“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove you from your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.� Ezekiel 36:26

 God has been teaching me a heck of a lot during these two weeks I’ve been gone. I feel as if I’ve been in an intense therapy session while I’ve been here, which is good. Really good. It’s been eye-opening to say in the least.
For my entire life, I’ve always looked at myself as a mere “sinner saved by grace.� And while that may be true, I’ve missed out on the rest of the Gospel. The reason that Jesus rose from the grave was so that I may have new life. And in John 14, he told the disciples that he would send his spirit to dwell among them. And then on the day of Pentecost, that happened. God sent his Holy Spirit to live in our hearts.

So, I’m no longer a sinner saved by grace, but I have the spirit of the Living God in my heart. It’s all about Christ IN me. Christ is alive inside of me. I think it’s taken until now to realize that.
There’s a huge freedom to be found in this truth. I no longer have to strive to earn God’s love because he already looks at me and sees Christ. I think this is why Paul said in Galatians, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.� He already loves me infinitely, so there’s no need to ever have to prove myself righteous. All He wants to do is enjoy me, and have me enjoy Him too.

 â€œThe chasm was far too wide, I never thought I’d reach the other side. But Your love never fails. You stay the same through the ages, Your love never changes.â€