Absolutely no excuses

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (Romans 3:19-22)

No one can be made right with God - except by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. No other road to redemption exists. No amount of self-help will truly 'help' us behave with a truly righteous heart. The 'law' may point out where we need help, but we are powerless to 'help' ourselves - we have to trust in Jesus to truly make our hearts new. God has shown us the way, but we seem to want our own way, don't we? We want it both ways - a little bit of the good stuff that comes from welcoming Christ into our lives, and a bit of the naughty stuff that comes from welcoming sin into it! 

All of us will fall short of what God has prepared for us until we truthfully acknowledge that we have been wanting to retain control over our lives, just allowing God to 'dabble' in a few areas that aren't all that 'threatening' to our desires. We need to do more than allow God to 'dabble' in our lives - we need to surrender full control. If you have ever asked God for forgiveness because of something you did, then gone out and 'recommitted' the same faux pas again, you are probably still assuming 'first seat' in your own life.

Do you know what a faux pas really is? It is a 'false step' - one that truly cannot be trusted, without sure footing at all, and which will likely end in harm of some sort. It is really a financial term first having to do with defaulting on a loan, but it certainly describes our actions on occasion, doesn't it? We 'default' on our intentions to keep Christ first in our lives. We take that 'false step' in our own willful disobedience, thinking we can 'manage' the temptation or situation ourselves. If all goes well, we breathe a sigh of relief. If not, we take a load of guilt right back to God's throne, ask for forgiveness, and commit to never doing it again. 

Truth be told, we cannot 'manage' our lives all that well. We aren't equipped to live without taking 'false steps' in our own power. We need to turn to the leadership of our lives over to Christ - not taking it back whenever we feel confident in our own 'self-ability'. No matter how determined we are to do well, we need his help to actually 'do well' each and every time we take a step. Just sayin!

Shepherded much?

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. (Psalm 23:1-3)

We might equate this psalm with funerals, but I tend to equate it with normal, everyday life. Why? Read it again and you will see it speaks of provision, protection, and passages - something 'dead people' no longer require! As the Lord 'shepherds' our lives, we have all that we need - nothing is outside of his provision - all good things come from his hand.

All that we need - nothing that is needed lacking, but maybe not every 'want' met. I know I have said this before, but there is a huge difference sometimes between what I need and what I want. I want the chocolate bar - I need the piece of fruit. I want the shiny new truck - I need reliable, practical transportation. Need and want are sometimes a bit hard for us to differentiate, but when God is trusted to be our provider, giving us all we need, it becomes a bit easier to separate the two.

Led into rest - nothing is more frustrating to us than to be in dire need of rest than to find we are unable to shut things off in our minds or emotions. There have been times when I have gone to bed so 'keyed up' that I found it hard to shut it all down. Emotions were running high, thoughts were whirling every which way in my mind, and there I was, tossing and turning, trying to rest, but unable to do so. Why? I wasn't letting him 'lead' me into rest. There are more than times when we need his leading in this area than we might imagine. Ask for his rest, trust him with the unsettled emotions, and let his Word invade your mind instead of all that other stuff and see how quickly rest comes.

Renewed strength and right paths - we don't need strength for the new day if we don't plan on walking down the path he lays out before us, do we? There are times when we all are bewildered about where he is leading, but I know this for sure - no path that he directed me down has ever been the 'wrong one'. The strength to walk down it wasn't even my own - it was his within me. How about you? Needing a bit of 'leading' today? Feeling like you are about to go down a path that will require 'supernatural' strength? Then just lean into him - he has already prepared the path, scouted out the best course to get us from here to there, and even gives us the strength to take each new step. Just sayin!