His mercies are new every morning.
Lamentations 3:22 It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed. Because His [tender] compassions never fail.23 They are new every morning; Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness. (Amplified)
One of my favourite hymns is “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
I know a fellow or two who are tormented by past sins. They’ve done something that cannot be undone. Murder? Now there’s something that cannot be undone.
I’ve now seen – in my sheltered life – death, face to face. One’s that I love have died, and I’ve seen them, felt them cold and lifeless as I kiss them one last time. My very much loved Grandmother, and my father to name just two. Philosophy, religion, faith, or blind speculation cannot change the cold hard fact that these have been and are no more. They’re body is laying there in the casket moments away from being lowered into the ground. Truly as though they are asleep. I looked at them laying there, and didn’t believe it with my conscious mind, I couldn’t feel it’s reality. Yet there it was. How could I accept it. It didn’t matter, my acceptance was a triviality not involved whatsoever in the equation.
The truth of God’s word surpasses all understanding. We have a tormentor of our souls. The same one that tempts us to do the thing, then raises the thing once done up in our minds again and again to haunt us. Even the most depraved of history have felt that remorse. Nero for example, murdered his own brother, his wife, and his mother, to name just three.
These two fellows I began with here, both were a part of the death of the unborn. Both took part in order that they might spare themselves the unwanted future they saw in consequence of the impending birth. Both had second thoughts, after it was too late.
These two fellow’s torment is that the gravity of their sin went past the conscious mind straight to their soul. Like staring onto the corpse of my dead father, belief in anything and everything were inconsequential. We can rescue ourselves at times from the consequences of our actions by rationalizing. We re-think the facts, and come up with an exoneration of our deeds.
Continue on if you feel so inclined to read of the HOPE of your soul. Regardless of where you feel that you are on the spectrum of all possible human conditions. I’m no different than you, I need God, I am nothing without him.
God’s word says simply this. That we are sinners. We can rationalize it, we can deny it, we walk around blind to it, but perhaps every once in a while we awaken to the nightmare of the truth, and there is no water to quench our burning thirst for relief, in those moments of clarity, know this:
His Holy Spirit convinces us of sin.
This ‘convincing’ is Part One of a two step process. Part Two is being drawn to Jesus, the one who came to save us from our sins. Nero was tormented and condemned by his own conscience. But did not ‘hear’ God, nor Jesus, though he knew about the Christians, indeed he tortured and slaughtered many of them.
If you know that Jesus is the one to whom you must turn – the same ‘knowing’ that you are full of sin – that ‘knowledge‘ is God the Father drawing you to God the Son through the Holy Spirit, who is speaking to you, right now.
The enemy of our souls would stop us at the door and tell us of how unworthy we are, but that very unworthiness is why we need him. He didn’t come to save us because we deserve it, he came to save us because he loves us. We who are saved are saved by the miraculous power of God from beginning to end.
The next step is Faith. Faith is a very curious concept from the standpoint of one trying to figure it out through the study of God’s word, the bible. Faith comes from hearing God’s word. To ‘hear’ God’s word is to read it and believe it. Anyone can read it, but some just don’t understand it, those who read it and understand it ‘hear’ it.
We cross over from death to life, from condemned to saved through this miraculous interaction between each of us and God. We come alone, it is deeply personal. We come from being one of the lost, to one of the saved. There’s much to learn about this word ‘faith’ and about the concept of ‘faith’, but it begins with a simple confession of what’s going on inside of you right now.
Pray right now. Where ever you are, eyes open or closed. Need some words to say? Here’s a few from my heart to yours, come with me to Christ our savior:
Father, I accept from you word, both in my heart, the conviction that burns within me right now, and from your word, the bible, that I am a sinner. There is nothing in me to get to you. I accept your sacrifice, the price paid by Jesus your son, who died on the cross for me. I accept and believe that you, Jesus, rose from the dead, and live forever. I accept your salvation. Teach me, complete the work you’ve begun in me. Cause the enemy to flee, stamp out those doubting thoughts, those condemning torments that fill my heart and mind. Let me rest in you in oh God, come live within me through your Holy Spirit, and fill me with all assurance that have set me free at last. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.
Now it’d be quite naive indeed to think that you’re now done with sin. That is a life long process. You are saved by FAITH. You have just now, by reading that prayer out loud and doing so as a prayer to God, begun your walk of faith. As you mess up, regardless of the context know this:
Our part is to acknowledge and confess our sin. His part is to forgive and cleanse us.
This process begun is described in a few different ways, sanctification, is one. To sanctify means to make holy. To be HOLY is to be set apart by God for God. That Holiness is not about you, but about the one who sets you apart.
And you have begun a life that is lived according to faith, and not according to understanding. The difference will become clear, though now you stare in awe and wonder.
Jesus himself described all of this to a man named Nicodemus. You have been born of the Spirit, your assurance will grow stronger.
Here is my prayer for you, it’s Paul praying for the Thessalonian Christians in its original context, but it true for you, and true for me.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
There’s another hymn that speaks of this wonderful process of Grace, find it here.
The rest of my BLOG posts are about my journey, both now and through out my life, but today I’ve tried to put into words the basics. God Bless you.
