because of sin… we received a
phone call at 5:21 this morning that a friend has passed from this life. sin. or rather the fruits of sin: disease, sickness, death, destruction… They are
evil to the core. They stir up an anger inside my spirit that I can’t ignore
and can’t understand. Cancer itself is not sin. It is a symptom of a world
corrupted by sin.
because of sin… I am a mother.
Sin destroyed my little ones birth families to the point that they cannot care
for their own children. I am painfully reminded of sin and the effects of sin
when I look into their precious faces and know that they have a history I know
nothing about. A history of abuse, neglect, and abandonment.
because of sin… I sin. I get
angry. I’m prideful. I want control. I will suffer on this earth. I will die
one day.
BUT JESUS! Before there was sin
there was Jesus! How can I dwell on the effects of sin when I know JESUS. When
I know the one “who was and is and is to come!” I know the ONE who raises the
dead to new life. I know the ONE who heals the broken and forgotten!
because of sin… Why do we become
angry and moved to action in the face of injustice…because sin is at its core…we
were not made for this world. death is not natural. sin is not natural. We were
not created for this.
BUT JESUS! Knowing we needed freedom to choose HIM, HE
created us to make a choice to love him or to leave him. Nothing makes me
desire HIM more than when I see sin at its ugliest. When I see death I see sin
and my spirit is moved or rather HIS SPIRIT in me is moved because death was
never meant to be. When I see children abandoned
and abused HIS SPIRIT in me is moved because that was never meant to be!
BUT JESUS! In me. Through me.
Use me JESUS to fight for you in this world of sin. I will PRAISE HIM for a
LIVING HOPE! I will PRAISE HIM for HIS REDEMPTION is near! I will PRAISE HIM for
the SALVATION of my SOUL. I will put on
my armor and fight this spiritual battle. I will not ignore its reality. I want
JESUS. I need JESUS. I CRAVE JESUS. My friend loves JESUS. The pain of her loss
is real. It must be felt and HE will GUIDE us through it. HE does that you
know. HE allows us to feel the effects of sin. BUT HE IS WITH US AND SHE IS NOW
WITH HIM. Her fight is over. She fought for JESUS visibly and valiantly. She
has earned her prize… because JESUS. sin no longer has a hold on her….because
JESUS!
because of sin… another little
one will join our family. JESUS loves the little children and because of
HIS LOVE in me I will love this little one with reckless abandon. I will be
JESUS in the flesh to this broken little one. Broken no fault of his own, but
because of a fallen sinful world. It’s not fair. It’s not right. BUT JESUS IS.
JESUS give me strength to be YOUR HANDS and YOUR FEET to YOUR children who come
from this broken and sinful world. HEAL their hurts. HEAL their hearts.
BECAUSE OF JESUS… My friend is
whole. She is alive. She is with her SAVIOR.
BECAUSE OF JESUS… His little
children have found their way to my home so that I can introduce them to the
one who will heal their hurts and save their souls.
BECAUSE OF JESUS… I am REDEEMED.
BECAUSE OF JESUS… sin will never
win. The war is won, but the battle rages on.
BECAUSE OF JESUS… I will fight
the good fight. I will finish the race.
"For this reason I
kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives
its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with
power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in
love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how
wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love
that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness
of God. Now to him who is able
to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that
is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:14-21
