Today I am SO grateful that I get to celebrate the new life that I have because of grace and love; love SO amazing! I have been unleashed to truly live and this is only possible through the sacrifice that I do not deserve. I did nothing to earn this overflow of love but I accepted it as a gift.
I am able to live as I am intended to live- free. Free to love; not because I have somehow manufactured enough love to share but because I was first shown love which has been poured into me with super abundancy. Love more than I deserve but that I freely accept. I am learning to love well. I am learning to be loved and to rest in that love. I am learning to give this love away.
See what Love has done...
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (NIV)
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (NLT)
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NLT)
“Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift
is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.” (MSG)
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” (NIV)
1 John 4: 9-10 “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the
world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not
that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to
take away our sins.” (NLT)
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (NIV)
Romans 10:13 “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (NIV)
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have
peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved
privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to
sharing God’s glory.” (NLT)
Romans 8:1-2 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And
because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you
from the power of sin that leads to death.” (NLT)
1 John 4:13 “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit.” (NIV)
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come!” (NIV)
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law.” (NIV)
Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV)
John 15: 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV)
Jesus accepted death so that I may live. He suffered beatings, torture and ridicule... on my behalf. He took what I deserved, death. Now, through Him, I live. Jesus then conquered death by God's power and he was made alive again. Through my baptism as a willing adult, I too have chosen to die with Him and have now begun to experience a new life through Him.
Maybe this is the first time you have read this. Maybe you have known this but for the first time it just seems to all make sense. Maybe none of this matters to you and none of this makes a difference in your life. Maybe this is already true of you life. Where ever you are in your faith journey, please know... it is for this Love that I write. It is because of Jesus' sacrifice and God's love that I have life and freedom. So it is with my life that I pursue Him because of what He has done for me.
If this has impacted you in any way, please consider talking to God with the following prayer... but don't just read it. Believe this with your heart and confess this with your mouth as a willing person ready to fully engage life as a person who gets a "do over" because of Jesus' sacrifice of Love for you.
“God, I know that I have sinned against you by doing life my way and that I am deserving of punishment. I believe that Jesus took the punishment that I deserved so that through trusting in Him I could be forgiven of all my wrongs. With your help, I place my trust in You and accept your gift of grace so that I may be made right with You. Today, I offer You my will for my life and want You to lead me in all areas of my life. Thank You for Your wonderful grace, forgiveness and love! Amen!”
I am able to live as I am intended to live- free. Free to love; not because I have somehow manufactured enough love to share but because I was first shown love which has been poured into me with super abundancy. Love more than I deserve but that I freely accept. I am learning to love well. I am learning to be loved and to rest in that love. I am learning to give this love away.
See what Love has done...
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (NIV)
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (NLT)
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NLT)
“Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift
is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.” (MSG)
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” (NIV)
1 John 4: 9-10 “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the
world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not
that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to
take away our sins.” (NLT)
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (NIV)
Romans 10:13 “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (NIV)
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have
peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved
privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to
sharing God’s glory.” (NLT)
Romans 8:1-2 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And
because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you
from the power of sin that leads to death.” (NLT)
1 John 4:13 “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit.” (NIV)
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come!” (NIV)
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law.” (NIV)
Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV)
John 15: 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV)
Jesus accepted death so that I may live. He suffered beatings, torture and ridicule... on my behalf. He took what I deserved, death. Now, through Him, I live. Jesus then conquered death by God's power and he was made alive again. Through my baptism as a willing adult, I too have chosen to die with Him and have now begun to experience a new life through Him.
Maybe this is the first time you have read this. Maybe you have known this but for the first time it just seems to all make sense. Maybe none of this matters to you and none of this makes a difference in your life. Maybe this is already true of you life. Where ever you are in your faith journey, please know... it is for this Love that I write. It is because of Jesus' sacrifice and God's love that I have life and freedom. So it is with my life that I pursue Him because of what He has done for me.
If this has impacted you in any way, please consider talking to God with the following prayer... but don't just read it. Believe this with your heart and confess this with your mouth as a willing person ready to fully engage life as a person who gets a "do over" because of Jesus' sacrifice of Love for you.
“God, I know that I have sinned against you by doing life my way and that I am deserving of punishment. I believe that Jesus took the punishment that I deserved so that through trusting in Him I could be forgiven of all my wrongs. With your help, I place my trust in You and accept your gift of grace so that I may be made right with You. Today, I offer You my will for my life and want You to lead me in all areas of my life. Thank You for Your wonderful grace, forgiveness and love! Amen!”