GOD is not angry with me…

romans 8.1 (niv), therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in CHRIST JESUS.

fact: GOD is not angry with me.

GOD did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn it but to save it. john 3.17 (nlt)

so many people i meet are walking around in self condemnation, beating themselves continuously for their past. they won't let themselves go, they won't forgive themselves, much less accept forgiveness from GOD.

there is a church in israel called the church of the flagellation. there are a lot of churches like that in america. you go to church and they beat on you, week after week. a lot of people really don't feel like they've been preached to unless they've been given a verbal spanking and slapped on the hands and whipped. “pastor, that message was so good! it made me feel so bad!” that's masochism to feel like you haven't been to worship unless you you've been run over by a bulldozer.

GOD has made it possible for us to live a life without condemnation. even if there weren't a heaven, it would be worth it to become a CHRISTian just to have a clear conscious, to know that GOD is not mad at me. HE wants to be my friend, not my enemy.

it doesn't say “there are no mistakes for those in CHRIST JESUS or no failures.” obviously CHRISTians fail, they make mistakes. CHRISTians are not perfect, but we are forgiven. if we just stopped right here, closed our computer, that's enough reason in the world to be positive. we are not under condemnation. GOD has made it possible to live a life without condemnation.

just a thought from the front porch…