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| Isaiah 53:6 "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." This weekend is a special time to think about who God is and what He has done. All of humankind is in the same boat in terms of our sinfulness. This is a pretty undeniable fact. Our world is messed up and this is the result of the bad decisions we choose to make and the sin that is in our hearts. Christians and non-Christians alike are sinners. That's why people outside the church are so critical of those inside the church. That's why people inside the church are so critical of those inside the church. That's why people in general are critical of other people. But when you really get down to the nitty-gritty, the fact really just remains that we've all got our issues with sin. So often it's tempting to look around and condemn someone else's sin (even just in one's own thoughts), and we all do it. But if the magnifying glass is turned around and we just honestly examine ourselves, we couldn't claim to be any more righteous. No, we're all messed up in different ways, truth be told.
It's an uncomfortable thing to examine oneself and conclude that one is truly a sinner. Sin is ugly. And I am capable of that ugliness. Not just capable, I actually perpetually think and do ugly things even though I know they're ugly.
I think there are some things that keep us from coming to God. First, because we are sinful, we are naturally opposed to coming to God. If we were not sinful, we would come to God because He is 100% purely righteous. Second, because we are sinful, we deceive ourselves and distort the truth to our own sinful liking. Our hearts are deceptive and we see things through our own sinful eyes rather than as they are. Third, it is a scary thing to be guilty of sin and accountable to a God who is not guilty of sin. It is terrifying, actually. Personally, a feeling I find to be perhaps the most horrible in the world is when I've done something wrong and I have absolutely no excuse for it. Standing before God, that is what every sin amounts to. Standing before other people, it's easier to find an excuse since we've all done ugly things. It's easier to justify our ugliness among the ugly. But standing before God who is completely righteous in all He does, there is no room for excuses. And no excuses mean deserved wrath. At first thought, the word "wrath" seems unwelcome as attributed to God. Isn't God 100% loving? How can God be good if He has wrath? But don't we have wrath all the time over sin? Aren't we hurt and outraged when someone intentionally does something to harm us, and rightfully so? How is it any different for God? Except the difference is that God has never done anything wrong, and therefore He is even more blameless in His wrath. The word "grace" has been defined for me growing up as "God giving you something that you do not deserve." Mercy has been defined for me as "God does not give you something that you do deserve." My brother was talking to me the other day and reminded me of this verse:
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The wages of sin. Wages are something we earn by what we do. Our sins merit death. That's the punishment. That's what we deserve.
But the gift of God. This is the part we remember and celebrate this easter weekend. God's gift is in Jesus Christ. He sent His only Son to come and die on a cross. Jesus paid the wages of sin for us. Though He was completely innocent, He took upon Himself all of mankind's sin as if they were His own and God poured out His wrath on Jesus. He did it so that we do not have to. God did that because He loves us so much. He sent a Savior because we are in need of a Savior. If we could have saved ourselves, we wouldn't have needed Jesus. As it is, we are so sinful and so broken, God is the only one who could make a way for us to be forgiven and to be restored to a right relationship with God. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." So God made the way for us to be saved from the wages of our sin, from eternal death. But it was a gift to us undeserved. And He gave us the freedom to accept that gift or reject it. If we accept it, we acknowledge the fact that we have sinned against God and that we can't save ourselves. We acknowledge the price that Jesus paid on the cross and we trust God to be our Savior. We ask Him to come change us, because we recognize that we can't change ourselves and we are hopeless without Him. We are able to have a relationship with God freely and have peace with God because His wrath was poured out on Christ on our behalf. But if we reject the gift He gave, we are rejecting the gift God offered on the cross. We are rejecting His free forgiveness through Christ. We are choosing our own way, and our own way leaves us with the wages of our sins.
