The Road Patch...

On one of the regular routes I use, there was a rough patch of road we always had to avoid to prevent our cars from being flung into the pothole. It was probably fixed sometime during the night without our knowing, but it still looked like a rough patch. And so we kept driving and swerving because our consciousness was stamped with that pothole in the patch. One day I was driving through and it dawned on me that I didn’t need to dodge this patch anymore, it was fixed, and I confidently drove over it while others ahead of me still swerved…. Smart girl I am. I really am smart, silly people stressing themselves out for nothing.

We sin. We’re only humans… but as blood washed, blood bought children of God, our sins are not enough to separate us from the love of God. Its just like that rough patch of road… we come before God cautious and guilt ridden in prayer… just like the cars swiveling to avoid the pothole. We forget there’s been a repair… once we come to God for forgiveness, He forgives, He washes us, He cleanses us… or why else would the word say “there is therefore no condemnation to those in Christ”… why else would it say nothing can separate us from the Love of God? Because when we come to Him He washes us clean, the blood of Jesus washes us and speaks forgiveness for us in the presence of the father. 

The blood is our shield, its detoxifies us, its our everything. But we’re so sin conscious, that we still walk around God with caution because of the sin we committed three years ago. Condemnation still holds us down even after God has forgiven us… we feel God is still waiting to punish us big time, He hasn’t forgotten that sin… as soon as we have a headache, our minds go straight to the sin and we wonder if punishment time has come. Just like the other drivers avoided the patch, because they were so conscious of it. Oh come boldly into His presence, drive through that patch with confidence….  He says come boldly and obtain mercy. How glorious He is.

Thank God for the birth of Jesus, that led to His crucifixion and taking the price of our sins on Himself just to save us. Now the blood of sprinkling speaks better things for us, it takes away condemnation and guilt consciousness, our sins are forgiven, we are justified.

God isn’t some big bad god waiting to punish us; eager to send us to hell… you think He would sacrifice Jesus if He wanted us punished? We only punish ourselves by refusing to respond to His love. Yes He is a mighty and fierce warrior, but that’s to those who come against us, in the same breath He is the gentle savior to us. How He loves us, how He hurts that we don’t see Him in the light of His love but as a shadow of fear and condemnation breathing down our necks all day every day… pointing accusing fingers. If you feel accused even after repentance, that’s not God, that’s satan, because He is the ‘accuser of the brethren’. (Rev 12:10)

We’ve conditioned our minds to be guilt conscious. Its so hard to take forgiveness of sins without penance, so hard to think we can easily be forgiven, so we distance ourselves, we move away from His love and eventually let go because we let our guilt kill our worship… We become works conscious, trying to make up for sin by going to church everyday and sweeping the church and carrying a bible in our hands for the world to see. That’s works, trying to justify ourselves when Jesus has done all that for us… He’s right there righteous before God interceding for us, seated at the right hand of God and we who have received Him are seated with Him at God’s side… God hates sin, but He forgives us as soon as we ask because the blood of Jesus has given Him no choice but to forgive and forget our sins.

See His love for you… run into this love and obtain mercy, and bask in forgiveness and goodness and joy and peace and good and perfect gifts. See the father’s love for you. How many of you have had rebellious stints as children? Many must have stolen from parents, gotten pregnant, dropped out of school or done something hideous at one point or the other… but look how your parents still love you, even if they are just the channels you came into the world through… how much more your God? The one who formed you and conceived the idea of you and placed you in the hands of your parents to take care of you.

Stop avoiding that patch, the pothole has been filled, drive with confidence over it. Say hello to your God with confidence, He truly has forgiven you.

(Its funny sometimes when we say there’s a special place in hell for murderers and then just before the hideous murderer dies, He grabs a revelation of Jesus and gives His life to Christ and then we stroll into heaven and see Him having a bbq on the streets of gold… sounds unfair right? But that’s God. Look at the thieve on the cross with Jesus...He received salvation just at the point of his death... Everyone is welcome!)