Where sin and wickedness had been my obsession, now thoughts  of God fill my every moment.  Where the pleasure of flesh was my feeding trough, now the smell of fruit from the tree of life is sufficient for a day.  This is joy!  And all of it belongs to Jesus!

Did you ever try to clean up an oil spot in the carpet?  You clean it one day and return the next to find it back!  Unless you use some kind of serious degreaser it will keep coming back.  But even then you risk doing damage to the carpet.

If we lived in a darkened room with black carpet we never notice such a stain.  But let this happen on a white carpet near a window and who can avoid it?  The owner of that house will either be ashamed of the spot or do everything he can to clean it.  The wise owner will call in the professional.

So it is with the wicked, so it is with the redeemed.  For the wicked it is like they live in a darkened room with dark flooring and walls.  They do not recognize the depravity of their situation.  They cannot perceive their filth.

They laugh at the righteous who reel back in horror when sin is found within them.  ” what’s the big deal”, the wicked ask.  There is no light in their world to expose their own sin.  It is impossible for them to understand.

But let the Lord Jesus come to them and they too will begin to reel back at the horror of their sin.  They too will be amazed when they witness a cleaning only to see the blemish rise again.  They too will continue in a begging  of the Lord that they might receive a thorough cleaning.

But take warning you un-godly people.  You sinners take heed!   Peter the Apostle has spoken what is true, ” if it is hard for the righteous to be saved what will become of the ungodly and the sinner”.

By His Grace

There’s love in me for You because You let me perceive. 

There’s peace in me because You let me believe.

All day long I live in Your Might.

And into the night I do what is right

And all of this because You are here.

There’s a difference between confidence born of knowledge or belief, and confidence which sprouts up from The Lord’s direct intervention.  The confidence that comes from us requires a lot of energy to maintain.  And there is that certain “smell” of man on it.

But when Jesus comes within to support us, we will find ourselves merely needing to obey what He says.  No need to constantly judge situations.  No need to watch for sin.  He shows it to us before it has a chance to develop.  When He is within, our stumbling is due to a lack of “listening” to what we plainly hear Him say.  Yet, even in those times, corrective action is prescribed immediately.

It is impossible for man to do what the Lord rightly requires of us.  That’s the very reason why we NEED Jesus.  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

It is, therefore, true what is said,  “Unless The Lord builds the house, the builder builds in vain”.Liberals and fools will define truth according to their own perception.  “It is relative”, they will say.  “One thing is right for this occasion.  But it is plainly wrong for another”.   To some degree they are right.  Isn’t that the very reason we so desperately need the God they so desperately throw away?

Glory is Yours, O Holy Jesus!  What praise will You rightfully recieve forever!  All righteousness belongs to You; and this to the Glory of the Father.  We who are blessed to believe, gladly receive Your loving presence.  Thank you for being who You have been from eternity to eternity.

I have stumbled through those words, Lord.  They will flow far more freely and fully when You come to take me to Your place.  I render these words today because, even in my dreams You guide me away from sin.  Thank You!

By His Grace.