Salvation is Here

I picked myself up the new Hillsongs CD last Tuesday when it came out (if you know me...you know that I have like 30 Hillsongs discs...ya, I'm nuts-notice how I have never disputed that fact and maybe, just maybe am kind of proud of it...) Anyway, yesterday when I was driving home after dropping Grace off at pre-school the words of the song, "Salvation is Here" hit me...needless to say, I have had it on repeat ever since...I am waiting for Ethan to say mommy, haven't we heard this song already???

'Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His word never fails
And I know God made a way for me
Salvation is here
salvation is here and He lives in me
Salvation is here

I guess what struck me is the truth that salvation IS here..not was here not is to come, but present tense "is here" as in right now...and as an added bonus...He lives in me! Let's look at how salvation is defined...(I have officially joined the 'cool' kid's group that use dictionary.com) Salvation is preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil; deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption. So it hit me like and 18 wheeler truck...Jesus' death and resurrection delivered (resuce from bondage or danger) me from the penalty of sin. What does that mean to me? Well, I was thinking God hates sin...I have sinned...there are definitely consequences...BUT the wrath and judgment I deserve was already taken by Jesus on the cross....I have known so much of this stuff my whole life, but it has never touched my heart. The word of God has never been alive to me...so, I am on a journey...God is very, very, very slowly revealing himself to me. He knows that if he made alive in my heart everything I know with my head, I may explode and shatter into a million pieces...and no one wants to clean that up!!

I was reading my bible. Haven't been sure where to begin (cause I haven't read it in so long), so I have started with the Psalms and then I randomly picked Ephesians. When I hit Eph 1:17-19, I really felt a tug on my heart to pray it out loud for myself...

Eph 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I may know Him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened in order that I may know the hope to which he has called me, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

I have embarked on this journey...I still feel like I am walking around the base of the mountain...not sure where to begin. So, I climb a little...find out that that isn't the best way, start over...but then I realize...I am not at all back where I started, but I have gained some ground. It is slow going, sometimes I have to stop and set up camp for a few days to deal with certain things and have them heal before I can move on...no one ever said that it would be easy...unfortunately, I cant take a helicopter to the top. I can only believe that when I reach the top I will be a new person...most likely I will be bruised and sore, but never the less victorious...