GREAT PROBLEM, GREATER HELP, 3

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 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. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 1:5-2:6 ESV)

            Our greatest problem is sin. The issue is not that everyone has an ounce of goodness but the seed of sin. People are constantly told they are okay yet Scripture indicates the opposite. What is the only acceptable response when confronted with your sin? Justify yourself, blame others or confess? King David shows confession brings restoration.

            John makes a great announcement: “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” In other words, God is perfect goodness without a trace of evil. In the light of His presence no one and nothing is comparable. The Good News is the good God. On account of sin everyone fails to fully comprehend His greatness.

            People generally live a deceived life. Most are not willing to admit blemishes and flaws, preferring self-esteem built up instead of shortcomings pointed out, wanting a pep talk instead of an honest assessment.

            A High School newsletter wrote: “In the field of mental health the focus is on struggling and overcoming of adversity. The skills to solve problems, to deal with disappointment and to accept the things that cannot change are essential. The answer is self enhancement – meaning to improve the quality of life. Here are some suggestions for self enhancement. (Acrostic: POSITIVE SELF)  Put your needs as high as everyone else’s. Organize yourself and your activities. Spend time each day doing something nice for yourself. Initiate conversation and relationships. Take as much care of yourself as you would your best friend. Interest – show interest in yourself. Value yourself, your assets and your accomplishments. Evaluate yourself fairly. See yourself fairly. Educate yourself as to your needs. Love yourself. Feel good about yourself.” This kind of approach is only appropriate to self-focused people.

            The most honest way to build up yourself is to realize all have sinned and come short of God’s glory and then follow Jesus, where forgiveness reigns. Your need is not a better understanding of self-worth but a greater awareness of grace from the good God.

            John gives attention to deception, correction and truth.

Deception

            Three ways exist to deceive yourself about your condition.

            “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness.” (1:6) If you state you are associated with God but live a devilish life you deceive yourself about knowing God.

            “I know God but I cheat. I know God but I gossip. I know God but I willfully wrong others. I know God but I party like the heathen.” These inconsistencies are indicators of a false relationship with the good God, the One without evil.

            There is a difference between saying something and doing something. A person may say they know God and even mimic His language, yet the measurement of being related to God is more closely akin to actions. You are lying to yourself, you deceive yourself, when you talk the talk but not walk the walk.

            “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1:8) To not call sin a sin is a great deception. To personally change the rules, to rewrite morality, to no longer claim something wrong out of personal preference will not erase the guilt within the human soul.

            A pastor friend was conducting a Wednesday evening Bible study on the topic of sin. A man stood up, disrupted the study, and said, “I don’t have any sin.” The pastor kindly tried to help the person, but he remained insistent of being without sin. Finally the pastor had an idea and asked, “Sir, is that your wife sitting next to you?” He said, “Yes it is.” The pastor asked, “Can I ask her if you have no sin?” He sat down. In all of us is the seed of sin, which occasionally germinates into acts of sin.

            “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (1:10) How do you know about sin? By what God has declared in Scripture.

            I am not the person suggesting you have sinned. God declares you are sinful (full of sin). To deny your sin is to claim God is lying, calling Him a liar. You are saying, “God it sure is a shame you sent your Son to die on a cross when I’ve never done anything sinful, ever.”

            To talk the talk but not walk the walk, to rewrite the rules so nothing is sinful, and to believe nothing is sinful about your human nature is a great deception, not to God or to others but to yourself.

Correction

            Three ways exist to restore truthfulness about your condition.

            “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1:7) Your walk must line up with your talk. Accountability to one another through fellowship can greatly enhance achieving a consistent manner of living.

            Genuine relationships are made possible through mutual trust and respect, built on the foundation of honesty. You cannot walk contrary to your talk and expect people to trust you. God’s way to overcome a failed walking of the talk is honesty with each other. To live lives uncommitted to fellowship and independent of others following Christ does not help overcome deception.

            “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1:9) Instead of rewriting the rules so that nothing is sinful, rather than consider yourself as being flawless, you are to confess and experience divine cleansing.

            One solution to deception is accountability. Another solution is confession.

            Confession must be definite. The more you know of God, the more you know when something is wrong. You are to seek forgiveness for specific unacceptable manners of behavior. God deals with you on specific issues needing cleansing. Rather than seek a general washing of sin go to Him with the issue at hand.

