Remembering

Recently I had a conversation with someone very dear to me about the grace of Christ. This person is a new believer, meaning they have recognized their sin, that Jesus was sent to earth and died on the cross to wipe them clean and they now have new life in Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is very exciting for me to see the change that has happend in the heart and life of this person, as I have prayed over them for a long time.They aren't merely stating a belief but being transformed by the good news of the gospel. One of the recent discussions that we had was about forgiveness.

They had a hard time comprehending that once they accepted Jesus as their Savior, and truly repented of their sins, they were wiped clean, spotless. They asked me how many times they needed to ask for forgiveness. If it was a sin to ask over and over again. This lead to a great conversation and a deeper understanding of what Christ did for us. I explained how once you believe and accept Christ as your Savior YOU ARE CLEAN for all of your past sins, all of your current sins, all of your future sins! When God looks at you, he sees Jesus, totally spotless and perfect. While we don't need to ask for forgiveness for our PAST sins over and over, it is VERY important to REMEMBER where we were before Christ. To be able to see our great need without him in our life and what he has brought us out of, is so important. To be filled with grief over what our status was before Christ, but to use that to push us forward to want more of him and to live that out. There is NOTHING we can do to achieve "good" status with God, NOTHING! It's ALL him, all his doing. Pouring out his love and grace and forgiveness on his children who stand arms wide open, ready to drop the weight of this world.

 I used to be VERY ashamed of my past, and with good reason. I have done some things that I know broke God's heart to the core. There are things that I want wiped clean from my memory. But I finally got to a point where I realized that remembering where I was before I TRULY let God take over my life, makes me all the more THANKFUL for HIM. I praise him even more knowing how desperate I was before him, seeking to fill voids in my life with stuff and people that would NEVER be able to fill me. REMEMBERING shows God's glory, power, mercy, grace, and love all the more. Because he has caused the change in me, he has filled my soul and my heart with a joy that is so deep and satisfying. It makes all of that stuff in my past look like rubbish.

I was reminded again this morning why REMEMBERING is such a good thing. I was reading in my 100 gifts Devotional and loved this from Ann Voskamp:

"But if I am grateful to the Bridge Builder for the crossing of a million strong bridges, thankful for a million faithful moments, my life speaks my beliefs and I trust Him again. I fearlessly cross the next bridge. Trust is the bridge from yesterday to to tomorrow, built with planks of thanks, Remembering frames up gratitude. Gratitude lays out the planks of trust. I can walk the planks-from known to unknown-and know He holds. Remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust - to really believe."

LOVE THAT!

So, when I look back at my life, at all the bridges that God helped me cross, I burst in thanksgiving with the recognition that only HE could have gotten me over those bridges, that I would have fallen through a crack if it had not been for Him. I can rest in KNOWING that I can trust Him. The awesome thing about God is that he doesn't change. Just like I could trust him years ago, I can trust Him now. He has only proven himself more and more trustworthy in my life. I have SEEN his faithfulness, even when I wasn't always faithful to him.

When I have my moments of question as to if we can REALLY handle adoption, I can look back and remember those bridges that God helped me cross. Some of those bridges were beat up, rickety, cracked and swaying bridges over some scary rough waters below, but HE got me over them, sometimes with some really hard lessons along the way.

REMEMBERING how he has never failed me (even when he didn't listen to my plans and sometimes I fought him on it), I can FULLY have faith that He can get our family across this bridge of adoption. I know that this bridge is one he WANTS us to cross and so we give thanks and we trust that one day we will be on the other side of this bridge, remembering and giving thanks for yet another one that he got us over. Sharing another testimony of his goodness and his provision. PRAISE GOD for remembering!