Child of the Most High God

As I was walking into the banquet, everything in me wanted to turn and run the other direction. Have you ever felt like a fish out of water, or that you had just arrived for a stoning to find out it was yours? This is how I felt. I don't know if you know much about Mennonites, but they are what I would call very conservative. The banquet was for Open Door Pregnancy Center, and over half of the 600 attending were either Mennonites, Nazarenes, or Amish. And here I was "dressed for a banquet", wearing a nice dress, high-heal boots, make-up on, hair done. The feeling of being a stripper just about over took me. I have not been one for many years, but in that room, I sure felt like one.

God knew I needed this night. You see God asked me, through The Open Door, to be their speaker (not at the banquet, but in the future) , to bring the message of how wonderful waiting until you are married before having sex can be. A center put together by the conservative of conservatives, and they have asked me to deliver their message to teens. This could truly only be God. There is no other explanation. I know this, but the feeling of condemnation just about got the best of me that night. My focus had turned to myself, instead of keeping my eyes on Christ. This never works, for if I look at myself, I see a pathetic woman who made all of the wrong choices in my life. I see a woman who was the worst of the worst, a sinner by a heathens standards. But if I keep my eyes upon my Lord, then I see His goodness and not my sin. For in reality we are all fallen, I needed Christ's forgiveness no more than anyone in that room. Without Christ, we are all fallen and live in sin. Oh, but how Satan tries to defeat us, before we have even begun. He tries to condemn us, before we even walk in the door. He has a way of trying to turn our focus away from Christ and back to ourselves.

Romans 3, 8, "But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins....Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law... So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death... And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory. What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one—for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us."

Wherever I go, whoever I am around, it does not matter and I should hold my head high. It is Christ who has saved me, and by knowing that, He has given me the power to walk into any crowd. He called me to go, so I must go. As long as I look to Him and keep my focus on Him, I will be fine. Whatever I do, it is for Him. I am only the one passing on His message, it really is not about me at all. It is not about how bad I was or how good I may think I am now, for all have sinned and no one can keep the law. All that matters is Christ. He has come to save us all, no matter where we have traveled. It is about His mighty saving power. It is about His grace. It is about His redeeming love. It is about the Cross. Romans 10:8-11, “'The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.' And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.'” There is no condemnation in Christ. When that feeling tries to overcome you, hold your head high, for you are a child of the Most High God.

Oswald Chambers, "Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . 2 Corinthians 2:14 We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . ." ( 2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God."

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/10/24/devotion.aspx?year=2009