“He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.” (Psalm 103:3-4 NLT) You’re going to stumble in life. It’s a fact! But the key is not trying to live a perfect life. The key is to face and let go of your failures quickly. Don’t cover them up, don’t blame others, and don’t excuse yourself. Own up to it. Here’s the thing: It’s easy to confess and forsake a sin from five years ago. It’s far more difficult to confess and forsake the ones you just did. If you are in an argument, you don’t want to confess your sin at that moment. That’s your ego interfering! But the key to spiritual growth is to confess your sin instantly. Let it go! Don’t let sins pile up in your life. Take out the garbage on a daily basis. How do you do that? One of the ways is self-examination. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 11:31, “If we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way” (NLT). God says you can either judge yourself or he’ll judge you. Which would you prefer? Part of your growth process is to own up to your sin right away and say, “God, I stumbled again. I don’t want to say these things to my kids, but I did. I don’t want to look at that channel, but I did. I don’t want to be controlling, but I was” and so on. You just admit it to God, and then let it go. You don’t beat yourself up; you don’t tear yourself down. You say, “God thank you. I’m not the way I used to be. Yeah, I dropped the ball, but I’m going to pick it up again. And I’m going to try to do better and be better. I’m going to focus on the future and not on the past.” What does God do when you come to him with your relapses? Does he say, “Oh, come on! Not that sin again! Can’t you come up with any new ones? You’ve come to me with that sin 9,900 times. I’ve already forgiven you 9,900 times!” No. He doesn’t say that at all. God is love. He never tires of forgiveness. He’s waiting on you. Psalm 103:3-4 says, “He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.” God doesn’t criticize you with judgment and scorn. He blesses you with love and mercy. God gives you what you need, not what you deserve. If you have been stumbling in an area, you need to come to God right away and say, “One more time, Lord. I need your forgiveness.” That’s not the end; there are ways to get over it. But that’s the starting point. Rick Warren, thought Id share this morning, be blessed
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:43:24 +0000
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