Well I have waited to write my first ever post, deciding what to write about, thinking that it should be something of an important entrance to the world of cyber writing! I know I have wanted this blog to be spiritual and about my experiences and understandings of Jesus and Christianity so, now that I have waited a few weeks to launch out with my first post, I felt the time came at the weekend when I was inspired enough to say something!
I woke up Saturday morning singing the old chorus 'It's your blood that cleanses me'. I often wake up with a song in my head and very often the song is quite appropriate for the day! As I came downstairs with my daughter Saturday morning this particular song and the words to it reminded me of just how privileged I am as a Christian to know the saving power and grace of Jesus. I really needed to know this again after having had a couple of bad fleshy days previously! Isn't the Lord just so good, so gracious? Before I had even gone to him to get right with him, he came to me, in that song! 'It's your blood that cleanses me, it's your blood that gives me life, it's your blood that took my place, in redeeming sacrifice, and washes me whiter than the snow, than the snow, my Jesus, God's precious sacrifice'. It was one of those moments, when we realise afresh just how much we don't deserve his lavish grace, love and forgiveness which he pours on us.
Well, I thought about this and what a great place it was to start a blog, to focus on Jesus, his merciful act of sacrifice on the cross, his lavish grace and his absolute love for his people. What a wonderful saviour, so kind and so lovely. The more I go on as a Christian the more amazed I am at his grace, which he continues to shower on me. As I sat later to read my daily reading and ponder the kindness and grace of Jesus, he led me to read 'the daily light', a small daily reading that my mum gave me years before. It travelled with me to university but remained in my box unread until I finally got saved nearly 4 years later! I don't read it every day but often when I do, I find that it is very appropriate for the circumstances of that day! I have heard others say the same about this liitle book full of scripture. The opening verse was THE verse that the Lord has used in the past few years to make me understand more and more about how to live the christian life and how it is all about him and never about me. Galatians 2:20 says,' I have been put to death with Christ on his cross and it is no longer I who lives but Christ lives in me, this life that I now live I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me'.
What an amazing verse which has inspired so many Christians throughout the ages. I once heard about a burnt out missionary who returned home completely void of joy and feeling useless and worn out. After years of trying to do it all in her own strength, trying to be the best Christian and missionary she could be and constantly striving to please the Lord and work for him, the Lord transformed her mind and heart using that same verse. It is not us who are meant to do anything but Christ 'in us' and we cannot work our way to receive his pardon or favour because we already have it. We are not meant to be Christians without Christ! It is him in us, living and working and forgiving and healing and his lavish grace upon us that makes us able to live the Christian life with joy and with power. It is his life in us that helps us stop sinning, changes our mindset, makes us want to serve him, share him and live for him.
When we do well we point the finger to him for the glory as we know that our flesh and natural self could never do it and when we do badly, like the other day for me, we allow his grace and forgiveness to touch us and understand again the power of his sacrifice which has already made us clean in his sight. How he loves us.. knowing how foolish and fleshy we are yet still reaching out to us again and again. That is what he does, stretching out his forgiveness and grace to us when we least deserve it again and again and again. He never tires of it, we can never be beyond help. His dying act upon the cross was absolutely sufficient. When we got saved we went to the cross where our old self was put to death with Jesus. We became new creations and His life in us ensures that we can do it, make it and be it!
He is so patient with us and knows exactly what he is doing in each of us. No road is the same, each journey is perfectly planned and even with all its twists and turns, mountains and valleys, it is THE perfect path for us, planned by a loving heavenly Father to help us know him more, love him more, trust him more and live in him more. He knows we will sometimes take the wrong turn, turn away, refuse to go, get it wrong and fall. He knows that sometimes our flesh gets in the way, and our desires rage a war within us as Paul speaks about in Romans 7, yet he still chose us, loves us and has made a way possible for us. What a wonderful saviour, who gave his life for mine and who washes me as white as snow on my good days, my bad days and for all eternity!
