I did not know Owl City put out Worship music. My Lucy LOVES Owl City. Maybe she won't mind worship music so much if I start playing her this:
With Easter being this past Sunday, this song has been stuck on repeat in my head. My favorite part (especially on Easter morning) is the line:
Then bursting forth, in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
Powerful. I still consider myself a fairly new Christian-just 6 years in, and though I know I've matured a lot in that time, some things still take my breath away, and I think that's ok. I think it's just fine that my little human brain can't even begin to fathom the love God has for us--enough to sacrifice His Son so we may be in relationship with God the Father. I don't mind one bit that I usually tear up while signing in church because the words are so powerful, and I know they are only paining a picture of an even more powerful God. I like that because I have AOC I don't take those songs for granted or get annoyed that it's the millionth time I've heard them-the words continually hit me fresh and stir up desire to know Him more.
Sometimes in my life, I forget how serious God is – how true the words in the Bible are. In this day and age of instant gratification and feel good messages, it’s easy to start to think of God as a warm and fuzzy persona. The unconditional love He has for us is talked on more than the firmness of the proclamations He’s made.
In Hebrews, we are told that God means what He says. In two ways. That once we are His, we are His forever. That we are to “…hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:23 NIV) We can come before him and know that because of Jesus, we are shown as white as snow.
But the flip side of this is the last part of these verses. For those who hear the Word and turn away from it, who refuse to accept Jesus’ offer of salvation, “…no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” (Heb 10:26-27 NIV) That’s pretty heavy stuff. How often do we hear this in the same paragraph as a loving God?
“But,” we may think, “not really. I mean, surely when they die God tells them it’s ok, no worries. They might be really nice people. He won’t send anyone to eternal hell.”
Sisters, nice isn’t the condition for salvation. It’s fully, totally, unconditionally accepting that we are broken and sinful by nature, and the only way that we can come before God is through Jesus. Jesus makes this very simple: there are no hoops to jump through, no lists, no good works to get to a certain level of holy. Nothing. There is nothing on earth we can do to ensure eternal salvation short of having Jesus as your Savior.
This verse is uncomfortable. It’s not pretty. But it’s the truth. God means what He says. When you’re His, you’re His forever. Period. And if you hear and reject what He’s offered, there is no other option. No second chance at those pearly gates.
As we start this New Year, let’s look into our hearts and make sure we are fully comprehending our salvation, that we have truly given our lives to our Father and not simply been working on getting to heaven because we are nice people.
Good works should come from our thankfulness for salvation and love for Jesus, not as a way to get around what He did for us.
How long did I live my life thinking "If there really is a God and He sees I'm doing the best I can and trying to be a good person, shouldn't that be enough? I'm nice, and I'm even a better person than some of those people who call themselves Christians...shouldn't this 'God of love' reward me for that?"
UGH! How many wasted years! I could have been in deep and meaningful relationship with Christ but instead was trying to convince myself that I was good enough!
Oh, Lins! Couldn't be further from the truth! Never, can anyone 'be good enough' to get into heaven. Except Jesus Christ. He is the only spotless Lamb there ever was and ever will be. There is no way we can earn Salvation. We can't earn God's love either. He loves us. Period. No matter what. We can throw fits, walk away, spit in His face even, but His love for us will never cease. Sure, there will be repercussions for our sin, but losing His love will never be one of them.
Sigh...nothing beats twinkle lights, chai and the Bible...
That was a hard concept for me to grasp. I am a people-pleaser and perfectionist to the max and I struggled to understand that nothing I do will ever be good enough to earn His love or my salvation. All I need to do is simply accept His love, His sacrifice, His gifts of grace and mercy. To love Him in return.
Third Day's new song, I Need A Miracle could be the story of my life. Every time I hear it I'm thrown back to my "pre-Jesus" days.
I lost my father when I was 22.
When I was 24 I started dating a guy and four months later I found out I was 8 weeks pregnant. What?! I was on birth control, how did this happen? I guess someone has to be the 1% right? Well, this time it was me.
We went to the doctor and heard the heartbeat. It started setting in...I was really going to be a mom. The guy I was dating was amazing, and he was as excited as I was.
Then, at the 12 week check-up, there was no heartbeat. Miscarriage. What!? How could this be? I was in shock. How could this happen? My body was holding onto the fetus even though it was no longer alive so I went in for a D&C which was the worst experience of my life.
I will never, as long as I live, forget the feeling of complete despair that set in as I started to come-to in the recovery room. I was so distraught, they broke hospital rules and allowed my boyfriend to come in and calm me down because the nurses were unable to.
For the next few months I cried. All the time. I sat and cried. My boyfriend didn't know what to do with me. He would drive me to a different point on beautiful Lake Coeur d'Alene each evening and sit next to me as I sobbed.
