Tag: Sin

Excellent Grace

~ A Prayer Life ~ Leave a comment

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

~ Romans 8:1

One of the most glorious truths of the Gospel is that faith in Jesus Christ removes the sin guilt we naturally incur. That is, by nature, we are children of God’s just wrath and rightful condemnation (Eph. 2:3). The penalty for sin is nothing less than eternal separation from God and condemnation for sin. Yet, the good news is there is hope! Those who “are in Christ Jesus” are cleansed, justified, sanctified and delivered from such a terrible condition. We are those who no longer “walk” [that is live] according to the flesh [in sinful ways] but we can be those who walk according to the Spirit [that is in faithful humble living unto God]. And it is the same to whom Jesus promised eternal life (John 3:16). May we praise the Lord for His excellent grace!

~ apl

Prayer Life Pause – Father, thank you for saving me from my sins. Now please help me to live according to Your will and Spirit each and every day. In Jesus’ name,. amen.

Certainly Not!

~ A Prayer Life ~ 1 Comment

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!”

~ Romans 6:16

Those who would use the grace of God and the gift of eternal salvation as license to sin understand neither grace nor salvation. Though sadly, I fear many, practically, do just that. We rationalize our sin. We think to ourselves, “I’m saved, I go to church, I’m a basically good person – surely God won’t count this sin against me”. And yet once this kind of depraved thinking has crept into our hearts and minds, then just about anything is free game at that point.

Should we think because we have tasted the wonderful grace of God it’s ok to go back and drink the bitter waters of sinful living? The Scriptures are clear: Certainly not! Some translations render that phrase “God forbid!”. The grace of God is freedom, but it is freedom from sin and strength for holy living and faithfully serving the God and Christ of our salvation. Grace is license, not to sin, but to serve. What then? Will you use the grace of God to sin or to serve?

Prayer Life Pause: Father, help me to walk away from sin and to walk more in Your grace each and every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

~ apl

With Ease & Joy

~ A Prayer Life ~ 1 Comment

“If each year should see one fault rooted out from us, we should go quickly on to perfection. But on the contrary, we often feel that we were better and holier in the beginning of our conversion than after many years of profession. Zeal and progress ought to increase day by day; yet now it seemeth a great thing if one is able to retain some portion of his first ardour. If we would put some slight stress on ourselves at the beginning, then afterwards we should be able to do all things with ease and joy.”

~ Thomas a’ Kempis

How Sweet It Is

~ A Prayer Life ~ 1 Comment

“The LORD will not cast off His people” – Psalm 94:14

One of the most wonderful truths of sacred Scripture involves the beautiful doctrine of the Christian’s assurance. It is one thing to know you were once loved enough by God to save you through His Son Jesus Christ. But how sweet it is, that after many years, often filled with sin, trial and tribulation, that God loves you just the same and will never cast you away. His is abiding eternal love and His promise is as steadfast and secure as the God who made it. The Lord will not cast of His people. Are you one of those?

~ apl

Grace To Desire

~ A Prayer Life ~ 4 Comments

“O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire Thee with our whole heart; that, so desiring, we may seek, and seeking find Thee; and so finding Thee may love Thee; and in loving Thee, may hate those sins from which Thou hast redeemed us.”

~ Anslem (1033-1109)

The Ship of My Life

~ A Prayer Life ~ 1 Comment

Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbor, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict. Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go. And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace.

~ Prayer of Basil of Caesarea (329-379)

All Are Welcome Here

~ A Prayer Life ~ 1 Comment

The cross of Jesus displays the most awful exhibition of God’s hatred of sin and at the same time the most august manifestation of His readiness to pardon it. Pardon, full and free, is written out in every drop of blood that is seen, is proclaimed in every groan that is heard, and shines in the very prodigy of mercy that closes the solemn scene upon the cross. O blessed door of return, open and never shut, to the wanderer from God! How glorious, how free, how accessible! Here the sinful, the vile, the guilty, the unworthy, the poor, the penniless, may come. Here too the weary spirit may bring its burden, the broken spirit its sorrow, the guilty spirit its sin, the backsliding spirit its wandering. All are welcome here.

~ Octavius Winslow (1808-1878)

A Thick Crust

~ A Prayer Life ~ 7 Comments

Familiarity with the form of religion, while we neglect its reality, has a fearfully deadening effect on the conscience. It brings up by degrees a thick crust of insensibility over the whole inner man. None seem to become so desperately hard as those who are continually repeating holy words and handling holy things, while their hearts are running after sin and the world.

~ J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

Sin of Prayerlessness

~ A Prayer Life ~ 2 Comments

To be guilty of the sin of prayerlessness is to be guilty of the worst form of practical atheism. It is actually saying we can get along without His help while the evidence is very clear on every hand that we cannot. Could it be that the sin of prayerlessness steams from our unbelief that he is a living God who exercises direct influence on the affairs of men?

~ Rev. Bruce Willis