A Wedged Bear in a Great Tightness

26. March 2010 by Starr.

Friends, grab a cup of hot tea, a soda, water bottle, XS energy drink (preferrably) or whatever is your poison, and chat with me a moment.  Lets talk about addictions, lies, cover-ups.  Now, just as soon as you read that, the enemy will suggest to you something like this….”This doesn’t sound good.  Run!” 

You know something?  He’s wrong.  The enemy today wants to tell you that whatever addiction, lie, or cover-up you are facing today, cannot be combatted.  It’s just too big for you and you are just stuck.  Ever seen the Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree video?  Remember the one where Pooh gets stuck in the hole that is Rabbit’s front door?  He is a “wedged bear in a great tightness.”  We get ourselves (and many times with the enemy’s help!!) in these situations.

While stuck there, we waste time, effort, love, money, and the list goes on and on.  We begin to think there is no other option.  We begin to think it becomes unforgiveable.  We begin to think that we are thinking of nothing else, that’s when many things become addictions.

Folks, let me tell you something true.  When Christ saved me, He reached into the bottom of the slime and when I say that, I mean it….in the bottom of the pit, and I honestly think He was looking for the very most unlikely person, the most unservant-like person, the one most covered in goo, and said…”Huh, I’ll save that one.”  When He saved me, He really had ALOT to save me from. 

Let me tell you this, also, when He began using me, I STILL didn’t have it all together and guess what?  I still don’t.  I probably (no, I’m sure of it…let me rephrase).  I never will.  Friends, we will never have it all together, but we can still try.  My point is, when we are stuck in that great tightness, like Pooh in that hole, through prayer and forgiveness and salvation, and alot of heaving we can get unstuck.  We will still make mistakes. 

Right now, as I write this, I am thinking of a dear friend DL who I pray forgives me for some wrongness and misunderstandings that went on in our friendship.  That’s putting it lightly.  I’m a very flawed person. 

I’m saying this, this morning, friends, because I want you to know that we are all in this together. There are many who follow my blogs, and so many of you I do not know in person.  It saddens me when I see your names on the registration lists and I do not know who you are…but know you are not just names to me, you are friends to me, and I pray for you and I pray over the names on that list.  I want you to know a bit about me, also, as you follow my blogs.  The truth of the real me, not just an imaginary me.  For example, right now, I’m sitting here nibbling an egg mcmuffin, sipping a coca-cola in my pajamas.  I simply want you to know that I’m not one of those people who claim that they were so perfect before Christ that Christ had nothing to save them from in the first place. 

Friends, Christ did save me from so much.  He can from you, too.  

For those who have never given their life to Christ, please read below;

Prayer of Salvation - Our First Real Conversation With God
The “prayer of salvation” is the most important prayer we’ll ever pray. When we’re ready to become a Christian, we’re ready to have our first real conversation with God, and these are its components:

• We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve.
• We confess our past life of sin — living for ourselves and not obeying God.
• We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
• We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us.

Prayer of Salvation - It Begins With Faith in God
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we’re letting God know we believe His Word is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The Bible tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

So, when we pray, asking God for the gift of salvation, we’re exercising our free will to acknowledge that we believe in Him. That demonstration of faith pleases God, because we have freely chosen to know Him.

Prayer of Salvation - Confessing Our Sin
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we’re admitting that we’ve sinned. As the Bible says of everyone, save Christ alone: “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

To sin is simply to fall short of the mark, as an arrow that does not quite hit the bull’s-eye. The glory of God that we fall short of is found only in Jesus Christ: “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

The prayer of salvation, then, recognizes that Jesus Christ is the only human who ever lived without sin. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Prayer of Salvation - Professing Faith in Christ as Savior and Lord
With Christ as our standard of perfection, we’re now acknowledging faith in Him as God, agreeing with the Apostle John that: “In the beginning was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)

Because God could only accept a perfect, sinless sacrifice, and because He knew that we could not possibly accomplish that, He sent His Son to die for us and pay the eternal price. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life..” (John 3:16)

Prayer of Salvation - Say It & Mean It Now!
Do you agree with everything you have read so far? If you do, don’t wait a moment longer to start your new life in Jesus Christ. Pray this with us:

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

Prayer of Salvation - I’ve Prayed It; Now What?
If you’ve prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any different. Religious systems may have led you to believe that you should feel something - a warm glow, a tingle, or some other mystical experience. The fact is, you may, or you may not. If you have prayed the prayer of salvation and meant it, you are now a follower of Jesus. The Bible tells us that your eternal salvation is secure! “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Please email me if you’ve prayed this prayer.  If you have questions, or if you need to find a church near you or just do not know what to do next.  Know this simple thing….the bible tells us that Christ IS love.  That he adopts us as His children.  That He chooses us.  You are so loved, you are adoped by the  King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.  He has a future and a hope for you.  He has a plan and a dream for your life!  The moment you say the sinner’s prayer, your name is written in the Book of Life in Heaven and will receive eternal life.  Isn’t that the most blessed thing?  Friend, you are loved.  Christ has you in His hand.

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