I am blessed beyond words for the grace and mercy of the county sheriff’s office. I received a generous award from the motorcycle patrol this past week. How is a ticket a blessing? Glad you asked….
He could have stopped me a mile earlier, in a construction zone, with twice the fine. He could have charged me with no proof of insurance for I had the old card in my wallet instead of the one that started the first of this month; instead he gave me a warning. He could have added aggressive driving to the ticket requiring I appear in court. Only one violation noted and the opportunity to pay the fine within a set period as well as reduce the points on my license blessed me. The bigger blessing is that I did not cause harm to another or myself. The biggest blessing - I recognize my failure.
I am a gentle soul with a loving and giving spirit…until I get in the car to drive. It’s like a transformation occurs. I become someone I do not know, and I definitely don’t like. I qualify as a bully driver and act as if I’m the only one that knows the rules of the road. The kind officer pointed out to me how delusional my thinking. I was following too close. Yes, I was. The guy in front kept slowing down to reach for something in the front seat or drink from his go mug or talk on the phone. I wanted him to get out of my way so I didn’t slow down as much as I should have. I was not a safe distance behind him. I was not even in a hurry to get somewhere! But hey, he was in the fast lane, going under the speed limit, and I am the better driver, right? WRONG!
How often do we feel we exhibit righteous anger at the actions of another? How often do we lovingly point out to a teacher of the word they don’t have their facts straight? How often do we purposefully not participate because it’s just not our thing? How often do we discount the service of another in favor of our judgmental heart or critical spirit? How often do we compare what others are doing to us doing better? How far do we carry a grudge against someone?
How genuinely do we put the other person’s feelings first? How inconsistently do we stop and T.H.I.N.K. before we speak? Are our words Truthful, Helpful, Inspirational, Necessary, and Kind? How joyful are we in serving others? How forgiving are we of ourselves and others? How honest are we about our actions? How quickly do we take it to God for guidance?
We see how others respond to our ‘helpful’ words and get angry when they speak harshly or treat us badly. We choose not to recognize we hurt them in what we said and claim they stepped on our feelings. We convince ourselves we are offering constructive input. We determine we are not critical in spirit, and it’s their problem to handle. We have become a society which focuses on fast food, instant responses, incoherent communications, and ourselves.
I justified my bad behavior by offering excuses instead of asking forgiveness. I determined to have my way instead of purposing in my heart to do what is right. I pushed on when I should have backed off. I blamed the person in front of me when it was me in error. I’ve asked Jesus to take Lordship over that part of my personality. It is abundantly apparent to me I haven’t surrendered it for I still did it. I was wrong, and now I have to pay for it.
Sin is like that too. Oh, it feels good. Why would we participate in it if it felt bad? We hear that little voice telling us it won’t matter this one time. But, we do it again and again until it becomes a part of us. We know the world is okay with it for everybody else does it. Are we really sure about that? Is it everybody or is it just those we hang around with who are doing what our flesh wants to do? It’s just a tiny little lie, so they feel okay about what we say. It’s not like it hurts anyone, right? It might mean the difference between life and death for eternity, so why would we be less than truthful about it?
If we are doing something we shouldn’t and we feel no conviction then something is wrong with our hearts. If we are not sharing the truth of God’s word and living out that truth, we could cause someone else to stumble. Sin is sin, whether it’s a white lie or murder; it’s still sin to God. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin. We discount the cost Jesus paid for our sins.
In this week of the holiest remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus, let us reflect on who we are in Christ. We are redeemed. We are ransomed. We are co-inheritors to the kingdom. We are children of God. We are forgiven of our sins. We are saved from eternal death. Most of all, we are loved!
If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Savior and you’ve heard God’s word before, why are you waiting? If you want to know more about God and what Jesus did for us, read the Bible. If you need to hear the words to understand the teachings, there are audio Bibles. There are links to several church sites provided in this blog. They contain verse by verse, chapter by chapter teachings to encourage you. There is also a link to blueletterbible.org to help you study God’s word by going deeper into the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek texts.
Of all the promises from God, we are not given another day. Of all the power of Jesus, we must welcome Him before He can save us. Of all the urging of the Holy Spirit beside us, He cannot become a part of us until we accept Jesus as our Savior. If yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is not promised, and every day is today, why not make this the day of your salvation?
We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus took our sins to the cross and paid for them with His blood. He loves us so much He gave His life for us before we were born! No sin, even murder, is too big for the cross. Cry out to Jesus, bring your pain and fear to Him, lay it at His feet, ask forgiveness for it, and repent. Tell Him you believe He died for you and rose again. If you are sincere in your prayer, you are saved. As a child of God, you are a co-inheritor to heaven! We will stand before Jesus, and I will see you there.
Lord God, Thank You for Your love being a constant light in my life. Thank You for never leaving or forsaking me, just as You promised. I pray those reading these words cry out to You for salvation, today. I pray they seek a relationship with You, call You Friend. May the only time I follow too closely be in my walk with Jesus. I love You and praise You for You alone are worthy of our worship. In Jesus Name – Amen!
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