John 3:36 "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” Mark 2:16-17 "When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?" On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” God loves you dearly. So much so, that He made a way for you and gave His life for you. God honors honesty. And if we are honest, it is not long before we realize that we all are unrighteous. If you can admit your need, Jesus can meet that need. My challenge to you is to come to Him honestly, however you are at the moment. If you don't know what you believe about Jesus or what you believe about God, you can always pray and ask God to help you know what is true. If you know you need Jesus but you don't care, or would rather do things your own way, you can ask God to help you care and to help you desire to do things His way. If you don't know Jesus personally as your Savior, you can ask Him to be your Savior. If you do have a relationship with Jesus, maybe you still have a need to come to Him with. Maybe you need to be reminded that He has paid your debt in full, or that you are a sinner as much as the next guy. Come to Jesus just as you are, because He loves you just as you are, and He never turns away those that come to Him. | | |
| I've been feeling incredibly antsy this summer. It's the best adjective I can think of to describe this constant desire inside of me. I have trouble sitting still. I want to DO something. I want to TALK with someone. I have a sadness lately that I have a hard time expressing. I want people to think about these things that are important to me, but I'm not even sure how to articulate them. I want to have real conversations.
I think many people in America value religion and simultaneously hate it. It's valued as a personal thing. It's okay for someone to have beliefs, in fact, it's generally encouraged. Many approve of words like "faith." If one has faith, one is generally viewed as a moral person or a good person. But many do not care what, or more importantly who, that faith is in. Some embrace extreme political correctness. Someone can have their beliefs, but as soon as they voice their beliefs as fact or truth or superior to other beliefs, it is frowned upon. One becomes arrogant, self-righteous, close-minded, and judgemental if they believe that way. But isn't there a difference between being polite and being ridiculous? Are all beliefs really equally true? Are all ideas equally worthy? I think no. The fact that I felt obligated to preface my previous sentence with "I think" supports my point. I'm tired of feeling like every time I want to express my opinion I have to start every sentence with "I believe that -fill in the blank-." Why can't I just say, "fill in the blank?" The fact that I'm saying it already implies that it's my belief. However, beginning the sentence with "I believe that" almost implies that I think it's true, but not enough to claim it's true, just enough to claim that I think it's true.
I am not saying that we shouldn't talk politely and respect others' beliefs. We should. We can always learn from one another by having real discussions. I might not agree with you, but I can understand your perspective better when I'm willing to listen to it, and I can understand my perspective better when I'm willing to listen to it. Or, by having a discussion with you, I might find your opinions more valid than mine and actually change my mind about what I believe.
I am also not trying to advocate for never using the phrase, "I believe that..." Using this phrase can be appropriate and helpful for encouraging discussion. Sometimes it means "I only think that, but I'm not sure if it's true." It is used to acknowledge the possibility of being wrong. I simply have a problem with the idea that we should always use this phrase, without claiming anything is absolutely true or fact. Yet, claiming something is absolutely true can hinder discussion because it might be misinterpreted as, "I'm right, you're wrong, end of discussion," even if this is not the intent of the one who makes the claim. And sometimes people genuinely believe things are absolutely true that, in reality, are not. This brings up an interesting point. When is it okay not to use the phrase "I believe that..." as a sentence starter? What if there is something I believe is absolutely certain? Is it okay for me not to use the phrase "I believe that" so that my belief will be understood as a concrete belief, rather than something I think to be equally valid as every other belief?
