1 Cor. 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Psalm 119:26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.
Admitting when I’m wrong has gotten easier as I have grown older. It’s never easy to admit you’ve done something wrong or that you have sinned against God. But once you’ve done it a few times, it does in fact get easier. Why? Because confession is good for the soul. It frees the soul from guilt and worry.
Is it any wonder that many Christians today are not walking closer with Jesus? Many have not declared their ways to Him. In a time where pride is at the pinnacle of society, Christians must beware of adjusting their spiritual walk to society’s “walk.” It is of the utmost importance to stay away from the evil doctrine of this world. We are most certainly living in the end times, of this I am certain.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Admitting to Jesus our sins sets us free, especially when we come to salvation! A closer walk with Jesus helps us to keep our sin list short. We must desire that close relationship with Him. The closer we get to Him, the less we fall prey to sin. Furthermore, notice the verse says that He hears us in Psalm 119:26? Praise the Lord that our prayers for forgiveness are not lost in the air but are actually heard by the Lord! Praise Him!!
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Amen and amen! Jesus’ grace is sufficient each and every moment! Keeping ourselves centered around God’s Word helps us to deal with the pressures of today. Our world has gone crazy! They call that which is sin, good, and that which is good, evil!
Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
I don’t know how people make it through the day without fretting or worrying about what is happening around us. We all need the Lord and with Him, there is peace and rest.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
Rom 1:28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (29) Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, (30) Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, (31) Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: (32) Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Today’s topic has to do with disobedience. Is it me, or are there more disobedient children in our society? It makes me so sad when I see children left to their own devices and they rule the house with their tantrums. Rather than deal with teaching them and disciplining them at that moment, they are too tired and leave them alone. The problem with that is that no directions from Dad and Mom let the children know that your silence means accepting their behavior.
But today’s devotional is not about a child’s disobedience, although it fits in nicely. It’s about adults’ disobedience. Notice verses 29, 30 and 31! Look at all those sins! They are not normally committed by young children but by grown adults! Verse 32 even attributes it to those who know the judgment of God!!! Children do not know in the early years, but adults sure do.
Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:9-10 that disobedience to the Law, meaning the Ten Commandments, is contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In his second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:1-5), Paul says that these sins will increase in the end times. These warnings are not in the Bible for nothing, Reader. You must take heed to what God wants you to know! You commit these sins because you have not repented of your sin to be saved. Repentance is a reversal of one’s direction in life. When you were born, you inherited a sinful nature handed down to you by Adam and Eve. You don’t have to teach a toddler to do wrong because it is part of him from birth. You DO have to teach that toddler to do right. Jesus said:
Luk 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Friend, repentance means that you must consciously make a decision to follow Christ and His teachings. The Law, the Ten Commandments, prove to us that we are sinners because there is not a day that goes by in a person’s life where he doesn’t break at least one of those commandments. The first of those commandments is to love the Lord God with all your heart, mind and soul. Do you? Ding, ding, ding! You have broken one. Have you lied to someone today? Ding, ding, ding! There’s another. They add up after a while. But even if you only had ONE sin (which is virtually impossible), you are found guilty before God of breaking all the commandments!
Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
So know that the Ten Commandments teach us about sin. That was God’s old covenant to the Jewish people. People needed to realize that they could not possibly live a sin-free life, a righteous life, because they failed every day. Israel had to sacrifice lambs to “cover” their sins. They had to shed the innocent blood of a lamb.
From the beginning of time, God provided a way to be reconciled to Him. He gave us a new covenant. Jesus became the Perfect Sacrificial Lamb to die for our sins. The blood of goats and lambs could not wash away our sins. But the blood of Jesus can. When we repent and confess our sins, Jesus hears us. His blood on that cross gives Him the power to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all sin. Furthermore, He is faithful so this will always be!
1 Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Some believe you can go to confession and tell a priest your sins and that is it. You’re good to go. But that is not repentance, friend. So what exactly is the repentance? The Greek word is:
μετάνοια metanoia met-an’-oy-ah From G3340; (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication reversal (of [another’s] decision): – repentance.
