Believers, Christ-followers, are responsible for our thoughts, words, and deeds. Our sins are our doing.

Our actions, righteous or sinful, have results. Consequences of sinful acts can be life-long, and they can be horrible.

There are at least three lessons:

First, strive to live a righteous life. God is working in every believer to sin less, to make us more holy. When we do sin, and we will, confess immediately. Take the steps needed to resolve the impact of our sins, including reconciling if possible.

Second, remember that God is sovereign. Trust God throughout the consequences of our sins. He controls the length, breath, and severity of the results of our actions. It truly may be awful, but remember that God is with you, with me, helping us to walk through whatever it is in a way that pleases and glorifies God.

Third, thank and praise God. Thank Him that there are consequences of sin, helping us learn to refuse sin and obey Him. Thank Him that He is working in you (and me) and in the situation right now. Thank Him that He is sovereign. He won’t leave you or forsake you. He is teaching you, teaching me, something we need to know. If your long-term life situation changed, thank Him that He repositioned you to a new area of service.

And, finally:

Believer: whoever you are and where-ever you are, you are in God’s holy plan. He has, now and always, a purpose for you. He is leading you to glory. PRESS ON!

PS. WE are responsible. GOD is sovereign. It is impossible for us to understand that both things are true, but they are. We “just” need to believe what God says in His word.

There is no sin in heaven!

In heaven, there is no sin in me or in anyone else. 

All the redeemed in heaven are glorified.

I absolutely cannot comprehend the wonder to come. 

Three stages of salvation

Saved from the penalty of sin

Believers, including OT saints, have been saved from the penalty of sin. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)

Believers have been justified by God. (Romans 8:30)

Being saved from the power of sin

We, the still-living believers, are in the process of being saved from the power of sin. We are learning to live in newness of life, to live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

In Romans 8:30 it is the unspecified period between justification and glorification. 

… these whom He justified, He also glorified. (Romans 8:30)

We are responsible to live obeying and pleasing God. We have to work at it. (But God helps!)

… work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

Right now though, we still sin. And I HATE my sins. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Believers typically will sin less as we grow in the Lord. But we hate our sin more. We must continue to strive to live godly lives. And, as told in 1 John 1:9, we are to confess.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Shall be saved from the presence of sin

But next! We shall be saved from the presence of sin. No sin anywhere. The will of Almighty God’s will be done perfectly and joyfully. 

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:9)

We shall be glorified.

… the spirits of the righteous [in heaven are] made perfect. (Hebrews 12:23)

“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. (Ephesians 1:4)

I can’t wait.

Christ-followers are to walk worthy … because He is worthy and we are following Him.

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. (Ephesians 4:1)

Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Philippians 1:27)

Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:10)

Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:12)

You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

WHEW!

That is our goal: Christ-likeness. That is our prize: Christ-likeness.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14)

Life Long Endeavor

We have not arrived, but over our Christian lives, we are being made more godly, more in the image of Christ, our Lord and Savior. We are learning how to walk in a manner worthy of our worthy Lord.

Our Responsibility

We are responsible to live our lives according to our Lord’s commands.

BUT! (Thank God!)

God is helping us.

God … is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)

Christ and the Holy Spirit intercede and pray for us.

He [Christ] always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

Press On

We are to press on. We are to strive to please God in all our ways. We are to shun sin and flee temptation. We are to confess, knowing God will forgive and cleanse. We are to do everything for the glory of God.

We are to pray for ourselves and others.

Don’t give up. Keep your eyes on Jesus. KNOW whatever is happening, God will bring good out of it for you, making you more in the image of Christ.

Praise Him.

~~

Father, HELP. This is an impossible standard. We cannot improve without Your presence and help. Thank You that You love us. Thank You that You—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—are working in us to make us like Christ. Thank You that You WILL bring us to glory. Help us remember all You have already done for us. Help us keep our eyes on You.

See He Is Worthy

Jesus Christ is worthy

He lived a perfect life.

He was (is) God’s perfect Lamb, sacrificed for our sins.

He was resurrected from the dead, declared the Son of God with power.

He lives at God’s right hand, intervening for believers, and is with us always.

He sent the Holy Spirit who lives in believers.

Christ is coming again.

The slain Lamb of God is worthy

The slain Lamb of God, standing, alive, in God’s throne room, is worthy.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. (Revelation 5:12)

To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. (Revelation 5:13)

Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. (Revelation 5:9)

Christ is coming again!

Today, Resurrection Sunday

Today, Resurrection Sunday, let’s take some time to meditate on the eternal enormity of Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ died because of our sin, taking God’s wrath for our sakes. Christ is resurrected and lives for us. The life we live we live because of Him.

AND He is taking the title deed of the universe and will righteously judge. Death will be defeated. Evil will end. The righteous will be glorified.

This is many magnitudes beyond what we can understand.

He is worthy.

Let us praise Him.

Let us rejoice.

Let us worship Him.

Well….

We are to rejoice. And we have reason to. Our belief in Jesus Christ, His life, death and resurrection,  guarantees our future. We always have His presence in our lives.  God declares that ALL things will work to our good. Even if we strike out.

As believers, we do NOT permanently stike out. We err. We sin. But God is working in us, and will continue to work in us, making us more godly, until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

And we know what to do when we strike out. If it is sin, we are to confess, and then know, KNOW, that God has forgiven us and has cleansed us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And we fix, atone, ask forgiveness from those we hurt, and reconcile if possible.

