Come Awake

"He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay."

~Matthew 28:6 (ESV)

---

There is Life to Live!

Oh, wow! Oh WOW!! That's all I could say in response to the truth- and life-proclaiming video below. God has saved us unto battle and victory, joy, freedom, and LIFE! It is time to no longer dwell on the past except to thank Him, to confess our sins to be freed, and to leave our former selves to embrace the life we don't have to feel guilty to take--for that guilt that the enemy attempts (and often succeeds) to tell us is a reason not to embrace a life of freedom unto God's glory was nailed to the cross with our Savior.

And that Savior--He is not dead, HE'S ALIVE, HE'S ALIVE! HE IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD! HALLALUJAH, HOSANNA, PRAISE THE SAVIOR!

Enjoy--and I can't wait for you to progress through this video and reach timer 2:06 and 2:42. Yeah! Our God is not dead, He's alive, He's live!

Enjoy!

Christ is Risen by Matt Maher

---

Challenge and Application Questions

• Is your focus more on the past and the weight thereof, or on the freedom available through Christ's blood and resurrection?
• Will you seek to draw your gaze increasingly to the life of the Christian life? How?
• Is it valid to hold off on the life of Christianity in order to "fix" one's self?
• The enemy has a battle plan against you, what will be yours against his lies and for God's promises to rule your life?

Share

Recommended Resources

Highlighted Song: Stronger by Hillsong

"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."

~1 John 4:4 (ESV)

---

I LOVE BIG songs with a BIG message. And this song is BIG.

Life Commonalities

Trying to kick a bad, sinful habit? Asking "why do I have to go through this" for the thousandth time?

We all have these things in our lives at different times, at the same time, or perhaps seemingly all the time! Struggles with sin and trials of life can become such a constancy and can so consume our minds that soon they seem to be ruler of our lives.

God is Stronger

However, whatever that sin--no matter how unbeatable it seems, whatever that fiery trial--no matter how heated, endlessly ablaze, and rekindling it seems, God is bigger, God is greater, God is stronger.

I, being "one of those people," have been so very encouraged by the song, Stronger, by Hillsong--both in listening and singing it with the congregation of God's church! This song's musical BIGNESS greatly supports the BIGGER message in the song--that God is BIGGEST!

"You broke my shame and sinfuless"--sin is already shattered and completely defeat-able! "You rose again victorious"--It is He Who has done it! "Faithfulness none can deny"--None can honestly deny that He is yet with us and will eventually see He has never left! "There is truth that sets me free"--There is LIFE to live! "You are stronger you are stronger, Sin is broken you have saved me..."

Now TURN IT UP LOUD and enjoy!

Add to a playlist   More from this artist

Stronger
by Hillsong

There is love that came for us
Humbled to a sinner's cross
You broke my shame and sinfuless
You rose again victorious

Faithfulness none can deny
Through the storm and through the fire
There is truth that sets me free
Jesus Christ who lives in me

You are stronger you are stronger
Sin is broken you have saved me
It is written Christ is risen
Jesus you are Lord of all

No beginning and no end
You're my hope and my defence
You came to seek and save the lost
You paid it all upon the cross

So let your name be lifted higher
Be lifted higher be lifted higher

Share

Recommended Resources

Daily Thought: God of Restoration

What's the Damage?

Our God takes the most-broken of broken people and turns them into gleaming trophies of grace. That is the nature of our God: A God of restoration.

Does not the word, "restore," mean to return something to where it once was? Surely we never dwelt in perfection worthy of Heaven. So how does He restore if we never were sinless?

Can Full Recovery Be Accomplished?

God restores the relationship held between Himself and Adam - a relationship without the skewing of sin. He looks upon us as He did Adam in that Adam originally had no sin. But is it Adam He looks upon when He looks at us? By no means! He sees His Son--perfect, flawless, righteous. His Son's becoming our sin and killing its dominion forever on the cross through death purchased for us that robe of righteousness through which the Father looks upon us.

Damage is Irrelevant to God's Ability to Forgive

So, the point and sum is this: God can take anyone, no matter how wrecked and damaged by wickedness, and turn them into a guiltless child of His.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!"

Recommended Resources
Pending.

