Discovering what love is one day at a time
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash When I was growing up, there was a childhood game called Mercy that we would play. Honestly, it was only fun when you were winning, and even then, not so much because to win you had to execute the win with strength, skill, endurance, and most of all pain tolerance. The player that cried out “Mercy” was the one who surrendered to their opponent who with their hands clasped opposing yours had managed to swiftly twist your hands wrists and fingers into an unsustainable and painful position. Sin, transgressions, and iniquities leave us crying out for mercy, because it leaves us in an unsustainable and painful position. “Mercy came running like a prisoner set free past all my failures to the point of my need and the sin that I carry was all I could see, when I could not see mercy mercy came running to me….” This song by Phillips Craig and Dean is such a beautiful picture of Christ taking on our sin, iniquities, and transgressions, by His death and resurrection. When we look at the messes in our life, we can look at them with a prideful heart, casting blame only on others, we can remain unapproachable, hidden in different behaviors, evasive in our answers, and simply in opposition to the fact that we have any personal responsibility for anything. We have become blind to our true heart condition. We as humans all are born with a sinful heart. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God We all are dead in our sin because our sin condemns us. It completely separates us from a Holy God. Yet while we were still sinners Christ died for us. But God, He asks us to step out of our darkness into His Light When we are presented with the reality of what our choices create, consequences for us personally, consequences for those connected to us, we have two choices, we can cling to our “rights” “freedom” or whatever those things that seem important to us, or we can choose to step into Gods Truth, His Light. We all can be washed clean of our sin and enter relationship with Jesus Christ. However, we must come to the place of bowing our knee to the One who died for us, turn, and repent from our ways and accept His gift of Salvation. But it doesn’t end there, believing in Christ is walking in relationship to Him as King, setting His Word as the plumb line for our lives and being obedient to His Word. Maybe you have come to that place of saving faith, and you are born again or maybe you haven’t taken that step. If you are somewhere in the middle of your circumstance, and you are facing some painful realities, cry out to Jesus, bend your knee, bow your heart, submit your ways to Him. The truth is that our flesh tends to create a reality that serves us through pride, instead of serving the One we have said that we love through humility. The beauty of Christ is He is Grace and Truth all melded into one. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but we are to humbly abide in Him. We get to crucify our flesh, tattle on it, bring it into the light. Things that are brought out into the light do not have power to rule over us, however we can choose to remain hidden behind the smoke screens that we create for ourselves and stay locked up in our wrong patterns of thinking, believing that we are somehow “free”” in them. Life on this earth constantly presents us with opportunities, these are choices that open doors to us. One door is an opportunity for us to partner with God and His Word and allow Him to show Himself strongly on our behalf. “And you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free. “John 8:23 The other is an opportunity for us to reject God and His Word and find the path of least resistance.” And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John3:19 Most likely, we step into this arena directed by a deadly infection of pride. It hides under the surface, in our hearts and attaches itself to the way we look at our life, whispering to us, lifting our eyes onto ourselves, and exalting us over all the circumstances surrounding us. Pride includes a degree of haughtiness, and vast contempt for God and for others. Pride is a matter of the heart. Pride will cause us to cherish independence, and not allow ourselves to be accountable to others. Pride may even make us appear to walk in downcast humility all the while in our heart we will be seething with contempt for God and our fellow man. This is revealed by our lack of reverence for God and general overall disobedience to His Word. Pride will blind our own eyes to see how desperately we need to be corrected. Today, when we hear His voice, may we not harden our hearts, but come boldly to the throne of grace. Bowing our knee, bowing our hearts, bowing our minds, bowing our lives to the one who died and gave Himself so completely for us. Time is short, we must choose wisely.
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AuthorI have been married to my wonderful husband for 29 years. We have two young men ages 25 and 20.. This blog is somewhat of a journal and attempt for me to remind myself of my purpose and invite others to join me in keeping an eternal perspective as we move through each day. Archives
May 2023
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