{"id":120,"date":"2013-03-05T19:38:23","date_gmt":"2013-03-05T19:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihsteps.com\/wordpress\/?p=120"},"modified":"2013-03-05T19:38:23","modified_gmt":"2013-03-05T19:38:23","slug":"qwhat-could-it-hurtq-fictional-story-by-tammy-maseberg-march-5-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/?p=120","title":{"rendered":"“WHAT COULD IT HURT?” Fictional Story by Tammy Maseberg, March 5, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!\u201d\u00a0 (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)<\/em> <\/p>\n

Casey thought surely she would be met at the door by security when she walked into the church earlier that day.\u00a0 But, she wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 Instead, she slipped into a back pew and tried to be invisible, an art she had learned well.\u00a0 What was she doing here anyway?\u00a0 Oh, yeah.\u00a0 Religion was the only thing she hadn\u2019t tried in an attempt to get her life straightened out.\u00a0 What could it hurt?<\/p>\n

She was wrong, though, because it was<\/em> painful as she sat there and listened to the preacher talk about forgiveness and salvation.\u00a0 She couldn\u2019t remember ever experiencing forgiveness, and she didn\u2019t understand the concept of salvation.\u00a0 This man couldn\u2019t possibly have known her, but his words seemed to be aimed right at her.\u00a0 Had he talked to the police or her roommate or, God-forbid, her parents? Her insides shook. <\/p>\n

Now, lying in bed, she couldn\u2019t get the preacher\u2019s sermon out of her head.\u00a0 It was maddening, and she thought perhaps she was going crazy.\u00a0 When he said, \u201cGod loves you,\u201d he looked directly at Casey.\u00a0 His following words made her squirm in her seat.\u00a0 \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019ve done.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s stealing or lying or even issues in the area of sex.\u201d\u00a0 Casey\u2019s heart stopped.\u00a0 She felt everyone\u2019s eyes on her.\u00a0 Did they recognize her?\u00a0 She had tried to dress differently than her \u201cnormal,\u201d but maybe it was impossible to conceal her lifestyle.\u00a0 She wanted to bolt, but then the man continued.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever is in your past\u2014and, I mean even yesterday, please know that God loves you.\u00a0 You can break away from it all and begin to live differently.\u00a0 He wants to offer His forgiveness and peace. \u00a0He can help you if you let Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey\u2019s chest still ached, as if her heart was breaking.\u00a0 She thought about how he talked of being able to start over\u2014to put everything behind you and become new.\u00a0 And, that God was the One who knew her best and still loved her the most.<\/p>\n

But, how could He possibly love her?\u00a0 If He really knew all that she had done, even recently, He would not love her.\u00a0 Would He?\u00a0 So many people had told her that they loved her.\u00a0 But, in the end, it was only true when her actions fit their idea of \u201cgood.\u201d\u00a0 And, once she blew that perception with a few mistakes years ago, there was no redemption and no going back.<\/p>\n

But, this morning she heard about Jesus who did<\/em> offer atonement.\u00a0 Did she dare believe it?\u00a0 Did she take a chance and put her trust in Someone she couldn\u2019t even see?<\/p>\n

She sighed.\u00a0 She had nothing to lose by giving God a chance.\u00a0 So, just like the preacher taught in church that morning, she prayed and asked for the Lord\u2019s forgiveness and for a chance to start over.<\/p>\n

What could it hurt?<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.\u201d\u00a0 (1 John 1:9, NIV)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the price of five sparrows\u2014two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.\u00a0 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don\u2019t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.\u201d\u00a0 (Luke 12:6-7, NLT)<\/em><\/p>\n

If you are struggling with your past or are not feeling loved or forgiven, know that God can help you to start over and be a \u201cnew creation.\u201d\u00a0 Just pray and ask Him.\u00a0 He loves you so much!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a92013 Tammy Maseberg All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!\u201d\u00a0 (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT) Casey thought surely she would be met at the door by security when she walked into the church earlier that day.\u00a0 But, she wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 Instead, she slipped into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[39,38],"class_list":["post-120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-word-from-tammy-maseberg","tag-gods-forgiveness","tag-gods-love","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}