Heart Tracks - Unstoppable Jesus

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?.......Not anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:38-39 "The name Satan literally means 'prosecutor.' And his work isn't ultimately to tempt you, but to try you. If you let Satan prosecute you, you will ultimately imprison yourself." Ann Voskamp

We are all of us broken. Some of us are more broken than others. Some of us believe we are broken beyond repair. Some think they've either failed too often, sinned too often, been betrayed, abused, and victimized too often. In our fallen world, these thoughts can arise naturally from within ourselves, or they can be darts of fire thrown by the enemy of our soul and burying themselves deep within our minds. Regardless of the outer mask we put on, we have agreed with the devil's lie, the lie of "the prosecutor," and in doing so, have imprisoned ourselves. Spoken or unspoken, our attitude is, "It's too late for me."

There are so many things that Jesus said that resonate with my heart, but one in particular are His words to the crowd who were outraged at his eating with Zaccheus, the despised tax-gatherer. He told them that the "Son of Man has come to seek and save that which has been lost." The Greek word used for "lost" gives the meaning of "utterly destroyed, broken beyond repair." That was how they saw Zaccheus. It is likely how he saw himself. Is it how you see yourself, or how you see others? Trust me, it is not how He sees you, or them. Voskamp says that "Your life is unwreckable because Christ's love is unstoppable." Yes, we can refuse that love and suffer the loss of everything. But if we will receive it, it will saturate every inch of our being. It will make whole, heal, transform, all that we thought utterly destroyed and broken beyond repair.

Sheila Walsh tells the story of a man who approached her after one of her speaking engagements. She saw that the left side of his face was badly scarred and that he spoke in a very raspy voice. Now over 40 years old, he told her that when he was 15, he'd taken a pistol, placed it below his jaw, and pulled the trigger. He said that in the millisecond between the bullet leaving the chamber and entering his skull, he heard the voice of the Lord say, "Do you want to live?" He answered "yes," and miraculously, he survived the gunshot. The bullet was still lodged in his skull, but he was alive. She asked him, "Do you ever wish the scars that were left could be removed?" He answered, "No. These scars are a moment by moment reminder of the grace of God." Such can all scars, wounds, and brokenness be if we will allow His grace to cover them. The scars from our wounds can be mighty reminders of the infinite power of His mercy and grace.

In our pain and woundedness, we seek to hide. In our hiding we become isolated, imprisoned, and the devil stands at our cell door mocking and ridiculing us. But if we'll allow His healing grace through the bars, we find freedom, we find life. In the midst of your pain, the place you think is beyond hope and redemption, the Unstoppable Christ calls you out. The One who came to seek and save what you've believed utterly destroyed, reaches to you to bring it to life again. When the Unstoppable Jesus is present, so too is His Unstoppable Life and Love. Come out of hiding. Come unto Him......and live!

Blessings,
Pastor O