He never ceases to amaze me, and I pray He never will! His ways are wonderful and His thoughts towards me are innumerable! I think (I hope) I am beginning to see what He has been trying to get through my thick headed soul. If you mess up, fess up and do the work of obedience. Trust Him to bring to pass everything that is for you. If it's not meant for you, it's because it's not His best for you. Why would a loving Father give His child a scorpion when he asks for bread? (Luke 11:11) He wouldn't.
Today, He answered a prayer for me in a way that is still bubbling up and spilling over with joy. The truth is, if He is your Father, then you are His child. Not even my sin can change that. Nothing I do, will do or have ever done can separate me from the love of my Father. Not now, not then, not ever! Amen!
This knowledge is not given to me so that I can go out and sin more. God forbid! No, it is meant to give me hope, peace and the ability to live free. Not free to sin as I please, but free to run to Him, pray to Him, and choose Him. Nothing can separate me from His love because He has freed me from the law of sin and death. If He was willing to give up His Only Son, why do I think He would ever withhold any good thing from me? Why would He do that? He wouldn't.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 ESV
I have been living under condemnation for way too long. I have been living under the belief that I have to be "good enough" for God. I have been living with the lie that if I sin, God withholds His best from me. My friend, this is a lie. This is condemnation from the pit of hell itself. Nothing you can ever do, or say, or think, can ever separate you from the love that we have in Christ Jesus. (Let that sink in!) The lie that you are not enough is the law of sin and death that resides within every single one of us. It is the law that is in my flesh.
It is all a lie. God my Father is not angry with me. Nor is He against me. He is for me. All these years of being a Christian, I have felt that I was not good enough. I have felt like if I missed one step, or fell into sin one too many times, He would turn His back and give up on me. I have messed up in some pretty big ways throughout my life, and always thought He was withholding from me because I was not good enough. I have not lived a holy and righteous life, to be sure, but what He showed me today- it's OK. He has and is and always will make all things work together for my good and His glory. (Romans 8:28)
The knowledge that I can never be separated from Him does not make me want to go out and sin, in fact, it makes me want to repent more and run to Him. That's the difference between conviction and condemnation. When I sin, He disciplines me and it causes me to repent, drawing near to Him. But condemnation drives a wedge between us. I get caught up in shame and hide from Him. My mind tells me that I messed up and this time, He won't take me back. That is not truth, that is a lie. God does not condemn His children.
He has opened my eyes to see that He is not angry with me. The shame, and the unworthiness I feel inside does not come from Him. It comes from the law of sin and death which resides within. It comes from the flesh, the sin of my flesh. But He has provided a way for me to be free from that condemnation and never feel separated from Him, ever again. No fear of wrath, only open access to run to Him.
These past few months have been hard for me. The Lord has shown me things about myself that have broken me. I have experienced some pretty bad falls, had some pretty big wounds opened up, and I have been angry at Him for it all. But the truth is- I needed every single moment that I have lived. I needed to be where I am so that I can finally put to death the old me. The old me that is full of condemnation and sin. I have a past, but Praise God, I also have a future! He loves me. He chose me. I am His and nothing I do, say or think can ever separate me from Him.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
For whom He foreknew...Let me ask you a question. If God, the Creator and Father of all things; who is in all and in Him all things consist; then whom did He NOT foreknow? No one. Every Human being from the beginning of time; every single human being to live, or ever will live was foreknown by God the Father. All creation has been predestined to perform the desire of His will. And, He gave His Only Son for every single one He foreknew. He wiped every single sin away. He wiped the slate clean. All we have to do is believe.
Once we accept the truth of who we are, and who He is, there is no more condemnation. Because we no longer live in the flesh. The flesh that shames us, condemns us; and makes us believe that God withholds from us, is no more. We can be free to live in the Spirit, knowing and having confidence in the truth that because He foresaw my every breath, yet He justified me and called me His. What great truth this is!
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
If God is for me, then who or what can be against me? No weapon formed against me shall prosper. No weapon of man, nor of principalities, or powers of this world. Because, if God, who foreknew my every moment, is for me; then who can ever be against me? Amen?
My sin leads to condemnation. That's the law of sin and death. Sin condemns you and drives a wedge between you and God because it shames you, makes you believe that God is and has withheld good from you. If you continue in it, it will lead to your spiritual death. A death that is separated from Him. But once we grasp the depths of His love for us, in that He didn't spare His own Son, we start to live in the spirit of life. We live in freedom from the shame that sin has brought. We are no longer under any condemnation.
I am free. I am finally free to pursue this life my Father has prepared for me. No matter what I do, where I wander, or how hard I fall- nothing can ever separate me from the love I have in Christ Jesus my Lord. Not Even My Sin. Amen.
May the love of God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ make you free to live the life you were predestined to live. Free from condemnation and free from sin. You are free my friend, free in Him. Amen!
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