I think obsession with political correctness also hinders real conversation, at least in my own life. I want to have real conversations about my beliefs and your beliefs. I am antsy for conversations of the like. I find myself frustrated because I don't even know how to have conversations like that anymore. How do I have a conversation about God without offending you? Does the fact that I believe something to be absolutely true automatically make me close-minded and arrogant? You might argue that I cannot prove my belief is true. You might argue that no one can prove anything is true with absolute certainty. Okay, I would agree with that. But I would not agree that truth is "what's true for you." I would not agree that truth is relative, that it is what you want it to be. God is either real or He's not. He cannot simultaneously be a real being and a made-up being. And if He's real, He exists as He exists. He cannot simultaneously be a being that is one way because you say so, and the opposite way because I say so. And why can't we honestly talk about these things? We don't treat certain beliefs this way. For example, there are people that claim the Holocaust never actually happened. Do we say, "well, it's true that it never happened for you and it actually happened for me?" No, most of us actually get incensed over such a claim, because it is clearly false. Does that mean we can't listen to that claim and understand why it is that someone might believe that? Of course we can. But we also don't have to "respect their belief" so much so that we have absolutely no discussion about the issue and treat both views as if they are equally valid. How is it any different with religion? It seems that many people have no problems with God, so long as they do not define who God is. How come it's so offensive to claim that there is a way to know who God is? I think it's because a belief in everything is really a belief in nothing. It's not offensive to believe in everything, because everyone gets to be right; no belief is actually affirmed. But if I claim one belief is true, suddenly it's asserting that someone else's view is wrong. Yet, so often those who have postmodern views (views that say "what's true for you is your truth, what's true for me is my truth, both are equally true) contradict their own belief. If all views are equally valid, my view that postmodernism is false is equally valid. So if you claim everything is equally true, and I claim there is just one truth, why are you so offended that I believe in one truth? Yet, our culture seems pretty sensitive to claims of truth. So what happens? We shy away from having honest discussions about these things. Everyone is content with staying on the surface. Trying to discuss something deeper may immediately become uncomfortable. We like to avoid discomfort.
But this is why I'm sad. Listen, I'm right there with our culture. I hate confrontation. I hate discomfort. I truly don't want to offend anyone. I find it extremely difficult to word a blog like this one without coming off as an arrogant, offensive jerk. But I'm not content with staying on the surface. I don't just have a belief about Jesus; Jesus is my life. I believe in a God that loves humanity so much, He gave His own life for it. I believe in a God that forgives every sin and heals and mends and makes people new. I believe in a God that is worthy of praise and worship. I believe in a God that is flawless and true. I believe in a God that has revealed His truth to us. I believe in a God that can be known and wants to be known. I believe in a real heaven and a real hell. I believe in a God that has the power to save us. I believe there is right and wrong. So it is very saddening for me to sit day in and day out avoiding talking about the God that has saved me and is everything to me. It is saddening for me to love you so much as my friend, and to want you to know this same God who can do the same things in your life as He has done for me, and to not get to talk about Him with you because I'm worried you will be uncomfortable and offended. But I don't bring these things up for that very reason. I don't want to be the girl that preaches all the time or the one who won't shut up about God. I don't want to be the arrogant jerk. I don't want to be viewed as judgemental. And I honestly don't want to impose on you if you don't want to have these kinds of conversations. That is why I blog. I think it's less threatening and I still get to share my thoughts and you don't have to read it if you don't want to. But I want you to know that I think about these things all the time and I am antsy for these kinds of conversations. I care about what you believe and I want to hear what you believe and I want to be able to share with you about what I believe. I want to have honest discussions, not wishy-washy discussions that pretend like all beliefs are the same. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be respectful or tolerant or polite. We can agree to disagree. I guess I just don't understand why it's so offensive to have a belief and share that belief in our society. I respect others' wishes not to have those kinds of conversations. But, if you are ever interested in having a discussion about God, or life, or religion, or something you feel strongly about, I am willing, and antsy, and looking forward to that kind of honest conversation.
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| The following are audio recordings from my college senior vocal recital. I have received permission to put these on the internet.
"The Jewel Song" by Gounod:
"A Chloris" by Hahn:
"An Die Musik" by Schubert:
"Take My Life and Let it Be Consecrated" by Mark Hayes
(After "take my voice" I forgot the words so I repeated the "take my feet" verse. The actual lyrics should have been "Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee"):
"Here Amid the Shady Woods" by Handel:
Sull'aria by Mozart (duet):
Giving a recital was a huge blessing and answer to prayer. I thought since I am posting the recordings on my blog I might as well share the story behind it all. Be warned, it's a long story, but a good testimony of God's faithfulness. Music has always been a big part of my life and a joy for me, but I was not always a singer. I was always a band kid and I loved it. Most of my life I was embarrassed and shy about singing by myself for other people.
