Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Leaving it at the foot of the Cross...

I've had the privilege of teaching about purity the last two weeks in our youth group and this past week we aimed more for those who had already messed up, those who have fallen, those who need a second chance, and those who just need to give their love life over to God. It was a rather emotional night. You could tell the girls who were allowing God to work in there hearts and the ones that weren't ready to get right with God.

Here is the deal though... we have all made mistakes, done things we wish we wouldn't have, and basically we all have regrets. The other fact though is that God is a God of forgiveness and second chances! Some have made bigger mistakes or they went further than others, but in God's eyes it is all the same. There is NO sin at all that He cant forgive! I'm sure you've heard this all before, but do you believe it? Do you walk around life condemned bc you've messed up or with freedom bc you know that your Lord and Savior has forgiven you for every mishap you have ever had? I choose to live in freedom!

1 John 1:9 says it as plain as day, "If you confess your sins He is faithful and just to cleanse your from all unrighteousness.". Live in the glory of that promise! Satan wants to condemn you... He wants your future relationships to suffer bc of you past ones, but that is not the way our God works...We can move on and without fear! Yes, there may still be things that bring fear, hurt, or pain, but that's life. We do not have to be consumed by it though.

One verse that I absolutely adore (There are many, but this is one in particular!)! It's Revelation 12:11, "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.". I truly believe one of the most powerful ways of placing our past in our past and defeating satan is by sharing out testimony! Now I'm not saying by any means air all your dirty laundry, but there is a healthy way to share your past. Such as, I use this blog to share what God has taught me. Sometimes i share details of my past mistakes and other times I don't. My one and only reason for even writing this blog is to hopefully help and encourage other girls in their walk with Christ and pursuit of purity! I hope you are all still with me! ;)

With all that said, I challenge you to share your testimony! You may be one of those girls who have never really made mistakes as far as purity.... PRAISE GOD! There are still things that He has taught you in your life though! Feel free to comment and share briefly (Or non briefly for all I care!) your testimony or if you would like to do a whole post on your blog about it that would be great also! You never know who is right now going through something you've been through that by just saying, "Hey I made it through and so can you!" can help lighten their load! I try to read as many blogs as possible, but if you do share your testimony on your blog please comment and let me know so that I can make sure I read it! I love you girls and with everything in me desire you to live a life free of condemnation!

With care,
JEN

P.S. The reason I'm posting tonight is bc I'm going to be gone to the beach Friday!! WOO HOO! I cant wait to hear what Kat has to share with us!! :)

4 comments:

Katherine said...

Thanks for sharing this! Very encouraging-because I have messed up in the area of purity- and of course other areas! But G-D is greater than we are! Amen!

Blessings,
Katherine

Anonymous said...

I love the fact that this is true - that no sin is too big for God to wash us clean of! Amen!

As for my testimony...I did a post about this back in January (it's pretty rambly and I'm not entirely sure I've explained it in such a way that it makes sense, but you can read it if you want). :) I've put it up because I so desperately want to show girls who follow the world's ways, and believe what my friend A calls 'demonic lies' - that you have to live exactly how magazines tell us to in order to be happy, amongst other things - that Jesus has a much better way for us to live! My heart breaks when I see young teenage girls (ages 13-15) completely sold to the world's ways, who are are unhappy and desperately need to hear the Good News, so hopefully any girls who read your blog will read this post of mine. :)

Sorry about this massively long comment - I hope you don't mind!

Here's the link: http://anneliese-loves-life.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-testimony.html

God bless you for this awesome ministry of yours!

Hayley Kathryn said...

Great post! Such an encouragement to me. I struggled for a long time as a teen trying to overcome my mistakes from a past relationship. I just did not believe that my sins could or even should be washed away. With God's help I was able to forgive myself for what I had done in the past. Praise God for always giving us another chance!
I always take the opportunity to share my testimony to young girls, hoping they will learn from my mistakes or can find comfort knowing that they too can be forgiven.

Blessings-

Jess said...

wow.. so i try to keep up on here but forgot about your blog for a while and when i read this i knew it was written for me! i was just asked by our youth center director ( where i'm on staff at ) to share my testimony next week at youth center. first of all i was super scared. i had made lots of mistakes especially in my past relationship... but i really want to share it i just feel like i dont know how to explain it... i guess scared/ashamed/embarrassed. thanks for the encouragement God bless you