I was recently asked, “How have I and how am I enjoying my salvation?”
……for me
Enjoying my salvation involves me being free from beating myself up from my past, from wondering if there is hope or if I am good enough to be loved….
Sometimes I need to remember that
What is salvation to you?
Justin Ludwig
For as long as I can remember I was unhappy. No matter what I would do or what I would experience nothing ever seemed to take that empty hopeless feeling away. Which is probably the reason why I turned to drugs and alcohol at such a young age. I had found my place in this world, and that was tucked away, disconnected and simply trying to escape from how much it hurt to simply be alive. I won’t go into all of the details of how my life fell apart, but my addiction and self destruction cost me everything. Once my wife and kids left me I made a decision to handle the situation the only way I knew how. I was going to go on one last insane run and just hope that it killed me so I could just be done with all of the sadness.
I remember when I made that depressing decision. I said a prayer to a God I didn’t know and I told Him I didn’t expect Him to help me. I knew He felt the same way about me that I did. That it was my fault and I didn’t deserve saving. I remember thinking, “Who am I to ask for help, I deserve all of this.”
The days rolled on, chaos overlapping chaos until the pain and despair was all that I could see. I had receded into the shadows with no thought of making a change for the better… I had truly given up on myself and there was nothing stopping me from completing my lifelong run of self destruction.
Then one night like every other night I was driving. I looked in my rear view mirror to the twinkling of flashing red and blue lights. I received a 4th DUI which landed me with a felony on top of everything else that was going on in my life. I had no clue, but when that squad car door slammed shut, I had begun down a road that was going to change everything. That felony left me with two choices; I could do a year in state prison or I could go into some program called Teen Challenge.
Repeating similar patterns I decided to take the easy way out and go into the program. My plan was to do my time, play the part and get my felony taken care of so I could go back to my so called life. A month or so into this year long discipleship I was sitting in a worship service scanning my bible. I was just killing time more than anything else and my eyes focused on a single verse. I stared at it and unintentionally I muttered it outloud, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
It was such a comforting statement….I just couldn’t understand why.
So I began to pay attention. I began to learn of a God so different from what I had thought I knew. A God not of condemnation but of neverending love and patience for me, for us. Not disgusted or angry with me like I once thought. Being a father myself, the love of a Father on the divine level really intrigued me and drew me in. Not being able to fathom how much God loves us opened my mind to the infinite.
Through that year with everything that I learned I was convinced. This sounds like a strange way of describing it, but I am a skeptical person by nature. The presence of the Holy Spirit was undeniable. But all of the study, teaching and experience that I was exposed to there showed me that our faith is not a fairy tale, that it’s real.
I graduated in 2013 and immediately got plugged into a local church which is my home church today. I joined a small group to get me plugged in, which evolved into me being the facilitator of an ongoing weekly small group so diverse and loving that my faith and love can’t help but continue to grow. In the last several years God had placed me and used me in ways I never would have dared dream.
I love to tell my story because looking back is when my faith is strengthened. When I am reminded that if all of those horrible,….just terrible, painful things didn’t happen to me, I never would have gotten to where I am at today. Each piece of the puzzle fitting perfectly into place. And when I recognize that God’s plans are so far beyond anything I can anticipate, understand or predict, I will be able to to remember…. to have the wisdom, “To simply be still, and know that He is God.”
“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God” Ps.46:10
Written By: Justin Ludwig
Grace…. His love for us is so far beyond our finite comprehension….. To fathom the mind of God is truly a humbling experience. An impossible journey into Something so far beyond us that it truly boggles the mind.
When I think about His love and grace I find myself constrained by my very human thinking, how could I not?…. the depths of His grace and love is so far beyond any of our comprehension…. I always pray that this extremely crucial truth in written on each and every saint’s heart and that every single one of us focuses on this truth deeply and often.
I cannot stress enough that this is not me preaching!!! This is me desperately wanting every person to understand how free, and how loved they are, even if they don’t fully comprehend it. There are Christians still shackled in the illusion that they are not forgiven. They carry around such guilt and shame….. they doubt that God loves them or their very salvation. THIS CAN NOT STAND! We all must understand the reality of what we have been given and share this truth so that no one is fooled by this lie from hell!
