A friend of mines father passed away on Sunday and I sent her this video clip/song...not being able to sleep is not always such a bad thing. Sometimes it is a blessing in disguise. I realize that as I sit here and listen to this song again and again. Its hard to hold back the tears so I just let them fall. This life comes and goes so fast. doesnt it? I mean, really, like in a blink of an eye. I complain so much about this and that, we all do, but meanwhile the clock just keeps on ticking. To those who dont know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I just dont understand how you could possibly have any hope in your life. I certainly dont mean that in a bad or judgmental way. I just cant fathom not having the hope that comes with knowing and loving Jesus Christ. Im so glad my friends Dad knew the Lord and that hes in Heaven right now. Im even more glad I just sat and listened to this song yet again, reminded once more of the price that was paid so hope and victory could be mine and for all who would just ask. I write a lot of crazy posts on here, mainly, I guess, to make myself laugh and try to see the humor in things, especially now. But just so you know, Im not lost. I am found. I know whose child I am. I know who is my King. I know that soon enough this time in my life will pass and Ill be out and about again. And when this earthly life of mine ends, I know exactly where I will be - in Heaven. Do you have that hope? Do you have that certainty and confidence that, one day, some day, everything will be better than good, it will be great? This life, this world, its just temporary, just a - whoosh - of the wind across your face and then theres what comes next. No one likes to say it any more it seems. Sort of like closing your eyes and whisking away some thought in your mind that makes you sad or wishful for another chance at something or for a way to prevent something terrible from happening. Its easier that way, to pretend whatever that thing is you dont want to think about isnt real or didnt happen or wont happen. No one likes to talk about Hell. Of course, wed all rather talk about Heaven. The truth is, though, they both exist, and pretending the one doesnt exist, doesnt mean it doesnt. It does. There are so many awesome, wonderful reasons why having Jesus Christ in your life is an inexplicable blessing - all the good that comes with having Him in your life should be enough for any one to want Him in their life. There is, however, another truth and that truth is that if you refuse the free gift that Jesus Christ paid for with His life, you wont be allowed to enjoy Heaven when this life whisks away. Its been made clear to us that refusing the free gift of salvation means youll only have Hell to look forward to when your earthly clock stops ticking. It sounds so bad I dont even like to say it. It sounds so harsh, I get it. But, if Ive learned anything the past two years its that pretending a bad thing doesnt exist does not make it any less true that it does. Better to face it and deal with it than to spend your life running from it, only to lose in the end. Really, think about Heaven and Hell for just a moment or two. As a father or a mother, or as a caretaker of a child or children you love, what if your child, one day, for some reason, chose to give his or her life for another? Maybe he or she saw something terrible about to happen to someone and risked their life to save another? Maybe they stopped on the side of the road to help someone change a tire so they could get home to their family. Military families know exactly what Im talking about. How would you feel, and what would you do, if the person whom your child gave their life for, didnt care, didnt say thanks, didnt want to remember your child or honor your child, or do something with their life that really mattered? How would you feel if that person whom your child saved, laughed at your child, degraded them, spit on their grave? Seriously, how would yu feel? Would you want to take them on a shopping spree? Maybe by them a steak or lobster dinner? Would you want to take them on vacation with you? Would you invite them to come and live in your home and eat at your table every morning, noon, and night? You might have the resolve and the fortitude not to kill them but you certainly would not treat them as if they were just as good and just as precious as the child you lost - because of them. I dont see God being much different - we are made in His image afterall so its not a far stretch to imagine God feeling that way about those who reject what His only Son so willingly and lovingly did for us. Hell doesnt exist because God is mean and unjust. It exists because anything but Heaven would be Hell for those who cant spend an eternity with Jesus Christ. Why wouldnt any of us not want to walk on streets of gold or stand on a shore and look out at a crystal sea? Why wouldnt we want to live in a mansion God prepared just for us because we did ONE SIMPLE THING: realized and admitted we are sinners, acknowledged that we needed a Savior to pay the price for our sins, and then just called out to Jesus and said Lord, I believe. Forgive me! Save me!? I dont understand it. Not a bit. Ive been so tired the past couple of weeks forcing myself to deal with things in my past I just never wanted to deal with. Its been unbearable at times. Really, there have been things Ive had to talk about and think about that I spent FOUR DECADES trying to do ANYTHING but thibnk or talk about them. But, you know what? Enough is enough. I can do this. I can have the victory. Not because I am strong. Not because I am resilient. I have the victory and its all worth it because Jesus Christ knows me, loves me, and already has fough the fight and won it fo e me. All I have to learn to fo is WALK IN THAT VICTORY and accept it. Ill wrap it up. This is the most important thing I will ever say. Jeus Christ did not JUST die on the cross so we could be forgiven of the sinsWE have personally committed. No, no, no. Dont