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I guess this is a time of memories and reflection for me, at least it seems like I have been doing quite a bit of it lately. I was talking to my (youngest) aunt Betty and we began reminiscing about some of my "younger days". You see, I was the first grandchild (and nephew) on either side of the family and because of that all of the aunts did their best to spoil me. My mom had two sisters Helen and Betty and one brother, Russell, after whom I was named.
Aunt Betty loves to tell about the times (yes, more than once) when I deserved to be punished and one of them would grab me and run to keep me from getting the much deserved spanking. You know the funny thing is, I really don't remember those incidents, but the times I got the punishment I deserved, those I remember and hopefully I learned some valuable lessons from those times.
How many times have you escaped your much deserved punishment? I can relate very well to what the late Charles Schultz meant when he wrote these words: "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
How about you, can you relate to that? Wouldn't it be terrible if we had to listen to everything we had done wrong or every time we had sinned! Thanks to God's grace we won't ever have to do that if we love and obey him!
The writer of Hebrews talks about the new covenant which God has made with mankind today. It doesn't depend only on words written on a piece of paper. God expects us to take it into our hearts and live His Word, not just memorize it. Notice what the writer says in Hebrews 10:15-17. "The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.' Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.'"(KJV)
God promises that even though we sin and deserve to be punished he will forgive us of those sins, but even that is conditional. The apostle John writing in 1 John 31-6, tells us about the conditions which God places on our forgiveness. Notice what John writes: "See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don't know God, so they don't understand that we are his children. Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure. Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him. So if we continue to live in him, we won't sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is." (NLT)
You see we can praise God that he is willing to forgive us, but we can't forget that he expects us to live pure lives, obeying and serving him. You can run from him, but you will never be safe until you run to him!
Aunt Betty loves to tell about the times (yes, more than once) when I deserved to be punished and one of them would grab me and run to keep me from getting the much deserved spanking. You know the funny thing is, I really don't remember those incidents, but the times I got the punishment I deserved, those I remember and hopefully I learned some valuable lessons from those times.
How many times have you escaped your much deserved punishment? I can relate very well to what the late Charles Schultz meant when he wrote these words: "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
How about you, can you relate to that? Wouldn't it be terrible if we had to listen to everything we had done wrong or every time we had sinned! Thanks to God's grace we won't ever have to do that if we love and obey him!
The writer of Hebrews talks about the new covenant which God has made with mankind today. It doesn't depend only on words written on a piece of paper. God expects us to take it into our hearts and live His Word, not just memorize it. Notice what the writer says in Hebrews 10:15-17. "The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.' Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.'"(KJV)
God promises that even though we sin and deserve to be punished he will forgive us of those sins, but even that is conditional. The apostle John writing in 1 John 31-6, tells us about the conditions which God places on our forgiveness. Notice what John writes: "See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children, and we really are! But the people who belong to this world don't know God, so they don't understand that we are his children. Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure. Those who sin are opposed to the law of God, for all sin opposes the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, for there is no sin in him. So if we continue to live in him, we won't sin either. But those who keep on sinning have never known him or understood who he is." (NLT)
You see we can praise God that he is willing to forgive us, but we can't forget that he expects us to live pure lives, obeying and serving him. You can run from him, but you will never be safe until you run to him!
MESSAGE FROM THE HEART by Russel Lawson © 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).
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