Tuesdays of Praise...finally

Because I remembered and had the time...well, made the time, Tuesdays of Praise made it in the line up this week.

Lets talk about salvation.

Just the word alone should evoke some reaction. Saved...rescued...redeemed.

Some of you may be wondering... saved from what?

Some of you already know...saved. It is such a wonderful thing, yet I so rarely meditate on it and what it truly means for me.

I take my salvation for granted almost all the time.

To answer the question above for all those who are so interested, what am I saved from?

Me? Well, that is a great question. Myself, my sin, the pain from the death of my daughter, hell itself.

Romans 3:23 says "all fall short of the Glory of God."

even me, I know, some of you are shocked...Cari? fall short of Glory? Yup...I am not even close...
You see, when I heard of Christ, the Son of God, coming to earth, living a perfect life and dying for my sin...I accepted it as truth. When I accepted it as truth, believed in Jesus, that He was, and is, truly capable of paying for my sin...I was saved.

( I was in middle school at a summer youth camp. I saw with my ears and heart what God did for me through Jesus. It was many years later, in college, that I picked up where I left off and followed hard after God. Many years after that, when Caden died, I see God's sacrifice anew. He willingly gave up His son for me...amazing.)

Saved from all the mistakes, bad decisions and outright wrongs I did in the past and will do in the future. And believe me...I will do plenty.

John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life."

A verse everyone knows...but think about it. All you have to do is believe...and you get to have everlasting life. Not just life as we know it. The life we know is hard. It hurts. We fail miserably everyday. Life as we know it pales in comparison to the life we will have with Christ.

Heaven awaits us...all we have to do is believe.

Believe and be saved.

Saved.

From your sin, mistakes, guilt, pain, hopelessness, and whatever else this life and Satan have taught you is what is normal...you can live differently.

I have hope I will see my daughter again...because I know where I am going when I die. I know I am forgiven for my thoughts and actions that were, ummm, unladylike, yesterday. I know All the hurt, pain and humiliation life brings is temporary and therefore so much easier to bare...because I know what awaits me.

So today I praise God because He is the ONLY ONE who can save.

Thank you Father,
Come quickly.