Challenge Accepted

Sprinkled with the blood of Christ, our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence because of our faith in Christ. We must hold on to the hope we have, never hesitating to tell people about it. We can trust God to do what he promised. (Hebrews 10:22-23)

The condition: Our hearts have been made free from a guilty conscience; our bodies washed with pure water. The challenge: Come near to God with a sincere heart, full of confidence. We might want to know God better, somehow appreciating that we don't 'know enough about him' to really understand how he operates in our lives. We could just desire to 'feel' a bit more of God's presence with us each day. We have already been given total access to God and the mind of Christ, but sometimes we don't always 'tap into' what we already have total access into! We lack the confidence within our hearts and minds to actually 'believe fully' that what God put forward as the challenge can be totally true. We see ourselves still struggling with temptation and occasional sin, so we don't think of ourselves as 'washed clean'. If God says we are, why do we argue with him?

Yes, temptation still exists, and we slip from time to time. Yes, we can find forgiveness when we do simply by coming to God with a contrite heart, confessing our sin, and then turning away from it (repentance). So, why do we struggle so much with the challenge to come near to God full of confidence? I think it is because we believe the lies of our enemy who repeatedly tells us we are 'not worthy', 'are too messed up', 'have done this too many times', or that 'God gets tired of forgiving us for the same old things'. While I am sure God would like us to turn away from those old patterns of sin in our lives, he never rejects those who come to him with a contrite heart.

Our hearts HAVE BEEN made free - so we now must live free. The condition is met. We still live in a sinful world, full of all manner of temptation and our enemy, the devil, knows very well what has worked to trick us into compromising in the past. He looks for those open doors we give him and uses them to put just the right temptation right in front of our noses. If we start praying scripture, proclaiming what God has already said about each of us in those moments, would it be possible we could actually resist his proffered temptation a bit easier? I believe so! 

The very next time you are tempted to engage in that sin you struggle with, begin to remind yourself, God, and the devil exactly what God says about you. YOU HAVE BEEN MADE FREE! You have a clean heart! You have a clear conscience! You are no longer bound to that sin! Your mind has been renewed and is continually being renewed! Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit! Sin has been conquered by the Blood of Jesus! You are a new creation in Christ Jesus! The presence of God and his strength is your shield and defense! When you start reminding yourself and the devil of those truths, you stand a much better chance of actually facing the challenge head-on and coming out the winner! Just sayin!