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Year Reflection

I just want you to take the time and reflect on what this year has been like for you. Think about the person you were at the beginning ...

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Day 40: I Messed Up



Proverbs 24:16 (MSG)
No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long; Soon they’re up on their feet,  while the wicked end up flat on their faces.

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

One thing about God’s people is that we don’t stay down long, God is always reaching down to pick us up when we fall. He dusts us off like the caring father He is and sets us right back on track. We will always get up from a fall, if we choose to do so. The best part about falling is getting back up again. Sometimes we fall so hard that getting up seems close to impossible but anything is possible with God.

How many times have we sinned after committing our lives to Christ? Don’t answer that, it was a rhetorical question, but the answer is, probably more than we’d like to admit. We are sinners saved by grace, and we are not perfect which why we are in constant need of grace. As Christians many of us have gone through a time where we’ve fallen away from our faith, we put our relationship with God on hold. If you’re like me and grew up in church, and was very involved in ministry at a young age, this ‘fall’ happened around the time you reached adulthood, when you tasted a glimpse of freedom.

I remember going through a time in my life, after my dad died, when I turned my back on God, while lying to myself and others because I had an image to uphold. I messed up, I went back to my old ways, I stopped going to church, I just no longer cared about having a relationship with God, until one morning conviction hit me like a hangover.
-Dyamond

Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

The thing about God is that His love, and grace is greater than our sin. There is no sin that His love does not overrule. He sent His Son, His only son, to die on a cross and save us from our sin; Jesus made a way for us to be redeemed. Through Him we are able to repent and receive forgiveness, even when we do mess up, and fall short, God is always waiting with open arms to receive us again. He gives us so many chances, far more than we deserve but He does it because He loves us, and He wants a relationship with us, even when we don’t want one with Him. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; (Daniel 9:9)

Psalms 103:12
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us

Micah 7:19
He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

WHen God forgives, He forgives. He throws our sins into the sea of forgetfulness, He remembers them no more. His compassion and love is greater than His anger. God does not dwell on the moments we fall short, and  He does not hold us down when we fall. In fact He does the opposite, He chooses to forget about our shortcomings, our wrongdoing, our sin. He picks us up and washes us clean and keeps us moving forward. I think sometimes as Christians we want God to punish us because we feel so bad about our sin and we want to get rid of the guilt. We feel so terrible when we turn away from God that we start to condemn ourselves in the name of Jesus. We must learn to let go of our sins the moment we lay them down at the feet of Jesus, let them go so that we don’t turn back to them and let the guilt go that came with them. John 3:17 states, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus did not come down to earth to condemn the people for their sin and leave, He came to forgive them to save them from their sin and He did the same for us. Jesus is the one person in the world who could condemn us if He wanted to, but He doesn’t, He forgives us. He chooses to love us and take our sin upon Himself. If Jesus isn’t condemning us for our sin what gives us the right to do it to ourselves?

Jeremiah 24:7
'I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

We all have a heart for God, and when it’s in other places it just doesn’t sit right. I’ve said this before, but we all have a God shaped hole in our hearts and until we allow God into it, we will always be missing something. Our hearts will always find what it’s looking for, it won’t stop until it does. God is always holding a piece of our heart waiting for the rest to return to be made whole again. Our hearts are constantly searching for what’s missing. That hunger to be fulfilled, and complete, will always lead us back to God because He holds the missing piece, He is the missing piece.

Honestly, we’re going to mess up sometimes, we’re human, it’s in our nature. But we must always remember that no matter how far off we get, there is always room at the cross. No matter how deep we’ve fallen God is reaching to us, we just have to take His hand. We might fall but we don’t stay there, keep getting back up.
-Dyamond

Reflection

  1. Do you tend to condemn or punish yourself when you fall?
  2. If so, why?


Prayer Time

Go over the scriptures discussed today, and respond to God. Maybe you have fallen short or given up, we today is the opportunity to return to Him. It doesn’t matter how far off you think you are there is alway room at the cross. Maybe you’ve been here and know someone who's fallen short recently, lift them up in prayer. Take this time to confess and repent, whatever it may be that’s between you and God. Just respond to Him.
Take some time and sit in silence, if you feel the holy spirit tugging on your heart, respond to Him today.
If you made the choice to follow Christ, rededicate, or to submit your life to Him fully, Go to Romans 10:9-10
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
And repeat these few words,
Jesus I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour who died for my sin and was raised three days later. I repent of my sins and I give my life to you. I believe in my heart that you are the true living God. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.


Congratulations! The angels in heaven are rejoicing right now.
Have an amazing day, or night, I love you! Share this with someone, and Make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 41!


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