            Confession must be upright. The sin is to be laid aside. Confession means putting off sin. There is no confession if not willing, or have no desire, to become free from wrongful thoughts and actions. Confession only has value when you plan to give the transgression up.

            Confession involves trust. Address your sin and trust God to do what He stated. Talk to God until there is an assurance that all is well.

            Confession must fit the realm of the transgression. Asking God for forgiveness may not be enough. You may also need to ask the forgiveness of the offended.

            Yet the realm of the transgression is the realm of the confession. If only one person was wronged then only the person receives the confession. If a whole church has been wronged then the whole church hears the confession.

            Three ministers were doing a Bible study on confession and decided to confess a sin to each other. The first minister said, “I’m a secret sipping saint and I’m afraid of becoming an alcoholic.” The second minister said, “When I see something in a store I really want, I steal it.” The first two ministers waited patiently to hear the third one’s confession. Hesitantly, the last minister said, “I like to gossip.” Keep the realm of the confession within the realm of the transgression.

            “If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (2:1) Rather than say you have not sinned, let the Advocate represent you.

            Jesus will plead your case. He is your lawyer in the high court of heaven. As in any legal system, one thing must be done for your Lawyer to give His best defense. You must be perfectly honest with Him. Jesus has already offered to take your case, He is ready and able to give the perfect defense, and He is able to satisfy the demands of your crime but only if you admit your sin.

            God’s correction is accountability, confession and the Advocate.

Truth

            How can you know if you are living a deceived life?

            “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” (2:3) A very straight-forward and simple answer! You are not deceived when God’s truth designs your lifestyle.

            “If anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.” (2:5) God’s love must be all-inclusive in everything associated with you. You are not deceived when God’s love is reflected in your life.

            “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (2:6) The greatest honor you can give God is to imitate Jesus. His passion and ambition must be an all-consuming desire. You are not deceived when God’s Son is modeled in your assessments and actions.

            Is His truth designing your lifestyle, His love reflected in your heart and His Son modeled in your behavior?

Fess up

            The Good News is that God is a good God. People easily fall into deception about sin yet the good God can correct the problem. Fess up when your life is not designed by God’s truth, not reflecting God’s love and not modeling God’s Son.

GREAT PROBLEM, GREATER HELP,1

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21 ESV)

For then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26 ESV)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2 ESV)

            Years ago a man by the name of Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon searching his apartment the police discovered a freezer with human heads, limbs and various internal organs. The investigation revealed he met in the span of a couple years eighteen young men (mostly in Chicago homosexual bars), had sexual relations with them, drugged them, attempted to preserve them in a comatose state and, when this failed, cannibalized them. He selected his victims for their physique although most of them were African American. The apartment building later received the title House of Horrors. Local residence bought the complex and had it demolished.

            His trial was initially a sanity hearing. Many went to the tiny courtroom in hopes of getting one of the few seats available to the general public. They wanted a closer look at the villain. Some were surprised to discover he looked just like anyone. A person could get the same effect looking in a mirror. Although his actions were clearly abnormal, he was declared legally sane. Neighbors described him as a nice guy, polite, kept to himself, and seemed normal, qualities considered the ideal tenet.

            The issue of evil is not just urban. When overseeing a rural church in Minnesota a father and son, pretending to be prospective buyers, called and lured a bank president and loan officer to a repossessed farm. When the bank officers arrived, the two men came out of hiding, ambushed, and murdered them. They were the previous owners.

            The two fled to Oklahoma where a shoot-out occurred with local law authorities, killing the father. The 18-year-old son was extradited to Minnesota to stand trial and voluntarily attended a Bible study I held weekly in the county jail. He was a just plain-looking ordinary young man.

            In everyone is a common problem, best described by Paul: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

            “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

            “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

            “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

            “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 1:19-2:3 ESV)

            Paul starts by declaring God’s attributes are clearly perceived and ends by stating people are without excuse for failing to recognize Him. The outcome? Total depravity – intellectual, emotional, and volitional corruption! The end product is lustful hearts (Vs. 24-25), dishonorable passions (Vs. 26-27), and debased minds (V. 28), qualities modeled in part by Jeffrey Dahmer and an 18-year-old farm boy.

