Part 2 from 2010...
Last week's "We Fall Down"
post generated more comments than usual. And Bob Carlisle's song has
been on continual play in my head. So I decided to spend some time on
the second half of falling - Getting Up. I had worked on this post, but
it was still a draft when we went to a Fellowship Meeting in Thousand Oaks on Saturday night. Elder Morton
was the speaker and I wish y'all could have heard him! It was
outstanding as usual, but it also went right along with this theme.
His
text was I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." His
title was "A Spirit of Repentance." The first step to getting back up
is true repentance. Not crocodile tears, not being sorry because we
were caught, but true repentance.
While he was preaching, Elder
Morton said, "Calvary is enough! It doesn't matter what you've done!
Calvary is enough! God doesn't want anyone to be lost."
I had
those same thoughts last week. When we say, "I can't get back up," "I
can't go on," or "I can't be forgiven." What we're really saying is, "The blood of Jesus isn't powerful enough for what I've done."
We may not say it out loud, but that is what is being said. Because
if we truly understood the power of the Cross, we would never doubt
again. Yes, we will still fall, but we would grasp the nail-scarred
hand that was reaching down to us and allow it to pull us back up again.
I
remember praying with a young lady a few years ago. After praying for
a while I told her, "You can make it. You can live for God." Her
response haunts me still. I can still hear the anguish as she replied,
"I hope so." She was so full of doubt, afraid of her own weak flesh.
I
believe getting back up is a decision. It takes faith, but it can be
done. The next time you're tempted to stay down, look yourself in the
eye and say, "The blood of Jesus isn't powerful enough for what I've
done." If you can say that, you can stay down. But if you want to get
back up, shout it in the face of your despair, "The blood of Jesus IS
powerful enough, no matter what I've done!"
HE is faithful and just. He WILL forgive us and cleanse us.
I'm
not done with this topic, there are a few people in the Bible I hope to
write about in the next few days. Some who fell and got back up.
Others who stayed down.
Showing posts with label despair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label despair. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Are We There Yet?
Les and I were discussing his Sunday school lesson for this past week. The topic was patience. Job is the one we always look to as an example of patience, but we spent some time talking about someone else...
Caleb was one of the 12 spies sent out by Moses. He and Joshua were the only ones who came back with a good report. Caleb "stilled the people" trying to convince them to go forth at once. (Numbers 13:30)
Caleb then received a promise from God. Yes, he would have to spend 40 years in the wilderness, but he would get to go into the promise land.
Fast forward 40 years. The next generation is going in to the promise land. We don't hear a word from Caleb for another FIVE years. Every bit of the land is conquered when Caleb says to Joshua "Give me this mountain." (Joshua 14:12)
Caleb was 85 years old when he received his inheritance. He watched all of his peers die. He watched others settle into the land. When Caleb gets his land, then "the land had rest from war." (Joshua 14:15) As far as I can tell, Caleb was the last one!
What an example to follow! How many times have we watched someone else receive a blessing or a healing or an answered prayer while we are still waiting? The definition of patience is "cheerful or hopeful endurance." It's waiting with a smile, even when others receive their promise.
Don't despair when your answer doesn't come as quickly as you'd like. Hebrews 10:36 says "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Do the will of God and trust Him to send the promise... even when it take 45 years!
Caleb was one of the 12 spies sent out by Moses. He and Joshua were the only ones who came back with a good report. Caleb "stilled the people" trying to convince them to go forth at once. (Numbers 13:30)
Caleb then received a promise from God. Yes, he would have to spend 40 years in the wilderness, but he would get to go into the promise land.
Fast forward 40 years. The next generation is going in to the promise land. We don't hear a word from Caleb for another FIVE years. Every bit of the land is conquered when Caleb says to Joshua "Give me this mountain." (Joshua 14:12)
Caleb was 85 years old when he received his inheritance. He watched all of his peers die. He watched others settle into the land. When Caleb gets his land, then "the land had rest from war." (Joshua 14:15) As far as I can tell, Caleb was the last one!
What an example to follow! How many times have we watched someone else receive a blessing or a healing or an answered prayer while we are still waiting? The definition of patience is "cheerful or hopeful endurance." It's waiting with a smile, even when others receive their promise.
Don't despair when your answer doesn't come as quickly as you'd like. Hebrews 10:36 says "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Do the will of God and trust Him to send the promise... even when it take 45 years!
Monday, September 20, 2010
We Get Up
Last week's "We Fall Down" post generated more comments than usual. And Bob Carlisle's song has been on continual play in my head. So I decided to spend some time on the second half of falling - Getting Up. I had worked on this post, but it was still a draft when we went to a Fellowship Meeting in Thousand Oaks on Saturday night. Elder Morton was the speaker and I wish y'all could have heard him! It was outstanding as usual, but it also went right along with this theme.
His text was I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." His title was "A Spirit of Repentance." The first step to getting back up is true repentance. Not crocodile tears, not being sorry because we were caught, but true repentance.
While he was preaching, Elder Morton said, "Calvary is enough! It doesn't matter what you've done! Calvary is enough! God doesn't want anyone to be lost."
I had those same thoughts last week. When we say, "I can't get back up," "I can't go on," or "I can't be forgiven." What we're really saying is, "The blood of Jesus isn't powerful enough for what I've done." We may not say it out loud, but that is what is being said. Because if we truly understood the power of the Cross, we would never doubt again. Yes, we will still fall, but we would grasp the nail-scarred hand that was reaching down to us and allow it to pull us back up again.
I remember praying with a young lady a few years ago. After praying for a while I told her, "You can make it. You can live for God." Her response haunts me still. I can still hear the anguish as she replied, "I hope so." She was so full of doubt, afraid of her own weak flesh.
I believe getting back up is a decision. It takes faith, but it can be done. The next time you're tempted to stay down, look yourself in the eye and say, "The blood of Jesus isn't powerful enough for what I've done." If you can say that, you can stay down. But if you want to get back up, shout it in the face of your despair, "The blood of Jesus IS powerful enough, no matter what I've done!"
HE is faithful and just. He WILL forgive us and cleanse us.
I'm not done with this topic, there are a few people in the Bible I hope to write about in the next few days. Some who fell and got back up. Others who stayed down.
His text was I John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." His title was "A Spirit of Repentance." The first step to getting back up is true repentance. Not crocodile tears, not being sorry because we were caught, but true repentance.
While he was preaching, Elder Morton said, "Calvary is enough! It doesn't matter what you've done! Calvary is enough! God doesn't want anyone to be lost."
I had those same thoughts last week. When we say, "I can't get back up," "I can't go on," or "I can't be forgiven." What we're really saying is, "The blood of Jesus isn't powerful enough for what I've done." We may not say it out loud, but that is what is being said. Because if we truly understood the power of the Cross, we would never doubt again. Yes, we will still fall, but we would grasp the nail-scarred hand that was reaching down to us and allow it to pull us back up again.
I remember praying with a young lady a few years ago. After praying for a while I told her, "You can make it. You can live for God." Her response haunts me still. I can still hear the anguish as she replied, "I hope so." She was so full of doubt, afraid of her own weak flesh.
I believe getting back up is a decision. It takes faith, but it can be done. The next time you're tempted to stay down, look yourself in the eye and say, "The blood of Jesus isn't powerful enough for what I've done." If you can say that, you can stay down. But if you want to get back up, shout it in the face of your despair, "The blood of Jesus IS powerful enough, no matter what I've done!"
HE is faithful and just. He WILL forgive us and cleanse us.
I'm not done with this topic, there are a few people in the Bible I hope to write about in the next few days. Some who fell and got back up. Others who stayed down.
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