Saturday, August 23, 2014

One More Year

Today is a very special day.  Today is the day I celebrate one more year of being a Daughter of the King!  Yes, today is my spiritual birthday.  God has given me 28 years to love Him and serve Him.  I'll admit, I haven't always done my best, and sometimes I'm not a very good soldier.  How grateful I am that His mercies are new every morning!!
As I am typing this, I am listening to the radio station that my missionary friends in Japan have.   About the only word I understand in Japanese is "Konichiwa" (I had to check and make sure I spelled that right!), but they play a lot of instrumental music.  Every song this morning has been exactly what I have needed to hear!  (This radio station is extra-special, because the missionary's wife (who is one of my dearest friends) and I have the same spiritual birthday!)
In my mind's eye, I see a little girl sitting in church.  She normally sits right next to her parents, but this Sunday she is sitting at the other end of the pew.  It is invitation time, and her heart is quaking.  She has just heard her Preacher preach a message about unsaved church members.  She is wondering how Preacher knew the condition of her heart, when she realizes the Holy Spirit is prompting her to go forward and get her salvation settled.  "How can I?" she thinks.  "Everyone thinks I'm already saved.  What will people say?"  Putting her pride and the opinions of people aside, she goes forward and tells her Preacher that she needs to be saved.  Her Preacher's wife takes her to Preacher's office and shows her the plan of salvation.  The verses were not new - she has known those verses for a long time!  But this Sunday is different...she moved those verses and that knowledge from her head to her heart!  She prayed and received Christ as her personal Saviour!
28 years later.....Now that little girl is all grown up.  She is married and has three dear children of her own.  She has had the privilege of living in the Philippines, and now she gets to live in Peru.  She has the blessing of serving the Lord with her family.  They work together to reach the Deaf for Christ.
I never could have imagined all the things the Lord had in store for me that Sunday morning I sat in Preacher's office and asked Jesus to live in my heart!  Now I sit here typing these words, listening to a Japanese radio station play "Wonderful Grace of Jesus."  I have a little boy sitting on my lap, asking me if the song on the radio is about Jesus in Heaven.  I find myself thinking about that song "Wonderful Grace of Jesus."  I used to sing that song with my Mom when we were in the car on our way to town.  I always loved singing that song with Mom, along with "Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul."  I liked them because they were the longest songs in the songbook!  I loved them because my Mom would sing them to me during thunderstorms so I wouldn't be afraid.  I love them now because they remind me of my Mom, who is now in Heaven.  I love them because they remind me that the grace of Jesus really IS wonderful!
28 years....the years have gone by so quickly!  How grateful I am that Jesus died to save me!  Beloved, do you know that Jesus died to save you?  He is no respecter of persons.  He died on the cross for you - no matter what you've done or where you've been.  He loves you.  If you have never accepted His free gift of salvation, won't you accept Him today?

1 comment:

  1. Happy belated birthday, Aunt Sarah! <3 I hope you had a lovely day. I'm so glad hat you listen to the station and find it a blessing! I pray everyday for it as it plays that it will be a blessing to someone(s).

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