Hosanna Restoration Church

Wow! How great is that? Bang and we are blameless and faultless! Think about that. Now what? Well Paul says we need to continue to believe the truth and stand firmly in it.
In all things, remember that Jesus is bigger. He alone makes us better. And understanding and standing on the truth makes us bolder for the truth.
I have been thinking of shaving. It has been a couple of months since I stopped shaving. As I thought of that I considered that in only minutes I will erase the beard from my face. That thought was followed by considering that Jesus, with three words, erased the power that sin holds over us. “It is finished.” Yes, that is all it took. Everything He came for and everything He planned was accomplished in an instant. Of course there was a lot more that took place but those words were the climax.
As I considered this, I thought about how I ended up with the beard. I did not start out to have one. It is often just a convenience not to shave. After a few days I take it off again. Then I started to trim to the scruffy look for a few days. Then it got beyond scruffy and I just let it go.
In the same way, I never intended to be as lost as I was or sin like I sinned before I came to Christ. In fact, I tried to keep my life clean and be good boy. I got a little scruffy from time to time but never intended to do all that I did. Of course the longer you go without paying attention, the more comfortable you can become even as things get darker. Sometimes I would focus on being better, but the truth is we get comfortable with the way things are. We even convince ourselves that we are ok. We seem to be able to overcome our discomfort with things.
I don’t think my wife loves the beard! There is a time in the growing that it is a little sharp and well the good night kiss is not so appreciated. That was when I first thought the shave was eminent. But I never got around to it. In the same way, there were signs in my life that caused me to pause, but I just continued on. Finally Jesus got my attention and in an instant my life changed directions. Just as my beard will disappear when I get around to it, my sins were gone.
So that was then, but what about now? Well, we can neglect our salvation. Just as I never really started out to grow a beard, we never intentionally drift away from God but it can and does happen. We realize it and make plans to fix it, kind of like plans to exercise; we just do not quite get to it. The longer we go without pressing in, the more comfortable we become with being uncomfortable. The longer we stay distant, the more susceptible we are to lies of the enemy and on and on it goes. Just remember, Jesus is bigger. Be bolder in Him and things will get so much better.
Don’t put it off like a shave. Take care of it now. I haven’t got around to shaving yet, but I have used this to help me make sure my life does not get comfortable with scruffy! Praise the Lord.