Update #179 - I am a Saint

“[There is] therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1

Near Big Sur, CA

Let’s get something straight.  If you have allowed Jesus in your heart, if you have committed your life to him and his ways, you are a SAINT not a sinner. Yes, you WERE a sinner. Yes, you were once filthy with the grime, dirt, decay and rot of iniquity but Jesus took care of all that – all your past sins, your present offenses and your future failings. ALL OF IT!

Now, that said, God has given us choice and freedom, and in this environment not always do we make the best decisions or pick the most stellar option. We can be stupid, selfish, self-centered and arrogant; and we pay the consequences of those decisions. BUT, we aren’t classified a sinner because of the choice.

We are SAINTS. 2 Corinthians 5:17 basically says the old is gone, the new is here. Gone, departed, deceased, no more, exited, quit, taken off… finito!  No longer around. Our old way of thinking, acting and being doesn’t exist anymore when Christ is invited into our lives.  He killed it and made us righteous, redeemed, and renewed.

Unfortunately in some (er, um, most of us) our flesh is MUCH stronger than our spirit and it plays “bully” to get its own way. Its desires, wants, needs and unction’s are tantamount and must be met.  Until our spiritual side is as strong, or stronger, than our flesh a war rages – and we may feel like a sinner (because we fail on the spiritual front multiple times a day).  Thank God, feelings don’t define reality.

If you made a stupid choice, a wrong decision, said something hurtful God’s Holy Spirit will convict you. If you choose not to repent and make yourself right before God a door to Satan is opened, and – here comes the icky reality part – a choice to partner with Satan is made.  The situation, stance taken, words said were more important than repentance; your feelings of being right were more important than God’s righteousness; dark was chosen over light and Satan seizes the opportunity. Give him a millimeter; he will take a mile… or more. He is the master of taking full advantage of everything, every opportunity, every opening given to him.

Satan is out to harm, kill, destroy, and steal from God’s children.  He can’t touch us, he can’t get at us, he can’t torment us unless one of two things happen: 1. God says “Go Ahead” like he did with Job (rare) or 2. We open a door (more likely scenario).

God gets blamed for a lot of stuff we did to ourselves. God gets a bad rap for the crap happening in our life when we were the actual cause. When guilt and condemnation rise up in our lives we turn to God and shake our fist.  The truth is, God doesn’t give guilt; he gives grace. God doesn’t give condemnation (Romans 8:1); he gives mercy.  God isn’t bi-polar or schizophrenic. He can’t be both bad and good.

God is good. God is good ALL the time.  He does not bring shame (Isa 61:7), he does not generate guilt, he does not cause condemnation.  If you are feeling these things they aren’t from God.  It is Satan out to create a wedge between God and his children; to create a gap of misunderstanding and tension. To cause us to walk away, not engage with God and turn our back on him.  Is/Has Satan’s strategy worked in your life?  It has in mine on more than one occasion.

We are SAINTS not sinners. We are granted Grace not Guilt. We are given Mercy not Condemnation. We are righteous ones, redeemed ones, rescued ones – and adopted ones. We are wanted and loved.

If your belief system is anything other than the above you have been snowed, and you believe a lie. God is good. God is so, so, so good and he has the best intended for us. We just get in our own way, unwillingly partner with the enemy and sabotage ourselves.

Are you feeling guilty? Where do you have a door open to Satan?  Do you feel condemnation or shame over an action, situation or verbal onslaught delivered? Where have you partnered with the enemy and let him into your life?  Are you ready to face a loving God and ask for his help in cleaning up the mess you have made? What keeps you from approaching his throne?

Updates:
Work – We are recruiting!  Do you have any family, friends, co-workers, Bible study members, church friends – anyone who would benefit from knowing how to do business God’s way?  Wanna know what he cares about? How he would do business if he owned it? Come to our training!
News – Thank you, thank you, thank you to a very generous alumnus who purchased me a new laptop. The IT guy is on his way to set it up! Hee Hee! No more Mexican jumping bean cursor problems!
Personal – Off for a weekend of river rafting (haven’t done that since living in Spokane – Heidi, do you remember?) and then back for our Kick-Off Training on the 28th! On a sad note, I discovered a lot of my pictures were lost when my OS crashed in April. Good thing I have a sharp visual memory!

Requests:
Work – Events, recruiting, prep for the training cycle, and keeping all the wheels on the bus as it continues to roll forward!
Personal – Prayer around next steps, what trips (if any) God wants me to participate in this fall (Toronto, Johannesburg, Cape Town are the options at this point).

PS Happy Birthday to all my July birthday buddies - if I listed you all it would need a separate blog post!

PPS Thank you JM for providing the impetuous for this post – I haven’t been this passionate about dispensing truth in a long time.