When You Feel Like You’re Drowning in Bad Decisions

When You Feel Like You’re Drowning in Bad Decisions SHARON JAYNES “Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters.” Psalm 144:7a (NIV) The current swift and fierce, I could feel my body being swept away like a hollow reed. I was a 6-year-old, 40-pound wisp of a girl with gangly arms who vowed she could do anything her 11-year-old mischievous brother, Stewart, could do. Standing on the sole-blistering sand, I watched as Stewart and his friend plunged into the briny waters where the Atlantic Ocean merged with the Intercoastal Waterway. The boys had one goal: swim across to a sandbar some 100 feet away. This was where the waves gave way to calm, salt water gave way to fresh, and sand gave way to soil. But apparent tranquil water on the surface was in reality a strong undercurrent that sucked the ocean away from its home. Like a lovesick puppy, I watched as the boys dove in and swam away. “I want to go too!” I called out. “You’re just a kid!” Stewart yelled back. “You stay there! You can’t come!” “It’s not fair,” I stormed. “He gets to do everything!” “You stay here with us,” my dad instructed. “You’re too little. It’s not safe.” My dad’s remarks only made me more determined to prove them wrong. “If he can do it, I can do it,” I mumbled. “I always get left behind.” When my dad turned around, I saw my chance and dove into the water. I was no match for the force of the undertow and the pull of the current. Very quickly, my body was swept away with the ocean’s salt, sand and silt into the fresh water. My salty tears mixed with the briny water, my small cries for help went unheard, and my family grew smaller. Dad turned to see the boys were almost there. Then out of the corner of his eye, he noticed my small splashes. Propelled by panic, Dad dove into the water and cut through the menacing current. He reached out and grabbed me to his side. With one arm, he fought the current and the other held me tight. We finally made it ashore. My dad had rescued me. My dad was not a perfect man. He certainly made his share of mistakes, but that day, he represented a good God and Father to me. Have you ever been in a similar situation? Perhaps you’ve jumped into deep waters that appeared calm on the surface but hid an undertow of trouble. Perhaps you’ve envied others headed in a certain direction and felt you were missing all the fun. “Don’t go there,” your heavenly Father warns. “It’s not safe.” “But why do they get to have all the fun?” you whine. “I always get left behind.” Then, when you think God isn’t looking, you jump! Before you know it, you’re swept away in the current of poor choices, sucked down by the undertow of self-centeredness, pulled away as your Father grows strangely small. When we ignore our Father’s warnings, we forfeit His safe shore and plunge into the ocean of harm’s way: the undertow of wrong choices, the rising tide of moral danger. Perhaps that’s where you are right now. If so, there is hope. You only have to call out to your heavenly Father for help, and He will pull you safely to shore. David cried out, “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me” (Psalm 31:2, NIV). He pleaded: “Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters” (Psalm 144:7a). As God told Moses at the burning bush, He sees, He hears, He’s concerned and He rescues. (Exodus 3:7-8) Maybe you’re thinking: You don’t know what a mess I’ve made of my life. You’re right. I don’t. But I do know how badly I’ve messed up. And guess what? There’s no place we can go where His arm is too short to reach down and rescue us. No matter what your relationship with your earthly father has been, you have a very concerned heavenly Father who sees you, hears you and stands ready to rescue you. Dear heavenly Father, I am so glad Your arm is never too short to save me — to pull me out of the difficult places of life. Forgive me for ignoring the Holy Spirit’s warnings and jumping into treacherous waters I should have avoided. Give me strength to walk away when I feel that check in my spirit that says “Don’t go there.” I love You, Lord, and I thank You for being my Rescuer, my Rock and my Redeemer. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. TRUTH FOR TODAY: Isaiah 59:1, “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” (NIV)

Our Incomparable Companion

Our Incomparable Companion

By Dr. Charles StanleyJohn 14:16-18

Most of us don’t like being alone for extended periods of time. In fact, we are not designed to live in isolation. Even at the very beginning, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). But sometimes situations in life leave us separated from others. Or perhaps we simply feel lonely, even though we live with our mate or family. But whatever your situation may be, if you are a believer, you’re never alone.

Knowing His followers could feel abandoned after His crucifixion and ascension, Jesus promised to send them a Helper who would never leave them—the Spirit of truth. The same One who came to them at Pentecost still abides within every believer. He has been sent to walk alongside us as our comforter, enabler, and guide.

The Holy Spirit, unlike human companions, is perfectly adequate to meet our every need. Since He knows us intimately, He can comfort us in pain and loss when no one else can. Anytime we find ourselves in a quandary, He knows exactly what we ought to do. Since the future is laid bare before His eyes, He’s aware of all the details that concern us. What’s more, He promises to guide us each step of the way, calming our fears and overcoming our inadequacies.

Because we were created for God, only through His Spirit are we made complete. He is the ultimate solution to man’s aloneness: He’s always available and will never forsake or forget you. When others let you down, the Comforter is present to lift you up with the reminder that you’re not alone.

