Monday, February 11, 2013

A Sour Taste In My Mouth


Jesus Christ forgives all our sins. Christians don’t claim to be without sin. Sound theology teaches that like Paul, each one of us must say, “I am the chief [sinner].”[1]

Sadly, I’ve sinned many times. Believe me, it has left a sour taste in my mouth. But I’m a Christian because, through faith, Christ has forgiven all my sins. Having been sinless, He’s the only one qualified to do this. Receiving forgiveness puts a spring in my step. It’s like a fresh start, with no more guilty accusation.

The Bible says “There is … no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”[2] But, being a “chief,” I have tended to repeat my failures. Anger, lust, selfishness, arrogance, foolishness, complaining, criticism, gossip, fear. In those moments of repeat failure, I feel condemned. “I’ve failed. How can God forgive me again?” The spring goes out of my step. I work really hard to “pay God back” for my wrong.

This idea has helped me.

Let’s imagine each sin I commit is a lemon. Why a lemon? No particular reason, but maybe because the apple has gotten a bad wrap already..

How many sins have I done in my life? Let’s say 3 a day. (Remember our thought life counts) That would be 1095 in a year. (I’m being super conservative I am sure) I’m 61 years young, so that’s 66,895 sins in my lifetime. That is a hill of lemons. Two and a half lemons is about a pound. My sins weigh 13 tons. That’s 2/3 of a semi-truck. So I’ve nearly filled up a truck.

But how many lemons would represent your sins? Maybe another 30,000? (If you’re 30 years old and not as sinful as I am.) Two of us total 100,000 lemons. Twenty tons. The truck is full. Then we add a guy who went to prison for murdering someone. Maybe another 200,000 lemons? By now the pile of lemons fills almost three trucks. No longer a hill, but a mountain of lemons. How many lemons would represent the sins of the United States? The 7 billion people of the world? Billions!!

Is God willing to forgive that much? That many times?

The Bible says yes. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”[3] So today, if my 66,895 sins increases by one, will God be able to forgive me for Jesus’ sake? Yes!

My point is, God has forgiven far, far more sins than what I have committed. If I fail again... and again, He will forgive. That is so sweet! Be free! Be forgiven today!

But never take sin lightly. More on that in my next post on “Mike On Evidences.”




Click here to read part II: "Don't Take It Lightly"





[1] 1 Tim 1:15 (American Standard Version)
[2] Romans 8:1 (American Standard Version)
[3] 1 John 1:9 (American Standard Version)

Quotes of Note ... The Invisible World

“Spiritual warfare is learning to recognize the strategies, refusing to cooperate with them, and aggressively cutting off the schemes of the devil in Jesus’ name.” Dean Sherman

“those who protest that God cannot exist because there is too much evil evident in life… Evil exists; therefore, the Creator does not. That is categorically stated… If evil exists, one must assume that good exists in order to know the difference. If good exists, one must assume that a moral law exists by which to measure good and evil. But if a moral law exists, must not one posit an ultimate source of moral law, or at least an objective basis for a moral law? By an objective basis, I mean something that is transcendingly true at all times, regardless of whether I believed it or not.” Ravi Zacharias

“But the Devil is no big threat to God’s purposes; he is not even remotely comparable in power. He has been given a limited time before his final judgment to try to prove his case, just as all other moral beings who have chosen to live in rebellion against heaven.” W.A. Pratney

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I've served since 1975 in missions. I lived overseas for about 30 years. I have a great wife and three lovely daughters. I hope you enjoy some of the thoughts. Let me know what you think.

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