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But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7 WEB.

When I was about twenty years old, I was playing music at a party one night. When suddenly, the Holy Spirit came on me with such a loving presence. What happened next was a bit strange. I had a third-person vision of myself where He let me see my life through His eyes in an instant. Then He whispered, "Do you want this, or what I have for you?"

It instantly changed my view on life, my desires, and my plans. I didn't really know Him, but I suddenly wanted to. At the end of the set, I placed my bass in the case, said goodbye to the band, went home and into the bedroom, and made things right with God that night. He lit a fire within me.

The next morning, I got up and went to church. Soon I was baptized, and all my friends scattered like roaches when a light was turned on. I started Bible college, got my degree, and He began preparing me for the ministry we do today. That was certainly not my game plan at the time.

I grew up very legalistic and viewed God as a mean super-being waiting for me to make a mistake. After a while, I learned that I wasn't very good at keeping rules. And by now, He was probably really angry at me. So I avoided Him and the places I thought He might be.

That night the loving-kindness of the Lord chased me down. He came to where I was, and I have never viewed God the same again. He will find you wherever you are. No one had to preach to me, for He drew me like a magnet and gave me hope and a future. God is not mad nor mean. Even when we ignore Him and go our own way, He loves us more than we can comprehend.

Wherever you stand with God today, know that He is pursuing you. He wants a deeper relationship with you, and He will never give up the pursuit. You can try to avoid Him, but He will come to where you are. He is the game-changer.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please send Your Holy Spirit into my life and change things as you see fit. I know that You have the best plans for me, and I surrender to You today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: Good morning! As we near the end of the year, just a reminder that you can make your tax-deductible donations to Refreshing Hope Ministries through Tuesday. No pressure ever, though we deeply appreciate all who contribute to the work of this ministry and our commitment to keeping our devotionals ad-free. For those would like to contribute, here is the page! As always, if you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network. If you are interested in joining the prayer team, here is how to get started Prayer Partners.