OOPS! I’VE DONE IT AGAIN

We are all equally righteous through the blood of Jesus, as born-again believers

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“Lord, I’ve messed up AGAIN!” “Please forgive me and I’ll try really hard not to get it wrong next time!”

How many times have I found myself, on my knees (metaphorically) before the Lord, more often than not, repenting of the same bad decisions, uncharitable or unchristian thoughts and asking for forgiveness? How many times can I expect the Lord to offer me forgiveness and restoration?

Well, scripture gives me a clue: 

In Matthew 18:21–22 it says: Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Most scholars appear to agree that ‘seventy-seven times’ does not represent a finite number but infinity.

If I forgive my brothers and sisters as Jesus instructs then I can truly claim the same, as the Lord, “forgives us our sins as we forgive those……”

This is all very reassuring and gives me confidence in God’s mercy and faithfulness.

However, when things are not going so well, the enemy, the devil, still gets at me, challenging me to justify my belief in God’s goodness:

“You’ve gone too far this time!”
“ You can’t take this back to God again. He’s not going to go on wiping the slate clean”.
“ What gives you the right to; lead a small group? Lead a payer meeting? Bring a message? Lead communion? When you’re no better and probably a lot worse than those around you”

Well, of course, Satan is a liar and I refuse to be swayed by his first two accusations, but to be fair, he’s quite right on the third point. To paraphrase a well-known pop song of the 90’s “One out of Three Ain’t Bad”

I have no right to do any of these things. It’s not a right, it’s a privilege: a privilege granted to me by the Holy Spirit living in me and no matter how much Satan tries to persuade me to compare myself with those around me, we are all equally righteous through the blood of Jesus, as born-again believers.

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As it says in 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

As if this wasn’t enough I have the example in scripture of men and women who served God and fulfilled his purpose despite the fact that they were, like me, flawed human beings:

To mention but a few:

Abraham, who effectively traded his wife Sarah to powerful men, in order to preserve his own skin. It was only through God’s intervention, behind the scenes, that Sarah remained chaste. Yet he is described as the friend of God and God used him mightily in the story of redemption of mankind.

Rahab, a pagan, who believed what God was going to do in the promised land, hid the spies in Jericho and appears in the Genealogy of Jesus.

David, the man “after God’s own heart” the greatest earthly King that Israel had, who was also a murderer and adulterer.

The disciples of Jesus were all flawed individuals in their separate ways, showing jealousy, ambition, cowardice, and doubt, Peter, who became the first leader of the church, was impetuous, full of self-importance, yet abandoned Jesus on the night of his trial. Through these 12 flawed individuals, all of whom, bar 2, Judas and John, were killed for their faith, the truth of the Gospel was proclaimed throughout the world.

Last but not least, we have Paul, who writes in Romans 7:19–25

For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

I find all of these individuals a tremendous encouragement. Mainly, because, they didn’t give up, despite the lack of certainty and indeed many, if not all of them did not see the fulfilment of the promise in their lifetime.

On Saturday 6th May our new Monarch, King Charles III took an oath before the Lord, to uphold and serve the people of his realm. Seventy Yeas ago his mother, took the same oath which she honoured throughout her life, despite, setbacks, tragedies and scandals. She “kept on keeping on”.

The Lord has a purpose for me, I’m not always sure what it is, but I step out in obedience each day, sometimes more reluctantly than others. I refuse to listen to the lies of the enemy and I’ll “keep on keeping on” despite, mistakes, despite wrong choices, despite uncertainty, until the Lord says I can stop.

This blog is a very personal testimony but if any of it resonates with your spirit, I would encourage you to ignore the lies of the enemy, remember that God has a purpose for you, and to “keep on keeping on”.

Have a blessed week.

Author: Alan Cameron

May God bless and enrich your life

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