My heart was Broken…

I remember the very day when the weight of my sins and the beauty of the Cross impacted me more deeply than it ever had before. When I realized that He did all that for ME!!! When I realized how desperately lost I was without Him. It actually wasn't that long ago. It was September of 2008, and I was in the city of Dhaka in the country of Bangladesh! Suddenly as I looked at a city in ruins filled with broken homes and people, it hit me what my heart and life is like without Christ. At that moment,  I cried and cried…. for the first time I realized the power of the gospel. My heart is just like that country, there's so much self and pride within, it is humanly impossible to make pure and right. Only Christ's blood can wash away my sins. Although I'd been a Christian my whole life, and had been seeking to serve God faithfully, it wasn't until this day that the power of the CROSS really impacted me so dramatically. Finally…what Christ had done for me became REAL!!! I felt it. I understood it. And I was struck down with weeping in gratitude!! I wish I'd realized sooner, instead of waiting so many years after I had given my life to Christ. But sometimes when you've been raised in the church with the treasure before you, you don't even realize what God has done for you.

This week, as I was looking up verses on the gospel, it struck me again! How could God possibly LOVE us soooo much, that His Son would be willing to come and die?? I wept again! 

Have you taken time to consider this recently? Or has the gospel and Christ's sacrifice for you just become another one of those beliefs you tuck away for a rainy day?

There's a song I often sing, but it takes on new significance as I reconsider His sacrifice:

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sound. All other ground is sinking sand."

"The theme of redemption is one that the angels desire to look into; it will be the science and the song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not worthy of careful thought and study now?" 

"The infinite love and mercy of Jesus, the sacrifice made in our behalf, calls for the most serious and solemn reflection. We should dwell upon the character of our dear Redeemer and Intercessor. We should meditate upon the mission of him who came to save his people from their sins. As we thus contemplate heavenly themes, our faith and love will grow stronger, and our prayers will be more and more acceptable to God, because they will be more and more mixed with faith and love. They will be intelligent and fervent. There will be more constant confidence in Jesus, and a daily, living experience in his power to save to the utmost all that come unto God by him." Christian Education, 57


Review:

• Bible Thought: Is our Hope built on Jesus Christ or on something else? 
• Blessing: As I am reminded of the incredible God I serve, who loved me so much that He gave His Son, I am in awe once again. 
• Battles: The enemy tries to steal my focus and distract me…even in my Christian walk. I'm praying I won't ever let Him distract me from the study of redemption and from the Cross of Christ.