When I was younger, I played the clarinet and loved every minute of it. I practiced hours every day for fun and played until my face physically couldn't play anymore. My plan was to go to college for music. However, throughout high school I had a bad case of T.M.J. (Temporomandibular joint dysfunction), basically a jaw condition. One side was even dislocated. I could not open my mouth very wide and it hurt to eat, etc. I did as much as I could to deal with the problem: saw a specialist, took muscle relaxants, used heat, took prescribed steroids, used a special retainer to change my bite, limited the kinds of food I ate, and went to physical therapy. Nothing seemed to help and playing clarinet posed a problem to my health. After months of going back and forth with limited times of playing (5 minutes a day, etc.), I was left feeling incredibly antsy. I decided that I would rather quit playing completely than endure the constant struggle of getting a small taste of playing and then having to wait long stretches of time to play again. I also thought it would be better for my health. It turned out to be the best decision. I have not played the clarinet for a few years and I have virtually no more jaw problems.
I quit playing the clarinet my senior year of high school. It was a very difficult decision at the time since it had been such a huge part of my life and I had to figure out what to do for college. I wanted to be a music teacher so much, but I figured God must have had other plans for me. I joined the choir to still have some sort of involvement in the school music program. After experiencing the fun of a county choral festival, I decided that I would try to get into college for voice instead of an instrument. I was accepted into the music department at a state college, but aside from one year of high school choir and a couple private voice lessons, I had no experience singing. I was incredibly self-conscious and embarrassed about my voice.
In college we have "studio class" or "master class." This is where students are required to perform music for their peers and are critiqued. My very first time singing for studio class I barely knew my peers. I thought that as soon as I sang everyone would think, "why is this girl a music major? She can't even sing!" I went up to sing my piece and was extremely nervous. I sang about two measures of my piece and a strange thing happened. My voice shrank to nothing. I was thinking words and mouthing words with no sound. Then I started crying. I was escorted out of the room by a professor. I was mortified. Everyone was very nice to me, everyone was supportive, and no one was out to get me or judge me like I had envisioned. However, singing in front of people was a huge problem for me. I tried so hard to overcome my fear. I felt like I had no control over my body's reaction to performing. I would stand up to sing and immediately my entire body would feel prickly (like it had fallen asleep). My legs would shake. My voice would shake. I could barely breathe, which exacerbated the problem. I would be singing and my brain would be fine, but my body would not cooperate. I would frequently stop singing in the middle of pieces and start crying. I think people thought I was upset, but the truth is in my brain I'd be thinking, "what's going on? Oh, wow, I'm not singing anymore. Oh wow, I guess I'm crying now?" But I was scared. And the worst part was I would be nervous about getting nervous. Every time I had to sing I would go with the intention of "actually singing this time" but I would be so worried I would not be able to control my reaction and I would fall apart. And I often did fall apart. So anyhow, it was a big problem and no one really quite knew how to fix it, including myself. I switched majors a number of times, partly on account of this problem. I switched to be a clarinet major for a semester. I dropped out of music entirely for a semester and was undeclared. As an undeclared major, I took as many different possible courses I could think of to give God the opportunity to lead me somewhere else. He certainly had ample opportunity to direct me somewhere else-- with all the switching of majors and struggles and what-have-you. But in the end, I chose to return to music education for voice, and that is what I really wanted to do.
