Statement three... part 2...

I walked through a door in the last section, showing the courage to be honest and accountable for my own actions.  That door was opened and awaiting me, just as the door to this and to salvation are open to all.  The choice I made to walk through it, however, was immensely freeing for me!  Just imagine how that can feel...

"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture."

John 10:9, HCSB

The passage into salvation is one unlike any other, because it is one that is filled with indescribable and eternal joy.  Some folks ask how you can tell that there is a difference, but you literally feel it inside yourself as you begin to think about and weigh out different situations.  It's no different than the feeling that exists when the lights come on in a dark room, illuminating that there is no real danger.  It's also no different than eating to quell hunger, and feeling satisfied.  To enter through Christ's grace and mercy is so fulfilling and powerful and magnificent.

And then an even better part comes, one that the verse points out quite clearly.  We come in through the Door, receive salvation, and when we go out, we find "pasture."  I would infer that this can have two meanings when it mentions "going out," and the first one is that when we die, we go to Heaven.  The second one is the more complicated, and that is that once we have passed through the Door to salvation, wherever we go from there is the pasture we are meant to be in.  Our mission field, if you will, is our pasture, and we are now entered through the Sheep Gate of our own field, cleaned and tick free, so that we can serve and live as an example to others. 

Passing through this Door, we can now show what has been done in us by having the Bread and the Light, and we can be a vessel for the Spirit to bring others to the same realization in our own field of influence.

Now don't kid yourselves, because mistakes will still happen and errors will still exist.  Passing back through the Door of His amazing grace for a refreshed cleaning of the wool will be necessary, and refining by fire is one of those things that we, as believers, must endure.  Our failures, though, tend to be excellent teachers... I know my failures are all necessary for the growth and the refinement that I must experience.  The key here is which door you turn to when mistakes happen.

Clearly, as stated before, salvation can only be gained once.  However, to return and confess our sins, no matter how small, brings forth the proper heart attitude to grow.  His forgiveness and grace abound evermore than we can possibly grasp or fathom, and there is literally no limit to His love and power to shed grace upon each one of us.  I heard a pastor say once that His grace cannot and will not be stopped by human ignorance, and that is absolutely true.  So when you make a mistake, the key to your walk from there is which doorway you enter as you move forward.  Do you go and cleanse yourself once more, rededicate and focus even closer than before, or do you run with the mistake, assuming that it's just a phase? 

Friends, sin is not a phase, it's a nature.  And, as my wise mother pointed out to me, there is no level where sin is concerned, that makes one lesser than another.  In God's eyes, sin is sin, and our righteousness is but a filthy rag when held up to His light.  So as you move forward from whatever you may experience, whether now or later in life, know that you can choose which door to enter, and which pasture to find... one of sin and death, or one of service and humility and life.

God bless you all!!!