A quick glimpse into me, I have always been the hardest on myself. I have a feeling quite a few of you can relate to with me on this. Even when people would forgive me, I couldn’t accept it. I would continue to beat myself up over mistakes, both intentional or not. I never felt I was being adequately punished, (whatever that means) so as a result I carried a lot of guilt.
In hindsight, this inability to forgive myself was one of the more effective chains that satan used to successfully bind me for so many years. I was unaware of the grace of Christ at the time but the self condemnation took me into such darkness that I had no hint of light……I was consumed by the darkness of self hated.
This is a tactic used by the enemy continuously in the hearts and minds of believers and non believers alike. He wants us to forget the fact that we already have victory. He wants us to doubt our salvation….. he is constantly whispering, because he wants us to doubt our worth based on our mistakes.
“Am I really saved?”,”I keep messing up, I must not be saved because I keep sinning.” How many of us have said or at least thought this at some point as a believer?
And for the non believer, “How could God forgive me!? I can’t even forgive myself!!! I deserve punishment, pain and every bad thing. You don’t understand what I have done!! My past is unforgivable!”….. this quote right here was the truth of my condition until Holy Spirit changed my heart, praise God!!
I am going to be real with you, my heart still aches over a time a yelled at my son because he wanted me for something but I was too busy… This random moment, like a million others, randomly come to mind…. Sometimes I shrug them off and other times they take root. The enemy’s whispers have the ability to drag me/you down to a place of darkness. I begin to feel the familiar pull of self loathing, guilt and hatred that I had carried all of my life.
I kid you not y’all, spiritual warfare is for real and we are always vulnerable while on this earth. We have protection and power yes. But the reality is there is an enemy and he is specifically after you and me. And if we don’t hold close to Holy Spirit and other believers, we will not make it!
We must know what we believe and we must know how to stand up against the devil’s schemes, lies and tricks!
This place of self condemnation robs us of basking in the scandalous grace that God has already given us. I can only speak my story, because it’s the only one I know. And for me, these self condemning whispers are a reality for me to this day….the enemy is always pulling at me. Trying to use my very human thinking against me…. and he will do the same to you.
Sometimes the guilt of our mistakes allows the enemy a foothold. We feel we don’t deserve to be forgiven so we condemn ourselves. The beautiful truth is, we don’t deserve it, but we get it anyways! God’s love and grace is so far beyond our comprehension. Be blessed and bask in the freedom of His amazing grace.
Be blessed and bask in the freedom of His amazing grace.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”. Isaiah 41:10
“As far as the east is from the west, so far had He removed our transgressions from us Ps. 103:12
Written by: Justin Ludwig
Don’t let the time you wasted or the regrets you have cripple your future.
It’s not too late!
You are not too far gone, and your better days are not behind you! You didn’t miss your chance!
Today is the day… today is YOUR day to make something beautiful out of your life. Seize the moment; live well, love hard and forgive often. Be the blessing and watch your life flourish.
“Brothers and sisters, I do not considermyself yet to have taken hold it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” -Phil 3:13-14
Written by: Justin Ludwig
IF YOU BELIEVE IN PRAYER, PLEASE READ THIS!!
https://rawdiscipleblog.wordpress.com/prayer-requests/
If you need prayer, fellowship, and/or need a brother in Christ to lean on, I am here for you.
I don’t just believe, but I know that as Christians, prayer is the most important, most powerful thing we do. To know someone is there, day or night when your heart is breaking that is ready to pray for you, praise with you, or simply be here to listen can and does change everything.
If you are not a Christian, it’s okay. I love you just as much as the Christian, the Muslim or out right haters of God. But wherever you are at, God loves you. I ask that if you feel that twinge in your stomach, that pull from the Holy Spirit to reach out, don’t hesitate, don’t think, just respond.
Your prayers and/or messages come directly me, I share them with no one I urge you to leave your email address so I can email you my prayer, praise or comment so you know, without a doubt that you are loved, that you are important, and that you are being prayed for. Your email will not be given to anyone, this is strickly for you, and for me.
Let me love you, let me pray for you.
https://rawdiscipleblog.wordpress.com/prayer-requests/
Written by Justin Ludwig
I was standing by a wall before work this morning and I saw a woman sitting behind my office building. She was sitting in the dirt putting on her make up and cleaning her wounds. It was obvious that she was strung out on meth and homeless. She was sitting by the door I was going to enter so when I approached the door I turned to her and smiled. I said good morning and offered her my sandwich. She kind of laughed at the offer so I didn’t know how to read her. I couldn’t tell if she was offended or just smoked out, so I started talking with her.
