Confessions

I keep trying to earn the grace of God.

It is easy to fall into the mindset that if I do “pretty good” at living for God, He will be more pleased with me and more willing to show me grace. Yet if I’m failing at everything, the fear can creep in that God will leave me on my own and I will have to face the consequences of my sin alone.

That is not who God is though. While there are consequences of sin and the Bible talks about how God disciplines those whom He loves, He will never leave His children on their own. God’s grace depends on His unchanging character. In no way does it depend on my behavior.

I’m learning that in the moments I feel most ashamed, dirty and broken, those are the moments God’s grace shines the brightest as He invites me to draw close to Him again.  His promise rings true constantly: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I don’t understand God’s love. I don’t understand how He delights to show me mercy when I’m constantly confessing the same sins to Him over and over again. I’ll never understand the depth and steadfastness of God’s love.

But, I am so thankful for it! I’m so thankful that God still invites me to cast my burdens on Him because He cares for me and is willing to offer me a light burden.  I’m so thankful that God simply looks for a humble and contrite heart.

I take God’s grace for granted sometimes, using it as a license to do what I want. I also at times belittle His grace by trying to clean myself up before I come to Him again.  I am understanding more how wrong both of those are.

Praise God that His grace is sufficient. He knew the enormous amount of grace He would have to show me and yet He still chose to save me. I am saved by grace, through faith in Jesus and I am kept and secure by grace. I don’t have try to do enough “good” things to earn the love of God, and I don’t have to wonder if I’m doing enough to stay on good terms with God. Grace is a solely gift from God. God’s grace is not cheap. Like a good earthly judge, He doesn’t simply sweep our sins under the carpet. He is a just God. God sent His Son, Jesus, to perfectly fulfill the demands of the law on our behalf  and to pay the penalty of our sin for those who trust in Jesus for salvation. Therefore, though I only deserve God’s wrath and condemnation, unending grace is extended to me because Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross.

Grace upon grace. I’ll never understand it.

I’ll never deserve it in the least. I’ll never stop needing it each moment of each day.

May my heart always be full of deep thankfulness for Jesus each time I am shown more grace.

May grace always lead me to awe and wonder at the boundless love of God.

May grace be what pushes me towards an ever-increasing trust in and obedience to Jesus.

May God’s grace be what I depend on to show the world around me through my words and actions how wonderful and indescribable His grace truly is. The grace of God is the most precious treasure to those who recognize how immensely they need it.

 

“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I am Confident:

When everything in the world around me falls apart and it seems impossible that any good can come from the chaos; I am confident in the promise of God to work everything out for good for those who love Him. (Romans 8:28) When the culture around me is trying to rewrite what is true; I am confident that even though the grass may wither and the flowers fade away, God and His Word stands unchanged. (Isaiah 40:8) When I keep doing the things I don’t want to do and the things I want to do, I don’t do; I am confident that His grace is sufficient and He who started a good work in me will bring it to completion.(Philippians 1:6) When I doubt God- His goodness, His wisdom, and His involvement; I am confident that God will be true to his promise to be faithful when I am faithless. (2 Timothy 2:13) When I am painfully aware of my inadequacies and my many weaknesses; I am confident that God’s power is made perfect in my weaknesses. (1 Corinthians 12:9) When the future is a b...
Read more

A Precious Gift

Oh what a precious gift it is to be a part of the church! A body of believers in Jesus Christ united under the authority and sufficiency of scripture. The church is made up of sinners saved by grace alone through faith in Christ alone. Our Saviour has started a great work in us but it won’t be complete until the day we see Jesus face to face. Until then we all still stumble in many ways. Sin is always crouching at our door, waiting to destroy us. Selfish ambition and bitter envy always too easily creep up. Yet despite our many sins and struggles, Jesus still chose to give Himself up for us. He took our condemnation so that we could become His beautiful bride, clothed in His righteousness and not our own. This marvellous truth gives us very great and precious promises. The gates of Hell will never destroy the church of Christ. Our   Father in heaven will never forsake us, bcause Jesus was forsaken on our behalf on the cross. The Word of God is the sourc...
Read more

No Matter What

We never know what tomorrow will bring.   This has always been true and even with all our technology and advances, there is still so much in our world we have no control over. Who hasn’t been alarmed the past week or so by the speed our world has completely changed ? We are living in very uncertain times and we are being confronted in a new way with our finiteness. In a time like this our emotions can go haywire. We have all had to sort through a whole range of emotions this week; everything from fear that we are in a pandemic, disappointment over cancelled plans and disrupted schedules, worrying about and missing loved ones we can no longer visit, to panic over the possible long-term effects of the Coronavirus. Where do we turn for comfort? How can our heart and mind still be at peace in the midst of all the chaos around us? How can our feet still remain on solid ground? It is by thinking upon and treasuring the gospel of Jesus Christ!   I know that is the typical...
Read more