You Can't Get There From Here

Pastor David Jeremiah said something last week that struck a cord in me and I want to share it with you. He said, "...personal strength to live the Christian life is not difficult, it is impossible."

You and I cannot serve Him in our own power. We sometimes view our Christian service like a pro baseball game. The one who has the most hits and fewer errors is the winner. I suppose it's ingrained in our idea of what success is. The best among us are the red carpet all stars, the summa cum laude, and the Captain and Miss America, but in scripture the opposite is true. The last shall be first, the greatest is the servant, and the one justified before God beat his chest and said, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner."


We allow ourselves to fall into satans
trap of defeat when we attempt
to succeed by our own merit. Another words,
when I measure my
spiritual victory by the fewer mistakes
I make, then I'm missing grace.

When our son Stephen entered elementary school, Angie and I were sweating out the fact that he didn't know his ABC's. I recall vividly the teacher looking at us odd. She said, "that's what I'm here for. Stephen doesn't know what to do but I will teach him"

I've never forgotten that. Our Lord wants us to rely on Him! We enter the Christian life, and continue, like a child. We need Him to guide us through. The more we rely on Him the more delight He has in teaching us.

Ephesians 3:16 (Message)
I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but
a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open
the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted
firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus
the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love.

We want to be victorious.
It begins with saying everyday, " I need you! Every hour I need you." If we say we haven't sinned, we're a liar but if we confess our sin and our need for Him we are cleansed daily.

Don't allow the perfection syndrome to mislead you. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is the portal to fulfillment.

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