So fast forwarding a little, I transferred to another college and cried my first time in voice master class. After that I never cried again. I began progressing to more successful performances, but was nervous quite a bit. As I went on, however, I even had a few performances in which I was not at all nervous. This could be partly due to the fact that there were only about 10 students in my class listening to me sing. Singing for the entire music department, which is also required, was much harder and much more nerve racking. I had two "successful" departmentals, but I felt like dying a little for both of them. So my recital had the potential to be really really bad and very embarrassing. (Recitals are a graduation requirement, by the way). But God was with me through the entire process and allowed me to experience perseverance and weakness. He brought me from a place where giving a recital was not only terrifying, but impossible, to a place where I could see it as attainable. So many people had prayed for me through this long bout of performance anxiety, particularly the ladies' bible study at my church. A few weeks before the recital I was actually looking forward to it. Two days prior, I had a dress rehearsal and was suddenly hit with the old familiar fear, "what if it happens again and I can't control it? What if I just start crying in the middle of my recital? And what about all the people coming? I don't sing for people!"
But I was reminded of certain truths: God is good. God is powerful. He displays His power through our weaknesses, and in doing so, He makes it clear that the power is from Him alone, not us. God equips us for the things He has for us to do and does not leave us high and dry. We have to depend on God and trust that He is able. We have to remember that we cannot do it on our own.
God alone is my judge. That is a wonderful truth! And it is freeing! People are people, and that is all they are. What they think doesn't matter. Making mistakes doesn't matter. What matters in the end, is what God thinks, is HE pleased? I thought, if I can just sing my recital for God's pleasure, the best that I know how, then even if I do not sound great, I will be pleased, because I sang for Him. So that was my prayer, that God would enable me to sing for Him, because even that I wouldn't be able to do without God working in me... there's so many distractions and human concerns in the mix of it all.
So the day of my recital I woke up and I was completely calm. I never got nervous. Even right before the recital. Even during the recital. Even when I was sitting backstage waiting to sing. I was so calm, it was almost scary. I cannot explain how I was not even in the least bit nervous with an entire room full of people coming to hear me sing. I cannot explain it except that God was gracious, and God was able, and He gave me His peace. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Well, He certainly gave me a peace that transcends all understanding.
The recital went very well. I made a bunch of mistakes, but they didn't matter and they didn't bother me or snowball into falling apart. God answers prayer and He blessed it. I tried the best I knew how to sing for Him. I tried to consciously make the decision to sing with the voice He gave me. My mind was not thinking of Jesus every second I sang, but all I did was commit it into His hands. My motto is "I do my best and God does the rest" because my best is all I can do and the rest depends on Him. And afterwards, I think a strange kind of thing happened: I am pretty much over the fear of singing for people now. At least I think. I had a few performances after the recital and it was not nearly the same kind of fear. I was still nervous, but I think that just comes with performances. I think mostly everybody has performance jitters. But I also think that God showed me that I don't have to be ashamed of my voice or feel that I have to hide it anymore. And He got me over that hump and showed me that it's possible to overcome. Now, I could be wrong and it's possible that the old familiar fear will creep back in the future, but that's the human nature-- to forget the things God teaches us and to have to be continually reminded of His truth. One thing is for sure, is that He did teach me this lesson once and the whole experience is a testament to what God is able to do.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. "
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| I think that it is easy for a familiar phrase to slip into our subconscious, and to lose some of the weight of its meaning. And then every now and again it seems to emerge and sink in deeper than it has in a long while, and the reality of it is remembered. I'm struck right now with the magnitude of this aspect of Jesus' death: He bore in Himself my filth, so that I can be made clean.
God is perfect and He is holy. Holy means that He is set apart, He's like no other. He is above all and deserves the highest recognition and the greatest honor. His love for us, humanity, must be absolutely so big for Him to be willing to take upon Himself all of our filth. And I love that it's a corporate thing and an individual thing. He died for me. He bore my filth. He died for you. But He didn't just die for me or for you, He died for every single person. And that says a lot about who He is and how big His love is, and how big of a hope there is for everyone. There is none that He does not love. And He wants everyone to know that love. And He was not silent about it, and it is not hidden in some kind of wishy-washy out-of-reach idea. He proved it in a concrete way. He took on flesh and became a human. He experienced the joys and the sorrows of humanity. The Bible says He was tempted in every way, yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15). He empathizes and He cares and He loves. And He came and He freely gave His life and He freely took upon Himself the iniquity, the sin, of us all. "And by His wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Think about our hurting world and the brokenness that it suffers. God came into that world and experienced it, and loved it, and is the Savior of it. Think about your worst regret and the times you have caused someone else hurt. God took that upon Himself.
