Tag: sin nature

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Day 23 All My Praise

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Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Luke 5:23-24
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Psalm 51:1

I recently read about the Free Grace movement which started around the late 1980s.  Their basic belief is that you need only to say you believe in Jesus to receive eternal life in the Kingdom of God.  No repentance necessary.  No change in your ways.  You don’t even need to say you “follow” Jesus.  

While you can find places in the New Testament where people received salvation from Jesus for believing, one has to ask in the modern world the question of what does “believing” mean?  

Your definition of “believing” is important because if you believe Jesus was just a guy who lived a long time ago or a prophet who did some miracles then you won’t believe He forgives our sins and with compassion blots out our transgressions.  You might think Jesus had some good life advice that may or may not apply to you.  It certainly doesn’t lead you to get on your knees in submission and praise. 

If you believe He is God but don’t seek through the Holy Spirit a repentant, changed life then you might find yourself facing a Jesus who says to you: “You say Lord, Lord but I didn’t know you.”

Easy “believism” doesn’t lead to a life of divine-given fruit through our act of acknowledging our sin nature.  People Jesus encountered throughout His time here and believed were always told to go and do something.  Sin no more, tell someone, worship differently, give up something.

The Lord Jesus wants not just our words, He wants all of us.  He expects believers to see Him as the God who reigns over every single aspect of our lives.  He wants the repentant not the unrepentant in His Kingdom.  And it’s only Him that can forgive and transform.  It’s that Jesus that causes us to be thankful, grateful for removing the scales from our eyes so we can see Him clearly.  

And for that we should give Him all praise because in the end that’s truly the only thing we can offer back to the God of the Universe. 

Click here to listen to today’s song: All My Praise

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Take His Advice

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“Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes… but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”  Proverb 1:30-33

Are you the kind of person who likes to dole out advice?  According to an article in Psychology Today, research tells us that whenever a person tells us what to do and how to do it, we respond with defensive defiance because we want to maximize our personal freedom and decision-making.  And in another study about giving advice, it indicates that, even if you’re not actively out to take the reins over others, giving advice can make you feel like you have some sway, which helps you feel more powerful.

So here you have two polarizing human actions.  The need to have some, a little or maybe even a lot of power over people’s decision making coupled with a defiant audience wanting to, as toddlers so often say, “do it myself!”  Is it any wonder that the entire first chapter in God’s book of wisdom, Proverbs, focuses on the challenges and pitfalls of ignoring God’s advice?  We humans want so often to go it alone.  We buck and itch at someone telling us how to do it better or different – even when we can see they are correct.  Our sinful nature seeks immediacy, comfort and pleasure.  Yet, God’s Word can sometimes ask us to do the exact opposite.

Here’s a secret about God.  He doesn’t need to feel more powerful.  He is all-powerful already.  He doesn’t need you to listen to Him.  He can do just fine without you or me.  You will eventually experience any consequences of ignoring Him all on your own.  He doesn’t have any other motivation in giving advice than this one thing: He loves you immensely.  He won’t be a “stage mom.”  He’s not pushy and obnoxious.  He simply lays out a very clear path to make living this temporary life in this broken world as best possible. 

So friend, while you may spurn the advice of others because you are unsure of their motivations I encourage you to embrace His wisdom.  We can be assured of His motivation.  He loves you so much that He wants you to live a good life with eyes toward His eternal kingdom.

Lord, help me not to turn my ears from your Words.  I want to soak up your advice and live out a life full of your wisdom. Amen