At His Feet

July 1, 2017: From death to life

John 5:24

"I tell you truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life."

Have you ever wonder if you are alive when you were little or if everything you feel, touch, and see is nothing but a dream? That one day you will wake up and everything you know will just be a figment of someone else's imagination? Have anyone ever felt like that before in their lives because for me, there were times in my childhood I expected to wake up. It was just a feeling I would get as a child. I would lay in bed with this unknown feeling that I am not real and in a few seconds I'm going to wake up.

Was I dead?

Maybe I was dead and just didn't know it: just breathing and being in the moment like a walking zombie. Isn't that what I was? A hungry, mindless zombie that thirsted for what I did not yet have: Life. Searching for something to fill me up and make me whole; to make me alive. This reminds me of what Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well.

John 4:13-14

Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon be thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." 

Zombies are always thirsty. They look at everything to fill themselves and especially other people to fill themselves, give themselves meaning. It makes sense though how this describes majority of us. I was a zombie, a vampire maybe when I was dead because I thirsted all the time. I thirsted for my dad's attention, I thirsted to be better than my older sister, I wanted to fit in, I wanted to have friends that would never leave me; I wanted my heart to stop bleeding and the bandages (Material things) I used to cover the holes to work for once. I wanted the happiness I thought everyone else had and so I searched for what made others cheery.

I couldn't quench this thirst however and I grew cold. It was a zombie life and coldness was what I felt. Then Jesus opened my eyes and tore at the layers like He did with the Samaritan woman. Patiently He called out to me and when I finally looked up and listened, He filled me and gave me something I never had: Life. A bubbling spring that never runs out and fills the thirst, pushing away the deprivation that always hung over me. God made the coldness go away and then salvation through the blood of Christ washed over me.

Only God through His Son Jesus Christ could give me this; could fill the hole and make me new. I passed from death to life. I was a zombie and next thing I know, I was given the cure and became a human being that belongs to Christ. My sins from the past, from the present, and even from the future are forgiven and tossed away from me, like they never happened. 

That is the grace and salvation of God! Isn't that amazing, once we were dead but now we are alive! We don't have to thirst anymore and when we start thirsting, we know who we can go to to quench that thirst. 

And we don't have to worry about falling so badly in life that God won't ever forgive us. Our slates are washed clean! That doesn't mean we can sin how we want to or when we want to (Let me make this clear!) When we do that, then it is taking the grace God gives us and abusing it. It's stomping on what God gave us. It's disrespectful. It means that when we slip up and sin, it's ok because we never wanted to sin but we did. We are humans and God knows this: God will and has already forgiven us and so even though we feel ashamed of ourselves, we should confess the sins to God.

It's like this: If we sin, wouldn't you want to tell God so God can help you get rid of the sin and not do it again or would you rather try to hide it from God (Which you can't), ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and go on falling into the same sin and learn the hard way to confess it to God? David did that once and I know I did that at times until I learned my lesson. It's easier to confess to God and ask God to help. God even said that His people die because they do not ask. 

I am learning all of this myself. I slip up many times but God always, always picks me back up and strengthens me to keep going. I'm learning to go to God and confess my sins or even if I think I sin, I want to confess it because I know God can and will help me. God is the truth and so I want the truth even if it hurts. 

Father God,

We thank You for the salvation and the grace that comes from Your Son, Jesus Christ, the King! God, thank You that we can go to You when we sin and You invite us not only to confess the sins but also to ask You for help to stop the sins in our lives; to help us grow and to fill the holes in our lives. Thank You for the spring You have placed within us. God, I confess that the scripture in John 4:13-14 is still a bit blurry to me, please help me to understand this fully and to let it soak into my heart. Thank You Jesus for helping me do this devotional and helping me read my bible. I was in a place where I stopped and life was getting chaotic again but thank You because You are helping me to get back into sitting at Your feet. I know I need that. To be still and know You are God. I pray for blessings over the people that read it, weather they skim it over or they read everything. Please fill their lives and open their eyes and for the saved who are going through a tough season, give them the strength to confess, to come and ask you for help because I know You will help them. God, I pray that this devotion gives You all the glory and all the honor, in Jesus Christ Holiest name, amen!

-Candy