I remember being mad. I'd never experienced such anger. And it wasn't focused anger, I would yell that the trees were ugly and stupid and I HATED them. And how was I supposed to go to work tomorrow if I didn't have nail polish remover to remove the chipping polish? Why didn't anyone understand that I couldn't explain how I felt or why I felt that way?
I was at the end of me.
I needed a miracle.
That's when I finally recognized that I couldn't do this alone. All my life I said Christianity was just an excuse for sad people with miserable lives to feel better because "everything happens for a reason" and "He won't give you more than you can handle." Well, I didn't consider myself a sad person with a miserable life, but I needed something. Something besides myself to make all of this pain worth it.
I needed a miracle.
It was all worth it somehow, if there was a greater purpose.
The one-two punch of losing my dad and losing my baby was just too much to deal with if it didn't mean anything.
I needed a miracle.
I told myself that if Papa were still alive, I could cope with the loss of my baby. Or if I hadn't lost the baby, I'd be able to continue dealing with the loss of my father.
I simply couldn't carry on doing both.
I needed a miracle.
God showed up in my life. And when people ask how I know God exists, I don't immediately point to the Bible. I tell them instead about how I was a lost child, looking for the comfort of my father's arms which I thought I'd never feel again; after all, my earthly father was gone. What I found instead was truly a miracle. I found a Father who not only created me but also loves me so much more than my earthly father ever could--and I didn't know that was possible. I found forgiveness, mercy, grace and salvation.
As a woman with AOC, I view life a little differently than my girlfriends who were raised in the Church and have embraced the gift Christ offers since they were wearing their hair in crimped pigtails.
I've always said I don't hold the spiritual gift of evangelism, but recently, one of my besties told me that I share my faith more openly and unabashedly than almost anyone else she knows. I attribute it to the fact that even after several years, it's all still new to me...that He loves me so much He sent His Son to take on my sins and die a death that was meant for me. That the "me" I was before has been replaced with a new and better version-one that's been, and will continue to be, refined in the heat of the flame until the impurities are gone and only a reflection of Christ remains.
It took a few years to come to terms with the person I used to be...the mistakes I made, the poor decisions that led me on a course away from God. I was told over and over that if God could forgive me I needed to be able to forgive myself. Count it as part of my journey; the one that led me, in a very roundabout way, towards Christ.
It also took me time to call myself a Christian. To put myself under the same label as the "Christians" from my past; those who were bringing a bad name to Christ-followers everywhere. Eventually, I realized, proclaiming my love for and faith in Christ was something I needed to do for me, not for the rest of the world. They could choose to view me however they wanted...but one thing was for sure-I'd try my hardest (though I was aware I'd fail almost daily) to pass onto others of the love, grace and mercy that has been shown to me by my Savior, to spread His Good News to those who are still searching.
My journey has only just begun, I'm well aware of this. I don't claim to have all the answers...any answers for that matter. My hope is that God uses my story to reach others so they don't have to experience life apart from Him.
God has shown me that the power He used to keep my life-long Christian friends from trouble and heartache, is the same power He used to rescue me from the midst of my pain and turmoil.
We serve an awesome God. He has a unique story for each of us. For some of us, it takes being drug through the mud before we hear Him calling our name. For others, it's being born into a family of strong believers. Luckily, it doesn't matter what brings us to the cross, the important thing is that we arrive.
There's one thing you should know about me going into this...ok, there are several things, but the most important is that I have Adult-Onset-Christianity (AOC). Never heard of AOC? Nothing coming up on the Google search? I'll break it down for you: I wasn't raised in a Christian home. I didn't go to church except for Christmas and Easter if we were at Grandma's. I had a basic working knowledge of the Bible and knew all the "most popular" stories: Creation, Noah's Ark, David and Goliath, the crucifixion and resurrection, etc but had never heard of having a personal relationship with Christ. In my mid-twenties life kicked me in the backside and I found myself searching. I knew that there had to be more to life than just making myself happy...but what was it? I'd spent most of my life trying to avoid the "Christians" going around spatting hate at those who didn't share their views. Something you might not know about the area I grew up in...it's the Northwest Bible Belt. But most of the "Christians" I encountered didn't embody the qualities I knew Jesus taught and lived out. These "Christians" frequently told me I was going to hell when I passed them in the halls at the community college I attended. I didn't know much about Christianity but I knew that this certainly was not the love and grace message Jesus lived and died for.
Lake Coeur d'Alene...where I came to the end of me.
When I'd finally had enough of life handing me lemons...or more aptly put: when God had had enough of my blatant disregard for Him; He showed me that I couldn't do this by myself, I had reached the end of me and I needed Him. God, as always, set things up perfectly. I was surrounded by strong Christian women at work, was dating a Christian man and had a life-long Christian as a best friend. And so it began...my pursuit of Christ. What I didn't realize at the time was that I wasn't the one pursuing...I was the one being pursued. Check back for Part 2 on Monday...