forget the torture, the abuse, the humiliation, the isolation, the fear, the betrayal, and the torment He suffered for those hours and days just prior to His crucifixion. Why didnt He call ten thousand angels to rescue Him like He could have? Why did He allow Himself to endure all that terror BEFORE He was even crucified on the cross, much less the crucifixion itself? He did it because He ALSO died for the sins that were and will be committed against us by others. I cant keep going on and on and on the rest of my life about what happened to me. I have to realize that the salvation He gave me is not only for me. It is also for those who have sinned against me, whove hurt me. Jesus Christ knows exactly what happened to me because He experienced all the emotion and trauma that comes along with being isolated, abused, and scorned - even before He was nailed on that cross. Beaten, tortured, spit on, stripped naked to be paraded around in public, and probably the worst of all, denied by his own best friends as if they did not know Him. Thats the part we so often forget about - all that horror He suffered before He was crucified. He subjected Himself to it because He had to know, He had to experience it for Himself = what it feels like as a real. live, breathing human being to experience that kind of humiliation. In all of our own experiences, no matter to what degree we rate them, in one way or another, we all know what it feels like to be left out, to feel neglected, to feel hurt and pain. Jesus Christ knows exactly what that feels like because He experienced it all as well. He was and is not some unobtainable, unreachable God sitting high up in the bleachers watching the game from far away. He got in the game. Hes in the game. He won the VICTORY for us that we could never hope to win ourselves. Its a done deal. He already paid for the gift and its right there in front of you, waiting to be opened and enjoyed. What is it that would keep you from accepting such a wonderful thing? What is it that you think you would have to sacrifice in order to accept that free gift? Whatever that thing is, whatever you think is a reason enough, good or bad, that His gift isnt for you, please just think about what He has already sacrificed for you so you could have it. Whatever that thing is - Hes already taken care of it. Whatever that thing is that youve done, let it go, He took care of it already. Whatever that thing is that happened to you that youve blamed Him for, let it go, He didnt cause that - HE took the abuse and gave His life for you so you could have the freedom from that indignity, whatever it may be, on whatever level. My favorite story in the world is the one my Dad tells me often about when his Dad, my grandfather, Phil M. Gandy, Sr, was invited to a church service and decided he would go just to see what all the hoopla was about. As he sat there and listened to what the preacher had to say, about Jesus and what Jesus had done for us, he was deeply, and unexpectedly, moved; so much so, at the end of the service, when the preacher invited those who would like to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, my grandfather began to cry but couldnt make himself stand up and walk down to the front of that church and pray with someone. He was in anguish and in such conflict. Repeatedly, he would try to stand but then he would sit down. There was an older man sitting behind my grandfather and couldnt help but see the tension my grandfather was feeling at that moment, so he leaned forward, tapped my grandfather on the shoulder, and asked him what it was that kept him from getting up and going forward to pray. What was keeping him from making that all important decision? My grandfather, barely able to speak, tearfully answered I want to but I just dont think I can live the life Hed expect of me. The old man patted my grandfathers shoulder again, smiled, and said You are right. You cannot do it on your own but by the grace of God you can. And with that my grandfather stood up, walked to the front of that small church, knelt down, praying to God, asking Him to forgive him of his sins, to save him, and to help him live a life that would please and honor God. My grandfather wasnt perfect. None of us are. No Christian here on earth is. But my grandfathers life changed that day and it became about God, not about him anymore. My grandpa understood what so many of us dont nowadays. There is no sin too great or too small that God cannot and will not forgive. He does not expect perfection from us. His perfect Son already paid that price, The ONLY thing God expects from you is to honor the sacrifice His Son made for you when His Son took on your burden of sin. You wont always get it right. In fact, youll get it wrong a lot. But if you truly mean it when you ask Him to take over your life, He will begin a work in you that He will finish. Things you NEVER thought could not possibly be a defining part of your life, sometimes suddenly, sometimes over time, disappear and are gone forever. You may think there are things in your life that have such a stronghold on you that you could never be able to walk away from those things and live a Christian life. By the grace of God you can. Dont worry about all those things now. If you think on anything today, think on the gift Jesus Christ has for you, the gift Hes holding out to you right now. Think on that and when youre done thinking about it, tell God youd like to accept it. You dont need a small church or an aisle to walk down where you can pray that prayer, You can pray that prayer anywhere. Hell hear you. Hes right there where you are just waiting for you to ask. Hell take care of the rest in His time. Just take that gift, its yours, its free, it has cost you nothing. BY THE GRACE OF GOD you can live the Christian life, somehow, some way, because Jesus Christ already won the victory. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 09:30:54 +0000
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