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Wisdom

Mistakes and Accusations

When You Make Mistakes

Romans 5:8-9  NIV 
" But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him" 


Have you ever wondered if you are good enough for God to love you? Unfortunately, many people believe God loves them only as long as they don't make mistakes. But; the facts of life is that we all do from time to time.


Perhaps it was this outlook that caused the psalmist to ask, "What is man that You are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4 AMP). Yet the Bible tells us that we are God's creation, the work of His hands - and that He loves each one of us unconditionally.


Let's face it: Jesus didn't die for you because you were great and wonderful; He died for you because He loves you. Romans 5:8-9 confirms this truth by telling us that He died for us while we were still sinners.


God loved you enough to give His only begotten Son, not only to die for your sins, but also to cover your daily mistakes. He loves you enough to get you through each day in power and victory.


The Accuser

God loves you, and He wants you to believe it and receive it all the time...even when you make mistakes. Yet there are those that will seize any and every opportunity to remind us of our failures; our mistakes. And I am telling you today to not listen to them.

The Bible speaks to us of those that are the mouth piece of the devil himself. Satan is called the "accuser of the brethren" (Rev. 12:10, Job 1:6; Zech. 3:1), as seeking to uphold his influence among men by bringing false charges against Christians, with the view of weakening their influence and injuring the cause with which they have been given by the Lord. He was regarded by the Jews as the "accuser of men" before God, laying to their charge the violations of the law of which they were guilty, and demanding their punishment. The same Greek word, rendered "accuser," is found in John 8:10, Acts 23:30, 35; 24:8; 25:16, 18, in all of which places it is used of one who brings a charge against another unjustly.

There is a story in Nehemiah 1:1-9:38 which speaks of this in extent.

Nehemiah knew how to handle being accused and so should you in order to keep your faith strong, your goals in line with what the Lord wants of you and to keep pushing forward.

But; how do you identify the "accuser?

Nehemiah gives us some insight on how to identify this, how to answer it and keep moving forward.

The accuser will laugh at you to make you think that you are doing something wrong or ridiculous.
The accuser will despise you, that is, look down upon you to make you think that you are lower than he is.
The accuser will question what you are doing and try to get you to raise questions about the legitimacy of what you are doing.
The accuser will question your authority and suggest that you are in rebellion against the established authority.
The accuser will use his anger in any way that he can.

The accuser will use his anger to belittle you.
The accuser will mock you and what you are doing.
The accuser will accuse you of being too weak or too old or too young or too ignorant to do what God has told you to do.
The accuser will question if you can protect yourself.
The accuser will question your depth of commitment.

The accuser will suggest that you have made a rash decision that you cannot keep.
The accuser will imply that it is too late to change because of your past experiences.
The accuser will suggest that even if you start to rebuild your life, that it won't do any good.
The accuser will declare that you will be overcome by the smallest enemy.
The accuser will state that the least pressure will cause you to fall again.

The accuser will attack when you are tired.
The accuser will attack when you don't feel like you are able to rebuild.
The accuser will suggest that he will attack you in secret when you don't know he is attacking.
The accuser will declare that he will destroy you and cause you to stop God's work in your life.
The accuser will say the same thing over and over knowing that if you ever stop to listen to him that he will have you.


We are human beings. We all make mistakes and wish that life came with a "do over" button that we could push whenever we have done something wrong. But were this so; we would not have needed a Savior in Jesus Christ.


You have an Authority to listen to and it isn't someone that takes personal enjoyment in pointing out your character flaws and mistakes. Things that Jesus has forgiven you for even before you make them.  God loves you; in all of your flaws and imperfections. Listen to Him and ignore the accuser.


Concluding Prayer Focus:

Lord, Your love is incredible. You love me even when it doesn't make sense to me. When I make mistakes, You are still with me. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, my mistakes are covered. I receive Your love today. Help me to not listen to those that accuse me unjustly. Remind me daily that You are all that I have to be accountable to. It is in Your Precious Name that I pray. Amen

Just Bee Yourself

Be You - For Christ

Galatians 1:10  NKJV 
"For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ".

Do you spend your life trying to please everybody?

Paul had to speak harshly to the Christians in Galatia because they were in serious danger. He did not apologize for his straight-forward words, knowing that he could not serve Christ faithfully if he allowed the Galatian Christians to remain on the wrong track. Whose approval are you seeking - others' or God's?

Pray for the courage to seek God's approval above anyone else's.

 

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The Direction of Your Journey

God Will Direct Your Journey

Psalms 37:23 KJV 
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way".

Growing up in the mountains some of my most enjoyable moments were spent hiking. Every time I would pack up my backpack and set off I felt like I was heading out on some fantastic journey. Without any type of guide I never knew where I might end up.

Sometimes I would go this way and discover an open meadow filled with wild flowers of every color and hue just beyond the tree line. Sometimes I would come to a dead end of nothing more than a sheer rock wall that was impossible to climb. Sometimes I got thirsty because I didn't bring enough water and couldn't find a fresh water source. Sometimes I got a little hungry before I found my way back. Storms come up out of nowhere. You get lost. You get wet. You get cold. You get too hot. All part of starting a journey not knowing where you are going and no one to guide you. Sometimes fun, sometimes scary. Always an adventure.

The Christian life can be likened to a journey. The Holy Spirit is our guide, He leads us daily. And He is always guiding us to what is best for our life. The key to a successful and enjoyable journey is to follow Him.

But what does it mean to follow God?

Basically, it means to obey Him, to follow His lead, and to do what He says.

So many times we get ahead of God. We may think we know the best direction to take or we get impatient with His timing and make a wrong turn because it looks quicker. The problem is, once we realize that road leads to a dead end, we have to go all the way back to where we got off course.

The good news is, God is there, waiting to take the lead again and show us the right way to go.

The Lord has each of our journeys perfectly planned. We need to fully understand that He loves us, that He is good and righteous and that we can trust Him.

We can trust Him to lead us in the direction that is right for us. We can trust Him to correct us when we stray and guide us back to the right place. We can trust Him with others on our path. We can trust Him with our life, period.

Follow the Holy Spirit's lead, because He knows the way and He will always stay with you. Trust Him to lead you into all the good He planned for your life long before you were ever born. And enjoy the journey.

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Raise Your Voice to The Lord in Song

Hold the Line; Stay the Course

Don't  Give  Up !

What Do We Do When Life Gets Hard?

Galatians 6:9 NLT: "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up".

In the world we live in, we are going to have all kinds of problems, frustrations and difficulties. That's just life. So knowing this, what do we do?

We must remain steadfast and persevere. In other words, the answer is never give up! No matter what's going on in our lives, the victory is in refusing to quit.

Keep in mind that in the heat of our struggles, the Holy Spirit is probably doing His greatest work within us. He is not moved by the circumstances. If you and I really trust Him, we shouldn't be either! He's not in our lives for good times only, but for the difficult times as well.

He will lead us through anything if we'll just hang in there and follow Him. This means being diligent in prayer, relentless in our resolve, unwavering in faith, and determined to stand firmly on God's Word and His promises to us.

So many times we can be sidetracked by how slowly things seem to be going. In fact, the enemy loves to point that out! But remember, that's when God may be doing some of His greatest work. You see, it's not all about you and me. The Lord's work in us is preparation for the work He wants to do through us!

I know life can be hard sometimes. But I also know that God will help us if we remain steadfast.

So let me ask that question again:
What do we do?

The Bible's answer is to never give up!
What's your answer?