After this situation had been resolved, I began to think about what would motivate someone to take something that is not their own.

…but then I remembered I do this everyday.  My life has been purchased through the blood of Christ and I no longer own it; therefore, when I take it back, I’m taking something that doesn’t belong to me.  Paul wrote these words to the church at Corinth, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:17-18, NLT).

Have you taken possession of a life that is not rightfully yours?   Maybe it’s time that you return it to the Owner.

The darkness limits what I see, but light exposes the truth.

If you are walking in darkness, you may not think you are missing something; however, when you are walking in the light, you will know if you are missing something.  Since the apostle John identifies God as light (1 John 1:5), He becomes the ultimate determiner of truth, which means that the truth cannot be known without exposure to God and His word.  The more a person is exposed to the Light, the more he or she will become aware of the darkness in his life.  This is one of the major reasons I believe that those who walk closest to God often feel the most unworthy to be in His presence.

If you constantly feel the weight of your sin as a result of being exposed to the Light, be grateful to a God who reveals the darkness in your life and leads you into the light.

You’ve sinned.

I’ve sinned.

Paul writes that all have sinned (Romans 3:23).

No need to remind me that I fall short.  My life is a daily reminder of how often I miss the mark.

I try.  I fail.  I try again.  I succeed.  I get prideful.  I get humbled.  I start over.

I’m not sure why God just doesn’t give up on us?  He should.  He could.  He doesn’t.  It doesn’t make sense.

I’m not sure that God’s unconditional love will ever be understood by the human heart.  That’s okay.

I’ll take it.  I’ll embrace it.  I need it.  I can’t live without it.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8, NLT)

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) (Ephesians 2:4-5, NLT)

Those overwhelmed by sin need to be overwhelmed by God’s love.

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace
(lyrics to Chris Tomlin’s Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone)

I’d also like to take this chance to invite you to join me in reading through the New Testament in the next 30 days. It’s not too late to start and I believe YOU CAN DO IT.  YouVersion has provided some incredible resources to help you succeed in reading your Bible.  They have provided FREE tools to get the Bible into your hands regardless of your location.  You can read a little about YouVersion’s Bible apps by clicking here.

If you are taking this challenge, let me know in the comments so I can pray for you as you journey through God’s Word.  I promise to pray for you by name and I hope you will do the same for me.

As you are trekking through the New Testament, you may discover that you need some help with certain passages, so I’ve provided a link to download my personal study guides through every book of the New Testament.  You can also use the Google Custom Search box on this site to locate my thoughts on any passage of Scripture in the New Testament.

“Wash me clean from my guilt.  Purify me from my sin.  For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.  You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just ” (Psalm 51:2-4).

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:17).

Whether you measure up or not, God loves you.

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6,8

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” – Ephesians 2:4, NLT

Feelings must be overtaken by fact.  You may not feel as if you can make the necessary change to walk in obedience to Christ, but the fact is that God “…is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us….” (Ephesians 3:20).  God’s ability to change you far outweighs your feelings of doubt.  If God began a work in your heart yesterday, He is capable of bringing it to pass today.

Yesterday, God laid the foundation.  Today, construction begins.

Let’s be honest.  Who likes their boss correcting them in a company meeting?  Who enjoys a spiritual mentor pointing out areas that need to be changed?  What child happily receives chastisement from their parents?  Who can abstain from offense when the Pastor preaches against your sin?  What type of person can accept honest feedback from caring friends?  Who finds it easy to love God when He permits consequences for wrongdoing?  Although discipline is difficult to embrace, those who respond properly will live a life of righteousness.  The writer of Hebrews pens these beautiful words, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way” (Hebrews 12:11).

If someone cares about you enough you to correct you, be glad.  A proper response to correction can prevent future consequences.

If your past cannot be altered, why have you been so consumed with it?  Don’t get me wrong, I understand that sin brings consequences, but does God really desire for you to live in a continual state of regret for things you cannot change?  I really do not think so.  Once you have turned from sin (repented) and received God’s forgiveness, you must release the sin.  Isaiah wrote concerning this very topic, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.  We have left God’s paths to follow our own.  Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Listen, you have done some terribly stupid things in the past.  So have I.  God knew you would break His commandments and sometimes stray away from Him, so He took drastic measures 2,000 years ago when He treated His own Son, Jesus, as if He had committed those sins you actually committed.  Those very sins which have consumed your life, have been shouldered by Jesus Christ.  He shouldered that divorce.  He shouldered that lie.  He shouldered your perversion.  He shouldered your secret sin.  He shouldered your cheating.  He shouldered your deception.  He shouldered your failings as a parent.  He shouldered that lust.  He shouldered that bitterness.

There are a few things you should know about my past, but thankfully my past has been erased.

I’ve been contemplating this dilemma lately.  Is there a way that these questions can be reconciled?  I believe there is a clear answer.  My feelings do not determine truth. In other words, the way I feel is not an accurate reflection of reality.  David, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote these words in Psalm 37:25, “Once I was young, and now I am old.  Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned….”  According to Scripture, God NEVER forsakes or abandons the righteous.  Although I may feel alone in my circumstance, the truth is that God will NEVER leave me.

God’s proximity is not measured by my perspective, but by His promise.