Daily Thought: Corrosive Acid

Meant for One Thing

Corrosive acid, such as the powerful muriadic acid, will only do one thing when applied to an object or surface: Corrode. Some acids, like the fore-mentioned, are used to clean nearly impossible stains (such as skid marks from pavement). You cannot use it to water your plants, for you (nor they) would gather even a moment's pleasure from that. You cannot use it to quench your thirst, for it is poison and would quickly destroy you. You cannot use it to wash your car, unless you don't want any paint and would eventually enjoy holes in your car. You cannot use it to cleanse tender surfaces such as your hands - for it would leave non-curable scars. This acid does one thing: Corrodes.

So it is with sin. We cannot take sin and use it for something good. We cannot live in sin and experience continued life! It is impossible. Sin destroys the Christian's life. It weakens the Christian's faith. It attacks and destroys families and marriages. Why? Because sin does one thing: pulls us away from the Father. And that's the worst place any person can be. Sin does one thing: Corrodes.

The Father's Words on the Matter

Listen to what Scripture says as to the attempt to use sin in this way and the only way we can and will experience life: Obedience.

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:1-4 - Emphasis added).

---

Challenge and Application Questions

• Are you tempted to or do you rationalize sin?
• What does "taking advantage of grace" look like in the life of a believer?
• What are God's words on this?
• What should be our response to God's words on this?

Recommended Resources

The Real Culprit of Blame

Tempting Situations

How are you tempted to blame, or stated another way, to "finger point?" Let's be realistic: It's difficult to take responsibility for a negative, for shortcomings, for sin. We can be tempted to blame-shift by...

• A well-meaning person bringing us correction
• An unkind boss rebuking us for a mistake
• A problem brought to our attention for which we view someone else as fully or even partially responsible
• The desire to impress others
• The fear of man--the goal to avoid specific people from knowing we struggle with a certain sin
• Unwillingness to admit to a large or grievous offense we committed
• A far-too-high and great opinion of our own selves!

And, of course, the list is virtually endless.

The "Why" Question

So why is it so hard to take responsibility for such things? Because we are proud beings in need of humility. We want to appear more Godly than we are. We want others to think highly of us. We are power-grasping, glory-loving, esteem-craving beings in need of a Savior.

Let's visit Scripture for a short moment and let God speak to this issue:

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Romans 12:3)

We see our prime struggle stated clearly in the preceding verse. We have a hard time taking responsibility because we "think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought to think."

The REAL Culprit

So in reality, who's to blame for our sin, our shortcomings, our failures?

Pride is the culprit.

...

Which, translated, means we are the culprit!

Why us? Because it's our pride. It's our desire to compete for God's glory which He will share with no one (See Isaiah 42:8)! It's our sinful desire to look good for the wrong reasons. It's our idol of impressing others. It's our inflated opinion of our desperately-wicked selves. Bleh.

So What's the Hope?

The hope is, God has saved us from this MESS of pride. We humans hit each other up one side of the head and down the other with our competitive pride--all striving for something we can't obtain--for something it is only right and possible for God to have: GLORY.

And get this!

God and God alone is the only Being in the entire existence of the universe who can rightfully point and blame! He is without flaw--perfect, loving, and just. Yet we have refused His love and have spent ourselves mocking Him. Hating Him. Betraying Him. So He is the only insulted one and the only one without blame.

Result

So let's not strive to be the blameless, because there is only One: God. We are to blame for all our mess of sin. Humility is what God desires. And life is better off of our pedestals and down on the ground where we can look up, see Him, and observe Him.

Amidst this mess, God has saved us. The only One Who can legitimately blame has forgiven all things that have earned us that blame. God's wrath for our attempt to steal His glory was satisfied on the cross with the blood of His own Son. Now that, my friends, is what will motivate us to stay low--to be unimpressed with our puniness. To take responsibility for our own sins for the sake of change--for the sake of glorifying Him in our lives because of it.

"The glory of the Gospel is this: The One from Whom we needed to be saved is the One WHo has saved us." ~Anselm

"[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

---

Challenge and Application Questions

• What situations or events most tempt you to blame-shift? It will help you observe your soul to name them specifically and write them down.
• In each situation, does your typical response indicate a responsible, inward observance of your own heart or a proud dwelling on the shortcomings of others?
• What is God's diagnoses of your sinful reactions? (Hint: See Luke 6:41-42.)

