Tuesday, January 3, 2012

God's Love in Action

"But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" Rom. 5:8

Just felt led to share this: I am a sinner desperately in need of a Savior. and God the Father, in His great LOVE for me, has graciously revealed to my heart the fact that i AM a sinner and that He has provided a way out from my bondage of sin...through His Son, Jesus.

Also, now that i'm preparing to become a mother, I realize my child - though beautifully created in the image of God and precious in His sight - is also a sinner in need of a Savior. I pray i can be a humble, Spirit-led mother in my training of her and other future little ones...praying for them, instructing/ disciplining them with grace when needed (though i'll do so far from perfectly - that's why I'm desperate for HIM to help me), setting an example of living a life of daily repentance & worship unto the King, and Lord-willing guiding them gently unto a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

What do the words 'sin' or 'sinner' do to your emotions? Are you put off by them? if so, I pray this passage changes that for you. Understanding or comprehending the depth of our sin that separates us from God before salvation and even our tendency to battle real sin struggles as a believer should make us fall on our faces before the King in grateful worship for what HE has DONE, not shy away or water down the truth! on the flip side of the coin, we are not to focus more on our sin than on the One who has set us FREE and FORGIVEN us from all sin. A healthy balance of asking for illumination into our hearts, recognizing our desperate need for help, wrestling with sin struggles while also living in the reality of your RISEN Savior and all that HE has accomplished for you is essential. leaning on one side of the equation leads to despair and over-introspection while the other side can lead to weak Christians who don't think much of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

He's paid it ALL and, if you are in Christ, you are now counted forgiven, pure, cleansed, worthy, and RIGHTEOUS because of the blood of the Lamb. He took upon Himself all of our sin and exchanged it with His perfect righteousness.

Don't be afraid of these terms. Don't shy away from calling yourself a 'sinner' because that is what you are if you have not yet put your hope in Jesus and, Believer, that is what you were before you knew Him. even the truest Christian still sins daily and is in need daily of repentance and forgiveness. but now it's available to you, for you are HIS - the presence of sin remains until we are with Him in Glory but the power of it has been broken through the Cross and Resurrection and you are now a precious SAINT! Amen!!

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