This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. Romans 3:22 NIV
In another bible version: Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:22 The Message
Yesterday I was listening to a tv pastor, Creflo Dollar, as I got ready for work. He said something that really resonated in my spirit. You have to BELIEVE that you are are righteous... that it is in you... that HE put it in you. It is not anything that you can do that makes you righteous.... it's just in you when you accept Christ as your saviour.
You ARE good.... As long as you focus on your sins, on your failures, then you will walk around feeling condemned and defeated. You HAVE to focus on the fact that you are good because He is in you. Easy peasy.... right....?
Man, do I ever understand that this is a difficult concept but this morning (here's my favorite phrase lately) I feel I got a glimpse of what that is. I was lying in bed feeling uncertain and anxious about a step that I had taken yesterday. Should I of have.... shouldn't I of have.... Then my thoughts went to "You have NOT been a good friend lately" and my spirit sunk even lower.
As I lay there I thought "I am so sick of feeling uncertain. I started repeating the phrases "I am the righteousness of Christ. I am a good person." over and over. After a bit I felt this strength flow thru me, this knowing that it was true. It's not because of me. It's because He is in me. He knows how much I want to do the right thing but I don't trust myself, my fleshly desires, so I question all that I do.
As this strength flowed thru me I literally felt myself standing up on the inside and looking at the situation from yesterday. Yes, my flesh has some desires in this area and cloud my vision once in a while. Yes, I had a bit of self interest in doing what I did yesterday. But I also realized that I DO have good intentions where this subject is concerned. I DO truly want to be a blessing to others. As this understanding hit me, I realized that was the core reason for doing what I did. I had pictured, as I often do, that it was my own self interest that was at the core.
I am constantly praying that God reveal to me if I am doing something for selfish motives. I am constantly second guessing myself. I am TIRED of it! TIRED of feeling selfish and inadequate! What I saw this morning was that I DO have a pure motive. Yes, bits of self interest are still floating around the outside of this strong center, but I'm human. I need to focus on the truth and not that nasty ole flesh buzzing around me like a pesky fly trying to land on my sandwich!
I, as usual, even questioned myself about this understanding. Am I deceiving myself. So I turned my thoughts to my friends. Instances floated thru my head where, just recently, I HAD been a good friend to them. I AM a good friend.
But this strength in me also honestly pointed out "Yes, you have been a little unfocused with them lately, a little self absorbed, but you are human. You recognize this so focus on THEM and not yourself next time you are with them. It happens...." My focus has been on this other topic, and I've let other things blur out to the side.
As I'm speaking, maybe my focus WAS to be on this other thing for a bit. Instead of feeling guilt and trying to force myself NOT to focus on this topic, I hesitantly let things flow. I went along for the ride instead of constantly pulling the emergency break... instead of being so afraid of making a mistake that I turned tail and run. Instead of constantly questioning my own motives I had begun to pray "God, make my heart right. God, make my heart right." as I went forward.
If I had not done that, if I had listened to ALL my friends instead of the nudging of the Holy Spirit, I would not have reached this level of trusting God. I have started to trusted Him so much more, but one HUGE area I don't trust Him with is me... with my intentions. It's almost like I can't even see.... I can't believe.... that He can't be trusted to make my intentions pure.
I have been trying to do it myself. I have been focusing too much on where I am missing the mark. I am so focused on looking at my feet, at where my "sin so easily entangles me", instead of looking ahead to what He is calling me to.
You might say "I don't even know how to recognize what He is calling me to!" GRRRRLL! Let me tell YOU! I have eaten, lived and breathed feeling that way. The frustration that sets in is HORRIBLE! But... listen to me now.... I have only started to be able to recognize what could be God nudges, what He is calling me to (which is just the next step; I don't see the whole picture EVER!)... I have only started to recognized what could be Him by being willing to fail.
Yes, we women hate that word fail. We Christian women think it means sin. Think it means we will trash up God's whole plan if we fail. However, I firmly believe that you CANNOT become more in tune with God's voice until you are willing to take chances.
Until you are willing to let go of what you have always thought was true and be willing to consider that the nudges you feel inside of you COULD be from God. Of course you want to cover everything in prayer before you step out. Of course what you are feeling is God will not go against scripture. You will KNOW that if you feel a nudge to steal that car, it is not from God. Plain and simple.
However, often even the way we have been taught scripture hinders us. We have to be willing to realize that we may have it totally wrong. Since I have started typing this blog I notice that scripture just pops out of me to support the point I am trying to make. A few days ago it hit me that is how it is with everyone who is walking with Christ. He will bring scripture out of you to help show you that you are on the right path. That means that scripture is personal. It is how he talks personally to each one of us.
Someone could be writing a blog about deep sea fishing and God can use the same verses He brings to my mind for us women, to this fisherman. These verses help me to get my point across to you about my walk with Him. Those same verses can be used by a fisherman, if God brings them to his mind, to get his point across about his passion for fishing, for manliness, for adventure... Do you get the point I am making here?
Don't let someone else be the go between with you and God. Yes, it is wise to seek Godly counsel, especially when you are a new Christian. But take all advice you get to God in prayer. Don't assume that you are not wise enough or spiritual enough to hear God.
If I am friends with you, but I always let our friend Nancy guide our relationship, determine what we should and shouldn't do together, than I am hindering our friendship. I have to take the risk to say "Hey, do you wanna ____?" (you fill in the blank: go eat, go to Paris, go fishing, sign up for a class, etc.) If you miss the mark and your friend says "Don't you know me at all?? Don't you know that I hate to do that???", just look at it as a learning lesson. You can say "You are right... I'm sorry that I hadn't recognized that about you." And you go forward in the friendship, hopefully focusing a bit more on your friend and her likes. You don't hate yourself because you messed up. You don't throw the friendship away thinking you're never gonna get it right. You learn from it.
I hope this blog helps someone, someday, break the bondage of doubt... of doubting that you are righteous.. of doubting that you are good, kind, smart, funny, spiritual and beautiful. You are all that and so much more. Believe.... just believe....
