“I will never be good enough. I’m just not capable.”
“I can’t get over things that I’ve done in the past.”
“Christians are hypocrites, and I don’t want to be like them.”
Have you heard any of those statements before? Chances are, you have stated one or more of
them. Those are excuses, NOT
reasons. Here’s the truth:
You’re right. You never will be good enough.
Every person sins every day.
Most of the time, those sins are unintentional. The cartoon with an angel on one shoulder,
and the devil on the other, isn’t that far-fetched. Most of us have a persistent, nagging sin
that we just can’t seem to conquer. Whether
it’s gossiping, or greed or lying, it comes up and we have that devil on our
shoulder wooing us to do the easy thing and give in. And guess what? Sometimes, we do. ALL of us
do it. Then, that feeling comes on us
that we have let God down, and that He is upset with us. That is NOT the truth! That is that little devil on your shoulder
speaking the words of the enemy into your conscience. Satan wants to keep you down on yourself. Jesus overcame everything through His sacrifice
on the cross. He shed His blood for the purpose of forgiveness of our
sins. He didn’t come to make us good, He
came to give us life. Because of that,
we can live in victory too, but ONLY through Him.
You won’t ever be good enough, but Christ is more than
enough and He paid the price. Believe it
and then live like you believe it!
Your past is
history. Gone! Poof!! Kaput!
Paul was one of the most effective ministers of the Gospel
in history. If you don’t know much about
Paul, he certainly provides an interesting read. He was there holding the coats of the people who
stoned Stephen for teaching about Jesus. He, himself, hunted followers of Christ down
to kill them for stating their faith in Jesus.
Yet, God chose Paul, changed his life completely, forgave him, and
equipped him to minister to many New Testament churches. His words still minister to us through the
books that he wrote in the New Testament.
Forgiveness is not just a pardon, it’s an empowerment to do something.
Do you think that Paul ever thought that he wasn’t worthy
because of his past? I am sure he did.
If God can not only forgive someone who despised and killed His people,
don’t you think He can forgive and use you too?
I John 1:8-9 says, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling
ourselves and not living in the truth.
But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” Notice the words FAITHUL and JUST to FORGIVE, and ALL WICKEDNESS. This doesn’t
say that He might forgive some sins, it says that HE WILL FORGIVE ALL OF IT! Salvation becomes a reality the day you
accept it.
You shouldn’t want to
be like me. You should want to be like
Christ!
If you are looking at any person other than Jesus as a
benchmark to measure Christianity or as someone to model your life after, you
have it all wrong. This excuse is the
one that hold so many Christians back from sharing their faith, because they
don’t want to be labeled as a hypocrite, when they know that they are going to
make mistakes. If you expect anyone to
be perfect, other than Jesus, you’re going to be disappointed.
The definition of hypocrite is “a person who claims to have
certain beliefs about what is right, but who behaves in a way that disagrees
with those beliefs.” As stated before, we all sin every day. Do people need to know that we love God and
the awesome things He has done for us, even though we might have sinned
earlier? YES! People also need to know
that we make mistakes. Be honest with
your story. Be honest with your
life. Show God’s love and help others
experience the growth and peace that comes from loving and being loved by
Jesus.
When you read the Bible, you see how much God uses and loves
messed up people. I was reading about
Jacob this morning. He was a dishonest
man who gained his inheritance through lies and trickery, yet he plays a huge
role in God’s story. We all have flaws.
Are you ready to stop with the excuses? Are you
willing to step out, live your faith out loud, and be a genuine person seeking
Christ? Please pray for the courage to
do it. Share your story, no matter how
ugly it is. God can make it beautiful,
and if you’ve already received Christ as your Savior, it IS beautiful in His
eyes.
Father,
I ask you to grant the courage to those reading this, to stop with the
excuses, and to stop believing the lies that the world tells them. We will never be good enough, but through the
blood of Your son, You see us as whole.
Help us to stop living in fear of what others think about us, and
believe in what You know about us. Help
us focus on the present and the future, and believe that You have forgiven and
forgotten our pasts. Open our hearts,
and allow us to let the Holy Spirit do great things through us, all for Your
glory.
Amen.
Passages to Ponder:
I Timothy 1:19- Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your
conscience clear. For some people have
deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been
shipwrecked.
2 Corinthians 5:17- This means that anyone who belongs to
Christ has become a new person. The old
life is gone; a new life has begun.
2 Corinthians 12:7b-9-So, to keep me from being proud, I was
given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from
becoming proud. Three different times I
begged the Lord to take it away. Each
time He said, “My grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness.”
So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ
can work through me.
Contributors: Karen
Bromby, Kathy Derda, Kim McClure and Marla McDonald
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