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second chances



Ephesians 2:12  NLT
In those days you were living apart from Christ.  You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them.  You lived in this world without God and without hope.

Through the years I have met a lot of people who needed a second chance.  But I have also found that I was one of those people.  I’ve messed up.  I’ve forgotten things.  I’ve missed the deadline.  I’ve not met the standards.  But God used a different set of measures than I thought I deserved.

God gave me a second chance.  No, I didn’t kill someone.  No, I didn’t get drunk numerous times.  I simply missed the mark God set.  Yet the mark God set was met by what God did by giving His son, Jesus.  He gave me hope when I didn’t have any hope.

Second chances, or do overs, happen often on God’s timetable.  It is not about doing what we want so we can get more of God’s grace (see Romans 6).  It is about realizing that we have the opportunity to live a different way totally based on what God has done for us.

My past doesn’t define me.  Your past and decisions don’t define you either.  My actions haven’t tied me up forever.  I have hope.  God promises freedom.  God promises healing.  God promises life when I have not experienced the kind of life that He destined me for.

Each second chance has to do with exchanging our way of thinking for God’s way of thinking.  They have to do with believing the best and choosing the best.  The best is based on God’s treasure list and not ours.  Living a part from God we will miss the freedom, healing and life that God wants to give us.

That is where the second chances come in.  Accept them.  Give them to others.  Be living proof that do overs are the grace of God.  You are a conduit of second chances.

Romans 5:6  NLT
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

NOTE: this post was first shared in July of 2013 and continues to be true.
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