“You have questions! Great!” Was the response of James, the bold Christian who worked so diligently and prayerfully to see me through being “on the fence.” You see, when I was first approached about the Gospel, I resisted and I retreated; but God continued to pursue me. I ‘felt’ many things and desire to be His was not one of them, and most of the things I felt were not so positive. I am thankful LORD for all the struggles within my heart and the resolutions that brought me to my Saviors arms.
We all struggle to believe, we all doubt, we have fear and we don’t trust. That is just normal, human nature. And, we are in these earthly bodies, we should not fight the struggle, but look for where He is in our struggles. He is right there with us...
I pray that His words and promises… and in knowledge through the translation of the Holy Spirit, His love through others will ease your heart. And, although I don't know the details of where you are, I can tell you that many of us have been right where you are. I have been ‘at the end of me’ before and so have most of the true followers of Christ I know. And, it’s when we get to the end of ourselves, that we can begin to see that Christ is the beginning of who we are created to be. We are created wonderfully, worthy, with purpose, to be forgiven and able to do all things in His strength (John 3:16, Psalm 139:13-14, Philippians 4:13).
Before Christ, we can be so defeated that waking up is difficult... God wants you to know how amazing you are. And, no matter what you are in the middle of right now, it's temporary – What is permanent is our place with Him as His children.
YOU ARE LOVED BEYOND MEASURE.
Sometimes the answers are right before us – we must dig deep and invite Jesus in, and grab onto the Holy Spirit; He's waiting and willing.
The Work on the Cross -
He lived, died and rose from death. We must believe that there is A GOD. We have a choice, to first believe that Jesus is real, and that all those things are true. We have to believe that heaven is possible through perfection, and we can never be perfect as we are. Then we have to know that life eternal is only possible because He did the work on the cross for each and every one of us. And, it's simple from there... ask Him to be your savior; ask Him to forgive all your sins; thank Him for dying for you. Believe that He is your redeemer, the One that forgives your sins, and you are His.
"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 (NIV)
He loved us before there was 'us'; and through an amazing plan, shows that love through grace; grace that is freely given.
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." John 3:16-18 (The Message)
Father, our hearts are so fragile at times and we so fervently come to You for strength and comfort. We lift up Your children to You mighty and perfect redeemer. I pray that Your amazing strength and stamina be poured into them, that they will know Your presence and Your loving arms about them. That they will choose You, believe Your work and that that gift of forgiveness is theirs for the asking. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
© 2011 Giving Thanks Daily, Shawn Boreta
Web: http://shawnsgivingthanksdaily.blogspot.com/
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