UNCHANGING Grace.

You are worth more than the value that you’ve placed on yourself. I was listening to the radio this morning and this lady was talking about how she really struggled with believing that God would want to have anything to do with her because her life was just so messed up. The radio guy was talking to her about it and it really made sense.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He was mocked. Called names. Tortured. Whipped. Beaten. And then, ultimately, he gave His life.

And did He deserve any of that? No.

At any point during that, He could have stopped. He could have given up. He could have just been like, “Oh hey. Why am I even doing this?”

But He didn’t.

He deserved NOTHING of what He was put through, and yet He did it with complete&pure love. He prayed and said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

He knew that in our hearts, even though we were acting with hate, we knew not what we were doing.

So why on earth would Jesus allow all of that to be done to Himself, and then look at the little mess we make in our lives and think, “mmm no. That’s crossing the line.”

Guys, that’s the thing about God’s love. It’s unchanging. God loves you and always has. He loved you before you were born, He loves you now, and He will always.

Feelings aside, situations aside, family problems aside, His love and grace are unchanging. Even though the storms of our lives might rage, His grace doesn’t change.

And that doesn’t mean life is any easier. It just means that we have a reason to have hope. Our Bible study this week at church was about the second reading (for those of ya’ll who aren’t Catholic, it’s the reading we read at Church for this Sunday). It’s one of my favorites. 1 Peter 3:15-18

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.  For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Don’t just skim over that because I copied and pasted a Bible verse..go back and actually read it(:

“Give an answer to anyone who asks for a reason for your hope.”

What reason do we have for our hope? We must think about this! We are challenged to remember what it really is that makes all of this not just “worth it” but TOTALLY AMAZING.

Christ died for you. He gave up His life for US even though WE were the ones putting Him to death.

That, my friends, is true love.

So look at your life. You may think you’ve got 99 problems and you don’t need some organized religion to be a part of them.

And I totally get that. But just, for a second here, try to have an open heart.

Everyone always says, “It’s not about the religion, it’s about the relationship.”

But for me it’s about both. Without the relationship, the religion is jibberish. It’s totally meaningless. But without the religion, we cannot grow. You may think you don’t need the church, but what if the church needs YOU? Sometimes people underestimate just how much their questions and concerns can really help others to grow in their faith.

God is CRAZY about you. He loves you dearly, and it breaks His heart to see His loved ones falling away from Him. It breaks Him more when they don’t even know that He really, really wants them back.

Think about this… I’m pretty sure everyone has had somebody in their life who has drifted away. Someone you used to be good friends with, and then, something happened (or nothing happened, just time), and you weren’t good friends anymore.

Then we all have those people in our lives that you can go 6 months or a year or even two without seeing them, sit down and talk, and suddenly, you’re right back where you left off.

If you feel like you have drifted from God, here’s the thing.

He wants you back very BADLY. There’s NOTHING in the world you can do to separate yourself from His love. You may have done things you regret, but His grace is UNCHANGING.

Just remember it.

Life changes. Grace doesn’t.

Sorry for the extremely long post…just wanted to throw that out there. Hopefully that can help somebody, somewhere.

I can’t believe that in 5 days, I’m going to be in Honduras. It’s CRAZY. I started packing today and my suitcase is 10 pounds under the weight limit but it is crammed full of stuff.

I don’t know what to expect, but I’m going into it with an open mind and an open heart, and I’m giving the week to God. So yeah.

I love you all! My ask box is always open if you need anything at all.

Jesus loves you. His grace is unchanging.