            No one can afford to become smug. Debased-mind actions described by Paul include greed, deception, gossip, slander, pride, arrogance, and unreliability, as well as a lack of love and sympathy – things often seen in people attending church. The problem, seen in killers, is resident in everyone. Believers are slapped in the face with reality by the simple phrase “you have no excuse.” (V. 2:1)

            Additional words indicate unrighteous conduct. Something not right is wrong.  Deviate deeds means turning aside from prescribed standards. The age-old word sin is all-inclusive for every form of disgusting and sickening behavior.

            Sin means missing the mark of righteousness, both intentionally and unintentionally. Sin involves blunders and willful acts. The longer the world exist, sin takes on more complex looks. The human race is showing greater creativity in corruption, stemming from one divine truth, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

            The divine story is about people having a great problem but God having a greater answer. Jesus came to save people from their sins and put away sin. He bore your sins in His body, dying on account of your pride and rebellious nature. Sin is your greatest problem and is the reason Jesus came.

            Consider some thoughts about the human dilemma:

People prefer escaping consequences

            Sin is pleasurable and the human nature likes the enjoyment connected to indulging in transgressions. Do not be fooled, that is why everyone hesitates gaining freedom from sin.

            Most people attempt to separate harmful acts from their logical conclusion. They look for freedom from getting caught. They look for emancipation from punishment. People want to rewrite the rules of sowing and reaping.

            One newspaper reported high school and college students are replacing the three R’s with the three D’s: dishonesty, deceit and duplicity. A two-year nationwide study on ethics found widespread admittance to lying, theft and cheating among 15-30 year olds. They lied, cheated and stole at work, at school and in their personal relationships. Many young people have abandoned ethical values in favor of self-absorbed, win-at-any-cost attitudes. Possible causes of the decline include the breakdown of the family, schools’ failure to enforce appropriate discipline, parents not backing educators, and students deeply involved in drug usage.

            Fantasy adventures are often produced by a successful lie. The classic and highly successful movies, “The Sting” and “Ferris Bruler’s Day Off” are testimonies of an inward desire to get away with deception.

            Pleasure is also the emphasis of various addictions. What makes drug abusers take chances with shared needles? What makes alcoholics, with deteriorating hearts, take risks with another drink? The sensations various concoctions bring!

            The Bible confirms many delights are associated with sin, yet not without giving clear warning about term limits. What follows is death and separation from God.

            If people were perfectly and honestly candid you would hear, “Lord, don’t free me from sin, just from my conscience. Give me the ‘luck of the Irish’ and keep me from getting caught.” This is not the Good News declared by God.

            Most desire freedom from consequences more than from sin, giving testimony of the extreme depth of the fallen nature.

Savior from sin

            Jesus did not come to save from probable consequences. The Lord came to save from sin.

            Scripture describes salvation as people set free from enslavement and incarceration. The Good News is liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners. (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18). Everyone has a great problem beyond their ability to resolve. Jesus possesses the key and wants to release them from their imprisonment.

            Salvation is portrayed as a rescuing. Yet if someone not knowing the Bible is asked, “Are you saved?” one never knows what response will be given.

            The saving is sometimes illustrated as people set free from floating aimlessly on the sea of despair, or, as deliverance from a fatal attraction to swimming in the cesspool of corruption.        

            While visiting Marshall Fields in downtown Chicago I noticed a fragrance at a perfume counter called “Obsession.” People have a genuine obsession for the wrong kind of fragrance. The sense of smell is damaged in which death smells sweet while life smells odious.

            A study revealed that a small percentage of people find the grotesque aroma of a skunk actually appealing. Yet every person on the face of the earth considers the foul smell of sin very alluring. People’s natural sense of right and wrong is defective, and very much like sinning.

            Are you thinking, “That’s not true about me!”? What about gossip and the sense of power it gives, making others look bad so you will appear better, the kind of sins commonly practiced by followers of Jesus?

            Everyone is without excuse. Yet the Good News is, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved….” (Acts 16:31 ESV)

Putting away sin

            Only one kind of faith in God exists, one having a definite right and wrong, where people responsibly shun evil and choose good. Scripture calls it dying to sin and living in righteousness.

            Jesus came to put away sin. His mission is to seek and save sinners as well as bind and destroy sin. No one is able to free themselves from sin but in Christ there is an overcoming power that can take it away. Your responsibility is to enter into a meaningful relationship with God through Jesus so He can address and clean up the filth.

            If you will submerge yourself in a relationship with God, Jesus is able to solve your problem. The focus is not in rescuing yourselves from sin but building a stronger relationship with the Savior.

