Under Grace

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."

I was really convicted of that today.

Jesus' grace IS sufficient for me. Nothing else in all the world can cover my sins. No matter how much time I spend doing the right thing, I can never cause God to love me more then he does right at this moment. That doesn't mean that I'll stop doing the right thing, but I'll do it because I love Jesus, not because I'll "earn" anything.

I get SO frustrated with myself when I don't live the way I should. Lately the gravity of my sin has been weighing on me. It's hard to explain to people, because by your normal-everyday-american-christian standards, I'm doing well. That's not enough! I want to be more like Jesus, and it kills me when I fail him. I guess that's good, but at the same time, I can't get so bogged down in guilt over my sin that I forget about grace. When I fail, when I do what I don't want to...when I live in fear and doubt....when I miss an opportunity to share Christ....when I speak negatively to or about someone....I need to repent and move on. It's good to be aware of how repulsive my sin is, but I can't let that frustrate me so much. I have to let the blood of Jesus wash away my frustrations.

That's a hard concept for me to grasp. Why would a perfect, amazing, holy God want me? I don't get it.I guess it's not for me to understand, but just to accept. I'll never be good enough for him, and he doesn't care. Isn't grace amazing? What a wonderful God we have! We deserve condemnation, and what do we get? Heaven. Praise his name.

It's time to stop trying to make up for my sin with good works, and just rest in Jesus' grace.

"What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus."