FORGIVENESS, RENEWAL, AND RESTORATION Saturday, August 31, 2013 OKAY… Let’s say this “buddy” of ours finds himself getting involved in a lifestyle that is unbecoming of a Christian… It’s no “biggie” though because he is just “fantasizing” just a bit… drifting lazily out there in left field somewhere… KNOWING that this is unbecoming of his station in life… BUT… he means no harm to anyone… and he’s only going to visit in this unsavory location for just a minute or so… NOT GOING TO STAY THERE… just passing a few lazy moments of imaginative roaming. In this “frame of mind”, he finds himself overcome by the desire to delve deeper into this process which also tends to free him from the usual conscience battle that he experiences 24/7 in his “normal frame of mind”… Well, alright… now he feels that “it doesn’t really hurt anything… or anybody”… and besides… the ALLURE of the occasion has “grapple hooks” landed in several areas of his mentality… the magnetic force of “temptation” is pulling oh so strong on his mindset… he now becomes a willing participant in whatever the occasion calls for… Kind of like when he was walking along the river bank after a day of rain… the embankment is very slipper with grey slimy clay… he steps in a very slippery spot… DOWN HE GOES towards the raging, rushing, unforgiving and turbulent waters of the river… Now back to reality!!! HELP!!! He shouts… Quickly, he realizes that the Father’s Holy Spirit has been waiting close by…Waiting to hear that he recognizes his need for HELP… Neither strength nor resolves of his own can he call upon… Sheer, unmitigated FEAR and PANIC sets in as he realizes that he has been entrapped in a cruel snare… ONCE AGAIN… simply because he became complacent in his walk with the Holy Spirit… Allowed his focus to be caught up in the sinful allure of worldly influences… He thinks of his fellow believers out there who have placed their trust in his stalwart stand for the Lord… their confidence that they can look “up” to him to always be there with the best of examples and leadership for his weaker believers to follow… ALL IS NOW AT STAKE of being lost: God’s umbrella of protection against the wiles of Satan… his position in the Lord that he has spent years of the sanctification process that he has invested in, his relationship with his wife…his kids… his church friends (brothers and sisters in Christ), his ability to be a spokesman for the Savior… EVERYTHING is rapidly fading from what he knows to be his existence that he cherishes so dearly… WHY… OH WHY would he ever leave such a loving Guide? Most likely he never made a conscious decision to forsake the Father; instead he may have slipped away slowly and subtly as a result of wandering desires and selfish attempts to meet his own needs. BUT… he soon learned that when he strived to attain comfort and safety apart from God, he strayed farther and farther away from Him. Luke 15:7 says, “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” Here is an example of the warm reception awaiting a lost “sheep”. Did the Shepherd scold or punish the wayward lamb? NO. Instead, all of heaven celebrated because the lost had been found. Jesus tells us that when a child of God returns “to the fold”, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance. As God restores us, He is more than a pardoning Shepherd. He is also a providing Shepherd. He knows what we need before we even ask, and He delights in meeting our needs. HARK!!! Always hasten to turn from our sinful ways and once again face the loving, forgiving, caring face of our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ! Always remember that it is Satan who screams for you to “run from” the forgiving arms of Father God rather than pursue repentance and “run to” Father God who waits with His forgiving arms wide open. “The Savior is waiting to enter your heart – Why don’t you let Him come in? There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart – What is your answer to Him? If you’ll take one step toward the Savior my friend, you’ll find His arms open wide; receive Him and all of your darkness will end, within your heart He’ll abide. Time after time He has waited before, and now He is waiting again… to see if you’re willing to open the door… OH HOW HE WANTS TO COME IN!”
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 12:48:57 +0000
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