IT CAN BEGIN TODAY
Okay, let’s just get it out there—Sometimes I put on my clothing backward. Don’t laugh; maybe you too can relate.
- Go with me on a morning walk & see the LORD’S teaching.
- Go with me into God’s Holy Word & see the LORD’S teaching.
A morning walk—While I did not dress like this purposedly; nevertheless, while out walking one morning, I knew something was wrong. For a quarter of a mile, I continuously pulled at my bright, green shorts because they just ‘felt’ wrong, never dreaming that they ‘truly’ were wrong.
In the Bible—The prophet of the Lord, Jeremiah, wrote—
“Even the stork in the sky
(The Book of Jeremiah 8: 7 NASB)
Knows her seasons;
And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush
Observe the time of their migration;
But My people do not know
The ordinance of the LORD.”
In the world—It has often been heard: “Well, they just don’t know any better,” when someone points out why people do what they do, but is that statement even biblical? God created all things—a true statement, even the fowl of the air, and God placed into their tiny heads a tiny brain. Nevertheless, it can be stated with amazing truth—Even birds with their tiny brains recognize the changing seasons and understand their need to migrate. Birds know when & where & even the way to come and go. Their wisdom is seen in their leaving, in their going. Why are we (people) so ignorant?
A morning walk—The other day, when out walking, when tugging at my shorts, and when thinking: I cannot tug at these shorts anymore, I finally lifted up the front portion of my shorts and saw the tag that SHOULD BE in the back. My shorts were on backward.
In the Bible—Jeremiah, the Lord’s servant continued—
“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
(The Book of Jeremiah 8: 8-9 NASB)
And the law of the LORD is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
The wise men are put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?”
In the Bible—In Jeremiah’s day, the people of God would not return to the LORD, and they were caught in a perpetual state of backsliding against God. That’s a polite way of saying—God’s chosen ones were choosing to sin rather than choosing to obey God, and—The LORD promised His judgment for their sin.
The people of God would be driven from the Promised Land and taken into captivity by the invading Babylonians. This misery would feel worse than death, so much so, that death would seem like relief. When the invading army came, the people of God would understand the greatness of their sin, but it would be too late.
A morning walk—Years ago, when I served as a high school teacher of English, the Executive Council would designate certain days when students and faculty should ‘dress up’ to participate in Homecoming Week. I always enjoyed participating and even ‘dressed up’ in Backwards Day. However, when a person unknowingly participates in wearing clothing backward during a long hike, well, the fun is no longer present.
We are called to consider our sinful nature. The message we receive from the prophet Jeremiah is to return to God, to repent, and to turn back to Him. We are called to start obeying God, and He will forgive us of all our wrongdoing.
There are many words one can associate to Jesus, the Savior of the world, but three distinct words concerning the subject of SIN—JESUS NEVER SINNED!
That’s right. NEVER!
Now, maybe you are reading and agree but then exclaim: “But Jesus is the Son of God, and there’s no way I can be perfect like Jesus.” That is correct. You and I can never be perfect like Jesus, and the Bible does not tell us that we must be perfect.
We are SINNERS saved by GOD’S GRACE.
Offered GOD’S GRACE while we are yet, still SINNERS.
“For while we were still helpless,
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 5: 6-8 NASB)
at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will hardly die for a righteous man;
though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.”
As long as we walk within these dusty, earthly bodies, we are prone to sin; however, once we have received the free gift of God’s salvation, we are to be imitators of Jesus as we go throughout our years of life.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 5: 1-2 NASB)
and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us,
an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
An imitator is one who patterns after another. We are who we have chosen to become. Day-by-day, we are given a freewill to choose our actions, words and thoughts, but we cannot truly change who we have become. However, Jesus can!
In the Bible—it speaks of two types of sin: Sin of Commission & the Sin of Omission.
- The Sin of Commission is sin when we willingly disobey God’s Commandments.
- The Sin of Omission is sin, as well, when followers of Jesus willingly disobey God’s Holy Spirit to Go, to Say, & to Do the Lord’s will.
Both actions are sinful are in need of repentance & both types are against a most-Holy God.
Okay let’s just get it out there—Sometimes I sin. Maybe you too can relate. What SHOULD BE less sinful behavior in my life, I sometimes allow to creep back into my actions and I realize how my sinfulness moves me backward—away from the new nature I have in Christ Jesus. As the Holy Spirit makes me aware, then I am to repent and ask for God’s forgiveness.
- Seek Him.
- Pray, asking Him to forgive us of our sins. &
- An amazing concept abounds.
God is faithful to forgive us of our sins.
God will transform and empower us, to change us, & to turn us from our sinful ways.
Sure, the journey may be slow, even a difficult one to walk, but Jesus specializes in providing us with exactly what we need along the way. He will walk us through to the other side.
- GOD WILL CHANGE US!
- THE LORD WILL TRANSFORM US TO BE MORE LIKE HIM!
As followers of Jesus, walking with Him daily & being led by His Holy Spirit, is it possible to leave our sinful nature more and more as we go. YES! YES, it is, and it begins with a simple want-to, a desire to be more like the Savior Jesus, a willingness to imitate God.
IT CAN BEGIN TODAY.