God Spoke + Remember

These past few days have been interesting in terms of what God is doing in my life and what he is teaching me.

I'll start with yesterday. I received an encouraging phone call from somebody from my church. He called to encourage me because he knew I had been discouraged lately. I really appreciate when people care enough to call and ask how I am doing and be genuine when they are asking...really cool. Anyways the call was encouraging but the best part of the call was when the man started to talk like he was God....I recognize this sounds weird..so hear me out. Throughout the call he was talking like himself saying things about God...such as "Your Father loves you and doesn't condemn you" etc etc.(this is a paraphrase...I can't remember he exact wording)  But at one point the man on the phone started to talk as he was God...(not on purpose or trying to be like God...it just WAS God talking to me through this man). He started to talk as if he was the Father.saying things like "I sent my son to die for you and I have written your name in the book of like" etc etc. (again a paraphrase) Like...no joke...God spoke to me through this man. I wonder if this is making any sense...??? Anyway...when this was happening I was crying because God is so loving and encouraging. All I could do was thank him and tell him I loved him too (silently...not to the man on the phone). I felt so blessed tat God chose me to talk to....wow! How do you come down from a high like that? Maybe this sounds crazy to some of you...but I know it was God and it was so beautiful. I can't wait to meet him face to face one day :)  *Hopefully the caller doesn't mind me posting this..and if he does I apologize!*

On to today. I listened to a sermon that was really good. It was based on Ephesians 2:11-13, which says:

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹²remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.


These verses may not seem too significant...but they are! Paul is asking the Ephesians to remember to when they were not Christ followers...but why? He wants them to remember what life was like before Christ because it sucked and they need to remember that so they can see how great they have it now with Christ in their life. Also it is easy for us to because proud and to look down on others...but if we remember what life was like before Christ...we can see that we are no different from others. We're all sinners...we've all followed the devil at one point in time..nobody can boast. We can't even boast that we are Christ followers because we didn't save ourselves...Christ saved us. So we cannot boast. Remembering is a good thing because it humbles us and it makes up appreciate what Christ did for us. 


Sometimes I forget what Christ saved me from. Since I became a Christian at a young age...I don't remember what life was like without Christ.I don't know the loneliness and hopelessness of it. But in the sermon, Matt had a good point. Sometimes when kids are separated from their parent(s) while in a store, the child panics. They start crying and are anxious to see their parent(s) again. When the kid finally sees their parent(s), they immediately stop crying, smile and run toward their parent(s). This was us. We were lost...now we're found. I now pray that God will show me what life was like before him whether in my own life or through other things in this world (such as a child being separated from their mom or dad for a short period of time) I think we often forget why Christ died and what He saved us from. 


So remember because you didn't have hope..and now you do.