Sometimes We Get Sideswiped
It’s hard sometimes to know exactly what to expect. Life can be hard. It can be rude, mean, relentless and unyielding. Those are facts. Whoever said life’s not fair definitely hit the nail on the head. But is that the end of the story?
Praise the Living God, it certainly is NOT!
The fact is, there are plenty opportunities to fall down. And the enemy will make sure you have every opportunity to do so! But you know what else is a fact? That God’s mercies are new, every single morning!
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
1 John Chapter 2
(1) My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
(2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
(3) And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
(4) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
(5) But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
(6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
(7) Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
(8) Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thin is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
(9) He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
(10) He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is non occasion of stumbling in him.
(11) But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
(12) I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
(13) I write unto you, father, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
(14) I have written unto you, father, because he have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
(15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
(17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
(18) Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
(19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
(20) But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
(21) I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
(22) Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
(23) Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
(24) Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
(25) And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
(26) These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
(27) But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
(28) And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
(29) If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
Stay Focused
There are some key elements you need to take away from this reading. The first is that Jesus died for not only our sin, but the sin of the whole world. The Bible tells us our transgressions are cast as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). And praise God for that!
We also know that we have an advocate with the Father. What is an advocate? It’s someone who stands up for us and helps us plead our case. It’s why we have the right to come BOLDLY to the throne of grace in our time of need, so that we can obtain mercy in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16)! And we have that right because of the blood of Jesus.
We also can’t forget that there are antichrists – those who do not acknowledge Jesus – who will always be there, trying to make us stumble and fall. Maybe they do it maliciously, maybe they think they are doing something of merit. But that doesn’t matter. The fact is, we have that to face and fight. And fight we must! Make sure you know what you have access to in the way of armor, according to Ephesians chapter 6. And then armor up!
Do You Know Jesus?
If you are unsaved, it’s no wonder that the fearfulness and uncertainty of life has you bound. But there is GREAT NEWS! You can give your life to him today! Repent of your sins and ask Him to take control of your life, teach you the Truth and lead you in the right pathways.
I can tell you with assurance that He will do just that! Because He did it for me!
No one starts out on their walk with God completely justified and sanctified and strong. For that reason, it is important to join yourself to a local congregation, or one that is as close as you can find, that preaches the Biblical truth. There are plenty of “feel-good” churches that teach according to man’s tradition. Jesus warned of this on more than one occasion.
Pray and read your Bible. And if you don’t have a copy of a Bible, there are plenty online that you can choose from, as well as copies available for downloading. If you need a push in the right direction for those resources, just check out this post.
I pray you find Him, and your peace and mercy, TODAY!
Great candor – not many people are willing to so bluntly and openly confess Christ. Great testimony. 💗 Keep it up!
Thank you, and thank you for taking the time to comment. Jesus is my everything! 🙂 I can think of no other way to speak about Him, my love for Him, and His love for people <3