Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you and leads me along the path of everlasting life. The last time I asked God to show me if there is anything He wants to be different in my life was this morning and the list went on and on, and on and on. God really speaks very clearly about the life He has for us to live. A life of victory. A life of forgiveness. A life of growth. But, it is at times very difficult when we get our opinion in the middle of everything. That is called self-righteousness!! It IS righteousness. But the wrong kind. This kind of righteousness is poisoned with our impressions of right and wrong and it always falls short of God's righteousness...duh!
But so many followers of Jesus succumb to the draw of self-righteousness because it seems so glorious. We begin to think we have it all together spiritually just to find out "we don't!" Here is Paul's perspective via his letter to Timothy. 1 Timothy 1:15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. Even though we have God's grace, we still sin and one of the most unrecognizable sins is self-righteousness. The Psalmist gives us a great example of "coming clean" before the Lord. Opening up our life, our thoughts, our disciplines, and everything to God to allow Him to search and show us where we "really" are in our walk with Him. Only our God would do this and only God would minister His grace to every situation in our life and show us how to walk out of it changed. The accuser Satan only condemns, but God administers His grace and grows us in our faith. WOW!
Maybe you have messed up (most of us have on an ongoing basis) and God wants to minister to you with His grace and see you changed. Quit running and stop and turn to God and ask Him to "search your heart and test you and heal you at the point of your anxious heart" and He will do it. God doe not condemn, Praise God! The Apostle Paul spoke to this anxious heart in Romans 8:1 where He says So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. God's grace is real, so accept it and be changed at your core, and keep self-righteousness out of your life because it is a killer and causes you to live a "fake" Christian life. Only the righteousness we have from God is acceptable. 2 Corinthians 12: 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.
The Pilgrimage Continues...
David Warren
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