ONCE A LOSER, ALWAYS A LOSER?

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DAY 99: Once a liar; always a liar.  Once a cheat; always a cheat.  Once a jerk; always a jerk.  How would you fill in the blank about someone you know that you don't think will ever change?  I have a LONG list of people that I am skeptical could ever be anything other than what they are right now.  But what if we had to fill in the blank about ourselves from a place we were not proud of?  Once a _______, Always a _______.  

"Wait a minute," we might protest. "I'm a work in progress. Just because I struggle with ______ doesn't mean I won't get there eventually!"  

In fact, our own lives probably disprove the whole "once, always" theory all together.  I'll be honest, if I were destined to ALWAYS be what I ONCE was then the promise that "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old is gone" becomes a lie.  I have only to look at my own life to validate that promise; for at one time all these thing have been true of me....

Once a liar
Once a thief
Once a cheat
Once a nag
Once a sluggard
Once a sexually impure woman
Once an angry mother
Once a bitter wife

Once a . . .

Okay, that is as vulnerable as I want to be.  You get the idea.  Once I was many things that broke the heart of God, hurt other people, and brought destruction into my own life.  Once I was all those things, but not always. My story changed because I met someone who changed ME.  That is the power of the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.  Because He took the penalty I deserved for all the things I once was and once did, I can say along with the Psalmist in today's reading:

 ^{Psalm 79:8} Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
   may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
   for we are in desperate need.
⁹ Help us, God our Savior,
   for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
   for your name’s sake. 

How perfect that the Old Testament reading for today is about a woman no one would expect to change. We might all have said of Rahab: Once a prostitute, Always a prostitute.  But God changed her story, just like He changed mine - and probably yours. Here is the story:

With a thriving sex business in the bustling city of Jericho, Rahab had no reason to think that God would have a plan for her.  She was a prostitute.  She was a pagan Canaanite. She was a woman. Yet God used the circumstances around her to invite her into a relationship with Him. The nation of Israel was finally ready to enter the land and begin the process of conquering it as God had always intended.  Moses had died and the leadership was passed to Joshua who wasted no time in obeying God's commands.  He sent two spies into Jericho in advance of their military action.  

Apparently, Rahab had heard all the great acts God had done for His people, including parting the Red Sea and the victories He gave against Israel's enemies.  She reported that her whole city was terrified.  She herself was fearful; but it did not stop this prostitute from giving her loyalty to this loyal God who was so faithful to His own people.  Perhaps she was wooed by a God who had all the character qualities she lacked and never saw in the midst of her lifestyle: fidelity, strength, love, generosity. How they must have shined in comparison to her own experiences.

All we know for sure is that she made her decision to side with God and His people.  She acted in faith hiding God's spies from the king's soldiers before God had done anything for her.  Perhaps it was the first courageous thing she had ever done, for she had discovered something, SOMEONE, greater than her desire to follow her own path. 

Joshua 2:11 For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below,  (Rahab) declared.

The rest of the story is a familiar one.  All of Jericho perishes except for this one obscure defiled prostitute named Rahab. For her act of courage and her faith she and all her family were spared.  That was just the beginning of her change.

She was adopted in to the family of the Israelites.

                      Once a prostitute; Now a daughter.

She was married to a respected man named Salmon.

                      Once a prostitute; Now a wife.

She became the mother of Boaz, who later married Ruth who was the grandmother of King David.

                      Once a prostitute; Now a mother and great grandmother to a king.

She was an ancestor of a carpenter named Joseph who had a Son named Jesus.

                     Once a prostitute; now an ancestor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Her old life indeed passed away.  Just as she intentionally made the choice to live in sexual sin, she made the choice to accept God's grace and forgiveness and become NEW. So new in fact, that God recorded this former prostitute in Hebrews 11 as someone whose faith we should strive to emulate - along side the likes of Moses, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Sarah...and other greats of the faith.Her faith was great because she put her trust in God before He saved her, redeemed her way of life, put her in a loving family and gave her a heritage of honor.  BEFORE. BEFORE. She acted on the basis of the character of God, not on her own character.  The result?

Once a prostitute; now a faith hero.

Her story is my story:  
Once Lost, Always Seen 
Once Lost, Always Loved
Once Lost, Always Pursued
Once Lost, Now New

CHANGE IS A PERSON. CHANGE IS JESUS CHRIST.  No matter how you fill in the blank, it does not matter what you once were... or what you are now...  For the glory of His own powerful name, God makes all those who come to Him into something NEW - Believe it!

Day 100 of 365
Deuteronomy 34
Joshua 1
Joshua 2
Luke 13:22-35
Luke 14:1-6
Psalm 79:1-13
Proverbs 12:26