Archive for March, 2009

The Gospel & where we start!

Monday, March 2nd, 2009
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This past sermon was wonderful, it was from Act 20 where Paul talks to the elders at Ephasis and passes the torch of teaching to them with very serious warnings. The pastor talked about the gospel and how it is the only thing that we can put any hope in at all. But to truly understand the gospel we need to understand where we start from.

Our starting place no matter who we are in this world is from that of a sinner lost who can do nothing in and of ourselves to come to the Living God of the universe. We all have sin in our lives and need to understand the destroying power of sin and how it will corrupt our lives, our childrens lives and how our sin can destroy the lives of those around us, not only us!

I know I was convicted in how I treat my wife. I feel fairly confident that if you asked my wife she would feel I treat her well, espcially when she compares me to the “standard” of this current world. But that isn’t enough! That isn’t what God has called me to, I have hurt my wife deeply with the sin I have allowed to have a hold on me, hurt that may never go away, hurt that has helped to nearly destroy our marriage several times. I can not deny this, I can not explain my way out of this, I need to face that I am of no value standing on my own. I have little to offer the world other than selfishness, lies, deception, manipulation…all the sins that I have fallen to.

I need to understand where I truly start, where I am without my savior, what my life is without grace, what my sin costs me and others and how it looks to an infinitely holy God! I am the worst of sinners, even if I only had 1 sin.
Without Christ, that is where I would still be, I would continue to go down those roads while trying to appear “righteous and innocent” on the outside. We all have a ingrained desire to be good, but we are not, there is no way we can be on our own. We need to stop and allow ourselves to be broken before the cross. We need to realize that our ONLY hope is the gospel, is Christ blood sacrifice!

And in His blood we have everything good, forgiveness, regeneration, healing, love, life, salvation!

My challenge to you is to view yourself how you really are! Do you compare yourself to “the world” or do you compare yourself to Christ! How does that change your viewpoint, your feeling of entitlement, that you should be treated better, that you deserve more…I know I have fallen to that sin. Once you figure out where you start, know where Christ wants to take you, He will bring you to healing, to freedom, to salvation, to the cross, that is where it’s at!

(JP)

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