She was tripping on how I had just woken up and was starting my day. She was asking me if I had my huge coffee with 8 shots from starbucks and some babble I couldn’t quite make out. I could tell she was being condescending by the sneer on her face and the tone in her voice but it didn’t phase me one bit. I could tell she just thought I was some yuppie trying to take pity on someone I viewed as less than myself. I laughed and told her no, but I did drink about a gallon of coffee this morning. In that moment I saw a look in her eyes saying, “You yuppie idiot, you don’t have any clue.” I recognized the look because it is the look I had often throughout my years of wandering.
I smiled and told her that I was stuck on meth, booze and anything else I could get my hands on for most of my life and that I had been clean for 4 or 5 years. This statement got her attention and she responded quickly, “Do you have a line!?” I smiled and told her again, “Nah, I’ve been clean and I’m not going back”, and she replied, “Well if you ever change your mind come see me and I will hook you up.” I chuckled again and smiled. I looked into her eyes and said, “that won’t be happening but if you ever want some Jesus or some hope you come back here and see me again. I told her God loved her and told her to be safe and went up to work.
I came back down an hour later to smoke and she was still sitting back there with someone else. I smiled and said hi and then went to my phone to mind my own business while standing next to them. I heard her begin to make comments to her friend about how I loved Jesus. Not in an inspired way, this chick was talking some smack.
They were giggling away making their comments and what I noticed was that it wasn’t bothering me. I am sitting there listening to her but not responding because it would have done nothing but escalate a situation that didn’t need to be escalated and I felt joy. It was so noticeable to me because I don’t do well with being disrespected.
I began thinking with excitement, “they are hating on me for Jesus, this is so awesome!” Then I began to feel so grateful because this persecution was nothing compared to what our brothers and sisters are facing around the globe daily….
I didn’t inspire that girl or have the reaction that is always hoped for when I witness, but I was still blessed because I was obedient. Our conversation could click with her a month down the road, 10 years or never…. that is not for me to know. But I was and am filled with joy because I was obedient therefore loving.
I may not have brought her to Christ but I showed her that not every Christian is what she thought, and I showed her for a moment that there is an end to addiction, there is hope and there is a way out
Don’t worry about the outcome of your witness… focus on your motives.
Written by: Justin Ludwig
Holy Spirit impressed something on my heart I feel I should share with all of you. In Luke 8:26-39, Jesus had come across a cursed man. Possessed not by one demon, but a legion of demons.
The hold that these demons had on this man was so great that he was written off by society. Exiled to the tombs, hastily forgotten, helpless…hopeless. The villagers didn’t know what to do with the man and they tried everything they could think of. In desperation, they chained the man down, but his demons were so powerful they would just snap their chains….unable to deal with him, he was exiled to the tombs to suffer in his torment.
Everyone was terrified of this man….. Jesus sought this man out. Everyone wrote him off as a lost cause. Jesus saw a man who needed to be set free…..
This is such an inspirational model for every one of us. We cannot turn a blind eye to the exiles of this age. We must not confine our ministry to that of our own comfort. There is a large world out there, filled with so many people without hope. Broken, lost, hurting and alone. The people outside of our comfort zone, so different, or dare I say scary to us that are howling in pain like this possessed man.
In so much pain, consumed by their demons…. How will they know what we know, unless we tell them? The homeless man, the convict, the orphan…. Men and women bound and gagged in their sin, their pain or their circumstances.
I am not saying that we should head down some dark alley looking for lost souls. I am just saying that He wants to use us. We don’t need to be afraid or over think how God could possibly use us. With a single smile or a word said from love, Holy Spirit is capable of changing the heart and life of a person otherwise hopeless.
Jesus has called us not to stand on the sidelines, but to roll up our sleeves and love the unlovable. It is our responsibility to remember the forgotten and give hope to the hopeless, in Jesus name.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matt 28:19-20
Written by: Justin Ludwig
Resolutions…. I hear them all around me; on television, at work, at the store. It seems like the whole world is jumping at the opportunity for a clean slate…a fresh start. They want to put a year of shortcomings and failures in their rear view mirror as they strive for something better.
