I'm a mom, grandma, and great-granny, who enjoys
encouraging others by sharing the message of
encouraging others by sharing the message of
God's love for them, as well as the awesome ways
He has worked in my life. Despite my age, I am
still a work in progress.
That was how I introduced myself 14 years ago when I ventured into blogland with high hopes of bringing a little sunshine into the lives of my readers. Fourteen years! How fast they have flown by.
As I tried to come up with a special anniversary post, all that came to mind were questions. Has anyone actually been encouraged by something I wrote? Have any of my words been of any consequence in the eternal scheme of things?
This then is not an original post. It's a slightly modified version of something I wrote several years ago, something I hoped would make a meaningful difference in someone's life. My prayer is that it really did do that back then, and that it will do so again.
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When I was young, I dreamed of falling in love and getting married to someone I would grow old with. I dreamed of having a close-knit family that enjoyed each other's company and did things together. And I did fall in love and get married and have a family, but my husband and I did not grow old together, and the many mistakes I made as a single mom pretty much killed any chance for the strong, bonded family I had yearned for.
After my husband's untimely death, I went on a search for roots and purpose that led me to become heavily involved in New Age and occult doctrines. Astrology, metaphysics, and the concept of karma and reincarnation, seemed to provide answers to everything that had heretofore eluded me. I embraced these new ideologies with a passion, eventually becoming a published numerologist sought out for my expertise. For the first time ever, I felt significant and fulfilled.
After my husband's untimely death, I went on a search for roots and purpose that led me to become heavily involved in New Age and occult doctrines. Astrology, metaphysics, and the concept of karma and reincarnation, seemed to provide answers to everything that had heretofore eluded me. I embraced these new ideologies with a passion, eventually becoming a published numerologist sought out for my expertise. For the first time ever, I felt significant and fulfilled.
How I got from there to here is not really what this post is about. If you are interested in that part, you can check out the My Testimony link on my sidebar or click here. This post is about how my vulnerability led to my believing a lie, and how that led to my misleading other people and getting them to buy into that lie as well. It was never my intent to deceive anyone. I was just sincerely wrong.
The past cannot be undone, but my heart's desire is for this post to reach at least one person living under the same kind of deception I was back then, and help them see the light.
If I were to see you headed towards some imminent danger, such as a gaping hole in the sidewalk ahead of you, it would be unconscionable of me not to warn you of what lay ahead, and I would not hesitate to do so--even yanking you aside if necessary. So why the hesitation when the danger is spiritual, and therefore invisible? I guess, in my case, it's fear of rejection, of being judged, all the things I struggled with at the beginning of my life, but I know that I can't let those things stop me any longer. There's too much at stake.
Don't be deceived, as I was, into thinking that there are many paths to God, or that we get to Heaven by being 'good.' Although we were created to have fellowship with God, Adam and Eve's sin caused us to be born into a fallen world. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and "The wages of sin is death." Because of sin there is a great gulf that separates us from God, and there is no way we can cross it through our own efforts. There is only one path that can lead us to eternal life, and that is Jesus, "the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through [Him]" (John 14:6).
The good news is that "God so loved the world (you and me included) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). In fact, God loves you so much that even if you were the only person on this Earth, He would still have sent Jesus to die for your sins so you could be set free.
This gift of salvation that is being handed to you can only be received by grace, through faith. It cannot be earned by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). And as much as it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours.
Jesus stands at the door of your heart, knocking and waiting for you to answer (Revelation 3:20). I pray that you would open the door before it is too late, and accept His invitation to enter your life, forgive your sins, and make you a new creation.
If I were to see you headed towards some imminent danger, such as a gaping hole in the sidewalk ahead of you, it would be unconscionable of me not to warn you of what lay ahead, and I would not hesitate to do so--even yanking you aside if necessary. So why the hesitation when the danger is spiritual, and therefore invisible? I guess, in my case, it's fear of rejection, of being judged, all the things I struggled with at the beginning of my life, but I know that I can't let those things stop me any longer. There's too much at stake.
Don't be deceived, as I was, into thinking that there are many paths to God, or that we get to Heaven by being 'good.' Although we were created to have fellowship with God, Adam and Eve's sin caused us to be born into a fallen world. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and "The wages of sin is death." Because of sin there is a great gulf that separates us from God, and there is no way we can cross it through our own efforts. There is only one path that can lead us to eternal life, and that is Jesus, "the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through [Him]" (John 14:6).
The good news is that "God so loved the world (you and me included) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). In fact, God loves you so much that even if you were the only person on this Earth, He would still have sent Jesus to die for your sins so you could be set free.
This gift of salvation that is being handed to you can only be received by grace, through faith. It cannot be earned by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). And as much as it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours.
Jesus stands at the door of your heart, knocking and waiting for you to answer (Revelation 3:20). I pray that you would open the door before it is too late, and accept His invitation to enter your life, forgive your sins, and make you a new creation.
