"Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Ps. 34:14
I am not sure why this statement grabbed my attention like it did... I give props to the Holy Spirit. For the past few months I have found myself dealing with negative thoughts and ugly perceptions of myself related to sin in my life. The pastor at East Cooper Baptist church spoke this past Sunday about having a joyful repentance. I have repented, but my life has been devoid of a joyful repentance. I like the verse above for its imperative nature, but also the charge to seek peace. Once I have joyfully repented, there is no reason to even consider my past sin. The negative thoughts and regrets have no place in my life and in my heart... they have to be replaced --with peace. As Mr. CS Lewis so nicely says in Mere Christianity, " If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them (Jesus)." So I hope that we as Christians can honestly ask ourselves: Are we proactively pursuing our Savior. It can be for any and every reason... for me right now, I must get close to and be grateful for his ability to take my sins and make them disappear. Once that area in my life experiences his peace, I will need to get closer to Him for a reason that is just as important I am sure!
Anyway, one further thought concerning disappointing God(sinning) and the bonus of salvation through Jesus Christ...Pastor Brown(ECBC) provided an AWESOME quote that I really wanted to share: Mercy reduces deserved punishment but grace rewards those who deserve punishment. It seemed a bit heavy to me at first, but after giving it some time to sink in I felt like this definition of mercy and grace were perfect for me and I hope they help you guys too. On the cross Christ managed to take my punishment(mercy) AND saturate me to blessings and rewards(grace). In my personal opinion no one can do anything more compelling for me.. ever.
I don't really have a "charge" to leave you with... but just a sense of how we were before Christ and how we are now, IN Christ, basking in mercy and grace.. fully aware of what has been done, what will be done and what can be done through Christ.
By: Catie
3 comments:
I like it! Here's another spin on God's grace and mercy:
"God's mercy restrains Him from giving us what we do deserve and God's grace releases Him to give us what we don't deserve."
Wow!!! Great job Catie...as CHRISTians, we must remember that there is great JOY in salvation. If Satan can, he will try and steal that joy...often our joy is stolen by lingering feelings of guilt that we as Christians carry even after we confess our sins and know that God has forgiven us....one thing that really helps me is to stay in His word and in fellowship with a church body....we are to feel guilt when we sin....the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and He will convict us but He convicts us "unto repentence" then we can LET IT GO!!! knowing that God has forgiven us....realizing that God knows us INSIDE OUT and still loves us!!!!
I know one problem I have faced is lingering guilt after confession of a sin, or sins. God's Word says that He washes us white as snow...that once forgiven, our sins are as far from us as the east is from the west. Getting that to stick in my head has been hard and it is something I still struggle with today. As I mature in my relationship with Christ I feel a "quicker" release from sin when I repent, but it isn't always sudden. That is something I have to continue to ask God to help me grasp. GREAT TOPIC!
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