"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding... Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan...
Now He is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else--not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made Him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is His body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself."
~Ephesians 1:3-23
Today marks 25 years since I became a Christian... my born-again birthday, or the anniversary of the day I was adopted as God's child! On Sunday, December 27, 1990, my mother led me to Christ. I was six years old and had several questions about something I had heard in the sermon at church that morning. I was beginning to understand the concept of sin and needing a Savior, but not quite clear on how it all worked. Mom got her Bible out - The Living Bible with the green cover - and she slowly walked me through "the Romans road," explaining the Scriptures on my level as we went along. At that point, thanks to growing up in a Christian home, I was already familiar with prayer and had strong childlike faith that God would always listen and hear me, even if I didn't pray out loud. Mom told me that I could pray after her or pray alone in my own words to God, and being the introvert I am, I chose the second option, feeling that it would be more real and special having the moment just be me and God. I went into the bedroom Rachael and I shared and got on my knees beside our purple canopy bed, confessed my sin, and asked Jesus to "come into my heart" and be my Lord and Savior...
"In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it!"
~John 1:4-5
#favoritehymn
Looking back right now, I feel SO thankful...
For the unique story God has written for me that is still unfolding, and for the opportunity to live a life that brings Him glory and makes an eternal difference. I praise God for His grace and kindness to me, for His gift of eternal life and salvation. I'm infinitely thankful for the kingdom hope I have in Jesus - the hope that anchors my soul through every trial here. I'm resting in His promise to never reject or abandon His children. I am grateful to feel alive and full of joy and hope today... humbled and thankful for every time He has pulled me out of the pit of darkness and despair, calling me over and over again out of darkness and into His light. I am thankful to be loved and chosen and deeply, personally understood! Thankful that He never gives up on me and has not let me give up on myself. Thankful that He sees and cares about my heart, every single time. I feel in awe of His holiness and power; certain of His goodness in all seasons. I love that I'll never be done getting to know Him - there is always more to learn and discover. But at the same time, He is a gentle God who makes Himself known and enables little children to understand His love and receive His gift of salvation. My walk with Him has been a long journey, full of ups and downs and some confusing turns, but He has been my faithful God through all of it. The God who was and is and is to come... He is my everything, and I adore Him!
"So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness... God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago!"
~Ephesians 2:7-10
Not something we earn or deserve, but an eternally significant, life-altering gracious gift from God!!
(Side note: God knows us very personally, so He knows that dates and numbers are important to me... I'm thankful not only that Mom led me to Christ, but also that she wrote the story on this date in our 1990 tear-off calendar and scrapbooked it. God made sure that she preserved the exact date and that I came across it in time to celebrate this 25-year Anniversary of my salvation and union with Him!! I love that.)
"No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand.
'Til He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ, I'll stand!"
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