I could not relate more with their desires…. for something new, a do over on some of the choices made in the previous days, months or years….but I can’t help but wonder, what’s different than any other day of the year?
Then I think about the life of a Christian. Every single day… every single moment, we have the opportunity to start fresh.
All year long people are waiting for a pivotal moment, a marker where they feel change is a good idea. The world gets so excited because they feel they have a real chance for a clean slate.
We as believers are blessed beyond any other person on this planet because we know the Truth… the Truth is, every single day, with every single shortcoming, we are given the gift of a clean slate. By knowing the freedom that comes through Christ, every passing moment really is another chance to turn it all around.
We are free from the burdens, the stigmas….the tainting of who we are because of our mistakes.
We are free to live new everyday…. I don’t know about you, but that truth sets me free in a way that no amount of resolutions ever possibly could or would.
You are free!… what you do with it is up to you.
Happy Hew Year Y’all. May you bask in the freedom of the Son.
Written by: Justin Ludwig
You know, I was just thinking…. I was thinking of a man of faith who isn’t really recognized all that much, and that is Joseph, husband to Mary and step Father to Jesus. This man wasn’t married to Mary yet, they had never slept together and he gets hit with the news that his future bride is pregnant. Not only is she pregnant, but he is told she has been inpregnated by Holy Spirit.
I don’t know about you, but if I were Joseph, I would have a hard time processing that information. There is no way that he wasn’t even the least bit suspicious that Mary had slept with someone else…..
How easily Joseph could have bailed on Mary if he was a man without faith. For myself, if I didn’t know how the story played out….if I hadn’t had so many very real experiences with Holy Spirit I honestly don’t think I would have or could have believed what had happened.
But Joseph chose to believe…. he chose to believe that God was working and that He was more than capable of doing something beyond Joseph’s understanding….. what if Joseph chose to bail? Say he did choose to believe the worst, he leaves her and Mary dies not being able to take care of herself and as a result Christ wasn’t born.
It really is amazing if you think about it. A man who really didn’t play a huge role in the story was in fact crucial to it. If he did not chose to believe God past his own understanding, we could still be living in darkness, waiting for the Messiah that was able to come because Joseph believed. I don’t know about you, but I find that very encouraging.
Don’t be fooled into thinking your role isn’t important. If we chose to trust God beyond what we can explain, understand or feel, then He will use us.
So I guess my question is, Do you believe?
Written by: Justin Ludwig
People ask me, “Why do I get so excited about God”, I can only smile at what flows through my mind.
I get excited about God for saving me from a life of addiction. From a life of self loathing, hatred and constant pain. I get excited about God because He loves me, every part if me and always will. He has saved me from an eternity of suffering and punishment, from hell on earth and He has saved me from myself….
We read of who He is in the scriptures and we believe. We believe the stories, the prophecies and the promises, but sometimes we can have the tendency to view God as a God of the past, or a God of the future. But the truth is,”God is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Heb 13:8) Which means He is alive and active today, just like in the days of the Apostles and that is an awesome exciting thing! I am excited because I have experienced His “impossible” works, first hand and I have witnessed things that cannot be denied.
I get excited because God is real! His power and His presence is real and He not only wants to work in our lives, but He wants to use us to bless others and to change the world through love, one person at a time.
God is hope, God is love, God is good.
He is alive and active and I love it!
Written by: Justin Ludwig
With all of the theology, all of the “religion” and knowledge…. if the result of all of this isn’t an out pouring of love towards the world, then the entire point was missed.
Don’t make excuses, just love. Don’t ignore, just love. Love, because it is the best thing we do…. because God is love and His love is made perfect, when we love.
The world will not come into the saving embrace of Christ’s grace through theology…. They will be saved by simple, pure love.
1 John 4:11-12
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.
