Good morning! As I begin to get ready to go to church this morning I am reminded of how God has provided THE WAY to have a restored relationship with Him!
The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We have ALL missed the mark of living as God intended for us to live, in perfect relationship with Him!
When I “miss the mark” in anything I try to do – whether it’s playing the keyboard, excelling at work, completing a project around the house, being the best husband and father – I always try to fix what’s broken to be able to succeed next time around! I absolutely hate failing!
When I began to live for Jesus I always felt the guilt and shame that came from failing when I said something or behaved in a way that did not honor God. I’ve always been the kind of person to “work on myself.”
During my time at Valley Forge Christian College, I was friends with this older guy in the dorm named Keith. He was a great person and passionate about the things he loved. He was a person in my life that influenced me to learn more about myself, to know my strengths and weaknesses. I remember he told me about this book, “Discover Your Strengths,” which came with a test that would decipher my temperament and reveal to me some of my tendencies.
Honestly, I love stuff like this – I find it very interesting! Please, if you love those things, don’t be discouraged by this next statement. I have learned through the years that no matter how much I try (and I want to emphasize that – I try) I cannot change myself.
Yes, I can create new habits, I can choose to make better decisions, I can do a lot of things, BUT, I could never restore the broken relationship with God due to the consequences of sin. No matter how hard I try, I will always fall short because I am not perfect.
Thankfully, I know someone who is! When the Israelites were complaining and speaking against the Lord in the wilderness, the Lord sent venomous snakes and many of them died. But when they recognized they had sinned, they cried out and asked Moses to ask God to take away the snakes. So the Lord said to Moses…
“Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”
Numbers 21:8
So Moses followed the instruction of the Lord and made a bronze snake that when people were bitten, they would look at it and live! This is a beautiful foreshadowing of how God would ultimately provide what all people need to have restored relationship with Him!
Similar to how the people who looked at the snake that was raised on the pole brought healing to the Israelites – people who look to Jesus, the perfect sacrifice raised on the cross, they will receive restoration and healing. God has provided everything we need to have the opportunity to accept Him as our Lord and Savior!
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
John 6:40
THE ONLY WAY our lives can BE TRANFORMED is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection! If your life needs to BE TRANSFORMED (and ALL of our lives need this), then the first step is to LOOK TO JESUS! Each day He will teach, guide, and renew your life to align with His truth!
Heavenly Father, thank You for providing everything we need to have the opportunity to know You and experience relationship with You! Help us to take the pressure off of ourselves to be perfect , look to Your Son, and surrender our lives to You! You are the only one who can bring lasting change to our lives!
Be Transformed 