When we decide to become Christians, Christ followers, we also decide to give all of our faults and failures to Jesus. When we ask him to forgive us He does. Then we live the rest of our Christ following lives striving to be more like Him. Will we ever achieve perfection? Absolutely not. But that is no excuse to remain the way we were before we became Christians. We are not supposed to remain the same, otherwise what is the point?
If we remain the same, we go to church but we do not live a redeemed life. We come out the same way we went in Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. What's the point of going? Oh, wait, you thought I would tell you my faults? No! I will tell you that it is important that we all know our faults. We should not ignore them or make excuses for them, we should confront them and daily work to overcome them. As I said before, we will never be perfect but our heart will be different.
Our heart, that is the key. Every time I think about the condition of the heart, I think about King David. He did so many bad things, made bad decisions, but God loved him because his heart was always in the right place and he was repentant. He knew his faults. We have to know our faults, confess our faults, and work on them daily. Sometimes we will fail miserably, and other times we will gain the victory. Psalm 51 tells the story of when Nathan the prophet called David out for committing murder and adultery. Those are two pretty heavy duty sins, but God forgave him. Oh, he punished him, but He forgave him.
As I look back over the years, I can without a doubt say that I have changed for the better. My family sees the changes as they look back over the years too. It is important to me that others see the changes in me, but most of all it is important that God sees the change. When He sees the changes He trusts us more. When He trusts us more He tests us more. The thing about God trusting us more is that He can allow some really painful things into our lives. Maybe that is why some people are content with their personal status quo.
Just a few years ago I would never have asked forgiveness of the person who methodically worked to successfully toss me out of something I started. I learned quite a bit about that situation and about my growth. In fact, when things like this happen, it should teach us about our future decision-making process. Never let anything bad or good, go to waste. God doesn't.
I have never been a status quo person. Good enough is not good enough. That personality trait tends to drive some people crazy, but again I say, status quo cannot be good enough. Let us grow daily and not remain on the same level for the rest of our lives, otherwise, what is the point?
Hello Ms. Morgan, I remember all stories of how God favored David. My name is David Solomon and my parents and grandparents were very proud of my name and told me many times as I was growing up, that I had a good heart and god will remember that.
ReplyDeleteI love my people and I always try to reach out to them with knowledge and wisdom. You can't really have one without the other. We live in an age where our distractions are just as abundant as our opportunities, so my mission is to pass knowledge of what is taking place in our country and the wisdom to guide, mentor, encourage anyone who will take that advice to build wealth for their familes.
Is their anyone in your audience who are seeking?