View in a browser   CURRENT RADIO SERIES Destiny   CURRENT TV SERIES Destiny   … though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. --Psalm 37:24 God knows more about you and me than we will ever know about ourselves. And one thing God knows about us is that we will stumble. You and I stumble as a result of making bad choices and sinful decisions. These stumbles are disappointing to us and, of course, to God. But more than that, Satan would use every stumble to crush the life out of us. Remember the line from that commercial, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”? Well, that is exactly how Satan wants you to feel when you fail. He wants you to believe that if you’ve stumbled, you are done. But that’s a lie. You see, God wants you and me to learn from our mistakes and to make progressively better choices for our lives. And he knows that we will stumble in the process. The great thing about our God is that when we fall, he wants us to get back up and to try again! Right now, even if you’re thinking, “I can’t get up another time,” you must. You have no idea how close you may be to the victory that God wants to give you if you’ll just get back up… believe… and trust in him! WHEN YOU FALL, GOD WANTS YOU TO GET BACK UP AND TRY AGAIN.

 

A Clean Record

Thursday, August 15, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.”

Psalm 130:1–5

During his time in the White House, critics of President Ronald Reagan were often disappointed that charges or accusations they made against him did not seem to have an impact on his popularity. During the lead up to the 1984 campaign that led to his reelection, Democratic congresswoman Pat Schroeder of Colorado referred to Reagan as “the Teflon president.” She said she got the idea while making breakfast for her children and seeing eggs slide around in a pan coated with Teflon. What was intended as a criticism was soon adopted by Reagan’s supporters as they celebrated his ability to avoid negative attacks sticking to the president.

When God saves us, He saves us both from what we have done—our sins—and from who we are—sinners by nature. And though there may be scars that remain from the past, the guilt is gone forever and cannot be added to our record again. This is a measure of God’s marvelous grace extended freely to us. “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10).

The Bible tells us that Satan is “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:10). But through God’s grace, our sins are completely blotted out, removed from our record forever. There is nothing Satan can say, even in true accusations for our failures and shortcomings, that can damage our standing in God’s family. That standing did not depend on us in the first place, but on the perfect holiness of Jesus Christ, which was given to us.

Today's Growth Principle: 

Rejoice today and give thanks to God for placing the righteousness of Jesus on your account.