What I Learned In Church Today...

Today our church Harbor City Church in Aberdeen had a visitin pastor, Pastor Michael Hurley who preached on Don't Forget. Wow! He said some very amazing and thought provoking things when he said, many of us put ourselves down, doubt our abilities because we FORGET that Jesus died on the cross for us, that we have been saved by God's scandalous grace.

The enemy comes to steal and kill our joy, our dreams, our belief in ourselves and even sometimes our memories and he replaces it with self loathing, anxiety, worry and doubt. What a shame that so many of us fall into this pit (myself included) totally forgetting what Jesus has done for us, where we have been, where we are now and how He has carried us.

What hit me so deeply was when he said that our personal testimony of how we came to accept Jesus has the very same power as the blood of the lamb, but the devil has tried to take our value away from us making us believe our testimony means nothing!

He shared with us the following and I feel compelled to share it with you, so that if you are struggling as I do everyday that if you read this and realize we can not forget all that Jesus has done for us, we must remember!

Don't Forget
1. He was despised so you and I could be respected. (Don't we all as humans want to be respected by our family, friends, spouse, bosses?)
2. He was rejected so we could be accepted. (Without Christs rejection, we couldn't be saved and get into heaven)
3. He was acquainted with grief so we could rejoice. (How could we rejoice if we didn't know grief and if Jesus hadn't taken our sins?)
4. He carried our sorrows so we could carry His joy! (He took our sins so we didn't have to)
5. He was stricken, smitten and afflicted for us.
6. He was wounded for our transgressions. (He hung on the cross for us)
7. He was bruised for our iniquities.
8.He was chastised for our peace.
9. By his stripes, we are healed!
10. The Lord liad our iniquities on Him.
11. He was oppressed so we could be free.
12. He was afflicted so we could be blessed.
13. He opened not His mouth. So as to bless us. (How many people do you know that will take your punishment without trying to defend themselves?)
14. He was led as a lamb to slaughter for me.
15. He was taken from prison and judgement for me. (He took our punishment)
16. He was cut off from the land of the living and died for us.
17.They made his grave with the wicked so I could live with the saints.

This was a real eye opener for me, I was just sitting there listening and saying yes, this happened, so why am I so anxious at times or why do I worry. Because, even I forget. Make your week a great one and Don't Forget!