Living life by grace is only going to get us so far. There comes a point where we must get in line with God's will especially when we claim to be his children! Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? We live by the clichés "only God can judge me" (believe me He is doing just that) and "God knows my heart" (oh yes he does and that may not be in our best interests).
It has become increasingly difficult to decipher between those who actually serve and believe in God from those who don't. God's word says that we need to get it together. Jeremiah 3:3-9 discusses the way we call on God asking for him to change his judgment on us yet we fail to change our ways that cause that judgment to fall on us. We flirt and fully engage in sin and minimize what we do in order to lessen the guilt that we feel. "As we minimize our sinfulness,
we naturally shy away from making changes, and so we keep on sinning" (NIVSB) ***News flash*** that is not pleasing to God.
In Jeremiah 11:14 God told Jeremiah NOT to pray for the people and that their prayers would NOT be heard. Harsh much?! "A time comes when God must dispense justice. Sin brings its own bitter reward. If the people were unrepentant and continued in their sin, neither their prayers nor Jeremiah's would prevent God's judgment. Their only hope was repentance--sorrow for sin, turning from it, and turning to God. How can we keep praying for God's help if we haven't committed our lives to him? God's blessings come when we are committed to him, not when we selfishly hang on to our sinful ways" (NIVSB)
Sin happens! That's why we needed forgiveness through Christ. However how long will you knowingly or purposely live in sin without a desire to change? Let us not place ourselves in a position that our prayers or the prayers of the righteous go unheard due to our negligent behaviors. Change is a process, when will you start yours?
In Jeremiah 11:14 God told Jeremiah NOT to pray for the people and that their prayers would NOT be heard. Harsh much?! "A time comes when God must dispense justice. Sin brings its own bitter reward. If the people were unrepentant and continued in their sin, neither their prayers nor Jeremiah's would prevent God's judgment. Their only hope was repentance--sorrow for sin, turning from it, and turning to God. How can we keep praying for God's help if we haven't committed our lives to him? God's blessings come when we are committed to him, not when we selfishly hang on to our sinful ways" (NIVSB)
Sin happens! That's why we needed forgiveness through Christ. However how long will you knowingly or purposely live in sin without a desire to change? Let us not place ourselves in a position that our prayers or the prayers of the righteous go unheard due to our negligent behaviors. Change is a process, when will you start yours?