The Blood of Forgiveness and Cleansing

The Blood of Forgiveness and Cleansing
By Roy Lessin

Jesus was crucified at the time of the Jewish Feast of Passover. This was not a coincidence. It was ordained of God. Jesus is called our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7) and also the Lamb of God (John 1:29).

The first Passover took place more than 3,000 years ago. It happened on the night when God sent the tenth plague upon Egypt. This plague would bring death to the first born in the land. To escape this judgement, the Jewish people were to follow God’s specific instructions for deliverance.

Each family was commanded to choose a lamb according to God’s specifications. The lamb was to be slain and its blood applied to the two side posts and the upper door post of each house. The slain lamb was then to be brought into the home, roasted, and eaten by everyone inside. It was in this context that God made this promise, “The blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:13 NLT

There was only one way the Jewish people could be delivered from the judgement of death. They did not think up this way. It was God’s way. It was the way of the blood. It was the only way! Through the substitutionary death of The Passover lamb, God was telling us that one day, in the fullness of time, He would send a Lamb into the world, His Lamb—Perfect! Sinless!—to be our Savior and Deliverer from sin.

The shed blood of God’s Lamb, has provided by His grace, so many life-changing things for us. Two of these include our forgiveness and cleansing.

One of life’s frustrations is when I buy a new shirt and then spill something on it the first time I wear it. What makes it even worse is when the item I spilled leaves a stain that I can’t remove. Sin is like a stain in us that wouldn’t come out, no matter how hard we try. To remove the stain of sin will take something far beyond anything we can do. God is the only One who has the solution. In Isaiah 1:18 God gives us this wonder working promise, “Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NKJV

It is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that sin’s stain can be removed, and we can be forgiven and cleansed.

Forgiveness and cleansing are very different things. Suppose a boy got very angry at a classmate while at school, and during the lunch hour the boy wrote some hateful things on the chalkboard. Just as the boy was about to leave, the teacher walked in. When the teacher read what was written on the board he asked the boy if he had written it. The boy confessed and said that he was sorry. The teacher forgave the boy, and then took a cloth and wiped the chalkboard clean so it would never be seen or read again. When God forgives us He also cleanses us, and remembers our sins no more. “I, only I, am He who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25 AMP

Prayer

Jesus, thank You for leaving heaven and coming to earth to die on the cross for me. Thank You for shedding Your blood so I could begin each day in the joy of being cleansed and forgiven. Thank You for being the Lamb of God, my perfect Savior from sin!

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Revelation 1:5 NKJV

Be Yourself

Be Yourself
by Stephen Sanders

Have you ever had someone tell you to, "Just be yourself and everything will work out"? It sounds so simple doesn't it?  "Be Yourself."  What does that even mean? After all, if we could simply "be ourselves," then wouldn't the world that surrounds us be a lot different?

I often wonder what friendships would be like if we could simply be who we are inside; to not feel so much pressure to be less or more of an individual than we think we are supposed to be. One thing I've begun to focus on in recent months is being the same person everywhere I am no matter who I'm around; but that's a lot easier said that done. 

Don't get me wrong. I totally realize that none of us are exempt to sin. 1 John 1:8-10 says this: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

Can you see how not dealing with sin appropriately keeps us from being ourselves?  Behavior like this causes us to trick ourselves into thinking we are someone who we really aren't. When we ignore or hide sin, it breeds all kinds of issues, not only in us, but also in the body of Christ. 

So how should sin be handled?  How can you "be yourself?"  Well, here are 3 things that will certainly get us going in the right direction: Confession, confrontation and forgiveness.

We all know that we are supposed to confess our sins to God, but what about confessing our sins to one another?  Where does that fit into the picture?  The answer lies within James 5:16, which instructs us to, "...confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."  Why isn't the confession of sins more of a focus in the church today?  Shouldn't we be doing this every chance we get if it results in "healing and righteousness?"

Secondly, there is confrontation.  Jesus says in Matthew 18:15-17 that, "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.  But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.  If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church..." Notice that this scenario starts with someone taking the initiative to point out the sin.  Also notice that this person risks not only putting his friend in an uncomfortable situation, but also being humiliated in front of others if he is wrong about his assessment. It's easy to see why the church struggles with this; it's not a simple solution.  

Lastly, we have forgiveness.  After discussing confrontation and confession, doesn't forgiveness make a lot more sense now?  There is a very good reason why Jesus instructed us to forgive, "seventy times seven times " in Matthew 18:22.  Jesus knew we were going to be surrounded by sinful people because we live in a sinful world.  Rather than avoiding it, we need to be brave enough to be the one who chooses to forgive sin unconditionally and infinitely.  Our reaction to sin determines the impact it is able to have on us.  Who knows?  Our reaction may even be so powerful that it may stop that sin in its tracks before it affects others too!

Intersecting Faith and Life:  

I'm totally convinced that this is how we should be handling sin.  And since sin is "at enmity with God" then shouldn't we be doing everything we can to remove it from the bride of Christ?  Shouldn't this be a primary focus in our lives rather than striving for what we can gain in life?  Jesus is waiting for a bride with no blemishes. 

Today, just take about 15 minutes and ask God this simple question: "God, how is the sin in my life keeping me from being who you have created me to be?"