Who's Holding Who?

Suppose you have a child. Your only child... and you love your child more and more each day. Your love for your child grows to where you love him/her more than life itself. Now around the time that your child turns ten years old, that child is murdered. The murderer is found and detained by the law. Suppose the law of the region allowed you to do whatever you like to this murderer. The murderer's life is in your hands at that point.What would you do?  If you kill this murderer, doing so would be vengeance. The murderer being left in the hands of the law to be tried in a court in front of a jury, and sentenced by a judge...that would be justice. If you were to forgive this murderer, but warn that you never want to see them anywhere even remotely near the region again... that would be mercy.

But if you were to forgive this murderer and adopt this murderer in place of your child... and not only that, but give to this murderer everything that belonged to your child, and love this person as much as you loved the child that they took. That is grace. No human being has the natural capacity to do that. God on the other hand does this everyday. We murdered His Son. I murdered His Son. Yet when I repented and believed... the Lord forgave me. He adopted me, gave me everything that belonged to His Son, and loved me just as much as His own Son that was murdered. This is what happens every time a non-believer comes to salvation. Grace is being able to be nailed to a cross and say, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do." Grace can say to a thief, "Today you'll be with me in Paradise." Grace says to a prostitute, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more."

I've heard it preached that unless you know His grace you will go and sin again. But once you know His grace, only then will you go and sin no more. Again, when you experience the love of God and His forgiveness you would never go back and turn on Him again. People turn against Him and keep sinning because they've never seen His heart. When you don't see the heart of God you will keep sinning over and over and over because the relationship is not built on love, confidence, peace, or trust.

Many, many Christians come into the kingdom driven by fear of Hell and damnation. That's the wrong reason to come to the Lord. When your relationship is saturated with fear... and that fear is what keeps you in, the Lord is seen as a judge, not a loving Father.This is why when some get into prayer all they can say is I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... FEAR! When you say my filth, my sin, my darkness, my lust, you dig yourself into a pit. Things like depression, obsession, and suppression set in. Oppression becomes a reality... Does this mean we should never confess our sins to the Lord, of course not. But instead of focusing on our sins and failures focus on His righteousness and forgiveness. Instead we should say you're merciful, you're loving, you're gracious... and He will pick you up lifting you higher and higher! Because your eyes are not on self, but they're on Him.

John 10
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Just who is holding on to who here? If you were to walk with a child of two or three through a crowded park or up a hill, would you rely on that child's strength to hold on to your hand?  

Or is it you that will hold on to that child, and even carry him/her if need be? This is what God does for us every day! He said that no man can pluck them out of my hands. No man, no power, no devil, no demon can pull you out of His hands! You are safe, and you are secure because Jesus will not let you go! We Christians believe that we are the ones grabbing on to Him... Friends, He is not depending upon our strength, because we have none! You're dependent on His! And you can trust Him because He will never let go! Saints, we need to get the idea out of our minds that we are the ones who are supposed to hold on because we can't!

OH GOD!! HELP ME HOLD ON!

YOU CAN'T!!

It is not your strength that will keep you! Not your strength! It's His strength.

So, what do I do...

Just don't fight Him. Don't fight Him... He said the He is the vine, and we are the branches. On the branches are fruit right? Well whose responsibility is it to supply life to the fruit? It isn't the branch's... it's the vine's. So again, all the branch does is accept the privilege of letting the fruit hang off of it. All you have to do is stay hooked in.

God Bless ^_^