I Am What I Am

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain."
~1 Corinthians 15:10a

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain!" There was a time when His grace toward me was in vain, when I didn't comprehend the meaning of grace, salvation, or eternity without God. Like most people, I preferred worldly pleasure over the Word of God. I lived a lifestyle of parties, drinking, drugs, rock n roll, and living to have fun and satisfying my own desires. The thought of what might happen to my eternal soul should I die never crossed my mind. Have you lived that way? Are you living that way now? If so, there's still time to change the road you're on - if I may quote Led Zeppelin! As long as you are drawing breath into your body, you have time to change your eternal destiny.

Change isn't always easy but it is a necessary part of life. Living as if there is no tomorrow may find us dead regretting that we didn't give life and eternity more thought. You are going to die. We are all going to die. That is simply the culmination and reality of life. Whether you are young or old, or somewhere in between, death is the final step you'll take in life. No matter what you've heard about reincarnation, going to a better place, or death being the final end and there is nothing more, is all a lie. There is a very real afterlife that is only determined by the decision you make while living. You can't live apart from Jesus in this life and expect to step into Heaven for eternity. That's not how it works. God had a design planned for this world and for each one of us born into it. Throughout the Bible, that plan has unfolded and was completed when Jesus Christ died on the Cross for each of us. There is only one way to Heaven and that is through the Blood of Jesus Christ and each of us making the decision to accept Him as our Savior while we are alive. 

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:30)."

Jesus was not talking about His life being finished, He was talking about the fulfillment of prophecy throughout the Old Testament. Prophecy about who He was and why He came to earth as a mere human was finished. Sin was finished. Death was finished. The old nature was finished. Sacrifice was finished. Working to get into Heaven was finished. Trying to be good enough was finished. All the work Jesus was sent to do on earth for each of us was finished on the Cross at Calvary and all that is left for us to do is accept Christ as Lord and Savior.

I was on a paved road to hell when I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of my life. I was changed into someone who wanted to be better than I had been, who wanted to live my life differently and to be assured that my soul didn't end up in hell. I wasn't perfect by any means and I sure didn't have many answers, nor did I get everything right. I still made mistakes, I still had my moments when the old person I used to be rose up, I got mad, I said things I shouldn't have and did things I regretted. I was not perfect by any means but I was saved by grace and little by little, grace led me to be a better person each day. Salvation is given the moment we confess our sins and ask Jesus to be our Savior, and grace covers us as we follow Him and learn how to be more like Him. It is no different than when we raise our own children. They come to us helpless but they learn and grow over time. We don't expect a newborn to walk, or a one year old to carry on meaningful conversations. We allow them to grow at their own pace, guiding and nurturing them, using discipline when necessary. God is the same way with us. We must crawl before we can walk, and walk before we can run but the love of God is always with us.

"I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready (1 Corinthians 3:2)."

As we grow in the Lord by going to church, prayer, and Bible study, we are fed more and more "meat" of the Word. I have read the Bible through many, many times and every time I read, God reveals something brand new that takes me deeper into my relationship with Him. Don't wait until it's too late, make your decision for life everlasting today.

God loves you so much that He gave up Heaven to live among us, and He is waiting for you to make the decision to love Him in return. Say this simple prayer from Rev. Billy Graham:

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name, I pray, Amen."

Read
Job 32-34

A Year Of Blessings
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