Evil BUT

Who thought I could have profound thoughts from something posted on twitter? I guess I forgot I was stalking the Daily Bible Verse postings. No matter how I came to ponder this passage, it is a great reminder.

Matthew 26:31-35

³¹Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:
   " 'I will strike the shepherd,
      and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' ³²But after I have risen, I   

      will go ahead of you into Galilee."

 ³³Peter replied, "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will."

 ³⁴"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times."

 ³⁵But Peter declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the other disciples said the same.

This passage is a reminder that we fail. As humans we all fail at pretty much everything. Here in Matthew, Jesus tells Peter he will fail, and Peter even fails just by not believing that he will fail. Epic fail.

Matthew 26:75

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.

We can read this and think, “Come on Peter, how could you not see this coming?” But we don’t realize that we have failed just by thinking that. In that moment we’re thinking that somehow we are better than Peter when actually we are the same. Just like Peter we are denying Christ by trying to blend into the world.

And to help you realize the reality of our own sinfulness, here’s a video from a person who is much wiser than me.

And now we see that we were sinners and we are sinners and we are evil by nature. I hope this is as low as we can go because there isn’t much lower. I guess it’s time for that big BUT

Romans 5:6-8

⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ died for us! Do you understand what that entails? Jesus Christ came to earth specifically to die in order to pay for our sins. And he didn’t just stay dead. He came back to life proving that he was and is the Son of God. He conquered death and sin for you.

John 3:16-18

¹⁶"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

I put my faith in Jesus Christ when I was a young child. At that time I knew that God didn’t like the bad things I did and I realized that only by believing in Jesus and asking him to forgive me, could I ever have peace in my life, joy in my soul, and a definite hope of life after death.

Romans 10:9-13

⁹That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ¹¹As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Throughout my life, as I strive to follow Christ, I have seen more and more how much I still need God’s grace. It’s part of sanctification-becoming holy. We will always fail but Jesus died once for ALL. That means once for all my sins and all your sins and every one of everybody’s sins. When I fail I take it to God and ask him to change me into the person he wants me to be. Because I can not do it on my own. It’s all by the grace of God. 

I hope you have the same faith in Christ that I do. If not then here’s what you can do: Repent, Believe, and strive to follow Jesus. The last part’s not as easy as it sounds, but if you truly believe then you’ll want to follow him. If you’re not ready to take that leap of faith, I’ll be praying for you. Just know Jesus loves you.