Good Friday with my 18-inch hole

I grew up in a Christian home. My parents were faithful to take me to church every Sunday and raise me in the Christian faith. So faithful that we were there every time the church doors were open. I grew up knowing the stories of Jesus. I never missed a day of Sunday school. I had been confirmed in the faith classes, memorized a lot of prayers and petitions. So I naturally assumed the faith of my parents. I didn't have to question what I believed because it was what I always knew. 

As a young mom, it was important to me to raise my little ones on a firm faith foundation. I was doing all the right things and repeating prayers like I was taught. I was taking my kids to church & Sunday School every Sunday. It looked like I had it all together and knew all the right answers, but in reality, I didn't have a personal relationship with Christ. I only knew of Him. I had studied Him and acknowledged His existence, but there was something missing, a 18-inch connection between my head and my heart. I was a good person, thought I was going to heaven, but I was like everyone else that had fallen into some bad habits and behaviors. Just like any other young married mother with a couple of kids, I was trying to make the best of my life. Little did I know, though, that I was really running in the opposite direction...away from God.

That was ...until one Good Friday...

The church ladies hurried into the sanctuary and started removing items one by one....The lights were dimmed in quiet solitude. One by one the candles were extinguished and the flowers disappeared. The room was practically empty except the few people who sang silently. A simple wooden cross hung over the center of the bare stone altar. I watched as the room was emptied of the familiar, leaving it practically void. My soul ached with an emptiness I couldn't describe. I sat alone in the cold, dark reality of my sin. 

In that quiet and holy moment, it seems that I was the only one in the pew. God bent down and touched my soul in a way that I knew I needed a Savior. Heaven opened up and grace came down. As I sat still in that dimly lit minute, I realized the altar of my heart had become barren and cold. I suddenly felt God chip away at that hardened surface as it if were a block of ice readied for a masterpiece. 

Whispers to my heart..."I sent my Son for you, He died for you. That's how much I love you. And yes, even if you were the only one on this entire planet. I did that ....just for you." 

There were no trumpets blaring, no special lyrics, no confetti, party horns, no balloons, no compelling preacher, just Jesus bending down. 

My eyes were opened as they brimmed with tears. I knew I needed to change. I confessed what God already knew. I prayed to receive His free gift of Grace. My soul soon spilled with His love and forgiveness.

I am a life that has been changed by the power of the Gospel. Jesus is...my Savior, always and forever. And forever will I live with Eternity stamped on my heart. I owe Him my life as He continues to give me new Life. 

That was years ago ....and I remember it like it was yesterday. 

Find out for yourself what you believe and why. Right now, ask yourself, if you died tonight, do you know....that you would see Jesus face to face? If not, stop reading right now, and ask Jesus to bend down and quiet your heart. 

It's that important. 

Ephesians 2:8 - 9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;not by works, so that no one can boast."

God's grace and forgiveness is a gift. You can't earn it nor can you get it by osmosis. Even if you have been in church all your life. Even if you think you are a good person. You have to choose to accept Christ's death on the cross as payment for your sins. But the best news is that your guilt has been taken care of, long ago on that simple cross. The Gospel changes lives. It's grace, it's love, it's forgiveness, and this Jesus changes...lives. Jesus bridges the gaps between heads and hearts, sins and righteousness, life and death. 

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

When Bad Things Happen To Good People

I know the answer that you are looking for ...

But first let me say bad things happen to bad people too.  Basically bad things happen in life.  And let's be honest there is really only one reason.  Because we live in a world filled with sin.  

So when someone asks "Why do bad things happen to good people, I try to turn that frown around to say "Why wouldn't bad things happen to good people?"

In God's word, He promises to never leave us.  He will not forsake us.  

He didn't promise smooth sailing, only a safe landing.   

So don't focus on the bad, let's focus on the good.  

I can remember the most intense days of my married life, when there was all kinds of bad happening in our life.  Terry, my husband, just survived cancer surgery and 11 months of chemotherapy.  We had a our re-check on the chemotherapy progress and it was not a good report.  In fact, they said that another surgery was needed and because the cancer struck again.  Our hearts sank.  To top it all off, after surgery number two, it was recommended that take a double in-take of chemo and radiation therapy.  For 33 days.  

So we began a new routine that quickly turned into a habit.  We sent the kids to grandmas house, who shuffled them to school.  Next we were in the car driving for an hour for a 15 minute treatment then drove an hour back so that I could be at work at a full-time job by 10 am.  We did that day after day.  

I don't remember driving.  

Except for one day, it was raining so hard.  And it was raining in my soul, and I cried literal buckets of tears thinking I couldn't do it one more mile.  And then God was there and held our hands, I was reminded about how awesome God was.  And I made it through that day and the next and then the next.

It was intense therapy for sure during those 33 days.  And there have been many tear-filled days since.  Yes cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation are bad things.  For some of you, it pales in comparison to what you are going through right now.....  

But know this...

In those intense 33 bad days and following, we have experienced God.  In those 33 days He revealed Himself as our Healer, our driver, our source of strength, our companion, our interpreter when all I could do is cry, and so many more words that I can't even describe right now.

Bad junk happens to us, but there is something good in every bad thing that happens.  Now you may never see the good that comes from a bad thing.  And you may see lots of good things that happen from bad things.  But in those bad times...

God is still God, God is still good, and God is still for us.

Knowing that about God is all the explaining of bad-things-happening-to-good-people that I need. 

Lamentations 3:22-24 "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." 

Don't forget, we're just passing through.  I for one want to experience as much of God's faithfulness and wonderfulness that I can possibly can. Whether that be good things or bad.  It's all good if I believe that God is in my tomorrows.  I do know the next 33 days will be filled with the wonder of God.  

God will be faithful and Heaven's waiting. 

P.S.   Ben Rodgers does this answer your question?  Bottom line...We are all bad people, and bad things happen.  God is the only Good I have found in this life.