If it is a human error, but not sin, we fix things if we can, make things right with people affected, if any, learn from our mistakes, and press on. (Note: we are human beings with limited knowledge and frailties. Well-meaning humans make mistakes.)

But it is so easy to focus on the wrong things. To focus on striking out.

Father, help us get our minds in the right place. Help us focus on You, Your glory, Your righteousness, Your love. Help us rejoice in You.

What do you THINK are your needs?

What does God KNOW are your needs?

God knows you (and I) need

            Humility

            Endurance

            Patience

            Contentment

            Cleansing from sins

            Freedom from anything/anyone taking God’s rightful place

            And more….

What do you (and I) pray for?

Do you—do I—pray for what God wants for us? Developing godly character often hurts… Do I really want what it will take to make me be more humble? Or more patient, or …. ?

Ouch.

Let’s resolve to listen to God’s infinite, eternal love for us, what we know from His Word about how we need to confess/grow, and pray for our godly development.

Realize that God often uses trials to develop these characteristics in us. We must trust Him in our hard times, and cooperate with Him in our circumstances.

This requires work from us.

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

~~~

Father, help us pray for what You want in us. Help us please You.

A favorite childhood memory is watching my older brother play with his model trains. One time he and a friend had set train tracks throughout our living room, dining room, and entry, challenging each other to get a specific car to a designated place fastest. I was there with big eyes wishing I could play.

A key in their game was switching tracks to get to the goal.

As I was reading about temptation, I realized that we need to switch tracks to escape temptation.

We ARE able to escape

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Don’t stay in the track of temptation

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)

Switch tracks

Deliberately switch tracks. Stop thinking about the supposed pleasures and remember the consequences of sin.

Leave the room. Leave the situation. Flee. Switch tracks!

Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about your glorious Lord.

Stop your harmful thoughts and remember the Word of God. Recite verses to yourself.

God is faithful

God is faithful to give you the way of escape. Switch tracks to His path.

There are a LOT of “revenge” messages and fictional stories on the internet (Facebook, YouTube, etc.), at least one advertised “game,” and many news clips of violence, supposedly in retaliation for something.

We long for justice … BUT

Humans long for justice, but even at our best, our attempts to achieve justice are imperfect.

And sin perverts our God-given desire for justice into a vengeful spirit. We are seeing destructive, violent acts where “unfairness” is only an excuse, often a remote pretext. And we see others approve of the violence (Romans 1:32).

God prohibits Vengeance

Revenge is definitely a human (sinful) trait. And we are NOT to do it!

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:30)

Now What?

We are warned that “in the last days difficult times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1ff).

Pray!

Know God will avenge: the day of vengeance of our God (Isaiah 61:2)

O Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! (Psalm 94:1)

Humble ourselves. We must see our sin and humble ourselves before Righteous, Holy, Almighty God. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Remember God is sovereign. He has a holy plan and He is working His plan. Worship Him.

Resolve to walk in a way pleasing to Him.

~~~

 Father, help! Please help us know that You are in control and have a purpose for this sinful time and that You have a purpose for believers right now. Please help us know how to honor You, how to make Your name known. Thank You that this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that all evil will be destroyed, and that righteousness will prevail. HELP!

God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—is infinite. We can, and should, work to know Him by diligently searching His revelation in His Word. But He is totally other than us, holy, infinite, self-existent, perfect, and we cannot truly grasp Him.

His greatness is unsearchable.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. (Psalm 145:3)

But

But we can, and should, worship Him for what we know and for what we know is beyond us.

For example:

God’s good gifts to us are much more than we can imagine.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:11)

We are saved during our lives on earth much more than we can conceive.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10)

God’s grace to us is much more beyond our comprehension.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. (Romans 5:15)

Much More

Father, help us understand that You are much more than we can imagine. Help us know You do for us much more than we can know.

Help us worship You in spirit and in truth.

Q: How long, Lord?

A: As long as necessary.

~~~

God is in control of the length of our trials and the depth of our trials. Trials last as long as our loving, sovereign, Savior deems necessary. Trials are as hard as required for His purpose.

Remember and Consider and Pray

Remember God loves you, is making you more in the image of His Son, will glorify you, and will take you home to heaven.

Remember that God has a holy purpose in this trial. His purpose is to sanctify you.

Consider that God is using your trial not only for His work in you, but that also He uses your trial in the lives of others.

God has told you the purpose of your trial. Your trial will:

• Perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you (1 Peter 5:10),
• Produce endurance so that you may be perfect and complete (James 1:3-4),
• Bring about perseverance, proven character, hope (Romans 5:3-4)

Pray for His wisdom in how you should live during this period.

Pray for His strength.

Remember He has given you everything you need for life and godliness. Pray to appropriate His gifts. (2 Peter 1:3)

Pray for understanding. He might tell you specifics of what He is doing to purify you, which could help in your reaction and growth.

Thank Him that He loves you so much He is making you more godly.

~~~

Father, thank You that You are our loving God, working in our lives to make us more like Your beloved Son. Thank You that You are always with us, growing us and helping us walk in a manner worthy of Your great love. Help us praise You during the trials You bring and help us respond in ways that please You.

~~~

“How long?” has been on my mind for some time. See a post from 2015: How Long, Lord?