| That None Should Perish Ministries |
| The Battle Within-2 Thank the Lord for Second Chances (...and thirds, and forths, and...) |
| As I sat in church one morning singing "I went to the enemies camp and took back what he stole from me" I started to think back on all the miracles the Lord has done in my life. I have come from a life of dealing and using drugs, of hurting everyone around me, mainly the ones I cared for the most. It is amazing how deceived we can get and all the things in our lives that we treasure that we allow the enemy to take away from us. I remembered back to the first time that I prayed to God that I would begin to be a blessing to the ones around me and not a curse. That, instead of me using my life to fulfill my selfish desires, that I would use it to share with the other lost, desperate, and hurting people out there the hope and peace I have found in Jesus. Today, instead of always being worried about only my problems, and my concerns, I try to spend more time caring for the needs of others. Now don't get me wrong, I'm no saint and I still fight this ugly flesh like everyone else, but today I try to remember that if it wasn't for the Lord, I would not be here at all. Being saved from more near death experiences than I can remember, I believe I am living on borrowed time, time that is not my own. I know the Lord saved me because He loves me, but I also know He saved me for much more. I believe He saved me so I could share what He has done for a man the world had given up on, a man that was beyond hope, hopeless in most of the world's eyes, even in my eyes most of my life. Well as I said, I still make mistakes. But now I have learned that instead of after making a mistake, where I would normally listen to the voices that would say "There you go again" or "You will never change" or "There is no hope for you" I now pick myself up(with His help), dust myself off and go on. I continue moving forward, instead of what we are all tempted to do, which is to sit down, give up, and generally fall back even farther. Today, with His help, I can get up right where I fell and continue on, this time hopefully learning a lesson from it, instead of just taking another beating. Today, I just don't give up, and He hasn't given up on me either. And He will never give up on you. What an awesome and gracious God we serve. I truly stand in awe of Him. I pray that each and every one of us will be able to see ourselves through God's eyes, as the beautiful and strong men and women of God that He made us all to be. May the scales be permanently removed from our eyes and may we always pick ourselves up and keep moving forward, with His help. Jamie Cox |
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