Recommended Resources

Message: Humilty: True Greatness
by C.J. Mahaney (FREE!)

Daily Thought: "I Get Off Here"

The enemy of our soul will always tempt us, threaten us, and try to strike up fear in us by way of end-time lies. Her will tell us...

• "You may as well give it up now--God will not take you back after your blatant sin."
• "The prodigal son was just an exception--he came back to God quicker than you, so God accepted that wanderer back."
• "You've sinned greater than all others" (which is true), "so you're the one 'black sheep' He'll condemn on the last day. You're out of reach of His forgiveness" (which is not true)!
• "God's forgiveness can only go so far and then He is unforgivingly angry with you. Don't you think you've reached His 70 times seventh forgiveness by now? You have already repeated this sin so many times!"
• This Christian life was once an enjoyable ride, but the restrictions and suffering you've experienced to follow this 'God'--is it really worth it? You may as well get off the train here and come enjoy pleasure. Give it up!

Christian runner, do not shrink God to a limited reverser of His Word as Satan would have you do. Satan's words are filled with lies and techniques that would use truths as arguement for fallacy (see the third bullet above).

For you, even you, to be out of reach of His forgiveness would be to say...

• The Gospel isn't sufficient for forgiveness of all sin.
• Christ died for no reason.
• God is a liar.
• The last words of Christ on the cross before He died, "It is finished!," were false and nothing but a dramatic ending to a pointless life.

None of which are true.

Have full faith in His faithfulness to forgive! Let His mercy drive you to repentance. Our God is the Awesome God and forgiver of the worst! Amen!

Daily Thought: Hope for the Hopeless

Let's face it: At times, life seems hopeless. As a Christian, you, like me, may experience this train of thought often. But hear this: When life is hopeless, there is hope.

Contradiction? Thanks be to God, no. See, our sin can seem so dark and nasty (which it is), our condition so abominable (which it is), that we fail to believe God would or even can still extend kindness to us (which He can and will). But again, should the Lord have shunned us based on our pathetic performance, we would all be in Hell.

The grace of God is infinite and is ever-extended to us all--until the end of the earth. Amen.

Daily Thought: Hope for the Most Wretched

Do you think alas as you observe your own sin that you are the most wicked? A just and right conclusion that is indeed! I am the most wicked sinner. I cannot see anyone's sin as greater than mine for mine is so present and blatant. A shame my sin is.

But moment by moment and day by day, God provides the oxygen of hope to me in the form of this: "Your sins are forgiven. And to remind you, I give you a picture of my Son in a stable, living His way to the cross and death for you--rising up to raise you, and reigning and inviting you to reign with Him as an heir with Christ" (Romans 8).

Recommended Resources

The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin

Daily Thought: Escape

What do we do in the midst of a battle that is so seemingly unescapable--when the enemy has surrounded the village from all sides and has begun to burn it? The point of an enemy surrounding is to keep that at the center from any direction and means of fleeing and to overwhelm the subject to the point of exhausting all means of fighting.

The battle of the saint in sin is the same, but there is more. The battle of all Christians has this unique hope: In every temptation, He will provide a way out. "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (I Corinthians 10:13).

Daily Thought: A Veil to be Lifted

Today - we plead for a veil to be lifted form our eyes that we might no longer be blinded by the deceitfulness of sin.
Tomorrow - we will need to plead this again.
The long tomorrow (Christ's second coming) - He shall lift this veil forever!
And on that day, sin shall be no more. We shall behold His wonderful face forever. We shall not depart from Him. What a glorious hope!

Daily Thought: No Pleasure So Great

There is no pleasure so great as Him--only our flesh would tell us anything but, and our flesh often wins. However, we are not bound to this depressing case, we are bound to Him. His children are no more bound to sin than the wind is bound in one place. But we are as bound to Him beyond a bond no mind can illustrate.

Daily Thought: Heavenly Saints

Were we to view the pleasure and peace that God can give in the moment of temptation as the pleasure and peace we think that sin will give and take hold of Him as many or more times than we take hold of sin, we would be more heavenly saints indeed!

Daily Thought: Note to the Soul

To my soul: Should the Lord have shunned one man--any man--based on his performance, whether in good deed or battle against sin, you would have already been long gone prior--for you are the worst of sinners!

