“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
– Ephesians 2:8-9
When we abide in Jesus, we sleep better. When we abide in Jesus, we become smarter, we have a better vision, and most importantly, we are full of joy. And to do this, we have to establish some disciplines in our life. Very often, we stop practicing many disciplines … even like going to church! In fact, I think the number one reason people stop going to church is that they sinned in their life and they’re embarrassed. So there’s this upside down understanding that if I’m doing everything right — if I’ve had like several weeks of good behavior — I can go to church. But, we also think that if we mess up in some way that we’re ashamed of or if we fall off the wagon and get drunk again, that well I can’t go to church for awhile until I get things right. But that’s not true! God loves you not because of what you do, but because of who you are. You are His beloved. |
Prayer
Thank you, God, that we are always welcome in your house. We don’t have to do more or try to be more. We are yours.
Reflection
Do you ever feel like you can only spend time with God if you are being a “good” person?
One Response
It doesn’t matter whether you’re good or bad . Spending quality time with God is like
attending a therapy session and confessing your inner most thoughts and feelings to him . He knows what the appropriate sentence is and judges justly . So don’t be afraid to confide . Spill the beans . Admit you’re bad and deceitful . He will not forsake you .I try to spend time with God as much as possible .After Mom had her surgery and rehab . It was so frustrating for me to explain to her about doing her therapy exercises .She was so obstinate . I would go into my bedroom and cry my eyes out to the Lord saying why does life have to be this way . He is my rock of safety and I can dwell safely within his encouraging words of comfort and solace