It's amazing. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." -2 Corinthians 5:21. Jesus bore in Himself our shame and our filth, so that if we believe in Him and recognize Him as our Lord and Savior, He looks at us as if we had never sinned. He clothes us with HIS righteousness. Not that we are righteous, but that He covers that shame and that sin in us with His own perfection. His sacrifice was enough to redeem humanity and to make us whole and to restore our relationship with God. His death is sufficient. And His resurrection conquered the power of death and sin over us, and His grace-- giving us that which we do not deserve-- sets us free from punishment and the hold of sin on our lives. (Romans 6:14)
He sees us all just as we are and He knows all of us by name. He knows our fears, and our failures, and our hurts, and our struggles, and our desires, and our dreams, and our thoughts. He formed each one of us, and that means that every single person has value, because they were made by God. And He loves us so much. He saw us while we were His enemies, and He took upon Himself our filth as if it were His, so that we might come to Him and become His friends, and be called His sons and daughters, and be called His family, and be known by Him and to know Him personally.
And even though we do not measure up, and never truly could, we can come as we are and know that He loves us, and know that His death was enough to cover us, and know that He hears us and listens, and answers as we pray according to His will, which is perfect and good and right. I think that is a great hope and a great truth-- that we can come to Him as we are because of Jesus.
"He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." Romans 4:25
"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." -Romans 4:7-8
"For Christ died for sins once for all , the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18
"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39
God loves you. He loves you in a perfect way that reaches beyond anything that would ever cause you to think otherwise. | | |
| I've been home for winter break and I'm leaving to go back to school in a few days. And I've been hoping for a chance to be able to have a discussion of some sort or an opportunity to talk to my friends and share with them something, but I haven't really felt like I've had a good opportunity. So I'm going to say what I want to say here, in hopes that my friends will read it and hear me out. But first a few things:
I stop saying these things in conversations because I feel like my friends already know what I believe, and that they don't really want to hear it. I don't say anything because I don't want them to get false impressions that I am judging them or that I think I'm somehow better or that I'm shoving religion in their faces. I promise it's not that. I love my friends and I'm going to love them the same regardless of whether they agree with me or not. And I really really dislike it when people think that just because I love God I'm going to judge them if they do things I disagree with. I don't ever want my friends to think they can't tell me things, or to not be themselves around me. And that is why I am mostly silent when I hear their problems and what-not. But I also love them and care about them a whole lot, and I know what they need and it makes me sad that they don't recognize it. So here it is, I'm going to say what I want to say, and hope that my friends realize that what I'm saying is truly and sincerely out of love for them. So even if what I say you completely disagree with, at least please do not get offended because it's not meant to be offensive. So here it is, hear me out:
I have an honest question for my friends: What are you living for? What is your purpose? And I mean that in the best way I know how, not as a threat or some kind of negative statement. What I mean is, we all get one life and our time is not guaranteed so we don't really know how long our lives will last. Even if we live to be 100 years old, a fifth of our lives are over. So what gives our life meaning and our time purpose? What is fulfilling? Are you fulfilled? I've seen depression and emptiness in my friends. And I understand it. Certainly there are many wonderful things that make life worthwhile such as family and friends, good causes to give our attention to, etc. But in the end, we all have a need to know God, and without Him, we're still going to be just as empty. With or without friends to hang out with, with or without money, with or without a spouse, with or without a career we enjoy, with or without anything the world has to offer us.
