“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hat not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John 3:16-2
Today’s Daily Devotional
Memories of working at a gentleman’s club bubble up to the surface as I read the last part of these passages. My thoughts regress back to a conversation I had during a particularly grueling night. It was a couple of hours before the bar was supposed to close, and the recession was not a fear anymore. The few patrons scattered throughout the room made it clear that the recession was real. A group of girls had gathered together at some tables closest to the doorway. Their eyes were desperately scanning the front of the establishment for any movement. “My mom thinks I’m a waitress.” One of them said as she broke the uncomfortable lack of conversation. “My little boy thinks I’m a toll-booth worker.” The two former strangers giggled as they bonded by this weak common thread. The fact that most of us were hiding the truth from the people who loved us struck me as beyond sad. These lies were told because the truth was too ugly to reveal. We all shared at least one thing in common—we were all liars and most of us had become comfortable with that. We did not like to tell the truth because that would expose too many things that many of us did not want to face. Our “secret” kept us trapped in a dangerous cycle of a job that did not promise a good future. By keeping our profession “under wraps” this forced us to have to deal with our painful circumstances without the help from people who cared. If you are comfortable with your dark secrets, ask yourself if it is REALLY worth it. Exposing your own “demons” might be the very first step toward that life that you have been dreaming of; but never had the guts to reach out and grab. A happy life can only be found in the freedom of truth.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
I feel condemned. I feel like have gone so far down the road of perdition that I could never be saved. I do NOT love the dark anymore. I was seduced by the lie that there was something better and that life would be more exciting if I was “getting away” with something. I realize that I was fooling myself. I want to stop lying to myself. I am NOT okay. Where I am today is NOT a good place. Help me to reach for the light of your word—the Bible. Help me to know exactly how much you love me by really looking into your Son, Jesus. He died for a reason. It says in John 3:16 that He died to save me. If He died to save me, then I am willing to reach out and give myself a chance at life again. I am reaching out to you, God. I am asking Jesus Christ to come into my heart, to wash me clean from all my sins. Make me clean and to give me a new heart and a new start. I will read the Bible as I know that this will nourish my new self. In Jesus’ precious name, thank you for your mercy and forgiveness, I accept it all. Amen.”