Yesterday's gone!

Nick Vujicic is a literally a walking miracle!!!  I say that because Nick was born without arms or legs - he tried to drown himself when he was just 10 years old - can you believe that? - fortunately for us he couldn't do it - GOD HAD A PLAN FOR HIS LIFE

He has such a remarkable testimony he is so sure that just a glimpse of Jesus can change a life so much - when you are broken and really in despair - Give your all to Jesus - He can take you through each day - If you hold on to Jesus your yesterdays are gone and forgotten, along with your guilt along with your shame along with your hopelessness and despair.

With Jesus He will help you start all over again when you are broken - Here is the link to his song and testimony - I pray that it will help you as much as did me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrV_ZvwZRvw

Jesus will capture your heart in a very special way and if your testimony is anything like mine your heart will need capturing in a big way - I was such a slave to sin.

Yet Jesus turned me around - I had wondered far and wide and turned my back on the precious Lord Jesus who shed His blood for me on the dark but beautiful day on Calvary all those years ago.

God is my refuge in my storms - He is far beyond the ocean waves and when I go through the raging times I will not be overcome I am not afraid. God is with me all the time. God keeps His promises - and I know He will see me through.

God has won the battle and he is beside me at all times and he knows the battles I face and he will definitely see me through.

You too can have this amazing certainty in your life too. Changing hearts is really up to God and if we as offenders come to God in true repentance then He will turn us completely around and make us into new creations washed clean by His shed blood.

In Isaiah 43 and verse 25 God says through Isaiah very plainly that He blots out our sins/transgressions and he chooses to forget our sins entirely. It is most interesting because God is almighty and created the world of course He CHOOSES not to remember - Amazing you must agree.

God's amazing forgiveness helps us to 'put to bed' finally, our past whatever our past entails. God choosing to forget our past enables us to move ahead stepping out with Him and having Him to guide wherever he would take us.

God could so easily treat us all as we deserve but instead He gave us a way out and sent Jesus to be our penalty payer and in Psalm 103 and verse 12 He tells us exactly how far he has removed our past from us - look it up it is unmeasureable.

Does this mean that we no longer sin when we become His? Unfortunately no - we still have that old self living inside of us but like so many recorded in the Bible we can forget what is behind us and step out boldly with God knowing He will not only forgive us but He chooses to forget our sins and put them behind His back.

With God you can live every day just as He has ordained for your life - you can put behind you the past with your sins and foibles - you can move ahead into a new life with Jesus.

In Philippians 3:13 Paul tells how he and we can forget what is behind and we can look forward to what lies ahead - what a great encouragement is that! YESTERDAY IS GONE and with Jesus beside us we can take each day as it comes to us with all of it's troubles and woes with all of its happiness and love in fact anything that this world dishes out to us.

Once we have repented of past sins and failures, no matter what they are, God, in His mercy and love and forgiveness will not hold us accountable for any of them.

Sure we mess up - I am the King of mess ups, but I know that God forgives me and washes me clean each and every time. I praise Him for that. This is another reason that SueAnn and I love writing because we both want to proclaim EXACTLY what Christ has done for us and He can do EXACTLY the same for you!

Make today a very special day in your life. Repent of your past sins and turn to Jesus right now.
In fact if you pray a prayer, from your heart and honestly mean it in your own words, something like this:-

Dear Lord, today I ask that you forgive my past
Please take my life and help me to step out with you
Lord I confess you as Lord and Saviour
Fill me with your spirit and make me your child
Help me when I mess up to come to you knowing that you love me
Thank you for your forgiveness.

Once again my beautiful friend from Lubbock Texas - Felicia Galey has inspired me to include a song from my friends in the Solomon Islands called  'One day at a Time'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qxYPE3xm8Q

May God go with you this week as He and you put your past well and truly where it belongs - in the  past. And know for sure that God in His love will choose to forget and forgive

The Hero of Harlem - the Subway Superman

Wesley Autrey the Hero of Harlem - The 2007 Subway Superman - What brought this guy to be included in the list of 100 men and women whose power or moral example transformed the world?

