Given April 10, 2015

The Bible says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). As we think about this verse today, I want us to imagine the following scene in our minds.

Picture yourself walking along the path toward Heaven. You see God’s glory up ahead and you’re moving in the right direction, getting closer to Him. Then suddenly, there in the path, is an obstacle. Where did this thing come from? Why is it in my way? The answer is in John 10:10: “The devil comes to kill, steal and destroy,” he will do anything to distract you, cause you to stumble or to stop you from getting to God’s glory. So, you’ve fallen. Remember Romans 3:23 above, everybody has fallen from time to time. But Jesus does not condemn, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”. Remember the woman caught in adultery in John 8, “And Jesus said, “Neither do I. (condemn thee). Go and sin no more.” We’re going to fall short from time to time but if we are with Jesus, we can confess our sin, ask for forgiveness, and He will give it and help us up to continue our journey.

Remember Peter in Matthew 14? He was “with” Christ, got out of the boat and walked on the water. However, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid,” (the obstacle in his path from the scene above). What did Jesus do? “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.” Peter had cried out to Jesus, (confessing his fault and asking forgiveness/ help), and Jesus helped him up and they continued on their journey.

We’re sometimes going to fall short but I want to encourage you today to not believe the lies of the devil and give up. Don’t give up but look up. Look up into the forgiving face of Jesus, take His hand and get up. Then continue on, toward the Glory of God.