLY sinless man) so that we don’t have to- in fact, we get to spend an eternity in heaven because of Him. There is nothing we can do to earn our way to heaven. God simply call us and we accept.
The wonderful news is this: NO ONE can live a perfect life. Every single person will always fall short. There is no way to be in God’s presence without a mediator, and that is Jesus. Being a Christian isn’t about striving to be good or perfect, but it is about the FREE gift of grace and forgiveness. We are all sinners, and Jesus suffered a death He did not deserve (He was the ONLY sinless man) so that we don’t have to- in fact, we get to spend an eternity in heaven because of Him. There is nothing we can do to earn our way to heaven. God simply call us and we accept.
I used to be a huge worrier, I would worry that I would die, or my kids would die, or we’d get sick. All that is gone now. It has creeped back at times, but it doesn’t consume me as it did once before. Something I can only explain as God taking it away. You see, when you trust in Jesus as your Savior and accept the promise of eternal life, there is nothing to fear. I know I will be with Him in heaven one day, and that is not scary! I know God now, and I am not afraid of Him. He is not a distant thing out “there.” He is IN ME!!! I know the plans He has for me are good. I know He will keep His promises, and no matter what happens, it is part of His plan, so it is good. I feel so incredibly blessed to have received this gift. I want nothing more than for everyone to have the same gift. To have the same peace and the same hope!
I pray for everyone who reads this, that the truth may become evident for them. I also encourage anyone who reads this and wants to know more, to talk with me. I will pray for you and will rejoice in God’s plans for you! I love God and love to talk about what He has done in my life.
We often try to live our lives with the world’s set of rules, which can be so confusing in our world. The Bible contains God’s rules and once you have them it makes life so much easier! You don’t have to question what it right and wrong. It is all right there in black and white. It is our gift from Him to show us how to live. It is His words and they are powerful and life changing. I encourage you to read it! It is also a way that God communicates with us. He shows us so much in His words. Each day when I read He has something to say to me.
I have many favorite verses, but this one describes me well. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17.
I also like Psalm 40:1-2 “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.”
Being a Christian is a journey. I know now what it means to be lost and then found, blind but now to see…All the Glory goes to HIM..He has done all these works in my life. Thank you God for YOUR GREATEST GIFT!!!
For more info:
http://www.goodpersontest.com/
For more info:
http://www.goodpersontest.com/