            Jesus is throwing out a lifeline but some are saying, “No thank you, I can handle swimming in my cesspool” They do not realize they are slowly running out of strength to stay afloat. Grab His lifeline and draw closer to the Savior. He will lift you out of the sea of hopelessness and gloom as you hold on to the line bringing you closer to Him.

            Let Jesus put away your sin.

You have a great problem

            A little girl asked her mother, “Mommy, why do flowers grow?” While the mother was thinking of an answer, the little girl answered her own question, “I think it is to get way from the dirt.”

            Why do people draw closer to Jesus? A major reason is to get away from the slime of sin. Jesus has come to save people from their sins and to put away sin in their life.

            The struggle with sin is not about subscribing to a list of do’s and don’ts. The skirmish with sin centers round building your relationship with the Lord Jesus, the Rescuer.

            Hollywood films often make famous certain sayings. The motion picture A Few Good Men brought life to the phrase, “You can’t handle the truth.” I hope you can!

            The phrase “Houston, we have a problem,” made famous by the movie Apollo 13, helps bring clarity to the struggle with sin. The malfunction with the space flight also describe the troubles with sin. The crisis with the spaceship was not the flipping of a switch. The difficulty was faulty materials used years earlier when building the network of critical components and interconnecting systems. Secondly, the glitch did not surface until the circumstances were just right. Thirdly, the predicament could have easily cost them their lives.

            Your dilemma goes back to a willful decision made by the first created man shortly after creation. Circumstances will surface the defect. And the flaw can cost you eternal life if you do not come to God for His remedy.

BREAKING THE CIRCLE OF FAILURE

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:16-18 ESV)

            Biblical truths can sometimes become abused. Heresy is usually not a blatant lie. An element of believability must be present for people to be deceived. Heresy disguises itself as a truth stretched to the realm of untrue. Sometimes well-meaning people mistakenly promote distortions but, nevertheless, somewhere along the way God leaves, cravings take over and heresy is created.

            Has this happened to the topic of success? Should people of faith expect material riches? Not long ago church leaders could not use the word “success” without believers assuming they should be wealthy, prevented only by lacking faith. Is success just a doorway to worldly prestige, possessions and power?

            Success is not evil, even though ambitions and reasons for wanting achievement can be impure. When motives are unwholesome God always knows true conditions. Everyone is judged under the light of divine truth.

            To abuse the concept of success is wrong and to be thoroughly opposed to success is equally wrong. If success is evil a person will only be righteous by failing. The Bible, however, consistently encourages believers to have great dreams, to possess thoughts of such magnitude that only God can receive glory when the imagining becomes reality.

            Scripture also challenges believers to strive, do their best and excel in every endeavor. Results are out of their hands but motivations should be to give maximum effort and performance.
            Unfortunately, many fail before they ever start. Some make provisions to fail more than succeed. What causes failure? Three things: Sin, wasting time and the circle of failure.

Sin

            Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (Hebrews 12:1 ESV)

            Sin can entangle those attempting to live everyday for Jesus. Sin wraps itself around the legs like a cord and trips believers before they reach the goal line of glory.

            People of faith, recorded in Scripture, became failures by sin. Samson was brought to ruin by debauchery, orgies, yielding to temptation and contemptuous treatment of divine ability.

            David tarnished the remaining years of his kingship by adultery and murder. He genuinely repented and received forgiveness but the consequences of his actions led to moments of failure and national tragedy.

            Solomon worshiped the gods of numerous wives, ruining his reign as king.

            The devil does not care how high anyone soars as long as he can trip them up in the end.

            How does sin bring failure?

            It divides. Sin causes separation from God, failing eternally. Sin separates husband and wife, failure in marriage – parent and child, failure in the home – employer and employee, failure in career.

            It drives. Sin drives you away from good habits that lend themselves to success. Sin takes you to places you should not go, to do things you should not do. Sin drives your life and often dictates actions.

            One thing clearly driving Americans today is appetite. The land of plenty has become the home of obesity. The stomach drives people more then the Holy Spirit, the appetite becoming a god.

            It dulls. Sin dulls a sense of opportunity. You lose a sense of alertness to the Holy Spirit who attempts to lead you on successful pathways. Sin dulls your relationship with Jesus, the Leader of your life and the Light of your way.

