"And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD;
It shall exult in His salvation."
Psalm 35:9
Of all the things for which I am thankful, at the very top of my list is the salvation that I have received from God through faith in Jesus Christ. Without this I would have no hope for the future, my life would lack meaning and purpose. I could fill my years with activities and stuff, but for what purpose?
I grew up in a family where I was taught to believe in God, we went to church and Sunday School somewhat regularly when I was a child. I thought I was a Christian and that being a pretty good person I would probably make it to heaven. At age 16, I was caught off guard when one of my older sisters came home and told me she had 'become a Christian'. I didn't understand because I thought we were already Christian, so what did she mean? We didn't really talk about God in my home so I didn't come right out and ask her, however over the next year I saw that her life had changed and she became very involved in an evangelical Christian church. She shared her new-found faith in Christ with me, gently and gradually, and I too realized that I needed Jesus as my Savior.
I knew the Bible story that Jesus had died on the cross and I always felt so sad that His life had ended that way, I never understood that He had risen and thus had gained victory over sin and death by His resurrection. Most importantly, His victory over sin meant forgiveness and salvation for me. Just last week I celebrated my 'Christian birthday' - it has been 23 years since I asked Jesus to come into my heart, to forgive and cleanse me, to redeem me and dwell with me. He has never let me down and I don't want to even imagine how empty my life would be without Him.
I hope you are able to give thanks today for salvation in Christ. If you have not received this gift, let me point you to a few scriptures to look at. God loves you and wants you to come to Him. Whether or not we admit it, we all need God, we all sin and there are consequences; but God loved us enough to sacrifice His Son, Jesus, that we might be saved. All we must do is come to Him sincerely with a repentant heart, acknowledge our sin, and ask His forgiveness. The price has been paid!
Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 10:9 "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;"
There are so many more verses I would love to share with you, I encourage you to read the Bible and to seek God with your whole heart, there is no greater blessing in life than to know Christ.
Giving thanks,
Linda
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