I'd like to be able to tell my friends that if only such-and-such everything will get better, or it will in time, but I can't do that and it makes me sad. It's true that there are different seasons in our lives, and troubles come and go, situations change. But the source of the problem remains the same in all seasons of life and at the end of the day we're all the same. We were all created by God, and we all have a need for a relationship with Him. It was the very reason we were created. We are all sinners. Nobody's any different from anyone else. In the end, we've all chosen to do things wrong, and that wrong we do leaves a pained world with many hurts that we see in ourselves and in others. That sin in our lives severs our relationship with God. That sin in our lives is part of our nature, it's inside of us and we can't escape it. We see it come out of the depths of us, we see it lash out in anger towards other people, we see it in the way we think, in the things we do, and no matter how hard we try to cover it up, to change ourselves, to overcome it with willpower, it is still present.
I do not believe that emptiness and hurt is going to go away with anything this world has to offer. I don't believe that getting a college degree and finding a high paying job is going to change it, I don't believe finding a really nice guy and falling in love is going to change it, I don't believe partying every weekend with your friends is going to change it, I don't believe self-help books are going to change it, I don't believe more material possessions are going to change it. If those things could, don't you think they would have by now? I believe that emptiness is filled, that purpose and meaning are found, that hurt is healed, when the need for God in our lives is met. Our sins need forgiveness and we need a Savior.
I'm glad to say that there truly is a hope for those that feel hopeless. There is a real God who absolutely loves you just the way you are. But He desires more for you in this life, because He loves you. God knows everything and He sees all of our sins. And even though we fail and we choose to do bad things and we have this sinful part of us that spills out from the inside, He still loves us and He made a way out. He sent His Son Jesus to come to earth as a man and live the perfect life we cannot. He sent Jesus to die on a cross for us and take upon Himself all of the sins we have ever committed and will ever commit. God offers complete forgiveness to us in Jesus Christ. And it's a free offer to anyone willing to accept it. But He doesn't just stop with forgiveness, He offers a completely new life in Jesus. He promises to transform our lives and change us from the inside out and make us new creations. He reconciles us to Himself so that we can have a relationship with Him and experience what true love is in the fullest, to serve the very purpose we were created for. He offers all this and it is attained through placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
I have to say that God does not promise an easy life full of nothing but happiness if you place your faith in Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26,
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
There is a cost to following Jesus, and that cost is laying down your own will and life to serve Him in the way He directs. Jesus becomes Lord of your life, and that means that you no longer live for yourself, but for Him. But God does promise to transform your life, to forgive all of your sins, to provide what you need along the way to live for Him, to have a relationship with Him, and eternal life with Him in heaven after we die. There is a cost to following Jesus, but Jesus also paid a great cost for you on the cross and endured incredible suffering so that you "may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10).
1 Corinthians 15:56-57 says, "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus conquered sin and death for us when He rose from the dead. A popular saying asks, "He died for you, why not live for Him?"
That is what I have to share and I believe it with all my heart. I love you guys and so does God. If you've been doing the same thing your whole life and nothing has changed, why not consider giving God a chance? And if you're not sure, why not start seeking to find out what is true and who God really is? Why not ask Him to show you who He is?
And if you are at the point in your life where you know you need Jesus and you are ready and willing to turn your life to Him, pray a simple prayer and ask Him to come into your life. Say something like:
Dear God,
I know I am a sinner and I know I need a Savior. I know that my sin separates me from you and I want to have a relationship with you. I am sorry for my sins and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son and died on the cross for me. I believe that He rose from the dead and is alive. I believe that you hear me. I pray that you will come into my life and change me. Come be the Lord of my life and I commit my ways to you. Thank you for saving me and loving me.
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
Friends, whether you have surrendered your life to Christ or you want to investigate more and look into it for yourself to determine what is true, a good place to learn more is in the Bible. If you start with one of the gospels-- Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, it will explain who Jesus is and what He did. Another good book is the book of Romans.
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