Romans 3:23 tells us "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." There it is. None of us are perfect. None of us are worthy of God's grace. Yet, he still chooses to give us His grace and forgive us time and time again. And what do we do? We continue to wrestle with the sins that keep us bound in guilt and shame. So many times in my own life I have felt convicted of my sin and disgusted with the way I was living, and I would swear to myself that I was never going to do that again. But here I am, still wrestling; still struggling. Their is a veil of pride, lust, selfishness, envy, and so many other sins covering our hearts and our minds, and we just can't seem to shake it off.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. There is freedom in the Gospel. The story of Jesus defeating sin and rescuing us is not a fairy tale. WE ARE FREE. With the Holy Spirit in us, the veil of sin is torn away. Yet, we live our lives as if we haven't won the battle. Sure, we don't struggle with most sins anymore. We are pretty decent people. But there is that one sin that we just can't overcome. That one sin that still owns our hearts and our lives. Why?
Because we allow it to. Because we don't wholeheartedly want to give it up. We spend our whole lives wrestling with our sin, hoping that eventually we will be able to pin our sin down and just wait until it "taps out." That is a complete joke. You are kidding yourself if you think that will ever happen. Spiritual warfare isn't an organized wrestling match with rules and regulations. Spiritual warfare is a battle for your heart, and Satan doesn't play fair. If you ever hope to have the sin in your life conquered, you have to go for the kill. Satan isn't going to tap out and walk away, leaving you to follow Christ with no more struggles. You have to be willing to kill the sin in your life. But you can't do it alone. Are you willing to let Jesus take control of your life and conquer your sin? Are you willing to let go of what your heart wants for what the heart of God wants? 1 Corinthian 1:25 says "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is stronger than man." God is smarter than you. God is stronger than you. Are you willing to let go of your pride and selfishness so God can set you free? Stop wrestling with sin. Go for the kill. The spiritual warfare in your heart isn't something to play with. Satan isn't giving up. You shouldn't either. You are loved. You are redeemed. Your shame and embarrassment is washed away with the blood of Christ. Give it all up to God and He will rescue you.The only question is are you truly willing?
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
What Storm?
"So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" Matthew 14:29-30
The thing that I love most about this story is examining both the faith that Peter had and the clear power of Christ that gave Peter the faith to walk out on the water, and later saved Him when Peter's faith came up short. Recently, I've been faced with an enormous decision that will greatly impact my college career and the path that my life is heading. This decision has caused me to think about how many "storms" that we face in our lives. There are storms of tough decisions, heartbreak, failure, and so many others that leave us drowning in the sea of our fear, crying out "Lord, save me!" Yet, when reading and meditating on this story and thinking about my own life, I realize that we (especially myself) approach the storms in our lives with completely the wrong attitude. I always expect that when I pray and seek the Lord when I'm overwhelmed, that everything will work itself out quickly and efficiently. Not to say that it can't happen, but even though that's the way that T.V shows work out, when problems are solved in short 30-minute intervals (excluding Friends: Ross and Rachel had problems for like, FOREVER. You guys were on a break, get over it Rachel...), our problems are not usually solved that quickly,because that's not always the way that God wants, and His way is always the better way. When you look at Peter, and the faith that he had in the beginning, it is incredible. He kept his eyes on Christ and that was all he needed. Verse 30 doesn't say that he became afraid when the storm started or when it worsened, but it says he took his eyes off of Jesus and then saw that the "wind was boisterous". The storm didn't stop when Peter began to focus on Jesus, it was still going on. But the thing is that the storm just didn't matter anymore. Christ was all that mattered. That is the mindset that we need to have when facing trials and storms. Don't expect a magical fix, but what you should expect is an overwhelming sense of God-given peace when you focus on Christ. The struggle really began for Peter when he took his eyes off of Christ and focused on his fear instead.
When you are caught in fear and doubt, and the storm seems too overwhelming, look to Christ. Cry out "Lord, help me!", and don't stray from His presence. As Verse 31 tells us, Jesus will immediately reach out to us and save us. The doubt in our lives is what causes the storms to be overwhelming. Trust in Christ. Abide in Him, and though the storm may still be raging, it won't matter. There will only be the peace of Christ.
The thing that I love most about this story is examining both the faith that Peter had and the clear power of Christ that gave Peter the faith to walk out on the water, and later saved Him when Peter's faith came up short. Recently, I've been faced with an enormous decision that will greatly impact my college career and the path that my life is heading. This decision has caused me to think about how many "storms" that we face in our lives. There are storms of tough decisions, heartbreak, failure, and so many others that leave us drowning in the sea of our fear, crying out "Lord, save me!" Yet, when reading and meditating on this story and thinking about my own life, I realize that we (especially myself) approach the storms in our lives with completely the wrong attitude. I always expect that when I pray and seek the Lord when I'm overwhelmed, that everything will work itself out quickly and efficiently. Not to say that it can't happen, but even though that's the way that T.V shows work out, when problems are solved in short 30-minute intervals (excluding Friends: Ross and Rachel had problems for like, FOREVER. You guys were on a break, get over it Rachel...), our problems are not usually solved that quickly,because that's not always the way that God wants, and His way is always the better way. When you look at Peter, and the faith that he had in the beginning, it is incredible. He kept his eyes on Christ and that was all he needed. Verse 30 doesn't say that he became afraid when the storm started or when it worsened, but it says he took his eyes off of Jesus and then saw that the "wind was boisterous". The storm didn't stop when Peter began to focus on Jesus, it was still going on. But the thing is that the storm just didn't matter anymore. Christ was all that mattered. That is the mindset that we need to have when facing trials and storms. Don't expect a magical fix, but what you should expect is an overwhelming sense of God-given peace when you focus on Christ. The struggle really began for Peter when he took his eyes off of Christ and focused on his fear instead.
When you are caught in fear and doubt, and the storm seems too overwhelming, look to Christ. Cry out "Lord, help me!", and don't stray from His presence. As Verse 31 tells us, Jesus will immediately reach out to us and save us. The doubt in our lives is what causes the storms to be overwhelming. Trust in Christ. Abide in Him, and though the storm may still be raging, it won't matter. There will only be the peace of Christ.
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