So Jesus said again,  “I assure you:  I am the door of the sheep.  All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.  A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.  I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.   John 10:7-10  HCSB

Are you missing out on all the awesome things that God offers?  Are you missing out on his mercy and amazing grace?  If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9). We talked yesterday about how once we confess of our sins and repent and God forgives us, that he forgets about them and removes them far from us.  (Isaiah 43:25, Psalm 103:12).  This holds true no matter what we’ve done.  No matter how unforgivable you may think your sin is, God will forgive you if you turn to him and confess your sins and are truly sorry and are committed to stopping your life of sin.  God will forgive you.  He will fill you with His Holy Spirit to help you refrain from falling back into sin.

Are you missing out on the awesome protection that God offers?  Psalm 91 makes some awesome promises, but they are only for those that choose to live in God’s will.  They are for those that choose to make God their refuge and their fortress.  God doesn’t abduct us and make us live the way he wants us to live.  He gives us a choice.  If you have never read Psalm 91, then I strongly encourage you to read it.  It’s only 16 verses long, but it helps to calm the anxious soul.  It lists just about everything that we could possibly face and assures us that God will shelter us.  In verses 11-12 it says,  For He will give His angels orders concerning you, to protect you in all your ways.  They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.  I would love to recite the entire Psalm for you, but I will refrain since you can read it for yourself.  If you are fearful, take time to pray this Psalm.

Are you missing out on God’s love?  We know that God loves us unconditionally, no matter what, right (Romans 5:8)?  But we also know that our own sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2).  I need you to wrap your head around this.  No matter what you have done, God loves you.  He  wants you to come to Him.  He will not force you, but He wants you to come.  If you have fallen into sin and don’t feel very loved right now, know this.  You can turn to God.  You can come to Him and confess your sin and repent.  He already knows anyway.  If you are ready to exchange your sin for an eternity of God’s love, He is waiting with open arms.  All you have to lose is misery.  Trust me, I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt.

Are you missing out on the peace that passes all understanding?  Philippians 4:7 tells us that the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I have lived the life filled with turmoil and chaos and let me tell you, I have given all that over to God and now my life is filled with peace.  It doesn’t mean things always go my way, it just means  that even when they don’t I know that God is working them out for my good (Romans 8:28).  It means that I know that God’s got this.  I know that if I focus on God, He will take care of everything else (Matthew 6:33-34).  I know that I can cast all my cares (Psalm 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7) on the Lord and that He will take care of me.

Are you missing out on the unending joy?  John 15:11 says,  I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.  John chapter 15 begins with Jesus using the illustration of the vine and branches.  Just as a branch will wither and die when it is separated from the vine, we will not flourish when we are apart from God.  We know that our sin separates us from God and we know that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23).  Our joy is found in our Lord and Savior.

Have you ever waited for that item that you really wanted to go on sale only to find that the sale ended the day before you saw the sale paper?  We all miss out on some things in life.  But one thing you want to be sure that you don’t miss out on is eternal salvation.  As Christians, we know that we will go through hard times.  However, we know that we can endure them because of the love that God has for us.  We know that we can do all things through Christ, even those things that we alone may not be strong enough to do (Philippians 4:13).  We can rely on His strength.  We can count on His protection.  We know that He sent his Son to save us from our sin. This helps to give us that peace that passes all understanding.  This helps to give us an unshakable joy.  If you are missing out, you don’t have to be.  You can turn to God.  You can have all that a life lived with Him has to offer.  Turn to God, confess your sins, ask Him to forgive you, ask Him to help you give up your sinful ways.  You will be so glad you did.

Have a great day!