Conviction not condemnation

Relax

Today I feel that the Holy Spirit wants to remind us to relax, not necessarily in the context of putting our feet up but more to loosen our mental hold on what could potentially stress us. We need to learn to relax in the Lord, which requires complete trust in Him. There are many verses that remind us of this. For instance, Mathew 11:28-29 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls". Jesus is not out to accuse and condemn us but instead to convict us if necessary and to comfort us. Another often quoted verse is "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Note that it says "all".

A soft bull dog clip

Today I saw a picture in my mind's eye of a soft bulldog clip. Usually this type of clip is a hard metal device for temporarily, but firmly, binding loose sheets of paper together. I believe that this soft clip is a reminder that God wants to bind us all together to Him in love, in a soft, comfortable but committed way, of our own free will. "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..." (Hebrews 6:17-19). 'We who have fled' is referring to the cities of refuge where a person who had accidentally killed someone could run to as a safe haven before facing a fair trial (see Numbers 35:6,9). Grace, mercy and understanding are extended to us when we bind ourselves to God. Jesus died for all of us for all our sins but we need to choose, in free will, to 'flee' to him. We are being convicted, not condemned. We having nothing to fear. We have 'hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure'.

Seeds

Today's picture is of seeds. This has caused me to think on the seeds of inheritance. Mary was the natural mother of Jesus upon whom the Holy Spirit descended (see Luke 1:35). In Mathew we explicitly read, "She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit". Joseph heard from Angel Gabriel and was willing to adopt baby Jesus, making Him an official descendent of his lineage which was of King David and Abraham. This fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies that the Messiah would be a direct descendant of King David and Abraham. Joseph chose to adopt Jesus and we can choose to be adopted by God. "For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba Father." (Romans 8:15). Abba is equivalent to Daddy. 'Sons' refers to all of mankind. That is the relationship we can all have.

Barbed Wire

Yesterday (I am a day late uploading this) I had a picture of barbed wire, which can be seen along the top of a periphery wall of a high security enclosure. It keeps out intruders and also may be preventing the inhabitants of the enclosure from escaping, such as of a prison. This barbed wire could represent us preventing anyone getting close to us and, most significantly, preventing God. Jesus as our High Priest (see Hebrews 6:20), is our intermediary and arbitrator between us and God. Yes, we have unhindered access to God through Jesus's sacrifice on the cross, but as Jesus knows us fully and knows God fully, he draws us together. Jesus also gives us God's Holy Spirit to reside in us and create an even closer intimacy.

Conviction not condemnation

I have been continuing to reflect on the need for our personal connection with God. He is never changing (see Malachi 3:6; James 1:17); He exists beyond time throughout eternity and whilst His character is consistently the same towards each one of us, we can all choose to have our unique connection with Him. "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14). In this verse, we have the fullness of God described, with His son Jesus Christ reconciling all of us with Himself and the Holy Spirit indwelling us to help in both small and big things in life. He changes us through gentle conviction not heavy handed accusatory condemnation (see Romans 8:1-2). It is not religiosity but love.