Thankful Thursday

What I am most thankful for, not just today, but all year round is that I know that Jesus died for my sins, so that I could have everlasting life through him. He took on my sins, so that I may be forgiven and live in heaven forever one day.

John 11:25-26
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (NIV)

To think about all he endured, during that time, for me... well, it is truly overwhelming. But, it wasn't just for me...it was for YOU, too. For each of us. What love and selflessness his act of sacrifice was...IS!
And all that is required of me is just to trust in Him by asking Him to become part of my life, Lord of my life. I just need to believe that He indeed did die on the cross and rise from the dead 3 days later. And in believing this, asking Him into my life, I will become new.

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... (NIV)

It is hard for me to remember life without Jesus, since I became a Christian at a young age. However, I do remember times when I tried to shut the door on Him. I thought the world had something funner to offer. Yet, He never left me. Each night that I would be soaking myself in things of this world, He would gently be whispering in my ear, reminding me, that He was still there. He loved me. He would never forsake me.

Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (NIV)

Although I had been saved many years before, I started to question how Jesus could really love someone like me. Someone that would deliberately turn her back on Him. Someone that was leading the life I was. Someone that seemed to have no regard for Her own life. How could He care so much, even though I did not? Because He never breaks His promises. He promised to always be with me. Sometimes on those lonely nights I would cry out to Him, but then recant, feeling the weight of sin on my shoulders. But, still He never left me. He had already paid the ultimate price for all those sins on the cross. I finally accepted that I just could no longer keep living like this. That I just was truly not happy, truly scared at all times. I was finally ready to come back to Jesus...but, was he still going to want me? Blemished? Stained? Sinful? The funny thing is that I thought myself so sinful then, but yet, I continue to be a sinner. I am still all those things, but Jesus' death on the cross washes those sins clean, so that I no longer carry that weight of sin from the past or present.

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (NIV)

I definitely don't have it all figured out. I still struggle on a consistent basis to be a better person, a person that learns from her mistakes. Following Jesus doesn't mean I will no longer deal with the woes of daily life, it just means that I no longer have to do it alone. That I have the MOST faithful friend to walk alongside me, sometimes ahead, most of the time carrying me. It means that I have the assurance that I will always be with Him. That I can look forward to spending eternity with my Father God. It means that I am forgiven and what a liberating feeling that is!!! Do you wish to know that feeling? Do you long to never be lonely again? Do you wish to have the assurance of eternity in Heaven? TRUST IN HIM! He so longs for you to just let Him into your life. He loves you so...His death is solid proof of that. His resurrection the guarantee that He is God. What do you have to lose? Everything. What do you have to gain? Everlasting life.

John 3:16-19
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (NIV)

So, for JESUS I am truly thankful this Thursday, every Thursday, every day period. Without Him I would not be whole. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me that much. I pray that anyone that reads this come to know you. That they take a moment to thank you for the sacrifice you paid on the cross for each of us. That they know you are pursuing them with a love like none other. How I long to see your face. How I long to sit at your feet. How I long to be in your presence. I love you, Jesus. In your precious name, Amen.