Daily Thought: Faith in His Faithfulness

How then can we depart from Him Who is our life? If He is the same God who raised up passion and belief in you back then, then He will do it again. As Charles Spurgeon said, have faith in His faithfulness! He is the SAME (and isn't that one of the most comforting words? "SAME!") yesterday (eternity past), today (right in this moment), and forever (eternity future)!

Daily Thought: Christian Ease

No one said being a Christian was supposed to be easy and spoke valid truth. Christ made it clear that it would be hard. In fact, it is the hardest of all lives to live because we must battle the very thing we obey by default - our own wicked desires.

Related Articles

• The Core Sin of Selfishness

The Core Sin of Selfishness

"[I]f we are faithless, He remains faithful--for He cannot deny Himself."

~2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV)

---

The sum of all unhappiness of man is our determined discontent with both what God has said "yes" to and what God has clearly said "no" to. What God has given, we are prone to want more. What God has not granted, we claim we should possess. But how patient is our God with us. Even though we must learn the lesson of contentment many times, He is yet willing to bless us with another way to learn it. It takes many arrows for the lesson of contentment to sink in to our initially hard hearts, yet He will pierce us if humility will allow Him to.

God never promised a life of ease or a lesson without a piercing. But this kind piercing of God is never so painful as the piercing Christ received for our sin. And this, my friend, gives us every reason to be content. We have indeed received far more than we could ever have imagined. We have indeed been treated far better than we deserve even in the things that we have been denied--the things that if we had received them might well have pulled us, our affections, our time, and our devotion from Him. Isn't this painful mystery wonderful?

How many days I have grieved God with my discontent, yet how Fatherly He is. Never have I approached Him and felt His shunning except when I listened to the false accusation of my enemy, the Devil. Rather, I have come to see that He has always, without fail, been stooped as a Father with open arms to receive the son who has so grieved Him. Forgiveness is His theme, and sanctification His tool to see his beloved children turn from the sin He despises and to His glorious, indescribable Self. He separates love and hate. In other words, because He loves us, He turns us from what He hates.

We would label the affection we have toward things on earth that God has not granted us as love. In reality, it will help to label it for what it is: Idolatry, lust, discontent. We might also label our Father's denial of those things as restriction, punishment, or lack of love. In reality, God's gift of unanswered prayer and denial of things that would do our souls no good is one of the greatest graces we could ever receive.

The Father's blessings knock
And gladly we welcome them in
The Giver Himself knocks
Yet we relate to Him in sin

The enemy knocks with doubt
And faithlessly we agree
The enemy himself knocks
And God's goodness we do not see

But this truth remains
It does not change
In this we find all faith
When we are faithless
He remains faithful
And his patience and goodness here on earth
Are merely a taste

---

Challenge and Application Questions

• Through what trials has God been teaching you contentment?

Just As We Are

"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."
~Romans 5:10 (ESV)

"Your grace has found me just as I am."
~Delirious?, Majesty

---

The Lord's grace is amazing: Saving sinners just as they are, yet not allowing them to stay as they are. What freedom there is in the commands of the Lord! What a worse mess we would be had it not been for the Lord's grace that, rather than restricting us from how we can live, shows us how to live in freedom.

The transition was one directly from to life, from darkness to light, through The Way, Jesus. This is what is meant by the Lord saving us as we were--as His enemies changed to be clothed in Christ's own righteousness.

It is critical to understand the meaning of being accepted as we are. The Father is often noted as granting us "unconditional acceptance." Biblical truth, however, is that the Father accepts us only by the of His Son. Only clothed in the righteousnesses of Christ are we accepted into His kingdom. This terminology of unconditional acceptance should be carefully translated to refer to the Lord bringing a sinner directly from to life, not being accepted without Christ, and not as an excuse to remain stagnant in the growth process.

And the very fact that we were saved when we were His enemies is the very motivation to not remain stagnant. This is because when the amazing truth of the Gospel is truly, truly affecting a person, they cannot help but to run hard after Him. No longer are we to dwell in the state we were in when God saved us. Rather, we are to contemplate it and be amazed daily at this glorious mystery.

"For Your has washed away my sin,
Jesus, thank You
The Father's wrath completely satisfied,
Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table,
Jesus, thank You"
-Sovereign Grace Music, Jesus, Thank You

"Father, what words are adequate to thank You? None! We were once Your enemies, yet one Day we will feast with You--You!--at Your table! Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Hasten the Day when we shall see Your face. And may many more come to know this love that are still in darkness as we once were. Thank You for Your grace, Father, amen."

