I was love-starved

and now I am beloved

 

I was existing

and now I am thriving

 

I was invisible

and now I am seen

 

I was aimless

and now I have purpose

 

I was a mess

and now I am His messenger

 

I was lost

and now I am  aligned with God

 

I was confused

and now I see clearly

 

I was hopeless

and now I am hopelessly in love

 

I was directionless

and now I am Holy Spirit directed

 

I was confined in my sin

and now I am confidant in my redemption

 

I was empty

and now I am full of Him

 

I was drowning

and now I am saved

 

I was dead

and now I am alive!

 

Life before Jesus

 

and after Jesus

 

The Divine Difference

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!

– Luke 15:32 (NLT)  

 

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.  He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

– Ephesians 2:1-10 (NLT)

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

– 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

 

It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put Me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

– John 5:24 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart