Repent, and Move On
If we (freely) admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins (dismiss our lawlessness) and (continuously) cleanse us from all unrighteousness (everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action). 1 John 1:9
It is important to be sincerely sorry if we do something wrong, but it doesn't help anybody for us to openly mourn over everything that is wrong with us. We will never mature in our faith if we stay angry at ourselves.
We are to repent of our sin, receive forgiveness of it, and then forget about it. We must not drag memories of our old behavior around with us all the time. Sooner or later we have to let go and say, "Well, I made a mistake because I am just an old cracked pot." Then we must let God's light shine through the holes in our surface.
God Wants Your Heart
But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for a man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
Religious teaching turns our attention to our outward appearance, but it doesn't empower us to clean up our inside thoughts and intentions. Jesus called the religious Pharisees "whitewashed tombs full of dead man's bones"
Matthew 23:27 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside.
Because they boasted of their perfect obedience to the Hebrews laws.
But God didn't see them as perfect, because their hearts were not merciful as is His. God would rather have someone with a sweet, wonderful heart toward Him, who makes mistakes, than somebody with a slick performance, who is rotten inside.
When God looks at your heart today, let Him find it wholly seeking Him.
God Likes the Way He Made You
My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret (and) intricately and curiously wrought (as if embroidered with various colors) in the depths of the earth (a region of darkness and mystery). Psalm 139:15
Have you ever asked God, "Why did You make me this way?" Sometimes the things that we think are our worst faults, God will use to His greatest glory : "But who are you, a mere man, to criticize and contradict and answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus?" (Romans 9:20)
Jesus died so that we might enjoy our life in abundance and to the fullest until it overflows. You are not going to enjoy your life if you don't enjoy yourself. Be satisfied with yourself, and celebrate the unique way God made you.
Live to Serve God
For even the Son of Man came not to have service rendered to Him, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for (instead of) many. Mark 10:45
As the potter forms clay into vessels, some for honorable use and some for menial use, so God forms us to serve His purpose. Regardless of how our position in life may look to others, we are all formed to serve the Lord in some way.
If God made you to be a helper, then help with all your heart. If you enjoy cleaning houses for people, then do so as if you are cleaning the Lord's house. If you want to stay home with your children instead of earning extra income, don't worry that God has called others to paying positions outside the home. Do whatever the Lord puts in your heart to do --- and enjoy fulfilling your God-given purpose.
Only God Can Change You
The Lord will sustain, refresh, and strengthen him on his bed of languishing; all his bed You (O Lord) will turn, change, and transform in his illness. I said, Lord, be merciful and gracious to me; heal my inner self, for I have sinned against You. Psalm 41:3-4
Don't obsess over your faults, or you will never enjoy the life that Jesus died to give you. Only God can change you, so talk to Him about your desires. The Word says that those who wait on the Lord will change
Isaiah 40:31 But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.
Meanwhile, quit taking your flaws so seriously. Don't let discouragement or depression rob you of your energy and make you angry. If you do, you may take that anger our on other people and miss the blessings God has in store for you today. Enjoy yourself, and lighten up! Take the right steps today toward the change you want to make by asking God to help you all day long.
We Are Carriers
The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; the Lord life up His (approving) countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually). Numbers 6:25-26
Looking at seemingly successful people and thinking, Oh, I wish I was like them, wastes much time. We don't know their problems or their flaws. Everyone has trials, and we should thank God for our own, because if we didn't have problems, we wouldn't need Jesus anymore.
Reveal to others the glory of God's presence in your life by being grateful for what He is doing for you. Understand that God puts His treasures in earthen vessels, like us, so that those who don't know Him will see His grandeur and glory in us
2 Corinthians 4:7 Yet we who have this spiritual order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.
Let the light of God shine through your life today.
God Likes the Way He Made You
My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret (and) intricately and curiously wrought (as if embroidered with various colors) in the depths of the earth ( a religion of darkness and mystery). Psalm 139:15
Have you ever asked God, " Why did You make me this way?" Sometimes the things that we think are our worst faults, God will use to His greatest glory: " But who are you, a mere man, to criticize and contradict and answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus?" (Romans 9:20)
Jesus died so that we might enjoy our life in abundance and to the fullest until it overflows. You are not going to enjoy your life if you don't enjoy yourself. Be satisfied with yourself, and celebrate the unique way God made you.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
No comments:
Post a Comment