Come Be Free

Today was a very inspiring day. We sang You'll Come and I was meant to share a verse before it then lead into the bridge of the song. As I was studying for it on Friday, I prayed that God would enlighten my heart so that I can speak from it. I have a hard time sharing things that I haven't experienced first hand. Especially in worship. So I read and re-read and re-read the verse, rolling over its content in my heart and my mind. Then, in a non-hyper-spiritual way, I began realizing what God was trying to tell His Church. 


The verse said: 

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 

I wept with unabashed gratefulness.

My sin [violation against God] is no more now that my identity is found in Jesus Christ.

But then God took me a little further. I admitted to Him that I knew all this in my head. Yet I do not live it out as confidently as I should. I doubt, I fear, and I worry sometimes whether or not I am good enough to deserve such grace. I fear that my sin, which seems too big, too nasty and too grave, can in no way be covered by Jesus' blood. 

[I don't voice these things of course...because that would be doubting. Certainly the worship leader of such a growing and impacting church would never doubt her salvation...right?]

Wrong.

I do. But the beautiful thing about the love of God, [you know, the one that covers my deepest darkest sins] is that it also covers that sin of doubt. That sin of fear. That sin of worry. Those were nailed to the cross too. And if I continue to carry that burden, it is by choice. Not because I have to. The bondage of those chains has already been broken for us. I am free. You are free. 

We

Are

Free

So in that understanding I can more than sing these words:

Chains be broken

Lives be healed

Eyes be opened 

For Christ is revealed.

That's what I shared today. For those of you who were there, I hope you were encouraged. I also hope you were encouraged to encourage the people around you in this same truth. For those of you reading this, I hope you are encouraged as well. And I hope you are encouraged to encourage those around you in this same truth. 

People need to know that they can come to God just as they are. [Please please know that!] No fixing. No perfecting. Not even "cleaning up your act a little". There is no condemnation for those who find their identity in Jesus Christ. You are declared perfect in the eyes of God. And there is absolutely no room for judgement on the Christians's part. We are just as messed up as anyone else. In fact, most of us are more screwed up. That's why we need Jesus. By our own admission, we need a Savior. Thank you Jesus :)

God please open our eyes to see and experience this wonderful truth. 

Mmmm.

Happy Sunday!

Love,