Written by: Justin Ludwig
Begin journey
an eternity ago
fixed on a destination
the only oasis
years I traveled
fixed on a point
this point I saw
Every night as slept
As I dreamt
I felt mad
…….for it dreamed of me
it was my purpose
To stand in my dream
Basking in it with my waking eyes
so I trudged on
then night came
I lost my way
unaware how
Faith, dreams Drive
Unchanged
So I continued
on and on… confused, So long the dream began to change
…… gone
til it’s not
Written by: Justin Ludwig sometime between 1999-2012
I escaped my life of darkness, self destruction & addiction. Click here to read my story. http://wp.me/P7v0VX-14
Unexplainable bond
Shared by few
Fortunately
Appreciated presently
Skeptical Still
Bond or blood
A strong will
Suffers undeservingly
Wrong or right
Alone I’m not
Proven failure
Repetition ensues
Seeing what is yet unseen
Faith
Support
Forgiveness
Deserved?
…. Not a chance
Yet…..
Remarkably
Previously seen in solitude
Emerges for some….yet
Must be understood
Support’s the key
I hold the key I once shunned
A lone drive
Long awaited hope
Awakens in the depths
Differing for all
Personally
Abandonment of ignorance
Construction been underway
To fill the void
Myself
…..Unimportant
Support never ending
Awoke a dormant urge
A sudden awakening
Waste
No more
Tomorrow is lost
Voyage commences instantly
Bottom line
Those never halting
Inspire something
Unfamiliar situation
Alone I’m not
Written by: Justin Ludwig sometime between 1999-2012.
I escaped my life of darkness, self destruction & addiction. Click here to read my story. http://wp.me/P7v0VX-14
The gospel is simple, when we get over ourselves, and love on the one who is in front of us. That’s it, that’s the gospel. Love, without obligation, without judgement and without hesitation. Nobody will be impressed by your “religion”, they will be impressed by your love, by Christ’s love. That is how He saves the lost, by simple, pure, passionate love.
Look at this way, if you don’t have Jesus in you, then nobody is going to want what you have.
Jesus is love, represent Him well!
God bless, love furiously, and watch Him work.
Written by: Justin Ludwig
Empty
she got it
like so many
or claimed to
darkness
silent to smoke
ending my life
methodically
intricately
…. slowley
the calls stopped
they call
some call
I can’t answer!
fear
of what?
Being saved
being loved
saved from my hell
how sick
once a child’s boast
now his cancer
those who know me
assumptions run rampant
…… yet wrong
I feel it growing
deep from within
won’t delve deeper
wont!!
those who know, know
Disgusted by Surroundings
Consumed by Ignorance
A lusting of self destruction
Dominating states of mind
Realization is needed!
Fates intertwined
….. Self Annihilation
Nauseating Irony
Flourishing on Destruction
The tragedy, it’s deserved
as fair as it gets
destination?
Quite obvious
Yet we remaining happily oblivious
Once clarity takes hold
……. too late
Tragic
Deserved
Disgusted by Surroundings
Consumed by Ignorance
A lusting of self destruction
Dominating states of mind
Realization is needed!
Fates intertwined
….. Self Annihilation
Nauseating Irony
Flourishing on Destruction
The tragedy, it’s deserved
as fair as it gets
destination?
Quite obvious
Yet we remaining happily oblivious
Once clarity takes hold
……. too late
Tragic
Deserved
Written by: Justin Ludwig November 14 2011.
I escaped my life of darkness, self destruction & addiction. Click here to read my story. http://wp.me/P7v0VX-14
175 pulling 1000
Why
Regret Self-loathing
All bets called in
It can’t be covered
……what to do
Start now
Hurt
Pain
Misery
My juice
my price
For giving up heaven
Not yours
Mine
Unique Special
One of those miracles
So bright…..
….So bright
At least
I punish myself
It’s gone before you see what you had.
Burned in your retina
then you see
…….what you lost
Written by: Justin Ludwig between 1999-2012.
I escaped my life of darkness, self destruction & addiction. Click here to read my story. http://wp.me/P7v0VX-14
Where’d she go?
Choking on my heart
would cut it out
Hand me the knife…..
….Wait
I believe it’s still in my back
guilt trips
Woes me
Fuck you
I only blame me
same as you
Rest easy
Don’t trip
Still punishing myself
Don’t need your help
Seriously…..
Why do you hate me so?
did all the love dissolve away ?
Producing a spiteful residue
If you recall
Though it seems you forgot
Loyalty
Love
pain
…….ME
If change was with ease
…..I wouldn’t have lost my one
I can’t help who I am
I tried for you
I failed.
…… you gotta set me free
Written by: Justin Ludwig between 1999-2012.
