Proverbs 24:16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
When I was a kid I lived in West Plains, Missouri and what a wonderful place to grow up. The friends I had then are still my friends today and I cherish my memories of going to Norfork Lake, Hammonds Mill, and the Quarry. I also got some good life lessons from those years and one them I will write about today. It is the lesson of slippery rocks when diving into the water. When you go to the river at Hammonds Mill you can't keep from going down the long path by the river to a beautiful spring called Blue Springs. It is called Blue Springs because the water is so blue, and pure looking, and COLD!! The big thrill for me was to dive into Blue Springs.....and live. The place you dive from is pretty high, so I had to have a gut check every time I did it.....or didn't do it. One of my friends was a real daredevil and even though I would stop and get myself set for my dive and position myself just right, he would run up and just dive off without any preparation or thought. I was kind of jealous of him doing that and one day when we walked down the path I thought "I'm gonna get close to the jump off point and then run and just dive in!!! Good thought, when it was a thought. What really happened was I got closer to the place you dive from and I started trotting along and picked up speed and just about the time I was going to set my foot and push off I realized that someone had been up there with wet feet and the push off was more like a "whiff!" Realzing I was in bad troulbe I tried to salvage the dive, to no avail and did a major belly buster, and oh, it hurt so bad. I remember coming above the water surface to the sound of hilarious laughter from those who were the onlookers. (Because it had to look so funny) . I thought my chest had been crushed from the impact, but it was just red. I crawled out of the water and walked back to top and told them "I slipped!" That day God spared me and I realized it and gave Him much thanks and praise.
We all slip. Let me say that again for you disillusioned people. We all slip!! We are imperfect, sinful people and we slip. But we get back up again, thanks to God's grace. If it wasn't for the grace of God I would be doomed because I mess up again and again. But because of the Lord I keep on keeping on. I am a born again believer and scripture affirms the forgiveness of my sins by the Lord because of what Jesus did on the cross. It is God's grace that allows me to get back up again and again after messing up. And I am thankful for that grace. Those who don't know Jesus, do not have the much needed grace and hope to get back up time after time. That is just the way it is. Our saving faith is a staying faith and should be a growing faith.
Perhaps today you know Christ and you have messed up. Get back up!! Don't let the enemy try to defeat you by bringing up your mess ups. Trust in the grace of our Lord and move on. The forgiveness we realize and experience through the blood of Jesus is like a lightning bolt to our life as we realize a forgiveness that is so complete and real. In John 10:10 . Jesus said the thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destory. Then He said My purpose is to give them a rich and satisying life. Let me encourage you to follow Jesus and what He ways and ignore the taunts of our enemy satan. God's grace is real and lasting and ever present, so live in it and let God grow you into the person He wants you to be.
We will have life situations that will cause us to slip, but after you fall, come back to where God wants you to be. Kneeling before Him in contrition and confessing your sins for the tradeout. What tradeout? 1 John 1: 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. The end result will be us choosing a better option than just running up without knowing what's at our feet before we jump. God's Word equips us to be able to handle all of life's situations and begin to slip less. Then we will not just talk about Jesus, but live like Jesus. 1 John 3:9 says it this way 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.
If you are a child of God then it is time to quit slipping and start living the life God intended for you and that is the abundant life. There is a better way and God is faithful to show us that way and it is found in His Word.
Proverbs 3:20-23 My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment Hang on to them 22 for they will refresh your soul. They are like jewels on a necklace. 23 They keep you safe on your way,
and your feet will not stumble.
The Pilgrimage continues.....
David Warren
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