the good news.

In case you haven't noticed, I have been pretty terrible about writing in my blog. I wish I could commit to something like this for real, instead of posting here and there, but it kind of reflects my spiritual life as of late: dry, lazy, apathetic, and the list goes on.

For the past few weeks, the devil has been doing a pretty good job at making me believe a whole slew of lies. "You are not nearly as spiritual and mature as these people you are going on summer project with...why are you doing this again? It's not going to make a difference, and you're just going to make a fool of yourself, that is, if you even get there. I mean, $5,600 is a lot of money and you are flat broke. Give up, settle, you aren't going, kid. And no one is going to help you out, either. Who gives a hoot about Jesus? And if no one cares about Jesus, then they don't care about you or your cause either. Plus, you have a whole lot of crap. You struggle a lot, and you should really try harder, because you are not worthy of this." And that's not even all of it. Up until a few days ago, I was believing every single one of these lies. I talked to a good friend on the phone and told her about all this doubt and fear I was experiencing about going to Italy, and how I just felt completely unworthy and not cut out for this. She reminded me of the following passage:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

How could I be so blind to this? This spiritual dryness is not just me being selfish and whiney, but this is a full on battle going on in the heavenly realms. This is exactly what satan wants. He wants me to feel discouraged, full of fear and doubt, and in turn...to disbelieve the Gospel: the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The Gospel tells me a completely different story...
"You don't have to be super spiritual. You aren't here to impress anyone. I love you, you already have My approval, but not because of anything you do or don't do. I love you because My Son, Jesus Christ, has taken the punishment for everything you have done and will ever do. The sin which separated you from Me is gone. Why do you dwell on it? You are holy and blameless in my sight. You are a beautiful creation of My very hands. Cast your anxiety on Me, because I care for you. Don't worry, my precious daughter. You have stolen My heart and nothing you can do could ever change that. Share this good news with My Italian children. You can do it by My strength, because I give abundantly. And by the way, here's $5,600."

God is so incredibly good. He never disappoints, is always faithful, and is crazy in love with every single one of His almost 7 billion kids. 'Gospel' means 'good news.' God knew we could never measure up to His standards on our own, because of sin, the thing that separates us from Him. He sent Jesus to die, to be a payment for our sin. But here's the amazing part...Jesus took God's wrath for every sin to ever be committed. Because of this, we can live in freedom. This is good news.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

We have complete and total freedom because there is no condemnation looming over our heads, waiting to attack. Because of Christ, I don't have to feel ashamed. Shame is a lie used by satan to get us to unbelieve the Gospel. It's complete garbage. We are guilty, but we're not, because Christ took it away when He died and rose again. Imagine this: you're on trial for committing a terrible crime, and you're sentenced to eternity in prison, most likely a living hell. Then, this guy stands up and says, "I will serve the sentence. This person can walk free because they are no longer guilty." What?? That's crazy, but this is the good news. It's so amazing once you grab onto it. We are free in Christ. I am free. You are free. Hear the good news, and believe it with your whole heart:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8