It's Time Again

You would think at my spiritual and physical age I would have more of my stuff together! I have quite recently faced a challenge to my efforts, my understanding and yes, even my faith. It's not like that's never happened before, but this one blindsided me. I ask myself “After everything my life has been, after all God has taught me in the last 5 years, after the miraculous through struggle experiences of the last 2 years, why do I still have blindsides?”

A young man came to me last week and told me that he thought he had his act together. He was so strong after camp last year, but he struggled after he went home and eventually gave up. He told of what he considered a total failure as a Christian. It really was a defeat, but one battle does not win a war and one defeat does not lose it. I reminded him that Jesus has already won our war with Satan. We talked about the truth he gained last summer and I asked him if that truth was still truth. He had trouble with that one because he had failed badly. So we talked about who and what the truth stood on. The young man spent a lot of time in my space last week talking about different aspects of surrender. I've made efforts toward getting him a mentor so that he has support in the battle which Satan will no doubt try to push on him again once his spiritual support is gone.

Now I see that our time together was not just about him and his struggle. We all struggle. We all have Adam's blood flowing in our veins. Sometimes we lose 'paradise'. So I go back to the truth.

1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And it was all good.
2. Mankind was tempted and in human weakness he chose wrong. All have sinned and ended up short of God's amazing best.
3. Mankind could not fix himself but the Lord of Creation came as a baby, grew as a human without sin and sacrificed his life to pull man out, deliver him from his enemy, redeem what was lost and make him a new creation with a new relationship to the eternal God and Father.
4. It is though faith in God's mercy and love in giving that son to die, be buried for 3 days and rise to new life that God reconciles us to himself with eternal life.
5. The Holy Spirit was given to guide us into all truth in action, belief and understanding. He speaks of Jesus. He convicts us of wrong thought. He promises eternal life and a glorious destiny.

When I get my eyes off the main truth because of busy, injury, disappointment or involvement with this world's agenda, I'm an open target. I have a blind side. Realignment is in order. Focus on Jesus is imperative. Repent means change your mind. That allows God to change the heart and that changes everything. It's time once more.