Will you take a second to sit with me so we can talk?
It would be great if we could literally do that but bear with me while I write down some of what I’d share with you if we were face to face.
I was thinking about this day know as Good Friday… my heart and mind cannot even begin to comprehend what that day was like for Jesus Christ and His followers in that original day.
My heart is filled with such gratitude... it is flowing from my eyes.
What must it be liked to love like that? I can barely grasp a fraction of what it means to be loved like that… for Someone to want a relationship with me to the point of giving up His life for me!
Why?
How?
I didn’t deserve any of His love, but still mercy poured out that day on the cross… to save me… to save you from our sins.
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life. ~ Titus 3:5-7
Recently, I had the privilege to hear a great woman speak at a conference… her name is Nika Maples (http://nikamaples.com/). She had incredible things to say about “I Am”. There are so many times we, especially women, cut ourselves down… “I am too fat” “I am ugly” “I am stupid” “I am ______________” (you fill in the blank). She had been convicted by the Holy Spirit that she was taking the Lord’s name in vain. In her humorous style she said that is not her… she never even uses “OMG” when texting! She went on to say that every time we, as Christians, start a phrase with, “I am”, “she is”, or “you are”, we are referring to who we truly are inside. And as Followers of Christ, Who do we have living inside us???
Every time we put ourselves down we are condemning the creation of we are… the reflection of Christ in us… He is the Great I Am! I know my explanation of what she said is not the best, but I hope you will look her up.
The other women that were with me watching the conference made an agreement that we would hold each other accountable from using condemning remarks. I know for myself when I go to say something starting with the phrase, “I am”… it stops me in my tracks to check my words and my thoughts.
So I had a friend text me she was having a hard day with the “I am” thinking in a negative way. I took a moment to pray for her immediately. As I was praying, I could see me, as her sister in Christ, lifting her arm up to hold her sword (of the Spirit) higher. We all have those times when we don’t feel strong enough for ourselves, we must have those around us to help hold our arm up until we can do it on our own again. Kind of like Moses at the Red Sea. (Exodus 17:12)
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,… ~ Ephesians 6:17-18a
The other thing I was reminded of while I prayed was how much God loves us. Tapping into His love will cover self-condemnation. The words that came to my heart were, “He loved us all the way to the cross and back.”
A love like that is unmeasurable!
A love like that is priceless!
A love like that is unending!
These words from Oswald Chambers says it best:
The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.
To the Cross and back!
In His Grace, Carin
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