Fallen short...

I am signed up for e-mails from Max Lucado and I received this today. I thought it was worth sharing.

"Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

 

Worry is falling short on faith. Impatience is falling short on kindness. The critical spirit falls short on love.

 So, how often do you sin, hmm… in an hour? For the sake of discussion, let’s say ten times an hour. Ten sins an hour, times sixteen waking hours, times 365 days a year, times the average life span of 74 years. I’m rounding the total off to 4,300,000 sins per person! How do you plan to pay God for your 4.3 million sin increments? You’re swimming in an ocean of debt.

But God pardons the zillion sins of selfish humanity. He forgives sixty million sin-filled days. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where He always wanted us to be. And He did it by the grace of Jesus Christ."

In Our Hearts

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..." Romans 8:1
Once we have been saved we often sincerely want to do the things God wants us to do, but in our human condition it is harder to do than it seems. Inwardly, we have a deep desire to do the will of God, it's just that our humanness gets in the way. I heard a Pastor say, 'we never drift towards God.' Since we are human it takes effort to pray everyday, read the Bible, and get up early for church (Hebrews 10:25).

Remember it is a common experience to struggle with moving forward in our relationship with God. Since this is so common be encouraged. Sometimes we see other people that appear to be so devoted it makes us feel inferior. However, what we are seeing are the results of their perserverance. We can perservere too. In fact, God wants us to perservere (James 1:3-4 & Hebrews 12:1). Trying again when we mess up is His will for us.

'The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.' Ps. 145:8

Prayer: Lord, help us not to give up. When we do mess up, help us to turn back to you knowing that this is a part of the human experience and that You don't condemn us when we are trying and reaching out to You. Revelation 2:19

Read More:
John 3:16-18
Plan of Action (James 1:22 & James 1:25):
Try again, one more time! Don't give up! James 5:11

Testing, 1, 2, 3 Testing!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4
God tests us, but not because He wants to put stumbling blocks in our way, or because He really doesn't want us to be successful. He tests us because He wants us to be completely and totally His. (Deut. 13:3). When we come to Him and decide we want a relationship with Him more than we want anything else, it is then and only then that we can be completely His. That is what He is after. Having us completely. He wants us sold out to Him, one hundred percent for Him, because that is how He is toward us (John 3:16). He wants us to perservere and determine to follow Him even if it may mean being offended, and then choosing to let go of that offense. God's testing helps us be fully committed. When we are tested and we decide to seek Him eventhough we have to struggle for it, (James 1:3) that decision and determination helps us get to a place where we can love Him completely.

Loving Him helps us be more willing to do His will, which is to lovingly serve others.

He loves us totally and completely and wants us to return the favor, even when we are not seeking Him, He still desires to be close to us.
Read More: Luke 8:12-14
Prayer: Lord, help me not fall away, but instead remain faithful to You!
Plan of Action: Pray about letting go of past offenses.