---

Challenge and Application Questions

• How are you doing evangelistically?
• Do you look at those who are lost as creatures whom God died to seek and save?
• Do you remind yourself daily of God's initiative upon your soul?

Forever In Your Grace!

"No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you."
~Joshua 1:5 (ESV)

"Forever, You'll keep me in Your Grace, my Father.
And ever, we need not be afraid, for You're faithful."
-West Coast Revival

---

I have failed,
I cannot do it
That is why Christ had to do it for me,
Live the perfect life impossible for all humanity to live

You have won,
I have nothing left to fear but You, O God
You keep me in Your grace always,
I face no condemnation for my sin

So all the more as I realize the wonders of Your love,
The wonders of Jesus crucified,
The less I fear the accusations of the enemy of my soul,
Who loves to remind me of my sin,
To try to deceive me into thinking condemnation remains,
That Your sacrifice is not sufficient to save from all sin

The enemy is defeated,
I know that my Savior lives!
Forever You'll keep me in Your grace,
My Father

Though I have failed,
Though I have questioned You so often,
Though I yet put Your face from my view at times,
Blessed mercy, how can it be?
You have forgiven and redeemed the poorly invested time,
I am still with You because You are with me,
And forever I am with You until I die

I cannot be without You!
I cannot walk in prudence and wisdom apart from You!
Father, hear my cry for help,
Come to the rescue of these needful bones

I cannot live without You,
Thank You for Your everlasting grace
That Your promise remains unbroken forever,
That You will never leave or forsake me

It's not about me, but all about YOU, JESUS!!!
We earn nothing before you, and cannot!
You freely show Your mysterious mercy to us,
And that is why we carry on

Thank You Jesus!

---

Recommended Resources

• Accompanying Song: Forever In Your Grace by West Coast Revival

A Hopeful Word in a Fallen World

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God."

~I John 3:9 (ESV)

---

Recently Revised Article!

This article is a revised version of the original article from 12/09/2006 titled, "Sin: A Sober View of a Fallen World."

Revised on 06/29/2011

Introduction

Guess what! We're not in Heaven yet!

By default, that might just sound discouraging. But think again. That's actually a great reminder when battling our every day struggles and temptations! Is it a ticket to sin? Of course not. If we know God's Word even a little, we probably know that God doesn't have "tickets to sin." But the fact that we are not in Heaven yet is a reminder draws our attention away from arrogance. It might just make us less likely to make statements that sound humble but aren't--such as, "I should be better" or "I / they should have grown by now!"

Nonexistent Locations 

Is it not easy at times to become anxious about where you are in the sanctification process? I have often found myself immersed in thoughts such as, "I'm here when I should be way further down this sanctification road" and "Why am I not growing?" I've thought in frustration, "I'm here when I should have been out there!" The truth is, there is no "out there." God has each of us where we are for His sovereign purpose.

Statements with Holes In Them

Now again, let us caution against using any of these things as excuses for sin. The following statements are ones we could be tempted to use as license to sin:

• "We live in a fallen world; sin is inevitable."
• "I'm going to sin again anyway."
• "I have grace; God will forgive me."
• "God understands that I'm having a hard time and need this comfort."

But God's Word says, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

As we just observed in Matthew, God's Word nullifies the list of statement preceding. Yes, sin will happen. But even so, we are called to and equipped for high standards that we can joyfully seek. We are free to run! God's holiness is our one standard as Christians. We live a new, purchased life now. Though I do not agree with a lot of what this individual teaches, but this is a credible, provoking statement by Josh Harris:

"May we not use the freedom, purchased by Christ's blood, to celebrate the sin that He died for."

New Creations

Hallelujah! God has shown us that our sin grieves Him and so mercifully purchased us so that we might now live uniquely for His glory. God's new-found solution for our difficult lives is to use every circumstance to lead us toward satisfaction in Him and in His ways. It's not always what we want to hear in times of practical want--but He will provide for your every need.

Friend, He has begun a good work in us, and He has promised to finish it! Philippians 1:6 says, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

God bless you, my friends! It is a pleasure to walk out this adventure of God's merciful grace with you.

-Franz