Corona Devo 1849

PLOP!

What a complete mess.  In fact--if one of my kids had done this, I might have grounded them.  

As I was working at my computer and eating breakfast: mid-stream between scooping a spoonful of yogurt and making-it into my mouth...it dropped.  The yogurt plopped...RIGHT onto my computer keyboard and all over the keys.

In between the keys.  Under the keys.  All over.  Yuck.  And, now what?  

I had made a complete mess, and it was the messiest of messes.  

I worked to clean it up but I just couldn't wipe the entirety of yogurt-goop-remnants off, away, out, and out-from-under the keys and from the keyboard.  

I had really made a mess, and (in truth) I wasn't sure that full recovery and clean-up was actually possible.

~~~

Well--maybe my current computer keyboard may never be completely unblemished (un-yogurted) again...but (VERY good news!): we can be.

The complete mess that I accidentally inflicted on my keyboard is no less-ruining, messy, and difficult-to-cleanse than our sin is to a Holy God.  In truth, our sin is much more messy and damning.  

Looking at our own lives and the lies/hurts/pain/sorrow/SIN that we've committed...

Well, (the Bible says) that we have made a complete mess: ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...  ~Romans 3:23

Our words, our deeds, even our thoughts are sinful at times, and sometimes all the time.  Sometimes our sins are little drops, but (we know this): sometimes our sin is a huge plop.  All over our lives and usually we hurt others who are affected by the mess that we have made with our sin.  

It would be entirely fair and completely understandable if God grounded us from His presence and His love and His forgiveness, because...we all have sin, and He is holy.

And so, now what?  

...This is the amazing part.  This is the wild part.  This is the unmerited and unbelievable part: Even though we have made a complete mess because of our sin...even the messiest of messes.  

We have a Lord and Savior who loves us enough to wash us clean.  And (even in our sinful-messiness, He says to us:

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.  (19) If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; (20) but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”  For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.  Isaiah 1:18-20

Lord, we ARE willing and obedient today.  Please...we don't deserve Your mercy and forgiveness, but Yes, (please!) we will accept it today.  Only You can make our scarlet...white.  Thank You, Heavenly Father for settling the matter of our sin.  Amen.

Sometimes, we want to "help with the mess".  We think we can earn the cleansing-favor or our Father, but God is great and God is good.  He is also completely truthful: we cannot earn our salvation by deeds, works, sacraments, prayers or praises.  

Our messiness-of-sin is only cleaned up by our immaculate God.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.  ~Ephesians 2:8-9

And so we can see (and hopefully accept) that it is only God, and through Him alone that we are absolved. 

But how?  And why? And what about our sin and our weaknesses?  We cannot shake sin, but (yet) God continues to (continually) cleanse us of it.  The only answer (God says), is to keep giving Him the glory as He keeps wiping up our mess (again).

  • But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  ~2 Corinthians 12:9  
  • You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus... ~2 Timothy 2:1
~~~

My computer keyboard is usable, and (now) looks pretty clean, but I know (and can see) dried yogurt under the keys.  It's not gone.  I don't think it ever will be: I just can't get to all of it.

But here's the good news: God can get to all of us, and to all of our sin...all we have to do is believe in Him.    

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (24) Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. (25) For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, (26) for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

(27) Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.  ~Romans 3:23-27

Amen.

Blessings,  

sarah  

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corona Devo 1156

Image
At work, we provide Trainings for customers, so that they can be updated and educated on all of the latest features (and how to use them) within our product.  Many companies do this--sharing "Best Practices" are a way to ensure positive outcomes on the customer and vendor sides of things. My kids often offer me "life hacks" that they have learned from watching an online video promising to "save time" and "make your life easier".  And just this week, my husband enlightened me about the "tear-away" feature built into most plastic rings holding cans/bottles of pop or Gatorade together.  When separated, the plastic rips open easily, releasing the bottle--saving wildlife that might be caught if it is discarded as trash, and saving me  frustration or angst because I no longer have to pull with all my might to get a bottle out of the plastic rings.  ( Who knew? )  Life hacks do save time and make your life easier! Who couldn't benefit from...
Read more

Corona Devo 1217

Image
The unanswered “why’s” of life, the disorder of our days, and even the unfairness of our struggles can cause us to question ourselves and also to question our God. But the order-of-Creation and the systems that God has set in place are undeniable answers that swing back and forth like God’s pendulum-reminder that He set the world in motion, and He continues to keep order, even when it seems as if we and our world are in dis- order.   Job was a man going through some heavy and hard stuff.   Maybe we are too.   Job’s trials had caused him to question the order of life, and possibly God’s dominion over it.   We can relate.   The “Why’s?” and the “Why Me’s” can stack up in our minds and hearts, but like a parent exercising loving-authority over a child, God reminds Job and us--of His power, omniscience and of His ultimate authority over everything: Creation… and us today .   Then the  Lord  answered Job from the whirlwind: (2) “Who i...
Read more

Corona Devo 991

Running low on " good things " today?  Doesn't it (sometimes) seem like/trend like/read like/tweet like/water-cooler-chat or backyard-fence-visit like/intimidate like/depress like... there are no  good things in the land? . I know. It's no secret that many have abandoned  the Law of the  Lord,  and at times, that's us .   It is evident all around us that people have  followed each other  in this sin.  When we look around...or when we live our days...we can wonder: Are there  any  good things  left in the land? There are still some good things in the land ...and no matter how bleak we feel the "forecast" for today is...there will always  be  some good things in the land, because God is in the land.   T he Bible reminds us of that today.   ~~~ The Israelites (and their king, Rehoboam ) were God's people, but like all of us at times/seasons of our lives...they wandered from Lord and His ways....
Read more