Coming Broken to the Savior

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apathy, brokenness, emptiness, forgiveness, good start for the week, good start to your day, grace, guilty, healing your wounds, keeping our wounds, mercy, restoration, walking wounded, welcomed by Jesus, wholeness, wounded, wounded welcome, wounds

There’s a version of Just as I Am by Travis Cottrell that says,

“I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I’m welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am”
 

I love this song, but lately I am reminded that many times when I come broken, it’s not to be mended. When I come wounded, it’s not to be healed. I want to come with my brokenness and pain, but I want to hang onto it; I want others to notice my wounds. Maybe I don’t think I’ll get enough attention if I don’t look like the walking wounded.  

Other times, I think I come empty and leave empty, not because Jesus can’t fill me, but because I simply don’t ask.

I know at other times I come guilty, but don’t ask to be pardoned. I must want to wallow in my sin a little longer. I tend to like my pride and unforgiveness and I’ve certainly given apathy too much space.

The song mentioned above reminds me that I am welcomed just as I am…broken, wounded, desperate, empty and guilty, but Christ has wholeness for me. Christ has open arms ready to fill, pardon and mend. Jesus says in John 10:10, “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” He doesn’t have failure for me. He has abundance. That’s my life in His arms…freedom, life and abundance.

So, as we walk through this week together, let’s remember that brokenness, emptiness and guilt are all in us, but we can place those things in Christ’s arms where restoration, forgiveness and wholeness can take place.

Let’s come broken to be mended. Let’s come wounded to be healed and leave the mess in Jesus’ arms where it belongs.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story
**image by restlesspilgrim.net

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Less Than we Deserve

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Christian encouragement, Christianity, consequences, devotional, devotions, encouragement, family devotions, focus, God, grace, less punishment than deserved, light, mercy, punishment, unfailing love

Ezra 9:13, “…seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this.”

So many times I focus on what I don’t have instead of what I do. I focus on what is going wrong instead of what blessings I’m receiving. But, when I remember past sins, my hardness of heart, my lack of forgiveness, I realize that I am always punished less than I deserve. I realize that God delivers me over and over again and I then want to pass on that same grace to my family and those I see throughout my day.

When I am facing a situation where someone is less patient than I feel I deserve, I remember that God forgave me for my impatience the day before.

When I am not being forgiven readily, I remember all the times I have held unforgiveness close to me.

When I am facing a consequence for a sin, I remember all the consequences that have been reversed in times past.

Let’s take the time today to remember that no matter what punishment God has allowed in our paths, it is less than we deserve. He is a gracious, loving and kind God who gives us more than we can imagine and restores us in ways we never dreamed possible.

He is not a God who delights in punishment. He is not a God who has a dark side (I John 1:5). He is a God of unfailing, unchanging love.

Psalm 143:8 says, “Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” Let’s lift up our souls today and ask God to cause us to hear His lovingkindness, see His faithfulness and know without a doubt that He is a God who always punishes less than we deserve.

My Story       Seeking Hearts Ministries

*Image by domestically speaking

Lessons From the Countryside

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Christian encouragement, christian journey, christian walk, Christianity, countryside lessons, devotional, devotional blog, devotions, encouragement, family devotions, grace, mercy, our covering, resting in His righteousness, Robe of righteousness, sheep, sin, standing in grace, walking with confidence

I know this week is supposed to be part 2 of “Preparing the Soil”, but I just can’t help but tell you what I came across the other day on my way through the countryside. I saw a flock of sheep. Big news, I know, but these were not just any sheep, they were the kind where their faces were black, but their wool was as white as snow. I couldn’t help but be reminded of God’s grace. His grace covers us like nothing else can. We don’t have to work for it. We just have to receive it and it swallows up our sin so that none of that darkness can ever be seen again. Romans 3:24 tells us that our Lord Jesus redeems us by a gift of His grace. Just as those sheep did nothing to have that white wool, we do nothing to receive God’s grace but simply accept it.

Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness…” That white wool covering those dark little bodies was such a beautiful picture of my sin being fully covered with Christ’s robe of righteousness. My righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), but His righteousness covers all. As I looked as those sheep, I couldn’t help but be thankful that all God sees when He looks at me is His Son’s righteousness. He no longer sees my sin, but just a beautiful white robe, clean and pure before Him.

Romans 5:20 says, “And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Just as a sheep cannot grow bigger than their wool, we cannot sin too much for God’s grace. His grace will always exceed our sin. We can always be covered. His grace is measureless!  Even if all we see is the blackness of our sin, even if when we look in the mirror and only see the bad, when Christ looks at us, He sees His robe of righteousness. Romans 5:2 tells us that we stand in His grace. So no matter what we see, if we are abiding in His presence, His righteousness is our covering. When we think others are only seeing the bad, they are actually seeing Christ.

This reminds me of a T.V. show I saw yesterday. It was a beauty pageant coach training a beautiful young girl how to walk in the upcoming pageant. This girl was gorgeous, but all she saw was some imaginary bulge. She couldn’t walk with confidence until she saw what her coach saw. We can’t walk confidently in Christ without seeing what Jesus sees. Jesus is our Coach and He sees His righteousness covering us just like that white wool covering those sheep. He sees His grace. He sees His mercy and He sees His love for us. He wants us to stand in that confidence and He wants us to walk with assurance knowing that we are a child of the King.

So, let’s get a picture of some sheep with black faces and beautiful white wool, (or get some for our back yards), and remember that Christ sees us covered with His grace and His grace is always more than our sin. Our God is marvelous! Let’s give Him praise today!

My Story

Seeking Hearts Ministries