One day I found some coins in a pile of dirt. It looked as if the coins had been through a fire and covered with sut and dust. As people who have been through the fire of our lives here on this brutal planet, we are just like those coins. Our worth is not reduced because we are covered with dirt and ashes from our past – from our sin. You can take those coins, clean the dirt off and they are worth just as much as they were before they got into the mess that they were in. As humans, when we are covered in the shame and dirt of a life gone wrong, the filth of our sinful pasts – It’s the blood of Jesus that we need to clean us up and make us brand new, revealing our true worth and glory. When we ask Jesus to forgive us and to make us brand new, He comes in and washes away all of the dirt and makes us shine with a light that is the glory of God. His word says, “Behold, I am making ALL things new.” Why be discouraged when…you can SHINE!