Prior to knowing Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, when people talked to me about the Gospel, I would think, “That is not for me!” Giving up all the “fun” stuff and becoming some kind of “good” person was just not for me. It just seemed like foolishness. “Why would anyone do that?” I thought. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Little did I know that the “fun” stuff was not fun. That was deception from the enemy. He convinces us that sin is “fun”. But the reality is that it is bondage. We become slaves to it. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” Galatians 5:1. We serve our sin and our flesh, never really knowing freedom.
We somehow think that becoming intoxicated, either on drugs or alcohol, is “fun”. Lots of times, we got so inebriated that we become sick. And at times, we even spend the night on the bathroom floor (EEEWWWW!). Then we wake up and all the problems that we were trying to run from are waiting for us. Only now, we have less money. Or, we awaken next to a stranger. Or we awaken and have no idea how we got home, or where we are, or where we left our vehicle. WOOOHOOO!! Now that sounds like fun, right? (sarcasm there 🙂 )
We are also deceived into thinking that chasing after multiple members of the opposite sex is “fun”. Typically, this results in lies, hiding, and constant deceit. And eventually, our sin will find us out. “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.” Numbers 32:23. And then, we end up alone! Wow!! More fun (and more sarcasm 🙂 ).
Sin never ends in “fun”. It ends in pain, brokenness, bondage, and ultimately, in death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23.
Eventually, God softened my heart. “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” Ezekiel 36:26. I began to seek after God and desire to know more about Him.
But I wasn’t sure that He would want a relationship with me after all that I had done. And someone told me that John 3:16 said that Jesus died for the whole world. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”. I thought that He may have died for the world, but “not for me”.
God eventually showed me that it was for me that Jesus died. And it was for you that He died as well. God desires that every single person would come to have a personal relationship with Him.
Now, serving myself and a life of bondage to sin (since Jesus became Lord of my life) is not for me.
It doesn’t have to be for you, either. Sometimes, even followers of Jesus get caught up and bound by sin. But God doesn’t want us to suffer that way. And He has given us a way out. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13.
Sin and bondage is not for me and it is not for you. Freedom is what God desires for us. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17. But we have to desire God more than our sin and we have to seek Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13.
Seek freedom! Seek Jesus!
Father God, we praise You that You even desire a relationship with us. We praise You for designing a means by which we could have a relationship with You. We praise and thank You for Jesus! Jesus, thank You for Your love and sacrifice. Thank You for loving us while we were yet sinners. Holy Spirit, thank You for softening our hearts and drawing us into a relationship with You. Thank You that, through Your leading, we CAN resist temptation. Thank You for changing our thinking from “God is not for me” to “Sin is not for me”. We love and praise and thank You Father and we pray this in Jesus’s precious and Holy name. Amen.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and you too have felt that a relationship with God was not for you, please go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. I promise God is for you! He does desire to forgive you, have a relationship with you, and love you with a love far greater than you even knew was possible. Once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com. I’d love to be in prayer for you!
Luv Ya!
