Glorious Day (Living He loved me) ~Casting Crowns

Baby Update:
I am huge. Seriously huge. Baby is huge. Ginormously huge. Water levels are insane.
That's the simple part. I have a post in mind of just the funny reactions I get in my daily life to my big belly. I feel so bad for moms of twins or triplets. What must their days be like?! Anyway, I've been having some pain in my scar area, so today my Dr and I are going to talk about maybe grabbing this girl a couple weeks early (yes please!!). God's timing is infinitely better than mine, so despite my discomfort, I'm praying for peace and trust that He will guide us through this process. Only He knows what's best and I believe Him when He says He will care for me.

Ok, now to the real post. For months now I've been wishing I could talk to the man who told my Dad about the Lord. I imagine sitting with him over coffee and just weeping my thanks to him. I believe that God alone calls us to Himself, but I also believe He uses His followers as tools in that process. God would have pursued my Dad relentlessly and who knows how many tried to talk to him before this man. But something about what this man had to say captured my father's attention and changed his entire life course.
I remember sitting in church one Sunday evening in high school and listening in horror to my father's testimony. He was a definite bad man. Bad, bad man. I was shocked at the things he admitted to doing. Now I just see how amazing it is - what God has done in his life. I've even been envious at times. He has this incredible before and after. I grew up with God's Word and Truth as part of my daily life. If ever I have gone to my Dad with a problem or question, he will lead me right back to God and what His Word says.I believed in God and the salvation of Jesus Christ as a young child and my faith hasn't wavered. I always thought something was missing - the "bad girl turned faithful" part of the story.
Unfortunately, I had some rebellious years where I think I was trying to create that. All I got for it was a whole lot of heartache and shame.
BUT - God is good and gracious and kind and He still had my heart and life in His hands. He really protected me from things I could have done to make life a lot worse.
In the same way that I am so, so very grateful to the man that led my Father to the Lord, I am so increadibly thankful to the women who invited my mom to Precept Bible Study. She began attending when I was a young girl and there were times I would go with her and help in the nursery. Once I had Little Miss and became a stay-at-home mom, I joined Precept and have been attending as faithfully as I can ever since. It's really more of a class setting than a normal Bible Study. The "homework" is time consumiung and thought-provoking. The author of the study doesn't spend a lot of time sharing what she thinks. The entire study is focused on getting the "student" in God's Word; to read it over and over and listen to what HE has to say about it.
So my point in all this? Currently in Precept, we are studying the book of Romans. It's intense, let me tell you. And I'm seeing things I haven't totally connected before.
When you're raised in a Christian home and attend Christian school, it's easy to be overloaded with information and opinions and forget to go back to the Bible and just read what God Himself has to say. To be sure, it can be confusing and it seems there are a million opinions out there about what is actually said. But, I honestly believe if everyone studied the Bible just as it is, in it's entirety (taking into account Genesis through Revelation) we would all (for the most part) agree with what it said. Anyway. My assignment for Precept today, was to write a letter to someone explaining what I've learned this week. I thought I'd blog instead :)
It's so easy to simply say to someone - Jesus died for our sins. But what does that mean? Are all really sinners? Why? I'll quickly share a little of what I'm re-learning:
We are all born sinners: Psalm 51:5.
Adam's (and Eve's)choice to disobey God put the heavy burden of sinful nature on all of us: Romans 5:12-21(remember, they had been generously given every tree in the world to eat except for one - the knowledge of good and evil. God knew that choosing the fruit of that tree would seperate men from Him forever and that would result in their death. Eve was deceived by Satan into thinking God didn't have her best interest at heart, so she ate the fruit and shared with her husband, who definitely knew better)
We all choose to sin. We decide to do wrong constantly. Ever lie? Ever have an impure thought or daydream? Ever bad mouth someone? Ever put things in your life before God? Romans 3:10-12,23.
There's no getting away from sin. We can't very well change being human, or change the decision of someone thousands of years ago. It's even impossible to willfully obey all of the time. Even the most "perfect" of all people can't seem to help themselves.
From the minute Adam and Eve disobeyed, God longed to be reconciled to man. He knew that the only way for us to be made right with Him again would take action on His part (we are that helpless and hopeless). He who was wronged decided to make it right. That's where Jesus and His life here with us comes into place. This song states it pretty well:
Living He loved me.
Dying He saved me.
Buried He carried my sins far away.
Rising He justified freely forever.
One day He's coming: O glorious day!
All of us, every single one, from the oldest person on earth, to this little girl still growing in my womb, from the holiest saint to the lowliest sinner, needs to be reconciled to God: John 3:18, Acts 26:18, Romans 7:25, Galations 3:22, Ephesians 2:1-3, 2 Thessalonians 1:8,9, Titus 1:15...the Bible is all about God's plan of reconciliation to His people. Embrace it! Return to Him! Be reconciled!
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ." Ephesians 2:4-5