A few days ago I left my footprints in the sand. I was walking in search of Jesus, reaching for his nail scarred hand. This countenance, a plea and praise on my heart did land. When I wander forth from you, Lord and my veers, direct me back till Your Light in my view appears. May my steps always follow your trail for that is the only way my flesh will fade and allow Your Spirit to prevail. You are the Light of the world. You shine in the heavens, on the waters and among the tiniest grains of sand. There is not one spot under the sun that Your light can be undone. May your glow always lead me to look up and ahead, never back where my transgressions in your sight are dead. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for dying for me; it is only because of you that my blind eyes are allowed to see. When I needed a friend it is you who has always been there; and because I required a Savior, it was you who my sins did bear. It is finished you did cry, so that I may live with you forever, never to die.
Tag: forgiven
Fallen but Forgiven
Dear friend, I know you need to hear this today. It is perfectly normal that you are both a masterpiece and a mess simultaneously. You may say, “I do not feel like much of a masterpiece right now, but Oh, you are! See, it is confirmed here in God’s infallible word~Ephesians 2:10~ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. Yes, it is true you are a mixed bag. So am I! That is because we live in a fallen world, of fallen people, with fallen laws, fallen morals and a ferocious enemy who wants you to believe fallible ideas about yourself. Not one of us is perfect, but our freedom is not in our perfection; it is in the truth that we are fallen citizens, but forgiven children! You are loved!
You Are Enough
You are not pretty enough, skinny enough, good enough, fun enough or organized enough. You are not a good mother, father, provider, cook, leader, friend or person. You cannot compete with everyone around you. You will never measure up, have enough or be enough. These are all LIES friend. Lies that an opportunistic enemy likes to plant in our minds when we are not on guard and insulated every morning by the word of God. If you did not have time to read this morning, let me remind you of a few of the beautiful things God says about you. You are mine. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I have your name inscribed on the palm of my hand. I call you friend. You are my heir. You have been set free. In repentance, you find rest and I will remember the trespasses no more. You are righteous, redeemed and set free by the grace of Jesus. Nothing you can do will take away my love for you. I loved you enough to sacrifice my son. I have chosen you. You are complete in me. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ~Philippians 4:8. You are loved and adored on you best and even more on your worst day, so do not despair, precious friend.
Freely Inadequate but Fully Accepted
Are you feeling inadequate this morning? Me, too. As a matter of fact, I have been feeling incompetent for some time now due to a variety of life challenges. Then last Thursday happened.
I was attending a dinner, and the speaker was talking about a very dark subject. She was telling her story, and it was very far from pretty. One thing the brave woman said with a trembling voice has captivated my thoughts since that night. I am paraphrasing her words; I never thought Jesus could love and forgive a sinner as dirty as me. Then one day I realized that my attitude about His forgiveness was equivalent to me putting Jesus back on the cross because He did not do His job right the first time and I could not do that.
Wow! I have been thinking a lot about how many times I am crucifying Jesus again because I too am not feeling “good enough.” The truth I often forget is that I am not good enough, never was, never will be and that is why Christ had to pay the ultimate price for me.
Jesus died for my inadequacies, and yours. Being ashamed of them is a dishonor to Him. He willingly gave his life to give me mine. He suffered a cruel, undeserved death to complete me in all the areas I am incomplete. Because He is whole, I am free to be broken. Because he is perfect, I am free to be imperfect. That is good news for a ragamuffin like me.
There is no need to twinge in light of my truth and no reason to cower to condemnation. I am righteous because Jesus has risen. Isaiah 61:10 says it best; I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me in the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am prone, however, to forget what I know to be true. I knew His promise, but I had forgotten. I had forgotten, and thus, I had forsaken the Gospel. Life has a tendency to court us away from the truth, but God has a tender character that carries us back under the shelter of His wings where we are allowed to be freely inadequate but fully accepted. I am preaching this to myself today, friends. I pray if need be you can find rest here, too.