Right now, Christ to me is my lifeboat, my rescue rope. He is there for us to hold on to when we fall, He is faithful to answer when we call out His name - that's a fact proven this morning. He literally answered me immediately after I called out to Him, as I was going through the Bible.
I have to agree with what John Hagee shared on Facebook a while back - '...satan always attacks the most when he knows God has great things planned for your future.' He strikes at our weakest, and when we give in to his lies, he shifts gear and bombards you with accusation after accusation.
And so I found myself on my knees this morning, calling Jesus to help me. As I was setting my eyes on Him by focusing on His word - by the way there's this program I'm following that would get me to read the whole Bible in a year - I was literally drawn to the story of the temptation of Eve, and then the tragedy of Cain.
One thing just reverberated through me all this time - the absolute importance of getting to know God through His word, not just to be blessed but to get through the day, step after step after step.
So much can happen in a day - blessings and trials abound. However, we must remember that no matter how dynamic a day can be, God's Word never changes. Through His word He keeps us in check in times of blessing. Through His word He keeps us standing firmly in time of trial.
He is faithful... Forever He is faithful.
Here's something else: Genesis 4:6-7 records what God told Cain after he got angry because his sacrifice was not accepted: “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
I found how this made sense in the light of Jesus Christ; we shouldn't be angry or discouraged when we make mistakes. We know we are still accepted by God, but it's not because we 'did well' - no, it's because Christ did well... In fact, He did so well that not only was He accepted, but all those who would believe in Him would be accepted as well. If we try to be accepted by our own efforts, we will always make mistakes, and sin will be there, lurking to consume us.
When that happens, God is still faithful! We need to constantly keep running back to God through Jesus Christ! By His blood, and by the word of our testimony, we will truly be able to rule over sin, we will overcome (Revelation 12:11)!
I remember now, that's why I said that Christ is my lifeboat, my rescue rope. He rebukes those He loves that we would repent and come back to Him.
2013 is STILL looking to be a good year, even after these slips. Thank God for His faithfulness!
God bless you, and Shalom!
SA
