I am a sinner, but praise God I am saved by His grace and mercy and I have been forgiven and have been cleansed!.
Romans 3:23 "For all of have come short of the glory of God."
Romans 5:8 "For God commended His love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 8:1 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
I grew up in a dead church and did not have God’s standards as my own. A deacon in that church told me when I was in Junior High that if I did not find a mate by the time I was out of high school, I would be an old maid, but I cannot blame him or that church for the sins I committed. By nature I am rebellious against the God of Glory and was alienated from Him. I began my frantic search and became what some would call, “boy crazy”.
I went to college and thought I had found the perfect mate. It was the era of the sexual revolution. We dated for about 3 years and talked of marriage. He gave me the line, “If you loved me you would…” And I believed him. I gave in because I wanted to and became pregnant. As soon as he found out, he wanted me to have an abortion. I refused. He cursed at me and told me I was trying to trap him into marriage, and left my life forever. I cannot blame him for my sin either. I went home and my loving parents cared for me and forgave me, but I had guilt and shame I did not know what to do with.
When my son Lance was born I had given him up for adoption. However; God had a different plan because He can always see the end from the beginning. Lance was born with a birth defect that would require extensive medical attention so they said that would likely keep him from being adopted. God gave me the chance to keep him. How good and gracious God is that he would bless even an unbeliever!
One would think that I would have learned…but sin does not learn from past mistakes. When I was engaged to my precious, sweet, NURSE (Yes, God knows our need before we ever do!) husband, who was not saved either, I went into him and conceived again. We were both so ashamed and terrified to tell our parents, so we decided to destroy the evidence of our indiscretion and I had an abortion because we both believed Satan’s lie that this “thing” was just a bunch of cells and was not a baby yet. I cannot blame my husband for my sin either, because I could have disagreed again and faced the consequences, but did not. There was more guilt and shame with nowhere to take it.
A few years later after we were married I found that I was pregnant yet again. We were in a financial crisis and Lance was having surgeries. Satan whispered, yet again, that we could not afford to have another child, so we decided that I would have another abortion. I cannot blame my husband for my sin either, because I could have disagreed again and faced the consequences, but did not. There was more guilt and shame with nowhere to take it.
What Satan does not reveal to us is that after we do what he tempts and prompts us to do by his lies; he will hound us with regret, shame, and even despair. He did and I had nowhere to take all of it. I was shackled by the sin I had committed.
But God! Don’t you just love those words! God sent someone to tell me about His salvation and I accepted the truth that Jesus died to save ME! He took the penalty for all of my sin on himself that day on the cross so I did not have to. He paid the wages for my sin. Scripture says in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the truth.and I trusted in Jesus as my Savior and Lord. At that moment, He took all of that sin and junk out of my life and forgave me, cleansed me and made me a new creation. God does not forgive like we do sometimes. His word says that He refuses to remember our sin again. I was clean and free with a new live minus all of the guilt and shame! I also know now that in Heaven, I will meet the two precious children I never got to meet here and there will be no condemnation from them.
Hallelujah, what a Savior! I love You, Lord and I love Your word that reveals Your precious promises. I have been redeemed, restored, made whiter than snow because of Your precious blood shed on my behalf. You have paid the price for my sin debt and have satisfied the Father's judgment on me. I can never thank You enough for that.
I can start to believe Satan's lies if I am not wholly focused on Jesus. He wants me to believe that I am not a new creature, not forgiven, not restored, and am powerless against him. He wants me to hang onto the sins of my past and fill me with false guilt, shame, and even despair so I am not of use in God’s Family or as a witness to the unsaved world. He is a liar and the father of lies and in truth has absolutely no power over me unless I invite it.
The truth is that Jesus is the all powerful, great, and almighty God filled with majesty, honor, truth, love, and glory. He created all that is and yet He loves us fallen vile sinners, forgives us, and makes us His children when we repent. Then He fills us with His Holy Spirit so we can do all things in His purpose for us through Him because He gives us the strength to accomplish them for His glory. Only in His power have I overcome the false teachers I have heard who have tried to deceive me.
Thank You, Lord! I bless You and Your holy name!
He longs to do the same for you.
If you, like me, have been guilty of the sin of fornication and/or have had an abortion, or have encouraged someone else to have one, please know that You too can be cleansed of that sin and guilt…not because we deserve it, but because Jesus died to pay the wages of those and all other sins on that cross so many years ago. We may have taken a life, But Jesus gives life in abundance.
If you need help, please post it on my Facebook wall or send me a note at timiplyter@yahoo.com. I will be more than glad to share the TRUTH with you!
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