Living between "Once upon a time" and "Happily ever after".

This is not a fairy tale. It is completely and totally true. And its wonder far surpasses that of a child's bed time story. It contains the majesty of the very power of God Almighty.
"Once upon a time..." I was drowning in my sin. Shackled in a prison cell I could not escape the dragon. I had been enslaved me from birth and my end was destruction. There was no hope. And the worst part was that I was unaware of these things.
Then came Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Lovingly He opened my eyes to my bondage and led me towards His light. Heroically he payed the ultimate price to rescue and to pardon me. In awe, though His grace I responded in faith and begged forgiveness. Instantly the eternal work of the cross was applied to my account, my name was written in His book, I was washed of my sins, I was adopted into His heavenly family, eternal life was breathed into me, all condemnation was removed, the Holy Spirit was given me as a "down payment" of more to come, all the riches of His grace were bestowed upon me, I was eternally predestined to be conformed to the Image of Himself, made co-heir, and so much more that it will take eternity to discover all that happened when I believed.
All of these wonders happened without me ever literally laying eyes on my Prince. Though I felt His presence with me and have His Holy Spirit, His physical body is seated at the right hand of God. His word tells me that I will see Him when He returns for me; but until then I am living between "Once upon at time" and "Happily ever after." Don't get me wrong; it is not that I am unhappy or think He did something wrong!Living between is a privilege, a high calling. He could have taken me straight to be with Him but instead He chose to use me! Me! The helpless blind idiot. He said through His power I would become strong to do the impossible task He had for me. With Him all things are possible.
And so living between "Once upon a time" and "Happily ever after" is exactly where I will stay until He comes for me. I will be content in this circumstance and even thrive!  For though I long to be with my Lord ( can I say that again? I LONG TO BE WITH MY LORD)  in His "Happily ever after" kingdom, I have unfinished business here. What about you? Will you live wishing for "Happily ever after" to come sooner? Or will you be content to live between  "Once upon a time" and "Happily ever after" for now?

The private devotions of Lancelot Andrewes

"For all that He suffered,
 in Gethsemane,
 in Gabbatha,
 in Calvary,
 For the pain,
the shame,
the curse,
of the cross,
That He deigned to be betrayed
and that by His own disciple,
 That He deigned to be sold,
and that for thirty pieces of silver;
to be troubled in His mind,
to be weary,
to be exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death,
to be in agony,
with strong crying,
 and tears,
to sweat great drops of blood,...
 to be left alone,
and denied b Peter,
and that with an oath,
and a curse;
to be laid hands on,
taken as a thief,
bound,
carried away,
hurried to Annas,
Caiaphas,
Pilate,
Herod,
Pilate the second time,
the Praetorium,
Gabbatha,
the cross.
Thou that wast silent before the judge, restrain my tongue.
Thou that didst deign to be bound, restrain my hands....
In that Thou was struck with the palm of the hand before Annas,
accused before Caiaphas,
attacked by false witnesses condemned for blasphemy...
 stricken,
spit upon,
reviled,
blasphemed: Thy head was crowned with thorns,
 and struck with the reed,
Thine eyes dim with tears,
Thine ears filled with reviling,
Thy mouth given to drink of gall and vinigar,
Thy face marred with spitting,
Thy back ploughed with the scourge,
Thy neck bent with the cross,...
Thy feet pierced with nails,
Thy heart oppressed with grief,
Thy side pierced with the lance,
Thy Blood flowing...
and Thy cry of agony "Eli, Eli!"...
Thou who didst deign that Thy glorious head should be wounded,
forgive thereby whatever, by the senses of my head,
I have sinned.
That Thy holy hands should be pierced,
 forgive thereby whatever I have done amiss by unlawful touch or illicit operation.
That Thy precious side should be opened,
forgive thereby whatever I have offended by lawless thoughts, in ardor of passion.
 That Thy blessed feet should be riven,
forgive thereby whatever I have done by means of feet swift to evil...
And I, too, Lord am wounded in soul; behold the multitude, the length the breadth, the depth of my wounds; and by Thine, heal mine."
-The private devotions of Lancelot Andrewes

The Gospel

The very ugliest of ugliness (besides the tempter) is the human soul without Christ. Entirely apart from God it is apart from all light, goodness, and beauty. It is the epitome of selfishness, laziness, greed, etc. and is utterly deceitful and desperately wicked.
But God in His great mercy loved us while we were yet enslaved in the muck, and sent His righteous son to impute that righteousness to out account. Through His act of  sacrifice (death on the cross)  we become dead to our old enslaved self and through His victory, (rising from the dead)alive in Him! Hallelujah!
The most Beautiful thing in the universe is God. The creator of beauty chose to turn the ugliest into a reflection of His beauty. He has brought us out of the darkness and into the light! And now we are bond-slaves  to the epitome of goodness  and loveliness to the only one who will never fail, fall, or change! What better life could we ask for? http://www.ellerslie.com/The_Gospel.html