Happy Birthday to Me!

March 22nd marks my 7th year as a Christian...I value this celebration more than my real birthday. Where and what would I be without Jesus Christ? For starters, I'd be on a one-way path to hell and eternity of torture in a lake of fire. There's nothing, absolutely nothing I could do to bypass the judgement day. And it's only because God is so loving and true to His Word, that Jesus Christ paid the price for my sin. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

Not only would I have a spiritual death, but I should have had a physical one a long time ago...drowning at the age of 3 or 4 in a lake, depression, suicide attempts, occult, witchcraft, satanism, hanging with the wrong people, doing the wrong things, doing things that really should have gotten me killed...

And yet, through it all, I know that God's hand was upon my life in a way protecting me for such a time as this...

The past 7 years of my life have been such an incredible journey of getting to know and love my Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ has truly changed my life from the inside out. So, many people tell me how I'm not fun anymore because I don't do the things I used to do. But to that I say, when one understands the great sacrifice Jesus made for us so that we can be right with the Father, how can one not want to live a life that is pleasing and honoring to the Lord? I love Him with everything within me, Jesus is so precious to me, and I submit to Him out of honor and love, not in fear or in bondage.

With Easter falling on Sunday, I beg of you to thinking about these things...put the ideas of bunnies and eggs aside, and think about the cross. Why is it there? Why did Jesus die on it? What does it all mean?

Think about this: Are you like I was thinking that I could earn "points" and go to heaven because I'm a "good" person? Come on, really...have you ever told a lie...it doesn't matter what kind...a lie is a lie. If I told a lie, you'd call me a liar. Have you ever told your parents you'd do something they asked you do to, and then didn't do it? That's disobeying and I know I've done it more than once.
The Bible says that there is none good but God. To even call ourselves good, would be a sin because we'd be calling God a liar. And that's just not His character or nature.

But in the end, we will all die; no one can get out of that. And we will all be judged by our creator; again, we can't get out of that. And God will judge both you and I according to our deeds and what was in our hearts. Would that good judge find you innocent or guilty of breaking the Law? Would you be punished or rewarded? If you're like me, you deserve to be punished for breaking the Law. That's just the consequence of breaking laws...you get punished. Are you concerned?

But you don't have to be. See, God keeps His promises. He kept His promise and sent Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life upon the cross by shedding His blood as a final sacrifice and conquered sin and death in His resurrection, to bring us into a right relationship with our Creator.

Unlike other religions that require works to get to heaven, Jesus said that He's the only way. And all we have to do is repent and put our trust in Him. And when we begin to trust Christ, He will change us from the inside out.


(P.S. I am eternally grateful for God placing Patricia and Michele in my life back in college. They were so instrumental in "leading" me to the Lord. The love of the Lord is truly reflected in these women. I thank them both for their courage and boldness to speak truth to me. You both were the first to ever do that in my life. So, thank you. And from the depths of my heart, I love you both, forever).