Seen Me Afar Off

11-29-2011

An overcoming life?

All Christians sin, but how do we overcome it? We hear thru God's grace we can overcome. I tried repeatedly to not sin, but I always reach a point where I can not. Discourages. It is not that I believe we lose our salvation, but more of I can never please God; always disappointed in myself. I never felt like I was living up to what God wanted for me. Then comes the devil and gets you to put your armour down that God gave you. Starts to wear you down. Doesn't want you to know how to overcome. No matter how many sermons I hear, being convicted, all I could ever do was try again, it might work for a few days, or a few hours, or not at all. I would promise God repeatedly, but in the end, I would still give in to my flesh. I understand it is through Jesus's sacrifice and our faith in that that saves us, but I also feel we shouldn't live our lives in sin. We were saved to do God's will, not be saved and continue in our ways.

What Have I Done?

Today my wife called me at work and said she was cramping, bleeding, and felt like her previous miscarriage. All the way home from work I was upset and felt like I brought this on my family - my sins, God was judging me. Arrived at the doctor's office expecting the worse, expecting God's judgement, only to find God seeing his adopted son from afar off coming to Him. I felt like I had spent my inheritance, I can't go back to Him, I am no good. As Jesus drew me closer to my Father, to where my heart was crying out just like at the moment of my salvation, the Father stretched out His arms and says, my son has returned, I have prepared a feast. As I felt God's love and his mercy fill my life, I felt like I was starting to truly understand "... grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Pet.3:18).

God's grace is not something we can measure by what we can or can not do. His judgements are His judgements. However, we know Christ did not come into the world to judge right now. It says in the Bible, "... that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (2 Tim.1:12).

Christ's love brings us to the Father with a truly repented heart when we sin. When we feel the love of the Father just as we did when God chose us, then that love overwhelms us and enables us to overcome that sin. It is not necessarily us choosing every day - I am not going to do this, although that is part of it. We must be enabled to overcome all sin when we feel the Love of God. There are times when our walk with Christ has gotten off track, and we struggle to get back on. God's grace should never be enabling our sin, allowing us to keep going our own way. The Spirit convicts us of our sins; Jesus brings us to the Father when our hearts are truly repented. God doesn't see our sin, He has turned His face from it. He is Holy. When he sees us coming, our hearts have already asked for the blood of Christ's sacrifice. All God sees is his son, and loves him. The day of Judgement will come, but not today.

At the doctor's office, we find a healthy baby still growing inside my wife's womb. God was sowing my soon-to-be newest daughter's soul in my wife's womb. God will give the increase.

Thank you, God, for all the blessings in my life. Especially, this little one.