That year was extra special for Wesley:-

This was written by Donald Trump in 2007 and I quote:-

"Autrey, 51, was waiting for the subway in New York when a young man suffered a seizure and fell onto the tracks. A train was coming into the station, and Autrey knew the man would be killed, so he quickly jumped onto the tracks and covered the man with his body.

Autrey does construction work, and he has good instincts about confined spaces. He realised there might be a chance of survival if he could keep the man still until the train passed.

It passed over them with inches to spare, so close that there was grease on Autrey's cap from the train.
I have great respect for construction workers and Wesley Autrey is a great example of why I do. They work hard, and every day requires courage. Autrey automatically became an influential person by merit of his extraordinary bravery, which I hope will encourage and inspire other people to follow his example."

WOW!! What a story - when I was reading about Wesley's act of bravery I was gobsmacked to say the least - It really made me wonder if I would even think of doing such a thing in such a split second?

I am awestruck by that man's courage and bravery in saving the life of 20 year-old film student  Cameron Hellopeter.

When I had time to digest exactly what Wesley had done my mind traveled to another Hero - a Spiritual Hero - A hero of mighty proportions - A Hero of incredible fortitude and courage and a Hero who not only was prepared to lay down His life for one man but willingly laid down His life for all of us.

Yes! you guessed it - Our Lord and Saviour - JESUS the Christ.

The moral courage of Jesus is beyond words - more than mortal man can ever express - His bravery and love for mankind is above and beyond anything that has gone before and will ever be seen in the future.

On the night Jesus was handed over to be crucified, he knew what lay ahead of him and He knew what the Garden of Gethsemane held for him - a band of brutal soldiers - a so-called friend and colleague plotting his downfall for mere monetary gain - A hostile throng of people - He knew what was coming.

He could have escaped while the going was good - He could have hidden anywhere - I'm positive without the slightest doubt that the rest of his disciples would have assisted him if he had confided in them.

He could have been taken straight to Heaven right in front of the soldiers eyes or he could have asked His father for a band of mighty warrior angels to surround and protect Him. - He was the Son of God after all!

Those angels could have carried Him away or struck them all dead in an instant but NO! He knew what the Father had sent Him to earth for - he was our Warrior Prince of Peace, The MIGHTY King of Kings - His courage to stand alone and accept what was inevitable for Him is so awe-inspiring it blows me away.

Jesus stayed in that garden - in the place where He knew he would be arrested - He calmly let the soldiers man-handle him to Pilot and thence to the crowd - whipped beaten, mocked, scorned and finally nailed to a cross to die a criminals death and all for what??

Jesus. the one they sought in the garden that night, willingly gave himself over to be crucified to save us from our sins and often our very dreaded past.

Jesus paid OUR penalties for us - Jesus, the sinless one, offered Himself to die instead of us. He paid the price for your sins and mine that night - He could have easily come down from that cross and I daresay what a HUGE surprise they would have all got had he done so. But NO! he stayed where He was to pay that price for you and me - WHAT LOVE IS THAT!

So what  truths can we take away with us today from such bravery and courage of Jesus?

Jesus died for the ungodly, for the unloved, for the sinners and yes! even for enemies - He prayed for them as they mocked him as they drove those nails into his hands and feet.

Jesus'death paid for your sins - He died in your place assuring you of a place in heaven for eternity with Him but only if you turn to Him and ask Him to lead your life - if you focus on Him and trust Him with all of your heart - not just sometimes but all the time.

Jesus took the wrath of God on Himself and willingly gave up His life for you and me. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2: 24 "Jesus Himself bore our sin in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed".

What amazing love was this? What incredible courage and bravery especially given that He didn't have to do it!

So what are you going to do with Jesus? - He gave all for you - there is a song from way way back called just this WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS? - my dear friend Felicia from Lubbock Texas encourages me to put a song on my blog so here goes. Here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJii3o_gOiU

I love the ending of this song that my 16 year old sister used to sing such a long time ago now - but the last stanza says "One day your heart will be asking - What will he do with me?"

It's such a good question - What will God do with us if we haven't given Him our hearts?

Jesus died for you - that should be enough!

God bless you this week as you contemplate exactly what Jesus did and why - Like Wesley there are many many heroes - putting their own lives at risk to save others.

Hand your life over to Jesus today and put yourself in the loving hands of the greatest hero of all time.