No, no; not the way you think! We’ve got the outline in my previous post. Now, let’s go through it piece by piece. Starting with this truth: We are all sinners. God’s grace and God’s Word give us the power to overcome that.
(1John 1:5-10) (ESV) This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Since it all begins within, let’s talk about that light and darkness thing, and truth. In God there is no darkness at all. That means there is no lie and no deception, no untruth. The scripture tells us that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and we are walking in darkness. (Eph. 4:17-18) To walk in light means to walk with higher understanding, which requires reasoning, rather than to walk by natural instinct or inclination, like animals do. Animals cannot reason. (Romans 1:21-23) So, how does that translate to things like making the bed and establishing order, cleanliness, and beauty in your home? God is a god of order and peace, and beauty. (1Cor. 14:33) (Psalm 27:4) (Ecclesiastes. 3:11) As you can see, order and beauty make for peace, order and peace are beautiful, and peace and beauty are the order of the day. I’ve covered the effects of chaos around us vs order and cleanliness in previous posts, so I’ll go on to the peace within.
Having peace within is crucial to being able. When Elijah was hiding in the cave, it was in the still small voice that the LORD spoke the answer. Elijah had been so upset that he was finished and ready to die. (1Kings 19:3-18) That tells us that God wants us to be at peace within. When Jesus was born, the proclamation to mankind was “Peace on Earth and goodwill toward/among men.” (Luke 2:14) Most of the greetings in the letters of the disciples included, “peace to you.” This lets us know that we need to squash negative thoughts like fear, anger, shame, guilt, and doubt, and condemnation/self-condemnation. Jesus also let us know that in (Matt. 7:3) and (Matt. 9:4). He also addressed doubt and fear in (Matt. 14:31) Matt. 8:26) When it comes to guilt and shame, the two women-the one who wept at his feet, and the one in the crowd who touched his garment come to mind. (Luke 7:37-47) (Luke 8:43-48) That’s why forgiveness is so important; it restores us to peace. That’s what Jesus said to the woman who touched his garment. “Your faith has healed you; go in peace. When we are at peace, we can concentrate better on creating and keeping order and beauty. –within, in our homes, at work, in our communities, in our world.
All the scripture references I gave you in my post on sin, are filled with, not only the truth about sin, but also about God’s love for us. He loves us so much that he wants us to live without sin in our lives. He warned Adam and Eve about the end result of sin, which is death-the death of peace, right understanding and reasoning, health, opportunity, and so many other things. As we read through them, we get a better understanding of sin and God’s love for us. There is so much peace to be gained by that better understanding. (Isaiah 51:11-13)
Love you from Café du Mondieu
Copyright by Marina Morrison (aka) Eden Stillwater, September 18, 2022, 11:53 a.m.
MarinaMorrison(aka)EdenStillwater'sInspirations 