Hope

"...For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

-Matthew 9:13

This verse gives hope. It always seems like there's a checklist of things we must do and do well to follow God. The need to be perfect in every way. The need to get rid of any sin before God can use them. They will always feel inadequate. We will never be perfect, but God uses us anyway. This is hope.

God doesn't call us to strive only for perfection. He knows we are imperfect. We will never be holy like he is. Our focus shouldn't be on how perfect we should be for God. Our focus should be on loving God, talking to him, worshiping him, and being his disciples. The disciples were some of the most imperfect people, but he used them for great things. He didn't call people who didn't need his grace and were perfect, he called the sinners.They were never righteous or deserving of grace, but Jesus took them anyway.

I always wondered why God used the sinners. I think maybe he did it to prove a point. To show off how real this was. How this changed people. If he used already righteous people, he wouldn't make a very big statement. If he used the least likely of people and they did great things, a miracle took place. 

Don't think you have to get your life in order to finally come to God. God wants you just as you are. He loves you despite your flaws. He gave us this hope, so we get the wonderful opportunity to serve him. He can use this mess of a life and turn it around for good. You're not too far gone for God. He can use you just as you are. 

Abba Father

God is in control, He can do ANYTHING, and his plan is perfect (even if we think it's not). With that being said, here is the verse that's been on my mind (Romans 8:15):

"So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

God did not give us a fearful spirit. He gave us a spirit of " power, of love and of self-discipline." [2 Timothy 1:7]. We "received" it. As in, God gave them to us. He equipped us with everything we would ever need from the very beginning. We don't have an excuse to be "fearful slaves" anymore. We have nothing to fear because we have all that we will ever need in Christ! We are slaves to the best master out there. He has given us more than we could ask for and has loved us despite out many mistakes. He is glorious.
We received God's spirit when he "adopted [us] as his own children." Once we said, "yes," to the glorious gift of salvation we immediately were adopted into the family of the creator of the universe. How cool is that? Once we proclaimed him as our savior, we were a part of a holy kingdom. He claims us as his own.
Once we received him, he became our father. Holy, perfect God is my dad! I'm associated with the King. I'm the princess of God. The apple of his eye. When I do something well, he hangs it on his heavenly refrigerator. When I have a bad day, he tells me it'll all work out in the end. He will never leave you, he's never late, he always loves, and he always does what's best for his children.


My devo book "Heaven Calling," had a wonderful entry about being apart of God's family:

"..You have earthly parents, but when you humbled yourself in repentance and were reborn into my family, you became my child. As your heavenly Father, I love you no matter what. But one of the best parts of being adopted by me is sharing in the inheritance of my Son. Think of it: Jesus is now both Savior and brother to you! Your place in my family doesn't rest upon what you can do, how much wealth you accumulate, or how many friends you have. It comes from the simple act of kneeling at the cross. In that humility is true status-as my beloved child."

"So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."-Matthew 18:4

Follow Me

One of the most in-your-face-bible verses has to be Matthew 16:24-25. It says:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."

Jesus kind of gives a list of sacrifices of what it takes to follow him. It's not an easy thing at all. First the follower must, "turn from [their] selfish ways." They must give up every selfish thing. Anything that they do for themselves must be given up. That's a lot in itself. You wanna do that? Well too bad. Your selfish desires must be gone. 

Second, they must, "take up [their] cross." This is a big deal. The cross isn't a shiny little pendant you wear around your neck. It's a sign of death. Not a peaceful death either. The cruelest of the cruel. The worst death imaginable. Crucifixion. Following Jesus will take your life. You will die for him as well as live for him. They're one in the same. You must be willing to give your whole being to following him. That's a whole lot.

Third, you must "follow [him]." This might sound easy, but it's not. He might go somewhere or call you to go somewhere that you just don't want to. You might be tired. You might not want to stand out. You may decide that this isn't what you want. It's a big commitment. It doesn't end. Following Jesus has as a starting point, but not an end point. You just keep going until you're done. Gone. With him. 

The more of yourself you give up for him, the closer you will be to him. The reward is great. Eternity in Heaven. That's a big deal. If you stay with your selfish ways, you will lose your life. An eternity of excruciating uncertainty. Your ultimate demise. 

You have to give a lot to get a lot in return. The more you get rid of your self the more you become like Jesus and the more he will ultimately bless you with. Religion is a messy thing. It's packed full of emotion and losing yourself, so he can shine. It's the best mess you can make. It isn't going to be easy, but boy will it be worth it.

:)

Judgement

 JOHN 8:1-11

 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, ² but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. ³ As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

 ⁴ “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

 ⁶ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. ⁷ They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” ⁸ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

 ⁹ When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. ¹⁰ Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

 ¹¹ “No, Lord,” she said.

   And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”


This is one of my favorite Bible stories. This shows Jesus' amazing acceptance. It conveys the acceptance of even the most looked down upon sins. This also shows Jesus' wonderful holiness. Every person didn't have the right the cast a stone. But Jesus did.

 And he did NOT.

He had mercy on her. He loved her despite her sin. The Pharisees were taught a lesson: they too had faults. Not one of them were free from sin. They were all imperfect human beings. Jesus didn't judge her or them. He simply wrote in the sand. He didn't point a finger or get mad. It's amazing to me how Jesus can say everything perfectly without many words. He is different. He doesn't accuse people, condemn them, or act like a jerk. He is holy. He is merciful. He is everything that is good.

My Devo book "Heaven Calling," has a wonderful little paragraph about the judgement of others:

"...it is easy to point the finger at someone else's sin...But I urge you, don't be quick to judge. That is my job. I alone am holy. I alone can see into a person's heart. I alone know their motives. I judge with wisdom and with justice. I judge with love. When I judge, I don't do it to point a finger or condemn. My desire is that everyone will come to me, repent, and turn from their sin. Remember that I love you even when you fail and your behavior is less than perfect. Extend that love to others, and leave judgement to me."