            Ultimately, it defeats. When someone is divided, driven and dulled by sin, they easily throw in the towel of despair. Sin, by its very nature, overwhelms and makes people failures.

Wasting time

            Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV)

            Are you failing to maximize opportunities? The average person is able to do more than they think possible.

            I led construction teams to El Salvador on a few occasions. Each work day was backbreaking. I ended the days doing a 30 minute run around a soccer field, sometimes adding a jog up a steep hill. One year a couple of workers decided to participate in my routine.

            One guy, an inexperienced long-distance runner, began with a burst of energy but quickly slowed down. I caught up to him and became a pacesetter. A lap around the track took about 30 seconds. At the 28 minute mark I heard him saying repeatedly “four more laps,” doing a countdown with each lap.

            Near the end of the last lap I challenged him to a half-lap race. He picked up speed and zoomed ahead. He won and was thrilled with his success. I revealed my motivation. I said “Never stop simply because of circumstances. There is plenty of will after the mind wants to quit.”

            Doing a job is more than just going to a work place. Measure productivity! What did you accomplish? Advancement comes by demonstrating trustworthiness, competence and reliability. When you curb the unnecessary, you will be more productive. This translates into measurable success.

            Busyness does not mean blessedness and the urgent is not always the important. There is a place for saying, “No!” Do you find yourself often motivated by “if I don’t do it, it won’t get done!” Maybe you should ask yourself, “If I don’t do it, should it be done?” Do things you are passionate about; you do not have to do everything. And do not allow others to cause you to feel guilty for not doing their unrealistic expectations.

            Sin and wasting time leads to failure. Sin deters – you “miss the mark” of success. Wasting time deters – you miss God-given opportunities.

The circle of failure

            The circle of failure draws it strength from sin and wasting time. The circle is a series of mental blocks suppressing creativity. They become communicated in many ways.

            Commonly used blockages include the following:

            “I’m poor at ___________________.”  I was poor working with hand-tools but became a missile technician and glazer (glass worker).

            “I’m lousy at __________________.”  I was a lousy speller but became a writer.

            “I’m shy.”  Does this prevent you from doing activities involving standing in front of others?

            “I’m not good at talking.” If this was unchangeable then God made a mistake choosing Moses. D.L. Moody was frequently criticized for poor speaking ability.

            “I’m uncoordinated, awkward or clumsy,” Are you excusing yourself from participating in a favorite sport?

            “I’m ugly.” In 1975 Janis Ian made famous the song “At 17,” which included the phrase “the world is meant for beauty queens.” This inaccurate perception seems real to teenage girls.

            “I’m German, Italian, Irish, Swedish or Scottish,” stereotyping bull-headed, hot-tempered, brawler, stubborn, cheapskate. Heritage is no reason for failure.

            “I’m not white.” Asian American, Arab American, African American, Latin American, Native American – sometimes people blame poor attitudes and actions on their race and skin pigmentation.

            “I’m old.” Colonel Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken after he retired, in his sixties. George Burns wrote in How to Live to be 100, “You don’t have to worry about getting old, that’s inevitable, you have to worry about rusting.”

            “I’m Pentecostal.” Some consider that beliefs disqualify them from opportunity. A greater tragedy is compromising beliefs to gain opportunity.

            The circle of failure has five basic components: “I’m a failure” … opportunity … join … “I can’t!” … Why? Because….

            Here is an example:

            “I’m shy.”

            “Come join the worship team.”

            “I’ll join.”

            “But I can’t!”

            “Why? Because I’m shy!”

            Here is another:

            “I can’t spell.”

            “Write an article for a newsletter.”

            “I’ll try.”

            “But I can’t!”

            “Why? Because I am poor at grammar!”

            People stop themselves from trying before they even begin, staying bound to feelings of inadequacies. Are you making provisions to fail instead of succeeding, living in the circle of failure?

Living for Jesus breaks the circle of failure

            And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV) 

            Jesus is in the refinement business. He helps you strengthen your strengths and manage your weaknesses. As a follower of Jesus you are changing all the time. With faith in God you can look at shortcomings and say, “That’s the way I use to be but in Christ I will not be that way anymore.”

            You break the circle of failure by replacing “I can’t” with “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 ESV)

Application

            Jesus breaks the barriers of life. Put aside sin and redeem the time, then trust Jesus to work good changes in you.

            Failures of the past need not have power over you. Jesus is in the process of making you successful “with ever-increasing glory.”