Right before my tenth birthday, I heard the gospel for the first time.
It was a crisp fall evening in a white stucco church in my tiny hometown.
The message the traveling evangelist shared that night captured my heart.
He told me that Jesus Christ was God’s Son and that He came to this earth to die on a cross for my sin so that I would not spend eternity in Hell.
He quoted John 3:16: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (NASB).
But when I heard the “God so loved the world” part, it was as if God zoomed in on me, causing me to hear, “Kim, I love you so much that I died on a cross for you, so that you could spend forever in Heaven with Me.”
He personalized John 3:16 so that I wouldn’t hear it as if I was just clumped together with the billions of others whom “God so loved.”
Jesus died for me—Kimberly Kay Hamilton, daughter of Jim and Kay Hamilton from Mobeetie, Texas.
It was like He was saying, “Kim, if you would have been the only sinner on this earth, I would have gone through the cross just for you.”
And the tangible love that I felt that night drew me to an altar—where I prayed with a nice church lady, asking Jesus to come live in my heart.
That night, I only understood a smidgeon of the gospel: Jesus died for me.
Since then, I’ve learned so much more about Christ’s finished work on the cross on my behalf—all because of His great love for me (John 19:28–30; Rom. 5:8).
I’ve learned that, not only did Jesus die for me, but He literally died in my place.
I was a sinner, separated from a holy God and my sins deserved punishment (Ex. 34:7; Num. 14:18; Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:23; 6:23).
But Jesus didn’t want me to suffer the punishment for my sins.
Instead, He literally took my place on the cross, substituting Himself for me (Isa. 53:5–6; Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:14; 1 Thess. 5:9–10; 1 Pet. 2:24).
So, not only did Jesus die for me, He died in my place, because of His great love for me.
What about you, dear reader?
Has Jesus’ death on the cross become personal for you?
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on a cross to take away your sin (John 3:16; Romans 5:8)?
Do you believe that He rose again to give you eternal life in Him? (Rom. 5:10; 1 Pet. 1:3).
Have you called on His name to be saved, opening the door of your life to Him? (Rom. 10:13; Rev. 3:20).
If you answered yes to the previous three questions, then you can rest easy in the assurance that you have eternal life in Christ (1 John 5:13).
Now, why don’t you relax, take a deep breath, and put yourself into receiving mode as you read the following words from your Beloved:
“My joy, I long for you to understand the splendid significance of what I did on your behalf at the cross.”
“I was pierced through for everything you’ve ever done and ever will do wrong.”
“The sins of your lifetime were literally taken away from you (just as if you had never committed them) and transferred into My body (just as if I were the One who committed them).”
“And then I allowed Myself to be punished—beaten, bruised, broken, and slaughtered—so that you could be forever made whole.”
“This may be difficult for you to comprehend, but I loved you even before you were born.”
“Before one thought of Me entered your mind.”
“Before you could do anything to merit My love.”
“And I was right there loving you when you committed the worst, most shameful (in your mind) sin of your life.”
“Yes, your sin was great, but My grace is greater than all your sin.”
“I love you, no matter what you do or don’t do.”
“And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“It is what it is.”
“I AM who I AM.”
“I am unconditional love, and nobody will ever love you like I love you.”
“You are the love of My life!”
“Anticipating the joy of eternal union with you was how I endured the horrifying violence of the cross.”
“I paid the ultimate price so that we could be joined together forever in love.”
“And if I had to, I would go through it all over again to capture your heart.”
“But I don’t have to.”
“Once was enough to secure our happily forever after!”
I hope you enjoyed today’s post which contains an excerpt from my newest book, Fifty Days in His Pursuing Love Devotional.
I also want to encourage you to take some time to meditate on the Scripture basis for today’s post in order to get your mind renewed with truth.
You will love the transformation that takes place in your life when you are walking in truth (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:16; 3 John 1:4)!
*If you enjoyed this post, then I think you would enjoy both of my books where I share the undiluted, unpolluted love and grace of God.
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