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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Sweetest and Most Sacred


In my previous post, when I shared my list of sacred sweets, I did not mention the sweetest and most sacred of them all -   the good Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the Lion and Lamb, the Son of God and very God,  the Beginning and the End,  the Friend of Sinners and their Terrible Judge,  Creator, Sustainer, Savior,  King and so much more.  Is there any wonder why He is number One?
I have always known there is a God.  As a teenager I began to sense I was very far from Him.  I often felt empty, lonely, purposeless, and inadequate. I knew if I could just have God in my life, I could be OK.  Outwardly I was a good girl, going to church – even in the middle of the week,  but I knew deep within I was not right with God.   However, God was working through my frustration and to get me to Himself.
 I knew the Bible was the Word of God so I thought I could reach out to God by reading it.  My brother, who had become a Christian in college, lent me one of his Bible study books when I told him I wanted to study the Bible.  The book was Unger’s Bible Handbook[1].
I started in the book of Romans (a deacon had said Romans explained the gospel - God’s good news to man).    I read chapter one.  The only thing I understood is that God loves us , but  also He is full of wrath  for the unrighteous.  I certainly knew I was a sinner, and I had suspected for some time that He was not totally pleased with me, but I did not think He was angry with me.  Vs 18[2] told me He was.    Chapter three bluntly stated “There is none righteous, no, not one … there is none that does good, no, not one.”[3]    I thought, I’m not the only person going to hell.    No one has the righteousness of life God requires, no one is good enough.   As I read further in chapter three I found words that gave me hope.  Vs 21[4]  told me the righteousness God requires has been made available to man.  Vs 22-24[5] said the righteousness comes to a person who believes in Jesus. God in his grace and mercy made righteousness available to all through His Son, the God-man Jesus Christ.  He lived a perfect righteous life and then took on the sins of the world when He died on the cross.  He suffered the wrath of His Father that everyone on earth deserved for their unrighteousness.  He died.  The proof that his death was satisfactory for the payment for sin is that He came back to life again.  The Easter story.   What Jesus did was enough.  I learned all that I needed to do was believe Jesus, trust what He did and I would receive the righteousness which would make me acceptable to God.  When I understood that message, it was as if God was speaking to me audibly saying  “Now is the time to decide Sheila. Believe me. Come.”

Since I trusted Christ, my big questions have been answered.   Who am I?  One for whom Christ died, a child of God  (1Cor 3:23, John 1:14)[6].  Why am I here?  For the pleasure of God, to honor Him with my life (Rev 4:11, Phil 2:13)[7].  Where am I going?  I’m on my way heaven, eventually but right now I’m on an adventurous, frenzied, hilarious, arduous – but never dull – journey called life on earth.  Over the mountains, through the valleys,   and in the course of the daily-ness of the journey, He has given me much joy.  My journey has been sprinkled with all those sacred sweets!  His presence being the sweetest of all!




[1] Unger’s Bible Handbook [1st ed.] by Merrill F. Unger. Chicago: Moody Press, 1966.
[2] Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness;
[3] Rom 3:10, 12
[4] Rom 3:21  But now apart from the law a righteousness of God hath been manifested,
[5] Rom 3:22-23  even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ unto all them that believe; for there is no distinction;   for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;  being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

[6] 1Corinthians 3:23  and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's., John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:
[7] Revelation 4:11  Worthy art thou, O Lord, … for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created. Philippians 2:13  for it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.



2 comments:

  1. Sheila,
    it is is truly a blessing to read your personal testimony, for it is filled with the Glory of God. I trust that God will use this medium to bring others to a saving knowledge of Him and for you to continue to find the most satisfaction in Him.

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