Digging Deeper

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…” -Matthew 6:34

If you die tommorrow are you going to Heaven? If you said “I hope so” or “I think so” and you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then I’m sorry to inform you that you have A.D.D. (Assurance Deficit Disorder). If you are saved you are going. If you continue to worry about that you can not be used effectively to reach others with Gods word. I have seen a lot of believers that worry about their salvation. I’ve been there too. The enemy will use this to his advantage all the time. He will exploit this to it’s fullest. He will tell you over and over again that you are not worthy. Well, rest assured… you’re not. None of us are worthy of the gift God gave us but all we need to do is accept it then move on with what He is calling us to do.

Another worry we can’t seem to get past a lot of the time is the whole forgiveness thing. We find it so hard to believe that we can be forgiven. Oh we pray for forgiveness “Heavenly Father please forgive me of sin xyz, amen” Did you mean it? Are you truly sorry? Are you going to try to do better? If the answer is yes then move on! But more often than not we pray again “Dear God I’m still sorry please forgive me of sin xyz, amen” and God’s response is “what sin?” You see, the problem here is that He has already forgiven you, your slate is clean and that is sufficient. He has moved on (at least until you sin again) but you have not. You are now living in the past and worrying about something that He has forgiven you for. Been there, done that too. This is usually because we have so much trouble forgiving ourselves. Well who do we think we are? Are we better than God? Well we must think so because He forgave us and if He did that who are we not to?

Worrying over these two things can not only damage our witness to others but can cripple our effectiveness in serving God. If we appear or claim to be unsure and worry all the time over our own salvation or forgiveness how do you think a person that doesn’t know Christ feels about that? If we can’t stand firm in our faith, belief and trust in Gods ability to forgive us and the fact that Jesus saved us by dying on the cross why should they put any stock in it?

So, stand up, put on your big boy/girl pants and stand strong with a smile on your face and confidence in your heart because our God is an awesome God and He has chosen you and forgiven you and He wants you to reach out to others the same way He had someone reach out to you.

Heavenly Father make me strong, and make me dangerous to the enemy. I know that You are an all powerful and all knowing God that has saved me for a purpose and forgiven me because You love me. Use me Father wherever, whenever and for whatever you need. Amen.

by Rick Phillips