Failure

Do you ever feel like a failure?  Especially when it comes to God?  I can tell you, a lot of the time, I feel like I have failed God.  Take Lent, for example.  I go into Lent every year with good intentions.  I want to pray, fast, immerse myself in scripture, spend time with God.  But, for some reason, I am a complete failure at it.  Maybe that is the point. 

I’m sure you’re thinking, “What in the world is she talking about?”, but I assure you, I have a point to this.  I recognize my shortcomings.  Do you?  If you are anything like me, then you do recognize your failures and shortcomings.  I’m saddened by the fact that I have no willpower, that I allow other things to influence what I spend my time doing, that I don’t spend the time that I should with my Savior. 

But read this:

Hebrews 2:14 – 18: “14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest pin the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

See that?  Jesus had to come to this earth to defeat my “slavery”.  My slavery to material things, my slavery to self, my slavery to others.  He did the same thing for you.  Jesus came to “make propitiation” for my sins, for your sins.  What does propitiation mean? Propitiation means “the turning away of wrath by an offering.”  That is what God sent Jesus to do for us.  He sent Jesus as an offering to cover our many sins. 

So, yes, I feel guilty for not being about to fully surrender myself during the Lenten season, for being a failure.  Yes, I feel guilty for not spending time with God in prayer, scripture study and supplication.  Yes, I feel guilty when I break every law He has told me not to break.  But, Jesus is there for me.  He is there to be my intercessor, to be my Savior, to be my defender.  And, he can be the same for you. 

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Interference

I'm sorry for being so behind.  I would say I have an excuse, but I do not.  See there, the topic of conversation today.  Sin.  The devil didn't want me to post again.  And, he succeeded.  Why do I let it happen?  Why do you let it happen?  Do you ever feel like you can’t get away from sin?  Well, so do I.  But, as John tells us in 1 John 2, there isn’t any way around it.  We’re all going to sin.  It’s inevitable.  It’s a fact of life.   I wanted to post about something completely different and that isn't where God led me. 

So, let’s talk about our relationship to sin.  Once you became a Christian, did you think you wouldn’t ever sin again?  Well, I didn’t think that I wouldn’t ever sin again, but I did think it would be easier.  Let me tell you first hand, it’s not easier.  If anything, it’s harder because that ol’ devil just wants you to cave.  And, sometimes we do.   What happens though is that our attitude toward sin changes.  We no longer love sin like we used to.  We no longer brag about those things we did the other night at that party.  We no longer even plan to go to those parties, because we just don’t enjoy them any longer.  Charles Spurgeon said of sin, “We cannot bear sin – when it is near us, we feel like a wretch chained to a rotting carcass; we groan to be free from the hateful thing.”  We just cannot stand to be around sin any longer.  1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”  

John wants us to know that there is always forgiveness for any sin we confess.  We have an “advocate”, someone who will speak up for us on our behalf.  That “advocate” is Jesus.  Verse 2 of 1 John says this:  “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”  What in the world does “propitiation” mean?  I used to even struggle with how to pronounce it, much less what it meant.  Let me tell you what it means.  “Propitiation” is defined as “the action of propitiating or appeasing a god, spirit, or a person.”  For the Christian, this means that Jesus is the one that is appeasing the Father.  We’re guilty, but Jesus runs interference for us.  He is our defender.

There is so much more in this chapter.  But, these first couple of verses stood out to me for some reason.  I guess I needed the friendly reminder that Jesus is there to be my defender.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I know I am not worthy of your presence, so, I thank you so much for sending Jesus to be my defender.  Help me to recognize when I am tempted with sin and help me make the decision to avoid it at all costs.  Give me a heart where I recognize those sins and change my attitudes toward those that I don’t.  In Jesus precious name, Amen.