Strong’s concordance
Notice the one in needs to have repentance must feel the guilt and shame of his sin. Secondly, that person must be reformed (John 3:3, 3:7, 2 Corinthians 5:17). Thirdly, to be repentant means to change directions. If you were facing South and wanted to go in the opposite direction, you would go North. In the case of repentance, means you turn around from your current sinful path and go in the exact opposite direction – meaning, you go toward the Lord. Fourthly, you change your mind completely. Instead of giving in to sin, you seek salvation through Jesus Christ and say no to sin. There is no other way to be saved!
Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Sin is a choice after salvation. You are no longer a slave to sin. You can now say no to it.
Rom 6:20-23 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. (21) What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. (22) But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Friend, do you know how many so-called “Christians” are out there that have not repented? They go to church and think about God during the service (if they are not sleeping or reading their phone). But after church, they go back to their lifestyle and they’re happy with that. That is not repentance. These people do not feel guilty or remorse for their sin.
After you have read today’s devotional, do you see the difference of what believers call nominal Christianity and true Christianity? You can call yourself a Christian, but if you haven’t changed from your old life, you are not. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
If you are not truly born-again, you won’t see today’s topic as a sin. But there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
1 Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidd’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
2 Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
3 Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
4 Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Charlotte Elliott
The History Behind the Hymn
Elliott, Charlotte, daughter of Charles Elliott, of Clapham and Brighton, and granddaughter of the Rev. H. Venn, of Huddersfield, was born March 18, 1789. The first 32 years of her life were spent mostly at Clapham. In 1823 she removed to Brighton, and died there Sept. 22, 1871.
In 1828, at the age of 32, Charlotte Elliott suffered a serious illness that left her a semi-invalid. This caused depression, and within the year she experienced a severe spiritual crisis. Swiss evangelist Henry A. Cesàr Malan was visiting her family, and she confessed to him that she didn’t know how to come to Christ. His famous response was, “Come to him just as you are.” Her depression continued, however. One night, twelve years later, she lay awake, distressed by her uselessness as an invalid, and by doubts of her spiritual life. The next day, as she reflected on the previous night, she decided she needed to meet her spiritual troubles head on and conquer them by the grace of God. So she “gathered up in her soul the grand certainties, not of her emotions, but of her salvation: her Lord, His power, His promise” (Lutheran Hymnal Handbook). She took up pen and paper, and wrote down her own “formulae of faith,” remembering those words of the visiting evangelist. In the end she had the text “Just as I am, without one plea.” Her rule of faith has since become a comfort to millions, and we join with all Christians who experience doubt and uncertainty in their faith when we declare that Christ invites us to come to Him, just as we are.
Though weak and feeble in body, she possessed a strong imagination, and a well-cultured and intellectual mind. Her love of poetry and music was great, and is reflected in her verse. Her hymns number about 150, a large percentage of which are in common use.
Mat 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
I was probably a couple of days old in the Lord when I read these three verses. Oh how I cried! I was very heavy laden and had a burden of care upon my shoulders. I had been married six years at this point and my husband absolutely despised what I had become. Life was unbearable and I could not imagine God healing my marriage. He not only healed my marriage but He also showed me how I could receive peace in the midst of the trial while waiting! These verses rested heavily on my heart during that time.
What does this have to do with today’s hymn? Everything! God wants us to come to Him with all our troubles!
3 Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Message for today
Yes, this hymn’s message is mainly to show that God takes the sinner just as he is. The sinner need not clean up his life before receiving the gift of salvation. If he had to do that, what’s the point of God’s Son being called a gift? One doesn’t have to do a thing to receive a gift. It is freely given and must be freely accepted. There is nothing that can be added.
1 Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidd’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
It is not by our own works that we receive this wonderful gift. It is by simple faith. We are all sinners in need of saving. We are all sinners in need of God’s grace. The very nature of God is to show mercy upon a repentant sinner. When we humbly come before Him, admitting our sinfulness, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2 Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
My friend, there is nothing we can do to wash away our sins. Only Jesus can do that. He became our sin offering so we could be made righteous before God through Him! Oh praise the Lord for His unending love for us!
2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
