It is never too late for us to return to God. His call is constant, His love unfailing, and His forgiveness complete. He simply desires us to turn to Him with our whole heart. The price is already paid for every sin we have ever committed, and all we have to do is trust Him to perform according to His Word.
The hardest thing for us to do is to see our self for who we really are. So many of us are so calloused and disillusioned that we think we are just fine without Him, but we aren't. Our depravity is deep, and permeates every aspect of our lives. Before we can turn to God with our whole heart, we must realize we need Him. We must see our shortcomings and failures for what they really are. They are wretched, damaging, and hurtful to everyone around us, yet alone our selves, and there is nothing we can do of our own accord to change them. If there were, we would not need a Savior and Jesus would not had to have given His life to redeem us.
If God is calling you, tugging on your heart, do not let the guilt and shame of the realization of the thing you have done keep you from turning to Him for healing. He forgives you, He loves you, and He already knows all that you have done. Today can be the day of your salvation. Today can be the day that you are set free from all of the pain, guilt, shame, and failure. Today you can turn to the Lord, call on His great Name, and trust Him to do what we cannot do of our own accord.
Think about it. Does it hurt bad enough yet? How much more must you, and more importantly your loved ones, endure before it does hurt bad enough. There is no short cut. There is no other way. There are more "self-help" programs and ideas in the world today than ever before, and the violence and divorce rates continue to climb at exponential rates. If the world had the answer, this would not be. There is one answer, and one name which we can be saved from our great depravity. Jesus of Nazareth, God come in the flesh to His people to offer life, and life more abundantly.
Showing posts with label Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free. Show all posts
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Just Me
Coming to Christ is a point in a person's life where we see the truth about our depravity for the first time, and see the hope in what Jesus Christ did for us. God wants us to be free, for this is salvation. True freedom. Free from what other people think about us. Free from the guilt, the shame, and the burden of the things we have done. Free from our fears. Free from our limitations. Freedom to just be our selves, to be who God made us to be. Hope that God can do what we cannot, that where we fall short He is able to make up the difference. The moment of surrender before God, being baptized in the Holy Spirit, is THEE definitive moment of TRUTH in our lives. It is the moment where we come to terms with who we really are, who God really is, and what He has truly done for us. This is THEE moment of truth. From this point forward we will continue to grow into a person of commitment, of integrity, and of truth.
Some of us are able to just ignore the truths of the things we have done, which gives us escape from the guilt and shame temporarily, but in doing so the real us is subsequently buried even deeper behind our lies and denial. If we cannot at least be honest with our self, how can we ever be honest with anyone around us? A person who has a desire to be the best that they can be, to love those in their lives as perfectly as possible, will inevitably come to terms with the truth. Others will be satisfied with the relationships in their lives being shallow and empty, and may never have to come to terms with the truth. They will hold tight to their illusion no matter how the relationships around them suffer. We hide our sin from those who love us and from God Himself. We cannot be open, or honest, because of fear of what people may say or do.
There is such freedom in "coming clean", in facing the truth of who we are and what we have done. When we confess our sins, we are making ourself transparent. We are able to then simply deal with things in truth. Yes we did that, and yes we did that. Our "yes" is able to be "yes", and our "no" is able to be "no". When we reach the point that we can honestly say... "I am a liar." "I am a cheat." "I am a manipulator." "I am selfish.", we are then getting to where we can deal with truths.
At this point we have come to terms with who we really are, and must then decide what we want to do about it. Many of us will simply justify all of the things that we have done by either blaming our actions on someone else, or something else. We are capable of justifying whatever we want, however we want. Some will show simple complacency and just state that they are good with who they are. These people are those who do not care about what they have done to others by their actions. They are good, so they don't care. There there are still those who see what their actions have done to others, and their hearts break. It is these that come to their knees before Jesus. They no longer want to hurt anyone else, and there is great repentance for the things they have done.
The guilt and shame from the things we have done is washed away by the blood that was shed to forgive us. We are set free, because we acknowledge and accept that we are a sinful person. These things dwell in our flesh, and so we openly acknowledge them. We look to God to cause us to walk in love, giving everything we have to give to those around us. When we fall short of our goal, which we do constantly, we remember the blood of Christ, the love of God, and we repent, pick ourself back up, and start fresh. We never give up. We never stay down.
I am just a man, and I will never be perfect. Sometimes I lie. Sometimes I manipulate. I am far from perfect, but I know who I am. I am not afraid to just be myself. I am not ashamed that I am not perfect. I trust in God. I trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. As I spend more time with Him, the desires of my heart have changed. I lie less. I manipulate less. However, the sin will always be in this flesh. I do not need to bare the weight of guilt though. When I sin, I confess my sin, I whole heartedly repent, and I move on. All of our sins have been forgiven, and I do not need to hide myself from my Maker. I trust in Him to make me who He made me to be. I am free to be just me, and that is in Christ.
Some of us are able to just ignore the truths of the things we have done, which gives us escape from the guilt and shame temporarily, but in doing so the real us is subsequently buried even deeper behind our lies and denial. If we cannot at least be honest with our self, how can we ever be honest with anyone around us? A person who has a desire to be the best that they can be, to love those in their lives as perfectly as possible, will inevitably come to terms with the truth. Others will be satisfied with the relationships in their lives being shallow and empty, and may never have to come to terms with the truth. They will hold tight to their illusion no matter how the relationships around them suffer. We hide our sin from those who love us and from God Himself. We cannot be open, or honest, because of fear of what people may say or do.
There is such freedom in "coming clean", in facing the truth of who we are and what we have done. When we confess our sins, we are making ourself transparent. We are able to then simply deal with things in truth. Yes we did that, and yes we did that. Our "yes" is able to be "yes", and our "no" is able to be "no". When we reach the point that we can honestly say... "I am a liar." "I am a cheat." "I am a manipulator." "I am selfish.", we are then getting to where we can deal with truths.
At this point we have come to terms with who we really are, and must then decide what we want to do about it. Many of us will simply justify all of the things that we have done by either blaming our actions on someone else, or something else. We are capable of justifying whatever we want, however we want. Some will show simple complacency and just state that they are good with who they are. These people are those who do not care about what they have done to others by their actions. They are good, so they don't care. There there are still those who see what their actions have done to others, and their hearts break. It is these that come to their knees before Jesus. They no longer want to hurt anyone else, and there is great repentance for the things they have done.
The guilt and shame from the things we have done is washed away by the blood that was shed to forgive us. We are set free, because we acknowledge and accept that we are a sinful person. These things dwell in our flesh, and so we openly acknowledge them. We look to God to cause us to walk in love, giving everything we have to give to those around us. When we fall short of our goal, which we do constantly, we remember the blood of Christ, the love of God, and we repent, pick ourself back up, and start fresh. We never give up. We never stay down.
I am just a man, and I will never be perfect. Sometimes I lie. Sometimes I manipulate. I am far from perfect, but I know who I am. I am not afraid to just be myself. I am not ashamed that I am not perfect. I trust in God. I trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. As I spend more time with Him, the desires of my heart have changed. I lie less. I manipulate less. However, the sin will always be in this flesh. I do not need to bare the weight of guilt though. When I sin, I confess my sin, I whole heartedly repent, and I move on. All of our sins have been forgiven, and I do not need to hide myself from my Maker. I trust in Him to make me who He made me to be. I am free to be just me, and that is in Christ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)