Each one of us experiences a duplicity within ourselves. A Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde dwells within even the best of people. Romans 7 confirms this to be true. This reality could be doom and gloom, and it is for the person without Christ because it is a hopeless battle that cannot be won. However, for followers of Jesus, it is a hope-filled battle that cannot be lost.
I have semi-paraphrased the above message from a Tim Keller sermon I listened to this morning. If you would like to know more about this hope-filled battle that you cannot lose, feel free to contact me! It is not a fight for perfection, striving, trying or working harder. It is a freedom that offers rest, redemption, grace and salvation. You are loved!
Tag: salvation
Anyway
Life will give us more than we can handle, but we were never meant to handle it alone anyway.
Life will give us more than we can understand, but we were never intended to understand everything anyway.
Life will take us places we don’t want to go, but we were never meant to travel alone anyway.
Life will cause us to question, forget, take for granted, disobey, offend and sometimes be angry at God, but Jesus died for us anyway.
Life will cause us to succumb to this world, but all God’s children are eternal survivors anyway.
You are never alone, and no matter what has happened or you have done, a repentant heart is loved anyway.
(1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:28)
(Deuteronomy 29:29, Proverbs 3:5)
(Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 42:16)
(Jeremiah 22:21, Romans 2:23)
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.
Because Jesus
Because Jesus paid it all, we have nothing to prove. Because He was perfectly adequate, we can be peacefully inadequate. Because our righteousness comes only from Him we can rest. Because He saved us, we can lay down our shame. The world will crush us if that is what we are chasing. Jesus will carry us if we cast our cares upon Him.
You Complete Me
Am I finding life in my current success or my eternal security? My answer makes all the difference.
Father, you know I am bent towards a fallen nature of performance based righteousness. By my power, in my own eyes, I will never be enough. Thank you for sacrificing your Son to complete me. Help me to find significance in Your sanctuary, not my success. Amen.
Father, you know I am bent towards a fallen nature of performance based righteousness. By my power, in my own eyes, I will never be enough. Thank you for sacrificing your Son to complete me. Help me to find significance in Your sanctuary, not my success. Amen.
It’s All About Jesus
The older I get; it is not about where I get to go, but when I get to be home. It is not about what I can have, but what I can give. It is not about who I have known the longest, but who has walked with me through the most. It is not about who or what is around me, but what is within me. It is not about me at all, but a relationship with the One who gave it all. Thank you, Jesus for saving me. John 3:30~ He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.