God Doesn't Give Up On Us

Today I have the pleasure of introducing my cousin, Alvin Stampley, to you. Alvin’s dad and my mom were siblings. 

As young kids, we spent quite a bit of time together, but as the years passed and we were able to control our own time, we spent less and less time together.

We lived in different parts of town, so we didn’t attend the same schools and we drifted apart. Drifting apart from family has seemed to be a pattern in my life. I’ll have to explore that. 

Alvin struggled with drugs for 8 or 9 years and during that time we seldom saw each other or even talked. 

I did feel a sense of guilt. I wondered if we had remained close, would things have been different in his life? In my life? My life was not one without its own set up “hiccups.”

What I want to convey in today’s post is:

• 1) the courage it takes to share hard and difficult times in your life, times that Satan would want you to be ashamed of;
  
• 2)  what we do, our evangelism and testimony maters; and
  
• 3) God doesn’t give up on us; ​

So, when I think of the courage Alvin displayed with sharing his story, it encouraged me. Sharing our story is important for many reasons.

1. It encourages us; to see what all God has done in our lives.
2. It encourages others to know what God is doing in the lives of others and to know that He can do those same things in our lives.
3. It also tells Satan we are not being fooled by the lies. Satan would want us to believe that we need to be ashamed of our past, but I want to say that our past is what brought us to our present and will propel us into the future. We are the product of the sum pieces of our lives. 

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So, instead of living in shame, I want to encourage you to live in peace. When we repent - not just asking for forgiveness, but turning away from that which we are asking to be forgiven from, we are forgiven. We are set free.

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John 8:34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
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If you have been set free by the Son, let go of what is holding you back. Lay it at the cross. The price has already been paid, so why are you still trying to pay the debt.

If you had a bill that you owed and went to the store to pay it and was told someone had come in and paid it for your, would you tell the cashier, no, please take my money I want to pay it?

​No you would not. You would be free from that bill and walk away feeling like you are on top of the world. You actually have some extra money now. You would be free. 

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That is what Jesus did for you. He paid the price. You are free. So, sharing your story becomes a statement of power, not shame.

And the sharing of the story goes right along with evangelism. Alvin said someone knocked on his door. And although he said he would attend the Bible Study, he didn’t, but the guy came back and personally sat with him, in his own living room and shared Christ with him.

We have to be willing to walk across the room, or around the corner or across the street. We have to share Christ with those that are lost. This man literally saved Alvin’s life, by his obedience. It was because of his obedience, Christ was lifted up and Jesus drew Alvin unto Himself.

And with evangelism comes persistence. You can’t let a “no” derail you. And persistence goes even farther than that. Even when Alvin had accepted Christ, but still struggled with drugs, that man did not give up on Him. He continued to flood Him with Christ.

What I pray you take away from this is that God does not give up on us. In Revelation 3, God speaks To the Church in Laodicea. He doesn’t have any words of encouragement for them, but after telling them about themselves, He says, in verses 19-20, 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Christ doesn’t give up on us. And our words are important. Revelation 12:11 says, They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Click the link below to hear our full interview.