I escaped my life of darkness, self destruction & addiction. Click here to read my story. http://wp.me/P7v0VX-14
Gazing, the wreckage
its entirety
awestricking Sickening
amazing
how much I lost on my journey
…..to right here
bedrock is nowhere left to hide
the destruction
easily avoided
looking back
helpless
I’ve…
……stopped?
folding the fight
all remaining
reality checks
never ending
stifling
humbling
my journey
saved from myself
is just beginning
if……
Written by: Justin Ludwig December 9, 2011.
I escaped my life of darkness, self destruction & addiction. Click here to read my story. http://wp.me/P7v0VX-14
To all of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are offended or bothered by all of the changes in our country. I urge you to pray on this verse,
“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” -James 4:11-12
We are called to love and serve, not judge and condemn.
Unfortunately to the world, Christians are known for being judgemental, condescending and hateful.
You, I, we have a responsibility to stand up and show the world who we truly are, with love.
Written by: Justin Ludwig
Photo from: https://jeremyaffeldt.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/lovelikejesus.jpg
I say it constantly, that prayer is power, and it is, but too often that is where it stops.
People lift up their troubles and fears with the hopes that God will just suddenly make everything better. What we as Christians need to realize is that a lot of times we must take action in order for our prayers to be answered
If you look through scriptures, this fact is played out time and time again.
In Exodus 17 when the Israelites are battling the Amalekites, Moses must keep the staff of God raised over his head in order for the Israelites to triumph, and when his hands fall, the enemies of God begin to win. In Joshua 6, they are required to march around the city of Jericho seven times and let out a cry of victory before the walls would come crumbling down so God’s promise would be fulfilled. And my personal favorite on this topic is the parting of the Red
“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. -Exodus 14:13-17
I could go on and on with examples but I think y’all get where I am going with this. Prayer is indeed power. The fellowship and council of Jesus Christ is the most powerful weapon that we can wield. But He is not a magic genie that will just magically whisk our problems.
Look, the bottom line is that we serve an all powerful God who wants to bless us beyond measure, but He expects us to take action, and sometimes yes, the action is to wait or do nothing.
If you feel like your prayers aren’t being answered, ask Him what He wants you to do. The hard part is, when He gives you the answer, and He will, you actually have to do it.
He will not solve all of our problems for us. He wants to use us, to bless us
When we put this fact into practice, we are able to be blessed beyond anything we dared dream.
Written by: Justin Ludwig
I was on my way to work today and I started to think about the disciples. How incredible it must have been to walk with Jesus, knowing that you were being guided by God Himself. These people gave up everything that they had ever known and held dear to follow Jesus, because they knew without a doubt that this Man was the Messiah. I mean the hope and encouragement that these people must have felt and experienced, knowing that they were walking, talking and learning from God Himself. Wow!
Then one night…… He is captured, taken into custody and sentenced to be beaten and crucified. I have know idea what must have been going on inside of the disciples as all of this is going on.
The word tells us how scared they all were; they ran, they hid, and Peter denied even knowing Him while He was still alive. Personally, I like to think that they still had hope, knowing that He was God., and that they were waiting for something amazing to happen…. but it didn’t.
Before everyone’s eyes Jesus took His last breath and died.
Can you image what they must have felt in that moment?
A tidal wave of hopelessness and fear just engulfing them as they gaze at their conquering hero’s body hanging there beaten, broken and lifeless. Their entire world crashing down around them before their very eyes, with the thrust of a spear.
Little did they know at the time, but God was about to change everything in a way that they never could have predicted or even dared dream.
In your darkest hours…… when all hope seems lost and everything in your life seems to be unraveling and falling apart, don’t lose hope…
God is about to change everything, in a way you never saw coming.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” -Isaiah 41:10
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” -Psalms 27:14
“For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him.” -Ecclesiastes 8:6
Justin Ludwig
Photo from: http://njomuad-thebeloved.blogspot.com/
Better conversations toward a better tomorrow.
My battle against Leukaemia
Daily Thoughts and Meditations as we journey together with our Lord.
Stories. Adventures. Insights.
Travel, Encouragement, Devotional
To Give Hope and Encouragement through the Word of God
A Journey through time, leading those who are lost to Eternal Life with God.
"Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."
Truth be told
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But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Truth be told
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